Journey to Colonia - Day 6 - Eagle Sector Secure Facility
02 Nov 2019Smertkopf
Forty jumps at around thirty-eight light years apiece to get from Omega Sector VE-Q b5-15 to Eagle Sector IR-W d1-105 at the center of the Eagle Nebula, which is out in the far galactic distance when I make my first jump. Forty jumps. The trip is not entirely uneventful or unprofitable, and it is not the longest stretch I have yet traveled or even the longest one I will endure on this trip to Colonia (I am looking forward to the run from Rohini to Skaudai CH-B d14-34 with what can best be described as queasy semi-dread, but that's a ways off yet).
Made some new discoveries in three systems. I'll list them below for posterity and whatever bragging rights are mine by due:
~Byeia Eurk ZI-C b54-6: 6 a-e & cA; 5 gA & h (CMDR Validating was here as well. I see the name all along my route; Validating was clearly a pioneer, and it's enriching to have my name on some planets in the same system as someone whose name I've seen so many times on my journey.)
~Byeia Eurk IE-L b49-9: 1 a-f & eA; 2; 3, 3 a-c & aA; 4; 5; (Planet 2 was a gas giant with water-based life. I got everything in this system except for the star and one planet!)
~Byeia Eurk DU-O b33-17: A 1-6; B 1-3 (CMDR Validating was here as well)
Boring data aside, I hope I never lose the thrill of finding new objects in space as it begins to happen more often. I'll keep my entries updated as much as I can manage, for myself if no one else. My need to splash my name across the Galaxy became a topic of conversation between Midnight and I as we went about the oftentimes monotonous business of long-distance galactic spaceflight. Here's an excerpt from the transcript:
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Midnight (M): "You don't have to explain pride to me, Commander. I was human once, you know."
CMDR Smertkopf (S): "You say you were human, and I mostly believe you. [pause] It's more than pride, though, Midnight."
(M): "Explain."
(S): [long pause] "...It's as close to achieving immortality as anything I've ever figured out that I'm capable of doing. For as long as the stellar maps are kept, my name will be there amidst the stars. I expect that to be a
very long time."
(M): "Given your limited conception of time, perhaps that is understandable, but you must know that even if you slathered your name across every star in the Milky Way under the force of law, you'd still be
forgotten in a mere million Solar years. Undoubtedly far sooner, I am afraid."
(S): "And how about you? Where will you be in a million years?"
(M): "You wouldn't believe me."
(S): "Try me."
(M): [audible sigh] "I will have transcended beyond this dimension to a new state of existence, unbound by either space or time."
(S): "Modesty's not your strong suit, eh, Doc?"
(M): "I am no sawbones, Commander. If you must call me something other than Midnight, then I suppose that 'Professor' would suffice. And as for modesty, it is the refuge of the ignorant. I do not boast; I
speak the truth."
(S): [long pause] "...I don't believe you, Professor."
(M): [audible sigh]
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Got a warmer reception at Eagle Sector Secure Facility than expected. They were hungry for exploration data, and ponied up two million credits and change for my discoveries, which were somewhat sparse aside from the new finds. Despite my personal excitement, the new discoveries were almost all icy and rocky bodies and thus not worth much. Still, it's not really about the money on this trip; I'll worry about that later, when these new fleet carriers that the rumor mill keeps talking about finally appear.
Met a fellow named Yuri Turner at a cantina on the station called the Ringshadow Cafe. He admitted to being a news- and gossip-hound, and asked about the blight back in the Bubble. I told him I knew as much about it as you could hear in passing or on Galnet, but nothing that I would speak of with confidence. Yuri filled me in on some of the local gossip and recommended a place to stay the night on the station, but I politely declined, as my ship's quarters are more than adequate to my needs. As we parted ways, he made me promise to deliver a message to a friend of his named Melysse on Eagle's Landing, my next stop and just a short jump away in Eagle Sector IR-W d1-117. The next entry will begin there. The message I am to deliver is private, and I will respect the promise I gave Yuri to keep it that way.
o7
CMDR Smertkopf