Story of a more than one-year ASP trial run

Hi All!

I'm CMDR LDPDC and I came back from my first exploration trip farther than 1000Al from Sol one month ago. I took me some time to clean it but here is the inedited captain's log from my trip into the void.
As it was quite a long trip, from jan 28 3302 to mar 20 3303, I compressed some parts to keep the reading as fluid at possible. I'm no native english speaker and you should therefore expect many grammatical errors, but you will be spared the accent ;)

First entry is from personnal notes:
3302 - 8 jan
Just back from my trip to WREDGUIA KS-I D10-3, 913Al from Sol and I absolutely loved it. I need to go into the void again and my target will be the Perseus Arm.
I want to go farther than anyone else there, time and investment nowithstanding. I took time to read the tales of great explorers and dream to go past Void's Brink and Eastern Promise.

3302 - 15 jan
Finally finished pilling enough money for an Asp. I had to get my hands dirty and hunt for more bounties than I can count. I got the permit to Alioth while bounty hunting for the alliance and there is a nice discount there
on the Asp, so I'm going to buy it there.

3302 - 16 jan
Wow this Asp is a beast! I'm shorter on cash than I though and my fitting is far from perfect, so I intend to start a rather short trip, around 10kAl and back. This should allow me to learn a lot about exploration,
refine my build and go for the long run latter with precious knowledge and experience gained. If I make enough with the exploration data I could even afford a better scooping device.
My current build allows me a 4A fuel scoop so I have added a 64T more of fuel. Anyways I need to search for jumponium before departing for good, so this trial run will also be an occasion for collecting these.

3302 - 28 jan
Departure

3302 - 01 feb
Bad incident today. While scooping, a trajectory error forced the vessel out of supercruise. After rebooting, going in low wake and leaving the star behind an additionnal error while trying to repair forced the FSD down and
an unwanted crash out of FSD. This has no consequence for now but the generator lost some resistance and I need to be very careful.

3302 - 02 feb
Bad incident today. Can't belive I'm so unlucky. Is this expedition doomed? While trying to land in order to collect jumponium a bad crash on the surface damaged the hull to 57%. The shield saved the vessel from total destruction but I'm starting to think about turning around.
I already learnt a lot and the vessel seems in no condition to carry on for much longer and I'm only 4kAl from Sol, at OOCHONZ WP-V D3-17. I explored the full system and I'm ready to go back to Alioth. My heat sink are gone following a
happy trigger incident. I can swear the command is faulty and I'll sue Lakkon if I ever get back.

3302 - 03 feb
After a rest I decide to carry on for some time, after all I'm still quite close from Sol. This log book is becoming too personnal but loneliness is total here and even the cat seem to have disappeared somehow it's almost...
well I don't now but... he is not to be seen anywhere.
Beauty...
2016-02-22_00004.jpg

3302 - 7 feb
I'm progressing fast into Perseus, 15kAL from Sol. Discovered some ELW and some nice systems but I feel sucked into Perseus, obsessed with the tip of it, the great void. That's why I discontinued the log book but I'll try to start anew.

A poor explorer, frozen to death 15kAl from Home:
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3302 - 15 feb
I have been jumping from star to star. I jump I jump I jump. I feel so lonely.

-- Almost one year without log entry --

3302 - 12 nov
The vessel is ready to take off. I had to clean it quite a lot in the last week and run some atmospheric tests. My health condition is much better now and I recovered all my mind. I don't know what happened exactly but reading the
previous entries, the dark had taken over me and I did not accept the loneliness of these parts as well as I though I would. I have spent 9 month on this planet which universal cartographic names SIDGOI DQ-P D5-89. In my madness
I probably recognized it has a new Terra with its nice moon and landed here somehow without dying. I have some footage and data from the internal security systems but I'm deleting them.
I recovered slowly and I feel better. Sure, I would never have suspected I would be so weak but nothing will stop me now from reaching the tip of the arm.

3302 - 13 nov
Landed on a snowy peak on the moon as a training exercice. I'm ready to go but I'll scan the whole system before leaving: it's a place where I leave a part of me.

3302 - 19 nov
Lot of red dwarfs. Careful planning is needed and I'm so proud I fitted my vessel with such a large tank.

3302 - 6 dec
Got past 25kAl from Sol!

3303 - 6 jan
Past 30kAl I'm getting close! Found two neutrons in a pair -1000Al under the plane. I'm not changing course right now but I'll explore it if I can while coming back. There seem to be really few of them if any at this place in Perseus
so, this could be a nice discovery.

3303 - 7 jan
I found another neutron star below my path in the plane, at -1000Al, 1000Al north of the pair.

3303 - 10 jan
Almost crashed into a twin star but got lucky and escape without a damage.

3303 - 20 jan
Past 35kAl! Star density become low and I need more jump to cover 1kAl.

3303 - 24 jan
I just realised that by adding a large tank to the Asp I reduced my capacity to auto-plot. The algorithm they fitted does always plot with max fuel as a constraint. What a mistake I made! I might never get to Void'd Brink.
I try manual plotting by going down in the plane. Trial is a success and I understand now how to plot this kind of route. With two successful 30Al+ jumps in join a "pocket" of systems and get past 39kAl.

3303 - 26 jan
Just past 40kAl from Sol! That's an achievement and now that I understand how bad my Asp is fitted with it's poor plotable 28Al range I think I need to consider turning back. (Added comment: Had I known about the engineers at that point,
I would probably have been even more annoyed)

3303 - 29 jan
This is it. I cannot plot forward anymore. I'm at GRAAE PHROO HE-E D13-3 and I will have to turn back before even reaching Void's Brink. What a disappointment.

3303 - 30 jan
I'm at GRAAE PHROO IY-F D12-1 after ploting a 700Al route to a part where the star density seemed greater and I'm able to resume forward ploting.

In my book, this never gets old!
20170202231643_1.jpg

3303 - 1 fev
This was a short relief but the problem is the same here, I need to manual plot if I wan't to got forward. I'm 2313Al from Void's Brink: so close and yet so far.
I need to go back now, this is poised to fail: 2313Al is at least 100 manual jumps.
I had a near fatal incident on the way when dropping out of supercruise between two star. I'm much better at managing this now and got out with 99% heat.

3303 - 3 fev
I took the time to reconsider and decided to go forward 100 manual jumps is not that much and I did not cover all this distance for nothing. Void's Brink is not even uncharted territory I cannot possibly turn back now,
poor jump range or not.

3303 - 4 fev
After 9 manual jumps I discover a 23 jumps way forward. The longest manual jump was 36,10Al long, needed careful fuel optimization. I start systematically scaning planet bodies in order to discover materials to boost my jump range.

3303 - 5 fev
Crossing the 18000 line north seem really hard, I have already tried two options and both failed, after more than 15 manual jumps including a 36,6Al one. I change my start point and go up into the plane with 13 planed jumps.
After a feast of manual jumps, going up and down into the plane and crossing a lot of systems tagged by CMDR Welvax and dubbing my path "The Welvax road" I finally part ways with him and cross the "rift": I arrive at DRYAEI FLAAE CA-A DO where a nice reward awaits me: a ELW, I'm delighted because there are know 100Al at least of planed jumps ahead.

3303 - 6 fev
After 10 planned jumps I'm closer than ever to Void's Brink: 1313Al left. The 17900 -> 18000 rift has been a hard challenge but I have learned a lot and gives me hope before starting to manual jump again. I decide to rest before
starting the next sequence.

3303 - 7 fev
This part has been easier, with segments of 7 to 10 planned jumps with 2 or 3 manual jumps between each but I'm now facing a new rift: crossing 18800 -> 18900 doesn't seem possible and I'm tired of trying.
I prospect DRYAEI FLAAE SD-K D8-4 for jumponium and after fiding some, I cross the rift with a +25% boost and finally end up 385Al from Void's brink with a 23 planned jumps trip. Wow it feels awesome to be there
and to have gone through all these manual jumping and I can't wait, so I will plan the jumps and finish it now.

3303 - 8 fev
Can't describe how good it has been to finally find Marlon Blake's tags and to explore Void's Brink. I started with no other ambitions than trying my explorer and here I am with my suboptimal ship. I for sure understand now the value
of a small fuel tank! I have done little less than 100 manual jumps if I judge by the system markers.

Yup it was tedious - each bookmark is a manual jump - but it was awesome:
20170419002826_1.jpg

3303 - 15 fev
My new ambition is to cross the 20 000 line north and this seems quite hard and means a lot of jumponium. I have been exploring freely around Void's Brink, finding traces of Allitnil and Welvax from time to time. I decide to go back
to a system with particularly high Polonium rates, 300Al south of VB. My prospection is really successful and I now have the means of my ambition.

3303 - 17 fev
It has been hard to find but there seem to be some kind of "Horn" going "north" and somewhat "West" from the VB "plateau". I have carefully planned the trip. My base camp will be at CHANOA ES6E B59-0 and
after that I need to cross 700Al+ of planned and manual jumps. I have counted 4 basic, 2 simple and 4 premium boost needed and I hope I won't be to far off from this estimation.

3303 - 18 fev
I'm starting my trip now. While getting in position I crossed a lot of Welvax tags, I hope he has not been there before me! Also hoping not to get stranded, I will monitor my potential boosted jumps and my fuel very carefully.
First jump is 36,47Al towards MEAMUE LU-L B0, I end up with one pixel of fuel left on my gauge.
Jump towards OOVSKY FRUIA TG-Y CO is 44,99Al and I almost emptied my fuel again.
Jump towards OOVSKY FRUIA GF-R C4-0 (44,13Al) ends up between two stars, I will need to be careful coming back, if I ever do.
Reaching OOVSKY FRUIA SS-U D2-1, what a letdown, Allitnil has been there and the next jumps too. Looks like I'm now in the Allitnil Frontier: he has been everywhere. I carry on but I have now given up hope in taging a main Star here still
great to cross the 20000 line.
Been loitering quite a while! The final jump was both amazing and disappointing: amazing because I got where I never though I would go, past the 20000 line and because for some reason OOVSKY FRUIA YE-R D4-0 might be the only star not tagged
on the whole Allitnil Frontier :) A disapointment because well, this is also a very minimal system, featuring a lonely star with no interesting feature.

Our Galaxy, from the Perseus tip:
20170204230724_1.jpg

Anyways it's time to go back.
Back to base camp. This has been awesome and I cant' wait to go back home but I have something to explore before: 10kAl from VB I have detected a pair of Neutron stars and 9kAl a single Neutron star. The 3 of them are 1000Al under the
plane and I'm not sure anyone detected them before me.

3303 - 3 mar
I have covered my way back quickly, taking the exact same path I took to get to VB, back to "plannable" space. After that I have been 10kAl south towards FLYUE HYPE EH-R C6-0, from which I intend to explore two nice neutron
stars, in FLYUE HYPE WT-R D4-0 & AA-Q D5-1. Upon arrival, I realised that I could get a much shorter manual jump route by switching to FLYUE HYPE YV-J C10-0 so I reposionned and started to search for materials for the 4 boost
I estimated I would need. This part of the expedition starts with a good omen: YV-J C10-1 features a beautiful ELW. I took a rest on the vicinity of this ELW before readying for the tedious 20 manual jumps to come, covering
almost 500Al downwards the promised neutrons. To be honest I was quite impressed with the neutrons having never jumped into one and was afraid this would be a big mistake but the lure was to strong.
The jumps went well and thanks to all the experience accumulated to get to Void's Brink it almost looked like child play. I was delighted to scan my first two neutrons and even more delighted to find a really beautiful system
with 1 ELW & 2 Waterworlds: FLYUE HYPE AA-Q D5-0. This system marking the end of my active journey before coming back I resolved to explore it totally and I named it Odysseus in excitement as a reference to
the twin dangerous neutron stars just discovered which I named Scylla and Charybdis. Of course the ELW should be named Ithaca then.
I now feel I need to go back to the bubble: what started as a mere trial of my new ASP as lead me 44kAL from home and 1000Al under the plane in Perseus, but I write all this under the excitement of my last discoveries and
what I need the most now is some rest.

A nice reward:
20170419001344_1.jpg

3303 - 4 mar
Before starting to go back I took a look at the stellar map and well... what a surprise. My twins are not an anomaly but more like the norm here it seems. There are dozens of neutrons in the -1000Al plane around here and it goes as far
as 1kAl north at least as far as I can tell (PRAI HYPE HM-M D7-0). I'm not sure there is continuity but might have discovered a full "neutron plane"? Is it well known? After further examination, I realise there also are a lot of
White dwarfs and start to wonder if I should use fuel overcharge to jump from one to the other which could lead me really far.

3303 - 5 mar
I has been a hard decision but my inexperience in Neutron jumps has lead me to leave this part for later. I heading back know, with no regrets: this would be too dangerous to try 30kAl from home after one year in the dark.
While getting back, I scan another neutron which I had missed, obsessed as I was with the twins.

The next 30kAl went smooth and were much faster than the way in because I wanted to be back so bad! I started to cross tagged system around 5kAl before the bubble and landed for the first time in BALABOS.

Paint is not that bad after all!
20170320222816_1.jpg

There I realised than CMDR Cordwainer Fish had been in Perseus around the time I was there and joined my travelling companions with Welvax, Marlon Blake and Allitnil. All in all it has been a nice try for
my ASP despite a really bad build and after spending some time in the bubble abusing passengers missions I have bought and Anaconda an started engineering it to get back to the twins and carry on the exploration of Perseus!
 
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