3306-08-21T19:45

No sooner had I disembarked than I had a strange feeling not felt since childhood; a memory so old and bizarre it seems more like a dream now than something that actually happened. I gave myself a talking to and brushed off this absurd notion that the slim black silhouette at the end of the pad, glimpsed out of the corner of my eye, was in fact a person.

Just like every other carrier I've docked at, the Hope Dempsey is no different, they're not "new" at all - whatever Brewer Corp wants its prospective buyers to believe. Of course I already knew this having read the bulletin, with its offer of "passage to Colonia and beyond", but I didn't expect to see so many unpainted weld joints, unclean surfaces and there is that pervasive smell of burning everywhere I go.

Early boarding has at least assured me a decent cabin, albeit a long way from ship storage, but this is of no consequence as this first leg to Colonia holds no particular fascination for me. Galactic Logistics will ship over the Asp Explorer in due course, and then I'll be all set. I just want to be under way now.