First Entry
18 Jun 2020K0B4LT
Right, how's this thing work? First ever entry, sooo...My name is Martha. And considering this is a text log, not an audio one, I should point out I am a man. My father was... an onion head addict, to put nicely. Always said I looked like a girl so I should have a girl's name. Eh, whatever, only identity I've ever gone by. Not seen nor heard from him in over 25 years now.
About a month ago, I went on an expedition with a small group of other commanders. And by 'Expedition' I mean that in the technical sense: Our path was a series of systems that many pilots constantly pass through on our way to Colonia, then to Sagittarius A*, and was mainly aimed at people that have never gone out that far before. When I heard of it I figured "Hey, an adventure on a road well traveled is an adventure nonetheless." Out of 11 people on the expedition, about 8 made it past Thor's Eye. For a while, I thought it was exciting.
That excitement turned to dread fairly quickly.
No, nobody got hurt, least not that I know of. It was just boring, dull. Some of the systems we stopped in were pretty, sure, but that's about the extent of it. I mean I traveled outside of the bubble some to see Betelgeuse and VY Canis Majoris, and to a well-known Guardian structure to learn how to build my own FSD Booster, but I could always return to civilization within the same day, so I ain't no stranger to travelin'. But this field trip? It was a bit extreme; hanging around in an empty system for a week at a time certainly didn't help, and some other folk agreed. So half of us split off to continue the slog to Colonia ahead of the others, myself in a Diamondback Explorer, a pair of Kraits, and an Anoconda. It was then I was suggested to make journal logs about this whole event. Obviously I never did.
The four of us, we ended up getting to Colonia way ahead of schedule. We celebrated the journey at Jaques' Cafe, and despite being a cyborg, that man makes some amazing booze, some of the best I've ever tasted. I've heard stories about how he wanted to go out to Beagle Point but never made it. Wonder if he will one day. While I was in the area I also met Etienne Dorn, who's a bit eccentric for my tastes. Still, he helped me (safely) strip off some extra weight off the Life Support on my ship, get her just a tad bit extra range. Figure'd I'd need it out here. After a while, I gave my girl a fresh coat of paint and some much needed maintenance; she got me this far, only right I return the favor.
About a week in the Colonia region and I was already getting bored again. I've heard of this 'Space Madness' thing, and I was convinced I was coming down with it. I ended up saying my farewells to the expedition members, who were going to continue waiting for the other half, and was aimed straight for the center of the Galaxy. Only took half an hour for the navigation computer to plot a route, and another to actually travel it, but I made it. That black hole was... interesting to look at, amazing yet terrifying.
Nearby the core was a new class of ship. It was big, not Orbis big but certainly would dwarf even those 1% Cruise Liners that don't shut up sometimes. It was a Fleet Carrier; apparently the first wave of them was finished building with more on the way, and already private owners were taking them all across the galaxy. I don't remember who owned it, but she informed me that she brought a bunch of people this far, like a glorified taxi service, and offered me a ride back. Of course, I accepted it, wanting to return home as soon as possible. I offered to pay any fare she had, but she weren't havin' none of it.
The trip back to the bubble took about four hours, with a stop to refuel along the way, and yes of course I helped out as best as I could. It needed something called 'Tritium' which were found in select plantary rings. Me being in an exploration ship, I scanned and scanned til I found a bunch, she came out to mine it, then I ferried a little bit at a time to the carrier to help refuel it. Didn't take long overall, but there were other carriers that stopped by in the system to refuel, as well. I played nice and told them where the largest deposit I found was, and they thanked me profously before my taxi returned to civilization... mostly. We were about a thousand light-years out, but I'm used to that distance. I thanked her again before I departed and went straight for... almost anywhere, really, but I remember ending my journey at Shinrarta Dezhra. Jameson Memorial was as packed as usual, which suited me just fine.
After about a month out there in the black, I have gained a newfound respect for explorers who have the patience and skill that I lack. This is a big Oh-Seven to y'all, and a reminder to fly safely.
I am NEVER going out that far, ever again.