01 Sep 3302 - Exploration Shakedown Cruise
02 Sep 2016Akarana
Currently in port at Diaguandri for a few days' shore leave while my outfitters of choice perform some upgrades on the Tuhura. At last I am on the theshold of realising my dream of a ship fully fitted out for exploration. She is now A-rated with an Auto-Field Maintenance Unit and Detailed Surface Scanner aboard, replacing the two small cargo racks I initially added for couriering contracts.While I love the Asp Explorer every bit as much as the Cobra Mk.III I had before her, it's been a long hard grind for credits to raise her up to this level. Thankfully, recent events now mean my financial problems are effectively over. Given my status as a law-abiding citizen as well as my Federation naval rank, how this came about is probably best not placed on the record, but sometimes we freelance pilots do still have to assert our independence and forget where the borders lie.
Alongside the recent promotion to Petty Officer, I was issued with a Sol permit so that was the original plan for my exploration "shakedown cruise". It's been a high priority for me to go there ever since I qualified for my pilot's licence back in May. "Tuhura" means "explore" in the Old Tongue of the land of my distant ancestors, so I would like to at least see Earth even though landings are currently restricted.
However, given the current excitement over in the Pleiades, they are now likely to be my next port of call as I am intrigued to see this mysterious wreckage Galnet is reporting. I have made several trips over to the Pleiades already and found it to be one of the most breathtaking destinations I've seen, but as I was participating in an initiative on those occasions there was not enough time for exploration.
So, after a good night's sleep I'll be heading off to see what all the fuss is about. I just hope I can get close enough to the wreckage to deploy the SRV for close-quarters examination. I imagine if the discovery is as important as the rumours suggest, the site will be locked down very quickly.