DW2 IT'S GOOD TO SLOW DOWN (recap)
29 Jan 2019Traf1805
It feels good to be able to slow down again. Ever since reaching Sagittarius A back on January 8th everything has seemed to be such a rush. Flying to Colonia where I left my trusty AspX, the E/V “JEAN-LUC PICARD”, for a much deserved full refit. Then getting used to the controls of the Krait Mk2 as I took the E/V “MOTHER of DREAMS” on a hectic shakedown cruise down the Neutron Highway back to the Bubble.
I decided to detour slightly to meet up with the Distant Worlds fleet in Omega. My stop in Colonia had been brief and the only contact I had with humanity there was the IC rep and bartering with the typical shipyard and outfitting salespeople. So it was nice to sit and enjoy a few glasses of brandy with fellow explorers while we shared stories on the discoveries that have been made in our ever changing galaxy. It was actually those changes that had me going back home. The recent discovery and reverse engineering of ancient guardian technologies meant the I was rather behind the times. So I resumed my trip home to Andel. But not before I took the “MOTHER of DREAMS” out on a mining trip. These Krait mk2s are truly phenomenal! Now I know that a tiny piece of that new station will have a bit of me in it.
The trip home from Omega was uneventful. Though I quickly grew tired of the day-to-day challenges of flying in populated systems. Overcrowded stations, volatile political situations and the constant presence of the rats of society looking to take advantage of somebody else’s hard work.
Fortunately it wasn’t long before I was off again to investigate a nearby Guardian site. A truly humbling experience as I explored the relics of a civilization that was far more evolved than us. My in depth research leading up to it paid off as I was able to fend off the automated defenses and acquire the specs and materials I needed. It was than a matter of getting back to Andel to have the booster wired in and then a visit to my good friend Felicity to have “MOTHER of DREAMS” ready for the journey ahead. I raced back to Omega mining and re-joined the fleet.
Then I died
A malfunction in my tracking software sent a sidewinder I was using as a runabout in to the nearby star. Just like that I found myself back in the bubble and thousands of light-years from the expedition and my ship with all my previous logs destroyed requiring this update.
I was able to locate a DBX that could be ready in time to catch up. In less than 2 days I was away again in the appropriately christened E/V “HICCUP”.
In the early hours of January 28, 3305 I set down in Omega Mining. E/V “HICCUP” had done well in getting me there safe and I look forward to taking her on her own proper journey. For today though it was a matter of shutting down her systems and transferring supplies to E/V “MOTHER of DREAMS”. I took on a crew member for the first time, Janessa Marks. It will be interesting to see how we work together on this journey.
So at 4:00 am UTC I set out after the Distant Worlds fleet. Having gone from being tens of thousands of LYs away to being only a matter of hours behind the bulk of the fleet it took me a few systems before I realized I could take my time and truly appreciate the wonders of the galaxy again. J and I practiced some formation flying and did launch & landing flights. While Janessa seems a little green and perhaps naïve, her piloting skills are adequate and she should prove to be an asset during the voyage.
We set down near some fumaroles. They weren’t anything spectacular, but just having the time to scan them and pick up some nearby materials was a nice change of pace. We’re aiming to reach the Arkgamanon Range tomorrow and hopefully meet some fellow CMDRs there.
For now though, it feels good to be able to slow down.