Starting the Day with Fines

I logged back in and spent five minutes fighting menus, only to uncover the cruel truth: I’d had the cargo all along. Victory, right? Not quite. Because right as that sunk in, I noticed the timer — less than 20 minutes to make 23 jumps.

That mission was doomed before it began, but at least the game let me embarrass myself thoroughly before I abandoned it. So, I dumped the job, paid off my fines (no further comment), and went back into the station to try again.

Switching Careers: From Hauler to Courier

The new plan: data deliveries. No cargo racks, no depot shenanigans, just flying from system to system like a slightly confused interstellar postman.

My route looked clean on paper:

• Popovich Hub — Col 285 Sector ED-K a38-5
• Sarrantonio Settlement — Crucis 6
• Ramasawany Point — Borrelai

Point A → B → C. A straight line, if space ever did such a thing.

Popovich Hub: Fire and Buttons

The Rustbucket left dock, and within minutes I was already sweating. Not from nerves, but from the fact that I skimmed a star so closely I practically gave it a hug. Heat alarms screamed, hull integrity plummeted, and I managed to cook the ship down to 35%.

When I limped into Popovich Hub, I discovered the docking computer was broken. Which meant one thing: manual docking. Five minutes of pushing buttons like a toddler in an elevator followed. Somehow, miraculously, I found the landing pad, dropped the ship without exploding, and paid for repairs. Reward collected. One down.

Sarrantonio Settlement: Suspiciously Normal

After the chaos of Popovich, I braced myself for disaster. Maybe pirates. Maybe another accidental sun-kiss. Instead, I cruised in smoothly, docked without issue, handed over the data, and got paid.

It was so uneventful I didn’t trust it. The silence was suspicious. But I wasn’t about to complain. Two down.

Ramasawany Point: Racing the Clock

The Borrelai system greeted me with a challenge: deliver the last data within 40 minutes for a bonus. Easy enough, provided I could stop trying to barbecue the Rustbucket every other jump.

The first fuel scoop went beautifully, textbook even. The second? Straight back into star-hugging territory. Balance, apparently, is important.

By the time I approached Ramasawany Point, I was certain pirates would interdict me just to ruin my day. But nothing happened. No drama. I docked, handed over the data, and collected the bonus. Repairs covered, credits gained, and — for the first time — I ended a day in profit.

Nightfall in the Rustbucket

Docked safely, hull patched, fines cleared (for now), I stared out of the station’s viewport at the glowing sun that had nearly cooked me twice. Data couriering isn’t glamorous, but at least it pays, and I didn’t manage to set anything else on fire.

Not freezing, not starving, not bankrupt, and still flying: in Elite Dangerous, that’s about as close to a victory lap as I’m likely to get.

Day 3 Pro Tips (Switch Edition)

• When the HUD says “align with space vector,” stop panicking and throttle down first.
• Manual docking is survivable. Just breathe. And trust the radar.
• Fuel scooping is a fine art. Pretend the sun is hot soup: too close, you burn; too far, you starve.
• Courier missions are calmer than hauling — fewer explosions, less shame.
• Fines multiply if you ignore them. Trust me.