After my short trip to Ishum's Reach, I made a quick trip to Beagle Point to turn in data and get some rest. Unfortunately the last 12 hours have been anything but restful.

It started out when Universal Cartographics paid me 172,500 Cr for "being the first to map Oevasy SG-Y d0". This is extremely unlikely given how many very motivated pilots have already visited this system with a water world and two terraformable worlds, and when I brought that up, they told me to keep the credits and started an investigation into what caused the error.

That investigation attracted the attention of someone at UCHQ in the Bubble, which then flagged to the Imperial Revenue Service, the Federation Revenue Service, and the Alliance Department of Revenue, that I could be reached at DSSA Distant Worlds in Beagle Point. This resulted in notice stuck to the hatch of my Mandalay from a helpful Agent Simms. It turns out the Imperial Revenue Service, the Federation Revenue Service, and the Alliance Department of Revenue all want a piece of the 31 billion credits in cash and 15 billion in assets I've amassed so far, and they're involving their criminal investigation units. I was positive that I had my lawyer at Lave Station handling this matter, but he apparently retired while I was out in the black and sent all the correspondence to my old address at Lave Station, not my new address in Ulicunabopa.

Fortunately the Pilots Trade Network has an incredible legal services team and they are now on the case. Unfortunately I need to be available nearly constantly for the next several weeks until this is all sorted.

An even worse situation has come up with my sister's colonization efforts. I mentioned before that she was building a string of colonies called "The Princess Worlds" where the major stations are named after princesses or princes. She tells me that she's filed plans with Brewer Corporation - still subject to approval - to construct two Orbis-class stations in Col 285 Sector EY-L B23-3, normally named after princesses, after each of us.

What my sister doesn't know is that my Imperial Reserves rank means that I am subject to court martial - which can carry the sentence of imperial enslavement - if I claim a rank higher than I have actually earned. And my current rank isn't Princess or Queen, but Dutchess. So now my new lawyers have a different matter on their hands.

I'm going to try to talk my sister into not building anything in my name unless and until I manage the rank of Imperial Reserves Princess, which can't happen until I get back to the Bubble. And meanwhile, I'm hoping she can convince Brewer Corporation that the system plans for Col 285 Sector EY-L B23-3 were just a draft and that the stations will be named for someone else entirely.

All of this is to say - I'm going to be hanging out at DSSA Distant Worlds in Beagle Point for a while until this is all sorted out.

At least the view from the bar is amazing.

Today (July 14 3311) I made it to Ishum's Reach (Oevasy SG-Y D0) after seven months of exploration and exobiology, from the Bubble to Colonia to Sagittarius A* to Beagle Point and then to here.

I took some photos - you can look at them here

I took the time to land in two spots - the "official" furthest body from Sol, Oevasy SG-Y D0 9 f (the grey planet), and the current furthest body from Sol, Oevasy SG-Y D0 8 e (the brown planet where she's in a crater). The big stripe of stars? You are there. You can also see from these photos that my paint job ain't what it used to be.

Thanks to having an 84 light year jump range, it took me fourteen jumps from Beagle Point to get here, much fewer than the 43 jumps mentioned in another journal by an anonymous pilot. The jumps, starting from Beagle Point, are:

1. Ceeckia YX-F C12-0
2. Ceeckia ZB-K C25-0
3. Ceeckia BI-I C26-0
4. Ceeckia FJ-I C26-0
5. Ceeckia OE-E D13-0
6. Myeia Thaa SI-B D13-0
7. Myeia Thaa RI-B D13-1
8. Myeia Thaa QI-B D13-0
9. Myeia Thaa UO-Z D13-0
10. Ceeckaea QK-C D14-0
11. Oevasy MA-A D0
12. Oevasy NA-A D0
13. Oevasy RG-Y D0
14. Oevasy SG-Y D0

An easier way to do this is to set your nav computer to Ceeckaea QK-C D14-0, and then, once you reach that, to Oevasy SG-Y D0.

Surprisingly, Oevasy SG-Y D0 has two terraformable worlds and a water world, which, if the Brewer Corporation ever loosened up the colonization rules, would make this a great colony system for tourism. If that prospect worries you, have no fear - the path here requires a few jumps much longer than the current 15 ly limit, and besides, there are some materials that can ONLY be produced in the Bubble, and even a fleet carrier is going to have trouble hauling those all the way out here.

If you're a carrier owner looking to land here: the rings around B9 have tritium.

Next stop is back to Beagle Point to turn in data and rest a while.

Today I made it to Beagle Point - not the end of the Galaxy, but close to it.

After landing at the carrier DSSA Distant Worlds I sold off my exobiology a little bit at a time. The goal of this was to get a bead on where the new line is separating Elite IV Exobiologist and Elite V Exobiologist.

I started out by selling a small amount of data from one system, then a small amount from another system, and so on, until I finally sold a package of 16 million credits worth of organic data that allowed me to rank up.

Based on this, I can tell you that it currently takes between 30,909,860,900 credits and 30,925,860,900 credits of total exobiology data profits to reach the rank of Elite V Exobiologist. This is between 356,260,900 credits and 372,260,900 credits more than the 30,553,600,000 listed on the Elite wiki. The best estimate I can give you is that it takes 30,917,860,900 credits of total exobiology data profits to reach the rank of Elite V Exobiologist, plus or minus 8,000,000 credits.

Once that was done I sold the rest of my Exobiology and Exploration data. A few billion credits richer, I spent the night celebrating. The DSSA Distant Worlds has a fantastically stocked bar that is also fantastically expensive. After I got suitably drunk I stumbled back to my ship to sleep it off. The next morning I treated myself to a greasy breakfast of real eggs, real breakfast potatoes, real coffee, and fake bacon, followed by my first real shower since May.

My plan for the rest of the day is to stock up on provisions, send a postcard to my sister from Beagle Freaking Point, do all the laundry, and plot my next trip - to the very edge of the Galaxy, Oevasy RG-Y d0.

I had a close call on my way to DSSA-Procul Umbra in Smootoae QY-S d3-202 - I was several jumps away in Blaa Briae IO-Z D13-46 and looking for some hard-to-find biological phenomena when I crashed much harder into the planet than I intended. Shield - gone. Hull - down to 34%. Fortunately a couple of repair limpets were able to get me sorted, but I could have lots billions of credits in biological data if that crash were worse.

I wasn't about to take that chance again. There's still a couple of first footfall data (tussock and fungoid) in Blaa Briae IO-Z D13-46 if you want it. Good luck to you.

I made the rest of the way to DSSA-HQ Procul Umbra with a solid 82 MCr in exploration data, over 2 MCr in codex data, and a whopping 4.2 GCr (yes, with a G!) in exobiology data. That's enough to earn me promotions to Elite IV Explorer and Elite IV Exobiologist, with new ship livery to match.

DSSA-HQ Procul Umbra has virtually anything a weary traveller would want, including (importantly) Vista Genomics and (more importantly) a well-stocked bar - complete with a selection of locally crafted alcohols. Staterooms are ridiculously expensive - which is to be expected this far out - and extremely comfortable, with private laundry facilities, microweave cotton sheets, and the best shower heads outside of the Bubble.

The order of my stay: laundry, shower, sleep, a real meal, a lot of drinks, sleep, then catching up with news and correspondence.

I did hear from my sister Portia - who tells me she's laying the foundations for a series of colonies called The Princess Systems, potential population in the hundreds of millions once they're all done. She tells me there's a good chance the foundations, and the modest first system, will be done by the time I get back. We'll see - she has a habit of jumping from one project to the next without getting them done.

After reading that from my sister: scan down the system for exploration data, then another real meal, another round of drinks, sleep, a shower, and restocking my ship: real fruits and vegetables, freeze-dried rations, food cartridges, fresh water, a couple of cases of cup-of-noodles, and, for the heck of it, a bottle of Proculian brandy.

Next stop is DSSA Eleanor in Cho Thua NL-C b40-0, which is about two weeks' journey from here.

Stopped off at DSSA Pegasus in Byua Aowsy MR-N D6-19 to sell exploration data - got about 135MCr out of it after the 25% "tax." DSSA Pegasus is a spartan ship, suitable for this region of space that is sparse with stars. I was able to stock up on food cartridges and cup-a-noodles and fresh water, and get a real shower, and that's about it. No cabins for rent, so I spent the night in my cabin in the Moonbow Explorer. Byua Aowsy MR-N D6-19 system itself is lovely, and would make a good colony someday.

Because this region is so sparse for stars, I need to be careful with my fuel, and that means occasionally replotting my route to hit a fuel star that otherwise makes my route less-than-optimal. Really, "optimal" is subjective here. I want to get to the next waypoint fast, but I don't want to take unnecessary risks doing it.

Onward to Smootoae QY-S d3-202, where there's a DSSA carrier that will hopefully take my exobiology data as well.

Speaking of colonization: my sister tells me that she is laying the foundations for a good colony herself, near PTN faction space. I look forward to seeing the results when I get back.

I'm taking a bit of a breather at carrier Praise The Sun located in Hypou Briaee MM-W D1-830. I managed to sell 250 million in exploration data and over 3 billion in exobiology data - that last bit moved me up to Elite III Exobiologist rank.

This carrier is pretty swank - in addition to Vista Genomics, it has livery available and a well-stocked bar. I'm going to spend a couple of credits on a cabin for the weekend, and then my agenda is a solid meal, a solid cocktail, a shower, a day in a real bed, and then laundry.

After this, next stop is the DSSA Pegasus in Byua Aowsy MR-N d6-19.

Addendum: I got an email from my sister Portia! She's been building colonies near the Bubble. I new Brewer Construction was doing that, but that all started well after I left on this journey. She says she has three systems going with more on the way. I emailed her back to schedule a vid call. A vid call from out here is going to cost a few credits but it's worth it to get in touch.

Headline up front - I followed up on the tip and found a space rich in undiscovered black holes and undiscovered neutron stars. I've already turned these in - fully DSS mapped - with Universal Cartographics, but you should be able to find plenty more nearby these, spaced about 5-8 ly apart.

First discovered black holes:

• Systimbu EG-Y F4606
• Systimbu LX-U E2-9870

First discovered neutron stars:

• Systimbu LX-U C2-1917
• Systimbu LX-U E2-8109

I took the Neutron Superhighway to DSSA Ronin (V1Q-95G) to turn in the data, and that was enough to bump up my Explorer rank to Elite III.

From here I will continue my journey to Beagle Point the old fashioned way and collect data along the way. By the time I get there I should have enough data for Elite IV in both exploration and exobiology.

As a side note, I can't recommend much about DSSA Ronin's amenities, but I was able to get laundry done, and score some fresh mandarin oranges off a pilot who keeps a few trees in his Anaconda. Those should make the next week or so much more pleasant.

Next step is a few hundred light years up or down, and then to my next waypoint at HRSC Limpet's Call.

After three weeks in the black, exploring and picking up exobiology data, I finally made it to Explorer's Anchorage in Stuemeae FG-Y D7561.

I sold quite a bit of exploration and exobiology data - although in both cases, a little short of what I needed to make Elite III in either.

After that, it was a short, almost anticlimactic hop, to Sag A*, and the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Bucket list goal, done.

I'm going to take some of my earnings to resupply for a very long journey ahead. My next goal is to get to Beagle Point. It's going to take me at about three months to get there. Preparing for this journey means stocking up on the kind of rations that take up little space. So, lots of dehydrated soup, with some freeze-dried fruits and vegetables as a treat - enough for six months, just in case. I'm also going to have a couple of extra fresh water tanks put in the Moonbow Explorer. What I lose in jump range I more than make up for in comfort.

In the meanwhile I'm going to enjoy a hotel room with a Real Shower and Real Bed, fresh water, whatever the best coffee is that I can find here, real food (including fresh fruits and vegetables), and the company of humans at the bar.

EDIT: I got some hot tips on a potentially undiscovered black hole. Should be fun.

2nd EDIT: I picked up a few tee shirts from the souvenir shop. Might as well, it's going to be a long trip before I can do laundry again. Also sent my sister a postcard. Postage from here to the Bubble is luxuriously expensive.

I made it to Colonia after two months in the black - not to mention a couple of moderate setbacks. Along the way I collected over 6 billion credits in data and leveled up to Elite II in both Exploration and Exobiology - not to mention discovered hundreds of new worlds, including dozens of terraformable planets.

I didn't stay in Colonia long. During my 24 hours there I got immediately to work becoming allied with both Jacques and the Colonia Council and earning my reputation with the ship module engineers. This required me to use a different ship from my highly engineered Mandalay - and so I commissioned a Python, the Moonbow Colonia, to do all the dirty work of mining ossium, delivering progenitor cells, rescuing occupied escape pods, and hunting bounties.

After 24 hours, some actual human interaction, a good night's sleep in a real bed, doing all my laundry, a thorough shower and massage, and refreshing the Moonbow Explorer's galley with real coffee, fresh water, freeze-dried foods, and instant noodles, I set back out for my next destination: Stuemeae FG-Y D7561, and from there, Sagittarius A*. I expect to be there in less than a month. Wish me luck!

In 3310, with the help of the Pilots Trade Network, I achieved:

• Three Elite ranks (Combat, Mercenary, and Trade) to add to the Exploration and Exobiology ranks I already had. Of those, Trade is Elite V - the highest rank you can get!
• Eight months of huge wins in faction work
• Bombing runs on two Thargoid titans
• A dozen highly engineered ships for every niche
• Over 25 billion credits in gained assets and wealth
• My first, and so far only, carrier, the NAC Solar Mooncastle

As 3310 comes to a close I find myself once again drawn to the Black. My trusty Mandalay is rigged for exploration, my Artemis suit is fully spec'd out to find exobiological samples in hard-to-reach places, and 99%+ of the Milky Way Galaxy remains unexplored.

3311 is going to be about the journey to Colonia, to the Center of the Galaxy, to the Farthest End of the Galaxy, and, in a roundabout way, back Home again.

"It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark... and we're wearing sunglasses." - Elwood Blues

"Hit it." - Jake Blues