Day 24 | 25,980LY from Sol | Errant Marches | Bludgaea Sector

Left the DSSA ship feeling pretty accomplished, due to the insane amount of credits on my name, but also pretty hungover due to the copious amounts of alcohol I consumed at the bar. Someone like me having access to lots of money might be a real problem.

Then the work set in. Jump. Scan. Jump. Scan. Jump. Scan. Fly. Scan. Land. Scan. Jump. Scan.

This is the part I was waiting for. I've experienced it once before, and I knew I'd be pushing my mental limits this time. What they never tell potential explorers in the vids is how in between all the amazing, overwhelming beauty and excitement of big finds are all the lifeless, empty, or 'same-style' systems you get to encounter. It's still a privilege to be the first to see these worlds, sure, but... hell maybe it's human nature. Eventually you stop feeling it and you're just doing the work of exploration.

And it is work. Endless work. Work that won't be finished in my lifetime.

Finally arrived in the Errant Marches. Continued following the edge spinward until I caught wind of a POI that might be worth seeing, try to break up the monotony, ya know? So I turned coreward and we'll see if it's worth the detour. Might have paid off actually, as my nav route is showing a lot of systems with no known data. Could pay off big.

But then I was interrupted and startled when I finished mapping a planet with some biological systems. I wasn't expecting a targeted signal, something you see all the time back in the bubble but not out here. It just came up as "Nonhuman Signature." I blanched, but I had to see what it was. Maybe it was something I needed to report back on, or something new and truly undiscovered. Only one way to find out, right?

I ended up finding two busted up 'goid sensor assemblies. I scavenged the parts I could, and left it sitting on the surface. If I had weapons on this boat I would've blasted them. Goids. This far out. On the edge of the damn galaxy. I left the bubble to get away from them and from their war! But here is evidence of them. Even here.

This sits uneasy with me, and I don't think I'm going to be able to shake it off for a few days. I need to think about something else, and maybe pop open another bottle of this brandy. So... signing off.

Day 19 | 21,393LY from Sol | Formidine Rift | Graesms Region | DSSA CW Brazilian Flag

It's been a little bit since my last update, so I guess I was due. I'm sitting here in the lounge on the DSSA CW Brazilian Flag, listening to the loud music and the nearly drowned-out voices of people talking. It's been a few weeks since I heard these sounds, and I didn't realize how much I was missing them.

I've seen a lot since my last update. I saw a ringed brown dwarf that looked hot pink in color. That was neat. While on one planet scanning some plants, you know just going through the motions, I looked up and lost my wind. Through the thin atmosphere a beautiful ringed gas giant hovered in the sky like an imperial ghost haunting the silence of that world. The actual wind of the planet seemed to stir the sand at my feet as if it knew what I beheld. Just beautiful.

But that was nothing compared to the moon I landed on in the Smaidiae region. It was so close to the nearby ringed giant that the rings actually penetrated into the orbital cruise zone. It was at an odd angle, but I was able to use my SRV's external camera to get an amazing shot. It felt like I could use the SRV's thrusters and jump right onto the rings. Simply amazing. The thermal and magma vents on the surface of the moon added a bit of geological interest as well.

I checked out another planetary nebulae in the region as well. That was no less beautiful but after that moon it just didn't have the same effect on me.

I then finally made my way over here to the CW Brazilian Flag. Gone were my initial worries about the crazy folk living on these carriers. They are... well let's just say unique, but they are still just regular people. Most of them seem to be long-haul miners missing their homes. I can understand that, I guess, even if I don't share the sentiment. In fact, in their eyes, I imagine I'm the one that seems a bit odd and out of place. While the carrier makes a fair amount of coin from my data, so they are nice enough to me as I walk the corridors, these folks miss their homes while I'm the one haring off in random directions with no thoughts of being back home. I'm guessing they left before the 'goids started their invasion, but they have to know about it from the feeds. It makes me wonder what they really think about me. Probably best to not ponder that for too long.

Speaking of data... the last carrier didn't have a Vista Genomics office setup like this one does, so I was finally able to offload thousands of light years worth of organic scans. I almost had a heart attack when I saw my credit balance. I... I have about 4.5 billion banked now. Might not be much to some folks, but that's more than I've ever seen before. Wow. Gonna take a while to get used to seeing that many digits. Definitely not complaining, though!

It's about time to set out again. Might be a little bit before my next log. The first half of this next leg will have me continuing to skirt the rim of the outer arm until I reach the border between the Formidine Rift and the Errant Marches.

Hope I find some interesting things. Wish me luck.

Day 14 | 13,632LY from Sol | Formidine Rift | Dryi Aescs Region

I'm finally starting to approach the system with the DSSA carrier reported in this region, which means I'm beginning to get close to the start of the Outer Arm and therefore close to reaching the end of the first leg of my tenuously planned expedition. I've discovered quite a bit that hasn't been seen before and there's something fulfilling about knowing that... about knowing that I am contributing to the knowledge of the entirety of humanity.

I'm not going to lie here, though, I'm still a little concerned about what I will find when I reach the DSSA. I've never been to one before... that project hadn't begun the last time I was out in the black. There's something to be said about truly being out on your own and every jump taking you even further away from support. I'll be glad to see a few folks, sell some cartographic data, and maybe have a drink of something other than Lavian Brandy. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I brought the stuff with me and I'm thankful to have it. Helps me sleep.

The Ecco is starting to show some wear. I noticed when I disembarked to scan some bacterial colony growths that the paint has begun to wear thin in some places. I suppose its from all the thin atmospheric approaches or maybe fine particulates in space. Back in the bubble it'd be nothing to get it fixed up at a station. Just throw some credits at it. I guess that makes her look like a bit more of an authentic frontier ship, eh? She's showing her mileage.

She was a good decision. This has been a much more comfortable jaunt than my last. Saud just knows how to build for comfort better than Lakon, even if the latter are excellent workhorses. It's not entirely opulent, but it is pretty nice to have a bit of luxury out here.

Currently in the system designated as SX-L d7-1. Was already discovered, but none of it was mapped. I found a terraformable high metal world, but what was more shocking was that my scanners picked up twenty-seven biological signals. TWENTY SEVEN! I've never seen a system so teeming with life outside the bubble, or devoid an earthlike. I've finished scanning two planets worth, but I was exhausted and had to turn in. Figured I was overdue for a log.

Not sure what else to say at this point, so I guess I'll sign off. I suppose I'll update again when I reach the DSSA.

Still hope they aren't a bunch of nutters.

Day 10 | 12,341LY from Sol | Formidine Rift | Groevsky Region

This expedition has barely begun, and already my breath has been taken away more than once. A few nights ago I arrived at Altera's Eye. After the several seconds where the remains of my lunch threatened to become the remains of my cockpit, due to the effects of coming out at a black hole completely encapsulated inside a planetary nebula, I was absolutely stunned with the beauty of the place. Black holes are notoriously impossible to get a good look at, but something about the way it warped the space inside that nebula... there just aren't words.

I headed from there over to a neighboring system where my computer said there was a tourist megaship. The view from there was equally incredible, but what I hadn't expected was the beacon I found on one of the moons of that system. Standing on a rock while seeing half of the nebula... it felt like a portal to another universe. Maybe it is.

Last night I began entering about the halfway mark of where the Formidine Rift splits the Perseus and Outer arms. I don't think I was fully prepared for how dark it gets there. I spoke in an earlier log about how it felt reaching near the bottom of the galactic plane, but something about the Rift... well, I entered a system which had incomplete mapping data and decided to finish it out, and let me just say being completely surrounded by the black void of space... well it hits differently. I'll just say that.

I could fall asleep there and never wake up.

Wait... why did I write that? That's crazy. I promised myself I would leave these logs alone and not do a bunch of editing, but that last bit was macabre. Ignore it. I'm fine.

I made it to the interior edges of the Outer Arm this morning and plan to continue on to my first DSSA stop. Seems like the galaxy got a bit smaller since they were deployed... I'm out deep but it still feels like I'm heading towards some semblance of civilization, albeit a relatively small one. Do folks live on those carriers? Are kids born there? Surely not! One would go crazy, right?

I sure hope I'm not flying directly into the jaws of something terrible.

Well... it's been a week. All systems still normal, including me. As far as I can tell, anyway.

Last night I found my first undiscovered earthlike world. The sheer exhilaration I felt when the FSS picked up its signal just took my breath away. I was so excited to fly up to it... I nearly forgot to map the surface. It was beautiful. It's a real shame this ship isn't rated for full atmo landings. I would've loved to see what was down there.

I've been logging tons of data. Almost caught back up with what I lost after the 'incident' earlier in the week.

The Ecco is holding up beautifully. I think I really made a good choice with Saud's Dolphin model. The Asp I flew before was fine and all, but this ship is far more comfortable for long hauls like this. Honestly, I feel a little spoiled by the low-end luxury out here in the black.

I expect to be coming up on my next point of interest today. I hope it's as beautiful as they said in the logs. We'll see soon!

I'm speechless. I'm embarrassed. You'd think I wasn't a seasoned explorer, and maybe I'm not after all. Last time I was out in the black I went to SagA and back in a barely engineered Asp Explorer with hardly any jump range and no AFMU, limpets, or synthesis materials. I made it back fine, though a little banged up. This time I thought I'd play it safe. This time I thought I'd be prepped for the [i]real[/i] long haul.

But I forgot that I'm an idiot.

My SRV's automated cam suite caught this moments before it happened. You can probably guess what happened next:

I don't remember much after I noticed the vent flaring up and magma spewing out of it. I have no idea what happened but I guess I managed to crawl back to my ship and engage the autopilot to get me into orbit. My SRV wasn't so lucky. She's gone.

The suit kept me alive long enough to get my bearings, boot up the galaxy map, and try to locate a deep space outpost or something to limp back to. It could've been worse... I could've been further. Thankfully only being about 5,000LY from Sol means I wasn't too terribly far from salvation.

But I had to make a U-turn to do it... so I did. I don't even remember how many jumps I had to make... it had to be over forty, though. I was fading in and out of consciousness the whole time. But finally, I made it to the Gorgon Research Facility and spent the next twelve hours in their medbay.

I'm fine. They've installed a new SRV in the bay. Ship's fine. Brandy and mugs still in the hold. All that exo data I'd collected is gone. Suit's memory chips fried right out.

My pride... yeah, that's destroyed.

Not giving up though. I marked the system as "Unfinished Business" on my galmap. When I heal up, I'm heading back and resuming my expedition.

Lesson learned. The hard way... of course. Is there any other way out in the black?

It's only been two days, but it already feels like I'm good and lost. I love this feeling. I decided to make one last stop before I left home and headed over to Lave to pick up some brandy. Turns out I couldn't stand the thought of that being my last glass after all. I may be slightly short on the sauce and mugs by the time I reach Beagle, but if I still have anything I'll drop it off.

I'm totally flying in the wrong direction, though. I've always wanted to head out to the Outer Arm. I did take a trip down to the edges far down below the galactic plane just before entering the Wayfarer's Graveyard. That was... eerie. Nothing but black in front of you can strain a man's mind into strange places. I spent a day taking it in before heading back towards the light. For now. Something about that black, though. It's like it calls to me. Probably just the brandy talking.

I've started trying my hand at finding biologicals. It can be... frustrating, at times. There's been a few times I thought my DSS was playing tricks on me. Other times it's been enjoyable and I've discovered or confirmed a few interesting species of flora. Should make for some good credits when I next moor my ship somewhere.

Slept like a baby last night. Heading towards an interesting system I found on the galmap. It's still a ways off but you know what they say... it's about the journey. Anyway, didn't make much progress yesterday because I got sidetracked while tinkering with my HUD. I finally fixed the glitch that was causing some of the system's default oranges to creep back in. I hope it's not a side of wider issues with the OS. It would suck to have real software problems while out here alone, and I'm no programmer.

I'm gonna take it pretty easy this week. What's the rush?

Slept in this morning. Today's the big day. Decided to hang out in the bar for a bit and listen to the tunes. I know in a few weeks I'll start missing these smells, sounds, the thrumming music, clinking glasses, chatter of the locals.

My second big trip out into the black. Could be my last. Who knows how long it'll take or when I'll be back. If I'll be back.

Ship's a go. All engineering completed, except what I hope to get in my pit stop to Colonia. All synthesis mats collected and secure in the ship's hold. The Ecco is fully prepped, fueled, and ready.

Am I?

Gonna make the long haul to Hutton Orbital before I head out. I know it's silly, but I've always wanted to take a mug out to Beacon Point. Not sure if I can hang on to something that long, but I guess we'll see.

Splurging on a glass of Lavian Brandy. My god, it's crazy to think this could be my last glass. Or that it will be weeks, months, maybe even years before I can have another.

I hope there's still a home left when/if I get back. Maybe it's wrong to leave with the 'goids on the offensive. Done my share of bounty hunting, but those bugs scare the hell out of me... and I've never even seen one! The vids are bad enough.

Nope. Gonna take my chances out there. If I make it back maybe I'll join the fight.

Hope you're still here, bubble.