The journey has been interesting. I decided to investigate one of the abandoned 'project dynasty' sites in Hawking's Gap, I chose the 'Gamma' site on Plaa Aec TT-B b41-3 A2. Certainly I'm only one of many to visit this relic of a more dangerous time, a time without FSD, where interstellar exploration was exponentially more risky. The abandoned shelters, so far from civilization, and the unknown fate of those that left them, really put some perspective on what it means to explore, to take a risk, and the great emptiness that is our galaxy.

Exploration is still risky, though, even with AFMUs and FSD- as I found out later that day when I was pulled into the gravity well of a white dwarf. I found a region of white dwarfs and neutron stars about 1000 ly above the galactic plane, which may be connected to the so-called neutron fields nearer to the core that I've heard other explorers talk about. Entering this plane would potentially allow me to travel very quickly, if that were my goal. As it is, I spent some time finding new neutron stars, and then decided I would like to discover a Wolf-Rayet star of my own for the Universal Cartographics cred. This will be difficult due to the paucity of systems, and the relative ease they can be discovered, but my plan is to slowly work towards the core, checking out systems, until I can hopefully lay claim to one, then head towards the neutron fields to discover some black holes- I'll have to be on top of my gravity well game, though, I can't risk another massive overheat. Other than the massive star systems, everything is truly undiscovered out here- and there are some incredible systems. I found a water planet orbiting a neutron star, a surreal experience. Systems with over 50 bodies, huge collections of gas giants with 10 moons each... By the time I land again at a station, I wonder what else I'll have seen- I just have to remain sharp to not end up in an escape pod in one of these neglected corners of the galaxy.

First log in a few days, so much has happened. Promoted to elite as soon as I sold my data, which was worth significantly more than I though- I guess all those earthlike and ammonia worlds I discovered did me some good. Based on communication with other commanders, I decided that this trip to the bubble would be to engineer my ship- improve my FSD as much as I could, and try to optimize weight. I stopped at Maia first, knowing I'd need meta-alloys to gain access to the engineer I wanted. It was a scary experience- all kinds of non-human signals, clear signs of fighting, but I got in and out safely, and quickly headed towards Deciat, a potentially even more dangerous system. I spent a bit of time acquiring materials once I knew what I needed- I visited an abandoned mining base and lifted most of it with my Scarab, and changed out some of my repair units for cargo and limpet equipment to take the rest off of wreckage. I established myself at Jameson Orbital, now that I had the system pass as well, and had the Blazing Star moved there, which came in handy for wake scanning, as it's a more maneuverable little ship. Once I had everything, I risked Deciat again, plenty of attempted interdictions both times, and souped up the FSD, getting well into the 40's in range. I wanted more, so I took at tip about some Guardian site around 20 or so jumps away. There's some regret about that- I very nearly lost my ship, and ended up stranded. The site was on the dark side of the planet when I found it, and I crashed into a mountain on the surface, escaping with only 20% integrity. Although I had an idea of how these puzzles worked, from hearsay, navigating the site in low gravity, with the somewhat overly light Scarab, was terrifying- constantly harassed by Guardian drones, missiles flipping the Scarab, terrain flipping the Scarab, getting caught on wreckage. It took hours, but I finally flew out of there with what I needed, repaired the ship, and headed back to Shinrarta.

At that point, I thought about sticking around for a bit. I had some change now, I could buy that FDL I lusted after when I was in training, I could buy a damn Anaconda if I wanted. I could bounty hunt for real, not just hide behind system authority like I did back with the Sidewinder. My nature got the better of me, though, there were systems to discover, and they weren't gonna wait forever. I decided to try neutron boosting to get away from the bubble faster, and despite my concerns, it's been helpful. I traveled in 50-ish jumps what had taken nearly 300, and now I'm exploring a whole new sector. I'm not sure what the plan will be now, I'll probably head towards some denser star concentrations and do some shorter range jumps, then maybe head towards the center, or Colonia. I'll see what the systems are like, and if anything interesting catches my eye. The Albatross is something to see now, all kitted out with improved surface scanners, stripped down equipment, and a heavily boosted FSD.

Another 100 jumps closer to the bubble, I need to start changing my attitude a little bit and recognizing that the systems I'll be entering will be much more dangerous than I've become accustomed to. The Albatross can only really run, and not all that fast, at least out of supercruise, as my power distributor was one of the many things minimized for weight. I might think about replacing it. I was hoping my ~250 jumps could net me enough income to reach elite status, but it's been a dreary stretch, numerous brown dwarfs, ringed only by icy planets, net next to nothing per system. I'm tempted to give up scanning all together, but I just remind myself that I'm the first CMDR to pass many of these stars, and just a short time ago, any new discovery made my heart pound. I dutifully scan each one.

I found the danger of these small, dark stars today, as well, as I was drawn too close to one, and overheated twice trying to escape. System damage was minimal, and all my automated repair units are still unused, but it was a reminder of the dangers of solo exploration- one mistake is all it takes to end it, thousands of light years from sentient life. I also noticed my computer routing me to fuel exhaustion three or four times, and I had to manually re-route- I thought about eliminating all T & Y type stars, but the deviation required was excessive. Luckily, after today's jumps, I seem to be in an area much more rich in scoobable stars. If I keep the pace, I may be writing my log tomorrow from a station. Otherwise, two days will do it, surely.

A day of mixed experiences- started off by a short surface exploration of some volcanically active sites on a small metallic world. I found some excellent metallic crystals, which I hopefully can use or trade at the end of this expedition, once I'm back in the bubble. I laughed a bit to think that as rare and distant as these minerals are, I was wasting my time collecting them compared to someone in the diamond fields, but that's not the right mindset for an explorer, anyways. After that, more wonders, as I headed out of the Elysian Shore and back into the Inner Orion Spur. A system with 9 gas giants, with 5 suns, a system with vast crystals floating in interplanetary space, ammonia worlds, water worlds, countless ice worlds. As I neared 200 jumps to the bubble, I entered a vast field of brown dwarfs, which my navigation system had apparently failed to account for. Nervously watching as the fuel got lower, I checked the jump route to make sure I would reach a scoopable star in time, and saw that apparently my computer was sending me to a cold death. With some fuel to spare, I quickly sought out a nearby red dwarf, and was able to continue on my merry way, but it was a reminder not to be too complacent out so far in the black- even as the occasional CMDR's name in the database as I pass through a previously charted system is making this feel like I'm practically back to civilization.

After heading several hundred light years into the Elysian Shore, I turned the Albatross around back towards the bubble, intent on visiting one of these engineers and augmenting my FTL for increased jump range. When I set out on this expedition, after my disastrous attempt at mining in the diamond boom systems, I only wanted to discover one new system, one new star- and now, it's been hundreds. Without my computer, I'd have lost track- worlds upon worlds, earth-like planets, water worlds, gas giants with life, and so, so many icy rocks orbiting cold suns. It's been days since I crossed any other explorer's trodden path, not since leaving Medusa's Rock, and I wonder how long on my journey back I will travel before I see anything else that's been discovered. I know, though, that even a short time in the bubble will leave me itching to leave again, I just hope that the trade-off of a longer jump range will be worth the stress, and risk, of going back. I suspect a five or six day journey until I reach a station, based on my current heading.

Left Medusa's Rock, headed out into the black, several thousand light years away by now. Found some excellent systems- paired water worlds, ammonia worlds, and finally a great earthlike planet. Headed towards a large G system for the end of the journey today, may continue further out into the black or start tomorrow.

1000 l.y. detour to Medusa's Rock to see some living things before heading off into the black again. Unloaded about 100 mil. cr. worth of exploration data, not much in comparison to the diamond boom fields, but still a considerable sum, and was rewarded with a rank upgrade to Scout. Many new discoveries and first scans confirmed, especially from the last two legs, reaffirming my decision to head into less trafficked regions away from Barnard's Loop. No damage to the ship or any systems this trip so far, hopefully this bodes well for the next leg.

Will stay at the station for now, and decide on next leg tomorrow. Likely will follow Orion-Cygnus arm for several 10k lightyears until I get space-sick, and see what I find out there.

Stopping the Albatross in Plio-Euq, somewhere, about 70 jumps away from the destination asteroid base. Two planets to scan in this system, based on the optimizer, but it's already been visited by someone, so it's slightly less exciting. Hoping to reach the station tomorrow or the next day, sell some data, claim some discoveries, and head out again towards the black, along the arms of the galaxy avoiding the core.