I dropped into system with days and hundreds of hyperspace jumps behind me. If there weren’t sensors telling me what I was seeing or logs to validate what I saw, I might think this was space madness.
The ‘Thunder slipped out of supercruise, nestling into a cloud of condensed gasses quietly, cautiously. Electrostatic flashes lashed out from the cloud, highlighting the odd structures buried within. Slowly I crept through the cloud, watching those giants’ toys lurking nearby.
The Eta Carina nebula is nearly nine-thousand light-years from Sol. I wasn’t looking forward to the journey, but an opportunity to survey distant worlds and collect data on some lost colonies was difficult to pass up.
It took two days but I arrived at the CRV Concordia late in the afternoon. A welcome respite and chance to patch a couple of scuffs I had acquired along the way. I should have stopped to consider a refit but I felt productive and I didn’t want to let this feeling escape. A much-needed nap later I was back in the seat, pushing my way down to Gria Eork EP-A d0.
I was lacking some necessary resources for this journey, notably my supply of germanium for the jump-fuel booster was low and a crucial stop near the bottom of the Galaxy set me up for a couple of long-reach jumps into Gria Eork EP-A d0.
I almost stuck around for a few days, the rolling hillsides were a splendid shade of sand. But I have objectives and a schedule.
It’s a beautiful thing to visit space. It’s another to live there, nestled among the darkness.
In a few short days I’ll be joining an expedition into the darkness. Adventurers threw out the call and I answered. We’ll see if I come back..
I’ve become accustomed to the darkness in Dark Astoria. The way the shadows hunger and claw at your feet, the way the sun never shines but the light never completely fades. The near-constant screams in the distance.
I awake here more often than not. Some measure of my Kheldian finds solace amongst the darkness. Maybe out of duty we lurk here, perhaps out of fear we hide. I can’t tell and I’m not sure I’d want to know if I could.
I’m rarely alone out here though. The populace having long been evacuated or abandoned I’m usually greeted by devious cultists or sinister wizards.
Today, it was the wizards.
Belt patrols in Disci are a grim necessity. We’ve pushed our boundary out far enough that pirates are slipping into the cracks. If there isn’t a war brewing up then there’s a war in motion. While the most militant of my group put boot to ass, I keep to the belts. I prefer the quiet simplicity of the tumbling ‘roids and the lazy way miners go looking for a ‘good score’.
..you can do almost anything!
Gaelicat Exploration was my new home, friends from across the realm had come to rest by the hearth. Our host, Audric, was keen to provide us a chair of our own desire and so I opted for the modest Malboro. Rela choose the biggest and brightest seat in the house, for which I cannot blame her. From that vantage even the mighty Roegadyn would need stare you in the eye.
I had to check my book again. I wasn’t..lost. Just..confused.
Carbuncle was offering it’s best support by providing a watchful eye and some light as I deciphered my instructions.
We’d come to one-quarter impulse and slid into the belt carefully. The crew was tense. We were practically swimming in a gas so volatile that entire texts were written about it: Metreon
Unfortunately we were on a rescue mission and our help was needed deeper into the pocket. Eninun voiced her concern about weapons-fire which I noted. She wasn’t keen on sticking around anymore than I was. The sensors pinged at high-power while we waited for the confirmation tones that our friends were nearby.
I hadn’t slept well in days. I may not have slept at all but it’s hard to say when you’ve had as much coffee as I have. I think they called it ‘Black Blood of the Earth’. An homage to mystical rituals and sorcerous habits. While it came in concentrate, intended to be thinned out and rationed over days or weeks, I had taken to drinking it straight.
The kheldian inhabiting my body had woken and it was seething with anger. Betrayal and Outrage were the order of the day.
We’d been on colony support for several weeks. And while it wasn’t dangerous work it was arduous. Ferrying crews and equipment throughout the quadrant, rushing to meet deadlines and rigorous environmental analysis.
We were relieved from our routine, given a much desired break and left to pursue our primary mission: Exploration. It was nice to sit back and just spend some time stargazing for a change. To turn our sensors at the twinkling of distant stars and glide quietly among the wispy strands of nebula.
It’s these quiet times I look back to when we’re deep in the trenches of chaos and war.
