Lixiana’s Journey

Editor’s Note: Signaleer Lixiana Vor’shan shares with us this week their experience during the recent Journey of Katia Sae Anniversary Event. I really enjoyed this write-up and I hope you do as well.

Two years ago, Katia Sae completed her epic journey to visit every possible solar system. To mark the anniversary of this legendary achievement, Katia challenged the capsuleers of Signal Cartel to travel the length and breadth of New Eden, recording their travels as they went.

Lixiana Vor’shan

The Journey will be forever Katia’s, but this journey is mine.

My name is Lixiana Vor’shan – and I am a Signaleer.

It began with Solitaire, my beautiful companion for this adventure. I’d watched over her construction, and had only recently seen her finished out in Firewatch red and black. Pacifier-class, swift and agile, she was the perfect choice to carry me across the heavens. With Allison installed and spare towel stowed, I was ready to depart…

Following Katia’s own star charts, I crossed our Caldari homelands with carefree ease. My moment of truth came when I realized that to get into Otsasai I would have to run the gauntlet of capsuleers camping the exit side of the star gate. I’d always avoided these situations before, but this time there was no going around. I opened comms to my fellow Signaleers for advice, and encouragement flowed across the ether to me. Emboldened by the wisdom of my peers, I gave Allison the nod and activated the gate-jump sequence. In a blur I was there, the menacing shapes of hostile ships lighting up my display in a sea of red icons. Remembering my training, I slowed my racing heartbeat and took stock of the situation. There! An avenue of escape – in a single fluid motion I fired up the warp drives and engaged the cloaking device. Solitaire leapt away like lightning, leaving any possible pursuers far behind.

Solitaire at the Katia Sae Monument

Speed and stealth served me well in that escape, but did not come to my rescue in Sotrenzur. I arrived at the ninth planet, and set up my bookmark and image capture of the planet. In doing so, I noticed some Triglavian cruisers and a couple of the big Leshak-class battleships about one hundred klicks away. Interesting to see them here, I thought to myself, but no risk to me sitting cloaked this far away. Hang on, incoming target lock?! That’s impossible! I’m cloaked… wait… no I’m not!!! Beams of ruby light sizzle across my vision, my brave Solitaire coming apart and with it my quest lies in ruins. Death and destruction are a heartbeat away… wait… I’m not dead yet? That’s impossible! A quick glance at my instruments reveals my shield is still at full capacity – the Trigs are somehow missing with every shot. Resignation turns to blind panic, I’m punching every system I have: cloak (no good, still locked up); MWD (no good, they’re still blazing away at me); Allison (she reminds me that I’m a Rocket Man, but that doesn’t help either). Or does it? In a glorious moment of golden revelation I realize my warp drive is still online! “GO!!!” I screamed, a split second later Solitaire answered with a howl of her own as the drive kicked in and we roared our way to safety.

Fallen Capsuller Memorial – Credit: Sensa Skyward

Many, many jumps were to follow, step by step, system by system. Not to say that I didn’t take the occasional detour, such as making a trip to the Fallen Capsuleer Memorial in Molea to help a friend of a fellow Signaleer. I’d never seen it before, but the scale of it was breathtaking, not just the memorial itself, but the sheer number of tributes anchored there too. I read some of the messages as we drifted past, from groups and individuals, some long and some short, some funny and some utterly heartbreaking. All of them poignant reminders of those we have lost, but not forgotten.

A different diversion came late in my journey, when word filtered across the GalNet that a route had been mapped to the wormhole containing the planet Eyjafjallajökull (an important but elusive waypoint on Katia’s challenge). What’s more, the K-Space entry point was only 11 jumps away! I asked Allison to purge our current route and recalculate for our new target. My nerves mounted the closer we got, passing through systems showing signs of recent rapacious activity. After so long in Empire space, the silence of Anoikis was ominous as I imagined cloaked hunters closing in on all sides, ready to kill. As I orbited the burning cinder of the volcanic planet, I was sure the predators could have tracked me by the sound of my heartbeat alone! Thank Bob, today was not my day to die, and before long I was back carving my way towards Hahyil, the one thousand, eight hundred and eightieth star to light my path.

Eyjafjallajökull – Credit: Aldar Roanaok

My list was complete and my logs full. But the journey was not quite complete. Saisio, start point and home system of Katia Sae herself, was calling. After a month of wandering, weary and weather beaten but unbowed and unbroken, Solitaire returned to the light of Katia’s star. My last command on that voyage was perhaps the most simple, yet certainly the most heartfelt: “Home”.

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