The Void - Tick 24 Cycle 1

 I am not alone. The new cycle has arrived and I get $284 courtesy of my Banking 2, and 14 economy (just 4 new economy...) 

My star count is up to 16 and I've caught sight of my first neighbor. I thought I'd encountered this pseudonym before, but a check back through my games shows I haven't - maybe in Neptunes Pride. There is a guild called the Neo Holy Roman Empire that has two players I know to be active Vik Ia and AuronaNitsua and a very good fresh player Detlef, who I think no longer plays.

Anyway, I hit up the HRE and I get a 14-minute reply that has some thought to it. That's enough for me to move mentally from 'potential first target' to 'potential collaborator'

I also see HRE spent 3 of his starting tokens on an Explorer and what's interesting is that it's heading 16 ticks west of where I see him right now to an unknown star.  That suggests a) something has caught his eye b) he won't have a fleet right behind to beat me to my target (20 NR) star.

Ignore his line of approach to his newly captured star the Explorer is departing from. Thinking about it, logically it makes much more sense for him to have come from the right of there. Also, I changed the route of my southern carrier to go direct to the binary.

I'm going to break into some conversation. Enough to convince the eloquent HRE that I am present, paying attention, and invested (qualities you'd prefer in an ally to an enemy) whilst not yet revealing too much of my hand that I'm super active. I'm one of a few 'super active' players in the game and if HRE is another top dog then fast responses will soon get their ears pricking. 

Aside from this, expansion is broadly going well. I see a new binary star and nobody else. I need 19 more stars to reach 'par' for my opening position and I think I'll probably get that. There are 12 I have high confidence of getting at this stage and we'll see about the rest.

I plan to build another Explorer this cycle but I don't know this turn exactly where I need it. It's possible I'll build it on my Homestar to rapidly redeploy a force to any contested borders.