The Magellan Project

[Jermus]

Sorry for the long pause. My real life has gotten real interesting.

As you see, even reading your story comes with long pauses

Good luck with the new position, and I hope you do keep up the writing as it's nice to read. I wonder how you get Rand off the planet...

Fly safe,
CMDR Jermus
(Ah, the - delayed - anticipation...)

 

[AlaskanPilot]

Thanks Commander Jermus, I have started the new position remotely from Alaska and I like it. I am still buried with packing, fixing up the old house and making an offer on a one while holding down a full time job and being a husband and dad. I packed up my PC this last week . So now all I can do is write until I get to Boise. Hopefully I can get back to writing by next week. I have the lot figured out, I just need to put it down.

 

[AlaskanPilot]

Here is the latest from the Journal of Rand Jasc:

Matters are worse

I awoke in what would be the early hours for me feeling groggy and tired. SRV’s are not designed for sleeping in. I stretched and began to assess my situation. The SRV reported all systems at normal, a fact that I took with a grain of salt given that ships seemed to have a tendency to explode suddenly here. I wondered now if the same could be true for other vehicles. So far I had not found evidence of this, but the idea was unsettling. I ate part of the meal I had started last night careful to ration myself. Within a few minutes I was underway in search of anything that might improve my chance of survival.

An hour later I had another signal on my scanner. This time I was cautiously optimistic at best and my apprehension was justified. I caught a glimpse of the source of the signal while still several hundred meters away. It was clearly another wreck site. As I dew near I could make out the wreckage, an SRV and two sentries, and three cargo containers. My optimism grew at the sight of the cargo. Perhaps they contained something of use. A quick examination showed the first two contained small fire arms, but hope surged through me as my scanner returned the contents of the last container, one ton of animal meat! This would be food enough to for a long time, and the moisture in the meat could provide me with water for a few more days. The hard part was going to be opening the container to get at the food, but I would try to figure that out later. I picked up the cargo container and returned to investigating the vehicle remains.

My hope vanished as I looked at the destroyed SRV. This one had not been caught in the blast of a ship, it had exploded. It was not clear what had brought down the sentries but that seemed of little importance compared to this new discovery. If this SRV had exploded like the ships I had found then I faced the threat that my SRV could explode. If I was going to survive I needed to figure out why vehicles exploded without warning, or I needed to find a way to survive without mine.

There was something else that caught my attention. The blast from the SRV had not been as violent as the ships. This left this SRV more intact. Intact enough that the driver may have survived. Which is what caught my attention. Where was the driver? There were no human remains in the SRV or anywhere nearby. Had the driver been rescued? Had they survived the blast only to wander is a vain search for help? If they rescued why was the cargo left behind? Also, the cargo could not have been in the SRV at the time of the accident or it would have been destroyed with the rover. Why was there three cargo containers when SRV’s could only carry two? So many more unanswered questions. And each more unsettling that the one before.

Two hours later I came across a second wrecked SRV and sentries. A similar story was laid out before me. The SRV had exploded, the sentries crashed, no human remains, and three tons of cargo, one small fire arms, one military grade fire arms, and one of food cartridges. The food cartridges now assured me of having food and water enough for months, if I could effectively access the container. My flight suit had its own air supply that would last for a few minutes. Good enough for a damaged canopy on a ship while getting to safety, but not long enough for making effective space walks. And every time I exited the SRV even after shutting down the life support there would always be some air loss. Too many ventures outside would waste away my limited supply of air. This was a new kind of torture. The food that could extend my life was in my cargo hold and yet might as well be as far away as home unless I could figure out a way to get at it. If I continued to ration the food I had with me I had about four days to figure it out.

This realization only increased my curiosity as to what happened to the people at each of the sites I had come across. Had they been rescued? Had they found a more suitable shelter? Or had they survived their separate calamities and wondered off on a hopeless search for a way to survive? I doubted my last question unless they were wearing suits with greater air supplies than my own, otherwise I would have found their bodies within a few minutes’ walk of each site. My scanners and searches had found nothing. The mystery of what had happened on this world only seemed to grow more strange and unsettling. And there also lingered in the back of my mind that my own SRV could explode at any moment.

 

[Jermus]

Here is the latest from the Journal of Rand Jasc:

Matters are worse

I'd rather not be in the same situation as poor Rand Jasc. It must be quite unsettling to see these exploded SRVs (let alone having your ship been blast to bits and pieces). He does know how to handle the situation, though .

Nice reading, thanks for the update.

 

[AlaskanPilot]

Thanks Commander Jerms. I am finding I am enjoying the creative writing part of this project as much as playing the game. More storyline coming shortly...

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From the Journal of Rand Jasc:

Survival
Another night of restless sleep brought a dawn of uncertainty and fear. My SRV had not exploded in the night which was a blessing. But a blessing that brought what? A chance of survival or a protracted death? I had read enough of early explorer’s tales to know that if I focused on dying I would reduce my chances of survival, a logical train of thought backed up by evidence from thousands of examples and studies. But I noted how being placed in a situation of life and death made logical arguments seem to lose some of their force. Perhaps real conviction is not borne of logical arguments as much as we sometimes like to believe. It is easy to say that we could master ourselves in the face of opposition while we sit in the soft chair of safety and comfort. Now that I was faced with the real possiblility of death, the idea of maintaining a positive outlook was not as easy. Real conviction and determination I found must come from a deeper wellspring within our souls. And mine was lacking.
I had to make a choice. If I was going to have a shot at surviving I was going to have to banish both fear and doubt from my mind. I believe that some people have the strength to make that decision once and be done with it, come what may. For me, it was another story. I had faced death before in the fast paced fire fights that sometimes find a pilot. I had been shot down twice, nearly dying once. But death brushed quickly in both cases and then fled. Now I was faced with the possibility of both a quick end in an exploding SRV and a drawn out, lingering one from starvation. Another difference in what I now faced was that in a dogfight you usually see the missile or laser that may end you. Here I didn’t know when or if my SRV would explode. I didn’t know if I would die a slow death from starvation. Death would either strike suddenly without warning, or creep slowly toward me like a growing shadow in the fading light of night. Both would play with my nerves and physiological stamina. I knew for me the decision to survive would be one I would have to make again and again, every hour, every minute, until I was finally rescued or until I succumb to mortal limits. Baked into my situation was a recipe for madness.
“Enough!” I told myself. I had the resources to survive for four more days and possibly longer. Madness would come if I sat around thinking about how I could die. It was time to act. I turned off all unnecessary equipment on the SRV, channeled as much power to the scanner as possible, and started off to look for additional wreck sites or signs of life. If I could find none by evening I would set to work on obtaining food and less volatile shelter with what I had.
Six hours later yielded nothing. No wrecks, no ships, no facilities. I had looked for higher terrain that I could use as a vantage point to look for any signs of life but the terrain was nothing more than an undulating series of parallel hills like waves on the sea. This not only did not afford me a high lookout point but also obscured much of the land in the gullies between hills. Searching would require covering each valley one by one. Such and effort would waste my food and water with a low probability of finding anything. I decided to turn my attention to surviving with what I had. First I moved to the most level and elevated of the hills around me. If my father had received my message I needed to be easily found. I made sure that this position was also near enough to the slope of the hill that I could quickly move to the valley. I had looked over the markings on the different wrecked ships and SRVs I had found. While some where unmarked others had pirate or smuggling insignia. It seemed strange that they would be out this far, but I don’t pretend to understand the minds of smugglers and criminals. What I do know is that if any should happen this way again, I wanted to not be so easily found.
Of the two cargo pods I carried the animal meat container had refrigeration capability, which meant that it had and atmosphere. With one ton of food cartridges I had enough food and water for several months. If I could empty the animal meat I could use its container as a second life support pod perhaps while I slept in case my SRV decided to self-destruct. The meat was in airtight packaging and would stay good if frozen. I just needed to figure out a way to have enough air while outside the SRV to empty the meat cargo container and rig it for my use. The food cartridges would be easier. My suit carried enough air to last long enough for me to retrieve meals. Once back in the SRV the CO2 could be put back in the SRV life support system for recycling. Perhaps between salvaging parts from the other SRVs and the synthesis systems on my own I could fashion some custom equipment to be able to tie the SRV, my suit, and the meat cargo container together long enough to create a small habitat out of the meat container. Time to get to work…

 

[Jermus]

Ah, that's the spirit! I know you can't hear me, but: Keep the faith, commander Rand Jasc! I pray that your father has picked up the signal...

 

[AlaskanPilot]

Here is the next installment:

Setback
I figured out a way to empty the meat from its container. I parked my SRV on the side of a hill running parallel to the valley floor below. I made sure the slope was not too steep and then started the unloading sequence for the container which dropped in on the slope with the length pointing down. This kept it from rolling downhill. A short walk outside got me to the container and after opening the bottom hatch gravity took over and emptied most of the contents for me. I climbed back in the SRV before the container had finished emptying. Once the cascade of animal meat packages has stopped I picked up the container again and moved to the level floor of the valley. The distance from valley floor to the top of the hill I had just descended was only about 15 meters and the bank and ground we both gentle and stable enough that I could ascend or descend the slope on foot. This was handy since there was now an avalanche of food spread most of the way down the hill where I had dumped the container.
I unloaded both the animal meat and food cartridge containers and prepared for a second spacewalk. In four minutes I needed to grab more food containers and check the air capacity on the animal meat container to see if it could make a suitable second habitat.
Four minutes later I was back in the SRV. I now had food and water for four more days, but had learned that the meat container did not carry extra air storage. After all it only needed to circulate the air it had inside to maintain a level temperature, not keep life forms alive. With that option for another shelter gone I decided I needed to try to figure out why the other SRV’s had exploded in case there was a way I could predict and prevent it. I powered down the SRV to minimal power and began looking over my scans of each of the wreck sites.
Clue
Two days of studying scans and revisiting sites had uncovered a pattern. The explosions were all from the inside out. That aligned to what I witnessed from my own ship, but I wanted to take the time to be sure. Which meant that either all the vehicles I had come across had either suffered unrelated catastrophic system failures that resulted in their explosive deaths or something external had somehow caused an internal explosion. While it was not impossible that all of us had suffered coincidental bad luck I thought it unlikely. It searching for more details I did find some more interesting things. The ships had exploded violently apparently from their fuel tanks. The damage was so extensive that I was able to conclude little else from the wreckage.
The SRVs however gave a little more information. Due to a greater distance between the fuel tank and the main drive system on the SRV and the smaller amounts of fuel on board I was able to detect that there was some kind of failure in the main drive intermix unit. Something make the fuel to power conversion process go wildly out of control and blow the unit apart. What could cause that was beyond my current analysis. What was more strange was that there seemed to be some backwards chain reaction feeding back through the fuel lines into the tanks causing the fuel to explode with much greater force than it should on its own. So what could have cause ship fuel to turn five or six time more volatile, and from the outside of these vehicles?
While trying to solve this latest mystery I had also punctuated my time with trying to rig the SRV’s onboard repair system to produce spare parts for my SRV. There were enough minerals around the surface that I was able to replicate many of the SRVs systems, if I could coax the SRV to make extra parts and not just fix items in place. My thinking was build the right parts for life support systems perhaps I could modify the animal meat container with more breathable air. Unfortunately, my progress in this area was slow going. The repair machinery was not really designed to build new, and I would have to do a lot of coding changes to the software that ran the system. I only knew enough coding to be dangerous and so held off on trying to modify the software that ran my only place of habitation.
With two days down with not much to show for the effort I decided to go back to exploring. I wouldn’t be able to salvage anything else from the wreck sites I had visited and my scanners had picked up all the information they could. With food and water supplies for several months I cast my lot to roving the planet looking for any signs of life present or past tense. Plus, the drive would consume fuel, and while there were minerals enough to keep a continuous supply of fuel on hand I decided it might be best to keep the minerals in mineral form until I needed fuel to keep the fuel tank levels low. Less fuel less explosion if my SRV decided to turn into a firework.

 

[Jermus]

Less fuel less explosion if my SRV decided to turn into a firework.

Smart thinking.

 

[AlaskanPilot]

Thanks sir!

I have been thinking that I am enjoying the writing part of this adventure so much that I worry when my move in real life is over and I can get back to playing that journaling the travel from one system to another as I go around the Galaxy may be a dry read after this little adventure. I may have to invent some more adventures along the way to keep the Magellan Project interesting... Thanks for being a fan of the project Commander Jermus!


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Here is the last journal entry for Rand Jasc for a time. I am going to switch to a story form or writing from a journal entry to tell the tale of Rand's fate. I tried doing it through his journal but was unable to create the full suspense and excitement of the story from a format that is looking back on events after they have unfolded. Therefore the next post after this one will be in story mode. Stay tuned!

From the journal of Rand Jasc:
End Game
It has now been ten days since I was marooned on this planet. My fate is now becoming clear. I have discovered other wrecks on the planet surface, but with neither the clues to tell me more about why ships explode or with any resources to help my plight. I have food and water for three and a half months, but the act of exiting my SRV to retrieve more bleeds a little more of my breathable air to space. If I only do one exit every three days for more food, I loose air at a rate that I will run out in a month.
Another reality has also made itself manifest. If my father had received my signal and spent two days preparing for my rescue he should have been here a day ago. There could be reasons for his delay, but now every passing day lends evidence that he may not have received my signal.
I still decide every day to stay focused on survival, to find a way to beat the odds and to keep working on a way to live. But a new thought continues to gain ground on the stage of my consciousness. If I don’t survive, how do I want to be found? It seems a strange thought, but I believe that if I die, someday I will be found. What message do I want to pass on to those that find me?
This is an interesting emotional experience. I spent most of my life focused on myself. Now that clinging to my life is becoming less consequential I find thinking how I can influence others with my last words and acts a growing obsession. The feeling associated with it is hard to describe. I no longer feel the panic of impending death although I am no less conscious of the high potential of that reality. But I am also conscious of the fact that has always been reality. When death is not clearly visible we have a way of believing it is far from us. In my mother’s case death came so suddenly no one knew how close it was. We live our lives never really know how close the end of our life may be.
How does this make me feel? I am surprise by the amount of feelings play across the canvas of my conscious. I feel a sadness that my life may be over so soon, mostly from regrets. Regrets for things both done and undone. I feel a strange calm, a peaceful resignation, that I can let go of life without having to fit the inevitable. I feed a conflicting desire to keep fighting for every minute I have left, to draw it out as long as I can, to show that I did not simply give up. And I feel the desire to leave something for others that may find my remains. Surely a warning about this place and how I met my end. But also something for my father. I am the only family he has left. What can I leave that would help him carry on without me?
And then there is what I leave behind of myself. My mother was a renowned astrophysicist, my father a successful businessman. What do I have to show for the time I have spent in this universe? That perhaps is the toughest question. I set out to become a trader like my father, but didn’t finish anything significant before moving to mining. I found some good spots but did not do anything that deserves recording in the annals of history. I set out to circumnavigate the Galaxy and ended up marooned just outside explored space. Hardly the mark worth a mention. Perhaps my final struggle here will find its way back to known space and inspire someone else the way the early explorers of Earth’s history inspired me, even the ones that died in the process. If that is to be the case, then I must press on to my eventual survival or to the final end.

 

[jasonbarron]

Great journal, AlaskanPilot. Interesting forum name, do you mind if I ask how you come by it?

 

[Jermus]

Here is the last journal entry for Rand Jasc for a time. I am going to switch to a story form or writing from a journal entry to tell the tale of Rand's fate. I tried doing it through his journal but was unable to create the full suspense and excitement of the story from a format that is looking back on events after they have unfolded. Therefore the next post after this one will be in story mode. Stay tuned!

Fitting last words for a brave commander. I think If he leaves this journal to be found for others he has made his mark on the universe.

And maybe it doesn't carry the suspense and excitement you had in mind, you did have (at least?) my full attention. I still think this journal stands proud among all the other types of logbooks, stories and journals. By being different you have added to the flavour of the whole.

CMDR Jermus

(Who is proud to be a fan...)​

 

[AlaskanPilot]

Great journal, AlaskanPilot. Interesting forum name, do you mind if I ask how you come by it?

Sure, I named my thread and circumnavigation of the galaxy the Magellan Project after Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer who lead the first known expedition to successfully sail around the earth in 1519. Growing up in Alaska I have often heard the tales of early explorers like James Cook, or Vitus Jonassen Bering (aka Ivan Ivanovich Bering) who had explored Alaska. The ocean inlet that lends coastline to my home town of Anchorage bears Cook's name, and Bering found the end of his explorations on Bering Island just past the end of the Alaskan Aleutian islands. When reading books like "Where the Sea Breaks Its Back" and hiking through the coastal regions of Alaska I was filled with wonder and amazement at what early explores up here must have gone through. Alaska is beautiful but unforgiving. Much like space. So I thought it fitting to honor an early explorer who risked much to do what had not been done before.

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Fitting last words for a brave commander. I think If he leaves this journal to be found for others he has made his mark on the universe.

And maybe it doesn't carry the suspense and excitement you had in mind, you did have (at least?) my full attention. I still think this journal stands proud among all the other types of logbooks, stories and journals. By being different you have added to the flavour of the whole.

CMDR Jermus

(Who is proud to be a fan...)​

Don't worry. Rand has not met his end yet...

...that might have been as spoiler, but oh well. I have not stopped playing Elite yet so Rand is bound to get out of this somehow. So, on with the story, in story from...

 

[jasonbarron]

Sure, I named my thread and circumnavigation of the galaxy the Magellan Project after Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer who lead the first known expedition to successfully sail around the earth in 1519. Growing up in Alaska I have often heard the tales of early explorers like James Cook, or Vitus Jonassen Bering (aka Ivan Ivanovich Bering) who had explored Alaska. The ocean inlet that lends coastline to my home town of Anchorage bears Cook's name, and Bering found the end of his explorations on Bering Island just past the end of the Alaskan Aleutian islands. When reading books like "Where the Sea Breaks Its Back" and hiking through the coastal regions of Alaska I was filled with wonder and amazement at what early explores up here must have gone through. Alaska is beautiful but unforgiving. Much like space. So I thought it fitting to honor an early explorer who risked much to do what had not been done before.

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Don't worry. Rand has not met his end yet...

...that might have been as spoiler, but oh well. I have not stopped playing Elite yet so Rand is bound to get out of this somehow. So, on with the story, in story from...

Sounds like you're a history buff

I grew up in bush Alaska. Ran nine Iditarod's and countless 200 & 300 mile sled dog races up there. Seeing your name brought back a lot of memories. I think one of the things that draws me to Elite, particularly to the exploration aspect, is the austere beauty of its world, a strange parallel to all of the slow, grueling miles I've put in in the interior and along the frozen Bering Sea.

 

[AlaskanPilot]

Signal

Signal

“Have you been able to reconstruct the signal?”
“Well sir, it was definitely one of our coded signals, it matches our encryption algorithm #6. The signal was weak and has suffered some data loss however. I’m still working on reconstruction, one moment.”
Rodrick Jasc, stood silent on the bridge of his flagship the Zenith. The signal his communications officer was laboring over had come from the direction of the Outopps cluster. This was well outside the shipping lines of his operation and in the direction his son Rand and headed on his attempt to circumnavigate the Milky Way. He thought it likely this was a message from Rand, but what did it say? Rand had send regular messages to give updates on his journey, but had never used a Jasc fleet encryption before.
Rodrick was a tall, solidly build man with steel gray hair and eyes to match. His stance and persona exuded an air of cool confidence and discipline. He was the founder and CEO of Jasc enterprises, a company consisting mostly of several fleets of merchant ships. His organization was not massive, but was very good at what it did, making a profit at trading. His technique was to be small enough to be nimble, but larger enough to more that outcompete the small group or single ship trader. He would watch markets and news for places where supply and demand were trending to become grossly out of balance. He would then send in a fleet of ships that would outperform any small craft in the area yet not draw attention until he had soaked up the lion share of the profits to be made. The single ship traders usually were able to find enough business to still make a profit and the big outfits would usually arrive only after Rodrick had made a handsome profit on initial market conditions. His cool confidence and discipline had helped to hone his operation to perform the way they do\id and to be good and finding the opportunities for good money, something that Rodrick was very, very good at.
But now this cool confidence was wavering. His longtime friend and business partner Zach Chonchic saw the change on Rodrick’s face and knew what he was thinking.
The comm officer broke the silence first. “Well sir, I'll keep working on it, but this is the best I can do so far. The message reads:

“From …
Ship destroyed
Marooned …Outopps BQ-H …
one… of supplies
R.. needed.”

“Ship destroyed?” Rodrick repeated, alarm evident in his voice.
“Yes sir. That is the one line in the message that came through clear.”
“You think Rand sent the message?” Zach asked.
“Who else could it have been?” Rodrick’s response had a mix of worry and possible annoyance at Zach question.

This did not surprise Zach. There was only one thing in the galaxy that could move Rodrick off his granite foundation of cool thinking, his son Rand. Rodrick has lost his wife nearly two years ago. Since then he had developed a silent overprotectiveness for his only child. When Rand announced his plans to circumnavigate the Galaxy, Zach had expected Rodrick to veto the idea and was genuinely surprised when he didn’t. He could read the strain on Rodrick the day they broke formation with Rand and watched his son jump out of system on his journey. It may have been one of the hardest things he watched his friend do. Now, it seemed, his son was in trouble, and his cool was sliding. Zach would need to be there for his friend to make sure he didn’t do anything foolish.

“Should we send for Miriam to cover our fleet while we go and investigate?”

Rodrick softened slightly. “Anticipating my moves again are you Zach?”

“I figure since it was your son, you would like to see to the investigation personally. Send for Miriam then?”

Rodrick paused for a moment thinking. “Yes, send for Miriam, but not to take over escort of the fleet. Call up Jackson and have him meet us at the next waypoint to take over as escort. Have Miriam and Rukil met us there, but tell them to prepare for a long journey. I want them as additional escorts for us.”

“You want them in addition to our onboard sidewinders?”

“Yes.”

Zach studied his friend for a moment. “Anticipating trouble?”

“I believe the message is from Rand. But in case it isn’t and this is a trap, I’d like to be prepared. Plus, if Rand has found trouble I would like to show up with some extra firepower.”

“Should I call up any of the others, Bouche and Kiran perhaps?”

Rodrick turned to a readout on the wall. “Bouche is still escorting 3^rd fleet on the Gateway run. Kiran is returning from the Pleiades but I don’t want to wait until she gets back. Ask Ryan if he can spare Akio from 4^th fleet. If so have Akio meet us at Alignak. We’ll leave from there.”

“I’ll get on it. Do we know where we are going yet?”

Rodrick turned to the Comm officer. “Have you been able to find an origin for the message?”

“Well,sir,” the Comm officer started slowly, “the message did reference Outopps. It’s hard to be certain but I think I have it narrowed to a half dozen systems.”

“Well keep working on it.” Rodrick turned back to Zach. “Gather Miriam, Rukil, and Akio if she can be spared, relay rally points, and let them know we are headed to Outopps, so come prepared. If the ask why, tell them we will fill them in later. For now their sailing under sealed orders. Make sure all communication is over secure channel and use private encryption code 7. I don’t want word of this leaking out.”

Zach nodded, “you got it, sir. I already have the messages done.”

“Thanks Zach. Inform the fleet we are breaking with them and Commander Jackson will be covering them and the next jump. Helm, prepare to alter course!”

 

[AlaskanPilot]

"Sounds like you're a history buff

I grew up in bush Alaska. Ran nine Iditarod's and countless 200 & 300 mile sled dog races up there. Seeing your name brought back a lot of memories."


Wow! That is really cool! I've been here at total of 35 years. My parents came up when I was 2 years old. I spent some early years doing construction projects and exploring properties with my family in Willow back in the early 80's. We lived in Anchorage the whole time but got out a lot. I've been in the interior some but spent most of my time in SouthCentral, Kenai, Seward, Valdez, and such. We're packing up to move to the Boise area this summer though. I love Alaska, but in the past 6 years have developed a nasty birch allergy. Tried everything, but living in the birch capital of the planet when I'm acutely allergic to them has forced my hand. I have some friends that have gone from here to Boise and, while they say it isn't Alaska, it is really nice there. I'll miss this place. Lot of good memories.

And I am something of a history enthusiast. My whole family is. I like exploration stories as well as family histories. World events are interesting and I like studying them, but I really like reading the journals of people who lived through major world events. Something about learning what people thought and felt during history that changes my perspective. Makes it more personal. Plus I have learned a lot of life's lessons by reading other peoples histories. I am actually working on a memoir of my life here in Alaska. I don't know if or when I will ever publish it, but I want my kids to have it at least. So my memories of this place can live on and maybe inspire one of my progenitors someday.

And I am something of a history enthusiast. My whole family is. I like exploration stories as well as family histories. World events are interesting and I like studying them, but I really like reading the journals of people who lived through major world events. Something about learning what people thought and felt during history that changes my perspective. Makes it more personal. Plus I have learned a lot of life's lessons by reading other peoples histories. I am actually working on a memoir of my life here in Alaska. I don't know if or when I will ever publish it, but I want my kids to have it at least. So my memories of this place can live on and maybe inspire one of my progenitors someday.[/QUOTE]

 

[AlaskanPilot]

I think one of the things that draws me to Elite, particularly to the exploration aspect, is the austere beauty of its world, a strange parallel to all of the slow, grueling miles I've put in in the interior and along the frozen Bering Sea.

Agreed. I was an armature astronomer when younger. It was one positive thing about the long cold winters in Alaska. Stargazing in Willow or Mirror Lake on a clear night was always amazing. When I played the original Elite on my Apple II+ computer back in the 80's I always imagined what it would be like to do that for real. I'd look at pictures from observatories and later Hubble, Spitzer and others and wish there was a way I could see all of that first hand. I am amazed at how incredible Elite Dangerous looks! Just like I imaging the real thing to be. I have to admit I am curious what Elite Dangerous with an Oculus would look. Maybe when the price comes down a little. Or until the second gen comes out, I like to let technology vet itself a little before I drop several hundred dollars on it.

 

[AlaskanPilot]

Enroute

Enroute

The Zenth glided out of the Piserchia Port, the massive Anaconda halting all in and outbound traffic momentarily. Two Fer De Lance followed and formed up beside the flagship. Rodrick stood on the bridge looking over the various readouts. The fleet had been outfitted for an expedition beyond habited space. All ships carried fuel scoops, removed cargo racks, and been fitted with top of the line long range and planetary surface scanners. Unlike most explorers, however the fleet still bristled with weaponry along with repair equipment. If a fight was ahead of them, they would be ready.
“Miriam and Rukil both report their wings are ready for departure,” the communication officer reported. Jake Burr, the communications officer had been working over the message for the past day. He had reduced the possible planets it could have originated from to four. The message itself could not be clarified much further than he had done other than he was certain that it came from Rand.
Rodrick had watched as eight Viper had formed up with the two Fer De Lance, four each. The additional ships should provide enough firepower to face whatever may be out there if they were headed for a fight. More importantly, since they were unsure of Rand’s exact location, the extra ships would decrease search times. Rodrick acknowledged officer Burr and ask him to relay to the fleet to stand by for the jump signal from Commander Armanda Tomiko. Armanda was the lead pilot of the Zenith. A 20 year pilot with the Federation Navy, she had plentiful combat experience in solo and multi-ship situations. Rodrick had hired her after her early retirement. Armanda had wanted a slower, safer career, and Rodrick had wanted a lead pilot with the experience that counts in a tight spot. Both had found the relationship mutually beneficial. Rodrick now stepped up to her chair.
“All wings report ready and await your signal, Commander. Jump when ready.”
“Yes sir, just waiting to clear the station safe zone. Jump in 60 seconds.”
Rodrick moved to the back of the bridge with Zach. “We’ll be jumping in less than a minute.”
“Good. It’s been a while since I got out and stretched my legs. Who knows, maybe after a few jumps you might like the scenery so much that you’ll become an explorer yourself.”
Rodrick gave a short snort of a laugh. “Is that a cover way of saying that you would like to take over the company?”
“Rodrick, I’m hurt!” Zach spilled out in an obviously sarcastic sounding hurt voice. “We’ve been partners now for how many years and your first assumption that you might appreciate your son’s new profession is that I am trying to take you company from you?”
The both laughed quietly before Rodrick suddenly turned hard. “What does he see out there?”
“You mean Rand? Well, so far it sounds like a bunch of stars, planets, an occasional comet…” Zach let his sentence die as he received the desired look from Rodrick. “You mean what does he see out there that makes him decided to leave a profitable mining ground or position in a good trade company? Maybe the same thing that you wife saw when she would star at the stars and her computers of data.” Zach knew he was taking a risk by bringing up Rodrick’s wife, especially now that Rand appeared to be in danger. But Zach always liked Rand. He didn’t want his father to drag him back to known space or into the company with a mandatory job because he was afraid of losing him. Clarissa’s death had been a devastating blow to Rodrick. But he had always supported her research and field studies. He knew how much it meant to her. When Rand had talked to them about going on this crazy adventure he had seen in his eyes the same lite that Clarissa had in hers anytime she talked about her work. In this dangerous galaxy it was not often you could find someone that was genuinely passionate about something worthwhile. Zach hoped that Rodrick would see things that way with Rand once we found him.
Assuming we found him alive. Zach did not want to think about what Rodrick would do if they didn’t find Rand alive. He may find himself running the business alone.
Rodrick had been silent at Zach’s comment, his eyes distant and unreadable. Zach thought maybe he had said too much and decided to let the conversation end there.
“Jumping in 5…,” Commander Armanda started the countdown to frameshift jump, the whine of the frameshift drive rising with each passing second. Rodrick and Zach both sat and waited for the count to reach zero.

 

[Jermus]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to AlaskanPilot again...

I liked the journal format, but the story format isn't bad at all

One of my sons is now 15 and very eager on starting to live his own live, so I can appreciate some of Jasc the elder's musings. It is allowing them to make their own (maybe fatal) mistakes that makes letting them go so hard. I think this man Rodrick did a pretty neat job, then .

 

[AlaskanPilot]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to AlaskanPilot again...

I liked the journal format, but the story format isn't bad at all

One of my sons is now 15 and very eager on starting to live his own live, so I can appreciate some of Jasc the elder's musings. It is allowing them to make their own (maybe fatal) mistakes that makes letting them go so hard. I think this man Rodrick did a pretty neat job, then .

I'm in a similar boat. Three of our kids are teenagers 13, 14, and 16, and we are dealing with the slow transition from parent/mentor to consultant/supporter. It is a challenge for all of us. I must say though that I have really great teens through (no really!) so things are going fairly well so far.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to AlaskanPilot again...

I liked the journal format, but the story format isn't bad at all

Don't worry I will get back to Journal format once I get through the current storyline and back to exploring. Probably another month or so. Moving takes such a long time!!

 

[AlaskanPilot]

Arrival

Everyone felt the slight lurch the accompanied a Frame Shift drive disengaging. A bright class M sun filled the viewport as the Zenith returned to interplanetary speed. The bridge immediately filled with the buzz of conversation from the crew and the pulse and chirps of the ship and its computer systems. After a few seconds Commander Armanda Tomiko spoke up.
"Sir, we have arrived at the Outopps BQ-H B51-0 system. All ships have reported in."
It took two days to get out this far. The Anaconda had a good jump range but the other ships in the fleet were more limited in their jump ranges and fuel tank size. Once the fleet was close Commanders Miriam and Rukil had been sent to neighboring systems to conduct searches. Akio, who had been delayed from joining them for initial departure from Alignak had caught up to them shortly after had also been sent to investigate a neighboring system. With the Zenith here, they had ships deployed to all suspected systems that Rand's signal could have originated from. Now it was time to get to work.
"Thank you commander," responded Rodrick Jasc. "Please start long range scan of the system and bring up the system map on the forward display upon completion."
The low throb of power being sent to the long range scanners could be heard as the Zenith began its scan. Zach stepped up beside Rodrick and spoke to Commander Tomiko. "Do scanners show any other ships in the area."
"My scope shows negative sir. No ships in the area."
"Let's be cautious anyway. We don't know what caused problems for Rand, but we don't want to be caught off guard."
"While that may be true, after all this time Rand's situation may be dire." Rodrick interjected. "Do we have the system map yet?"
"Just completing now sir, coming up on screen."
Zach lowered his voice so only Rodrick could hear. "Rod, we don't know what's out here. I don't think..."
"Zach," Rodrick interrupted, "I don't plan to be careless, but I don't want to have come all this way only to find out we missed saving my son by minutes because we were to cautious."
Rodrick's word were quiet but firm. Zach knew this tone of voice, this was not a topic for debate. A fact that frustrated Zach. He could understand his friend's concern for his son, but there were other people on this ship and in this fleet. How much was he willing to risk there lives for Rand?
The system map came up. There were eight planets in the system that rocky and could be potential crash sites for Rand. Rodrick started giving out assignments to the four sidewinder escorts of planets to investigate. He orders called for all five ships to split up and search planets individually. Zach interrupted him this time.
"Excuse me Rod, but don't you think it would be better if we kept the sidewinders in wingman pairs? I know you want to move quickly, but if there is a trap laid out here for us the sidewinders don't stand a chance alone. In fact I think it would be better that we all stick together but if not, a least let them go in groups of two."
A silence fell over the bridge. It was clear to all that Rodrick was stressed by the prospect that his son was in trouble and could be in mortal danger. Under normal circumstances, while Rodrick was an imposing person and leader, he always listened to feedback from his employees no mater their position. But any who had worked with him for a time new that in times of stress or crisis he had a way of going into "emergency mode". And Rodrick had a way of being all ahead full and unwavering in his actions when in this state. Zach and he had been together a long time and friends and business partners. Normally Zach supported Rodrick and moved ahead with him once decisions were made. But Zach in times past had to pull his friend off his determined path when Rodrick portrayed situational blindness. He felt this was another of those times, and he had to speak up for the others that likely wouldn't do so.
There was a long pause where Rodrick held Zach's gaze. Zach had seen this too. The staring contest. A game of wills. Zach also knew how to play. He met Rodrick's gaze and held it. That is what he had to do at this point. Rodrick would either retaliate and move ahead with his plan, or he would back down. Several more moments passed before Rodrick softened slightly.
"Zach I appreciate your concern for the members of the fleet. But Rand is in trouble. Breaking up in to single ships will cut the search time nearly in half." Rodrick paused for a moment seeing the tension in Zach build. "But this isn't the military, it's a company." Rodrick smiled at his friend slightly. "Let me put the question to the pilots." Zach relaxed slightly as Rodrick keyed the inter-ship comm system. "To all ships. You are all aware that we are here on a search and rescue mission for my son. We don't know what has happened to him, what danger he faced and what danger may be facing us. If we stick together we can provide better safety to ourselves, but it will slow the search process. So I put the question to you. Would each of you prefer to split from the fleet or stay together. Please know that regardless of your decision, it will not affect your employment status or future opportunities. Going out on your own does pose higher risk to yourselves, and while I would appreciate a faster search time I will not ask that any of your risk your own lives more than you already have by coming this far. What say each of you?"
Three pilots spoke at once all stating that they would take the risk of going alone to speed up the search. The last pilot was a little more reluctant but also agreed.
Rodrick, turned to Zach. "Do you find this satisfactory?"
Zach felt better that a choice had been given to the pilots instead of an order. Still this left them unescorted. "I can't help but think you kind of sold your position a little bit more than mine."
"Would you prefer to address them?"
Zach only shook his head in reply. He still didn't like this. They didn't know that they were up against. He only hopped that this would only be a search and rescue mission for Rand. If there was an ambush out here, he began to worry about the outcome.
Instructions were relayed to the pilots and ships began to peel off heading to their assigned search details. The Zenith herself changed course to head to her first scan assignment. Zach returned to his station and pulled up the threat display. While others looked for Rand, he was going to keep and eye out for other ships. Something about this didn't feel right and he was determined to not be caught off guard.