For days, I had been entering systems, performing a scan, and then more closely investigating objects that were interesting. I found a few water worlds, and several gas giants with water-based life. But as I rang in the new year on my own in the middle of nowhere, getting reports that the Hammer Wing had gotten several new recruits and Wing Commander Val'thonis was showing them the ropes, I started to get homesick.
Let me tell you, getting homesick 10,000 light years from home is a horrible thing. I thought about turning back right there, but I checked my star maps, and calculated a route to Sag A*. As the official explorer for Hammer Wing, I wanted to increase our knowledge of the inner galaxy, and maybe increase our reputation among the wings to more than just a local gang. After all, if we were growing, we'd need to stand out, show those new recruits Hammer Wing that we're an outfit worth fighting with. WC Val'thonis and FC NotAnNPC are great, they really welcomed in the newbies, but good humor and companionship will only get you so far. Eventually people aren't going to join unless there's some standing galaxy-wide. My calculations showed that I had about 680 jumps to Sag A. That's a lot, considering I had only made less than 250 jumps on my journey so far. I decided to press on, for myself and for the Hammers. But I wasn't going to spend much time in each system. No more lolligagging around, poking at every rock that looked interesting. No, I had to shoot directly for it. My name was going to be on several systems, and even more in the EDSM, I didn't need to push it more. As for the credits, well we'll see how much it comes to, and if I get that explorer promotion I've been bucking for.
The new year brought a new purpose, and I pushed forward as hard as I could that day. I managed 340 jumps, totaling over 9700 LY. More than half of my remaining distance, chewed up in one day! It was boring, have no doubt, but damn if the galaxy isn't beautiful, and I had the companionship of my fellow Hammers to keep me occupied. Thank goodness for quantum comms. I also decided that on the way back, I'd stop off in Colonia, I've always wanted to visit Jacques, and it's truly a necessity if one wants to call themselves an explorer.