To the Edge of Horsehead and back.
09 Nov 2017-ry-
So, after I got back from my trip toward (but not all the way to) Colonia, and consulted with Professor Palin concerning the subject of my ships' thrusters, I was well and truly tired of long-range travel, so I spent a couple of weeks close to home, helping the Canonn bring tea, biscuits and whiskey to the citizens of the Khun system.I have to tell you, after 10,000 light years in What's That There?, it was refreshing. I'd maybe do a few combat runs in my Viper So Much for Subtlety, run a few missions in my Cobra Really a Conda (formerly Runny's Beater) and dock back at Trinh for a good night's rest in a sleeping tube, just like civilized folks do. Heck, I even stripped all the explora-gear out of What's That There?, turning the Asp into a low-capacity hauler for a community goal or two. I even managed to get back into Progenitor Callahan's good graces, though I'm sure the long absence didn't hurt there.
Still, I can't stay in one place forever; it's just not in my blood. So, I set my eyes on a destination that had interested me for a long time. If you've spent much time headed rimward, you know what I mean -- that interesting formation of nebulae that looks a little like a one-eyed pink parrot, if you squint at it right. Orion, Witch Head, Horsehead, Barnard's Loop -- those places. I decided to go visit them.
Well, I learned on my trip to 1/4-the-way-to-Colonia that even engineered for longer jump range, with just enough shield, thruster and powerplant to get away from trouble (since I left off weapons to save mass) I still had to jump a lot to get anywhere in my Asp. I needed something that could jump farther, and it couldn't cost a lot (there's a reason I have a ship named Really a Conda rather than an actual Conda.) I asked around, read a few brochures, and...
Say hello to GCV Nullius In Verba. A few trips to various engineers (Elvira Martuuk to help me economize on shield mass, Felicity Farseer to tweak my jump drives, Marco Quent to help quiet down the powerplant, and Professor Palin to give me the speed I hoped would keep me out of trouble) and I set off. First stop -- The Gnosis on station in Witch Head sector.
The trip there was mostly boring -- about the only excitement was seeing how well the bigger fuel scoop and cooler powerplant worked. It was really awesome, the new 4A scoop and the low emissions pow...
shake, shake Hey, wake up. Don't apologize, it's not like you're the only person who falls asleep when I start geeking on my ships.
Anyway, I left The Gnosis and went sight-seeing. I got a good look at the Witch Head Nebula, the Flame Nebula (oddly enough, it looks more impressive from a distance) and the Horsehead Nebula. That had to be the highlight of the trip -- unlike the Flame, it is very impressive up close -- at least as close as you can get to it. Maybe if you get right up to it, the majesty disappears too. Horsehead Dark Sector is all locked up, though, so I don't know. Some people say it's off-limits due to the Thargoids. If that's true, I don't blame the Pilot's Federation one damn bit.
Now, I don't want to be that guy who makes you sit through all his vacation photos, so I'll show you the best:
On the way back I checked out the Orion and Running Man nebulae. Impressive, but a little bit of an anticlimax after Horsehead. Then I docked at Gnosis for a little rest and a paint job before heading back toward the bubble.
Well, a dozen jumps later, I found myself in Struve's Lost Sector FW-W d1-59, confronted with what the scanner said was a "Non-human Signal Source." Oh, and it added "Threat 5" as icing on the weird cake. Nice.
I dropped out of supercruise and into a horror of shattered capital ships and one of those death anemones, picking through the rubble.
I'd heard that the Thargoids were mostly like the bouncer at the Sagittarius Club -- "don't start none, won't be none" as the ancient saying goes, but if you do start something you are going to get squashed. Still, they say the Thargoids are not that easy to piss off. If you have something of theirs, give it back. If you have Guardian stuff, give it to them so they can smash it. Other than that, just give 'em their space.
I wouldn't know, because my scanner showed an occupied escape pod. One of the other things I had heard was that the Thargoids liked abducting people, and I didn't want to abandon some poor soul to whatever end the Thargoids had in store. I hit the throttle, opened my cargo scoop... and bumped right into the Thargoid ship. They didn't take it kindly.
I figured I would (a) blast in, (b) slow down enough to get the pod, then (c) wake out. Shield breakage and hull damage quickly revised that plan to (a) wake out, so I triggered the FSD. I hadn't anticipated being mass-locked by the hulks of the capital ships.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up in the infirmary on The Gnosis. Recovered flight logs say that between dropping out of SC and GCV Nullius In Verba exploding, a total of fifty-six seconds elapsed. I figure if I had jumped out as soon as I pissed the Thargoid off, I probably would be 600,000 credits richer right now, but I thought I could outrun Death. In a way, I guess I did, but I don't recommend it.
Well, I still have my health, and a very nice ship. That's what counts, right?