Spent some time back in the Bubble, contacted a few Engineers and good ol' TANSTAAFL now has upgraded jump capabilities and sips a bit less fuel too.

Heading straight "up" out of the galactic plane this time...found a few metal worlds that had shown evidence someone had discovered them, but no one bothered to map....good for a few credits when I get back home if nothing else.

Been out in the black too long...one's insignificance becomes notable when you finally cross paths with another ship out here (the survey ship Pandora in this case). No response to hails, though; no evidence of landing craft on the nearby planet.

Then again, with a Thargoid presence not three systems away, perhaps this is merely a drone ship for later use? No way of knowing.

I'm parking myself on a nearby rock to stretch my legs a bit...

Got a bit further, just made the edge of the bubble at Kaites system. One thing I didn't miss...those damned pirates. I spent too much time gathering Thargoid components and meta-alloys to just hand them over. Dusted a couple, then evaded interdiction on the last one. Made it to the Prospect and got some much-needed repairs. Time to bunk down for the evening, then home to Clayakarma tomorrow.