3rd Anniversary of my arrival in Colonia
05 Dec 2019Reise Lang
I recently completed the Distant Worlds 2 expedition with my arrival at Jaques Station in the Colonia System. It had been two years since I was last in Colonia, so I spent some time travelling around the region, selling cartographic data, and allying with local factions.When I realized that the 3rd anniversary of my first arrival in Colonia was a few days away, I decided to take some time to jot down my recollections of how I came to be a Colonia Outlander.
I first heard about the Outlander Challenge back in 3302, around mid-year. Word of the discovery of Jaques Station reached the Huldr system in late-June. By August, several efforts to repair the station of the famous cyborg bartender were successful and thousands of galactic citizens were migrating to the region. In late-August, the Colonia Citizens Network announced the Outlander Challenge.
I was on break in a lower level of Flade Dock, chatting with friends, checking my feed, and doing pretty much anything I could do to delay getting back to conveyor-bot repair. Narul, after patiently listening to my rant against the power dynamics in the Huldr system, forwarded the notice to my term.
The future is out at Jaques, 22,000 LYs beyond the frontier!
Opportunities to make a living are now open in the Colonia Nebula!
New bases and stations are now in place and mission boards are now operational.
There's a great opportunity to create a new life without the urban sprawl of the old worlds and be part of this new fledgling community as it grows around you.
Take the Outlander Challenge. All you need is a stock Sidewinder, a fuel scoop, and determination!
I looked up at him with a frown.
"You should go" Narul said, grinning. "You hate it here and you've said, more than once, that you want to see what's out there beyond the bubble"
"True, but I'd need my Pilot's license and a reliable ship. And I have, well, neither"
"This is an exploration challenge. You only need a stock Sidewinder equipped with a fuel scoop!" Narul said. "Get your damn license, get a loaner Sidewinder, and get going!"
I had to admit, the Outlander Challenge intrigued me. An opportunity to be part of a new bubble, no Federation, Empire or Alliance goons looking over my shoulder. A real chance to be part of something new.
So I signed up.
The rest was a blur. I rushed through pilot training, and, on 11 September 3302, obtained a loaner, stock Sidewinder. I was able to run enough data missions to obtain a Fuel Scoop, but only enough credits to upgrade the FSD to a D rating. This, at least, got me a double-digit jump range. But to keep it, I'd need to forego shields.
The standard jump range for a stock Sidewinder is under 10LY. A Sidewinder with a D-rated FSD, fuel scoop and no shields is...11.59 Light Years I christened her "Cricket" and splurged my remaining few credits on a yellow paint job and a nameplate.
We departed the bubble on 13 September 3302 from the Sentec System. The Outlander Challenge required several waypoints to check-in on progress.
Waypoint 1: Camp Baatuta |
Waypoint 2: Vespera Vision |
2,166 jumps later... |
Arrival at Jaques Station at 01:12:39 on 5 December 3302 |
There wasn't much in Colonia then; less than a dozen stations with limited shipyards and no A-rated outfitting. But there were millions of star systems to be discovered, all within a couple hundred light years. And there was genuine camaraderie among the cmdrs in the fledgling CCN community. We worked to increase trade and to protect traders and miners. And I made a lot of new friends doing this work.
But months later, I began to feel the urge to be back in the black. Rapid migration brought more factions, and more factions brought more politics, and people began arguing more. One night, I was complaining to a Cmdr about the power dynamics in the Colonia Council and I remembered my conversation with Narul at Flade Dock. "You should go" echoed in my memory.
And so I did. I started with several short expeditions to map a few local Neutron Star fields, but these simply peaked my interest in going further. Within the year, I had outfitted an Asp and headed out to Sagittarius A. After that, I returned to the Bubble and spent several months preparing for Distant Worlds 2. This expedition took me to the other side of the galaxy to Beagle Point.
I didn't return to Colonia until 21 November 3005. 2 years after I had left. I noted the significant changes in the region. More ships available, A-rated outfitting, and ENGINEERS!! The changes are intriguing, but I don't think I'll ever be able to stay in one place too long. I'll be heading back to the Bubble soon, I'm going to revisit some of my most memorable discoveries... and maybe find a few new ones.
Fly Safe Cmdrs o7
