Captain’s Log – Commander Tom Bacon
Stardate 3311.201 – System Stuemeae FG-Y d7561, docked at Explorer’s Anchorage
I’m back from my climb above the galactic plane.
It was never really about what’s up there — it was about the view. The same one Cmdr Doctor Dread once described to me in such vivid words.
And it did not disappoint.
That image still lingers in my mind like a faint echo.
I can’t help but wonder — will we someday be able to cross this infinite black and reach into other galaxies?
What might be waiting for us there? What constellations? What kind of life?
Sometimes I think that being an explorer is really just a kind of escape. A constant search for “the other” — something that isn’t what we already know. That thought resonates deeply with me right now.
I’m not the type to fall into psychological traps easily… and yet: if it wasn’t true, would the thought be here at all?
When you stand here — a tiny atomic speck against the galactic core — nothing else seems to matter.
Here, you can’t help but see your own insignificance reflected back at you.
What does the galaxy care what I do? Or what I feel?
And if nothing matters… then maybe even my old hatred of the Empire doesn’t matter anymore.
Or of my family.
I’m not sure why those thoughts are bubbling up now. Maybe it’s time I stood at my parents’ grave and didn’t feel the urge to spit on it anymore. If the galaxy doesn’t care, why should I still carry that poison around?
Funny how we cling to things that only hurt us.
Strange thoughts to have here, at the heart of the Milky Way.
At least the scotch here is decent — and I’ve damn well earned it.
The trip back was uneventful. Plenty of new systems charted, a few biosignals sampled, nothing worth writing home about.
Tom Bacon out.
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Captain’s Log – Commander Tom Bacon
Stardate 3311.202 – System Myriesly OK-R c4-1655
And so I set out again.
For now I’m loitering in this system chasing down some biosignals — nothing special. But then, you know this tune by now.
On the station I met Cmdr Hagbard-Celine and had an interesting talk.
Turns out he flies a Mandalay too, and he shared some valuable advice.
Apparently, I could squeeze another ten light-years of jump range out of her — and that would have made all the difference up there at the edge.
My drives are still too strong, he says, which forces me to run a heavier power plant. Fix that, engineer everything for lightness, balance the thrusters properly… and you gain range.
He even suggested ditching the AFMUs entirely, since I never use neutron jumps anyway.
And the repair limpets? Haven’t touched them since Shinrarta.
Cmdr Hagbard-Celine just came back from Beagle Point.
That’s on my list too — and since I’ve learned that “someday” is just another word for “never,” I’m going to make it happen.
My plan is clear:
First, back to the Bubble. Tinker with the ship, sell the data, get everything just right.
On the way I’ll stop at The Great Annihilator — another black hole system, said to be breathtaking.
And along the route, I’ll visit a few IGAU bookmarks left on the map. No detour at all — and it feels good to follow in the paths others have marked.
After the Bubble: the Eye of Horror Nebula.
I’ll follow the galactic arc and grid-search the quadrant there.
And then? Beagle Point. Always keeping to the rim of the Milky Way, step by step.
What comes after that — I don’t know yet. But I know there are some fascinating nebulae between there and the core, and I’ll let the stars decide.
Today I already visited the Blood Nebula in Myriesly YE-R e4-3646.
No discovery of course, but beautiful nonetheless.
At the center — a neutron star so bright you can barely photograph the nebula itself.
But I don’t regret being there. Not one bit.
And now… inching ever closer to home, one jump at a time.
Heading home — but the black keeps calling.
Tom Bacon out.
