Dead Belt: True Tales of the Gasping Frontier

I told you, ain't none of us lucky. But we're not a Rockdog like Mic Arliss, stuck down in a hole and working off a one-way ticket to the edge of Concordat space. We ain't in the way when the Corps dig too deep and find something powerful strange.

Howdy Belters

Today we're going to talk about one of the stranger things about life out here on the raggedy edge, or at least gettin' out here to the raggedy edge. We're going to talk about Slipspace and the Angels that live there. It gets a little personal, so hopefully you'll indulge crusty ol' Chariot for gettin' on the soap box. Some things just gotta be said, y'understand.

Howdy Belters,

Y'all take a couple deep breaths? Grab a drink and something to eat? Y'all ready to get back in it? Milo Grigg's ready to do what he can to get himself back out of it. Them cutworms is closin' in. The hell you waitin' around here reading for.

Thanks again to Rook for hashing out just what can go wrong with Spacer's Patch. That was some good stuff, friend.

Howdy Belters. Y'all been waiting on this one longer than I meant for you to. There's a thin line between building suspense and just--y'know--disappearing. Fair certain that I can't see it from here, and I apologize for it. Hopefully, the tale of Milo Grigg and his Black Contract are enough of an apology to make us square.

Jesse Ford's having a bad day, Belters. What he thought was a rich prize, an old military frigate still lights on and holding atmosphere, turned out to be a ghost out of Jesse's past. Now, face to face with his own demons and a phantom Mech Jock who seems to know him, Jesse's got to find a way back to his ship. The ship that the haunts just decoupled and jettisoned out into space. 

Just another day in the life of a resourceful Belter, right? Well, let's just wait and see.

Doc Burrell and I were swapping stories over a bulb of snakebite tonic, and eventually the talk turned to Jesse Ford. Mech jock that Doc'd known back in the bad old days.

They say you can't go home again, Belter, and any vet of the Consolidation knows that for certain and true. But Jesse? Well, Jesse might just --through no fault of his own-- try. It's a long story. But settle in and stick with us. It's a good one. 

The  Belt ain't claimed us yet, y'all. In light of it being the day after  May Day, we've got the tale of The Catchfire Queen, the quick zipper  courier that earned her place amid the legends of the Belt in fire and  fear. Bright and Sturmwell don't want you listening to this one, but  screw your ears on and hear about a good deal gone bad, and the legend  that it spawned.

Never trust a sure thing, Belters. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably means to kill you somehow.

In this episode, we learn about the Last Call, a cursed transmission that's been floating and bouncing around the Dead Belt since the destruction of Wayfield Station. And we learn about Arnie Hutchins, a desperate survivor determined not to die gasping out here on the Frontier.

Remember to take care of each other, Belters. Else you might learn why they call it the Last Call.

Howdy, Belters. Chariot, here. 

Figured I'd introduce myself with a little poem I jotted down for you. It's a kinder introduction to the Dead Belt than most of us get, so if you're new in these parts count yourself lucky. There'll be plenty of time to swap stories of doomed spacers as we go on, but for now you just float there and whet your appetite.