Profil komandéra openflanker > Deník

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Doctor livingstone [OF777]
(Asp Explorer)
 
Členem od:
22. 3. 2019
 
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0
 
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Making Great Progress

Boom. Honk. Boom. Honk.

It can feel like this. But it can be so worth it. Like with so many things in life the best way to approach exploration is planning. There are so many wondrous things out in the galaxy to see! I left the ringed planet I visited in my last log entry and set course for Cycladia. I have never seen a ringed Earth-like world and it is absolutely beautiful to behold. I can imagine what it would be like to wake up and walk out into the garden, cup of Joe in hand and see the rings of the planet out there. How amazing that would be!

I settled in for the night on an icy moon and then headed out the next day for Traikaae CH-Y c10. The attraction in this system is the A moon orbiting the gas giant Traikaae CH-Y c10 1. It's called Labrinto due to the labyrinth like terrain. It's coarse and rugged with brutal peaks, deep valleys and is an absolute joy to get right down to and fly in among all the features. I did this for ages and, grudgingly, had to bid it farewell.

The next stop was Thor's Eye. Thor's Eye B is a lovely little black hole and, against the backdrop of the Lagoon Nebula and the Core, it presents the most amazing photo opportunities. I was having so much fun flying around it that I may have inadvertently flown through it. You tell me! youtube.com/watch?v=vF5B3dC-CXk

From there I headed through the Lagoon Nebula to Herschel 36. This system has a giant Blue White star that creates an eerie backdrop to the Lagoon Nebula. Well worth the trip. From here I decided to get off the beaten path for a bit and headed 450LY or so straight down. I found some wonderful water worlds and got a first discovery on an Earth like. If you are despairing that you aren't seeing anything then just a little off the path will reward you in unexpected ways.

I am now about 5000LY from where I started and I am loving the trip. I will be docking in the Eagle Nebula soon, maybe I will see you there!

Put a ring on it

Progress has been slower than I had expected. Doing 1000 LY in a day does feel like a lot, but when you have only done 1000 LY of a 20000 LY trip then it genuinely makes the trip seem never-ending.

I was taking it as easy as I could. Jumping, scooping, honking, FSS-ing... Just looking at the marvels of the universe. Every system feels like a Christmas present. You jump into it hoping that there will be something new, something you've never seen before. Something ....... just something. Generally you are unlucky, it's the exploration equivalent of socks or underwear. But sometimes you get the shiny toy car.

So it was when I jumped into Praea Euq ER-V d2-3. It's not an extraordinary system but there is one planet in it that is a little different. Planet 6. Planet 6 is a High Metal Content world with rings, we've all seen them. But this one is landable! Oh yeah! I have never landed on a ringed planet and as it is 2.96 Earth Masses with a gravity of 1.39 G I needed to be a little careful.

First things first I mapped it and its rings. There were some mining hotspots, this far out of the bubble it would take a committed miner to plunder them. I angled the ship's nose toward the planet surface, worked out where the best spot for landing would be (it's all about the photos peeps) and headed in. About 40 km above the surface I dropped into the glide, I hate this part of the descent. The controls are so vague and the ship shakes like a wet dog on a cold night. The hull pops and you can hear everything inside the ship shaking. Then it's gone and you have flight control back.

Finding a landing spot was easy. The planet surface is lightly marked from asteroid strikes but nothing extraordinary. I found a nice spot, dropped the gear and eased onto the deck. All in all not difficult.

I prefer high gravity to low gravity, the SRV is easier to drive when it has more traction. So I zoomed out and scouted the surface. Being completely honest, apart from the rings, it's dead boring. But the rings make it.

I settled in for a few hours sleep, sleep came easily. After a nice coffee I strapped back into the chair and lifted off. Cycladia (Blu Thua GI-B b55-2) is the next stop.

Blowing the Bubble

I walked out of the storage hangar, leaving my Anaconda behind me all wrapped in the synthetic storage coating, feeling like a weight had been lifted. I had just seen a text from the stevedores saying that all the supplies that I would need for my trip had been loaded into Col Livingstone and it was ready to go.

I looked at the new wings on my flight suit, indicating my promotion to Dangerous, and smiled. It had been a long road to get these and I was proud of the achievement. Now on to getting out, away from humanity for a little while.

I strapped into the seat in my Asp X and powered it up. Gently I lifted off the pad and eased the throttles forward, exiting the starport. I couldn't resist boosting out of the mail slot, annoying the already angry flight controller and scaring the daylights out of a Sidewinder pilot coming the other way.

First stop - Jackson's Lighthouse, the neutron star slap bang in the middle of the bubble. Arriving in the system I angled toward the plumes of the star, boosted the FSD and aimed at the first system on my destination. I had elected to go straight up and with a boosted FSD I was about to blast 256 LY straight up, out the bubble and into the void.

Nothing prepares you for hurtling your body 256 LY in one go in seconds. Even with the cushioning that is built into every FSD the vast distance just does something to your brain that means it takes a little while to catch up. I zeroed the throttles and sat there looking at Praea Euq UJ-Z d28 A. The bubbling ball of white plasma boiled in front of me throwing plumes out into the void. Once my brain was back in place I honked the system, slipped forward to start scooping fuel, and had a look at what was there.

Turns out I was not the first commander to be here. That's OK. It's becoming harder and harder to find systems that nobody has been to especially this close to the bubble and I have my name on a lot of systems already.

From there I opened the galaxy map and aimed at Thor's Eye. Speaking to nobody in particular I said, "Make it so."

I hit the FSD and did just that.

Ready to leave the rat race

As I sat down at the bar I breathed a huge sigh. I'd just forked out 3 million CR to have Colonel Livingstone, my bespoke Asp Explorer, delivered so that I can start my pilgrimage to the centre of the universe.

Livingstone is a great little ship. Not the best jump range in the universe and a little spartan inside, but I love flying her (him?) and she (he?) has never let me down.

My last big trip was the Eta Carina nebula via the Statue of Liberty nebula. Since then I have added a Guardian FSD booster and engineered the last scraps of weight off of, well, literally everything. She now sports a very respectable 63LY jump range. Not the 80-odd I could get out of my Anaconda, The Lord Arthur Florence, if I had the time and inclination to strip off the goodies that have made it the most impressive combat ship I have ever flown. But the best part of the journey is the discovery. So, while it will take me longer, it will be full of discoveries.

I am not quite ready yet. Part of my hesitation in leaving has been my desire for Promotion to Dangerous. When I come back from the trip I will be Elite in trade and exploration and I wanted to be at least Dangerous in combat before I left. But the destruction of so many ships has played heavy on my heart. It's time to be alone for a few months.

I gave my fighter pilot notice today that we would be splitting up. I thanked her for all her service and, while we both wiped a tear from our eyes, we agreed to make the run up to the trip as profitable for the both of as as we could. I have such a soft spot for her and I will miss her company. But this journey would bore her, she needs the taste of laser ozone and the sounds of hulls crumbling. I am buying her dinner tonight, I realised that I hardly know her.

I am looking forward to seeing biologicals for the first time. Critters that inhabit the vacuum of space, that swim in the void. I am so excited to see the cosmic delights that wait. Then, there is the payoff that is the Supermassive Black Hole, Sagittarius A*. I want to stay as far away from Colonia as I can, but a friend recently moved there for good preferring the new frontier to the drama of the bubble. Who knows, maybe it will be my new home. It's blissfully free of idiots out to destroy you for no reason other than because they can.

I receive a text telling me that Livingstone has been pre-flight checked and that the ferry pilot has received the passes to fly her. Soon he'll be on his way. I smile, dinner awaits.

Expect pictures and updates!