Update After Escaping HIP 22460
10 Aug 2022Ember Lacson
I don't know what time it is. I mean, I know what time it is; I can look at the clock. It's 23:36 GMT as I'm starting this entry. My circadian rhythm says it's about seven hours earlier than that. But I'm tired. God, I'm tired. I think I'm coming down off the adrenaline rush, but I still feel like I won't be able to sleep tonight. Now some questions I think people might have.1. Is Nicole OK?
Yes. Sorta. She received a severe concussion complete with a skull fracture, which they've repaired. She's alive and stable, but she's going to have a fairly long recovery process ahead of her, and she's not allowed to do any high-inertia flying for a few months. They're saying January, but they'll reassess in October to see how she's progressed. We're not going to be able to visit any Guardian sites together for a while, but I did promise her we'd keep our agenda once she's cleared to fly again. I will admit, the undercut they gave her looks pretty good on her but I don't think she likes it. She's a little bit more straight laced about her style.
2. You mentioned earlier that you felt it was too dangerous to be close to the Wave, but you were clearly stationed above 10b when the Wave detonated. Whose decision was that?
Both of ours. After parking closer to the Varian Scott and seeing nothing, we decided 10b might be a better vantage point to gauge when the weapon would fire. We debated about docking on the Bright Sentinel, but I am so glad we didn't. That decision likely saved our lives. I've heard from other CMDRs who made it out, but a lot of people didn't.
3. Eden made a big deal about your hands. What's with that?
Okay, this is more my question than yours, but I think she romanticized the situation a little bit. She seems invested in my happiness, and in her interpretation—which isn't necessarily wrong—that means me winding up with Nicole. But I checked the video recordings of the incident, and her transcript was accurate. Nicole was tracing the lines on my glove. She did intertwine her fingers with mine before the Wave went off. Like I said earlier, Nicole has been showing more and more affection since the excursion on the 30th. I imagine we're going to have a deep heart-to-heart once she's feeling better, but for now she's sleeping, and I'm going to let her be.
4. What's next?
I'm going to let things cool. I'm going to keep the Morningstar parked in HIP 21852 until I can formulate a plan. I've heard that Thargoid surface sites in other systems are doing weird things to Guardian tech, namely Relics. All we know for now is it's turning them green, which is why I've seen people calling them "Grelics." I also know that Ram Tah has taken interest in them, and several CMDRs have given him specimens. I'm leaning toward an expedition to a Thargoid surface site, which I've never done before, to get one of these relics, or maybe a couple. Then I'll head over to Ram Tah's place and maybe talk shop with him a little bit about his preliminary findings.
From what I understand, this means I'm going to need a ship with a corrosion-resistant cargo rack, because I'm going to need some Thargoid tech to access the surface site. Where I can get this tech beats the hell out of me, but I think there may still be some over at the Bug Killer site. I'll do some research. I also want to go get some photos in HIP 22460, which means a) no Guardian tech and b) I need something fast enough to leave a hydra in the dust. That probably means beefing up Aliette's thrusters. I'll crunch the numbers and see what I need to do to get her in that kind of shape. I don't think she has a Guardian FSD Booster on board, and she's got 20-ish jump range, so I think it's a good start.
If AXI verifies that all our Guardian weapons still work outside HIP 22460, I think I might work on converting Ouranos to a shieldless cold orbiter. That's easier and cheaper than outfitting a second Chief for AX, but I'm going to do that eventually, so we'll see. That shieldless Chief has a rebuy of 3 mil, while the shieldless Krait II build has a rebuy of 9 mil. I can see why they like it so much.
But that's pretty much all for now. Like I said, I don't think I'll be able to get much sleep, but I'm finding it hard to function. After today I think I just need some rest. But who knows how long the Proteus Wave site will remain active? I want to check out some of the wrecks as well before they get dismantled or whatever.
o7 CMDRs. Glory to humanity and all that.