The Journey - Part V : Aut Viam Inveniam Aut Faciam

[IndigoWyrd]

Week 40:

At long last, we bid farewell to Dryman's Point, and welcome the Sagittarius-Carina Arm. It's been quite a venture getting here, after venturing so deep into the galactic rim in Tenebrae that it became necessary to back-track to get here. Not that the trip wasn't worth it - many things never seen before were discovered along the way, and many other discoveries, not without, but within were made.

Speaking of discoveries, what's the first thing I find here?

Ha! Surprise, it's not a water planet, but a rather interestingly colored rocky world.

With some equally interesting sulphur dioxide geysers on the surface. Hey, Sai, the ship's over here, and not moving. Did you forget how to dock up? I know it's been a while. She can't hear me anyways, but it's taken her at least four passes to figure out where the hanger is. Or maybe she's just having some fun. We have been cooped up in this tube for just a few weeks short of year now, and we still have a very long way to go.

Oh, and the nicely colored little moon with the sulphur dioxide vents? In close orbit of this gas giant with monumental sized rings - outer radius: 521,528 km, inner radius: 112,474 km, mass 6,898,803,802,112.0 metric tons. That's at least a planet and a half, plus a moon or two worth of pristine rock.

But wait, there's more....

Nestled within those rings, this side of the galaxy's most popular seed pods. At this hour, I really wish for better equipment onboard, as I ponder if the seeds in these pods could be dry-roasted, freshly ground, steeped in boiling water and transformed into coffee, tea, or something that would give me a wicked buzz. I kind of doubt it though. More likely, they'd smell like burning conduit, turn into something thicker than heat transfer paste, taste like hot space station latrine, and be toxic.

And right next door, something new to me - a Water Giant. I'd heard of these, read about them, but haven't actually seen one. Doesn't look all that much like water, and compared to some other giants, is a bit on the puny side - at just 45.3895 Earth Masses, a radius of 20,712 km, and a cozy 4.3 G of gravity, this is a pretty small "giant". But with an atmosphere of 98.4% water, .5% ammonia and .5% methane, it is certainly watery.

At the other end of the system, though not outside my notice, this particular pairing - a small moon and a gas giant, teeming with water-based life. Sure, it's probably some manner of algae, held aloft in the swirling winds, but it is still life.

Meanwhile, neighbor moon is not only among one of the most colorful I've seen, the vast and deep channels almost look like flowing rivers on approach.

They're not, they're just incredibly deep chasms, with some very nice silicate magma eruptions tucked away in them. But the scenery is nice enough for me to call it a night - or day, or whatever... I don't recall the last time I actually witnessed a real day/night cycle, and though weak, the .08 G here is relaxing enough for me, and comfortable for Sai. No higher-than-average G tricks this time.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Week 41:

It has not been an uneventful week, nor has it been a particularly engaging one. Of course, where would we be without

at least one obligatory water-world? I must say, the cloud cover here is almost intoxicating to watch.

On the subject of toxic, this dark gas giant, rife with ammonia-based life turned out to be quite interesting. Nearly the size of it's star, and hanging out at the farthest end of its system, the "daylight side" here receives nearly no daylight, which makes me wonder even more about what manner of ammonia-based life lingers here.

Nearly blindingly brilliant, it's been a good while since I've seen one of these blue-white stars. The corona is quite active here.

Almost an anomaly itself, this high-metal world, devoid of atmosphere is rather interesting in the fact that my ship's systems still decline to attempt a landing. Given the obvious molten nature, it is somewhat understandable, but I've little doubt we could take the heat, at least long enough to take a nice, close look, but oh no... system designers take the fun out of things again.

At least this spot has some interesting options - silicate vapor fumaroles AND gas vents, in the same field. I don't recall the last time I'd found more than one feature in the same area, so it's clearly been a while. The only-slightly-higher-than-1 gravity here actually feels good, and even Sai is able to move about rather normally - wherever she's moved about to, that is. I have my suspicions, but she's taken to being curiously absent from the bridge, though she assures me she's ready to deploy. If my math is right, then I know what's happened to our water reserves.

Sai says I've been moody of late. Maybe. But we have crossed quite a large, and largely featureless stretch of space, I've been doing all the flying of late, and frankly, I could use a good distraction. I've listened to the latest news feeds, played several novellas, brushed up on my histories, even found some curious audio recording to listen to, and still haven't found my case. Sai hasn't found it either, and I'm starting to suspect I may have left it behind somewhere.

I think I'll catch a nap for a while.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Sai's Diary

Dear Diary,

First, thank the Powers that Be for rechargeable batteries, for without these, I may well have blown myself out of an airlock 38 weeks ago. I don't know how the boss does it, keep on going like this. At best, I suppose, he has an incomprehensible tolerance for boredom. Now I will confess, I've learned so much out here, more than I think I'd have ever learned as just a fighter pilot in the bubble, and I am grateful for the opportunity to see and learn as much as I have, but it hasn't been easy at all. Sure, this marvelous ship has all the amenities large groups of people could ask for, but it is sorely lacking in charming young men.

Not that the boss isn't charming in his own strange way, because he is, and I suspect if he were actually interested in pursuing me, well, I would likely have succumb very easily. It's not that he isn't attractive either, despite the scarring. In fact, it give him a certain, distinguished look. He has a look somewhere between a mad scientist and a university professor. That sort of refined look that strangely becomes more appealing over time. He's also clearly quite clever, more than he lets on, though I'm not sure why he holds back. Perhaps he's that sort of brilliant that makes him sort of awkward when it comes to general social situations. I don't know, he's way out of my league, but I do enjoy his company. Of course, I kind of have to - there's no one else here to keep either of us company.

He also has a strange affinity for ancient forms of entertainment. While looking for some case or bag, or whatever, that he couldn't remember if he brought with him, I found a number of video recordings, some dating back to the early 21st century. One in particular I watched. It was a story of two people on some sort of deep-space colony ship, some guy and some girl. He woke up too early, and wound up waking up the girl, and falling in love with her - in part because she was his favorite writer or was she an actress? I don't remember. It was kind of creepy, but it was kind of cool too.

Of course, if this is what passed for entertainment in the 21st century, I'm glad to be where and when I am. I don't think I could handle much of that 'entertainment'.

For all the things to do on this ship though, I have to admit, the entertainment has started to wear thin, but at least the gym here has me in the best shape I've probably ever been in, and the food has been exceptional. I've even gotten pretty good at cooking myself. The boss though, he could retire as a pilot and work as a gourmet chef if he wanted to, but I don't think he ever would. He seems to like being a pilot like most people just like being alive. It's kind of weird, but I also kind of get it.

Speaking of getting it, I better make my way up to the bridge, or I'm going to get one of those stern looking ats - not that there's been anything at all for me to actually do. We've been crossing a vast expanse of either stars, or stars and frozen ice worlds without so much as a gas vent. The boss does like to maintain some kind of structure though, and it's probably for the best. Relax too much and that's when disaster happens.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Week 43

This update is only to make up for not having a week 42 update, as week 42 was mostly down time to take some much needed rest and see how many systems we could scavenge parts from to maintain our growing list of faulting systems. Long range, deep space, extended travel is not just hard on pilots, its exceptionally hard on ships and on paint. From what I've been able to observe, there is very little resembling paint left on this ship. In its own way, that's somewhat impressive, and will have to be added to my collection of testament photos.

What travel we did do during Week 42 amounts to covering a large stretch of a region of space henceforth known as "The Skid Mark" - a long corridor of brown dwarf stars. Fuel reserves have been thoroughly tested. The one thing I can say with certainty is that the fuel tank is not malfunctioning. I think nearly everything else is to some degree or another. At our current rate of deterioration, we'll be hard pressed to actually complete this trip, though I'm certainly all about testing the extreme limits of this ship. Worst case, we cut the galaxy in half, and make a stop over at Jacque Station at Eol Prou RS-T d3-94. From there we can proceed across the galaxy to the opposite edge and continue our course - not quite what I'd had in mind, but it will do if it comes to that.

We will enter Mare Somnia in less than 128 jumps, before crossing into Acheron, and then into The Abyss, which will mark the official half-way point of this trip. I suspect travel across The Abyss to be as limited at travel across Tenebrae, due to extremely low stellar density. If this proves as I suspect and the ship is still largely operable, we'll skirt the edge of the Formorian Frontier, cur across the Hieronymus Delta, then enter the Outer Scutum-Centaurus Arm. If things look pretty bad at The Abyss, we'll cut through Colonia and proceed thorugh Newton's Vault, Izanami, through the Galactic Core, past Sagittarius A*, cut the corner of Emyrean Straights, through Odin's Hold, into the Inner Scutum-Centaurus Arm, cross Temple, cross the Elysian Shore, into the Formidine Rift.

From there, we'll cross the Errant Marches, where I expect stellar density to work against us again, which may necessitate a trip across the Outer Arm to pass through Aquila's Halo, then into The Void, across the Outer Scutum-Centaurus Arm, then into The Conduit, cut the corner of the Perseus Arm, across the Outer Orion-Perseus Conflux, cross Izanami, Across Ryker's Hope, all the way around the Arcadian Stream, then the Norma Arm, across the Norma Expanse, then back into the Inner Orion Spur.

"Um, boss?", Sai prompted as I traced possible routes across the route plotter. Had I been talking to myself this whole time? At least I wasn't listening to myself, I'll take that as a good sign my faculties haven't started failing too.

"Yes?", I made sure to reply out loud.

"If that's our planned course, I'm going to be an old woman before this trip is over."

"Does age bother you, Sai?"

"Well, umm...", Sai looked down at her feet, which were drawing little circles with her toe, "Not exactly, I just..."

I watched her foot drift to a slow stop, and looked up the length of her, to meet where her eyes should be. They weren't quite there yet, until she looked up and met my gaze.

"I just hadn't really thought about it. You said this would be maybe a year, or a bit over a year, but I'm thinking this is going to be a lot longer."

"That doesn't answer the question though. Does age bother you? You said you'd be an old woman. I could be dust by then, and that means you might have to finish this trip with nothing more than my memory to keep you company. Should that happen, I would ask you get the ship back to Shinrarta, apply to the Pliot's Federation, get your license, and continue what I hope will, by then, become my legacy. Of course, you're under no obligation to do so. Consider it my last request. If it comes to that."

"It won't. It can't.", Sai rapid fired back, a sense of near panic in her voice that danced on her face.

"It certainly can't. I hope it doesn't, and if you're that concerned, I can drop you off in Colonia. Christiana or Roxana would be glad to relieve you."

"No!", Sai shouted back, then realized she'd shouted back, "I mean, that won't be necessary. I do want to finish this trip, and I will carry on for you if it comes to that. But, you're not that old, are you?"

I laughed, an honest laugh, something I'd not done in a while.

"No, at least, I don't think so. I mean, I'm not really sure when I was battle-born, because I was put into an escape pod only minutes later and who knows, really, just how long I was adrift before someone found me. Or who knows how long I was held in stasis before I was adopted. I could be centuries old for all I really know."

This time Sai laughed an honest laugh, as waves of relief washed through her.

"Stasis times doesn't actually count, you goof. The body doesn't really age in stasis. What is it, something like 1000:1?"

"Something like that, and I'm hoping not to have to take that particular course, truth be told.'

"So what course are you planning?"

"Well..."

If all goes as planned, from the Outer Scutum Arm, we'll clip along the edge of The Void, then across Aquila's Halo as long at the stellar density holds out, nip across the Outer Arm if necessary, along the Errant Marches, into the Formidine Rift, cut across the Elysian Shore, across Temple, stop off at Eol Prou RS-T d3-94 for a bit, have this ship overhauled there, then cross Odin's Hold, into the Galactic Core, swing by Sagittarius A*, cut across the Empyrean Straits, through the Arcadian Stream, though the Norma Arm, cut through the Norma Expanse, then back into the Inner Orion Spur.

"I'm still going to be an old woman by the time we get back.", Sai loosed.

"You still didn't answer my question either. Does age bother you?"

"I said 'not exactly.'", she tried somewhat feebly.

"That's still not an answer.", I reasserted.

"Do the words 'physical intimacy' mean anything to you?", Sai blurted, and turned a lovely shade of red at the same time.

I couldn't stop the grin from creeping across my face, nor the deep chuckle from welling up inside me.

"Of course they do.", I managed, "I also know them by some other, simpler names. Like..."

"Like that won't be necessary. Thing is, they mean something to me, and, well, I'd like that before I'm decrepit."

I laughed again.

"I take it that taking care of that particular business yourself is just not quite the same. I get it, and before you say anything, I have two words: air duct."

Sai lit up like a warning light, and looked away.

"Don't be embarrassed. I told you, I get it.", I put my hand on her shoulder, and urged her to turn back around. She started to resist at first, then turned, almost sharply, to stare at me with a severe intensity.

"Do you though? I mean, I know, you were my age once too, but..."

"But nothing. Believe me, I do get it. And I told you when you thought that safety gasket was a prophylactic that I didn't hire you as a consort, but as a pilot."

I could see Sai thinking behind her stare and then she erupted in laughter.

"Ok, first, we said we'd never bring that up again. Secondly, yes, I didn't recognize it. Third, it was enormous, and I was scared."

This time I erupted with laughter.

Never met a man from Achenar 3. ran through my head, but stopped before it escaped my mouth. Sai however, picked up on my expression.

"Go on, say it.", she tempted.

"Not going to happen. I'll take that one to my grave with me."

We both laughed.

"I can imagine... probably something like 'Well, you've just never seen me.', but I have, and... I can't believe we're even having this conversation! We should probably go to medical. It's probably isolation sickness. That has to be it. We're loosing our minds!"

"Or we're just two adults, talking about the one subject that has made adults across the galaxy awkward and uncomfortable for centuries, and it's ok. It doesn't bother me, though clearing it is bothering you, if not the subject, then perhaps the lack of activity, and I said I get it. We'll be stopping off at Jacques Station anyways, and not before you're old, or I crumble to dust. And if you like, you're more than free to change rooms, or at the very least, close your duct when you need some personal time."

"It's not that. I mean, sure, I could move, or close the duct, but, personal time is no substitute, not for the real thing."

"No, it's not, and I know what you said, and, well, I wouldn't feel like a consort."

I started to say something, and stopped. I started to process Sai's words, and stopped, started to say something else, and stopped again. Sai watched my expressions cycle. She's managed to take me completely off guard.

"You don't have to say anything, or if you want to say something, you can think about it, as long as you need to. I didn't mean make you uncomfortable.", Sai said with a sort of mature honesty I could only respect.

"No, it's nothing like that. I just, I've not actually thought about it."

"About what? Me? Like that? This time, I get it. It's probably against one of those Pilot's Federation rules I've not gotten to reading yet, or..."

"No, actually it's nothing like that, like any of that. I haven't really thought about, well, personal time, not like that. I've been so preoccupied with this trip, with this ship, and with sorting out things for myself, that I really haven't given any thought to it. You're a perfectly attractive young woman, and no, there are no particular prohibitions set out by the Pilot's Federation against relations between Commanders, their employees, hired professionals, or the like."

"I understand.", she said, "If you change your mind, I'll also understand. If you don't, I'll understand that too. You're a good man. An odd man, but a good....".

I cut Sai off the only way I knew to be appropriate, with a kiss. A kiss that meant 'stop talking', in the best possible way. Did it work? I don't kiss and tell.

We did see a few sights during Week 42.

The gas giant, rich with ammonia-based life was among them.

This icy-capped water world was a welcome sight, some 14 systems later.

As were these trees, which included a pod type I'd not seen before, though it displayed the same behavior when touched by the ship's lights, of retreating by emitting a jet of some manner of fluidic gas.

These crystals boarded the forest of trees. It had been so long since I'd seen these, I'd nearly forgotten they were sometimes found among the forests.

They seem more common among dense forests, though what the relationship is, I've not yet worked out.

This icy world featured the last geological activity we'd see for quite some time.

It also featured some rather impressive icy canyons.

Great for high-speed maneuvering favored by some of the more daring and reckless pilots.

The icy moon orbits this latte-colored gas giant, with some very interesting mineral deposits in its rings.

It was nearly 80 jumps before we found any geological activity on any planet or moon. Little did I know then....

We got up close and personal with this unusual tree. The cloud of gasses around these trees was so dense we nearly bumped into the tree itself.

The mountains here are spectacular to say the least. And Sai still manages to get excited by red planets.

A nearby moon had a few geological sites to offer, and I'm glad to have taken the time to visit these.

Even in the dark, with the right lighting they can be quite a sight.

Thank you, binary pair! My fuel tank thanks you as well, as we were running on hope when we jumped into this system.

Nearly 40 jumps later, we found fields of iron magma spouts to break up the lack of scenery.

Lunch in the forest and a little down time to fix a rattling sound from panel that had lost a screw.

Dinner in a different forest, where we found the missing screw from the panel we'd fixed. Yay, a spare part. These were starting to become quite the commodity.

The gas giant, with water-based life, near the forest, was a nice splash of some needed color.

Last fuel star on the right, then back into the skid mark. Not sure if I'll have my ship repainted when we put in at Jacques. I mean, I know it will just be eroded away again before we're done, but, it does have a certain sort of distinction to it too.

Not sure if storms or ammonia-based life is more common on this gas giant.

Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better to leave Sai sleep instead of wake her to see these twins.

These massive mountains are not the only thing this twinned world has to offer, but they are quite impressive.

It also offers a spectacular view of its twin.

The twin offers up both a spectacular view of its twin and these Silicate Vapor Geysers.

This moon offers a few shades of grey.

And the last geological features in over 200 jumps. Which brings us deep into Week 43, where we are now.

A water world, with a massive ice "cap" - spanning the equator, not the pole.

Another with no ice.

Around 60 jumps to find this dark, hazy forest.

And some 40 more to find this water world.

Otherwise, The Skid Mark has proven to be the least scenic stretch of galaxy I've seen yet. Countless grey icy, rocky, rocky ice worlds, all with assorted inert atmospheres. Many with geological activity I'd love to see, if I could get down to them, but I'm not outfitted for atmospheric entry, due to reasons not particularly disclosed at this time. I'm certain politics has everything to do with it though.

It's time for Sai's shift, and me to rest. Perhaps I'll dream of seeing something interesting in the next 30 jumps.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Week 44

You ever have one of those kinds of mishaps that rapidly spirals into a perpetual fall down the up escalator? That's this leg of this trip. It's like when you get some grease on your hand, so you pick up a towel to wipe it off, only to discover the towel is soaked with ink, and now you've spread ink and grease all over, and it just keeps going. That's this side of the galaxy - the largest Skid Mark I've ever seen. Three times have we had to correct our course to just keep fuel in the tank. Twice minor malfunctions have nearly plunged us into a brown dwarf star, and still this side of the galaxy wants more.

"One pound of flesh, no more, no less. No cartilage, no bone, but only flesh.", I found myself muttering as I steered the ship, between gravitational sheers, solar flares, and mechanical faults in the controls. We'd need time to affect repairs once more, as the luxurious liner around us continued to show more and more signs she longed for port. So many parts had been cannibalized from other systems already and we were beginning to improvise. A pin from a resistance band now served as an interlock for the throttle control, which twice came loose in my hand. Yet we pushed onward, as I could not shake the feeling that soon we'd weather these dark and unforgiving seas, and emerge into the dawn, into smooth waters, the winds at our backs.

All of which sounds strange to me, as I've never felt the wind at my back, nor sailed upon a sea. But I have watched nearly half the recordings on board, and have been working my way through the library as well, listening, even reading some of antique-style books throughout the ship. People certainly had some interesting ideas of what the future might hold.

It had been quite some time since we had a chance to refuel, so this stop was extended quite a bit.

I don't even recall how many jumps it was, through this seemingly endless string of brown dwarf stars, and gassy balls of ice. Ice wrapped in helium, neon, argon, and nothing to offer but their cold stare as we pass. At least this gas giant has some water-based life floating about its stormy clouds.

This one just contrasted nicely, as a welcome change of scene.

These are some of the most massive fumaroles I've seen. Quite impressive, and also a very welcome change.

This one actually surprised me. It has been so long since I've seen anything other than trees and pods, I wasn't sure what I was looking at initially. Then I remembered, crystalline ice formations like this do happen.

We set down in this chasm, deep enough to hide a Majestic or Farragut in with room to spare. It was nice to just take a break, relax, and do, well, nothing at all for a while.

I let Sai out for a while, and she managed to catch this shot, from deep within an icy chasm. A little flight time seemed to do her some good. She's been a bit out of sorts lately, I suspect largely due to the lack of variety we've seen as of late. I've been feeling it as well, so any distraction is a good one at this point.

Planet-rise, on the edge of a great precipice. There's almost a form of poetry here, I just can't quite seem to pin it down.

And then, just like that, we entered Mare Somnia - The Sea of... well, there are a few interpretations. It could be the Sea of Dreams, or the Sea of Sleep. It could also be the Sea of Hallucinations, or even the Sea of Foolishness.

I suspect it may be all of those things - a foolish dream riddled with hallucinations, from which I can only hope we awaken.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Best fill up while the stars are favorable. A glance at our plotted route actually looks like we may be leaving The Skid Mark soon enough, but just in case, I think I'll linger here a bit longer.

The mountains, valley, crags and gorges here make for some impressive, if not somewhat daunting terrain.

These canyons venture so deeply it's nearly impossible to put them into any kind of comprehensible perspective.

But it won't keep me from trying. Of course, for some reason I kept getting this image in my head of this turning out not to be some deep abyss, but the maw of some hungry beast. Sai did not share my humors here. What can I say?

I suppose "Fine, I'll take us up." will have to do. It's nearly 7 km from here to as close to the bottom of this gorge as I can get. The bottom is far too rugged to land a ship of this size, and I suspect even a Dolphin would be hard pressed to find enough even ground to set down upon in here.

Planet-rise across a most formidable landscape is strangely inviting.

The nearby gas giant this particular moon orbits is rich with air born water-based life.

This lone giant is the sole inhabitant of its system, and far enough from the only star to be barely lit by its distant light.

I'm not sure if it's the infrequency of Class IV gas giants that always draws my attention, or, in this case, if it was the pastel clouds and rocky rings.

Normally brown dwarfs make my skin just want to rage out, but every so often, I find one of these anomalous brown dwarfs, complete with rings, and I can't help but to admire them a while - from a safe distance. I also remember working, I don't remember for whom, just that they paid me well to mine a set of rings like this. It paid well enough - well enough to continually repair my ship, which was always on the verge of thermal meltdown operating so close to a failed attempt at a star like this.

I could get use to a view like this - sulfur dioxide fumaroles, interesting and useful crystal formations, and a ringed fail-star in the sky. The only thing missing here? Gravity. It's about ten times too light for my tastes.

Ever have one of those "I should have known better" moments? Mine came just after I woke Sai. I mean, yes, it is technically her duty shift, but the peace and quite, along with the little else to do except survey some silicon magma spouts seemed like a good reason to let her rest. Of course, I also know she has some odd preference for red planets and, well, my ears paid the price here.

Red planet, red star, sulfur dioxide vents, a ringing in my head that threatens to become a permanent room-mate....

And then, just like that, we'd reached our waypoint. It was time to close this chapter of our venture, and begin anew. We were now 21 jumps into Mare Somnia, and a new course was to be plotted - that is assuming the route plotter didn't fritz out again on us. It held true though, and 328 jumps would take us well into the arms of Acheron, a mere 12,045.91 light years away.

Out of curiosity, I looked back to where we started, 47,209.38 light years away from our current position, just a fraction of the distance we've actually covered. Then I realized, that little speck of space was looking to be quite the mess. There were damaged stations riddling the bubble, the region between 64 Arietis and Tanmark seems to have been hit the hardest. I think I have a ship or two in that region. I suppose, worst case, insurance will cover them. I certainly don't need them at the moment. Not that I wouldn't mind some spare parts! Of all the things to overheat and malfunction, a heat sink would seem like the least likely of the bunch, but it happened. Fortunately the one thing we do have an abundance of is heat sink materials.

At least, for now.