Elite Dangerous: To The Ones Who Fall For Glorious Freedom

How We've All Started

Worlidge terminal, LHS 3447. A small outpost with no more than three hangar bays, and no Coriolis gravity. Yet this station had the most traffic I've ever seen to date. Then again, everyone's careers in space begun right at this very station.

I woke up, as everyone else did on this dreaded hunk of metal floating about. Seeing the same structure and metal panels really gets to you once you are stationed here when ranked to Commander. In my case however, I was here for three months waiting for my Sidewinder to come in. People usually get theirs on the seventh day, earlier if they're lucky. I don't know the reason why mine was so late. Ta Sarasota, a girl in flight control, told me something about the transport ship had quite the cock-up in getting to Worlidge and ended up traveling some 500 light-years away from us. And then there was something else about being out of fuel for the last twenty light-years and relying on space drift for the last leg of the journey.

Oh well. I was happy to leave once my ship arrived. The news had never brought me more joy than that day.

Im not sure if Ta felt the same way.

I entered my Sidewinder, eager to launch out of the hangar bay. Standing in the cockpit, I ran my hand across the new leather and metal finished across the dash. 'Smooth,' I muttered, admiring the handiwork. I sat in the chair present in the cockpit, allowing myself to be acquainted with how oddly comfortable it was. The thrust stick and joystick pulled themselves to set positions at my hands, followed by the ship UI.

'Greetings CMDR. Ship is now operating at 100% efficiency. Ready for launch.' The ship's standard limited-information-AI informed, after booting with the interface. I requested to launch from the hangar from the ship menu.

The noise of gears and hydraulic pistons hissed, crunched and pulled me to the surface of the station. An exhilaration and adrenaline rush coursed through my veins, overpowering the small voice telling me to stay. For the first time in my life, I had never felt more free than I do right now. I was so eager to leave, yet my ship was still locked into the station floor. I leaned forward into my seat, eyes wide with anticipation. A loud release suddenly clacked into my ears, followed by a timer appearing on the UI. The ship jolted forward slightly. A smirk soon appeared at the corners of my mouth. 'Freedom,' I whispered.

Vertical thrusters beneath the small Sidewinder suddenly lit up and forced all power at the hangar floor, forcing the ship to shoot upwards to the empty space above. After reaching an appropriate distance, I maneuvered the ship's nose back to the station, for one last look at the bleak hunk of metal, but looking at it then was actually, a good dystopian haven for many new CMDRs coming in. I turned back to the emptiness behind me, engaged full thrust, and booted the FSD, with no destination to go to. After a quick glance at the Nav, I knew exactly where to go.

Anywhere but LHS 3447.