The Colonia Letters #2
03 Mar 2024Kira Eyre
Dear Lhorndra,it’s been a while. Right now, I’m somewhere in the middle of the Inner Orion Spur. It took a lot longer to leave the bubble than I expected. My flight instructor Theo Arcosta didn’t tell me anything about plotting a long-range course or how to use neutron stars. Do you know this lazy guy? Naturally, I made some mistakes that almost forced me to call the Fuel Rats. But only almost!
Supercharging my FSD for the first time was scary as hell. Lise creaked and rattled as if Anduliga Fire Works were going off right in my engine room. I thought I was done for. Nevertheless, the Hauler holds up surprisingly well. So far, all systems – including the hull – are still nominal.
Sigh. I did underestimate how lonely it would get out here. To distract myself from the endless Black, I started to teach myself a little geology and exobiology. So I’ve been mapping, landing, scanning and taking notes like a proper explorer. Can you believe it! I’ve even found whole systems where no one has gone before! At least that’s what Universal Cartographics says. Although this prolongs my journey, it makes it less desolate. Good thing I brought a SRV with me after all.
Some human company would be nice, but do you know why I wanted to avoid the Colonia highway? Because the last thing I need right now is a bar on a megaship full of veteran pilots, going on and on about how much harder it was in the Olden Days. How they flew a shoebox to Sagittarius A* and back, with no megaships or carriers along the way, before Felicity Farseer was even born, scooping up planetary raw materials with a spoon, fuel scooping stars with a straw, and how much easier I have it today, yadda yadda. I couldn’t bear it. So desolation it is.
Yours,
Kira