Narosh has lost count of how many mining jobs he’s done by now. Every day, he wakes up in his Procurer. Every day, he runs routine system checks before joining the rest of the fleet. Every day, he regrets ever signing on to this. It’d been a long time since he realized he’d become a slave.
He used to be mocked for being the only capsuleer to fear death, assured he would simply wake up again. That was until people started dying, and they didn’t come back. Narosh was still shaken by the loss of Kesar, his best friend, in yesterday’s attack. An alert stirs him from his reminiscing, and he undocks to join the mining fleet, his mourning put on hold.
He freezes when he learns where they plan to mine. Pirate-controlled space. He protests in the corporation channel, pleading that they don’t have enough protection to mine there safely, especially with their reduced numbers from the attack yesterday. It feels like forever waiting for a response as his blood runs cold. When the response comes, it simply states they need to make up for the loss of miners and their Procurers. Narosh mutters a prayer for their safety.
When the pirates inevitably arrive, Narosh tries to warp away. But his Procurer doesn’t respond. He realizes the same blockers keeping him from escaping this hell stop him from escaping the pirate attack. He can only watch in horror as panic floods the comms, and the slaughter begins. In a state of catatonic prayer, Narosh barely notices the fleet being torn apart.
It is the Blood Raiders that answer his prayer for release.
…
Boarding his corp-provided Procurer for the first time, he turns on the comms.
“Welcome in newbie. My Name is Kesar, glad to have you!”