Onward in the Darkness...
09 Jul 2019Dragon_Fire613
Log entry July 8, 3305. I suppose I'll start using the galactic calendar instead of that from my homeworld... The trip continues on towards Sagittarius A*. I am now roughly 10,000ly from home, although interstellar comms with the squadron continues to keep me company. I've been missing out on some epic events back home, but I refuse to feel any regrets for making this pilgrimage. Every CMDR should at least once sit at the center of the galaxy, and watch everything we know of spin around us.
It does get lonesome out here sometimes though. I remember when I first embarked on my journey, I was so excited at the first unexplored worlds I came upon; what a great feeling it was to know that I was the first human to lay eyes on these worlds, and that my name will forever be etched upon their history. Then unexplored systems became more common, until finally there was a long stretch of thousands of light years where I was the first and only traveler these systems had ever seen. It was a strange feeling, knowing that out of all the tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of explorers that have ever roamed the galaxy, for such a long stretch of space I was the only person that had ever walked that path. I was the first to discover every world, and there were some beautiful scenes that I will share in my gallery. Dozens of earth-likes, and dozens of dozens of water worlds and terra-formables that I put my claim to, along with the other icy and rocky worlds, and gas giants that continue to amaze and fascinate me. I still fail to understand why gas giants hold so little value to the community, especially those that hold life, but I suppose they are a dime a dozen when you consider the galactic scale.
So today, I finally grew weary of unexplored space and set a waypoint for the Clookuia AA-A nebula, and skipped through several neutron star and black hole systems on the way. My first neutron star was a wonderful experience, as it gently oscillated back and forth expelling it's deadly jets of radiation and plasma. I was surprised to find two neutron star systems with terra-formable worlds! I would not think life could survive with such a violent star nearby, but the scientists must know something I do not. The first explorers who came to those systems did not scan the worlds, only the home neutron star, so I was able to claim those as well. All of the neutron stars and black holes in Hawking's Gap and Norma's Expanse were of course explored, as they stand out like a beacon on the galaxy map. Hopefully closer to the core I can put my own name to a few of these systems.
The ship is holding up well. Ironically, I was thinking today that I was doing a good job for my first long expedition, as all of my modules and hull were at 100%... and then within a few jumps I came out of hyperspace right in between three huge stars in a trinary system, only realizing too late that I was turning the Defiant right into the third, unseen, star. On top of that, I accidentally hit the emergency shut off on the frame shift drive, dropping out of supercruise and further damaging the ship! All in all, minor damage to the Defiant that was easily repaired with my field repair unit and some limpets.
I continue on toward A*... I'm well past the halfway mark, and am making my way back up the center galactic plane that I dropped below to visit the nebula. Until next time... Dragon out.