OK. Phew. I think I got this. I sure hope this works.
Engine fuel cells are full. Cuddly toy in the co-pilot seat. Captain Teddo. Good to have you along buddy.
I look out and see ships. Not the ships of old that used to sail on water. These ships are magnificent. Old, grimy, with oodles of history written on their mining hulls.
As I look about the inside of the station, I'm amazed it all fits inside one big asteroid. Drilled out when some nutters went on a binge and brought enough dmite to put smiley faces on a red dwarf.
Marvelling at the rugged beauty of these struts, beams and raw rock that house us all.
My reverie is broken as the nav comp purrs.
Course plotted, sir. Thank you Teddo.
It never gets old.
I focus on the crosshairs on the HUD.
Line those suckers up, db.
Chimes and pings go off as other ships chug by on their mapped trajectories.
A flash of light blinds my peripheral vision. Flames from a chimney exhaust.. Diablo's diner.. best flambéed food on this rock.
My vision returns and I quickly scan the vids.
Everyone on their paths. All good.
We approach the maw of space. As we exit the 'roid, it opens wide, until it envelops us.
Wide-reaching, like nothing one would see on earth.. sheer blackness above, below.. all around. One could go mad drifting in deep space.
Flipping switches, and sending transcoded messages to the conning tower.
I don't see the need to be honest, the nearest habitable moon is two solar systems away.
Teddo talks to the computer, whilst I take it all in.
The first run of many.
Report is in - asteroids beyond 20k.
Time to fire up my new scanning app.
Target locked, full burn.
-o-
The prog has done good.
A roid fills up my viewscreen, completely blotting out space.
Auto pilot engaged.. smooth.. kewl, the software upgrade is sweet.
We glide into orbit around the roid, a distant sun glints from the port window as it winks out of sight.
Let's see if these new mining drones from the market work as intended.
Poop!
Five drones swim away from the ship, and land with muted thunks on the roid.
Overlay switched on, and my screen highlights the drones in a 3d rendering of the roid.
Dang, they're like snakes slithering over the rock.
Little sparks fly from time to time as they sample the roid for the fissures I need.
I prep the mining laser.
A quick scan, no ships around.
A soft beep indicates the drones found a fissure.
I punch in the drone coords, and the autopilot softly manoeuvres us to its location.
Hello drone, says the computer.
Hello ship, says the drone.
Teddo laughs at this.
Locked onto drone, handshaking complete.. and yup, there's the orange button. Perfect.
I take a deep breath. The computers don't mind. The drone doesn't care.
I look to Teddo, he's in his own little world.
I feel my ship. I feel it's emptiness. Buoyed gently by space around this great 'roid.
The zen of the moment washes over me.
I lean back and let my foot press the orange button.
Gotta love this life, I think, as the miner whirs into drilling mode.
Time for a singalong Ted; twenty four thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine roids to mine, under twenty five thousand to go..
=o=
Post
Thu Jun 30, 2016 3:36 pm
#16