[IC] My name is Taylor Vauban

pippo

pippo
1st May 3301 - 12:30

What time is it? Hang on a minute, did I just sleep for two days straight?
First things first, I looked at my hand and the jittering seems to have gone… a bit.
I sat back in the cockpit and initiated a system check. Many of the ship's modules had been damaged somehow, only I can't remember and figure out how this could have happened. Confusing as it might be, it isn't such a great deal but I simply didn't expect to use the Auto Field Maintenance Unit so early…

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I then moved on to the Navigation System and realized that I was seriously off-course. I did make it to the Carina-Sagittarius Arm eventually, not that I could remember actually getting there, but approximatively 1500Ly away from the THAILEIA Sector that I was supposed to get to.

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After a meticulous inspection of the ship's navigational data, it occurred to me that I had constantly been on the move from the beginning of the crossing, following a rather erratic route. Looking closer at the time and dates of each jump, it was clear that there was no place to fit any break. Did this mean I had not slept for nearly a week? It sure seemed so.

Everything was beginning to make sense, and looking at my stock of Water-Purifers and Food Cartridges, it was also apparent I didn't even eat or drink properly.
Lack of sleep and malnutrition, isolation and most likely some sort of cabin fever, no wonder I felt like losing it.

This brought me to a huge realization, regardless of how many hours I had spent in a cockpit so far, I was still working in a factory assembly line four or five months ago.
I really need to organize myself better than this.

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
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pippo

pippo
2nd May 3301 - 22:56

I am picturing clearly now how much I have drifted from my original course. But this mishap came with its own reward, I am now completely off the beaten track and cruising as a result through strictly unexplored space.
This might not last too long since I spotted on the map a good first stage to the rest of my expedition, the nearby Omega Nebula…

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I thought at first that I could see it in the distance, but after computing the course in the navigation system, I understood I was probably looking at the Eagle Nebula, a little further away…

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I will need to establish several checkpoints like this one to avoid anymore misfortune, the same way I have now set regular reminders to keep track of time and avoid getting carried away; reminders like the alarm bleeping now, telling me that I should be getting some sleep.
I am certainly not tired but I will not push my luck this time.

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
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pippo

pippo
5th May 3301 - 12:33

This looks more like it…

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As the Omega Nebula gradually appeared in front of me, so did what seemed to be a massive cluster of main sequenced stars. These might explain why I could not see the Nebula in the first place, a simple case of backlighting, given the luminosity of this cluster.
If my memory serves me well, I did find the most interesting bodies to be orbiting these types of stars.
It would be a shame to not swing by this region after the Omega Nebula sightseeing stop.

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
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pippo

pippo
5th May 3301 - 22:27

What a sight! Cruising within nebulae will never fail to impress me. I could stay here forever, once again.

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This one is a lot bigger than what I previously experienced with the R CRA Nebula. If I had to guess and at first glance, there are probably just over fifty star systems inside the dust cloud, but I don't feel like exploring it in depth as I couldn't find anything significant delving in.
My eye is on the near cluster and its multitude of interesting and promising looking stars…

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I will head for this area and remain there for as long as I can scan interesting things.
I have made it a fifth of the way to Sagittarius A*, and with nearly 20.000Ly to go, I could use some time for myself and collect some data to cash in on my return.

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
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pippo

pippo
9th May 3301 - 9:57

I can see why regions like this are popular amongst explorers, or at least those after the big bucks.
Not only the main stars are cluttered together in a small area of the galaxy, but also within their own system. It seems to be the destination of choice if one is looking to scan a maximum of stars in a minimum of time.

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There are literally tens of thousands of these in a relatively limited area, and the older types of stars usually end up orbiting the main sequenced ones in systems like this one…

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I had been roaming around this sector for days now, satisfying my greed, until today's jump.
While refueling, I activated my scanner to map out the system and for a minute, I thought of a glitch when the holographic image displayed something quite unusual…

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I was incapable of seeing anything while approaching the anomaly. Only the stars in the background began to move in a very weird fashion, but even once a few light seconds out, I could not see anything. I turned the ship about to use the milky way's light in order to reveal what was now extremely close when everything around me suddenly became distorted. With no idea of where I was going, I immediately exited out of supercruise…

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A black hole.
Absolutly everything around me was warped to the point I could only rely on my instruments to avoid getting too close and eventually steer out of danger.
This encounter came as a reminder of the purpose of this expedition and invited me to leave the area and concentrate on my destination once again.

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
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pippo

pippo
9th May 3301 - 19:31

A few hours after getting back into my regular routine, I spotted the fainted Omega Nebula again, next to the riches laden star field I had spent the last few days in.

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It was already looking so distant even though I had long given up on rushing towards my goal, being babysat by the onboard computer reminding me now when to sleep or eat. Heck, I had even programmed it to advise me on stretching exercises during those long supercruises in binary systems.
The Eagle Nebula I had mistaken last week for the Omega Nebula was now right in front of me and felt like the perfect second stage to the trip…

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It wasn't too much of a detour and would make an ideal break given how much I had enjoyed visiting nebulae so far.
It is just over 1000Ly away and should not take me too long now.

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
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pippo

pippo
10th May 3301 - 16:07

Steadily but surely, I am progressing towards the Eagle Sector.
I knew right away, after jumping into this new system that I had made an unusual find…

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These two terrestrial Water Worlds were orbiting each other, one tidally locked to the other very much like the Moon is to the Earth in the Sol system. Both terraformable, one even had an atmosphere of nearly 90% oxygen.
This will definitely be a valuable find to report back to civilization.

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Closing in on these two Water Worlds, I noticed the Eagle Nebula in the distance. I am only a few hundred light years from the nebula now and I am confident I should be able to get there before the end of the day.

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
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pippo

pippo
11th May 3301 - 19:58

I did not make it to the Eagle Sector last night in the end, but I made the jump this morning after waking up and indulging myself with a printed egg and bacon cartridge.

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There is again a star cluster to visit, but this time, nested within the nebula and making for a majestic view at every stop.
So I spent the day visiting this massive nebula, once looking so small, and jumping from one system to another, I came upon another unsuspected site…

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Another Water World, but when you would think to have seen them all, this one was lodged in the middle of a rocky asteroid ring. I didn't even know this to be possible. The planet itself was a satellite of a nearby class III gas giant and its own ring system.

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I think I'm going to stick around a little while longer and enjoy the view.
There are nearly 7000Ly between me and Hugh Caplin now and I'm sure he wouldn't mind me taking another break. I am slowly realizing the magnitude of this journey.

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
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pippo

pippo
13th May 3301 - 10:10

I have left the Eagle Sector yesterday to focus again on my main objective.
Plotting a route through the next few hundred light years towards Sagittarius A*, I began to assimilate how far from home I already was. I thought of my family, and for the first time in five months, I targeted home and LHS 3447.

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7120Ly, a distance I still find difficult to fathom. Even the onboard computer could not point me in the general direction anymore. I can see what I believe to be the Orion Nebula and the Barnard Loop disappearing in the distance. They used to look so big I remember thinking as a kid they actually were at arm's reach within the LHS 3447 System.
For crying out loud, I used to get lost in Dalton's Gateway not so long ago, and look at me now…

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I left on this journey nearly one month ago now and I only crossed a tiny fraction of our Milky Way. To say that we are small is an understatement. I think I'm going to be sick. Being alone in the limited space of this ship doesn't help and although I have enough supplies for another year, I don't know if I am cut out for this trip… But I can't turn back, not with the cargo I am transporting I can't.
I never should have looked up the LHS 3447 System.

God, I miss my folks.

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
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pippo

pippo
14th May 3301 - 16:35

I started a game of chess with the computer.
Not that I am any good at it but my grandfather used to let me win when I was still a child. As he was teaching me some of the moves and basic strategies, he was always trying to include valuable life lessons about anticipation or sacrifice. None of this really soaked up to be honest, all I remember is his comforting figure while we were playing at his kitchen table.
I don't really enjoy chess for a start but it will distract from my lonesomeness and break the monotony during supercruise.

I looked up through the canopy for a second and the Milky Way caught my eye again. It had spread significantly compared to the last time I actually paid attention to it.

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The computer is a lot less forgiving than Taylor senior used to be, I've already lost my queen.

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
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pippo

pippo
21st May 3301 - 13:09

Jackpot…

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I could tell straight away from the map that I was onto something good. Within a few minutes, I was in a relatively low orbit around this World for further examination.

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What a sight, and not just a pretty one as the surface scan brought some outstanding details about this planet. The air was breathable for a start and the temperature was in some parts close to the one provided by the life support unit on my ship, this in itself was an incredible discovery. Even more astonishing was the evidence of indigenous life. There was a new, undiscovered sentient form of life down there. Once again I felt the urge of descending to the surface but I knew the CobraMkIII wouldn't survive the atmospheric entry.

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I left the area imagining a thriving civilization, completely unaware of my visit.
I am considering deleting the data to guarantee them the peace they deserve.

Taylor Vauban, logging out
 
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