CMDR Airman_Dan’s Log, 22nd September 3307
They swirl around me, shades of crimson and violet. I can feel the heartbeat of the darkness and it beckons me. Every star has its own sound, and as I pass them the building chorus finds a harmony unlike any other. As unique as a fingerprint, this b̷̡̡̛̛̪͔̤͍̫̭̞̅̔̂̾͋̓͜͡ú̢̡̜͉̮͍͇͙̓̒͊̅͆͘͘z̥͎̼̘̜̽́̍̂͠z̛̟͕͓̜̘̠̱̯̑͋͂͠ĭ̵̛͉̹̻͙̺̱͌̈͋̏̕͜͢n͚͚̟͔̝̺͈̬̽̉́̔͐̀͢͠g͉̖͉͚̺̞͍̹̒̈̀̄͆͝ͅ v̴̡̘͕͓̪̝̳̖̞̌͑͊͗͒͊̐̚͞i̮̺̝͉̟̳͉̍̍̐̃̆͜͟͡͞͝͝b̫̖̟̮̲̰̐̀́͌̕͜r̟͎̫̜̬̞̱͕͑̋̆̈́̈́̚͜ͅą̨̛̻͖̙͙̘̼̠̋̾̑̈̐̂͞t̸͕͈̤̥̟̟͚̽̄̆̒́͊̽̕͘͠ị̴̛̱̫͖̹̻͎͇̌͗̓͘͘̚n̷̨͈͇͍͙̞̖̽͛̉͆͆͜͡ģ̝͕̥̣̠́̋̈̋͌̋͝ s̪̫̥̹̟͕͗̆̆̓̃̐̿͘ḩ̶̨͖̬̣̃̃̎͆̒̚͝ā̵̧̛̠̩͉̤͉͎̫͎̃̌̉͋̿͛͝͞ͅk̷̨̘̪̺̣̯̪̿̒̊̉͢͠į̸̧̛̠͕̙̘̪̜͖͕̓͑̽͆̑ņ͇̖̰̥̗̎͌͋͆̍͜͢ģ̵̪͎̟̲͉̥̹̈́̂̒̑͆̊͢͝ͅ t̶̢̞͓̲͔̭̠̳̯̦̉͋̂́̿̑r̵̨̥͙̭͙̺̘͒̄̔͞͡ę̠̝̜̹͓͇̤̪̙̿̈́̄̍͑̈́̆͂̋͞m̤͓̩͖͇̜͇͎̿͊̇̓̔̓̚͜͜͡͠ǫ̪͕͍͔̗̟͈̽̋̓͋̿̕r̷̠̱̮̫͓͍̮͗̒̎͑͗̏̚s̛̯͈͉̻̦̖̅̽̂̋͋̃́̈̍w̶̮̭̰̞̰̦̝͔̖̆̇̌̀͒̃á̮͍̣̟̖̻̞̄̅̀͌̽͊̊̆̎v͙͍̹͖͔̾̾͒̑͗̉̚͜͡ę̨̛̠̫̜̯͎͕͆͊͊̔̄̅̈́͜s̯̯̱̳̰̔̈̀̆͒̊ c̶̛̮̪̪̣̺̰͔̤̠͉̒̇̂̌̈̄̒̉̕ŗ̸͓̺̟̟̥̒̔̌̂̉́͒̚̕͢ḁ̶̱̥͚̱̌̽̈́̑͌́͒͑̆͞s̢̼̲̣̜̠̖͉͚̀͛̏̔̍̃̌̆ḣ̵̼̭͔͎̻̋̿͗̎͒̿i̸̠̬̳̟̞̜͗̑̋̌͋̽͟n̵̛̰̗̘̺̼͈͉̩͗̉̓͆̆̌̚͟͠ģ̴͕̰̠̱̳͂̈́̀́́͂̏̾͢ ENERGY is visible to everybody, yet only I can see it. I need you to see it. I need them to see it. To see me.
It’s why we’re here. Why we keep going. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting close. I can feel it. I can hear it. Can’t you?
Of course you can’t. It’s my song. Give it back! I’ll share it when I’m ready.
We found a Type 6 over the weekend, or what was left of it. Not sure what they were doing out all this way, and they didn’t leave a note. No survivors. But then, if there had been something alive in there, it wouldn’t have been anything we’d recognize. I grabbed a couple spare parts from the wreck—he wasn’t using them!—and moved on.
We’re at a pair of moons that won’t leave each other alone now. I tried to jump from one to the next, but didn’t quite make it. I’ll be back for more. Space is starting to thin out a bit, and the neutrons that were once so ubiquitous are getting more rare. The Fiat Lux is starting to show wear on the paint again, and it looks dignified. The Katran came out for a spin for the first time a few days ago. Finding a parking spot for that Corvette is always a pain, but it’s nice to show off once in a while.
I’m refitting the Ad Astra as something of an exploration liner slash yacht. Six sleeper cabins, an empire suite, a private spa, a gym, a theater, a galley, an office, stellar cartography, a science lab, a powder room and two full lavs, and still room for the fighter and the buggy. And it’s got enough armament to keep commanders with sticky fingers out of my hair, all while still jumping over 40 light years at a pop. Is there anything a Keelback can’t do? Will have to grab a couple folks for a shakedown cruise soon.
The spa has a pool, by the way. Don’t ask where I got it, but a gravmesh found its way into my possession and then the deck plating.
You really can’t hear that? Well. We’ll be closer to farther sooner or later, but for now let’s enjoy the journey. My opus will come into focus in due time.