Distant Worlds 2, week 3 - Omega Nebula to Conflux Delta Site
05 Feb 2019Thunktone
3305-01-27 19:21,Omega Mining Operation, Omega Nebula,
Peeved.
My Mamba has arrived, but I've wasted that 28 megacredit postage fee. The worker's rebellion has been crushed, presumably by my fellows in the expedition fleet. Oh, well, I thought that might happen.
Waypoint three has been revealed along with a recommended route taking in some other sites, so I'm leaving. I'll try to forget this place and the people who just died here fighting for a better life.
3305-01-28 16:59,
CD-23 14350,
Calmer.
I've seen wolf-rayets before but with my recently upgraded canopy filters and camera drones I thought it would be worth seeing another. It's what happens when a large star burns hot enough to throw it's atmosphere away and form a planetary nebula. The remaining core is largely carbon and oxygen.
I found this early image of the nebula in my ship's computer. It could be seen from Earth, before spaceflight and was discovered by someone called William Herschel, who also discovered Uranus. It's a small nebula, but still vast on a human scale. I don't fancy my chances of making it out to the edge in What is Home?. If only we could plot short hyperspace jumps without having to aim so close to stars.
3305-01-29 20:53,
Eagle's Landing, Eagle Nebula,
77% paint, 100% hull, modules undamaged,
51 MCr UC claim,
Tired.
I've still got some way to go to reach the next waypoint and I haven't found anything all that interesting. I've scanned a bunch of systems for the trans-galactic metallicity survey and found the odd water world and high-metal terraforming candidate. I left Omega with no crew having fired my last copilot while I sought bounties and combat bonds in my Viper. I'll have to try to remember to go to the nearby prison before heading on to the waypoint. There's usually a few stranded pilots hanging around a place like that.
3305-01-30 14:50,
Nyeajaae WP-E d12-26,
Queasy.
Must have picked something up in either Omega or Eagle Sector, I'm not feeling good. There are medics with the fleet if I need them. Perhaps I should try to catch up in case I need to call them. Then again, this is probably nothing. My new copilot Camilla isn't reporting any symptoms so I've suggested we keep our distance for a while. Plenty of room in this ship to avoid each other. and we can always meet with telepresence if we get lonely.
Going for the odd spin in a Scarab helps break up the monotony of these long journeys so I've been looking at what I might usefully gather. Polonium was the obvious choice and I found a nice world with 1.2% content and some magma vents where it would accumulate. I have enough materials now to synthesise 31 premium jumponium shots, surely more than I'll need. Next on the list is Niobium. I only have 32 units so if I can grab some more it'll give me more standard jumponium. I doubt I'll need it, but it gives me something to do.
3305-01-31 07:38,
Flyiedgiae QN-T d3-17 AB 1 b (Quantum World),
Aching.
I came to this moon because it was on the list we were given, I didn't know what to expect. It looked pretty as I landed and the changing light makes it look even prettier as I returned to my cockpit. But the real reason it made the list is the size of it. At 0.04g it may be the smallest body I've ever successfully landed on. I've rested my landing gear against rocks in ring systems but my ships computer won't acknowledge that as a landing. There are members of the fleet driving their Scarabs all the way around this moon but I don't think I'll join in. A test of patience more than skill I think and I don't mind admitting that I'm less patient than many explorers.
Camilla tellied to the cockpit this morning and we sat down in the copilot seats for a chat. She's from Mars, a place I've wanted to visit since I got my pilot's licence last year. But she doesn't think it's so exciting, she spent her life dreaming about airless outposts like the one I grew up in. I guess we both just have a sense of adventure really. She's got a daughter back in New Athens though, and doesn't seem to miss her. She's got a very federal attitude to child rearing, "why do I need to be there? She's got the best childcare money can buy!" I don't get that, I'd want to be there for my kid if I ever have one. Camilla said that's selfish, that I can afford better. I switched her telepresence off at that point.
Through the whole conversation I had the feeling there's something she's not telling me, likely how she wound up in the Eagle Sector Secure Facility. I've been to a few detention centres myself, but I didn't feel like talking about that. So if she doesn't either that's fine by me.
It's a shame she's such an awful pilot really. Yesterday I had been driving around some moon looking for Niobium. I called for the ship from the middle of a large plain, flat for at least 3 kilometres in every direction. But she flew down about 8 kilometres ahead, tried to find a landing spot amongst the roughest terrain anywhere in sight, gave up and flew back into orbit. I was so annoyed that I sped off without repairs to try from another spot, hit a rock, and exploded. I still hate being wrenched out of telepresence like that. Three more Scarabs to keep me going until the new station, I'm not going back for Rohini.
3305-02-02 15:32,
Conflux Delta Site,
Sick.
I made it to the waypoint but I've been laid low by this sickness ever since. My ship's medi-comp got an update and managed to diagnose me with something called Colonia flu. Apparently it's really a mutation of the common cold and not too serious if you're healthy. I just had to suffer it for a few days. The next waypoint is announced tomorrow, I think, and I'm going to try to fly. Camilla can control the ship from the fighter bay if necessary so there's not much point in delaying things.