Formidine Expedition: Entry 003
03 May 2016Alexia Zyxx
We are making good time.The PFS Minerva currently sits adrift, floating deep within the NGC 7822 Nebula -- a large, bright nebula home to a spherical cluster of luminous stars that pierces at its heart. We have spent the last few days scanning and surveying a multitude of systems here, and we have only just begun to scratch the surface. Each system we enter is more fantastic than the last -- Class O and B and A stars with dozens of young, Tauri stars in their orbit. Black holes, neutron stars, it's all here--we even discovered a Herbig AE/ BE! An entire expedition could surely be focused purely around scanning this nebula and it's surrounding systems.
We, however, must move on. We spend the eve of our departure preparing for a sprint to the Orio-Persean String perched high above the galactic disc, over the gap between the Orion and Perseus arms. It's a bit of a circuitous route and we could certainly plot a course lower on the disc where the stars are more dense and affording an easier travel -- but I see this as a sort of final exam for the Minerva. The sky here is sparse, stars are only loosely scattered amongst the void and any course we plot will require us to consistently break the 30LY barrier. The conditions here are the closest to the rift that we'll find within the Orion Spur. If we can manage this 1000LY jaunt between NGC 7822 and NGC 1502 without dipping back into the galactic disc, we should hopefully be able to handle whatever the Formidine Rift has to offer.
A somewhat unsettling continuation to the final note in my last entry -- upon entering the NGC 7822 Nebula, we've stumbled across an alarming number of additional wrecked ships. It was the same story at each one -- charred and destroyed hulls, no escape pods, no survivors. A cloud of smoke still lingered around the twisted scraps of steel and composite and detritus at the last site -- it had not yet had time to disperse. If we could have been there one day, or hours, or maybe even just minutes earlier, maybe we could have...
The crew is aware of the risks of deep space exploration. We knew that we would find the remains of failed expeditions before us. Nebula exploration is hazardous by its very nature, having claimed the lives of many explorers, but I find it harder and harder yet to convince myself that this is coincidence.
The black is a cold and lonely place -- but as we power down the drives and drift for a night's rest, I always find myself wondering how alone we truly are.
CMDR Alexia Zyxx
PFS Minerva
out.