Serendipity
Serendipity is defined as the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. The Canonn Challenge is a perfect example of this, where a collection of personal goals and objectives are perfectly captured in an organized event curated by the independent cooperative known as the Canonn Interstellar Research Group.
With the successful deployment of my D.S.S.A. Fleet Carrier ‘Chrysaetos Refuge’ now behind me, and fully stocked with a broad array of support craft necessary for life at the edge of the galaxy; there was a gaping void with a looming question of “what’s next?” I cast my mind back to a time before the Fleetcomm initiative was announced and remember reviewing my personal codex for every category in every galactic region to see what gaps still existed. From this exercise a new expedition would be developed, to scan all that there is to scan and to complete my career path as an accomplished explorer.
Between that time of dreaming of the next adventure and recovering from the significant logistical challenge of deploying a Fleet Carrier, it seems that in parallel the team at Canonn appear to have been conceptualizing the 500Kly expedition. Challenge accepted.
Expedition Guiding Principles
First and foremost this is a voyage of discovery. An opportunity to survey and analyze all the galaxy has to offer, in no particular order (although there is a conveniently provided route) and at no specific pace. In fact it’s such an open format it might just be easier to say what this expedition is not to this commander:
- Not a time trial, nor a race
- Not an endurance event. It’s okay to stop and make repairs beyond self sufficient AFMU’s and Hull Repair Limpets
- Not a shortcut. If you have already visited a location there is no guarantee that things have not changed since your last visit
- Not about the destination and absolutely about the journey and experience
- Not an absolute. Things change in the galaxy. It’s acceptable and expected that not all features will survive the passage of time
- All bodies in every system visited will be scanned with the FSS
- All Earth-like, Water and Ammonia Worlds will be mapped
- Any other type of world is open for mapping at the Commander’s discretion
- Composition scanning of Geographical Surface sites it also at the Commander’s discretion
Vessel of Discovery
- Small ships require a significantly less landing space which is ideal for surface sites located on rough or dramatic terrain
- Small ships can get you up close and personal to those surface sites or notable stellar phenomena
- Enjoy the journey as well as the destination, with not enough slots for AFMUs to repair FSD damage caused by Neutron boosting
- Because I can
Addendum - Hindsight
Shortly after starting the Canonn Challenge I’m left wondering if the patrons at the Thompson Dock bar were not all drinking one of those exotic beverages that equip the consumer with powers of foresight. It was not long into the expedition before the galaxy chose to remind me of the gravity of my situation while on approach to land on the surface of 116 Tauri, planet D2. At the time is was an unwelcomed reminder of the challenges of implementing a decelerating descent on a high-G world, but fortuitous in terms of the minor amount of exploration data lost in the accident.
While other incidents were not quite as catastrophic, arriving at the other side of the Errant Marches region to discover that my premium synthesis augmented FSD jump range was not sufficient to reach system Cyuefoo LC-D d12-0, managed to bring a level of misery beyond that of trying to find a viable navigation route to BD-12 1172 and the Spirograph Nebula. Needless to say, the capabilities of my ship now no longer represent those it had at the start of this expedition. In order to meet the challenge of the Errant Marches region my trusty Diamondback Explorer would undergo some significant modifications.
I’m heading out. I may be gone for a while (… and this time I mean it!).See you out in the void Commanders. o7
