A new expedition - Log, Day 02
14 Mar 2020Kris Afron
Hell, that was a good nights rest in the luxury cabin that I fitted to A View Of Immensity.Yesterday we completed the journey to Pru Aescs Ty-J a64-1, and we're settled just outside the Conflux Alpha Site which I'll describe in the next log.
So how did we get along yesterday, which is what this log entry is all about. We'd landed on Byeia Eurk MT-T b13-12 planet A1 for an overnight stay. In the morning I got up and headed for the "luxury" bathroom only to find that Livvy had beaten me to it. In my naivety I concluded that she wouldn't be long, big mistake. Twenty minutes later and I made my way to the bathroom in the crew quarters in desperation. Had to boost the air-conditioning in there before I left, those crew rations don't do ones guts any good!
I started to prepare breakfast, there was still no sign of Livvy, so I knocked on the bathroom door,
"Are you OK in there Livvy?"
She answered "Yes, I'll be right out".
"Anything wrong?"
"What on earth was in those rations we ate yesterday, my insides feel like they've been turned inside out?"
"Ah, well maybe we don't eat the hot curry and rice again, it had the same effect on me!".
I prepared breakfast, which we ate, Livvy was very chatty going over the things that she'd done yesterday and obviously still very excited about the day. "So, what's on the to-do list for today?" she asked after we'd finished and cleared away.
"We complete the journey to the Conflux Alpha Settlement, we should be there by late afternoon"
She was obviously still very keen, "Can I take off and start the journey today then?"
"Yes, I'll show you the routine, let's go!"
As we left the luxury mess I caught a hint of a sweet or aromatic odour, it wasn't the curry, not something that I recognised.
But it wasn't Livvy's perfume, it didn't follow us into the cockpit.
"Sit yourself in the pilot's seat Livvy, I'll explain the take-off routine."
"Use the HUD, see where it says to hold the 'R' button to lift off?"
"Yes, I see it"
"OK, do it now."
She lifted off like a pro, nice and steady.
"How long do I keep my finger on the 'R' button?"
I answered "As long as you like." but continued with the instructions, "once you are happy with the altitude - use the HUD to tell you that - apply some forward thrust and bring the nose of the ship up to about 70 degrees, then boost"
"You'll see that very shortly the 'Mass Locked' indicator goes out, then you can jump into supercruise". Livvy followed the instructions as I gave them and very soon we were on our way to the next system headed to our destination.
So now she was flying and I was honking the systems as we went and keeping a count of the undiscovered ones. "Stop to do a full spectrum scan of the next one Livvy"
We jumped into Byeia Eurk DJ-N b34-14 and she came to rest after the fuel scooping had completed. I honked the system and she started the scan. "Why are we scanning this, it's a red dwarf with some un-remarkable icy worlds?"
"It just happens to be the 5000th system that I've discovered, so I want a complete record of it"
She looked at me, surprised - "Oh! Wow! you've discovered that many systems, you're quite the explorer Kris, I didn't know!"
"Compared to a lot of Commanders I'm just a beginner, but I like to think that I know what I'm doing. We'll get paid for the data too, which by the way i'll be sharing with you once we cash it in"
"Never! You're going to pay me for all of this fun?"
"Of course, you're doing a lot of the work, sis".
It can be a very tedious routine, Jump-Scoop-Honk- repeat for system after system, but it has its rewards. We were slowing down about every 5 systems to have a look at the FSS and every now and again using it to scan all of the bodies For the first time on this trip at Lysoosms QY-Z b27-3, planet 4A showed some geological features, 15 sites to be exact. "Livvy, we should put down here i want to collect some materials at one of those sites"
She hadn't attempted a landing yet so we swapped places. "Watch this landing very carefully, memorise the routine, and if we get a chance again on this expedition you can try a landing". I landed and took the Scarab out, "Livvy, watch what I do in the Scarab, use the onboard camera and follow my every move".
"OK!" I'm watching, those geysers are pretty. Kris, what the hell are you shooting at! Are you allowed to blast these things and ruin the view?"
"It's OK, the only way to release the material from the rock. This is a low gravity world, do you see how long the stuff stays above the ground? If you are going to do this later you'll need to be aware of the gravity"
I continued to collect, the site wasn't very rich, so I returned shortly. We stayed for lunch, and I caught a whiff of that odour again, very strange.
Travel commenced after lunch. A system called Pru Aescs HA-A c10-13 showed up more materials on both worlds of a binary planet. "Livvy, i want you to land here, pick one of the geological sites and head down.
She'd obviously learned her lesson well. The landing was a bit heavy, but we got down safely. I took the Scarab out first to get a shot of the ship and collect what materials I could, after which i returned to the ship.
"Livvy, get yourself down to the vehicle hanger, it's your turn for a ride"
"Really! What if I crash it? What if I hurt myself? Do you really want me to be risking my life here?"
"Well just be careful, it's the only rover we have, so I can't rescue you if you get into trouble too far away from the ship. Your Remlock system and suit will probably keep you alive if you are close by and then you can either make your way back on foot or I can come out to get you. So don't go too far."
With that she appeared in the hanger and took the seat of the rover.
And off she went.
I called 10 minutes later, "Time to return young lady, you're beginning to enjoy yourself too much out there!" as she sped along and used the thrusters to lift herself off the ground, but she made a nice glide with a safe landing. Obediently, she came back and docked.
She bounced into the cockpit, "Hey, that was great, did you see me fly?".
"Who taught you that? But seriously, be careful you could send yourself into orbit doing that! Time to complete today's journey.
Four systems later we reached our destination and Livvy landed us just outside the settlement, much smoother this time. Tomorrow I'll go out and investigate.
CMDR Kris Afron (and excited sister) signing off. Fly safely commanders.