Welcome to the Space Jungle
21 May 2023Zillah22
How did I even end up here? It's been a little over a month since I completed my training and earned the title Commander. Now I'm limping back to Jensen Gateway with a half melted ship and my tail between my legs. This was not what I signed up for. What was it that drew me out here in the first place anyway?Oh, right. "See the galaxy!" "Become a CMDR!" "FREE Sidewinder to all graduates!"
They don't tell you that the Sidewinder is just a rental.
But honestly it wasn't a bad deal. And that's exactly what I wanted to do, see the galaxy. I especially wanted to see Sol, the cradle of our civilization. So the first thing I did was earn enough to return the Sidewinder and get myself a Hauler. Threw on a bunch of scanners, slapped the name Lazy Eye on the ship ID and headed out into the black.
Well, I thought it was the black. In reality I never left the bubble. But I was living the dream. Scanning planets and scanning life on the surface of those planets. This was what I came for. And I was getting paid! Well enough that I was very quickly able to buy a new Krait Phantom. This was a nice upgrade to my first exploration ship. Attenborough's Legacy. I named the ship after a naturalist that lived during the 20th and 21st century. I found some documentary video files while I was skimming through pre-fusion history. His voice is super relaxing and now I can't fall asleep without playing one of his documentaries in the background.
Anyway, point is I was happy. A couple ships, TWO SRVs, and more money than I ever saw in my life. I had the title of Knight in the Empire. I held the rank of Petty Officer in the Federation. So what happened? What took me from that happy place to here where it smells like burning metal?
Ah, right. Greed. That's what initially did it. I heard about a sweet gig up in the Robigo system. People wanting to take a tour to some nav beacon. Didn't even need to see the beacon, they just wanted to get out in space. And they paid CMDRs good money to do it. So I outfitted a Python. Couldn't get the darn thing to jump over 30ly, though. So I started tracking down engineers so that I could take advantage of this space tourism boom.
That's when new reports came in about the Thargoid Invasion. Now, before I was a Commander I knew about the war. I wasn't living under a rock. But there was nothing I could do because I was stuck planet side. Even when I got my pilot's certification I wasn't planning on joining the war. I didn't have any connections like the experienced Commanders did to upgrade and purchase their ships. Go after a Thargoid Medusa in a Sidewinder? No thank you. But now I have a passenger ship. I couldn't fight the Thargoids still, sure. But I could help others get away.
Just some slight modifications and I was on my way. I can tell you, there were some firsts I never wanted to experience: seeing a burning starport, running away from a Thargoid, purposefully overheating to burn off Thargoid snot. But I was helping people. While traveling I met up with others that were doing the same, Operation Ida. They are super organized and coordinate their efforts to impact entire systems. Suddenly I was helping to push back the Thargoids! Who would have thought!?
I bought a Chieftain, Piojo, and flew to Maelstrom Leigong. Scanned the ammonia planet it is near and ran back home like I was playing ding-dong-ditch. That was enough for me for now.
Then the big brains at Aegis say they can make a device to get us inside the maelstrom. I must have gone mad with enthusiasm, because I bought a Python, Rock Goblin, with the intent on mining cobalt and adding to the war effort. I quickly realized trading would be much faster and bought myself a Type-9 Heavy, Large Marge. Me and Marge delivered tons of cobalt and the research was a success.
I wanted more. I wanted to get into the center of the Maelstrom. I was new, but I wanted it. I flew all across the galaxy, speaking with different engineers. I even flew 5000ly into the black (the REAL black) and mapped a new system just to impress Professor Palin himself. I outfitted Piojo with the best of the best and returned to Leigong.
The caustic clouds there are FOR REAL. I know the next step for me is to get the caustic sinks made to handle this toxicity, and this is where we are today.
Blowing up those caustic generators and scooping up the parts was easy enough, but the tech broker is telling me they need an actual tissue sample to complete the part. Man, it’s hard to get close enough to get a scan, let alone a sample. Twice I bumped into the generator, causing it to explode. I'm thankful the engineered hull stayed together like it did. I know I'm only a month in, but I want in that Maelstrom!
Maybe I need a break. The Federation issued me a permit to see Sol. Maybe I should go back to my original plan. "See the galaxy", right?
On the other hand, Rock Goblin is ready to go. Maybe skills learned maneuvering through asteroid fields will translate to skills maneuvering past caustic generators. The loot will be nice too.
I'll decide once I slide into the barstool at Jensen Gateway. Whatever the next step is, I know I'm not done with Maelstrom Leigong.