Stardate: 784.22.17 (Standard Galactic Cycle)

The Phoenix is purring like a contented predator. Restless, though. I can feel it in my bones, the itch to push further, to conquer new routes. The Hydra and Mule are docked, bellies full of recently acquired… oddities. My usual mix of processed metals, rare minerals, a few crates of sentient fungal blooms, and of course, those damn AI cores.

Those cores… they stink of trouble. I bought them cheap, practically scrap, from a backwater asteroid station. But the big factions are paying top credit for them. They don’t ask questions, of course. They just want them. It’s almost laughable. They pay for the potential of what these ancient things can do. I’ll take their credits, thank you very much. Reputation is currency, and they think I'm some kind of fence for lost technologies, good. Let them think what they will.

Kai and Viper are… green. Star One pilots, fresh out of the academy, brimming with optimism and atrocious teamwork. They requested to join my crew, naive fools. I’ve put them in the Sting for their first month, that old warhorse needs to be shaken up. I don’t usually hire so inexperienced, but they were willing to work for pennies and their dedication is...interesting. We'll see if they make it. I’ve set them the task of swarm training. Pushing the frigates to their limits. The fuel from the Tanker is plentiful. The systems do the majority of the work anyway. I need those two to anticipate each other, to move in unison, like a well-oiled machine. It's a painful process. Today, I watched them stumble through a salamander run. They nearly collided three times. They need to learn.

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Frankly, I could be using that time for trade, but sometimes it’s worth investing in potential. Like the AI cores.

Stardate: 784.22.25 (Standard Galactic Cycle)

The bargaining is going smoothly. As usual. I got a decent price for the fungal blooms. Traded them to a research consortium for some high-grade shielding. I am not sure what they plan on doing with the flora, but it is their problem. The AI cores went to the usual suspects. The Crimson Hegemony, the Outer Rim Cartel, and the enigmatic Technocracy. They all want them, all for different reasons. I don't give a damn. Credits are credits.