Lickin' my wounds - December (3310)
02 Dec 2024CMDR Jokerman
Here I am, back in the bubble .... and not how I wanted to be back here.Man alive! ... well I guess that expression virtually fits perfectly ....I lying in the med center on Epsilon Eridani mostly recovered .... I think I pretty much got away unscathed unlike DettiBoo, my ship. It's toast. What a mess!
A "momentary lapse" the Doc explained, having apparently been briefed by the rescue crew, as much as to say, we know the cause, we know you are OK and my job here is done. "We'll have you out of here in, probably, this afternoon" she continued. I was still processing "momentary lapse" but caught the 'getting released" bit and nodded appreciatively. "Thanks Doc" I said as she left the room.
Was she being polite? Probably. A momentary Lapse????? more like feckin' pilot stupidity. I was still smarting!
My comms bleeped. Oh Oh, an Insurance company message! Whadda-we-got-'ere ..... ah! Approved!
Phew! DettiBoo is coming back. OK, so bla bla bla ... hmmm, apparently the rescue crews have an Insurance adjuster in their crew also, which explains how this insurance process is so fast. So in additional to hauling my ass back, an investigation for the insurance purposes was completed and it was deemed ....
~~Category~~
Accidental
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay!
So I need to confirm that I want DettiBoo replaced. Okay ....the Insurance deductible is 271 grand..... yep, that is about right. l .... hmmm ... Okay, this looks good.
Whadda-I-gotta-do-now....Oh, just confirm here and here. Okay. So, Losses, ah, this will sting some. Let's see ...
CODEX DISCOVERIES - 492,500 CR ... 'hmm!'
CARTOGRAPHIC DATA - 17,658,883 CR ... 'ouch!'
ORGANIC DATA - 145,796,400 CR ...'Mother of XXX%$$ dang-nammit'
That's a lot of creds lost, plus the 270K insurance deductible .... but what stings worse ... it's not the creds, it's the time lost .... I can make the creds back, I cannot recover the lost time!
What a mess!
Recalling the events, truly, this is on me.
Was I tired? hell yea but that's at best, a contributing factor and no where close to anything resembling an excuse.
So, I was cruising towards Plaa Eurk VG-D c0, intending to land and park for a while. As I recall it, I backed down the engines and hopped out of the seat to double check the controls for the landing gear. I wasn't gone for long I thought. Either I'd not backed the engines as I thought I had or I was gone for a lot longer. When I looked forward I was presented with a different type of dark .... black but no stars. CRAP!!!!
Bollox! I instantly understood the peril and leaped for the cockpit chair. Black and no stars, NOOOOO!!!! Too late! There wasn't even a faint thought of, I can get out of this!. Realizing the event currently happening and more terribly, realizing that there was nothing I could do. I was now a passenger on a doomed ship. At least I strapped in.
Dread in my head manifested into the destruction of DettiBoo. How could I make this mistake! I was already thinking as the first impact was about to occur. Black but no stars. Dark side of Plaa Eurk VG-D c0. This sucks!
The shields did a great job on the initial impact, helping Dettiboo survive. The hull damage had been at 72% (pirate related from a long time ago) but most of it was lost and it now dropped to just above single digits. I was surprised to be honest. Maybe the low gravity of the planet played a roll. The inertia of the ship was still too much of course. There was at least one more impact coming and it would be non recoverable. BRACE BRACE ....Bang! ..... Somehow the shield generated enough and Dettiboo was still holding together. A glimmer of hope started but was soon extinguished! But were tumbling now and the hull was now 8%, , no 5%, no 4% and still not stopped .....I saw fire and sparks ... I went unconscious!
Next thing I remember is waking up in the med center. It's been weeks! Happy to pay the rescue bill. Those teams are amazing.
So here I am, licking my wounds, down a heap of creds, up to ton of experience with good news from the Insurance and more importantly, the Doc ..... and I'll be smarting about all that time lost for a good while ... which I reckon will keep me from making mistakes like this one again.
I'm heading back out there immediately, that decision is made.
S!