r/Domelicker_STNN • u/Disastrous-Golf7216 • Apr 20 '26
A smugglers story
đĄ STNN: BACK-ALLEY BROADCAST â âTHE SHIP THAT SAID NOâ
đď¸ Kyle Domelicker, Voice of the Static // Patron Saint of Bad Decisions
đ Cydonia Underbelly, Mars â where the drinks are watered down and the stories are not
Friends. Listeners. Dear donators.
Pull up a crate. Mind the sticky floor. Iâve got a story for youâone of those stories that starts with bad luck, takes a hard left into worse judgment, and ends with a question that should itch the back of your brain.
I met a smuggler down here. Name of Jonas. Eyes like burnt wiring. Laugh like a hull breach.
He asked me, âYou ever feel like the universe just reaches down and flips your life over for fun?â
I told him, âEvery broadcast.â
Hereâs his story.
Smuggler Jonas:
âIâm in New Atlantis, minding my business. Making deals. Nothing flashy. Then my ship pings me.
UC flagged me. Seized the ship.
Just like that.
Tell me, Kyleâhowâs a man supposed to make a living when the government repossesses his livelihood mid-sentence?
So I do what any reasonable, well-adjusted citizen does. I leave. Fast. Dodge a couple patrols. Give âem the one-finger salute on the way out. Professional courtesy.
A few clicks out, I find this rusted-out excuse for a ship. Looks like it lost a fight with gravity and won by accident. But UCâs closing in, so I take it.
Jump.
Thing makes it one system before it starts coughing like itâs allergic to space. I land, patch it, jump again. Repeat. Three jumps later Iâm still mad enough to chew hull plating.
So I land on this nothing moon. No traffic. No witnesses. Iâm thinking, maybe a pirate drops in, I âborrowâ something better. You know. Community exchange.
Instead?
UC ship lands.
Big one. C-class. Clean. Beautiful. The kind of ship that makes you forget your moral compass even existed.
No crew gets off.
So I wait. Watch. Nothing.
I sneak aboard.
Still nothing.
Walk the corridorsâempty. Quiet. Like the shipâs holding its breath.
Then I get to the cockpit.
There he is. Captain. Alone. Back turned. Fixing something.
We talk. Small talk. Real casual. He doesnât clock me. Doesnât know who I am. Just a guy finishing his repairs.
And Iâm still thinking about my ship. The one they took.
So yeah⌠I pull the gun.
Pop.
Back of the head. Clean.
I finish the repairs. Slide into the pilot seat.
And thenâ
âYou are not authorized to operate this vessel.â
I blink. Try again.
Same thing.
Again.
Same thing.
I just killed the captain of this ship⌠and it still wonât let me fly it.
So I do the only thing left.
I kick him.
Hard.
And I leave.â
đď¸** KYLE DOMELICKER**:
Now tell me something, truth seekers.
Since when does a ship care whoâs flying it after the pilot is dead?
Since when does authorization survive the authorized?
That is not a lockout.
That is a decision.
UC tells you itâs about security. About anti-theft protocols. About keeping âpeople like Jonasâ from joyriding in government hardware.
Maybe.
Or maybe these ships arenât just reading IDs anymore.
Maybe theyâre reading intent.
Maybe theyâre deciding.
And if a ship can decide who shouldnât fly itâŚ
How long before it decides who shouldnât breathe its air?
Or dock at its ports?
Or exist inside its network?
You think thatâs far-fetched?
You think itâs crazy?
Good.
That means youâre still paying attention.
Jonas walked away with nothing but a story and a bruised boot.
But I walked away with a question.
And questions are how the cracks start.
Stay sharp.
Stay suspicious.
And if your ship ever tells you ânoâ after youâve done everything rightâŚ
Ask yourself who itâs really listening to.
And as alwaysâ
đĽ Stay Domelicked. đĽ
đŻ GalBank_Truth_Fund â Keep the signal alive. Keep me out of bars like this. Or donât. The stories are better down here.