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So there I was sitting in The Viewport reminiscing about the last few days. A week ago I was just a dusty working a new job for for Argos Extractors. Found some kind of metal thing and ended up a part of this Constellation Explorer's Club place and I'm starting to think I'm in way over my head. I did get a free starship out of it though. 

The ship though, this Frontier, its uh...seen better days. But gift horses amirite? I have started to worry about its Grav Drive reliability though. Just making my way from Vectera to Jemison I've run into an alarming number of passing vessels having problems of some sort with their Grav Drives. Frontier isn't exactly a new ship and I'm thinking if I don't do something I might be in their same position soon. 

To make matters worse, while I was first wandering inside the Lodge I came across a book about the lost colony ship the Clark Lewis and its horrifying end after its Helium-3 tanks exploded which took out both Grav drive and thrusters. With the ship without propulsion people on board resorted to eating each other and still everybody died. A shiver runs down my spine. I don't even have a crew, not that I could afford one. And I'm fairly certain Vasco isn't edible. 

I run through my options, limited as they are. First thought was to install an escape pod but there must be a severe supply shortage of them because I haven't seen a single one from any manufacturer on any ship I've encountered. Probably out of my price range anyway. Next was installing a back up Grav Drive but this doesn't seem to be an option either. 'Against ship building regulations' or something I guess. A new ship isn't in the cards either, I'm not made of credits so that's out.

 I wanted to talk to the ship services technician for advice but when I arrived he was swarmed with people. They were all complaining about ladders and doorways shifting around their ships and usually ending up in undesirable locations. Well...that's also worrying. Imagine I'm taking a shower and a doorway just pops up so everyone aboard gets a show. Or what if a ladder just appears in my bunk? The bunks are too small as it is without having to share it with anything, even a blanket takes up too much space. There was enough people complaining about it that I just had to go check the Frontier, ya, know, just to be sure. Thankfully it appears that for now at least I've dodged the curse of magically teleporting transitions. Though to be honest, if my ships doorways and ladders were moving locations on their own accord I think I'd go see an exorcist not a ship services technician. But that's just me. Maybe those people are Enlightened and exorcism just isn't their thing. To each their own I guess. 

Deciding that waiting for a chance to talk to the technician isn't worth my time, I started making my way back to the Lodge. I'm glad I don't have to deal with that, I probably couldn't afford an exorcist anyway. Probably have to burn my own sage and everything. Damn. I should have checked if the Frontiers' galley had any. 

Walking through the front doors of the Lodge I am once again struck by how classy and tastefully appointed it is. Which makes me wonder. Walter is the self professed 'wallet' of Constellation and the Co-Ceo of high-end ship builder Stroud-Eklund. Why does Constellation even have the Frontier? There's not a single Stroud-Eklund part on it. Seriously missed branding opportunity there. I just don’t understand. I’d love to ask Walter about it but just didn’t come up as a topic of conversation the one time we spoke. I really can’t actually bring it up myself, much as I’d like too. 

Alright that line of thought is getting me nowhere. Time to eat some Chunks and think some more. Later while wandering the Lodge admiring one of its models from old Earth on display I am suddenly hit with a realization. A starship is still a ship right? I think I know how to create redundancy. I just need to visit the workshop in the basement. Best part, I think I already have all the resources I need to pull it off. 

It's been a few weeks since I installed the backup and I even was able to save enough to afford to hire a few crew. They were skeptical at first unsurprisingly but I firmly told them the reason they haven’t seen this set up on any other starship is that no one else has thought of it yet. We're trendsetters.

I call it the Oardinator 20-01 and hope it will usher forth a new Odyssey in Spacefaring. I can say with confidence that my tiny crew is the best rowin’ crew in the Settled Systems. No other ship even comes close. No seriously, when we spin down from a Grav Jump and sail into view of other ships they all give us a wide berth and all the ambient comm chatter in range just goes silent. They must be speechless, awestruck by the magnificence of the Frontier as it rows on by. I’m sure they’re jealous, I mean what right thinking ship captain doesn’t want oars on their starship? 

Hmm…I do have to see if the bar in the Lodge has any Sage though. Should probably stock up just in case I want to further Enhance! The Frontier.