Tales from an Ore Miner

Welcome to 'Radnarok', the irradiated hunk of rock I found myself on after a hard travel...

There's plenty of work to be had in the galaxy, if you're an enterprising space-farer. I wear many hats, but these hats end up costing money. And while some pursuits can be lucrative, they can also be conspicuous. Simple ore mining is honest and profitable, if you know your elements.

Radnarok lacks much of the flora and fauna you might find on more hospitable rocks, but if your exosuit can withstand the radiation you'll find a bounty of precious metals.

Scouting the landscape through a sickly haze on the horizon, I took note of several spires of ores. Heredium is fairly common here, as is iridium and then the occasional aluminium lode. Aluminium is pretty well valued on the Galactic market, so I like to pick it up when I can manage. I spied a sizable exposed lode, set my ship down nearby, and gathered my tools.

The excavation began like normal, though this deposit was thicker than most I had seen before. I kept an eye on my radiation levels as I continued on my work.

However, as I dipped below the surface, expecting to exhaust the vein, I realized I may have uncovered one mother of a lode...

Checking that I had my essentials with me in my suit, I descended into the vein, curious at how far into the rock it would take me.

I descended even lower and felt the temperature drop, feeling somewhat oppressed by the towering walls. But I also felt the effects of the star's radiation start to lessen. You can count me grateful for that.

As I continued my harvest, I broke into a local cave system. I needed to recharge my mining beam, so this was right fortuitous. I scavenged the tunnels for organic isotopes to refill my multi-tool.

Once my tool was fully charged, I was ready to return to the vein. She was calling to me.

I mined until the time was lost to me. The vein went so deep that I hit bedrock. You can believe it. Bedrock! Well I'll be...

I jettisoned myself back to the surface and I gaped at what I had achieved. The core of the lode was unminable, so I let it be. Maybe, too, as a testament to the find.

And I can't say I've heard of a find like this from the prospectors I encounter. A deposit like this is likely to get you undue attention from the authorities rather than claps on the back. Believe you me. Best to not take it off the planet in your own hands.

Even the local sentinels came to inspect my work, though they fortunately seemed unconcerned. Perhaps they intended to make sure the excavation was sound and safe. We let each other be.

With both my mining beam and my fortitude depleted...

... and my inventory stuffed with about as much Aluminium as I cared to carry.... I set out for the nearest Galactic Trade Network hub

I found a portable hub stationed in a nearby crater. This little critter--he sort of looks like a 'Wheatley' to me, what y'all think? Cute fella. Anyway, this little critter is certainly efficient. The amount of aluminium I dug up fetched me quite a lot. I even had to make a second trip back to my ship to retrieve the overflow.

In the end, my account was bursting with units...

And I put them to good use, yes I did. Say hello to my new companion. Bought with the units I earned from the biggest strike I've laid eyes on. Sure is bittersweet to say goodbye to my old Ekinokaz--my first--but she served me well. And now it's on to the next system, maybe for some more prospectin'. Or maybe somethin' else. Maybe a little...opportunistic prospectin', if you understand me.

And if you happen to see a ship like mine, hurtling ahead of you with a stream of defense ships on my tail ... well just you remember, I wear many hats. And hats get expensive.