One rock ball after another
“Scanner shows a single M class star Commander.”
“Very well Heart. Let’s get it logged.”
“Understood, commencing detailed scanning.”
It had taken quite a while but the rank of Baron was an achievement and well worth waiting for. Now I just had to work hard for the funds to purchase the new Courier which the Imperial shipyards would soon have in stock for general release.
I am Malgiliath, Commander of the Heart of Woe, wait, and let me rephrase that correctly. I am Commander Malgiliath and my travelling companion is the Heart of Woe, an AI chip gifted to me many years ago by my grandfather. It, she, should have passed to my father but his untimely death during an off world trip during one of the many conflicts around the Federation/Empire border meant that I now have the honour of being her companion.
Heart has been with my family for longer than I care to remember, my grandfather’s father travelled with her and from all accounts his father as well, there may even be a track going on further back but we are not sure exactly when she became linked with our family or exactly by whom. We are not even sure where she originates from and she has never told us, maybe that will be for another time. Being as well travelled, she is a constant source of information, sometimes useful, sometimes informative and on occasions even humorous.
“Scan complete, where next?”
Checking the route plan I select the next target on our current trip.
“How about here?” I ask tentatively.
“Are you sure?” there is a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
“Spin up the drive and jump.”
“Very well, Frameshift drive charging.” A few seconds pause and then the familiar “Ready to engage, 2, 1, engage.”
Currently not having the funds for a larger vessel we are travelling in a kitted out MkIII Cobra for a little exploring. By no means the fastest or best ship for this type of work, it is doing everything we ask of it and in some cases a little more. As ships go, I don’t think I’d like to sell it when the time comes to upgrade, I may just place it in storage in one of those outer world locations, just in case.
“Warning taking heat damage!”
Damn, “What?”
“Well we wouldn’t want you falling asleep when we exit hyperdrive would we?” ,see what I mean about the humour?
“Thank you Heart, ever the comedienne, what would I do without you out here?”
“Die, Commander? Oh and I would strongly advise throttling down, we wouldn’t want to take damage for real like the last time would we?” She does have a point, as much as I admire the hyperdirve systems we have for these trips, it still scares me sometimes when we arrive nose on to a supergiant star.
“No you’re right, all stop” and I ease the throttle shift back to its central location.
“All stop confirmed, exiting hyperdrive.”
Let’s see what we have this time, as I automatically fire up the deep space scanning systems.
“Honk the horn Heart, let them know we are here.”
“Scanning system, commander.”
There’s always a short pause, you’d think by now it would be a bit quicker, ah well, that’s progress I suppose. In my grandfather’s day he used to tell me that they had to travelling entire systems using a single scanning system to identify any astral bodies, I suppose with the advent of the system wide scanners we are carrying we do have it a little easier.
“System scanned, additional information available on screen commander.”
“Thanks Heart”, so what have we here? A nice midrange M class star, “Heart, are we close enough to refuel?”
“Not quite, would you like me to arrange this?”
“Would you, you’re very kind.”
A short burst of the manoeuvring thrusters and we are scooping.
So back to the scan, M class and what else is there? Seems to be what appear to be at least three metal bearing worlds along with what the scanner shows as a pair of ringed gas giants on the outer edge of the system. Looks like this could be profitable.
“Heart, standard system cruise please, let’s take a closer look.”
“System cruise operational, mass inertia compensators online, three quarter impulse set.”
“It’s nice to know I won’t overshoot for a change.”
“For a change commander? Would you like me to bring up the “Overshoot Data” page on the system screen?”
“Really, you have that logged?” I’m sure she enjoys this part of her work too much.
“There is nothing I do not keep track of commander, there is always someone somewhere that will purchase any data collected, it seems to be a big pass time of the human species.”
I may be wrong, but I am sure I detect a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
“Warning coronal mass ejection detected, this is not a drill,” now there does appear to be a distinct shift in her voice.
“I see it, coming about, let’s get this ejection on the books as well Heart.”
Target locked for the first system scan, the ship spins around from the potential death blast from the star. Not something I usually have to worry about when we are travelling in a populated system as there are repair units accessible on all of the outposts or space ports so the odd singe does not worry me, however, out here it could prove fatal if you get caught out too often.
First contact body on the screen comes into range and the automatic detail scanner fires up. Fifty light seconds out and all looks good, a very promising high rated metal bearing world. On to the next and the same again, slightly less percentage yield but nevertheless worth the scan. Off to the third planet on the list and I cannot believe my luck, a third metal bearing planet along the same lines as the first.
“Ok Heart, that’s the close in ones done, lets head out the those two giants, 3K light seconds out, spin up to full impulse, nothing to worry about in this section.”
“Very well commander, full impulse set.”
There is one thing I do like on these cross system hops, you have time to take in the scenery, looking for the next “Oh that looks interesting” opportunity.
It also afford you the chance to take a look at the system or galaxy map to plot your next jump, in this case the next system on our route around the outer arm is only 3.5 light years away, not a huge drain on the ships systems or fuel, but again I never pass up the chance to refuel, you never know what you will jump into over the next section. I also feel lucky, maybe human habitable or a terraform suitable planet will drop our way.
“Commander, detail scanners on line, commencing scan.”
“Heart, are you sure”, silly question, she is never wrong on these matters, “We’re still 1500ls away from that first giant, the scan should be online for at least another two or three minutes.”
“You are correct commander, however, initial imaging shows this not to be a ringed gas giant.”
From this distance I can only just seen the pinpoint of the target, so I need to wait for the scan to complete to be absolutely sure.
As usual, Heart is correct. We have just scanned what turns out to be a ringed Y class Brown Dwarf star. Not sure if there will be any large amounts of credits on this one but we take the information and also a few images for the people who like this type of stuff.
“Scan complete”
“Well that was interesting, let’s see what that last one has to offer.”
“Target locked, 3K ls distance, 8 minutes to target.”
A small matter of a reverse loop and there is the pinpoint in the distance, 2.9k ls and closing.
“Commander, detail scanner on line.”
“Heart, I don’t wish to sound rude, but are you sure there is nothing wrong with the scanning module?” I switch the system screen to see if there are any damage details to fix.
“As you can see commander, the detail scanner is at 98%, no discernible problems with the unit.”
“Well what have we found this time Heart?”
“Scan is just completing commander; I believe we have located another ringed Y class Brown dwarf star.”
“Two, in one system. This has to be something of a find. We have not seen anything like this since leaving populated systems.”
“Indeed commander, would you suggest deploying the remote drone camera for a detailed image?”
“I think so Heart, and maybe you could ask it to include us in the image as well please.” It’s always worth having a few good shots, some people don’t believe you half of the time that you have seen what you say you have. Plus they could say you have bought it from some of the dealers on the market places in some of the shadier systems that people visit.
It doesn’t take too long for the drone to play its part in our trip and then it is back on board, a few shots of the star and its rings, along with the ship shot as well. Shame there is no outpost out here to relay the data immediately back to home. Maybe there will be a few enterprising individuals out there willing to build in the future.
“I must say Heart, that was an interesting system, I wonder how many more are out there waiting for us?”
“Do you want an accurate number or my best guess commander?”
“Heart, that was a rhetorical question.”
“Commander, that was a joke.”
“Next system please Heart, target is selected.”
“Very well commander, Frameshift drive charging.”
“Coming about Heart, target in sight.”
“Ready to engage, 4, 3, 2, 1, engage…….”
“Scanner shows a single M class star Commander.”
“Very well Heart. Let’s get it logged.”
“Understood, commencing detailed scanning.”
It had taken quite a while but the rank of Baron was an achievement and well worth waiting for. Now I just had to work hard for the funds to purchase the new Courier which the Imperial shipyards would soon have in stock for general release.
I am Malgiliath, Commander of the Heart of Woe, wait, and let me rephrase that correctly. I am Commander Malgiliath and my travelling companion is the Heart of Woe, an AI chip gifted to me many years ago by my grandfather. It, she, should have passed to my father but his untimely death during an off world trip during one of the many conflicts around the Federation/Empire border meant that I now have the honour of being her companion.
Heart has been with my family for longer than I care to remember, my grandfather’s father travelled with her and from all accounts his father as well, there may even be a track going on further back but we are not sure exactly when she became linked with our family or exactly by whom. We are not even sure where she originates from and she has never told us, maybe that will be for another time. Being as well travelled, she is a constant source of information, sometimes useful, sometimes informative and on occasions even humorous.
“Scan complete, where next?”
Checking the route plan I select the next target on our current trip.
“How about here?” I ask tentatively.
“Are you sure?” there is a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
“Spin up the drive and jump.”
“Very well, Frameshift drive charging.” A few seconds pause and then the familiar “Ready to engage, 2, 1, engage.”
Currently not having the funds for a larger vessel we are travelling in a kitted out MkIII Cobra for a little exploring. By no means the fastest or best ship for this type of work, it is doing everything we ask of it and in some cases a little more. As ships go, I don’t think I’d like to sell it when the time comes to upgrade, I may just place it in storage in one of those outer world locations, just in case.
“Warning taking heat damage!”
Damn, “What?”
“Well we wouldn’t want you falling asleep when we exit hyperdrive would we?” ,see what I mean about the humour?
“Thank you Heart, ever the comedienne, what would I do without you out here?”
“Die, Commander? Oh and I would strongly advise throttling down, we wouldn’t want to take damage for real like the last time would we?” She does have a point, as much as I admire the hyperdirve systems we have for these trips, it still scares me sometimes when we arrive nose on to a supergiant star.
“No you’re right, all stop” and I ease the throttle shift back to its central location.
“All stop confirmed, exiting hyperdrive.”
Let’s see what we have this time, as I automatically fire up the deep space scanning systems.
“Honk the horn Heart, let them know we are here.”
“Scanning system, commander.”
There’s always a short pause, you’d think by now it would be a bit quicker, ah well, that’s progress I suppose. In my grandfather’s day he used to tell me that they had to travelling entire systems using a single scanning system to identify any astral bodies, I suppose with the advent of the system wide scanners we are carrying we do have it a little easier.
“System scanned, additional information available on screen commander.”
“Thanks Heart”, so what have we here? A nice midrange M class star, “Heart, are we close enough to refuel?”
“Not quite, would you like me to arrange this?”
“Would you, you’re very kind.”
A short burst of the manoeuvring thrusters and we are scooping.
So back to the scan, M class and what else is there? Seems to be what appear to be at least three metal bearing worlds along with what the scanner shows as a pair of ringed gas giants on the outer edge of the system. Looks like this could be profitable.
“Heart, standard system cruise please, let’s take a closer look.”
“System cruise operational, mass inertia compensators online, three quarter impulse set.”
“It’s nice to know I won’t overshoot for a change.”
“For a change commander? Would you like me to bring up the “Overshoot Data” page on the system screen?”
“Really, you have that logged?” I’m sure she enjoys this part of her work too much.
“There is nothing I do not keep track of commander, there is always someone somewhere that will purchase any data collected, it seems to be a big pass time of the human species.”
I may be wrong, but I am sure I detect a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
“Warning coronal mass ejection detected, this is not a drill,” now there does appear to be a distinct shift in her voice.
“I see it, coming about, let’s get this ejection on the books as well Heart.”
Target locked for the first system scan, the ship spins around from the potential death blast from the star. Not something I usually have to worry about when we are travelling in a populated system as there are repair units accessible on all of the outposts or space ports so the odd singe does not worry me, however, out here it could prove fatal if you get caught out too often.
First contact body on the screen comes into range and the automatic detail scanner fires up. Fifty light seconds out and all looks good, a very promising high rated metal bearing world. On to the next and the same again, slightly less percentage yield but nevertheless worth the scan. Off to the third planet on the list and I cannot believe my luck, a third metal bearing planet along the same lines as the first.
“Ok Heart, that’s the close in ones done, lets head out the those two giants, 3K light seconds out, spin up to full impulse, nothing to worry about in this section.”
“Very well commander, full impulse set.”
There is one thing I do like on these cross system hops, you have time to take in the scenery, looking for the next “Oh that looks interesting” opportunity.
It also afford you the chance to take a look at the system or galaxy map to plot your next jump, in this case the next system on our route around the outer arm is only 3.5 light years away, not a huge drain on the ships systems or fuel, but again I never pass up the chance to refuel, you never know what you will jump into over the next section. I also feel lucky, maybe human habitable or a terraform suitable planet will drop our way.
“Commander, detail scanners on line, commencing scan.”
“Heart, are you sure”, silly question, she is never wrong on these matters, “We’re still 1500ls away from that first giant, the scan should be online for at least another two or three minutes.”
“You are correct commander, however, initial imaging shows this not to be a ringed gas giant.”
From this distance I can only just seen the pinpoint of the target, so I need to wait for the scan to complete to be absolutely sure.
As usual, Heart is correct. We have just scanned what turns out to be a ringed Y class Brown Dwarf star. Not sure if there will be any large amounts of credits on this one but we take the information and also a few images for the people who like this type of stuff.
“Scan complete”
“Well that was interesting, let’s see what that last one has to offer.”
“Target locked, 3K ls distance, 8 minutes to target.”
A small matter of a reverse loop and there is the pinpoint in the distance, 2.9k ls and closing.
“Commander, detail scanner on line.”
“Heart, I don’t wish to sound rude, but are you sure there is nothing wrong with the scanning module?” I switch the system screen to see if there are any damage details to fix.
“As you can see commander, the detail scanner is at 98%, no discernible problems with the unit.”
“Well what have we found this time Heart?”
“Scan is just completing commander; I believe we have located another ringed Y class Brown dwarf star.”
“Two, in one system. This has to be something of a find. We have not seen anything like this since leaving populated systems.”
“Indeed commander, would you suggest deploying the remote drone camera for a detailed image?”
“I think so Heart, and maybe you could ask it to include us in the image as well please.” It’s always worth having a few good shots, some people don’t believe you half of the time that you have seen what you say you have. Plus they could say you have bought it from some of the dealers on the market places in some of the shadier systems that people visit.
It doesn’t take too long for the drone to play its part in our trip and then it is back on board, a few shots of the star and its rings, along with the ship shot as well. Shame there is no outpost out here to relay the data immediately back to home. Maybe there will be a few enterprising individuals out there willing to build in the future.
“I must say Heart, that was an interesting system, I wonder how many more are out there waiting for us?”
“Do you want an accurate number or my best guess commander?”
“Heart, that was a rhetorical question.”
“Commander, that was a joke.”
“Next system please Heart, target is selected.”
“Very well commander, Frameshift drive charging.”
“Coming about Heart, target in sight.”
“Ready to engage, 4, 3, 2, 1, engage…….”