Log #005 - "Crunch Landing and the Final Stretch"
09 Nov 2024Alpha Panda
[Audio Log Start]Alpha Panda: Alright, Log number five, and today was a bit of a marathon! Commander Alpha Panda here, still in one piece—barely—but we’ll get to that part.
So, I made an executive decision this morning. No sightseeing, no scanning, no SRV shenanigans—today’s about jumping. Just pure, unfiltered hyperspace jumps, baby! One more waypoint to hit, and then it’s the home stretch to Beagle Point.
I’m headed for a spot called Cheae Eurl AA-A e0, or as it’s known to the explorers, The Sublustris Beacon. It’s right out there on the far “southeastern” part of the Abyss, kind of like a giant cosmic signpost saying, “Congratulations, you’re really far from home.” It’s about 61,000 light-years from Sol, and almost exactly 10,000 light-years left to Beagle Point. So, yeah, you could say it’s a bit of a milestone.
The plan? Knock out 42 waypoints, over 79 jumps, and a whopping 5,524 light-years by the end of the day. Nothing too crazy, right? [laughs] Let’s just say I got real familiar with the cockpit view today.
Jump after jump, the stars blur by, and you’d think it’d get boring after a while. But there’s something kind of meditative about it. Just me, the hum of the FSD, and the endless stretch of stars. No malfunctions this time, thank the stars. FSD behaved itself like a champ, and I even managed to avoid any close calls with fuel this time around. I think my ship’s finally catching on that I mean business.
And just like clockwork, I arrive at my destination: The Sublustris Beacon. Felt pretty proud of myself until I realized, “Oh, I’m going to land on this high-G planet here.” Now, look, I’d like to say I planned for this, but… nah. Totally underestimated the gravity on this rock. It’s packing a hefty 2.6G, and my ship definitely noticed.
Came in for landing, felt the extra pull, and suddenly… [makes scraping sound] Yeah. Bottom of my ship kissed the ground pretty hard on that one. Scraped it up nicely. I’m sitting there, looking at my console like, “Yeah, that’s gonna leave a mark.” Lesson learned: when landing on a heavy planet, maybe take it a bit slower.
But hey, I’m here. Made it to The Sublustris Beacon, on time, no major malfunctions, and just one more leg to go before Beagle Point. The journey’s been long, weird, occasionally ridiculous, but I’m almost there.
Alright, signing off before I do any more damage. Next stop—Beagle Point! Panda out.
[Audio Log End]