Listening Posts

Expedition Log: 09/10/3274

We’ve made it. For a while there I thought we might be in real trouble. Came out of our jump into what I can only describe as a meteor storm. The ship took a lot of damage, it was touch and go there for a while. But here we are, checkpoint 14.

The habitats have been set up and our auto-rover has discovered some mineral deposits that might help with repairs. Symons thinks he can re programme the rover to harvest these. It’ll take a long time, but it’s the best option we have.

Richards is working on the agri-habs. AG Hab 1 is up and running and Hab 2 is up and ready for planting. Hopefully we should have fresh vegetables in a matter of weeks. I can’t tell you how sick we all are of the food cartridges at this point.

So this is it, life out in the deep dark of space.

Expedition Log: 11/05/3275

Okay, I have a good news bad news situation here. So let’s see… bad news first i think.

Bad news: it’s going to take longer than we hoped to make repairs and get moving again. We’re not going anywhere any time soon. It looks like this place is home for the foreseeable future. With the agri-habs fully up and running we can, in reality, live out the rest of our natural live’s here, if necessary.

Good news: We’re going to have a wedding out here. It looks like a little ship board romance has turned into something. Woods and Symons have decided to tie the knot.

I know the official guidelines say that this kind of thing is not allowed, that it somehow clouds judgement. But it’s not like we’re going to be coming back, anytime soon. I mean, we’re not just exploring out here. That’s what the payload is for. We are seeding new life.

Besides, maybe we will set a record for the first marriage deep in space. We might even start a trend.

Expedition Log: 25/12/3275

We knew this journey wouldn’t be easy. As I said in the press conference before we left, “As pioneers we tread the difficult path so that those who follow in our footsteps can benefit from our knowledge and reach deeper into the galaxy”.

And I hold to that. We knew this wasn’t going to be easy. We knew there would be hardship and sacrifices along the way. That is what being a pioneer and an explorer is. We endure these hard ships so that we can discover new ground and pave the way for others.

In the years to come, I’m sure explorers will be able to jump larger distances and see things we can only dream of. I’m sure they will make discoveries that we can’t possibly imagine, and travel to the furthest reaches of our galaxy. But these early expeditions into the black, will be remembered as a significant step, in humanity’s journey out into the stars.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot… Happy Holidays.

Expedition Log: 24/08/3277

Today we break camp to move to our next checkpoint.

After so many months growing food, repairing the ships and refuelling for the next jump, this camp feels like home. We’ve spent a lot longer here than our previous sites, due to all the damage we sustained crashing through the meteor shower on the last jump.

These habitats were designed to be disposable. Temporary camps to allow us to recharge for the next jump. It’s good to know that these habitat modules can last this long. We’ve decided to leave the settlement largely intact. We can spare the materials and who knows, maybe one day a future explorer will find it and be able to use it as a kicking off point on their own expedition.

I’ll be sorry to leave it all behind, but that’s the deal. Time to move on.