Rookie Hell

Standing on a high platform overlooked the hanger that held her new ship, Willa looked out over the expanse and marveled at the large array of ships moving in and out of the station's hanger array. Ships of every size and from every race that inhabited New Eden: monstrous bulging Gallente freighters, wide flat Caldari battle cruisers, shiny rounded Amarrian battleships and of course every make and model of rusty Minmatar vessel imaginable, from tiny rookie ships called Reapers which resembled some sort of mechanical insect, elegant looking frigates called Rifters rumored by many to be the best all around ship in New Eden to the huge cavernous mouthed Typhoon battleships that looked like hungry monsters with their mouths open for a feeding frenzy.

From her location on the observation platform high above the hanger floor Willa couldn't even see her ship suspended over the gravity-well where it was docked. Pathetically small Willa's ship wasn't much to look at compared to other ships in space-dock at the Brutor Tribe's station at Rens VI. It was just a tiny rusty second-hand Reaper that she had picked up cheap from a shady looking Thunker male with a patch over one eye and a hideous scar down the side of his face. He hadn't given Willa his name and he was in a big hurry to get the deal over and be off the station as quickly as possible.

"My Ship!" Willa said to herself repeatedly as she stood there looking down where she knew it was docked. The sound of the words were sweet as she said them.

It was the first thing Willa had ever fully owned. Even the clothes Willa had worn growing up were not hers, they belonged to her clan. When Willa no longer need them or couldn't wear them any longer they would be passed on to someone younger and in greater need than herself or they would be recycled into something useful.

Thinking back about her home and how different her life was now, just one short year ago. At times it seemed as though she had only left her home on Onga a few days ago, other times it seemed like she had already been away for a life time and wondered if anyone at home would even recognize her now.

Willa's short time at the Republic Military Academy had ended abruptly only to be followed by months of hard labor at the Ral'fonar prison camp in the Auga system, bloody foul place that was. When first sent there Willa hadn't been too concerned, minimum security, labor camp, mostly military inmates there for disciplinary reasons. No problem, Willa had though as she boarded the transport that would take her to one of the harshest habitable planets in the Minmatar Republic, and just barely in the Republic at that. Solidly inside the war zone, the Auga system was on other side of hell, better know as Amamake, from the rest of the Republic. Auga was in the hotly contested region where the Minmatar Republic Navy and Tribal Liberation Forces clash daily with Amarrian Imperial Navy and 24th Reclaiming Forces to see who would control the seven systems between the two bitter enemy's territory. That was if the Gallente Federation or the Caldari State Navies and their allied pilot factions aren't too busy with each other to join in the fight. When the Gallente showed up they would bring their squadrons of drone slinging Megathron battleships to the side of the Republic and the Tribal Forces. While the Caldari and their heavily missile armed Drakes and Ravens would assist the Amarrian Empire. Of the planets in the Auga system the Republic only controlled the third planet from the star. Auga III was home of Ral'fonar prison camp was located. It was also the site where the Republic Navy was building an advance base to assist with future offensives to take control of the entire system.

Auga III had a thin atmosphere that didn't allow for any kind of moderation in temperature, horridly hot during the day and bitter freezing at night. It was also a wet planet, if it wasn't raining it was snowing. Inmate Willa had been assigned to one of the building crews that was working on the military installation expansion.

From can't see in the morning till can't see at night, Willa and her fellow inmates would work. Pity the crews that had to dig anything on that cursed planet's surface. In the morning one needed a pick and explosives to scratch the frozen ground by mid-day one needed a bucket to bail the soupy mud. If they weren't stumbling over razor sharp frozen ground we were wading knee deep in muck. Thankfully, they had been well fed and housed. At least the Minmatar military took care of their own, even in prison.

The day of her release from prison and honorable discharge from the navy Willa rented a room with a hot-water shower and stood under it for three hours. That had been the closest to heaven Willa had ever felt. The following day Willa applied to the Brutor Tribe's civilian pilot school.

That had been five months ago. How her tuition for pilot's school had been paid and by whom Willa still unsure. She assumed with a fair amount of certainty that Jaxx had something to do with it. Willa was still bitter that Jaxx had been the cause of her expulsion from the Academy and time at Ral'fonar. When Willa had a brief moment of clarity and was honest with herself, she recognized that she was the one that manage to get herself sent to prison. Jaxx's criminal pass merely set up the situation that Willa let get the better of her.

Two days ago Willa had graduated from pilot school and a few hours ago she had completed the deal with the shady Thukker and took delivery of her Reaper. Willa could forgive Jaxx a little when she looked at her minicule ship smiling. "Damn I'm a pod pilot!"

"Congratulations." From behind her a deep husky voice interupted her thoughts. Willa spun around with her hand on the knife she kept in a belt at her waist. She came face to face with a stout Brutor male; wide, heavy set, no taller than herself, with the all to common white eyes of blindness that plagued many of her tribal brothers and the heavy spiky head of a Khuumak poking above his right shoulder. Khuumaks were totems of pride and freedom to the Minmatar, as well as weapons. A flat round metal head with seven metal spikes radiating like a sun attached to a long handle. Once carried by Amarrian slave holders as a symbol of authority over her people. Until the day one brave slave picked up his masters totem of oppression and beat him to death with it. Since that time they had been the symbol and weapon of choice for rebelling slaves and any truly patriotic Minmatar. Khuumaks where now outlawed contraband in the Amarrian Empire.

"Thanks, do I know you?"

"No you don't know me, but I know you, Willa Murdoc." His broad friendly smile beamed at her confusion.

"Who are you then and how do you know me?"

"That is something we shouldn't discuss in public. There are many people watching you. Some friendly and some not so friendly."

"Which one are you?"

"Friendly."

"Can I at least know your name?"

"Check your bank account. Then you will know my name." Turning he joined the throng of people passing, melted into the crowd and was quickly lost in the mass of humanity of the busy station. Pulling out her data-pad from a pouch on her belt Willa checked her account records.

Willa Murdoc has received 2,000,000 ISK from Frisbie.

Shock visibly rocked Willa's body as she stared at the deposit entry. Two-million credits was a huge amount of money for a rookie like herself. The average family on Onga might earn five-hundred credits in a year if they were lucky enough to have a job. Planet side most people were paid in chits, the slang for the Republic's official currency. Interstellar Kredits also known as ISK, were the hard currency of New Eden. Accepted everywhere in the galaxy and the only valuable currency a lucky Minmatar may see in his life. Willa had two-million ISK right now! The thought of it boggled her imagination. Willa could retire right now and live the rest of her days on Onga very comfortably.

Becoming a lady of leisure held no appeal to Willa, she was young, strong, adventurous, and above all else wanted to follow in the footsteps of her ancestors fighting the Amarr. Willa's biggest regret was that while she has been slogging through the mud of Auga the Elders' War had begun. To have been a part of the fleet that rescued the last remaining members of the Starkmanir tribe would have been a glorious honor for Willa Murdoc.

From the age of eight, Willa had been raised by her maternal grandmother Ebony Blackfox. Ebony was not only the matriarch leader of the Blackfox Clan she was also a very strict traditionalist and had raised her daughters and Willa to always honor the Elders above any Gallente imported government system the Republic functioned under. As a strict traditionalist Ebony also would not tolerate "lazy young'uns" that didn't respect and practice the old traditions of their race, tribe, and clan.

One of the Blackfox clan's long held traditions was that the young women were the bread winners and warriors. It had only been since the formation of the Minmatar Republic that males over the age of eighteen were even allowed to stay within the clan. Willa's parents had the first union recognized by the clan in it's nine-hundred year history. Making Willa the first female of the matriarchal line to not have the Blackfox surname.

Small as their numbers were, the Blackfoxes had supplied an endless line of rebels, freedom fighters and soldiers over the centuries. War with the Amarrian Empire had been Willa's family business for over nine-hundred years. Willa wouldn't be the last of her line to follow that path. She was only the second of her clan to become a pod-pilot, her maternal aunt, Jaxx Blackfox was the first.

Nervous, excited and disappointed all in the same instant, she watched the throngs of pilots, passengers, soldiers, traders, miners and other assorted types of humanity pass along the corridor. Willa's training was now behind her and her career as a capsuleer was stretched out before her. Willa stood at a crossroad, from being one of the planet bound to becoming one of the immortal star travelers of New Eden. A new class of humans, demi-gods in their own right for those that made it and survived the rigors of the first few years.

Willa had always hoped that this day would have been in the service of the Republic and not for some menial pursuit of commerce, however that was not possible now. Willa had responsibilities to look after, namely Grandmother Ebony and her clan since Jaxx could no longer help support the planet bound members of the clan.

Times like this often led Willa to recall the events that lead to her expulsion from Military School. "Damn my temper," she thought with a silent vow to keep it in check in the future.

An alarm went off on the her data pad she still held in her hand, quickly glancing down she saw the flashing reminder of the next major step in her career. It was time to meet her new mission agent. Leaving her vantage point over the hanger, Willa headed toward the agent offices that were located in an adjacent corridor near the hanger array.

Getting to the office took some time for Willa. Even though she had been on far more crowded and busy stations than this one, dealing with the crowds was something she still couldn't get use to. She always seemed to find herself dodging or bumping into people that seemed to know where they where going, while she fumbled along trying to get where she wanted to go.

After a few harried minutes in the corridors Willa arrived in front of the long glass fronted offices of the Brutor Tribe Bureau. I was the largest employer of capsuleers on the station and the only one that offered mission work for rookie pilots like Willa. Stepping through the large glass doors Willa walked up to the terminal where a secretary sat behind many large halo-metric monitors. She had a data ocular implant similar to the one Willa had recently had implanted that enhanced her ability to interface with a ship's monitoring systems. The secretary asked her name and pilot permit number then told her to be seated in the waiting area. She took a seat near a stern looking man from the Sebiestor tribe. He didn't look very pleased to be there. He was grumbling to himself and scanning through data on a pad. Willa sat there looking around the room at all the other pilots that were here for the same reason as Willa, to meet a charter agent.

The disgruntled Sebiestor looked up at her and said "That kind of behavior will get you killed out there." He pointing toward the hanger with his data pad.

Willa was surprised, she didn't know she was behaving any particular way. "I don't understand, sir."

"There you go again, another telling sign of a real noob." His lip curled as he glared at her.

With a blank look on her face Willa just looked at him. She didn't know how to get the man to explain what he was talking about without looking like the fool, he obviously thought she was.

"Listen here, this is the best piece of advice that you will get." The man said with a huff. "Out there, best to keep your head down. See and know all you can about everything and everyone around you. Don't let them know that you know and don't let them see you watching them. Secondly, drop the polite. It don't work. It isn't all about flying ships you know it's a mind game. You need to master the art of bluff first, deception second." The man continued, "I already know that you are from one of these backward little planets around here." He flicked at her coat collar that she had bought before leaving home. "You have spent sometime in military training. Because you are here and not down in the naval barracks right now something happened and you ended up in this hell hole to finish your training. Am I right?" He grinned at her and waited for an answer.

Willa was dismayed, she had always considered herself to be good at keeping her own counsel, but this stranger had read her like a book. "Yes, you are." She made sure to drop the "sir" habit she had picked up in Military School.

"You learn fast." The man nodded his head in approval. "There is hope for you yet." He looked her up and down said, "not bad looking either, got any plans for later on."

Willa looked him straight in the eye. "No, unless I change my mine and decide it would be worth the effort to carve up a nosy Seb."

He broke out in a hardy laugh, "You'll do. Any female that can stare me down like that has got what it takes." He went back to his data pad and began grumbling again.

Willa began pondered the brief encounter with the man, her name was called by the secretary. Willa returned to the desk and was told to go to office 27. She walked down the long hallways with office doors on either side. Toward the end of the hall she came to the office. She tapped on the door once and entered. She entered into a small crowded office that had a small desk with a small Sebiestor woman sitting behind it. She stood and offered Willa her hand, "I'm Einulfolf Amunnjorn and you must be Willa. Glad to met you." Willa shook the woman's strong hand and sat in the chair Einulfolf indicated.

Einulfolf turned to her communication terminal and entered Willa's name and pilot identification code. "Let's see what we can find for you." She said smiling at Willa. Einulfolf started reading over the information nodding her head and smiling "Yes, very good, Willa I see that you attended Republic Military School, very high recommendation from the Commandant I see. According to this you left due to family hardship, that's okay, we always need good pilots that have some military traning." She said looking up at Willa and smiled again. "Very good marks from your instructors, this all looks very good." Einulfolf scrolled down a little and read further, the smile slowly fading. "Hum." Einulfolf murmured and began to frown. Einulfolf looked at Willa with a sour look on her face. "Were you aware that you have a CONCORD warning on your record?"

Willa could feel the anger in her start to grow. Taking a deep breath she regained some control. "No, I wasn't."

Einulfolf read the data. "A know associate of wanted criminals." Einulfolf pointed at the view screen. "I'm sorry Willa, but I have very little at I can give you."

"Is there any work you can give me?"

Einulfolf looked at Willa sitting across from her, eyes blazing and sitting rigid and straight. She could tell this young woman was struggling with her own internal demons and yet was still maintaining control of herself, unlike most Brutors she had dealt with in the past.

Einulfolf studied Willa for a moment then made up her mind. "What the hell. I'm going to take a chance on you, if you do a good job then maybe I can get your standings with the Brutor tribe high enough that this little notation will work in your favor. Mind you, you will never be able to take missions that allow you to handle sensitive data, but it will get you in with tribal security force. Which if Willa am not mistaken is not far from where you wanted to be." The agent finished with a smile.

Willa could feel herself beginning to relax, nodding to the agent as a sign of gratitude and respect. Einulfolf started clicking through information on the terminal. "No. No. No. Ah ha, this will do. I have a mission for you, the Republic is in need of supplies for the security forces at Amamake, but can't find anyone willing to take them there. Are you up to it?"

Willa though for a moment, she had heard about Amamake it was considered by some as one of the most dangerous systems in the entire region of Heimatar. Amamake was infested with pirates and outlaws that preyed on supply ships. Amamake was also a key system for the Matari, because it was the fastest route from the trade hub at Rens in the Heimatar region and key systems in the Metropolis region that the Republic was trying to bring under Minmatar control and settlement.

"This is a suicide mission." Willa thought to herself but what choice did she have? If she didn't take it she might as well go down and sign up with a mining corporation and become a transport pilot. Sure it would pay the bills and she could support her family but it was one of the most boring jobs in all of New Eden. With a sigh of resolve she said "I'll do it."

"Excellent." The agent handed a data pad to Willa. "Here is your manifest, just show it to the warehouse supervisor and he will get you loaded up." Willa took the pad, stood up straight and thanked the agent before walking out of the office.

Without looking at anyone, Willa walked quickly with a her long purposeful stride that caused people to move out of her way, straight to the nearest lift that would take her to her quarters in the pilot section of the station. She entered her small room and leaned against the wall. Dropping her chin to her chest she looked blankly at the data pad in her hand.

So this was going to be her punishment for attacking a CONCORD officer in a fit of rage, a death sentence. Suddenly she felt very alone and for the first time in her life vulnerable. She tossed the data pad on the small bed in the corner of the room and sat in the chair by the door. Lean over she raked her fingers through her hair and rested her forehead against her palms. Willa sat like that for several moments trying to muster her resolve and courage. She shook her head. "Shake it off, Willa." Standing again she went to the mirror to look at herself. Flashing a big wide mouth grin at her own reflection he winked at herself. "You can do it." She turned away from her reflection and quickly threw her belongings in her gear bag and grabbed the data pad off the bed. As she passed by the mirror on the way out Willa grinned a wicked little grin at herself, and said "Let's introduce Willa to these bastards!"