Waiting for mass-jump from Beagle Point
03 May 2019Scubadog
I was the second of The Silverbacks to arrive at Beagle Point, but now it looks like everyone is here. We all agreed to take the photo op on 2 April 3305 at about 1800 UTC as we mass-jump out. There's preliminary talk of everyone caravaning to a system OEVASY SG-Y D0 before heading our separate ways. By "separate ways" I mean I head back to Colonia and everyone else back to the core systems, likely our home system, Arexe. I'm really looking forward to this, I'm not gonna lie. I'm also very nervous. After researching the system my fellow Silverbacks are targeting, it would appear that I'll need to rely on boosting my FSD. Now, with my tanks topped off, I have roughly a 48.5ly jump range. If I resist scooping, I can bump this closer to 52ly. And I do have enough materials for several boosted jumps. But, to be honest, that's my "get out of jail free" card in case I really blow it and jump myself into a system I can't jump out of otherwise. Let's face it, I'm no Fuel Rat, and I don't do maths in public. I tend to play my jumps more or less safe when I explore. But I'll have to trust my mates on this one. For sure, we're going to want to watch our mass closely. I already told Malina to make sure we purge waste systems regularly.
Speaking of being careful, there have been a number of ganking incidents lately, what with all the commanders finally arriving as part of the Distant Worlds 2 caravan. These moronic vultures just piss me off, picking on defenseless explorers. There's no punishment violent enough for them. As far as I'm concerned, the best part of them ran down their momma's leg. Anyway, I'm keeping my footprint small, with non-essential systems shut down or stand-by and not doing anything that might otherwise make me a beacon. Any neanderthals looking for a score would have to come right up on me in order to pick me out of the background of the crater. Sensor are set to very low-power passive mode, and I've rigged them to bump the lights in my quarters as well as Malina's if something shows up, rather than use a traditional klaxon.
Meanwhile, I was listening to the latest wave from the core systems to keep up on current events--not that much from there really affects me in any way since I live in Colonia--and an interesting story crossed. Apparently, someone was able to hijack a Diamondback Explorer from the Fort Dixon station. Of course, the first question is how? But the second question is why? To be able to steal a ship from the actual hangar is disturbing enough. But why a Debbie? Don't get me wrong, my DBX was the first real exploration ship I had, and it got me to Colonia. I still have it to this day. The Debbie will always have a place in my heart. But, if you've figured out how to hijack a ship from a hangar, why wouldn't you go for a high-credit ship? Unless this was a proof-of-concept heist. Or, there's something about the DBX that makes it perfect for whatever the culprits plan to do. I dunno. Regardless, I'll be paying particularly close attention to this story.
Well, it's time to settle in to my quarters for an evening of watching old vids. Quietly, of course.