The vote has concluded, and the decision was made to look for a new C2 system. Now it was time to turn that decision into an actual route.
Excerpt from the scout pilot’s private journal
When we were studying at the flight academy, one of the subjects was “History and Mythology of Ancient Civilizations.” Among other things, they told us about a book that likely had a tremendous influence on the culture of our ancestors, and about a phrase from it: “seek and you will find.” Yesterday, I finally understood what it truly meant.
I have never seen so many wormholes at once in a C1 system.
Usually, everything is far more mundane. At best, there is a single wormhole leading deeper into unknown space. More often than not, there is nothing but a static connection to high-sec. But this time, it felt as if the Universe itself, or perhaps the gods from ancient myths, had decided to lend us a hand. Seven wormholes at once.
Two led to high-sec.
One went deeper, into the “Dangerous Unknown” region, meaning C4 or C5 system.
The remaining four looked promising.
The scouting operation began.
The first system turned out to be a C2. Acceptable statics, no permanent residents, but the star had a Wolf Rayet effect. Our expedition’s combat pilot would hardly appreciate those conditions, so the coordinates were recorded and we moved on.
The second system was also a C2. Uninhabited. A red giant star, perfectly workable for daily operations, but potentially problematic for infrastructure. We saved this option as well.
The third system was a C3. An immediate no.
The fourth wormhole looked worse than the rest. It had already begun collapsing and could close at any moment. A jump through it could easily become a one-way trip.
I checked my supplies once more, rechecked the exit coordinates in high-sec, lingered for a second longer than usual, and then pointed the ship straight into the center of the vibrating mass of distorted matter.
On the other side awaited an unremarkable C2 system. No special effects. Statics to high-sec and to a C1.
According to Imperial ship destruction records, a serious fight had taken place here not long ago. Seven ships on each side, which is no small thing for forgotten space. Aside from that, the system appeared empty. No citadels. Only three POS towers. The planetary customs offices belonged to a corporation whose pilots had not appeared in loss reports for a long time.
Silence after the battle.
It seems we have found what we were looking for.
End of the captain’s journal excerpt.