M.R.S.C. Mercator - Carrier Log, Mar 3307
03 Apr 2021FalconFly
Mining and Reconnaissance, Strategic Carrier
Mission II Time : 36 Days
01 Mar 3307 : After a mere 24hrs, the TEV Maximon has already set course back to the Mercator.
A total of 5 Class 5 FSD v1 were acquired, which is sufficient for the Carrier Support Fleet.
In the process, the Colonia Engineers were used for slight optimization of the TEV Maximon as well. As the new Prototype FSD runs quite a tad hotter, a tiny bit of Jumprange was traded in for better Thermal handling.
Quite a few things have changed, Colonia looks different than 2 or 3 years ago.
Station Boards indicate alot of traffic - but also plenty of criminals being amongst that.
Colonia itself received a Carrier Vendor right next to Jaques, Ratraii looked like a Carrier graveyard - decommissioned Carriers all over the place.
Overall, looks like a busy but very rundown place. Indeed no point in getting all sentimental, as there's no reason to.
Not really missing this place, it used to be better there in the distant past.
Notably, a Memorial Beacon for a fallen CMDR from the very early Days of supporting Jaques was paid respect near the Station - who reportedly was an exceptionally fuel-aware and all-round oldschool Pilot by all accounts.
( tips hat and salutes CMDR Garak )
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Mission II Time : 37 Days
02 Mar 3307 : At 2117 Universal Time, the TEV Maximon docked back on the Mercator. As of that moment, SAR Status went back to Green.
A final Tritium run is scheduled for today, which will bring the Operational Range of the Carrier back beyond 50000LY.
After this, the remaining free Storage is planned to receive Platinum and similar Metals again.
Forging its own path along the Neutron Grid not only yielded plenty of undiscovered or unreported Neutron Stars, which were added to the public Databases.
It also added 2 brand new Earth-like Worlds, which were discovered in the Agnainks and the Zunuae Sector respectively.
Definitely a good trip.
The Class 5 FSD v1 - being purchased exclusively with Mats instead of Credits and discounted on top - offers an interesting side-effect when it comes to Transfers :
Having no Credit value attached to it means that it can be transferred over any range for a mere 100Cr.
(bottom of the Screen shows the original C5 FSD the Maximon was equipped with on the way to Colonia)
Now it's just waiting those ~40hrs until the Equipment arrives.
Being already fitted to the TEV Maximon (Diamondback Explorer) on the trip back, the experience so far was extremely positive.
This is definitely a piece of Equipment worth the investment at a Tech Broker, no doubt about it !
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Mission II Time : 38 Days
03 Mar 3307 : After having performed a last full-scale Tritium run, the Mercator has relocated to a nearby Platinum source at Myrierph SY-R e4-78
From here on, the original Exploration Campaign is proceeding again at normal intensity.
CMDR Animorx reported docking at the Mercator and will use it as a Forward Operating Base to conduct local Exploration as well for a few days.
With 623 Systems scanned so far within 150LY of the Mercator, its anchor System in the northern edge and ongoing D-Mass Boxel scan (mostly south of it) is beginning to leave a mark in the Galaxy as well...
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Mission II Time : 40 Days
05 Mar 3307 : Surprisingly calm on the Exploration front despite quite a bunch of Systems scanned.
With new ELWs currently "hiding", some time was invested into restocking Elements.
On top, the first standard Mining run added more to the onboard Stock of Metals & Minerals - promptly increasing gross weight and pushing Operational Range right back below 50000LY.
After another Tritium run, that Range now reads 51000LY, which is satisfactory.
667 Systems scanned within 150LY and slowly increasing daily, so progress in the nearby D-Mass Boxel passed ~10% complete.
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Mission II Time : 42 Days
07 Mar 3307 : Things are running smooth and finally more ELWs showing up after a dry phase.
Campaign so far has produced a total of 34 Earth-like Worlds. The Mercator is doing well in fiscal terms, with Tritium and mined Minerals/Metals Storage looking good as well.
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Mission II Time : 43 Days
08 Mar 3307 : Another day of good progress...
Multiple Earth-like Worlds added to the records and despite some errands there was even time for a Platinum Mining run.
Things remain calm in the area, although a random CMDR decided to store some Modules on the Carrier for some reason. I guess any parking spot for Modules is a good parking spot in Deep Space (?)
Thinking about relocating the Mercator into the very center of the Target Boxel, maybe find a more scenic spot for Platinum Mining.
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Mission II Time : 44 Days
09 Mar 3307 : Despite not having much time, still got a few nice things checked.
Besides another ELW, a Metallic Double Painite Hotspot was discovered within the AOR and not too far from the Mercator.
That means Painite strip mining is now a very feasible Alternative to the local Platinum runs.
Mining Storage currently holds 3872t of Minerals and Metals.
The AOR itself currently sits at 818 Systems scanned, with a total of 38 Earth-like Worlds so far during the Campaign.
The Boxel itself so far tossed out 24 of these ELWs - and at 6589 Systems available in that very Boxel alone... lots of room above.
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Mission II Time : 45 Days
10 Mar 3307 : Nice & steady progress.
Mining has taken a bit of a backseat for the moment, while all focus was put on Exploration.
With sufficient Systems in the records from the numerical Scan Pattern, time to risk an early assessment of the Boxel :
So far, 3.78% of all Systems appear to contain an Earth-like World.
At a resulting ratio of 1 ELW per ~26.5 Systems in average, that'd make this Boxel quite outstanding by any means.
As risky as it is to use linear extrapolation here - it does look too promising and fun not to do it
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Mission II Time : 46 Days
11 Mar 3307 : After a good run into the 2x Painite Hotspot, the numerical Exploration Pattern was given a push forward and another ELW went into the records.
The Mercator is now getting "heavy" - meaning the increasing Mining Storage is taking its unavoidable toll on Operational Range.
This is expected and working as planned, hence no further Tritium Mining is scheduled anymore to counter the adverse effect of increasing gross weight.
The idea of re-opening Mining Sales came to my mind again - but was discarded for the moment for two reasons.
First, the prices that must be offered so far out in Deep Space by design have to be extremely competitive. Too competitive for my taste.
Second, any inbound Merchant Carrier relying on the Mercator maintaining its Position could be unintentionally left hanging by any SAR Operation.
Especially latter represents an unacceptable Scenario, as the Mercator stands for reliability and integrity, second to none. Large and unpredictable Carrier movements of an open and advertising market would simply be incompatible with these principles.
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Mission II Time : 47 Days
12 Mar 3307 : Still at full pace and focused on Exploration of that dense D-Mass Boxel.
Although still highly preliminary and a Variable right now, current Boxel ELW ratio still sits at an outstanding 1 ELW per 26.87 Systems or 3.72% of its Systems.
Even with its fairly high metallicity of 25.2%[He] , this would make it a very ELW-rich outlier and a damn good choice for seeking new Earth-like Worlds.
Smallest numerical pause between ELW Systems observed so far is a super-low 3 - so far the highest reads 56, which occurred inside the 100 Block of the Boxel.
Finishing that Boxel though... that'll easily take 2-3 more months.
The AOR including that Boxel currently contains 1030 scanned Systems (100LY measured from AOR Center), meaning there's around ~5600 more Systems to go and the task maybe ~20% complete.
Very high System density, considering it's all packed into a 80x80x80 LY cubic AOR defined by that D-Mass Boxel.
In retrospect, any next Boxel should likely be a tad smaller. This one is clearly very ambitious...
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Mission II Time : 48 Days
13 Mar 3307 : Exploration progress remains outstanding in the AOR.
The area might very well be a personal record in terms of how ELW-rich it appears.
Based on current Data, the ELW ratio of it sits at 25.94.
Another side-effect is a high amount of Terraforming Candidates and Water Worlds, with the occasional Ammonia World in the mix.
Despite usually not investing time in Mapping these in favor of much faster progression, the financial records are consequently looking excellent just as well.
With that in mind, in a sense the local area could easily be used as a Road-to-Riches Anchor, with 99% of all valuable Bodies remaining unmapped (exception : Earth-Like worlds).
If I wasn't interested in Exploring new Systems, I could earn a boatload of Credits by running a Road-to-Riches right here lol
btw. the TEV Argonaut (AspX) was taken out for a spin into the numerical Search Pattern.
Being also equipped with the Class 5 FSD v1, I can confirm the Thermal handling is notably affected.
I might take a day off from the AOR to give it a quick Colonia Engineer visit in order to fix that.
Located approx. 3500LY from SagA*, the AOR has taken a very distinct shape (1088 scanned Systems to date) - showing off its 80x80x80LY Cube with the Mercator positioned just outside it at the top.
That tiny dent attached about at the northern center represents the near-field Exploration covering 100% of all Systems directly around the Carrier.
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Mission II Time : 49 Days
14 Mar 3307 : Nothing fancy to report today - however there's a new shiny visual from ED Astrometrics ( https://edastro.com/ ).
The new Beta feature shows the Exploration development of an entire Sector over time (feature is work in progress).
Well, this is how the Myrierph Sector has evolved... a bit mesmerizing to look at and I like it alot
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Mission II Time : 51 Days
16 Mar 3307 : Despite a few errands, very good progress again.
The numerical Search Pattern was pushed forward and passed a dry stretch of an exact 100 Systems, which set a new record for pause between ELWs in the numerical sequence.
However, multiple ELWs were discovered shortly thereafter.
Average Systems to Earth-like World ratio for now has still moved up to 30.16, although that's still excellent by any means.
The current Campaign has produced a total of 51 ELWs so far, meaning each Day a new Earth-like World showed up. Not bad.
At 1265 Systems scanned in the AOR, the Target Boxel is nearing ~20% complete, which is quite a feat considering its huge size.
Financially, the high amount of valuable Bodies is leaving a very positive mark as well - despite hardly ever Mapping anything that's not an Earth-like World.
Next Days will likely focus a tad more on Scatter Pattern in the AOR, maybe another Platinum Mining run as well for a little change.
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Mission II Time : 52 Days
17 Mar 3307 : As planned, a full-scale Platinum run was made into the nearby Hotspot.
The Mercator has now reached a gross weight of over 20000t again, which is working as intended.
If I wanted, I could fill up within a week - but I'm in no hurry and Mining isn't a Priority.
In line with previous Days, another ELW went into the records.
I guess I'll stick with the Scatter Pattern for a while, as progressing through it is a tad quicker than following the Numerical Pattern.
Out of curiosity, a sample plot of a Road-to-Riches in the center of the AOR already confirmed that I'm leaving behind a literal gold mine - all confined into a 80LY cube.
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Mission II Time : 54 Days
19 Mar 3307 : After another dry phase, ELWs started running in again.
Current Systems to ELW Ratio has slightly degraded to 31.48, which however is perfectly in line with the Average and Median dry stretches between observed ELW Systems of the numerical Pattern so far.
A Core Mining run reminded me of just how boring it is... Apart from a Bromellite Core, nothing was found and the run aborted eventually.
No point in pinging around like a lost 20th century Submarine when the original activity was supposed to be busy Mining.
The Boxel so far yielded 41 Earth-like Worlds alone, bringing the Campaign Totals up to 55.
Total Systems scanned in the AOR now sits at 1434.
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Mission II Time : 55 Days
20 Mar 3307 : All very calm out here....
A full-scale Mining run was conducted, afterwards the numerical Pattern was pushed forward within the Boxel.
At currently 31.91 Systems per ELW, the ratio remains very good but has dropped further.
Mining Storage now holds 5163t of Metals/Minerals.
The AOR is approx. 22% complete, meaning there's still thousands of Systems to be scanned.
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Mission II Time : 56 Days
21 Mar 3307 : Scan count is now at 1584 Systems within the AOR and progressing continuously.
On another note, the Tritium that the Mercator transferred to the Carrier Sword of Meridia about a month ago served a noble purpose :
CMDR epic 6ig B reported detaching from an active Expedition - due to an uncooperative Expedition leader - in order to perform a SAR Operation into Newton's Vault and respond to a Distress Signal from a fellow Explorer.
This is another prime example of the esprit de corps that should bond together true Explorers - helping each other out when needed, even against all odds or opposition.
Looking back at the local Boxel Scan, the running Systems to ELW ratio currently reads 31.61...
As sufficient sample size has been generated, time to have a look at what the Boxel appears to promise :
And that figure currently reads 1 ELW every 36.84 Systems.
So it seems everything is in order with the slowly degrading running ratio
Visually, the Boxel is now extremely well-defined in the 10LY resolution Heatmap of the Galaxy (lower image).
The higher 2.5LY resolution image (top) clearly shows that the Mercator's AOR already is - by far - the most densely explored area of the Sector.
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Mission II Time : 58 Days
23 Mar 3307 : Very good progress despite several RL Tasks...
A Painite run was used to report the 2x Painite Hotspot at Myrierph SY-R e4-351 3 to the Intergalactic Mining Union (IMU).
High Quality Mining Locations like that always enter the public Databases, which is an integral part of the Mercator's Mission.
As a result, the Mercator now has less than 4000t remaining Storage space.
Multiple ELWs were discovered and entered the records, while Tellurium was topped off from Biological Sites.
At 1687 Systems scanned, the AOR is approx. 25% complete, which is a nice Milestone.
ELW ratio from the numerical Pattern currently reads 31.23 while the Boxel-wide estimation predicts a ratio of 35.15.
48 ELWs were discovered so far, concentrated in the 80LY D-Mass Boxel.
At a total of 62 Earth-like Worlds so far, this Campaign is already a nice success !
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Mission II Time : 59 Days
24 Mar 3307 : A slow day, only a little Mining and a bit Exploration.
Still, it gave me time to think about a few Details.
In favor of a faster progression, the Mapping procedure so far left behind what must be in excess of 1 Billion Credits worth of high-value Bodies.
That made me think to revisit some Systems and cash in. It's money laying on the street and I only need to pick it up.
Despite looking very solid on finances and the Mercator sitting comfortably 10% above its internal benchmark line of 1 Billion Cr, part of that decision is the idea to increase that very benchmark line to 2 Billion - in line with the max. Transaction size of the market.
On top, some of the past activities have proven exceedingly expensive, so having a bigger buffer to afford such actions seems reasonable.
While doing so will slow down the progress - there's no hurry anyway.
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Mission II Time : 60 Days
25 Mar 3307 : Lots of RL Tasks and limited progress.
Still, the Mapping re-run and cleaning up is working the numerical path rather quickly, which also added a few new Systems inbetween.
The payouts confirm just how much was left behind by the fast scan procedures I employed here during the last weeks.
With that kind of income, technically no Mining Sales would ever be needed.
The Odyssey Rollout plan presented today tells me that the first two phases will be of rather little interest to me. That means less distractions.
Still, obviously I'll have to assess the basics and invest some time into getting setup, so there's no hard break or unprepared learning curve when it launches.
On a sidenote, it's now 2 full months into Mission II... And it still keeps me busy very easily, which is good news. On top of that, so far it's been more successful than I expected.
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Mission II Time : 63 Days
28 Mar 3307 : Very slow days with little time.
Progress has slowed down considerably, although at least some was made.
The Mapping is on track and Credits keep rolling in accordingly. In a few Days, things should return to a more normal pacing.
At 1724 Systems scanned in the AOR to date, total progress currently reads 26% complete.
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Mission II Time : 66 Days
31 Mar 3307 : Again, very little progress and lots of RL distractions.... On top, Odyssey Alpha Testing has begun, consuming additional time.
The little time available for the Mercator was invested into pushing the Mapping of already scanned Systems forward to cash in.
Slow but extremely profitable, even at the significantly reduced pace.
As it's end of a month again, time to review the Campaign Statistics for Mission II or the M.R.S.C. Mercator so far :
- 62 Earth-like Worlds
- 2050 Systems visited
- 28508 L3 Detail Scans
- 552 Bodies Mapped
- 1727 Systems scanned in the AOR
- 3 successful SAR Operations, 1 other Carrier refueled
The AOR is getting increasingly dense and has become extremely well-defined by now.
At currently 26% complete, should be a very tight box when this AOR is finished.
