Expedition Notes: Journey to the Sanguineous Rim (Pt. 1)
05 Aug 2022Valanga
I'm making a trip to the Sanguineous Rim, as I've heard there is an unusually high amount of planetary bodies in the region where concentrated crystalline elemental deposits can be found. I discussed these in my previous log entry. I'm documenting my trip as I go.I know this is a departure from my usual writing style, but I wanted to give myself a little memento of this trip for later.
5 August 3308
1:05 AM
I arrived in a system full of gas giants, HIP 34677. They're really quite the impressive sight to behold. I noticed that there was incomplete mapping data for some of the further-away orbiters of HIP 34677 A, the Class F star at the system's entry point, and a complete absence of mapping data for the bodies in orbit around HIP 34677 B, which sit around 360,000Ls from the entry point. I decided that flying all the way out to the B star would be a little too tedious, especially since nothing I'm looking for is here, but I decided to start mapping everything close to the entry which I didn't have any data for. This included all of the moons of planet A 4, and all bodies further out than that.
1:38 AM
One of the bodies in this system stands out to me. HIP 34577 A 6 C, or the 3rd moon of the 6th planet orbiting the star at the entry point.
It has a tenuous atmosphere - actually, it's the only body in this entire system with an atmosphere that my ship can actually fly through. It's a moderate-sized icy moon with thin rocky rings and an atmosphere of oxygen and argon. I'm going to make an approach after I finish my surface scan. Take a little break and look around.
1:51 AM
The atmosphere here paints the starfield all around me a gorgeous spectrum of orange, green, and blue.
It's occurring to me that nobody has ever stood upon this ground. Ever. Not a single human in recorded history has stood upon this moon (or at least any who lived to speak of it). The view of the rings from here is lovely.
What's kind of funny about the atmosphere here is, I'm willing to bet you could breathe it safely. Probably not for long before passing out, but I don't imagine a few breaths would zap your lungs or something. It's just oxygen and a trace amount of argon, an inert gas also found in Earth's atmosphere. All that's missing is a bunch of nitrogen and other trace gases that our body doesn't use anyway.
I grabbed a gas capsule from my ship's locker and took a sample. I want to try huffing it later for funsies.
I should carry on with my mission, but I don't want to. I want to spend some time here. Probably grab the Scarab and burn around. Maybe take some pictures. This is my moon now.
2:23 AM
SRVs are not meant to go 200m/s. Almost managed to kill myself as I careened down the roughly 45-degree slope of a huge crater. Now that I'm at the bottom, looking up, the atmosphere has a more eerie, sickly green tone to it. It's ominous, as if down here in the crater is a whole different world I've entered.
I took some pictures from down below. That was a load of fun, but I should probably be on my way soon. I'm sure there will be plenty more places to look at, and at this rate I'll be gone for months if I stop for every little remotely-compelling thing.
2:42 AM
Back on the proverbial road.
3:02 AM
Found some metal-rich worlds in Wregoe NX-B C0. They aren't particularly interesting, they've been mapped by others already, and they're still not what I'm looking for, but the data should at least be worth something, right?
3:24 AM
Lots of high metal content worlds in Outotz TA-E D12-3. Everything's been seen before, but the mapping data should still be worth a good chunk of change.
3:44 AM
I entered the Sanguineous Rim region. Barnard's Loop is pretty clearly visible now. A vivid blood-red streak cutting through the blackness of open space.
Let's have a look around, shall we?
4:03 AM
I've entered the system HIP 36601. I saw that name in particular show up when I was reading up on these crystalline structures, so I figured I'd come and see for myself.
4:06 AM
Good gods, this place is brimming with megaships and fleet carriers, all appearing to be CMDR-owned... I suppose this really is the right place, huh!
Apparently a number of bodies in orbit of HIP 36601 C are places of interest, judging by the large ship presence there. It's quite a ways away from the entry point, so I've set my supercruise to auto-pilot and I'm going to go make some coffee.
4:15 AM
Y'know, I was thinking: I wonder why I'm no good at chess. Is it perhaps one of those kinds of things that nobody is just intuitively any good at? I feel like there are people who are, but maybe they're overwhelmingly in the minority? I've just never been able to visualize board states or play n-many moves ahead or predict what my opponent is going to do. Hell, half the time I forget what moves are even legal.
At the same time, I've never really tried too hard to be proficient at chess, because it's not like I particularly care. But, a number of people around me seem to be decent at it, and it makes me feel kinda stupid sometimes. I have to remind myself in moments like this that I've clearly got a pretty good brain inside that head on my shoulders.
...it just really sucks at chess.
4:21 AM
Finally arriving in the vicinity of HIP 36601 C. Judging by the fact that these crystal structures are formed by some metabolic process of a type of microorganism, I'd venture a guess that that's what's creating these "biological feature" spikes on my map data for some of these moons. I'll begin with HIP 36601 C 1 A.
4:32 AM
Well I'll be damned, I found crystals! Investigating in the Scarab. The wave scanner is making quite the grating noise right now, and I've never been happier to hear it.
4:43 AM
My gods, they're solid polonium. Are you kidding me!? What a goldmine...
I had to run back to the ship to grab a genetic sampler. For once, I'm actually doing some exobiology! Did these Supratech suits always have such an amazing air assist pack? I feel like a zero-G basketballer right now. Maybe I ought to do this more often.
I'm in the Scarab, using the plasma repeater to break off little clusters of crystallized polonium. I'm trying not to damage the core structure, so that these things can ideally regrow(?) May as well make this operation sustainable, right?
5:06 AM
Alright, so it would appear that all of the crystalline deposits here are indeed polonium. Which is all well and good, except that I'm now flush with polonium. I don't think I could fit any more of this in my material storage if I tried. So, I'm thinking I should poke around the other bodies in this area. This wasn't the only one with biological readings.
On a side note, I didn't notice that this moon had any active volcanism when I was checking the planetary info. So, I was a little surprised when I came across a little geyser shooting an occasional spurt of magma. And I miiight have been a little close for comfort to one of the splashes. I felt the heat coming off that thing through my suit. Wow.
5:54 AM
Ruthenium crystals on HIP 33601 C 1 D. Things were as hidden as Raxxla, but I found 'em.
Looking at the genetic sample data acquired from these and comparing it to the date from the polonium ones on C 1 A, the biological makeup is incredibly similar - but not identical. It begs the question why these microorganisms exist - how they function - what purpose they serve in any sort of ecosystem. Even if this outing makes me, by definition, an exobiologist, I'm still not an... actual biologist. I'll leave it to the guys in Almagest to make it make sense.
7:29 AM
Driving in super-low-gravity conditions is truly an exercise in patience... and restraint.
I'm finished gathering tellurium crystals on HIP 33601 C 3 B.
Again, the genetic sequence is almost the same as the prior two. It's surely the same species of organism, and they have some means of biological specialization - perhaps an adaptation to the surrounding geology?
A scary thought crossed my mind that these "biologically-formed metalloids" could be some form of Thargoid product or structure. Given what we've seen with how they "grow" Meta-Alloys by seeding planets with those bizarre spires and barnacles, it's not entirely unreasonable. However, there is nothing particularly "Thargoid" about the appearance or genetic makeup of these things.
I quickly perished the thought.
8:10 AM
Collected a full load of technetium from HIP 33601 C 5 A. Is there no end to the eclectic assortment of raw resources that these little crystal amoebas or whatever will make for me? I'm really starting to think they adapt to the composition of the planet they're growing on, or at least the elemental crystals are a byproduct of their interaction with it. That would make it not too dissimilar to how Meta-Alloys are produced... I fear if my theory from before holds water...
Glancing at the map of this system, I'm not seeing any more biological signals that I haven't already explored. I want to continue this little romp through the Sanguineous Rim, possibly make a stop in Barnard's Loop. But I've been at this for a while, and I'm tired. My piloting is getting sloppy.
I think I'm gonna pack it in for the night. C 5 A will be my home this morning, and my Phantom my master bedroom.