Not reading the small print
16 Mar 2021Sir Sprockett
Well it has been a while, but for good reason ish, mostly my fault; but challenge accepted and done.(and breath)
I was doing the Achenar system permit run. Busily loading up All right Guv? with data courier missions, Stacking and racking.
It was my 3rd full day and I had covered 50 plus separate jumps, all to locals stars and various outpost and bases. Did a few little incursion jobs but not much else.
I was back at my temporary base putting all the jobs into the respective applications and that are to be triple copied and all that other bureaucracy nonsense, when I notice that I still had 2 out standing contracts. I was sure that I had covered all the Markers that where on my Galaxy Map.
I double checked - I go back to my ship and load up the Galaxy Map - sure enough no Contract Markers, I zoom the star map out further covering the bubble, still no contract markers thou I am still, according to my contract file, outstanding two contracts. I have Data stored on my ship that has not been delivered. I am kerfuffled.
I reboot my ship, nope still there.
I go back in to the Gal Map and zoom it all the way out.
There, near the Galaxy Core are the contract markers - 22,000 light years away... Holy Planet of Jupiter!
I sit in stunned and shocked silence. BLANK
I eventually pull up the ACTUAL contracts and read through the 22 pages on crap and nonsense that they insist on having in these contracts. You have read 1 you have read them all.
I had 6 days to cover the 22,000 light years! I could not abandon them as this would set me right back on the Permit request. My current ship had a 25yr light range and after a quick calculation, 880 jumps was not going to happen. I pulled up my ship registry and scrolled through my meagre fleet.
"I was Never Here" my Asp Explorer, 183 light years away up in Gateway , had the best jump range in my fleet. Currently at 41 but I knew that with a bit of jigging around and that new Engineers FSD Blue Print that I had traded, I could get her to near 50 ly. That would have to do.
As I was running up to Gateway I started the journey very stressed and angry at myself for not reading the small print. Soon I started to look at the Contracts as more of a challenge and of getting a few other accomplishments done:
It was good for the Pilots Licence progression, getting my Hyperspace hours up, which in turn improves my Pilots Ranking.
I had a new toy, of a very top end Detailed Surface Scanner that I was also keen to try out - and on a Journey like this, avoiding the main route by 200 lys will set me on a course through unchartered space. There is a lot of money to be made there and some Immortality amongst the stars, for it is your name on those planets you discover.
It would get me the Permit and also I was a bit sick of all the bossing around that goes with being a new pilot, where as now it will just be me, my ship and the stars.
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I arrived at the destination in Colonia with 12 hours to spare on the contracts. It was Christmas eve back in the bubble. I was exhausted and elated.
I had heard stories of the wonder at the density of stars near the core, and none of them do it justice. I will not try, but say - you must see.
I loitered around Colonia for a couple of weeks, I met a few new Engineer types and traded some more Blueprints. Things started to heat up back in the Bubble and messages from my Agency started to sound alarm bells from the Chatter that they where picking up.
Something was happing in the Bubble, trouble was brewing.
I did some more improvements on "I was Never Here" and learnt from some crazy old pilot how to Neutron Star Jump and between that and an Improved base jump range I shaved off another 100 jumps from the over all journey.
(The Agency is calling - my services are needed) to be continued....