As Luke's ship entered sublight speed, his sensors registered a large fleet signature 120 AU's away. The distinct energy readings and ship classifications – dreadnaughts, battleships, cruisers – pointed to a major fleet movement. Must be the Clang Guild spooling for warp, he thought. The Clang Guild, one of the larger player organizations in VGO, had originated from the real-world game Space Engineers. They were known for their industrial prowess and generally neutral stance in VGO's often turbulent political landscape. They valued practicality and functionality in their ship designs, often favoring blocky, modular constructions over sleek aesthetics.Luke disabled his sublight drive, his ship decelerating smoothly. He adjusted his course towards the fleet. I have to ride their warp. His own ship was capable of sublight travel, but lacked a warp drive. Only larger vessels, corvettes and above, possessed that capability. Warp travel was significantly faster than sublight, capable of traversing vast interstellar distances in a fraction of the time.He approached the fleet cautiously, maintaining a distance of about 30 AU's. A comm signal reached his ship. "Stand down and state your name," a crisp, professional voice demanded. It was an officer from the fleet.Luke activated his comm system. "This is Luke Rennelheart, hailing from the asteroid belt. I respectfully request permission to ride with your fleet to the next star system. My vessel is sublight capable, but lacks warp capacity."A brief pause followed. Then, the officer's voice returned, laced with a hint of dry amusement. "'Respectfully request'? Yeah, funny… The Lord Betty's hangar has space. You can ride with us. And make sure to spread the word of our Lord Clang." The transmission ended abruptly.Luke breathed a sigh of relief. He had secured transport. The Lord Betty was a well-known Clang Guild dreadnaught, a massive vessel capable of carrying numerous smaller ships in its expansive hangar bays. The mention of "spreading the word of Lord Clang" was a common quirk of the guild. Despite the real-world bug that inspired their in-game "religion" having been patched long ago, they maintained their tongue-in-cheek devotion to the unpredictable physics glitches of the past. It was a form of shared history and in-joke that defined their identity within VGO.Luke carefully maneuvered his small gunship through the imposing formation of battleships and cruisers. The sheer size of the vessels was awe-inspiring, each one a testament to the Clang Guild's industrial might. He followed the designated flight path indicated by the fleet's navigation beacons, heading towards the open hangar bay of the Lord Betty.Another voice crackled over his comm system, different from the officer he had spoken with earlier. "Hey, whose heretical gunship is that?" The tone was light, but Luke could detect a hint of suspicion.The original officer responded, "Nah, he's clear, dude. He just wants a ride after hauling some rocks.""Oh, okay. Nevermind. Just asking." The second voice faded away.Luke continued his approach, the massive hangar bay looming larger and larger. As his ship crossed the threshold, he felt a slight pressure change as it passed through the energy force field that sealed the hangar from the vacuum of space. The force field shimmered briefly as his ship passed through, then stabilized again.Inside the hangar, the scene was a flurry of activity. Rows of custom-designed fighters, many exhibiting the Clang Guild's signature modular aesthetic, lined the walls. Mechanics and technicians swarmed around the vessels, performing maintenance and pre-flight checks. The air was filled with the sounds of clanging metal, hissing welders, and the low hum of machinery.As Luke's gunship touched down on a designated landing pad near the side of the hangar, all eyes turned towards him. The hangar's crew paused in their work, observing the newcomer. Luke felt a slight twinge of self-consciousness. His small, battered ship looked decidedly out of place amongst the larger, more sophisticated vessels of the Clang fleet.As Luke stepped out of his ship, a small group of crew members approached, their eyes fixed on his gunship. One of them, a burly man with grease-stained hands and a Clang Guild insignia tattooed on his forearm, spoke up. "Did you design this ship yourself?"Luke felt a pang of inadequacy. Every Clang Guild member he'd encountered seemed to possess an innate understanding of ship design. They could visualize entire frameworks, module layouts, system integrations, and hull constructions from scratch. He felt small compared to these individuals. He himself hadn't designed the ship from the ground up. Unlike the majority of players who simply tweaked existing base ship designs from the in-game marketplace, the Clang Guild, and other players with a background in Space Engineers, possessed a deep understanding of ship and base construction."Nah," Luke replied, "This is my own variant of the Pelican T32 Gunship model from the community ship designs. I modified it to fit some modules for my needs."The man nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed on the ship. He crouched down, examining the underside. "Wait… No fucking way." His expression suddenly lit up with genuine surprise. "You managed to fit a sublight drive in this?""Yeah, I did," Luke replied, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly."Hey, guys!" the man shouted, turning to the other crew members nearby. "Come check this out!" Several more crew members, drawn by the excitement in his voice, approached Luke's ship. They began circling it, pointing at various modifications and whispering to each other in technical jargon that Luke barely understood.Another crew member, a younger man with a data pad in hand, pointed towards a section of the ship's undercarriage. "There. That thermal plating right there." The other crew members followed his gaze, nodding in understanding."Can we see it?" another asked, directing the question to Luke.Luke nodded. "Sure," he said, leading them towards the airlock and into the cramped interior of his gunship. As they squeezed inside, he overheard snippets of their conversation."No fucking way a sublight drive can fit in something this size," one of them muttered. "It's just too small, bro.""Maybe he sacrificed his storage compartment?" another suggested."Well, let's just find out," a third replied.The crew huddled inside the small cockpit and adjoining living space, the confined space feeling like a can packed with sardines. Luke unscrewed a floor panel, revealing the sublight drive's core. Unlike the advanced, exotic materials used in modern sublight drives, this one was clearly outdated, constructed from a common alloy composition. The most striking feature was the extensive modification. Larger components had been replaced with smaller, jury-rigged substitutes, all carefully arranged to fit within the limited space. The bulge at the bottom of the hull, covered by the thermal plating they'd noticed earlier, was a clear indication of the drive's unconventional placement.The crew members weren't exactly shocked by the basic components; they'd seen their fair share of salvaged and repurposed tech. But they were undeniably impressed by Luke's resourcefulness. He had managed to cram a full sublight drive into a space designed for much smaller systems.Luke began explaining the process, detailing the modifications he had made and how he had managed to acquire the outdated module for a fraction of the cost of a new one. He mentioned the 2,500 VC price tag, a steal compared to the 50,000 VC price of standard models. He also explained the additional VC he spent on salvaged parts to make it work."What about the fuel consumption on this thing?" another crew member asked, pointing at the sublight drive."It eats 25% of one fuel cell per 100 AUs," Luke replied.The man's eyes widened. "Twenty-five percent?" he asked, incredulous.Luke nodded. "Yeah. I haven't managed to replace the fuel injection system with a more efficient one yet. Maybe I'll design and build one myself eventually. I haven't had the time lately since my main goal was saving up for a mining corvette."The others nodded in understanding. "Fair enough," one of them said."Anyway, let's get back to work," the burly man, the one with the tattoo, announced. "Thanks for showing us. It's a good ship." He swiped his data pad's screen towards Luke, then his wrist-mounted datapad glowed, displaying the man's contact information: username Pisspuss90. "If we need more men, I'll be sure to let you know," he winked.As he turned to leave, he stopped again. "Hey… Since I noticed your ores, do you plan on selling them?" Pisspuss asked."Yeah," Luke replied."Where?" Pisspuss pressed."At the next system's trade station," Luke answered.Pisspuss facepalmed. "No… You can't sell them there. The buyers there are just ripping off miners like you. Their prices are way too low. A unit of starflint there goes for 50 VC, right?" Luke nodded. "If our clan is buying from miners, we'd pay 150-200 VC per unit. You don't sell your ores at the local market; you sell them where someone actually needs them. Since our alliance is at war with the Empire of Man, our prices for ores are at an all-time high."Luke's face fell. He was clearly disappointed by the news. "Oh man… Looks like I've been getting ripped off. I'm just new to VGO," he admitted.Pisspuss patted him on the back. "Don't worry. I can tell you're new. No experienced player would ask to ride on someone else's ship. But your design skills clearly make up for it. Anyway, you can sell your ores to us. We're already buying ores from miners in these systems.""Aw, thanks, man. I appreciate it," Luke said, feeling a wave of relief."Don't mention it. Since you're a miner, our clan is requisitioning mining ships to players for free, as long as they sell the ores they mine to us. Would you like to sign up?" Pisspuss asked.Luke considered the offer for a moment. He could get a proper mining ship, and finally experience what it was like to operate one, rather than relying on hand mining. "Where do I sign up?" he asked.Pisspuss grinned. "Come see our Quartermaster," he invited.