Heart & Soul [08.17.3302]
20 Aug 2016Milwaki
It's been calming out here, not a single ship or station. Apart from the creaking hull, the thrusters pulsating, and the FSD whirl through hyperspace, it's been eerily quiet. Verity and I have our moments, but I have little need of her services this far out; there's little to manage while exploring.For the last 11 days we've been making our way, slowly, towards the Heart and Soul nebulae. Just about 8,400 light years away from Sol, from home, it's one of the most beautiful locations I've come across in the galaxy. Along the way we found a place dubbed 'Altera's Eye', a small blue planetary nebula encasing a blackhole. Only with the royal blue backdrop can you really see the immense forces at work; the lensing warping and distorting space. It's the witness of time and space bending; past, present and future all at once.
Pressing on, we made it to the H&S nebulae, both breath-taking. Not one, but two gargantuan clouds of bright orange, red and pink. Colossal ghosts of another time. Surrounding them were numerous blackholes and neutron stars. As suspected though, the news from Tionisla two weeks ago, and in fact legends from centuries ago, means much of these nebulae have been charted by other pilots; old news. It still does little to restrain the brilliance and the horror of these spacial anomalies.
Continuing the trek, we pulled through the nebulae, and carried on through the bulk of the EAFOTS sector trying my best, while struggling to retain my sanity, to explore as much of this region as possible; much of it remains uncatalogued. Alas, my two week expedition has come to an end. I've done my best to locate any mysterious figures or objects, I've tried locating barnacles previously found in the Pleiades sector and other regions; rumors suggested their presence here as well, but my searches have been fruitless.
I had not planned on finding anything ground-breaking, the time away from the bubble was most of the appeal, but it hasn't been all for not. On the return trip through EAFOTS I happened across an Earth-like world, undiscovered. The third to my name. Further through EAFOTS, past the nebulae again, and onward to the bubble we discovered not one but two neutrons, also undiscovered. For a trek made by so many, and with so many neighboring spacial anomalies previously charted, these handful of diamonds seem to have fallen through the cracks.
As it stands we're just over 5,000 light years from Sol. I'm hoping to make it back within the next few days and get back to work. Rumors on Galnet suggest new ships from Saud Kruger and Lakon will be launched before the end of the cycle. Ships I'd quite like to add to my fleet. Ships that cost a pretty penny.
Fingers crossed on a safe trip back to the bubble.