Oct. 20th 3311 Deciat Garay Terminal - 18:20 Station time

Personel Log. Commander Swagman.

Well, its over. Got back last night. The contract is over and money is in the old bank account.

I had been hired to run a survey run out towards the Coal Sack Nebula and beyond. It was a joint contract Cartography and Vista Genomics. I was to visit 60 systems on their books with the end point being HD 86000, which is a charming little system with not one but two Neutron stars. I was then to wander on back and pick up a few more systems. About 85 in all.

Seems that these systems were only given a rudimentary scan. No real mapping data and certainly no biologicals. I was to go in and grab what they missed. The payout was going to pretty big. How could I say no. I leapt at the chance. I had recently got a Mandalay: "Cutter's Goose" Its drive had been tweaked and improved on by Felicity Farseer. The system was going through a series of little wars. This was a chance to get away from it all.

It was exciting at first but its strange how the extraordinary can start to feel like routine. The journey almost episodic and repetitive. My end point was going to take me 1200 light years from my starting system. I would be outside the bubble, but still wandering in the footsteps of others.

So I followed their trails like a scavenger, mapping what they ignored, stepping where they never dared or thought to go. First footfall, yes. But it still felt like I wasn't just late to the feast; I was the one who arrives after the banquet. Feeding on Kitchen scraps left behind.

There was some wild and crazy biologicals out there but not much else. I did come across the crash site of poor soul. Their ship a broken wreck. An SRV partially buried in the dirt. Some drones laying around. I also hit off some strange crystal structures at one systems la grange point. But all in all, it was just me mapping and updating existing records. Dont get me wrong the money was good. Real good. I bagged a cool 500mcr for my troubles and got on the good books of the ruling faction in Deciat. But I would have loved to have found some real firsts. Undiscovered countries and all the rest that comes with it. But that is for another expedition. But one I that I plan. I think you need to get way further out now if you want to hit the unknowns. Commanders have been zipping around here for at least a decade or more. Thats a lot of stars clustered in or near the bubble. You need to head way out or should that be way further in, towards the core? I heard there is some wild stuff out there.

But thats enough for now. I need to relax take it easy. Been in the cockpit too long. Breathing recycled air and eating vacuum packed rations can wear on a man. The ship also needs quite a bit of TLC and maybe another trip to Felicity, see what magic she can perform on the ship.

End Log.

Musca Dark Region IM-V c2-24 Hannu Arena 13/10/3311 - 18:46 Station Time

Let me tell you about something about the coal sack. Its been pretty much mapped by this point. All the excitement was from a few years ago. Remnants of the Thargoid war still abound. There are still things to see and things to do. But anyone who tells you this place is Thargoid free or we have them beat is snorting space dust. This place crawls. They're like termites lurking under the floorboards. In between the crawl spaces. Behind the walls.

Don't believe me?

Switch on your FSS scanner and dial the frequency to chatter. Believe me friend you will so hear them whispering out their in the dark. System I am in now, the station I currently have set up as a base of ops. Their alien chatter literally surrounds this place. Its creepy to think they are out there lurking the deep dark. Waiting to snare the unwary or the foolish.

I strayed a little too close at one point and chased out of there by a bunch of drones. If I had been flying anything else than the Goose, I would have finished. This is one goose they did not cook. ha ha.

Honestly why am I even here? Credits. Big payolla friends.

Seems most of the surveys done out here were back in the day before FFS scanners and smart mapping probes. Brave bold Magellans of the day would swoop in and honk the system. Get the deets and zip on out to the next system. Well Universal Cartographics & Vista Genomics are looking for pilots to swoop through the area again. Grab the stuff that was missed. The payout is huge, especially if you get first "footfall". Vista goes crazy for that stuff. You get your name logged in the codex and a huge bonus if you do and you find something worthwhile.

I just came back from a system a 100ly out from IM-V c2-24. Not a big system 6 planets with smaller moons. Some basic life readings and geology. But this had been missed see? So I get out there and I get the goodies.

But while out there I got the sense I was being watched. I was making this approach to a small moon in the system. Sensors had thrown up some basic life forms. Most likely site was a huge crater. So I make for it. Then the sensors started to ping. A Frame shift wake, just the one. It was there on the edge of my scanners. I expected them to ping a ship emerging but there was nothing at all. When I switched the cameras to the rear and zoomed in, I could see something. Something dark blotting out the stars. It doesn't help the systems star was a T dwarf. I have seen tea lights got more shine than these. I able to get a single image but you can make something out and its there is no mistaking what it is. It lurked around and I could pick up those demonic whispers on the Goose's comms. I obviously wasn't interesting enough and it left. But make no mistake. Those Thargoids are still out there. There aint nothing for scavs or pirates out here perhaps but there something those Thargoids want. So watch your six commanders.