Entry 15 - Beyond Beagle Point, and Beginning the Way Back
08 Oct 2022miamijuggler
I have to admit, I've been neglecting this log. I suppose after making it Beagle Point, some of the urgency went out of maintaining it, so I'll try to write down from memory the events of the past few weeks. I'm currently in Blaa Blao OC-N C22-3, and currently well off the beaten path, as the vast majority of the systems I've passed through in the past few days haven't had an entry in the Universal Cartographics database.
In any case, after relaxing in Beagle Point for a few days, I decided to pack up again and move on, this time making the slightly risky journey to Oevasy SG-Y D0 B 9 F, also known as Salome's Reach. I verified I had sufficient quantities of materials to synthesize plenty of FSD Injections, then carefully plotted my way across the scant few stars, heading for the furthest reachable one.
I was specifically seeking the experience of being as far away from Sol as is currently possible, so once reaching the system, I headed for the furthest located body. A small, pale moon, criss-crossed with deep, long, straight canyons, appearing almost artificial.
I landed atop the ridge bordering one of these canyons, not only because it would give me an excellent vantage point up and down the length of the trench, but also of the surrounding landscape as well.
Note the complete lack of stars in the sky. It was pretty amazing to stand there, looking out into the vast emptiness, wondering how far I would have to travel in a straight line before even being able to see anything at all again. It was a truly humbling experience. However, when I turned around, I was met with an equally amazing (albeit not unexpected) sight:
The bright smear of the galaxy, almost in its entirety, as a single, perceptible entity separate from myself. I didn't see any contacts on my system scanner, which means that all currently known organic life, human and otherwise, is contained within the frame of that image. Well... most of it anyway, I see the distant arms of the galaxy trailing off the edge of the frame, and I'm sure there are at least a few commanders out there on the borders, but that was as wide as my drone's lens would go before distorting the image.
While I was walking around, taking in the brilliant blackness of space beyond the borders of the galaxy, I noticed kitty had gone completely still. Her many, unblinking eyes were locked on a fixed point directly opposite the galactic center, but when I looked, both with my eyes and with every scanner at my disposal, I couldn't perceive anything. I picked her up (even in the low gravity, I needed to use the power assist from my exosuit) and tried to take her on a walk, but no matter which way I turned, her eyes swiveled and followed that same point in space. Trying to figure out what she was looking at, I stared in that direction for a long time... a long... .
...time... A long...
... . .. ... .
...sorry where was I? Oh right, I was in Beagle Point, getting ready to head back towards the galactic center.
I decided to plot my route below the galactic plane (since I had gone above on my outbound course), but the low star density was proving difficult for the navigation computer, so I've made multiple smaller waypoints as the computer has allowed. Still, I've made good progress, I think I found another Earth-like World along the way, so that will be nice to turn in at Explorer's Anchorage. I've also decided that I won't turn in my data at any more carriers; the 25% tariff is too great a cost for all my long travels and data collecting.
In any case, the journey continues, and I will try to be better about updating this log.