One of the cardinal rules of space travel: always bring enough fuel. One Elite Dangerous pilot played a little too fast and loose with that rule and has now been stranded amongst the cosmos for months, three to be exact. Commander Deluvian Reyes Cruz wanted to push the limits of space exploration by seeing just how far he could travel from Sol, setting a personal record in the process, but due to a fuel calculation error, finds himself without a way back home.

Elite Dangerous is a multiplayer space-flight simulation game where players traverse a 1:1 scale representation of the Milky Way. The game was set in 3300 when it was released in 2014 for PC, but since the game uses the realistic passing of time, players today are now in the year 3305. Assuming the role of the pilot of a small spaceship with very little resources to start, players must make their way in the galaxy by any means necessary, be it space mining, piracy, bounty hunting, or any number of space-related professions. Commander Deluvian took on the role of space explorer and set out on his epic adventure away from the center of the known universe to parts unknown.

Commander Deluvian has been keeping an update log on his journey, and everything seemed to be going well until day 42 of continuous travel. According to his log, Day 42, “I decided to go for one more sip on a super cruise tank.. just to stretch my distance to 141Ly.” In doing so, Deluvian used up precious fuel needed for his return trip. “I spent 42 days to get where I am and in a split of a second I made a wrong call.. no return.” Deluvian seemed resigned to his fate, elated that he had beaten the record, but at the cost of never returning home.

Fortunately for Commander Deluvian, the Triple-A of the stars, a group called the Fuel Rats, has undertaken a rescue mission to deliver fuel to Deluvian’s ship, allowing a jump back to the known universe. The group has been on similar rescue missions in the past, but this would be the most treacherous by far. Currently, the Fuel Rats, comprised of a team of five, are en route to Commander Deluvian’s location, based on a very precise plan of action. Commander HighwayWarrior of the Fuel Rats states, “we have the capacity to carry 2576t of fuel and 632 limpets. Out of the 5, only two of us will actually make it to him to deliver the fuel he needs.” The Rats expect to reach Cruz’s location on February 23 at 21:00 UTC (1 PM PST).

Commander HighwayWarrior has been streaming the rescue mission on Twitch, but expect to see only the vast emptiness of space travel until the rescue time approaches. Here’s wishing the Fuel Rats a successful mission and Commander Deluvian a safe return home.