6000 Out
30 Jul 2021AlexxxA
The nerves were getting to me. Going out beyond The Bubble on my own was a daunting prospect. Sure, I'd done it before but that was with Other Half in a well-engineered Beluga. This time, it would be just me with Lucy, my Dolphin with her still fresh smell. The only engineering had been completed in Deciat. Small test runs had shown she was the ship to use. Lucy's handling made flying a joy. Skimming along surfaces hunting down biologicals is so much easier in a smaller ship. I dyed my own hair purple to match Lucy.Those nerves persisted throughout the day. Would I survive without the AFMU? Was a basic repair controller going to be enough? Were my shields going to be suitable? How far out did I really want to go?
Where was I going to go?
The latter question kept my mind off the other concerns. There was no real plan. Space is, as someone once noted, big. I picked a spot some 6000 light years out. Route could not be calculated. Nearly an hour of random choices and route planning passed until I found a near straight line up and out of the Orion Inner Spur.
I pondered my objectives for the trip.
- Reach, or at least get close to, Explorer Elite
- Push biological scanning as much as possible
- Make the distance that would ensure a welcome from Chloe and the Professor
- Find an Earth Like that I could call my own and maybe add some Water and Ammonia.
I left with a slight giddy excitement. Powering out at pace until stations, settlements and nav beacons became non-existent.
Information began to flood in from Canonn Research. Pushing out through Wregoe systems, almost all had requests for scans and biological hunts. Systems and bodies had already been catalogued. I happily obliged on the hunt. Bacteria and fonticulua were common. Almost too common. Although the bacteria had a habit of being a little elusive at times.
Everything ran smoothly until I found a body with a high gravity. Having become so used to landing on the low grav bodies, this one caught me by surprise. Lucy's shields took a beating but she survived without any hull damage.
Systems began to change. New, unchartered systems began to emerge. My shorter jump range was finding the places others had passed by. Icy bodies abound. More practise with the scanners.
By day 3 I had begun to fall into a familiar routine. Drop in, honk the system, check the map, scan for bodies and investigate further when geological or biological signals were shown.
Lots of bacteria and nothing new until I came across my first brain tree in Wregoe KS-B d13-41. Brain trees are both fascinating and scary. Their complete inability to lose the raw materials they hold became a frustration.
Nights were being spent on bodies. A ship should always be docked or landed for the night and never left drifting.
Wregoe turned to Pro Eurl.
The routine continued. A few cactoids made their appearance.
Experiments began in finding the ideal way to find biologicals, especially bacteria. While I use the SRV for most, especially on high percentage Grade IV raw material bodies, Lucy made it easy to float above the surface.
Of course, using the external camera can help immensely. Having that ensures a wider view of the ground. When it works. My camera has an annoying habit of blacking out. It needs a fix.
The monotony and loneliness began to creep in.
I had no real plans on how long the trip would last. A week? Two? It didn't really matter. I began to feel homesick. I had to keep pushing myself on, thinking about the money and the rank above the relentless monotony.
Then, it happened.
The full spectrum scanner showed a slim waveform in the 'Big 3' signals.
A Water World.
Not just a Water World. Notable Stellar Phenomena as well.
Pro Eurl RK-V b4-0 restored my resolve and reminded me why exploration can be fun and fascinating. Molluscs are ugly little fuckers. Always wary, I kept my distance. Scared of hurting Lucy, I approach anything unknown with extreme trepidation.
Deeper into the Black. More shrubs, stratum and glow in the dark fungoids showed themselves.
I had an overwhelming desire to take some concha labiata home with me. Or maybe it just reminded me that the full, swollen red lips were making me miss nights with Other Half.
Pro Eur GN-R d5-2 gave me my first Ammonia World. Another little highlight. Two of Big 3 down. I knew then that fate was going to go one of two ways. Finding an Earth Like or returning home without one. When flying with Other Half, we'd never found any of the Big 3. I now had two.
More Water Worlds revealed themselves. I'd get a little moist. A little over exited every time the scanner had a Big 3 signal.
Pro Eur LL-I b28-0 provided a brace of Water Worlds.
Pro Eur QT-G d11-2 gave me an orgasm.
That feeling of being the first to discover an Earth Like World was just too exciting. A2 even came with its own little moon. I landed on A2a and had an emotional cry while staring at 'my' Earth Like. It all felt so perfect.
I was over 5000 light years from home. No one had been here before. Would anyone ever come here again? I didn't care.
Part of me wanted to come home after that but I couldn't. So far out, it would have been foolish to turn back. There was still the matter of explorer and exobiological ranks.
I found my favourite concha labiata on Sifaea MI-T c19-1 A7f. The red one. A whole nest of them. Somewhere in Sifaea I neared the 6000Ly gap. Happy and content with the trip, I turned Lucy around and began to work my way home.
There would be no new surprises or exciting finds. More Water and Ammonia Worlds but no more Earth Likes. I turned to Canonn and their useful POI highlights more.
GCRV 715 was a sight to behold. Wholly patterned with little in it. No footfall for HD 112272 4. Gravity was too high but it did provide a few good raw materials. KN Muscae in the Spiral Planetary Nebula is another sight to see. NGC 4609 Sector HW-U d3-23 had a Water World orbiting a Water World.
Lucy and I breezed back home on a wave of euphoria. Some 80 million credits and agonisingly close to an Elite explorer ranking, it had been ultimately satisfying and I hadn't needed any repair limpets or an AFMU despite the number of times I had booped Lucy's nose.