Lonesome Exploration
02 Feb 2023Quendel
Personal Log: CMDR QuemiuminsStardate: 2nd of February 3309
Location: Vaucanson Hub – Zandu
>>Start of Log<<
I’m glad to be back home. Talking to people instead of the little cactus on my nav console for a change is... refreshing. I’m just not used to traveling alone anymore. Sure it is technically possible. But I’d ALWAYS prefer a chief engineer over any AFMU, and not even the most advanced nav software or scanner can replace a second pair of eyes double-checking the set course or the perimeter.
Call me old-fashioned.
It’s not like I really had a choice this time. Layan, my ›Number One‹, had to take some time off for some important family matter. One week or so she’d be gone – the perfect time to do some exploring, but also to clear my mind a little after what happened in Huangais and our Thargoid encounters while supporting the rescue effort.
I recently re-fitted my Orca for the job. She’s a reliable ship with a very decent jump range. As a Passenger Liner, I used to fly her with a crew of 3 officers, including Layan as Chief Engineer and First Officer, a freelance navigator, and myself plus enough service personnel, including a service coordinator, depending on passenger count. As an exploration vessel, I’d prefer a crew of 4: Myself, Layan, a navigator with experience in cartography, and a science officer who will be provided a Lab Area on Deck C.
But I’ll have to admit this was the perfect opportunity to test out the capabilities of ›Old Cathedral‹ as an explorer without being responsible for a whole crew. I named it after this song I love. I admit that blasting it inside the cockpit during jump prep was awesome!
I decided to set a course straight downward from Zandu for almost 2000ly and then move through the small part of the Outer Orion Spur-Region right into Sanguineous Rim, then see how far I come in the time I have. I was in no hurry for a change, which proved to be immensely relaxing.
The first day I spent traveling through more or less well-known space right into the black until there were almost no stars before me. I never recognized how much I am used to their glow all the time until now. I came across a few binary star systems which were a really impressive view!
The view on the galaxy from down there was absolutely amazing. The kind of view that makes you feel really small and unimportant.
I found a beautiful water world that hadn’t been scanned yet and decided to rest there. I enjoyed its view through the Orca’s huge windows.
The following days proved to be a lot of scanning. I scanned gas giants, planets, moons and rings. I even came across stars with asteroid rings – something I had never seen before.
I also landed on many planets, some more challenging than others due to their terrain or gravity. Landing on this one for example took some precision. It’s 2,5 Gs were... unpleasant to say the least. I couldn’t stay too long and had to alter my supercruise assist to take me to orbit automatically because I knew the launch with max speed towards the escape vector would knock me out cold – which it did.
On other planets there were plants and bacteria, which I scanned. Life, as simple as it is, developed there. This galaxy is truly an amazing place.
I also visited some Neutron Stars which I also used to get back to the Inner Orion Spur. I love their dangerous beauty!
Getting home didn’t take too long. I used the Neutron Stars to get back to a region where I didn’t have to plot my course manually. Instead of flying directly to Vaucanson Hub I diverted my course towards Beaufoy Beacon to provide all of my exploration data to the Star Chasers. I wanted to make sure they are in the right hands.
I feel very at home inside my ships, but it is nice to sleep inside my apartment again. I missed Vaucanson Hub. This place has really become my home over the past few years.
Layan should be back in two days at the latest. Tomorrow I’ll see to it that I scrape together a capable crew so we can maybe evacuate some more civilians from the Thargoid war zones.
>>End of Log<<