Stage 12 from Beagel Point and Stage 1 from Colonia. Arriving here the vision has changed; it's a Black Hole. The sky is a turquoise Green, it's like a cloud has appeared on the horizon and coming in fast, stars are still visible but a luminous green surrounds the ship. Looking directly ahead I can just about see the centre of the Black Hole; stars are streaming out, or away, from the core. At this point, I would normally get moving as the fear of being drawn in worries me. I look at the System Map and note that there are two Giant Gas stars very near and head off to the nearest. On arrival, the Discovery Scanner starts bleeping as there are three planets orbiting the star. I map them and head on to the second Giant Gas Star. Once again the Discovery Scanner starts bleeping. This time there are six planets to discover and map. Although it might not have been profitable, I have scored some FTF points.

What I thought was going to be an enjoyable break on the DW2 journey home has been a nightmare. Attacked three times just beyond the Mass Locked distance from Jaques Station, Colonia. The first two reasonable resistance, but the thirst lasted about three minutes, the NCP would not give up and then attacked me with a series of missiles; I had no weapons as I was an explorer. I found myself dumped back in the station, (with all the data missions still 'onboard'). I made the decision which missions I would complete and which ones I would abandon. A flight out to Hephaestus of 12.8lys, cashed in 5 missions for 380,000c and then I opened up the Galaxy Map and plotted the first of a three-stage' jump to Sol - stage one a mere 4,939lys.

I've been out exploring the universe around Colonia and at the same time completing Data Missions. Desy, Ormar, Rattaii, Tir, Kojeara, Trakath. Most interesting is Kojeara, where the station, TolaGarf's Junkyard, is built into an Asteroid. Inside the station looks unfinished, with yellow construction framework all over the lace, however, full facilities are available and I would certainly have this on my 'bucket list'.

Since I arrived I have been fascinated by how busy the star system is; although there are only four stations to dock at (one planetary) the traffic in and out of the three orbital stations is high. I have added an auto-launch feature to the computer and very pleased I did. The Jaques Station is so busy, it places all ships in a holding position for exit, while ships enter. So far I have completed 8 missions, mainly carrying data, but two cargo loads included in the trips. Not a lot of income but I'm treating it as a learning curve as I return from Beagle Point and having been out of the bubble for over three months. While completing the missions I'm also collecting cartographic data as many of the stars and planets of the system have an Unexplored designation for me - I will just need to keep out of trouble and fly over 20lys to benefit from the possible income.

Even on the Galaxy Map, this location looks awesome. There are 32 planetary objects to explore and four stations to visit. The area around Jaquees station is buzzing with ships coming and going. I think I will be here for a while.

My thoughts are focused on speeding up the journey home, but a slight detour to Colonia is a must. The one big factor that affects jump distance is weight, so I have stored the Limpet Controller and a Heat Sink at Explorer's Anchorage. The improved performance is almost two LYs - I'm happy with that. It looks like the journey will be 250 jumps, it sounds small but it's still quite a distance and I'm looking for unexplored stars and planets on the way, as I hope to benefit from cartographic sales. I picked up an additional Ai crew member and I'm hoping he will help me avoid the space sickness on the route. Counting the days to home base.

I think I can honestly say that I was a little startled to see so much activity on the radar screen as I neared Explorer's Anchorage spaceport. For the last three months I had only seen stars and planets; not one NPC ship in sight. I quickly re-activated the powered down docking computer and requested docking, desperately trying to recall the procedures for a safe landing inside the base. Once inside I made a mental note of my current assets and headed for the Universal Cartographics sector. One hour and 52 screens later I had earned 217,890,677 credits. It was time to celebrate, however, the newly built station offers little in the way of comfort and amenities. I returned to the galaxy map and began plotting a route to Colonia. Twenty-four hours later I left the station, struggling to clear Mass Locked. There was a loud bang and the screen in front of me changed - I was in the middle of an Interdiction and I had no idea what to do. Somehow I won the battle for the escape vector and was free. I reflected on the income from the cartographic sales that could so easily have been lost.

Plotting on the map I heading straight south to as far as Sagittarius A and look to stop over at Explorer's Anchorage. If my luck holds out I will sell the cartographic data I have collected. It's difficult to say or calculate how many credits it will be worth, as it's worth nothing until it is sold.

I'm not sure what I was expecting - a welcome committee, flags and a band to welcome me - but the place is in darkness, a creator where I find it difficult to land. The location is on the dark side of the moon. I take the SRV out and head just out there somewhere. Full beam headlights do little to light up my path, I switch on night vision radar, and that offers little help. The crater is steep-sided in many places I have real concerns about that the SRV will topple over, and keep taking sideways routes to the material's location, trying and avoid being killed by a steep drop off the cliffs. However, the surface is a real goldmine for materials, they are in abundance. I spend a number of days reaping up the richly endowed material, some of a very rare type - this is the place to be. I realise that I ought to be heading home, out here on my own is not a place of pleasure that was I was led to believe. I look at the galaxy map and with a lot of research, try and plot the fastest and most direct route home. It seems that doubling back on my self will be the quickest route, simply leaving out the POIs will save me many Lys and days. I want to visit Explorer's Anchorage, partly to cash in my cartographic data, but also to take a few more pictures of Sagittarius and the newly built space station. Let's go home.

The galaxy map suggests that the distance between Waypoint 10 and 11 is some 14,456lys in a straight line, but DW2 is encouraging CMDRs to travel via places of interest, so the distance will be more like 16,300lys. The journey takes us through the Codex region designated as Newton's Vault and the Formorian Frontier - very lonely places. The two rest stops suggested are 'Aristo' and 'Kalipheron' with the arrival at 'Luna's Shadow'. The journey takes 11 days, 402 jumps in all. There is nothing out here. the stars change colour from white to blue, and then to green and there are places where no stars appear to exist. I attempt to surface mine at both stopovers but my mind is not in it, they call it some kind of space blankness, you want the journey to be over and consider turning back, but you have almost reached Beagle Point. That name begins to haunt you and it becomes a place and a name you never want to hear again. Arrival at Waypoint 11 is such a relief; I'm not sure if the moon is actually great for surface mining or its a figment of my imagination, but I spend many a few hours shooting rock and collecting materials, the surface is abundant with materials for engineering that I can use when I get home. This must be one of the most pleasant places on the journey to the end of the world.