My uncle has been a fan of Elite since the first game came out in the 1980s, and the other day he dropped me a line to tell me about a group called the Fuel Rats. Perhaps I’d be interested in writing a story on them?

I took a look at their website, and I was immediately intrigued. This group is dedicated to rescuing stranded Elite pilots anywhere in the galaxy – and sometimes they go to extreme lengths to save them. In one case, a Fuel Rat flew for seven hours straight to get to someone who was helplessly floating in space, their fuel tanks diminished. Another rescue took a total of three days. It makes a welcome change from tales of griefers causing chaos.

I spoke with two of the Rats, Marcus and Kerenn: both were really helpful and had some fantastic stories to tell. Have a look at the finished article on Kotaku UK to find out what they had to say:

The Most Helpful Pilots in the Galaxy

And if you ever find yourself stranded in Elite: Dangerous, head over to www.fuelrats.com and send out the ‘Ratsignal’ – help will soon be on its way.

Now, before you go, luxuriate in the deep bass voice of RadLock Recursion as he guides you through his 200th Fuel Rats rescue: