05/07/835: Report 1

These last few days have been eventful, to say the least. We finally entered the Deep Omega.

First impression: it’s red. Red everywhere. After a few days in the place, that color is practically burned into my retinas.

As expected, we were not the first ones here. We spotted freelancers, fellow Zoners (more on that later) and even Coalition and Red Hessian traffic. A very red system, in every possible sense.

More worrying: we also identified Corsair and Infected presence. That alone will make any future expedition — or worse, any exploitation attempt — far more expensive.

We exited Omega-47 into what the locals call the Tierra Nebula. First scans showed no immediately interesting resources, but the long-range scanners did pick up an anomaly. We logged its rough position for a later expedition. Visibility in Tierra was miserable. The kind where the nebula doesn’t just block your view, it feels like it’s pressing against the canopy and daring you to blink first. Good place to hide something. Or lose something.

As soon as we cleared the cloud, we picked up a familiar signal bearing Zoner markings: The Intrepid Maiden.
So the De Sousa / Maiden clan beat us to this sector. They’re currently orbiting Fuere and offering shelter. For a price, naturally.

We managed to haggle system and regional data from them for a whopping one million credits, plus the promise of future supplies. They also handed over a copy of the old Expedition 13 databank.
That alone saved us a tremendous amount of time. Thanks to it, we now know the entry point to a deeper system.
I still think the million was robbery, but it was informed robbery, which is somehow more respectable. Jonathan would probably call it “a valuable strategic acquisition.” I call it getting skinned politely by family with docking rights.

After a few days talking with the locals, we headed toward Omega-2. Unfortunately, we couldn’t secure any real resupply. The Maiden clan is very tense about its stockpiles. Just glancing toward a storage room is enough to make people start watching your hands.
So full exploration of Cayman will have to wait. The southern gas giant, its moon, and the Mendez Anomaly will be for another trip.

Crew mood dipped a little here. Nothing dramatic, just the usual frustration of seeing promising leads and not having the fuel, time, or local goodwill to chase them. Bob took it by trying to charm one of the Maiden quartermasters. He failed so hard it almost counted as sabotage.

Ship status remains acceptable. Minor dust scoring on forward plating. Starboard passive sensor mast needed cleaning twice in one day thanks to fine particulate buildup from the nebula. No structural damage worth whining about.