Jump went smoothly. I'm now convinced that the gravity waves I detect just before jumping are caused by the drive itself. Which leaves me to wonder why? The way the drive was explained to me, it shouldn't generate gravity waves. They are not very strong, not much more than one would expect from a planet.... Yet more things to drop into the 'questions for the techs if I ever get in contact with them again,' file.
***
Been in jump for a week. Kept myself busy doing the medical monitoring. Confirmed that there is something about being in jump that doesn't stop, but it does slow the uptake of certain nutrients. Now that I know that, I am taking some additional supplements to ensure that I am getting all the intake I need, compensating for the slower uptake. I actually feel much better. More focused, etc...
Now that I know I was supposed to have a crew after getting to Kohelic, I went about finding the crew quarters. They are on the lower level, that I never bother with. There is a whole thing going on down there. It's almost as if it were strapped to the belly of the ship. The crew area is definitely not a part of the Viteză Furie. It has monitors and such, it's own airlocks, and some other things. It is not however the same. It's basic, primitive even compared to the Viteză Furie. It is as if they strapped the crew section of a regular ship onto the belly of the Viteză Furie. I was able to trace the power, connectivity, etc... They are tapped into the Viteză Furie systems, but don't have anything of their own. If I were to lock the door, they couldn't open it from that side. This is honestly something really weird. Why then, again, is the Viteză Furie designed the way it is. So much room, with spacious staterooms for four.
***
There were items in those crew areas that I have moved to the Viteză Furie and put in storage. I then did a surface walk. Yeah, I can actually do that in jump, which is weird unto itself. While out there I did some surveying of the Viteză Furie and located some other things. I'm considering dumping the crew quarters, but I can also use it as storage. Could turn it into a giant fuel tank. Lots of possibilities. That however isn't the most interesting thing. Not by a long shot.
While I was out there. I confirmed what I thought was going on. The crew area is just, quite literally, strapped onto the Viteză Furie. I've even confirmed the needed commands to jettison it if needed. What I found out there that I found truly interesting is that the engineering section is much larger than I thought. I've been in there, but it extends well beyond what I thought was the back wall. From outside you can see the structure out to the mains, but there is more going on than just a separation between the mains and engineering. I think it is the ARC drive compartment.
***
Only took an hour to find the hatch, and a short corridor beyond which I expect is the ARC drive which is what makes this ship go. There are a set of five fusion plants in engineering, and each module has it's own as well. Each one could run the whole ship, including the mains. Why are five needed? I never asked, but only one is hooked up to the ships power systems. The other four are running, but are not powering the ship. No. The power output from those four fusion plants feed into the massive cables that lead towards the ARC drive chamber. The old drive tech sits in the center of the engineering section, and is functional, I ran the diagnostics. Not the ARC drive though. It has it's own compartment and four fusion plants to run it. By the ancients, what is that thing?
I am debating if I should look. I won't touch anything, but the longer I am out here, the more convinced I get that the techs did not really know what the ARC drive was. They did say that they were not sure how it worked, and that they were not sure how well it would work. I wonder if they understood what it was at all.
Time to get some sleep, and save this log. I think it has gotten long enough.
The systems say I will be in Jump for at least three weeks. The view out the windows is just as wild and varied as before. Tomorrow I am going to explore the ARC drive chamber. Tonight I am going to watch some old vids and get a long sleep. That's the other thing I have confirmed with the medical monitoring. Need to increase the sleep I get while in jump to stay healthy and functional. The effects on the body and brain are subtle, but they are clearly there and something to be watched for.