THE QUEST FOR 1,000,000LY - LOG #4
14 Oct 2020Stellas Incola
I mentioned the complete lack of Bio Signals I'd encountered in my last log as I journeyed through the Outer Arm Vacuus. Typically as Randomius would have it, two jumps after logging that, there one was. If it's that easy to conjur up some random event I think I may resort to suggesting I've not seen any abandoned cargo canisters full of Void Opals at some point too. The signal was some very bountiful Crystalline Shards that allowed me to fill up on Tellurium, very valuable and useful for trading when I get back to the Bubble.I headed in the general direction of the New Zealand cluster, close to the Exteriores Australis region before turning slightly and making a path to Eol Hypa GE-E d13-2, known as the Australis Ferris Wheel. Over the last few thousand light years as I've skirted the edge of the Arm there have been relatively few undiscovered systems. Before turning towards the Ferris Wheel, in 30,000ly I'd only found 150 or so that hadn't already been visited, mainly by CMDR Valije it seemed! Apart from my primary goal of 1,000,000ly travelled I would also like to add to our understanding of this vast beautiful galaxy too, so I'll be trying to stay away from the edge systems by at least 1000ly. I might make an exception to that when I get close to Beagle Point again though, and revisit for nostalgic reasons.
I reached what I thought was the Ferris Wheel on 13th October and set about looking for the reason the system is interesting. I soon realised I was in the wrong system though, having typed a 3 instead of a 2 in the nav computer previously... Thankfully the correct system was only around 45ly away and I quickly jumped in. The ringed gas giant A1 has a rocky body in close proximity to the fast moving ring system, not that unusual, but the orbit of this one is offset slightly too, making for a spectacular backdrop to a planetary landing. I sat in my SRV for a good while, marvelling at the vista before getting back in the ship and setting off again.
I had chanced upon an Earth-like world in Aidomt KS-J C22-1 that appeared to be undiscovered on the way to the Ferris Wheel. Checking on the logs for the system though, one other CMDR had been through it only a few weeks earlier. The system and Earth-like were still unclaimed though and I raced on to sell my data, just in case I managed to be first.
A little under halfway to Arm's End from the Ferris Wheel lies the DSSA Aristarchos. One of the many fleet carriers dedicated to supporting explorer's in all regions of the galaxy. I stopped by there and cashed in my first batch of exploration data after carrying out a couple of minor repairs to the Anaconda. 200m credits! Not too bad at all. I double checked on the nav computer and the Earth-like was mine! That other CMDR hadn't made it back to sell their data in time. You win some, you lose some. The temptation to stay a while and celebrate with the beers on offer was difficult to ignore, but I pushed on, determined to wait and savour one at The Explorer's Bar and Grill at Arm's End instead.
I was still over 3000ly from the Grill when I started to need Jumponium injections. I have plenty on board thankfully, but I decided to top up on the few materials I had lower stocks of on the way, which is when the rookie mistake happened. Assuming the gravity of the body I'd chosen was low and with a light on the upper hull of the Anaconda obscuring the HUD a little, I careered down to the surface before realising it was almost 2G!! One very hard, tail first landing later, my shields were gone along with a third of my hull strength.... Pay attention CMDR!
I had a look at the bent and twisted panels from the SRV, it wasn't pretty, but thankfully it appeared to be only cosmetic damage and she flew just fine.
Many Jumponium injections later, I finally arrived at the Grill, repaired the ship, cashed in another 12m worth of data and headed straight to the bar. That first beer tasted sooooo good. Now, which steak to choose?
Time and date of journey start: 13:10 UTC, September 27th 3306.
Hyperspace distance travelled at journey start: ~749,000ly
Total Hyperspace distance travelled to date: 802, 485ly