>> Renee Fluery, Executive Officer - Personal Log
>> YC128.08.22 - Bei VI - Asteroid Belt 1, Metropolis Region, Minmatar Republic
We crossed the Minmatar Republic border without incident. Whatever history our capsuleer has, he passed his standings checks at the jumpgate.
He led us straight to the nearest asteroid belt, took up a close orbit to a Scordite rock, and fired up the twin mining lasers. There was another capsuleer in the vicinity, commanding a Procurer mining barge with a full mining drone flight. They undoubtedly had some combat drones aboard too. I hailed them and acknowledgements were exchanged. We couldn’t be certain of our respective capsuleers’ intentions, but it seemed reasonable in the circumstances to act in good faith. And there was some safety in numbers too - they were both the richer target, and the more formidable defence.
And so we mined.
Under the motivational scrutiny of Chief Torveld, the trio of engineers worked hard to keep things operating smoothly. They worked to optimise the mining beam’s targetting, making adjustments to ensure the yield was constant and appropriate. As the raw space rock flowed in under the power of the mining lasers’ peripheral tractor beams, the team regulated the internal conveyor drone systems to safely transport the processed ore to sealed compartments in the hold.
It soon became clear that the FJS Hinge’s hold was barely fit for purpose. Only minutes had passed when the thrum of the mining lasers diminished, then stopped. The hold had reached capacity, and the engineering team scrambled to purge the overloading excess from the harvesting systems.
We nearly lost a man when the automated cargo purge system fired up and rammed the packaged ore into a still-assembling deep space container and launched it into space. Thankfully, Chief Torveld had been ready and deployed the nano-drone rescue sling immediately. Our engineer crewman might have a few grey hairs, but the medical officer cleared him shortly after.
No harm had been done, and it had become clear that the Capsuleer’s intention was to use the deep space container as a cargo hold overflow. We had to be ready for more sudden purges. It would perhaps have been helpful if the capsuleer had given us advance notice so we could have been more prepared. [Note to self: add rapid cargo evac drills to the rota.]
After that, we found our rhythm and no further incidents occurred, but I remain on high alert for the safety of the crew. Capsuleer leadership evidently doesn’t always factor that in.
When the container had accumulated 10,000 units of scordite, Commander Eidas plotted a course back to Deltole. I realised with some trepidation that we were going back for a bigger hull to transport our hard-earned ore.
As soon as we docked, Commander Eidas issued the hull transition order and we scrambled to the station’s waiting transfer skiff. Within moments we were aboard the FJS Bottomfeeder, a classic Gallente hauler hull designed in part by my old employer, Duvolle Labs. It was an awe-inspiring moment as we were shuttled along all 412-metres of its length.
I ignored the nagging concern that the Nereus hull - and haulers in general - were well beyond my command rating, and I focussed on my PDA to quickly get a sense of the logistics. Thankfully, Chief Torveld organised the crew and assigned key tasks.
It was very clear our tiny corvette crew was woefully insufficient and we needed more hands, especially to handle the mandated logistics department of a hauler hull. I communicated the urgent need to the capsuleer.
I got the local recruitment academy on the fluid router and ordered as many flight-ready crew with Gallente stripes as they could muster. That depleted the navally trained cohort and we had to make up the numbers with conscripts. They would have to keep up.
My heart was thumping; this seemed like madness. Industrial operations protocols demand that we run a full Logistics department, but my command rating wouldn’t even let me fill the core department leadership team, let alone an additional specialist team.
Nonetheless, we got it done and within minutes we had a full crew complement ready to go.
When this rotation is over, I owe Torveld a drink - he really stepped up and kept the engineering and logistics teams from descending into chaos.
Returning to the Bei system, I was surprised to find our container of ore to still be untouched and ready for recovery.
Despite the lack of department leadership, the Logistics team handled the recovery operation competently. Their numbers and the sophisticated cargo handling automation native to the Nereus kept them safe, and the cargo was secured.
There was even time for a moment of reflection at a majestic view of Bei’s star as it bathed the asteroid field and our vessel in its warm light.
But this session has been quite the test. I hope we passed.
