I've been laid up with paperwork for the past few days. Staying at Finch Beacon was nice enough, though.

Anyway, I'm out in the black again. I have the last of the prismatic shields I needed for my collection, and I also have a new Type-9, which I've named Alowdia's Embrace, to haul cargo around the bubble whenever I'm here. I have put it through its paces and made a few dozen million credits with it already. Not bad for a first outing.

I'm finally taking the Asp Explorer out for a spin beyond the bubble. This won't be the grand expedition I was hoping for, though - I'm just hopping over to HIP 36601 to see about collecting raw materials to use for engineering ship components. Still, it'll be nice to be outside the bubble for a change.

I took Alowdia's Caress to Finch Beacon to drive the SRV. The tips I got worked like a charm. I'll need to practice if I hope to stand a chance at SRV racing, but I can at least explore planetary surfaces without risking life and limb every time I board the Scarab now.

Since I'd never been to Finch before, I decided to check out what the place might have to offer. I found a concourse unlike any other I'd visited before. Granted, I haven't visited enough concourses to definitively call it special, but the sky bar with a view of the facility and most of the landing pads was a nice touch.

Aside from the fantastic view, there's not much else that makes Finch Beacon noteworthy. I'll stay the night - and maybe an extra day or two - while I catch up on paperwork.

Someone gave me some SRV driving tips. If I'm to explore the great unknown, I should know how to maneuver on land just as well as I can in space.

I have a few minutes. I'll take the SRV out to see what I can do with what I've been taught.

I'm taking the Type-7 out for another spin. If I didn't need to stay close to the Aisling bubble, I think I'd be out there - out nowhere in particular, just there.

The grind pays the bills, anyway. It'll be nice to come home to a nest egg to start with for whatever adventure I choose next after I return from my trip into the galaxy - that is, if I go, and if I return.

I've just had the most fun I've had in one day of flying since I became a commander!

I flew out to Deciat and met Felicity Farseer. We worked together to add a ton of upgrades to the Explorer's frame shift drive and a few other components. With her help, I got Alowdia's Caress to jump beyond 50 light years.

It wasn't all fun and games, though. I had to visit Commander John Jameson's crashed Cobra MKIII in HIP 12099 to pick up some data, and spent a lot of time flying between stations to find people who'd trade for the materials I needed.

After getting my upgrades set up, I set course for the Guardian ruins in Synuefe NL-N C23-4. Driving the SRV isn't my forte, so my visit to the ruins took a little longer than expected - and my equipment took quite a beating. Good thing I'd brought three SRVs, though I did end up only using two before I'd made off with everything I needed.

I returned to the bubble, found a broker who'd help me get the Guardian frame shift drive booster with the blueprints and materials I'd provided, and now Alowdia's Caress makes 60 light years in an unboosted jump!

That kinda got me thinking. Is exploring the black my true calling?

Adult obligations kept me out of my ship. I missed the deadline to pick up the last of the prismatic shields I need, now I don't have the merits I need to be on the list of permitted buyers. Looks like I'll be pledged to Aisling for another week to have another go.

I think I'll go find something else to do in the meantime. I've been putting off meeting engineers to upgrade my Asp Explorer, Alowdia's Caress, so I can fly her out to Synuefe NL-N C23-4 to obtain blueprints for a frame-shift drive booster.

I think I'll plot a course to Deciat.

Aisling Duval is finally offering to sell me prismatic shields. I've snuck into a Li Yong-Rui system for the 15% discount.

There's just one hitch. I've only got 312 million credits. That's not nearly enough to purchase the lifetime supply I was planning. I'm snatching what I can with the money I have, but I'm going to have to take the Type-7 back out to make the extra 500 million I'll need to complete my set.

My play paid off. Alowdia's Kiss is bringing in the dough, and I just made my biggest single-day profit yet - a cool 100 million credits!

I'm closing in on 300 million credits, and just in time. It'll be four weeks since I pledged to Aisling by the middle of the month, and I have obligations elsewhere that will keep me out of my ship for the next week.

I've got my Type-7, Alowdia's Kiss. Time to put it through its paces. The monotony of making multiple trips to complete a mission was starting to get to me, and this should make it at least more bearable.

I've been wandering about aimlessly after leaving the Pilot's Federation District. I've needed a start. I have an idea of where I want to be: There's a star system full of rings, and I want to fly my very own fleet carrier there to bring back a massive haul. But I need the ships and the components to get there and the money to fund my ventures.

I think I've found that start.

A sage commander told me I should be working toward obtaining all the special equipment the galactic power players have to offer, since I'd take the better part of a year to get them all. Aisling Duval seemed like the a nice first pledge: pretty, outspoken, seems to have a nice message, but also pretty.

So I decided to head to Cubeo. I didn't need to go there to get started, but I thought it might be good to have a look around - to see if there was anything special about my new boss's HQ. Nothing at Chelomey Orbital really stood out.

Unimpressed, I picked up my first batch of programme materials from her representative at the station. Ready to deliver them, I thought it best to check if there were any missions out to the systems being fortified. That's when I saw it: 50 million credits to mine bertrandite.

Now, I'd bought and sold bertrandite before - I tried my hand at trading in my Type-6. The returns were decent, but not worth writing home about. This, on the other hand, this was a gold mine. I could trade for it instead of mining it, as the mission requested. It wasn't a light haul - more than 900 units - but I gave it some thought and knew it would be worth the 10 trips I'd have to make in the T6. Then, if similar missions came my way, I'd use the money earned to pick up a bigger ship and make subsequent trips more efficient.

That's where I am now. I have three similar missions lined up. That's 150 million credits gross - 120 million net after I take away the cost of purchasing the bertrandite - and I've got my eye set on a Type-7 set up to haul 300 units in one go.