Crazy journey and LT Diamonds
12 Apr 2021d1l4pidat3d_
So, here I come, Colonia. I've been exploring our beautiful galaxy for a little over two months. I've been surviving off of trading and bounty hunting in the bubble, but I decided that's a bit repetitive. In search of a better credit source, I head out into the void, outside the bubble, looking for Low Temperature Diamonds. As an inexperienced miner, in a brand new Krait MkII, little did I know that I actually needed a mining laser, a DSS, and an A rated power plant. So there I am, heading into a hotspot, nosediving into a random spot in a random ring, and then trying to surface mine with an abrasion blaster. How inexperienced! I quickly realize my mistake, but the nearest outfitting station is 50 light-years away - something my old Asp Explorer could take on in three jumps, it now takes my new Krait a little over 10 jumps to arrive.
Also, the fact that my Power Plant isn't the best I could fit is making that small journey to the nearest station a nightmare - the ship's drive easily overheats in 10 seconds of scooping a star. Fortunately, I didn't need to stop for fuel for that outfitting journey. I got what I needed and headed back to the hotspot system; After giving it a quick scan in the FSS, I then move to the nearest ice ring and fire up the DSS. Jackpot! There's an overlapping hotspot. This is when I found my first batch of diamonds.
A nearby fleet carrier, the THS Jack Flash literally saved my skin as I headed back into the hotspot; My modules had taken heat damage due to the constant overheating, my fuel was running out, and I had forgotten my limpets. Classic! Not wanting to go back into the bubble and potentially lose my hard-earned diamonds to some wannabe hungry pirate wanting to feed their children, I decide to sell to the FC with the best price - I might be losing out on 100k per piece, but at least that's better than losing all of them. While my Krait can easily defend itself (after all, I found out the hard way that the Krait is a better fighter than explorer with my current setup), I don't want to take any chances - let's not forget those pesky little hatch breaker limpets exist and a single diamond is worth a lot of credits.
This is when I made the crazy decision of heading out further into the black. My first crazy decision was going to Barnard's Loop - I had been eyeing that gorgeous nebula from the Core systems for a while. It was a 1,200ly journey from Sol and back, but it was so worth it. Colonia had been on my mind for quite a while, but the distance is so enormous that I can't even begin to comprehend it. It would take me months to get there. This is when thought of hitching a ride on a friendly fleet carrier. There are a couple of them departing from the Bubble to Colonia and Sagittarius A*, so that would be the perfect exploration opportunity for me. However, I plan on going to Sag A* myself, but I need a better ship and a better jump range, which I don't have yet. So this is me now, a hitchhiker, seeking those sights and exploration data around Colonia's bubble! For my Barnard's Loop journey, I hitched a ride on Neutron stars, but that's another tale from my adventures throughout the galaxy.
Hopefully, my next journey will render some beautiful pictures.