3301-01-01: A new year and a new career

A new year, a new friend (?). And a new career!

I unexpectedly received an encrypted message from the Pilot's Federation. Apparently an anonymous benefactor found my aptitude-test results promising and has provided me with a free spaceship: a Sidewinder, located at Trevethick Dock, a station orbiting my home planet in the LHS 3447 system. No strings attached.

No apparent strings, anyways -- I wonder who this benefactor really is, and what they want of me.

I have a friend, Riff, who registered with the Pilot's Federation a while ago and is a Commander himself. Last I heard, he was based out of the Altair system. Once I get the hang of flying this thing, I guess I'll head that direction too.

--

I've used supercruise to travel around my home system, done some sightseeing of the nearby planets, and practiced docking and undocking at a few of the different stations and outposts available within the system. Some of the smaller outposts are quite busy here, and deny my requests to dock due to their docking bays being full.

I yearn for someplace quieter, and use the Sidewinder's Frame Shift Drive to jump to an unexplored system in the nearby Alrai Sector. It's indeed a lot quieter here, and more barren: no station or outpost in sight. I continue on for a few more jumps, then learn my first hard lesson...

Always check your fuel.

I find myself stranded in an empty system, with insufficient fuel to get out. It's awfully lonely here, but there's nothing to do but broadcast a distress signal and wait...

--

Back to LHS 3447. Somehow, my anonymous benefactor already had another Sidewinder ready for me. Curious.

This time I check my galaxy map, and make sure that I plan routes which take me through systems which offer refueling facilities. I realize that the road to Altair will be longer than I expected. It's not too far away -- 55 light-years if I could fly in a straight line -- but there's a big gap of empty space between here and there. The stock Frame Shift Drive in this Sidewinder can only jump 7.5 light-years at a time, which isn't far enough to jump the gap... so my "shortest" path to Altair is circuitous one, over 40 jumps away. And many of those jumps are through the sort of empty systems where refueling won't be possible.

That won't do -- I'll need a better FSD. And for that I'll need credits. Thankfully, there's plenty of people in LHS 3447 offering jobs for new pilots like me. Time to get to work!