Leg 1: Betelgeuse and the Crispy Cmdr
14 Jan 2022Aurora Bael
Ugh... Bare with me, I am... Alarmingly drunk.Okay... So, first thing is I ran about 10 full loads into Alcor total, but never saw profit like that first day. I did want to make a difference and build up the Colonia Highway, I just... I don't know, it felt like cheating to do it for the money. Locals at MacDonald got pretty friendly after a week though, nudge nudge wink wink. Ya girl had a good time, 's all I'm tryna say. But I ain't about that life for but a week at a time. The real action is out here.
Not three jumps outside the bubble, I found a planet way the fuck far from its star with a bio-sign on it. When I got there it was too dark to see and I called off the search, but come to find out I'm the first person ever to set foot on that particular rock.
So there it is. There's a view ain't no one ever seen before. It ain't exactly remarkable, but the free/happy/lonesome feeling got me right in the belly and I couldn't help but linger for a little while. It's a small win, but it's my win and I'm keeping it.
From there, another three jumps got me to the Betelgeuse system. Being in front of that star made me feel the smallest I've ever felt.
When I took this picture? I thought I was at full stop. Nah. I was in low-wake, booking it at 25c. I could just barely perceive Betelgeuse inching along my starboard-side. So of course, I had to land and get a better look, some idea for how fuck-off enormous it was. Now Betelgeuse 1 is only about 3200 lightseconds from the surface of the thing, and the thing? It's got a radius of round abouts 1500 light-seconds if I measured right. Don't... Don't quote me, I'm sure I didn't do it right. (EDIT: I went and looked it up. Betelgeuse is 2058 Ls in diameter, so about 1029 Ls in radius. Not terrible for eye-balling it, but I could do better.) The point is that the first planet is more lava-puddle than bedrock, so that was a no-go. About twice as far out is Betelgeuse 2, which has the common decency to be solid across the whole rocky surface, so I parked there and... Wow.
Fucking WOW what a monster! I'm sure some of you saltier explorer's have seen way bigger, but this was a first for me. I got so excited I just had to get out there and see it with my own , or at least as close to my own eyes as I could but... Well... I'm sure you all know where this is going. Betelgeuse 2 is solid but it is still fuck-you-and-your-husband HOT. I did not see the temp warning before I stepped out. But once the airlock cycled closed behind me, I sure felt it. IMMEDIATE regret. I jammed my fingers into an access keypad too hot t even through the suit as fast as I goddamn well could, but the airlock had just filled and needed to depressurize again before I got back in. Right, mistake number 2, I dig it. I spent three minutes and twenty seconds clinging to the shadow behind my ship, cooking like a stuck pig, before it finally let me in. I am covered in first and second degree burns. Hence the powerful drunk I'm living right now.
The ship can take it, she's a tough bird. But my dinky little cold-weather exploration suit was NOT up to the task. So I made good use of that first aid kit tucked into a bottle before bed. Then couldn't sleep. So I drank some more and here I am.
I'm gonna be honest with you, this is bad. This was a bad mistake. I am hurt in a way that really requires a doctor. Or at least a proper med Bay and a bio-bed to sleep in while I heal. That's the thing about this ship. I love the little bastard but she's just a bit too small. In the T-9 I got used to having quarters I didn't have to stoop in. A bed I could stretch out on. Coffee brewing in the galley in the morning. Bradbury hasn't got any of that. She flies great and jumps far but small quarters are still small quarters. There was a romanticism to that when I had no choice, but I'm a much richer bitch now. I got options. And those Asp-X's in the shipyard at Ray Gateway are looking pretty damn sweet right about now.
That said, I really don't wanna turn back if I can still hack it. I'm gonna give these burns another day to see if they stop hurting constantly. I might have to come back and get some medical attention before pushing back out. Goddammit, Rory, how you gonna make such a rookie mistake?
Ah well. Lesson learned. Hurty, bacon-stank ass lesson learned.
Back soon for part two (or the early cancel),
-Rory