Upon Our Return
26 May 2018Gatimũ Kamau
CMDR’s Log, 3304.05.26, Sol Calendar; That was a long trip.After making the 1200 Ly round trip to Tranquility’s Stop and back to Sol, I can say that we’ve both learned quite a bit about deep space travel and exploration. First and foremost I learned that, as much as I love our Chieftain, she’s not really the best equipped vessel for such rigorous use. She’s much more of a scrapper than an exploratory vehicle.
Her largest negative being her absolute lack of thermal protection. Fuel scooping was an absolute nightmare. These type of issues could be mitigated with some high-end modules (and maybe one or two clandestine aftermarket upgrades). However, all of the upgrades in the verse won’t change the cramped nature of the ship itself. The novelty of using a modified cargo bay as makeshift quarters and drinking recycled urine wears off rather quickly. Having proper quarters, the ability to mine ice rings for water as needed, proper shielding and defensive capabilities as required would all really be nice. And something akin to a galley would all be a Goddess-send.
In other words, we’ll need to invest in a much larger ship before I attempt our exploratory mission to the galactic center. A mission, by-the-way, which still has yet to clear Naval command. Even with the Pilot's Federation backing my idea, they're not keen on throwing their assets at such a "foolhardy mission". Apparently, they think my wife and I more foolish than intrepid. But we'll keep pushing the issue regardless.
On a more positive note, our vacation ended up being VERY lucrative. I avoided plotting a direct route to BD+22 3878 and instead plotted a rather erratic course so that I could scan as many planets and systems as possible during our journey which, after all was said and done, added an extra 150 jumps or so to the trip. My lovely wife was far from happy about the course and we both ended up going more than a little “stir crazy”. But, it was all worth it when we collected the 75M CR or so for all of the data we dragged back with us…along with me receiving a promotion via the Pilot’s Federation to Pioneer. It was far less than what I thought the information would be worth. But, with a little more time and patience, I've no doubt that when our galactic center trip is given the "go ahead", we'll be making the voyage in style.
First however, a break……………and then back to work. I’d already started my officer training courses via the galactic net during our return trip after all.