Day 29

It is time for the scheduled Mass Jump from WP 3 base camp. We are setting course for Preou Thoe DV-P d5-4m, aka WP 4. Per usual, the morning participation was extremely small, especially with our usual morning wing leader indisposed. I didn't want to be wing leader but got voted up anyway.

Was busy but did get one picture. No idea why CMDR Flemish Jack (Cutter) and CMDR Mashwan (Anaconda) are "upside down". Most people like to put the top of their ships towards the sun. Neither has given sufficient explanation for what is going on here. Oh well. Off we go...

Day 30

Jump. Arrive. Scoop. Scan. Jump. Rinse, then repeat. Been doing that all day in mind numbing tedium. Then I found this ringed gas giant with an additional massive ring beyond it's 3 orbital moons. What fun. This more than makes up for another-wise boring day.

Day 31

Got up early, jogged down to 02 and made an extra large pot of coffee. I am extra tired today despite sleeping very well. It is also too quiet. Makes the ship seem like a dismal, forgotten hulk this morning. Especially with half the ship locked down and out of reach while in super cruise.

Found something worth a good laugh. Apparently, I'm not the only one in the 'verse not feeling so blessed today. Look at these pitiful rings.

Noticed Flemish Jack is not heading to WP4 with the rest of us. What is he up to?

Fly safe, CMDRs.

I have had to put in many hours of flying to keep this slow arse Federal Corvette on schedule. Not that I'm complaining since I have a solid two weeks to get from one Expedition way point to the next. Even with a 43 LY jump range, there is plenty of time to explore and visit known places of interest. And still sleep and enjoy a dram of scotch and a holo vid. The only thing that has really suffered is my logbook, and that can be attributed to laziness. A good ship's master should be filling their log out daily, so, I'm apparently not a good ship's master.

Nothing for it but to plant my backside and dictate a single digest to get this thing back on track. My dear logbook archivist is no doubt relieved.

Days 16 through 28

1. Fell a mile and a half into a canyon with my SRV. And again. And again, while trying to escape over the next hour and a half. Stupid Corvette refused to come in for a rescue despite my efforts to direct it into valleys amply large enough for it's bulk. Instead it flitted from canyon rim to canyon rim like some giant, prehistoric bird. NO, I did not take pictures. The only reason I'm talking about it at all is that I was able to save the SRV in the end. Flemish had already left before I could take a crowbar to his. Happy ending, everyone.

Yes, it was his fault. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I only take ownership of the fact I [u]fell for it[/u] (ha ha) AGAIN.

2. Realized three days after our jump from the last base camp that I forgot to pack up the lower main lab. Everything should have been brought back up to the more secure lab on 02 deck before lifting off for orbit. Oops. I had to use an override protocol to bypass the safeties just to get the lift down there so I could assess the damage.

Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as expected. Everything was clamped down as should be. That is pretty much ingrained muscle memory for every spacer. Only two out of 18 test tubes from Vivvy KD-F d8-12 along with the petri dish of blue-green stuff (of course) had met with the aft bulkhead. An hour of cleaning and sterilization later, I was back on the bridge.

3. CMDR Flemish Jack and I made rendezvous at the Mega-ship, Zurara. Creepy place. I had a bit of a malfunction with my data-link scanner, which had me perplexed since none of my instruments were telling me why my scanner wasn't working. I even went so far as to place the nose of my ship against the ship's skin hoping maybe metal to metal conductivity or something magical would get me the data I wanted.

Flemish crowed happily at my "bumping" the ship and took pictures to show everyone. You know, because that is exactly like crashing into planets. [i](see CMDR Flemish Jack's logs here on Inara)[/i] Anyway, I did eventually sort out that the scanner simply wasn't deploying. The voice logs of the long dead CMDR are... eerie. Here's a couple of pictures I took while exploring the wreck.

4. Found another crashed probe out in the middle of nowhere. Collected it's data packet but nothing remarkable. Later the same day, I scanned a planet that turned out to have some very good mining prospects. Ran around in the SRV chipping resources from geyser deposits. Some with these unusual greenish silicate plumes.

5. Four days later, found a strangely ringed water world with a particularly large ringed Gas Giant III nearby. I made a bit of sport racing around the ring as fast as my Alcubierre space/time packet could go while keeping the port corner of my bow on a specific set of grooves in the rings. Anything to relieve the tedium sometimes. That way lies space madness.

6. It's just a couple days before the pre-jump Expedition Moot on Saturday. Think I will attend the afternoon Jump for a change, just to see how many CMDRs show up and what they get up to in the hour or so before jump.

Anyway, Flemish and I make rendezvous again at the WP3 Expedition Base Camp. He helps me restock some of the nickel I have expended repairing a few ship's hulls the past couple weeks. After depleting the location, we jump one system over and try mining on another planet with some decent daylight.

This particular planet has no active volcanism so we have to use the scanners in our SRVs to find rock deposits that are scattered sporadically across the planet's surface. This region does have a nice view of the Class K star and brown dwarf binary.

Flemish takes a moment to drive close and give the finger salute. And I don't mean o7. I respond by directing the combined candle power of my SRV lights into his face.

That is all. Two weeks complete.

Fly safe.

Day 15

The day is finally here. Time to pack up camp and start the two week journey to expedition way point 4.

I was up extra early to make my rounds in cargo and various compartments to check everything secured for maneuvering. Don't want anything becoming a projectile when the ship starts vectoring under thrust. Afterwards, I return to the bridge to start the preliminary take-off check list. It's not long before I am joined by CMDR Tenna in his iridescent gold/green Mamba and CMDR DracosAlpha in his brightly lit Anaconda. He's the morning's jump coordinator. Other than CMDR Flemish Jack, who is on his way, we are it for the morning's festivities.

Since we still have about an hour before we jump, CMDR Tenna decides to demonstrate how you can stow an SRV on top of a ship. I'm skeptical but CMDR DracosAlpha is immediately intrigued and offers to film a DIY video. Rather than try to explain how it's done, I'll supply the link to the video at the end of this log entry.

As Draco and Tenna prepare, Flemish arrives. Much lower and and faster than expected. He's obviously planning a fly-over, and frankly, he's at the right altitude and speed to make it look good. I call the other's attention to it and I feel a sudden surge of nostalgia as the majestic example of Imperial engineering approaches, streaming trails of plasma from it's main engines. I make introductions and both Draco and Tenna comment appreciatively as the ship passes overhead and out of view from where I am sitting in the SRV.

I should take this time to explain a bit of history. Flemish Jack and I met fairly late in our individual military career trajectories, but have known each other for years after leaving service. He spent his career on Imperial naval ships in ways I hadn't, which is why he speaks ships and naval speak in ways I can't. For myself, I was drop ship flight crew and maintainer (and occasional clandestine pilot, shhhhh). I was off ships on missions more than I was on, so I'm more aviator than naval, so to speak.

So when I say that Flemish flew over us majestically, understand that my conditioned aviator brain had already drawn a picture of the Cutter's trajectory and calculated F=ma without much thinking about it. It's in the gut to know what [i]should[/i] be happening behind me. No need to turn around and watch because I've seen it a hundred times. He was going to go long and turn back 180 degrees to bleed off speed before landing.

Tenna shouts an expletive and it's funny how, even in helmets and at distance, everyone still instinctively knows where to look for danger. We all spin our SRVs around to see that Flemish had decided to challenge physics directly. The Cutter is throwing all it's mass times acceleration at the ground and is almost obscured by the dust and debris it is throwing up behind it as it skids along the ground. A few seconds later, momentum arcs upwards again and the Cutter is free of the planet's clutches. I'm in complete disbelief as Flemish flies far out to the horizon. Presumably to assess damage to his ship and pride.

As soon as it is clear that Flemish is okay, Tenna goes to pieces with laughter. I can't help but join him until we are both wiping our eyes. It's definitely attributable to nerves (It's my story). As soon as we get it out of our system, we get back to the SRV stunt demonstration. I give Flemish a quick touch up repair and then we all leave for orbit.

We form up and CMDR DracosAlpha gives the word. We all sound our scanners to alert the dark of our presence. Then we jump.

Credit to CMDR DracosAlpha for creating this video of CMDR Tenna's SRV stunt.

[i]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfBj6wZE0sU[/i]

Day 13

I has having another look at the the petri dish of blue-green stuff when I noticed a faint vibration in the deck and skin of the ship. I glanced at the large, lower main lab centrifuge to be sure it wasn't coming off it's mounts. But it was humming smoothly with its latest batch of bio samples, so I turned back to contemplating the petri dish. Cyanobacteria? Definitely not. Penicillium mold residue or a type of metal oxide? Much more likely.

It wasn't a priority sample since the labs at Jameson Memorial probably already had the answer. It would be months before any report reached me, but I had expedition samples stacking up that were much more important than this. Best course would be to sterilize this dish and free it up for the next batch of cultures.

I turned to do just that, amusing myself thinking, [i]goodbye, cure for the common cold. Goodbye, cure for the Core world's blight[/i].

The vibration suddenly increased and there was no doubt by the harmonic my ship was now singing that another ship was on approach. I dropped the petri dish back into the storage rack and hurried out to the corridor windows. Sure enough, an unseen ship was kicking up swirls of sand nearby and it was only a moment before a large and obscenely gilt copper Imperial Cutter dropped into view.

CMDR Flemish Jack was back.

Day 14

I had Flemish fire up the Cutter and move to about 500m altitude so I could launch limpets to repair his hull without bouncing any off the ground. Afterwards he excused himself back to the sleep he'd lost racing back from the bubble.

Building repair limpets takes lots of nickel and my reserves are starting to dwindle. Spent most of the day running the SRV around to restock. Tomorrow is the big jump towards the next expedition way point and once it is known I have repair capabilities, I may have other requests for hull repairs. Would be a shame to turn anyone way due to running out of repair materials.

Shift is over and time to write this log before I forget. I'm lounging comfortably in the lower main command stateroom/suite watching a horrible but entertaining low budget holo vid called, "It Came from the Beyond". Thargoids are in fashion at the moment and this vid features some sort of Thargoid infection turning humans into glowing, crusty hybrids. In the beginning they were running around eating and infecting other humans on a lost, fictional station somewhere in the Perseus reach. Now the infected station is jumping around gobbling up ships and stations on it's way to Earth. It is up to the cast of scientists, engineers and heroic CMDRs to try and stop it. All portrayed by 20-something wannabe vid stars. Ridiculous.

Day 11

The Field day continues.

I was able to get the Bridge deck squeaky clean yesterday, along with the mostly unused 02 deck. 02 is down the lift below the Bridge and consists of auxiliary scan and navigation stations. If you were looking at a top down view blueprint of the Corvette, you would see that the forward bulkhead of 02 aligns about a half behind the pilot's seat on the bridge. In all other dimensions it shares the same footprint as the aft section of the bridge.

Having no crew, it is maintained in a mostly mothballed state and the only reason I go down there is that the primary coffee mess aboard ship is there. This is the home of Bessie, the best darned steam centrifuge coffee maker in the known 'verse. But let us not be distracted...

I've just finished cleaning the 03 deck galley and medical bay/underway laboratory. Being near the kitchen, I have decided to take an early lunch and do a bit of diary to entertain myself. Continuing the grand tour of the ship:

03 deck again sits below the 02 and shares it's forward and rear bulkhead alignment. However, it has a much wider footprint with the galley and med bay compartments sitting side by side. Like all the other decks in this stack, they are accessed via a short p-way that runs partway between them, leading back to the lift.

Time to to throw the remnants of lunch into the recycler and get to 04 deck. That is where you find the two staterooms, sanitary facilities, gym, and a crew berthing now converted to storage. Pretty sure I'll be stuck there cleaning for the rest of the shift.

Oh, if you are questioning why the deck numbers are going backwards, I did that. It confuses the pirates.

Day 12

Rise and shine, early to breakfast and another lovely cup of morning coffee. Today we visit the 05 deck. I have not been looking forward to this deck as it is the largest deck by far, save the fighter hangar and launch facilities below.

05 contains several compartments mostly concerned with maintenance, fabrication and other such concerns related to engineering and weapons. This level also contains the port and starboard p-ways that lead forward to the thruster compartments, non-existent weapons, and the port and starboard forward magazines. To aft is a lateral p-way with accesses to port and starboard engineering, life support, hydrogen fuel tanks, ion fuel converters, REALLY big non-existent guns, and everything else that makes the ship go.

I have half a mind to get in my SRV and run far away. I keep my ship clean but this is at least 2 days of work just to run a cloth and broom around.

Unlike, 03 and 04 decks, 05 is not set on gimbals and thus not able to orient to the local gravity while in real space. Tables and fixtures are arranged for convenience under gravity, but like every other space in the ship, it is also fitted with handholds, footholds, and straps for working in zero g.

If you are distracted at the moment thinking about compartments on gimbals, I apologize for forgetting to mention that yesterday. 03 and 04 are on gimbals. That means they can rotate 90 degrees to orient with wherever gravity is coming from, be it on planet or under thrust. They only do this in normal space as they are locked down when the Alcubierre drive is online and the ship is experiencing zero g inside its little packet of space time. Ingenious really. I would have loved to thank Core Dynamics for it, except they had nothing to do with it. The previous owner did the upgrade.

Anyway, I'm already past an hour into shift and have lots to do. I'm off to get some work done.

P.S.

Got a message from Flemish Jack in the morning data dump. Says he'll be arriving here tomorrow.

Day 8

My alter-shift stop at Soul nebula Basecamp base has been uneventful so far. Sold a bit of data, browsed the local commodity prices, and walked around a bit. Since I got in earlier than planned, I splurged on a high-end suite complete with in-room dining, soft pillows, and a full whirlpool style bath.

For anyone who may have forgotten; I had to leave the expedition temporarily to take my Phantom back to the bubble. Something blue-green was growing all over my co2 scrubbers and other parts of life support. My little workhorse is now in the yards having tests run and repairs made while I make all speed to return to the expedition before the 12th. So far I am way ahead of my planned schedule.

I'd stay and enjoy my suite for a few more days but dock fees at this station are atrocious.

Day 9

I have arrived back at the Pegasus Run base camp. I've shut down unnecessary systems and unlocked lower main offices and quarters along the ship's belly that are only accessible while sitting in gravity with landing gear extended. I end my day lounging in one of the forward lower main offices enjoying a dram of fine scotch and dictating this journal. The view of the planet through the lower main windows is spectacular.

Day 10

Field day, Field day. All hands to Field day...

All hands meaning me, of course. I'm the only one here nowadays. I did have Romeo Almendarez as hired crew for quite a long time to help keep things ship-shape. He was a good employee who pulled his weight and kept his fighters and fighter bay in top condition. A real treasure. Sadly, I lost him when this very ship I walk on now was interdicted by pirates and hulled through. For no other reason than a Corvette is considered a huge notch in many a pirate's belt. I haven't had the heart to hire anyone else for the moment.

Oh! I just realized how that may sound. No, no, no. I don't mean that he died or anything like that. Sorry if I pulled a little sniffle there. No, he is alive and well to the best of my knowledge. He simply decided he could make a better living elsewhere. With the pirates.

Anyway, big ships like this Corvette are awesome to fly but they are also a lot of real estate to keep clean. But I have 5 days sitting on this planet to get it all done while I have access to every deck and bulkhead. Heading to the deck two gear locker for some of that lovely detergent that cleans by removing a layer of paint. And skin.

Cheers.

I am underway again. This time in VE-09F "Destiny", a fairly late model Corvette from Core.  She doesn't have the legs that Hofvarpnir has but she is such a sweet lady.  She turns on a dime and has power and payload to spare.

Oh and luxury.  Did I mention luxury? For a re-purposed warship, it sure has nice sleeping quarters, galley, gym, and a fully stocked bar. Lets not forget the coffee maker, either. I jokingly tell people it's the whole reason I bought this ship. It's an old style steam centrifuge design that was labeled best coffee maker of the year in 3489. Makes a perfect cup every time be it synth coffee or the real deal. And with my money the real deal is the norm, not the exception.

Ring Ring.. Who's this?  Destiny?  Oh, I've been awaiting your call...

Taking this as the opportunity to visit places I missed on the first trip, I settle in and enjoyed the drive. By the clock I still have 6 days to get back to WP2 (Vivvy system). Or an additional 13 days if I decide to move ahead to WP3.

For my first stop I decided to head for Altera's Eye, which is a shockingly blue nebula containing a black hole. I first jumped into the interior of the nebula to have a look.  As you can see, this is definitely an amazing complex.

Afterwards I jumped to the tourist point where one can fully see the complex as intended. Just amazing with the contrasting Soul Nebula in the background.

A little later on I found a system consisting of a trinary grouping of Class A, B, and O stars. It was very bright and my screens had a hard time adjusting to compensate for the glare. Everything about this system was unique in my experience. There was a binary set of ringed metal planets and several other rocky planets.  8 of the planets had bio signs.

I spent more time cataloging the life forms than taking pictures, which I now regret. Sorry, I only have this one.

Just before I ended my day with a bit of whisky and a vid, I received a transmission from Flemish.  He suffered a mishap in his DBX while attempting a popular airshow maneuver at the Expedition base camp.  He's ok, but says he also has to go back and pull another ship out of his hangar. Looks like it will be a few days before we match up again.

I'm for bed.  There's 96 jumps left to go.

Day 5 - NGC 1491 to Vivvy KD-K d8-3 Checkpoint

There is something definitely wrong with my ship.  Rotten eggs?  Not really.  Old socks?  Maybe, but not quite.  I don't really have a name for the smell.  The CO2 gauge seems a bit higher than normal but not unusual. Nothing to panic about if the scrubbers are doing their job.

Thinking of the scrubbers is enough to get me out of my seat and back to the engineering section to open some panels.  Hofvarpnir did just spend the last 3 months in the yards before this trip and, to be honest with myself, never got a proper shakedown afterwards. There wasn't time. If the yards made a mistake, shame on them. Since I didn't catch it before leaving, shame on me.

I pull the first scrubber screen and it is immediately clear that the surface is dusted with a faint blue green mold. Why it is blue green is something for the chemists to tell me after I send it for testing, but bottom line, it is definitely not supposed to anywhere on this ship.  Especially in a scrubbed and enclosed air system.

I have to go back.

After an hour of pacing and drinking coffee, I have a plan.  Yes, the logical thing is to report in at the assigned waypoint before heading back to Jameson Memorial.  This will give me time to fly back, put Hof back in the yards and submit my request for investigation. I will also contract a lawyer friend and one of my pilots to keep an eye on things, check lot numbers, frame updates and whatever else goes on until time comes to accept delivery. AFTER a thorough shakedown this time.

I already have a kitted out exploration vessel sitting at the ready-one. After provisioning it will be ready to go.

Day 6 - Vivvy KD-K d8-3 to Jameson Memorial

I made it to Vivvy KD-K d8-3 just an hour ago and made another check of the scrubbers.  No joy.  If anything they look worse. I have some spares in the parts locker but if the screens are contaminated then the whole system is contaminated. I will save the replacements and use them sparingly as needed to keep breathing.

After a quick social coms chat with Karl Draex, a fellow expedition pilot who sympathizes with my need to go back for another ship, I start my trip. This will the hardest and fastest I have ever driven poor Hof.  But I know the little ship can take it.

4.8 hours later

I'm on short final for the docks.  I've made it.  RIP trusty Hofvarpnir. I regret putting you out to pasture for this one.

Day 5 - NGC 1491 to Vivvy KD-K d8-3 Checkpoint

There is something definitely wrong with my ship.  Rotten eggs?  Not really.  Old socks?  Maybe, but not quite.  I don't really have a name for the smell.  The CO2 gauge seems a bit higher than normal but not unusual. Nothing to panic about if the scrubbers are doing their job.

Thinking of the scrubbers is enough to get me out of my seat and back to the engineering section to open some panels.  Hofvarpnir did just spend the last 3 months in the yards before this trip and, to be honest with myself, never got a proper shakedown afterwards. There wasn't time. If the yards made a mistake, shame on them. Since I didn't catch it before leaving, shame on me.

I pull the first scrubber screen and it is immediately clear that the surface is dusted with a faint blue green mold. Why it is blue green is something for the chemists to tell me after I send it for testing, but bottom line, it is definitely not supposed to anywhere on this ship.  Especially in a scrubbed and enclosed air system.

I have to go back.

After an hour of pacing and drinking coffee, I have a plan.  Yes, the logical thing is to report in at the assigned waypoint before heading back to Jameson Memorial.  This will give me time to fly back, put Hof back in the yards and submit my request for investigation. I will also contract a lawyer friend and one of my pilots to keep an eye on things, check lot numbers, frame updates and whatever else goes on until time comes to accept delivery. AFTER a thorough shakedown this time.

I already have a kitted out exploration vessel sitting at the ready-one. After provisioning it will be ready to go.

Day 6 - Vivvy KD-K d8-3 to Jameson Memorial

I made it to Vivvy KD-K d8-3 just an hour ago and made another check of the scrubbers.  No joy.  If anything they look worse. I have some spares in the parts locker but if the screens are contaminated then the whole system is contaminated. I will save the replacements and use them sparingly as needed to keep breathing.

After a quick social coms chat with Karl Draex, a fellow expedition pilot who sympathizes with my need to go back for another ship, I start my trip. This will the hardest and fastest I have ever driven poor Hof.  But I know the little ship can take it.

4.8 hours later

I'm on short final for the docks.  I've made it.  RIP trusty Hofvarpnir. I regret putting you out to pasture for this one.

[b][u]Day 3 - Black Holes, Abandoned Settlements, and NGC 1491[/u][/b]

After a quick after breakfast preflight, Flemish and I agreed to take a rest day to travel around the local tourist traps in the Formidine Rift.  Quiet day?  Hardly.  These are two Imperial Navy veterans we are talking about here.

Tourist Trap 1 - Angry Dead Stars

First we stopped at a system of 3 black holes, known as the 3 Angels of Death.  It was my first time in a system with one and my blood pressure was up.  The first shock was dropping into the system and seeing nothing but black... nothingness.  I hit all stop and sat a moment before carefully maneuvering to put the galaxy behind it. So I could see it.  It put me in mind of this quote from an ancient vid show.

[i]"Well, the thing about a black hole - its main distinguishing feature - is it's black. And the thing about space, the colour of space, your basic space colour, is black. So how are you supposed to see them?" ` Holly, Red Dwarf[/i] 

Finally I got the 3 black holes right where I wanted them, in all their bubble like glory...

We spent a lot longer here than planned but it was well worth the stop.  Once you know what to expect, that is.

I should also mention that it was about this time I noticed something was off in my ship.  When I say off, I mean off as in there was a faint odor in the cabin.  Cabin air readings were spot on so I noted it down as something to track carefully.  Air is life.

Tourist Trap 2 - Haunted Huts

Next we entered a planetary well to visit a well known lost settlement.  It is definitely very spooky, being lit with only the lights on our ships and with one radar array still turning.  As if the colonists had only just disappeared yesterday. I'm not sure what the whole story is, but if I remember right, these folks have never been found.

I hopped out into my SRV to have a look around.

It was about 2 minutes after I started my drive that all hell broke loose.  Flemish shouts "S&*#! What is happening? No no no!"

I spun the SRV around and headed back towards the ships at full speed while asking what is wrong.  He says, "My ship is about to explode!"

Explode?  I thought maybe he set down on something so I shouted, "Take off!  Take off now!".  He didn't waste any time in pulling an armful and getting his ship off the ground.  Considering our very different military tracks back in the day, I had to applaud his reflexes without asking questions.  Maybe all the Imp Navy jobs ARE the same... But, it didn't fix the problem.

I was back in my ship by the time his ship stopped cascading towards death.  To this moment we still don't know what caused it but he had taken a significant amount of damage by the time it was over.  I lifted off and eased over towards him while preparing limpet drones to work on his hull.  The first one I launched failed as he was too close to the ground.  I had him lift up a bit and tried again.  This time the drone got in there and went to work. Now is when the humor element kicked in.

While my drone was working, Flemish's ship started to slowly drop towards the ground.  All I saw was my drone about to be crushed underneath him and said, "Why are you dropping?  Stop dropping!". He was confused a moment and then said, "Oh, my AFMU turned my thrusters off", and had himself a bit of a laugh. Glad it was a low G planet.

With his ship back to 100% we headed out. God speed Beta Site colonists. Wherever you are.

Tourist Trap 3 - NGC 1491

Flemish has a thing for nebulas.  Or is that nebulae?.  Anyway, while I was a little hesitant at first to put in the miles, I agreed to follow him quite a ways off the galactic plane to view NGC 1491. And glad I did. It is a small nebula, but makes up for it in it's swirls of light and shadow that break into rays throughout it's dome shaped interior. We stopped for a quick photo op with the nebula as our backdrop.

I got into my charts to see if there were any other places worth seeing before we started the final leg up to the waypoint.  While I was at it, Flemish asks, "Hey you are still looking at the galaxy map right?".  I look up from my map and jump in my seat.

What a jerk.

I'm hitting the rack.  It's a long trip yet to the waypoint tomorrow.