A Pilot's Reflective Thoughts

Posted on Sun Oct 18th, 2026 @ 7:28pm by Lieutenant Sean Hope

533 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Outward Trajectory
Location: USS Eventide - Bridge

Hope's Personal Log. September sixteenth, 2181.

This is the adventure. I just want to fly. No other distractions. No boundaries, nor holding back. Go forward. No turning back.

Sean exhaled, tapping his console. Routine checks. Power flow monitoring. Keeping the lane steady. He looked up, staring at the viewscreen. Stars danced by in silence. Shifting in his seat, he leaned forward stretching his back muscles. His hearing device muted the background noise while keeping the sensor on standby if someone wanted to speak to him directly. So far, no one spoke so he sat in silence. Musing. Thinking. Tapping the console, he quietly updated his log.

Father pushed me to follow in my brothers footsteps to become part of the military. However, this is what I want instead. To sit in the pilot seat. He couldn't stand my decision, but stepped aside knowing what I always knew. We may have stopped speaking, but even silence rang louder. I had to make my way. Discover where I sit in the path, even uncharted. Here be dragons. That archaic saying still rang true even in space where the maps remained incomplete. It drove me to pursue Stellar Cartography. To chart new paths never before explored. Even in dark space, monsters and dragons patrolled.

A quiet beep popped up on his console, followed by quiet humming, Tapping the flashing button, his chair creaked as he shifted in his seat. Tapping his ear, he rubbed the metallic device upward while increasing the volume from mute to sound. A pop hit his eardrum as he opened his mouth to release a sudden pressure increase in his ear. Shaking his head, he looked around the bridge before refocusing his attention on their mission. Pulling up the mission brief, he reviewed the details. Compiling his own report, the computer constructed a map from the survey data.

As the ship moved forward, the survey data slowly increased from one percent to three percent. Sean hadn't completely made any progress toward crafting the map. However, they only started and the stars beckoned them forward as he crafted a near perfect line between the signal and their objectives. Quiet beeping from nearby consoles tuned out distractions as he quietly hummed with the machine.

Our mission as it stands is exploration. Where there be monsters or dragons, we aim forward. Seek out new civilizations. Discover new technology. To boldly go into the dark. The map I generate as we explorers go forth will paint a picture of our progress. To plant our feet. Find new friends. Allies. However danger are the ones that hide like cowards, waiting to jump out when we least expect. To the monsters in the dark, we are curious and cautious. We stand against the tide of the unknown, flashlight in hand and our hand steady.

Exploration is in my blood. There are no other avenues I seek except mapping the stars within the galaxy.

Beeping quietly hummed, droning out the rest of his thoughts. Refocusing on the Eventide's starlane, he tapped a few commands onto his log adding a few additional words.

Lieutenant Sean Hope, Chief Astrogation officer. USS Eventide. End log.

 

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