Your journey begins in the Terran system - the previous Captain Hansen has passed away, and his ship has made it's way back to the heart of the UTA in order to pick up it's new master and his compatriots. The return is no mere formality - as the Hansen Warrant is passed to the next generation, it must be signed within the system itself, and witnessed by the pertinent officials. After this, you have your freedom to find whatever may await you in the great expanse.
Roland McCallThe ship has been docked for several weeks, undergoing re-fitting and re-supply. Your service with the former Captain had been pleasant - he was a good hearted, elderly man, and somehow still a fairly successful merchant, and you've spent the last few years living a relatively calm, peaceful life, somewhat unusual for a member of a warpship crew. That time may be coming to an end - your former friend and leader met his end several months ago, and the ship is about to come under the command of his son, who you know very little about. At best, it will be a new era of high adventure, faith spread to those in need, and perhaps some inner redemption. At worst, it will be another several quiet years slowly charting new trade routes and ministering to the souls on the ship.
Either way, you have determined to sign on for yet another term of service, whatever it might bring.
You are pulled away from what you are doing by the chime of your quarters' hailing system. It rings several times before you can answer it, and you are greeted by a gruff, unpleasant voice that identifies itself as one of the bridge crew.
"Reverend, I've been asked to tell you that our new Captain will be docking in roughly two hours. Master Snow thought you might want to be present to greet him and his advisors when they arrive. She's also asked me to instruct you to dress 'nicely' if you're planning to join them. Meet her at airlock 2, deck 23." The comm snaps off, the busy officer returning to readying the ship for departure and not waiting for your reply.
Everyone ElseA loud blaring noise awakes you from your sleep, and is quickly followed by the shuttle's pilot making an abrubt announcement over the intercom: "Docking in two hours. All hands make ready."
Finally. You've spent the last five days in a cramped, poorly lit shuttle, making the trip from Terra, through the main asteroid belt that seperates the inner solar system from the outer, and with it, Jupiter station and the system's array of Gates.
For the planetbound people of Terra, most of whom can only dream of journeying into space, the trip might have been a stunning, wonderous event. To those simple folks, the sights and smells of the busy UTA station you embarked from would have been a fantastic experience - huge galleys filled with the noise of a thousand voices, each one trying to exchange whatever they have for you credits. In the short time you were there, it is almost certain that many millions changed hands, small fortunes were found and lost, and all manner of shady backroom deals came and passed.
If the station seemed impressive, then your passage through the asteroid belt certainly would have been a divine experience. Though they live humble lives, the colonists of the Main Belt certainly have a visually striking home: hundreds of rocks linked together, life swarming in a place it was never meant to be, and the lights of thousands of buildings being cast into the darkness of space.
For men such as yourselves though, having spent much of your lives moving around and having seen wonders far greater than some rock farmers and a busy market place, those sights were nothing remarkable. Even Jupiter Station itself, one of the largest within the UTA's territories, home to hundreds of thousands of souls, and never sleeping as it interacts with the thousands of ships coming and going, does not leave too much of an impression.
What does, though, is the Terran system's array of Warp Gates - ten of them, always active, firing ships off into the black abyss one after the other, the beating heart that pumps the lifeblood of the UTA. Watching closely, you can see the blast of purple light emitted each time one fires. It's truly a wonder of technology and co-ordination, but there's no time to think of that now.
Though you can't see it yet, your new ship, and destiny, are scant hours away, and you should ready yourself for docking.