Entry 5 - Completed Phase Two!
19 Jul 2022miamijuggler
I made it back to the Bubble!I've finished collecting materials (for now), and I've spent the last few days flying the Galaxy Song around to various engineers, completing the vast majority of the modifications on my list. During my shakedown trip to HIP 36601 and back, I was able to run some additional tests and gather data to make a few further optimizations, shedding even more mass and extending my jump range while making only marginal sacrifices in functionality. Essentially, I've further downgraded the Power Distributor from a 3D unit to a 2D, saving myself a tonne of onboard mass, since on my initial voyage I realized I don't need to boost as frequently as I originally thought. I also worked with Lei Chung to overhaul my Shield Generator for efficiency and light weight, saving yet another tonne.
Now, after visiting the likes of Lei Chung, Selene Jean, and Bill Turner, I can really feel how much mass has been stripped out of the Phantom. The hull groans softly during high-G maneuvers, and I can hear/feel different empty sections resonate as the thrusters spool up and down throughout their frequency range. The empty spaces in the superstructure also reply with long, sustained tones if you bump certain bulkheads or close a hatch with enough force, which gives the entire vessel a slightly musical quality. Some pilots might be concerned at the fragility this implies, but I kind of like it. I've double- and triple-checked all the replaced and modified parts, and I think everything should hold up under normal exploration processes. Admittedly, if I run into any combat at all, I'm toast. Perhaps I can convince my squadron leader to help me practice some techniques for escaping interdictions.
That being said, it looks like I've completed Phase Two. The Power Plant has been upgraded to the point where I can run the FSD Booster (as long as I'm not powering the SRV hangar or either of the AFMUs), so here are some updated stats:
| Original Mass: | 619 tonnes | Phase One Mass: | 372 tonnes | Current Mass: | 350.2 tonnes |
| Original Jump Range: | 9.32 Ly | Phase One Jump Range: | 51.36 Ly | Current Jump Range: | 72.68 Ly |
72 light years! Bouncing around to the various engineers and watching the jump range climb after each modification was intoxicating, almost. There's not much more engineering left to do with the currently available technology, and those last modifications will have to be done in Colonia, so I'm not expecting much more jump range, but I'm hoping (for no particular reason) to be able to push it just past the 73Ly mark. However, this leads to a bit of a fly in the ointment:
Petra Olmanova in Colonia messaged me that she only works with more established combat pilots. I'm considering now if I should take on the risks of bounty hunting or combat zones to build more of a combat reputation for myself. I don't suppose it would hurt to give potential interdictors a second thought after scanning me, plus some of the other engineers here in the Bubble also only work with combat pilots. Perhaps it would be worth it to spend some time shooting down wanted criminals before leaving for Colonia. I guess I'll spend the next few days looking into it before making a decision.