KDT. Pisodeuorrior Profil > Logbuch

Profil
Kommandantenname:
Aktuelles Schiff:
Addolorato [PIS-99]
(Alliance Challenger)
 
Mitglied seit:
29.09.2018
 
Übermittelte Entfernungen:
50
 
Besuchte Systeme:
53.158
Zuerst entdeckte Systeme:
19.250
 
Kontostand:
31.058.187.118 Cr
On the Road Again!

The Wandering Star is flying again, after long months of being parked in the Bubble. I always considered the expedition as being "on pause" for refitting, even if that took well over a year.

Basically, after the first phase, I decided to wait for space legs being released. Then I spent a few months engineering all my suits to level 5. Then I decided I wanted to get to Elite Mercenary before I continued the journey. Then I realized I needed a bit more cash if I wanted to buy thousands of tons of Tritium along the way. Then I waited for Vista Genomic to be available for Carriers.

Long story short, the "refitting" took forever, but everything is now ready. All ships are on board, there's a shiny new bar, a nice Vista Genomic Office, and most of all, a Command Deck with an amazing view.

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There are two passengers on board. One I haven't met yet, the other one is CMDR Vynn Tornqvist, whom I've been meeting quite often now during our explorations.

Anyway, this is the road so far, roughly from June 2020 to January 2021.

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And this is the route for our next leg:

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It's slightly shorter than the first part, at 326k light years vs 338k.

Still, I'm fairly concerned about fuel. There's an awesome initiative within the DSSA Network, called STAR, which supports exploring carriers with Tritium., I'll be taking advantage of them all along Kepler's Crest and the Formidine Rift. Unfortunately there are no STAR Carriers on my route between there and at least the Veils, which will leave us stranded somewhere in the Outer Scutum-Centaurus Arm, according to my calculations.

I haven't found any Tritium hotspot mapped for that region yet, which is adding to my concerns.

Anyway, I hope I'll sort it out somehow along the way.

In the meantime, we're happily flying South along the Galactic meridian, and we're already on the Western Border of Kepler's Crest.

Despite having gone this exact same route a bunch of times, I still managed to find some interesting things. A few Earth-Like Worlds, for a start, and my very first Exobiological discoveries.

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We've also docked at the DSSA Leo's Vision, which is also part of STAR. CMDR MalForTheWin was very nice and helpful, and we did try to organize our first refuel. Unfortunately we couldn't manage to have our schedules meet, so after a couple of days nosing around I veered clockwise and carried on along our route.

Luckily the DSSA Minbari Melva is loaded with Tritium and is next on our path.

The Sanguineous Rim

I didn't scan anything at all while crossing the Sanguineous Rim, as I've been here many times before and being it next to the Bubble it tends to be pretty well known to explorers.

I did, however, take a not-too-short detour to have a look at the Gludge Planetary Nebula, which I had never visited before.

Being it a planetary nebula, it's the result of a catastrophic star collapse, which in this case left behind a very bright Neutron Star, still surrounded by the material it ejected before its death.

Since I love both nebulae and neutron stars, I wasn't skimpy with the pictures.

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There are no DSSA Carriers currently deployed in the Sanguineous Rim, so after the stop at the Gludge Nebula I sped home with no other delay.

While travelling I spent some time tweaking my route plan and preparing the next stages of my trip.

I'm still not sure whether it's better for me to set off immediately after refuelling or wait a bit longer. There are big events unfolding in the Bubble, and it might be interesting to be part of them.

On the other hand, there are a few DSSA carriers that have been deployed in Kepler's Crest right after I left it. So, since I'll have to get back there anyway at some point, I might as well go now and get them out of my mind.

I haven't decided yet.

Achille's Altar

I'm travelling fast. I do that when I start to feel the smell of home.

I'm still in Achilles' Altar, but I'm close to the border with the Sanguineous Rim, which is pretty much the bubble's doormat.

So, I'm not doing much scanning at all, and in this sector I stopped pretty much just by the two DSSA carriers that were on my route.

The first one was the DSSA Nereus Deep, which orbits a nice metallic planet criss-crossed by deep canyons. Hadn't I been in a rush I would have undocked my racing Viper to have a look at them up close, but I decided to skip this time.

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Along the way to the border I came across several Neutron Stars, which are not uncommon but I never grow tired of them, so I did stop to take some pictures.

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Right on the border with the Sanguineous Rim, and I mean, once again, precisely on the border, is deployed the DSSA Argonautica, which I tocked at to pay my respects.

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That was the last carrier in this part of the expedition. A part from a short detour to check a planetary nebula, next stop is home.

Back in Lyra's Song

I got back to Lyra's Song after the long detour to Tenebrae, and this time I took my time exploring .

As opposed to the first time I was here (I mean the actual first time, not three days ago), this passage was FULL of discoveries. In fact, I spent more time scanning in Lyra's Song than I did in Dryman's Point.

Among others, I found at least half a dozen Hearth-like Worlds, a couple of Ammonia Worlds (one of which had rings) and I don't know how many Water Worlds. So all in all I'm happy I moved my ass from the Carrier this last bit.

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So, that was my only stop in Lyra's Song, as that was the only DSSA Carrier outpost of this region.

It will be another 10000 light years or so before I dock again, this time in Achille's Altar by the DSSA Nereus Deep.

Deep in Tenebrae

I let the Wandering Star lead me to Tenebrae.

I had been here only once before, during my (uh, second to last?) expedition.

I'm quite fond of this region, as I had travelled this far on a whim and ended up doing the full trip of the Outer Arms after it.

Back then I had gone as far as Magellan's Star, whereas now I decided to spare myself the difficult navigation through the sparse stars of the end of the Arm and just stop at the furthest DSSA Carrier this side of the Galaxy.

The DSSA Deus Vult! (the exclamation point is part of her name) sits about 3000 light years from the last star of the Perseus Arm, and like many others I've recently visited her commander picked the rings of a body in the system.

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Since I've been quite lazy as of recent, at least as far as explorers go, I docked at the DSSA Deus Vult!, took a couple of screenshots and then undocked to fly back to the Wandering Star.

It's when I turned around that I noticed the DSSA Deus Vult! is not deployed in just an ordinary ringed planet, but she enjoys quite an extraordinary view from both sides.

On her broad side there's a gas giant with two sets of rings (one of which is enormous), which at the time was setting below the rings of her main planet.

I had completely missed that in my haste.

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Leaving the DSSA Deus Vult! was a significant moment of my journey, as it was time to turn back South and spinward, finally pointing straight home and end this part of the expedition.

I have still four DSSA Carriers to visit before this phase is finished, but the next big stop is the Bubble. I look forward to it this time.

The next one on the way was the DSSA Cheetah Labs, which is deployed exactly on the border between Tenebrae and Lyra's Song.

And I really mean EXACTLY.

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Like the DSSA The Helix, she orbits the main, bright, white star of the system.

I don't know why but they're my favourite.

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So, according to my math my fuel is about 3-4 thousand years short of the amount needed to get back home.

Luckily I have been in touch with Commander Factabulous Minimum of the DSSA Gam Nine in Lyra's Song, which has plenty to spare.

So that's where I'm going next.

Like a Comet Through Hawking's Gap

I've turned East leaving Dryman's Point behind me, through the almost starless gap between the Sagittarius-Carina Arm and the Perseus Arm.

There is a narrow corridor connecting the two arms, which is why this part of Hawking's Gap is thoroughly explored.

Since I had something else to do, and I've been through this specific area of space maybe 5 times, I've decided to make the most out of the Wandering Star's jump range and do my thing while my carrier takes me around the Galaxy.

I'm planning to remain docked until my arrival in Tenebrae, after which I'll resume my usual exploring schedule, leaving the Wandering Star about 500 light years behind me while I scan ahead.

Right after I turned Eastward I checked the DSSA database almost on a whim, and there I discovered that three new carriers had been deployed in the last few days, on of which just a handful of light years from my position.

Hadn't I checked I would have left it behind, making necessary another trip to this region if I wanted to complete my goal of visiting all the DSSA Network outposts.

So, that was a lucky inspiration to say the least.

The TMVC Spartacus orbits a ringed gas giant right on the edge of the Arm, before the Sagitarius-Carina Arm fades into nothingness.

I didn't hail her commander as there was pretty much no notice, but I did dock to pay my respects.

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Next time I will undock will be by the CEC Deus Vult in Tenebrae.

Tragedy in Dryman's Point

A great tragedy befell me.

I upgraded to a new machine, and a good chunk of the files in my backup folder are corrupted. That includes the pictures I took of the DSSA The Helix and the DSSA Nostromo.

All the pictures before the upgrade are gone, luckily I had uploaded most of them in my logs, but a big part of my journey through Dryman's Point is lost.

This sucks even harder as, when I hailed the Commander of The Helix, I found out that he's a pilot I'm in touch with every day in the Arena, CMDR The Shrike.

In fact, we've been blowing each other up with roughly equal fortunes for a few weeks now, and he happens to be one of the commanders I have most fun with in CQC.

Who would had thought, the galaxy can be small after all.

The Helix is deployed in the orbit of a beautiful A-class star, forever basking in its white light. It's a very scenic spot, and I was quite happy with the pictures I took.

Luckily, in my frantic attempts to right this wrong, I realized that Phase IV of my expedition will take me back to this area, overlapping with the current route for a little bit.

This means that with a little detour to retrace my steps I'll be able to document my docking at these last two DSSA Carriers.

Only, well, in a few months' time.

So, after I docked at the DSSA The Helix and DSSA Nostromo, it was the turn of the DSSA Dryman's Hope.

This carrier is set in a fairly dangerous system, where the landing point is between the jets of a Neutron Star and a fierce M-Class Star.

I mean, it's not hard to avoid their dangers. Nonetheless, despite the 1.3million light years experience under my belt, I was knocked out of supercruise like a noob, and I got stuck in the jets for an embarrassingly long time before I managed to escape.

In fact, it took 6 attempts at supercruise, with as many heat sinks ejected and 20% hull left.

The repair dock of the DSSA Dryman's Hope was a sweet sight after the ordeal.

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Here's another point of view of those bad boys, setting behind one of the orbiting planets.

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Commander Alistair Hope had quite a bit of tritium to sell, and with his help, according to my math, I should now be able to get as close as 3000 light years from the Bubble.

If no other DSSA carrier will be able to help me, the mining to gather this much should be painless enough.

Once I finished hauling the 4500 tons of fuel left for sale I set sail again, only to discover that the jump literally after the DSSA Dryman's Hope was yet again another heat trap. Fortunately this time I was less clumsy and I escaped without taking any damage.

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Anyway, the next milestone of my route was the DSSA Kitty Corner.

Of all the pictures I took along the way only this one survived, taken in the rings of a High Metal Content World orbiting very closely to its star.

Not a rare find, but definitely pretty enough to become one of my current favourites.

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The DSSA Kitty Corner is deployed among the rings of a huge gas giant, and she's the last DSSA Carrier in Dryman's Point, sitting very close to its southern border.

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I am now crossing into Hawking's Gap. Another few thousands light years and I'll cross eastward into Lyra's Song and the Tenebrae region for the final stretch of this part of the journey.

Lots of Help in Mare Somnia

I'm slowly descending the Spiral through Mare Somnia, taking my time scanning and nosing around.

The feeling is already different from the dead space of the Abyss and Acheron. It still feels like "the other side of the Galaxy", but stars are less sparse, and there are already a few visible when looking into the Black with the Core at your back.

Not a big change but that's already enough. I'll have to get used to it as the next 50000 light years or so will be in the outer arms.

Anyway.

There are three DSSA Carriers in Mare Somnia, and I docked at all of them as planned.

The first on my route was the ISF Mandy's Rest, which is parked in the orbit of a nice Earth Like world suspended in ink-black darkness.

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Commander TransTechGirls was super helpful, and shared the little fuel remaining in the carrier at discount price.

Next on my route was the DSSA Stellar Oasis. While most DSSA Carriers are deployed near some sort of landmark, the DSSA Stellar Oasis just sits in the middle of nowhere, before the full view of the distant Galaxy Centre.

This in itself makes her feel like a distant frontier outpost, which I enjoyed a lot.

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The last stop in Mare Somnia was the DSSA Nest, which I was particularly looking forward to.

Commander Scolpex had offered his help back when I was still preparing the expedition, and we had been in touch all along the way.

With the fuel that the DSSA Nest provided we're now fully topped up and ready to start the next part of the journey in awesome shape.

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This next part will end in the Bubble, where I'll make a major stop to refuel and change the set up of the Wandering Star.

If my math is correct I will need an additional 10000 tons of tritium to get there. I hope I'll find more friendly commanders along the way.

Through Acheron

I've left the Abyss behind me, retracing the steps of one of my previous journeys but in the opposite direction.

The DSSA network is fully deployed in this sector, and I docked at both its Carriers while flying through Acheron towards Mare Somnia.

The first on my route was the DSSA Jolly Roger, which orbits one of the rocky moons of a ringed gas giant. Quite a scenic spot I must say.

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The second DSSA Carrier I docked at was the RCS Chatsworth. I had already hailed Commander Tovera back when I was in the Abyss, and he kindly made available his spare Tritium for the Wandering Star.

With more than 5000 tons hauled from the RCS Chatsworth to our cargo hold I am now just a couple of thousands tons short of a full depot, which should last me about until Hawking's Gap.

Yes, the sky is dark at the edge of the Galaxy.

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I have gone back to my usual routine, leading the way with my Asp while the Wandering Star follows me about 500 light years behind me. I like to keep within her range in case I run into trouble.

Despite this being a fairly uninteresting region of space (at least compared to others I've explored), I have made some interesting discoveries.

One of them was a Water World in the outer edge of the Arm. They're quite rare here, especially with rings.

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Another one was a nice Earth like World, in the orbit of which I rejoined with the Wandering Star.

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I'm now close to the border with Mare Somnia, where I'll rendez-vous with no less than three DSSA Carriers.

Out of the Abyss

Well, I'm not yet out of the Abyss but I'll be soon.

After the long month spent mining tritium in the Ice Ring of Eishaw SN-B c16-0 I feel the need to move fast, and I'm taking advantage of the Wandering Star's jump range.

I'm getting in touch with the commanders of the next DSSA Carriers along the way, while I let she fly me down our route.

Without realizing it, I've reached good old Beagle Point.

Funny how the first time I arrived here it was with a battered Asp, veteran of the nightmarish crossing of the starless space between the Abyss and the Formorian Frontier. Same Asp I'm sitting in right now by the way, only enhanced by engineering and everything else. Back then it had a mere 34 light years range, and I got her lost in the dead ends of the Abyss more times than I can count.

Anyway, this is I think the fourth time in Beagle Point for me.

Technology has advanced, and I landed at the other end of the Galaxy without a trouble. For all weary travelers now there's even a permanent outpost, the DSSA Distant Worlds, where I briefly docked my Asp to pay my respects.

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I hadn't planned to get as far as Semotus Beacon this time, as I have traveled there before and there's nothing of real interest a part from the bragging rights of having been there.

But I thought it would have been a shame for the Wandering Star to have been "almost" to the furthest point from Sol, so I decided not to be stingy with the fuel and I did the four carrier jumps to Oevasy SG-Y d0 and back.

Obligatory picture from the far end of the Galaxy.

Damn we are far now.

Look how small it is.

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So, I'm now finally headed East towards Acheron. I think I won't undock until the border and make up some time. I've explored this region thoroughly, and what I have missed has surely been covered by the throng of explorers who came to this landmark spots.

My next stop will be the DSSA Jolly Roger, then the DSSA Chatsworth in the middle of Acheron, where hopefully I'll be able to top up some tritium.