Halfway
15 Sep 2020Voetsak
Location: Clookuia MI-K d8-10 (The Tarsius Nebula)Distance Traveled since Explorer's Anchorage: 22,965ly
Distance Remaining to the Bubble: 24,947ly
Voetsak turned off the datapad. Poring over nav data wasn't particularly helpful - his route home had been plotted into the ship's systems before he'd left XA, it wasn't like it needed much attention now - but seeing the raw numbers at least gave a sense of progress. And traveling nearly 23kly in just 3 days was no small feat, especially in this ship.
He'd been making extensive use of the neutron highway, leaping across the galaxy in 100 light year jumps. The neutron layer was a good 1,400ly below the plane of the galaxy, which gave the added bonus of a view that was hard to beat, with space split neatly between the orange glow of the plane and the darkness of empty space beyond it. It was an effect he never got tired of seeing.
Outside the Python's cockpit, the system's primary star - a red giant - loomed ominously. Most visitors to this system (what few came this way) would have immediately headed out into the depths of the system, where the colours and patterns of the local nebula could be more easily seen, but Voetsak found the star's presence - the red glow, and the roiling turbulence of the convection currents reaching the surface and occasionally bursting free to become prominences - to be more apt. They matched his mood, darkening as news from the Bubble continued to drip through. Prince Harold had been an idiot, undoubtedly, but he couldn't see any way in which killing a member of the royal family - even one as out-of-favour as Harold - wouldn't be met with a bloody response. Arissa didn't like it when her authority was challenged.
The COVAS broke his contemplation with a click and a brief 'Message received' alert. Turning his attention back to the datapad, a familiar photo identified the message's sender. "Where are you?" Short and to the point - his daughter wasn't much for words. No prizes for guessing who she got that from. He thought a few moments, before dashing off a quick reply. "Norma Expanse, heading homewards. Back soon." Not entirely true - he was headed for the abandoned settlements in the Hawking's Gap, to do a quick survey for a client - but close enough.
He placed the datapad into its slot beside the pilot's chair, and started heading back to his quarters, stopping at the bridge door for one last look at the red giant outside. Time for some sleep, before the next leg of the journey. Maybe - just maybe - a little part of him was starting to look forward to getting home.