Ive just passed more than 200,000LY jumped, more than 1,000 systems discovered. Not bad.
This is not the end. This is not even the beginning of the end. Though, it is perhaps, the end of the beginning.
I am at GAIDUE LW-C D1 - some 26,156.5 LY from Sol. However, if my flight data is to be believed I have travelled more than 36,590 LY to get here! It is the furthest reach of the outer Cygnus arm of the Milky Way that I am prepared to venture to right now! I fall short of the outermost reach by a mere 1,306 LY! I could venture deeper into that blackness but that is a journey for another time. Though space is lovely, dark and deep, I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.
After 3 months of travel I have arrived at THE START of my adventure - yes THE START! I had anticipated a relatively quick journey to this point from which I would travel spinwards into the core and explore each of the mighty arms. I wonder how long this adventure will take?
Some Stats For you: I have jumped more than 1,015 times since I started this journey, I have discovered 571 systems first, I have scanned 1,164 stars and 2,739 planets.
My totals are: 5,349 systems visited, 7,779 jumps, a total distance of 182,264 LY and I have earned 595,197,084 cr from exploration data sales.
And so - to the core! Though there will be stops along the way for I intend to pay a visit to a deep space station, Explorers Anchorage near the eye, a mega ship and of course Colonia before I venture to Sag A and The Great Annihilator.
On to the furthest reaches of the arm!!!
Tense day today. I managed to get my SRV stuck in a gully on a far remote planet. Bumping relentlessly from gully to gully in a massive 10km deep canyon. No way to clearly orientate myself with up and down as I mercilessly ping-ponged around walls - never seeming to have enough thrust to clear each claustrophobic gully completely.
Finally managed to find a relatively smooth patch, enough for my ship to retrieve me - but not after a few hours of tense work. I had for a moment thought that detonating my SRV might be the only way out - which would have been disastrous and meant a return trip to the bubble to pick up a replacement! Thankfully that didn't happen - but a hard lesson learned today.
Its been nearly two and a half weeks since my last log entry. I've been progressing well down the Perseus arm, corewards, in my efforts to find a bridge to make the jump to the Cygnus arm.
Last night i finally managed to locate a bridge that I can use to make the circa 4,000 Ly trip! Once I jump the bridge I will head back out - trailing spin-wards as it were - to see just exactly how far along the Cygnus arm I can go before I run out of jump capacity. I don't intend to use up any jumponium out there - I intend to generally keep that for emergencies! Once I have reached the terminus of the Cygnus arm I will have effectively completed Phase One of my journey which is to survey / travel all of the Galactic Arms. It has taken me roughly a month to get this far and I expect it will take another two to three weeks to get to the end of the Cygnus Arm, although I am getting faster at traveling.
Fill up my ship with a maximum amount of all surface prospect materials!
I've sustained some damage on my journey - the hazards of learning - and made some adjustments to my calculations for my ship. On my way corewards after competing Phase one, I intend to stop-off at Colonia and effect some repairs and modifications to increase my jump range capabilities.
It's been some time since my last entry. I have successfully reached the outer limits of the Perseus arm - to me in any case. I have travelled quite some distance from home now and had two minor mishaps that have damaged my ship - though not irreparably; I have scanned many a stellar planetary body and geological formation and travelled to Keplers Crest.
I even had to negotiate a field of brown dwarf stars with little hope of fuel!
I will press on further along the Perseus arm towards the core, closer to where the two arms meet, and cross there. I will then traverse back up the Cygnus arm to Keplers Crest, and hopefully beyond. It is my aim to traverse the length of each galactic arm as far as I can. This diversion will set me back days, nay weeks, but I cannot risk my ship and being stranded in the great black.
Well, as always when you are in a hurry - I decided to head back to the edge of the bubble to get the necessary equipment and effect the much needed repairs after my less than ideal start to this voyage. Wouldn't you know it, I hit valuable scannable assets in one in every three systems I visit on the way back! Planets that I know Universal Cartographics will pay handsomely for of course. So my return was slowed considerably but was also very much worth it! $23 million worth it to be precise. I even managed to locate some Flavus Metallic shards!
In any case I got to safe harbour and had the engineers install all the necessary equipment. I also decided to add a collector limpet controller and two medium beam lasers. Why? Well I've heard tell of all kinds of things being found in the deep void and it wouldn't do to be without something as simple as a laser to break something open in space now would it? And while I am good at scooping cargo in space - why not have a collector limpet do it instead?
Now I am off again - this time for good.
Just finished going down below the galactic plane as far as I can. Now beginning the trek to the outer arm. Damaged my hull on a hard landing exploring a planet and now realise I have no way to repair my Hull - Bugger. I need a repair limpet controller. I need to trek back up about 500 ly to get one - may as well effect some power plant repairs before heading back out again.