Entry 6 - Second Test Voyage... I guess?
26 Jul 2022miamijuggler
I'm annoyed. Or rather... I was annoyed. Annoyed enough that I flung myself into the black again.I've spent the past week trying to do additional housekeeping and checklists on the Galaxy Song, which also meant reviewing the last few modifications that I would like to do. Specifically, two modules: Life Support and Thrusters.
I asked around, and was told by multiple sources that if I want the mass of the Life Support system reduced any further, I'd have to visit a certain Etienne Dorn in Colonia. To the best of my knowledge, there's no way around this, so it will have to wait. So that's not really what annoyed me.
On the other hand, there are multiple engineers in the Bubble that can work on thrusters, but they're... being difficult. Essentially, Professor Palin is the engine guru around here. I reached out, and was even able to get him on a video call to try and schedule a day to have the work done, but he was frustratingly noncommittal and vague, even bordering on rude. It was obvious he didn't want to work with me. When I flat out asked him about it, he grumbled something to the effect of "Why would I want to work with someone that hasn't even made it 5,000 light years into the black?"
That sent me fuming... I may have said some unkind things, hurled some delightfully creative profanity at him, and when he simply chuckled in response, I just hung up. I spent the next few hours calming down, and eventually found another engineer capable of working on my engines. Initially, Chloe Sedesi seemed excited to work with me, but when I called her to schedule a service date, she was reserved and reluctant, even looked a bit nervous. After hanging up with her, sure enough I found out she used to be apprenticed to Palin!!!
I felt like an idiot; apparently he must have talked to her and warned her about me. I was so angry at Palin that I spooled up the frame shift drive in the Phantom, found the nearest neutron star, and flung myself in a random direction.
After a few jumps I managed to cool off, but realizing I was already more than 1500Ly from the Bubble, I wondered if practicing a few more neutron jumps would get me far enough out to pass Palin's bullshit test. I'd never visited a nebula before, so after some digging, I found the Rosette Nebula, about 5300Ly from Sol in the direction I was traveling, and decided to make the trip. If nothing else, it would be additional testing data on the Galaxy Song before leaving for Colonia and beyond.
I was able to supercharge the FSD more reliably than I had anticipated, and mitigated most of the damage. For whatever wear-and-tear remained from the supercharging, I was able to repair with the AFMU. Despite my earlier annoyance, I'll admit it was pretty satisfying to cover 290Ly in a single jump.
A few more days of jumping, scanning, mapping, and sleeping, (including a frustrating detour around a mysteriously permit-locked sector) I ended up in the Rosette Nebula, and was surprised to find a small outpost here, built into an asteroid. I took the opportunity to sell my cartographic data, make any relevant repairs on the ship, and talk to a few of the locals before turning back. The nebula itself was gorgeous, but at least for now, I think nebulae might be better to look at from a distance.
So that's where I am now, in the system Flyooe Eohn XR-E c27-0, parked for the night, and trying to decide what to do next. I suppose since it's on the way back to the Bubble, I could stop by HIP 36601 for more raw materials, since I've blown through a lot of my stockpile with all the engineering I've done so far. Not sure if I want to do that, or if I want to simply head straight home.