SRV sledding. That is all.

===========

I'm home! Over 130 consecutive jumps (with a few short stops), but I powered through and now I'm sitting back in Braun Enterprise. I sold my data and holy shit. I'm a fucking billionaire! I'm fucking rich! I'll need the money though, the bubble's just as hectic as I remember. Shard and the others are talking about getting involved in politics; working to advance the interests of the Samequit One Vote Party in nearby systems. It'll mean getting back into combat, but it's a good cause. There's a lot of dictatorships around us, and I don't fuck with that. Our first target'll be Veroandi.

Ave popularis!

-CMDR Eliza Harkness

Today was... a very busy day. My first stop, I visited Thor's Eye and Thor's Rings. Thor's Eye is a black hole, and Thor's Rings are the rings of a gas giant orbiting the primary. Dropped at the Thor's Rings tourist beacon first (which was hard because it was moving quickly) and there was a pleasure cruise ship there... and a pirate. The fact that there are pirates this far into deep space... says a lot about humanity. I took a few pictures, then left for Thor's Eye. Flying around black holes is so disorienting that at one point it looked like I was flying all the way around the system due to the gravity lensing. The view is worth it though, with the backdrop of the galactic plane being warped.

On my way to my next stop, I found a gas giant with interesting rings. Seems like it must've had two moons break apart pretty gently.

I made it to Attenborough's Watch in the Lagoon Nebula. It's an asteroid station that's been lifted out of a gas giant's rings to study the life there. Cathy's right, it does look like a potato.

My next stop was Black Treasure, and it was worth the trip for this alone. It's a black hole situated in the center of a nebula that seems like the result of a very recent supernova, likely the genesis event for the black hole. The vibrant colors of the nebula combined with the effects of the black hole were amazing. Black holes may be my favorite astronomical phenomenon. On the way out, I jumped to a nearby system with a fantastic view of the nebula.

On the way to visit the Omega nebula, which was pretty, if a mite underwhelming compared to my last stop, I found myself in-system with the FC 5470.96 LY From Sol, parked in close orbit of a neutron star by one Elysian Fields. First the Future Hope, and now this? I'm starting to think the grind to buy one of those things does something to you.

At this point I was so damn tired that I stopped for the night at Observation Post Epsilon in Trifid Sector IR-W D1-52. I wonder what they're watching.

==========

Was doing some thinking, and maybe I'm not gonna make it to Colonia this time. The black's starting to get to me. I think Black Treasure was talking to me, and I don't want to think about what that says about my mental state.

It's time to go home.

-CMDR Eliza Harkness

I fucked up today, big time. I don’t know what came over me, but for some damn reason I decided to drive my SRV off a cliff. It… didn’t end well. I had to crawl from the wreckage and climb most of the way up the wall of a giant crater. I lost my exobiology data too, disk got crushed in the crash.

I was scared. The most scared I’ve been in a long time. Knowing that I could die out here, knowing that if I got hurt out here it could be days, weeks even, before I got help. Careening down that cliff, I realized something.

Cathy and I are different. We both have the drive to explore, but I don’t have the sense that she does. The practical caution, the thing that keeps her in the game even when she goes 5 times as far. I take risks, risks that could get me killed, or lose me my data. Bad choices.

Maybe I should turn back.

==========

The day wasn't all bad though. Later on, I found a system full of mineral-rich rings; so much so that I reorganized my prospecting document and did some surveying. Shard's been talking about doing a deep space expedition when he gets his fleet carrier, and these seem like some good prospects. The first system had some gorgeous sights (though I am a bit of a sucker for ringed bodies) that I just had to get some pictures of. I also chanced on a system with three terraformables, which was a nice treat (Bleia Dryiae OC-B D1-48).

-CMDR Eliza Harkness

Damn, it's good to be back in the black. Picked up the Void from the mechanics and she's purring like a cat. Next stop, Thor's eye. I made a few jumps, including a neutron boosted one, until I found a system of 30-some bodies, many of which afforded great data and even greater views. I don't know if this system's special or I'm just pent up from being stuck, but this system was just stunning. I set down for the night on a small planet just outside the rings of a dwarf star, and the rings are just this fascinating rainbow color. I'm going to attach some photos, but they don't really capture the splendor of deep space. Nothing can.

Not even me.

-CMDR Eliza Harkness

I suddenly find myself with an abundance of free time, and not a lot to do in it. Cathy mentioned mining an explorer's database for points of interest, the first of which she hit yesterday. Thor's Eye, it's called. Figured I might as well take a look see, so I've been sifting through the 'base and adding some stops to my trip. Just taking a break to write this (and get a drink).

Pinged her transponder, and it seems Cathy's already skipped on out of Attenborough's Watch. Can't say I'm surprised; she never seemed one to sit still. I didn't meet her until after she returned from her last big trip, but she's always been... antsy around the bubble. Didn't matter what we were up to; raiding a pirate base, running miner escort, even... well, she always seemed a little... distant. Like she left some part of her out in the black. I feel the same way, sometimes. Like something's calling me, pulling me away. I guess I'm just finally answering the call.

The voice in the darkness calls to us both.

-CMDR Eliza Harkness

I'm not gonna make it to our meetup. About 3 systems after leaving the Future Hope, my life support started giving out. I should've known better than to trust a fleet carrier mechanic, especially one that cheap. Probably space-sick. Luckily, I was able to keep it running with the AFM (barely), and limp my way to Morgan's Rock. It's this giant mining station dug into the side of an asteroid, in the heart of the NGC 6188 nebula. Reading about it, I was wondering why you'd go to the trouble of hauling all that equipment and manpower 4,000 light years from home. When I arrived and scanned the nav beacon, I realized that it's a very rich system, full of metallic worlds and rings, and even a terraforming candidate. Brochure says about 26,000 people live here, but it's probably almost twice that with all the fleet carriers in system.

The fellow in charge of the shop told me I'm gonna be here a few days while they repair my ship. The dumbass on Future Hope totally bricked my life support module, so it's gonna need replaced, not to mention the half a dozen other systems that ate shrapnel from it. Guess the old saying's true:

never trust a cheap mechanic.

-CMDR Eliza Harkness

P.S. Sold my data so far, and boy what a payday! I got some absolutely massive first log bonuses, and a lot of the scans I got were really valuable, over 100 mil each. And I finally have my name on some planets. Mine! Some schmuck's gonna be cruising along and see my name at the bottom of his FSS screen. Damn this feels good.

Had a chat with Cathy today. Turns out she's actually heading out on an expedition of her own. Seems mine rekindled her wanderlust, for better or for worse. She actually called to gush about these crystalline life-forms she found, but we realized quickly that we were headed the same direction. In fact, we're both heading to the Lagoon Nebula, albeit myself by a more roundabout course. We've arranged to meet up at Armstrong Watch, an asteroid station along the Colonia Highway. After that, our courses will part ways. She's heading straight for the galactic core, where I won't be headed for quite some time. Apparently she plans to post up there, though, so we may yet meet again.

Working my way along a cluster of B class stars, I encountered an incredible system. Seven newborn stars orbiting a giant, with a black hole and a supergiant in binary orbit 4 light days away. An absolutely fascinating array. I decided to make the trek out to the black hole, to visit it and the fleet carrier that some madman, one Lucifer2143, has parked in its orbit. Cathy told me a story as I flew, one that I've frustratingly forgotten.

Apparently after the tide began to shift, I invited her to take a day trip out to a system full of black holes and stars she'd been eying. Dabih Minor. We flew among them, daring the forces of nature; no, the forces of reality, to strike us down. Then we sat, keel to keel, gazing into the abyss, swapping stories and, eventually, just company. Sitting on the Future Hope, staring into the maw of HD 152233 B, it sounds familiar, almost. Another tale I lived, but no longer remember.

A memory stolen.

-CMDR Eliza Harkness

Had my first accident today. Got distracted while scooping and scraped the star's exclusion zone. A rookie mistake, and I'm a fucking ranger. It was a hard drop, most of my components have minor damage. I'm gonna save my AFM supplies for now though. It's a long trip ahead. I repaired my canopy, though. Never again.

I realized today that I passed the 3,000 LY mark at some point. It feels real now. I'm really going to Colonia. This is really happening. It's just me, my ship, and the stars now. All alone.

The feeling is divine.

==========

Made my first neutron boosted jump today. I've attempted white dwarves before, but never again. The first went fine, but the second… the Fuel Rat that pulled me from the wreckage gave me quite the talking to.

My first run through the plume wasn't long enough to supercharge, so I had to do it again. God, that was nerve-wracking. But I got it done. 206 light years gone, just like that.

It seems strange, doesn’t it? Some of the most powerful stellar phenomena in existence, and we use them to make our ships jump a bit farther. Diving into a plume of hyperenergetic particles for the convenience of skipping a few jumps. But damn if these things aren't beautiful. Deadly, but beautiful.

Beauty in death. Sounds like a poem.

I found my first undiscovered system today. Being the first to travel the space between alien worlds is a feeling without compare. Knowing that mine are the first eyes to look gaze upon them, the first feet to walk on them. I took the time to map the entire system, to commemorate the occasion. PRAEA EUQ LC-E B40-3 turned out to be quite interesting. The first world orbits at a mere 0.02 Astronomical Units, and is so hot that my suit's cooling systems couldn't compete. A water world lies firmly in the habitable zone, and two moons of the 4th planet orbit so closely that my system reads the distance as zero. I should send a complaint to the devs.

I also happened upon a crashed thargoid probe. Just a surveillance device, now destroyed, but it was still... distressing. It seems even 2,000 light years from the bubble, I can't escape them.

Why do they haunt me so?

-CMDR Eliza Harkness

Only 1 day in and already a major find. I stumbled across a terraformable water world with beautiful rings. If this is an omen, it's a damn good one.

Just found a system with 12 bio signals across 3 moons! I've gotta tell my friends about this.

==========

My old friend, CMDR Catherine Lockwood, jumped out to send me off (and get in on the Exobiology). After a quick run to the edge of the bubble to sell the data, I headed out to Sheron. I've been here, before the war. It feels so long ago, but I remember stumbling across that old listening post like it was yesterday. After a moment to reminisce, I set off into the unknown. I'm now the farthest I've ever been from home.

It feels good.

-CMDR Eliza Harkness

P.S. - I've just learned that Catherine arrived shortly after I left. Quite the coincidence.