Rutherford Station Tour - Day 2
28 Dec 2024MajorBummerDude
Rutherford Penal Colony - Ross 718My first land-based outpost. Well, the first that didn't try to shoot me down, anyway. From the air, I wouldn't have known it was a prison if it hadn't been for the name. And when I went inside, I found an Apex Interstellar Transport and a Frontline Solutions booth. Weird to have businesses like that inside a prison, isn't it?
I strolled down to the concourse bar and sold a few more Circuit Switches. I don't know why I had so many of those, nor why a bartender is the only person you can sell them to.
They even have a Pioneer Supplies here, with a few decent suits to buy. I guess there is more to this place than just a prison. It seems there is a whole thriving commercial trade going on.
The concourse does have a nice view of the planet, and the rest of the outpost, though. It's funny, this is the most scenic view I've seen so far, and it's a prison. I took a few nice pictures of the outpost on my way out.
Rutherford Installation - Itzambivat
This planet-side settlement looks nice from the inside. Unfortunately, it was night when I visited, and so dark outside that I couldn't get a good look at the view from the concourse windows. I bet it's nice, but just too hard to tell in the middle of the night.
I did try a purple drink from the bar. I can't remember the name of it, but it was pleasant. Again, I bet this settlement is great, I just came at the wrong time to fully enjoy it.
Rutherford Ring - Zary Orany
Rutherford Ring is a small commercial outpost orbiting the 2nd planet in the system. Their local drink seems to be something called "Indi Bourbon", so I tried a glass of that at the bar. Very smooth. The guy next to me was looking for dirt on a political rival and wanted to hire me to go download some sensitive data from a port somewhere in system. Do I look like some sort of spy or something? People keep offering me these types of jobs. I think I need to buy some new clothes, change up my look or something.
Rutherford's Inheritance - Loperada
This was another off-limits surface port. This time on a higher gravity planet. I could feel the stronger gravity sucking me into my seat as I approached the planet carefully. It was also nighttime, so I could only make out the port with the help of my ship's night vision. I did a quick flyby, only staying inside the trespass zone for a few moments, and then climbed to break out of the planet's pull. Not much to see here unless I wanted to intrude, which I did not.
Rutherford Depot - Undadja
Another small outpost, this time orbiting the 2nd planet in the system. This station had a bit of a different design than the cookie-cutter ones I seem to run into most often. I set down in hanger 5 and made my way to the concourse. After chatting up the bartender, she convinced me to try some Harma Rum. I'm not much of a rum drinker; I tend to stick with fruity, fizzy drinks myself. But after one glass, I can see the appeal. It's strong, though. Really strong. I think I'm going to go back to my ship and take a nap before continuing. I was never much of a drinker, and I want to be completely sharp when flying this new ship.
Rutherford Mine - Havanth
While docked at this refinery outpost, I decided to pick up a new software program for my ship. We are in Pranav Antal's space here, and there are more high-tech bits of kit available in the stores. It's called EDCopilot. The vendor said it would help with every aspect of managing my ship. While sitting in the hanger, I fired it up and it immediately started nagging me about buying limpets. Let's just say I muted it for now.
Anyway, walking around the outpost and chatting to random folks didn't really turn up anything interesting. This is a refinery location, so folks are mainly interested in doing their jobs, getting paid, and blowing off a little steam in the bar.
The concourse has a nice view of the stars, but it's spoiled a bit by a big floating holo advert right in your field of view. The graffiti in the hallway did say "Prosperity Through Technology". I guess that fits.
Any Na Coffee seemed to be heavily advertised here, so I had a cup to give me a bit of a boost. Still a few more stops to make tonight.
Rutherford Enterprise - Xi Saon
This outpost is WAY out in the sticks. 76,000Ls away from the main star. In the past, that would have been a slog, but in this Mandalay with the best SCO drive I could find, it only took a couple of minutes.
Anyway, I landed on the outpost and started to browse the shops. The first guy I bumped into looks EXACTLY like the first mate I hired when I bought my fleet carrier, Alex. He moved on after a few months, and I gave him a good reference letter, but I'd swear this "Arnold" that I'm talking to is him. Maybe he has a twin? It's pretty weird, but he doesn't seem to recognize me.
The shops do have a pretty good selection for being this far out, though. I never understood the draw to put stations this far away from shipping lanes, but I guess with SCO drives that's no longer an issue.
Rutherford Mines - Allowini
Yet another off-limits ground settlement. I did a quick flyover, and boosted away. I'll have to figure out some way of getting a closer look at these stations without being fined for it.
I think that's it for tonight. My next stop is a station named "Hehe", which I find hilarious.