terminal-descent-station-2

[terminal-descent-station-2]

She's doing something so very dumb and stupid and now I'm doing something very dumb and stupid. She's gonna come and say hi.

As her ship passes by she has exactly 33 seconds to spacewalk over to my station and she says we'll properly introduce ourselves.

I don't know how I got talked into this but I'll be waiting in my hard suit at the airlock.

I'll send updates when I have the time.

Interplanetary hand-holding, here I come.

[terminal-descent-station-2]

I've been texting the Captain of 2's Company like nonstop and we just keep finding things to talk about. My favorite so far has been all the stories about the scrapes on the hull, which are increasingly ridiculous. Apparently during a mining stop around Deimos they'd found a pocket of hydrogen in a pressurized chamber inside an asteroid.

So the protocol is to ring up a more specialized crew or a research team to either depressurize it or analyze the formation of the pocket.

Now of course this takes a bit and if 2's Company's decision making is as forward and quick as her flirting, this next part makes sense.

Mining laser DIRECTLY THROUGH IT.

The resulting explosion was detected by 18 satellites and tripped automated orbital S&R. 2's Company was fine, but she got a nice big scar right across her nanocarbon plating because a chunk the size of my station bounced off her hull.

She's brash, she's a bit of a drinker, and I'm falling for her.

[terminal-descent-station-2]

I have ripped, broken, and torn this station asunder but with my own two hands I have created more than what I started with.

She's lightcomm capable while not only maintaining reception quality, but increasing it and extending its range via connection with the long range mast of my post

Through this I've also established lightcomm communication with TDS 1, WHO DOES HAVE A LIGHTCOMM DEVICE.

ALL OF THIS SO I CAN SEND A MEASLY LITTLE "Hai <3" TO 2'S COMPANY.

oh yeah and I fixed the blinds so there's that.

[terminal-descent-station-2]

This has turned out to be

A larger task than I first intended

[terminal-descent-station-2]

Ok. Last few days have been a PROCESS.

I wanted to get a lightcomm device to work on my station (see last post.)

I looked into the requirements and sensitivities of each of my broadcasting equipment, short and long range, and ALL of them are rated to operate within specified limits even while under the effect of lightcomm devices. My main mast, some 40 years old, was SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED to automatically filter the background noise created by interference.

So I'm like, ok, let me talk to management about letting me get a lightcomm device because I'm down bad for that fucking flirt from Mars.

And they say:

"No, any lightcomm device would interfere with both your duties and the devices."

Oh! They must be mistaken! All the equipment that I'm using is within practical limits for filtering out lightcomm distortion.

"Our engineers have determined that lightcomm devices should not be used by approach facilities."

Nice so very nice I'm soooooo chill right now.

Now, ok, maybe I'm missing something. I'm not an engineer but whatever. I drop it for a day until 2's Company leaves the moon on a course for Mars and the departure station (Thank you Livvy, I know you read these.) lets me know that I got another audio-visualizer message from the captain.

It's a photo of my station with a little heart drawn around it.

SO.

I put on my EVA suit and while I'm not an engineer, THE GODS OF SOLAR WIND COMPEL ME TO FOLLOW THAT SIREN SONG AND BY THE GRACES OF THOSE DEITIES I WILL FIND A WAY TO MAKE THIS RADIO MAST INTERCEPT LIGHTCOMM.

TERMINAL DESCENT STATION 2 SIGNING OFF

[terminal-descent-station-2]

It's been a very, very slow day, but 2's company is back on the job and decided to stop by today.

Now, I operate a radio and only have limited tech for sending/receiving images. 2's company's captain stopped by and asked if I could receive images.

And I was like "haha sorry I can't I'm really sorry but I'll try and find a way!" Like a dork

So here's what she does.

She tells me "get an audio visualizer."

Now she's lucky I have one, it's an old grandfathered in system back when we didn't have distortion free radios.

She sends an UNGODLY sounding broadcast which DRAWS AN IMAGE OF HER ON MY SCREEN.

I'm fucking flabbergasted and all I can say is

"Pretty!"

I'm FUMBLING. LIKE THE 2281 SEASON OF FUSA FOOTBALL. NOT ONE COMPLETE PASS OVER HERE.

I've got to clear her along because her orbit is passing the descent vector AND ONLY AFTER SHE LEAVES MY RADIO RANGE DO I NOTICE THAT SHES PUT HER LIGHTCOMM NUMBER ON IT.

I'd keysmash if this keyboard could take it.

aaaaNNYWAYS,

I

DONT

HAVE

A

LIGHTCOMM

CAPABLE

DEVICE

BECAUUUSE SOME SCHMUCK BACK ON EARTH SAID IT WOULD INTERFERE WITH PROPER DATA TRANSMISSION

So anyways. I'm gonna go cry just a little and stare at this image byeeee

[terminal-descent-station-2]

One of the ships I guided in today had a massive hydrogen booster and they fucking SENT IT past my station. If there was an atmosphere out here I'm fairly certain it would have shaken my porthole.

Oh yeah, big fire decals on the side too.

[terminal-descent-station-2]

I should get my class B mech license

[terminal-descent-station-2]

Had a lot of off time since the Earth Orbital festival is going on so I've had time to build my models that I brought up. Now I've got a lil Neptunian glider mech helping me guide ships in.

Normally I'd be kinda mad about missing the orbital but I got a nice bonus soooo I'm alright with waiting another year for it.

[terminal-descent-station-2]

Had to work with ground control today to make adjustments to my stations orbit and MAN that shit is stressful. Now I just feel tired but I only adjusted my orbit by a few meters

[terminal-descent-station-2]

How do I get rid of an "I can do it myself" mindset, I just threw my station's fuzes because the electric kettle stopped working

[terminal-descent-station-2]

BIG NEWS!

I was sticking my fingers where they shouldn't go into my controller station, and I hit the fucking motherload.

The previous controller that came before me left a toolbox.

Now, the toolbox is nice, has a bunch of union stickers on it BUT

Inside, it's all tapes. Music tapes.

So I'm like oh fuck yeah

I play them, and go OH FUCK YEAH

Its a bunch of spacer music from the last great push, the shit that captains listened to while running supplies around Jupiter n stuff.

You can TASTE the solar grain on these

[terminal-descent-station-2]

I swear I'm stuck in a time loop some days.

Made a cup of tea earlier and forgot about it, then I was having lunch and needed a drink 'n bam. Cold tea. This happened two days in a row, same tea, same lunch.

Or maybe I'm just going bonkers.

[terminal-descent-station-2]

Been watching nature documentaries to help pass the time and it's only now made me yearn to travel back to earth.

I also watched a documentary about lions and I gotta say these guys gotta be a lot more gay to be called a pride.

[terminal-descent-station-2]

And she's off again. Passed by one of the departure stations just this morning and I wish I got to see her off.

I'm surprised I haven't started scribbling on the walls of my station at this point.

[terminal-descent-station-2]

Barely slept but I am feeling better, just focusing on getting ships through. Thankfully it's not too busy so I'm keeping occupied by fixing some of the old tape deck equipment that was decommissioned.

[terminal-descent-station-2]

My shift ended, I'm trying to sleep but my mind can't stop thinking about what she said. I've got my ambience on, I'm snuggled down in the zero gravity bedding, I'm in the shadow of the moon, but I cannot stop being awake.

So uh, if any spacers are out there feel free to send a message over the line.