"Look, Ma! I'm a MINER!" or "Thoughts on Distant Worlds 2"
08 Jan 2019Scubadog
I can't believe I'm doing this. I'm actually trying out mining. Some of my Silverbacks kin have been chewing up the wave with how great mining is now that the galaxy has new tools. Sad to say, the things that fetch a pretty credit back in the Core Systems are about half that profitable here around Colonia. Still, I made 48mil off my first test. I took my Krait Phantom, stored my original engineered modules and outfitted it with the bare essentials: Abrasion Blaster, Pulse Wave Analyzer, Seizmic Charge Launcher, Prospector and Collector Limpet Controllers, a small Refinery and a smallish Cargo Rack. On a previous shorter-range exploration jaunt to test the new scanning systems I had identified a couple of ringed systems with Void Opal and Low-Temp Diamond hot spots. Cruising back to those afforded me a pretty easy time of locating promising rocks, blasting them apart and "abrating" the opals out for that 48 million credits.So, those profits afforded me the opportunity to re-acquire my old Python, that I sold so I could bring my Corvette back from the Core. I finished refitting it with all the engineered goodness I normally have on The Ceti Zorro and then turned right around and stored a lot of the modules. I yanked the mining modules from The Ceti Guineu--restoring her back to normal multi-role mode--and either installed them in the Python or installed better class versions in it. Let's face it, the Python is probably the most versatile ship. The cockpit is comfortable, it has nearly the perfect mix and number of optional modules for virtually any mission type you'd care to focus on, and all in a medium hul! With more lucrative mining opportunities now, having a fast, defendable ship that can get the job done is essential. I loaded up the hard points with a perfect combination of mining tools and offensive weapons, and the utility points easily carry the Pulse Wave Scanner and my usual assortment of Point Defense, Heat Sink and Chaff Launcher. Dual 64 ton Cargo Racks give me ample room for Limpets and refined materials. With as much mass as I'm carrying, engineering the FSD is crucial and I have space for the largest Guardian FSD Booster available. Because of the specific mining I'm doing, I've decided to skip the Sub-surface Displacement Missiles. Once I crack a rock, all the nuggets I'm looking for are accessible with the Abrasion Blaster if they aren't already floating free from the explosion.
So, with all modules engineered either for mass or capacity, I've got a very agile ship, with decent cargo space ready to get a little bit more serious with mining in a nearly 30 ly jump range package. I can't say enough good stuff about the Python. Sure, I could modify my Anaconda or Corvette with more, but nudging around broken ring rocks in one of those flying apartment buildings is not a great idea.
While I wouldn't presume to go toe-to-toe with a very skilled commander driving a heavily engineered death-dealer, my Python has gone from being a respectfully tough cargo mission-runner to a respectfully tough miner. I can easily swap out the mining tools for additional cargo racks if folks in the Colonia region need things transported.
Now, about the Distant Worlds 2 caravan. That is shaping up to be massive. As an explorer at heart, a big part of me wants to participate. But, geez, I've just spent the better part of this year going back and forth three times to the Core Systems. My funds are low at the moment, and I just finished yanking the dust covers from my apartment furniture over at Colonia Dream. I'm practically half-way through THEIR trip being out here. So, what I may do is follow the waves on their progress toward Sagittarius A and try to time things so that I can meet up with them there. With over 5,000 commanders in various well-organized capacities (the best logistical planning I've ever seen in a mission of this scale), I doubt they'll really need anything...but if I catch wind of materials or tools they end up needing for the construction of the new station out there, I'll be sure to bring that along. Since a few of The Silverbacks are signed up to go, I especially wish everyone safe travels. This will be epic.