Saturday, January 17th

Namas tayam!

Had a lot of combat today though none of it was against other capsuleers. I completed more than half a dozen missions for my agent, and though most were normal recovery or kill missions, I did have one that gave me some trouble. She offered me my first burner mission today, a contract to kill a renegade Jaguar pilot with some logistical support. My first attempt could have gone better to be honest, I rushed in with my Ishkur thinking I'd be able to manhandle the Bursts she had helping her. I was quickly dissuaded of this notion when the Jaguar promptly ripped my Ishkur to shreds within seconds of engaging. The Jaguar was only using an Afterburner, and so were her escorts, so I came back in a kiting Tristan, hoping that if I could keep range I'd be able to pick them off one by one. A few lucky shots from the Jaguar nearly killed this idea, but I was also unable to break the shield tank the two Bursts were able to sustain. My last effort was finally successful, I brought my Worm out and was finally able to break through the Bursts desperate defenses before obliterating the Jaguar at a relatively safe 18 kilometers away. I'd fit a point on all of my ships, just in case the Jaguar pilot decided to scarper off, though now it seems unnecessary. The rest of my missions for the day were much more tame in comparison, but I'll be ready next time I have to fight one of these Burner pilots.

Normal industrial operations today, mostly consisting of maintaining my Planetary operations and some more production of T2 components.

Suprab nahi tayam!

Friday, January 16th

Namas tayam!

My combat today was aggressive and informative. Richard and I tested a few of our newest Cruiser designs today, with me incorporating the new defensed I've been developing the last few days. He was able to best me once, but I came out victorious in our next two duels. Later in the day I was able to complete three more missions for my new agent near Placid, with the last one impressing them a bit I believe.

I also spent a few hours mining today, my Tritanium and Pyerite supplies have been running a bit low with all the larger scale production I've been doing the last few weeks. My friend Numen Demessis has been a bit more active lately as well, selling me his Planetary goods, as well as salvaging the remnants from my missions, for a modest fee of course. He's still Caldari after all, Dissenter though he may be...

Suprab nahi tayam!

Tuesday, January 13

Namas tayam.

Another fairly quiet night, I spent most of it moving my mission running assets nearer to Intaki from their old location in Amarr space. I  ran a mission for my new agent, to get a feel for what I'd be working with, and everything went well. These missions will also help to alleviate the supply problems I've been having with my production. I also reset my Planetary Interaction lines today, though I'm not likely to run out of Nanite Repair paste any time soon.

Suprab nahi, tayam!

A Fun Monday, January 12

Namas tayam!

The corp had a bit of unconventional combat today, in that I don't think we actually killed anyone. The action started when we found Caldari Militia pilot Foley Aberas Jones, firing orbital rounds down upon beautiful Intaki Prime. The fellow was neutral so we couldn't just turn him into fireworks above Intaki, so we came up with the bright idea to shoot fireworks at him instead. We gathered together nearby, launchers loaded with varying colors of explosives, before finally landing on grid, pointing our target, and lighting him up with our stored pyrotechnics.

Our target was appropriately terrified by our actions, though surprised we hadn't acted with intent to destroy his vessel. Several minutes later it was noticed that Foley's armor had taken damage and the decision was made for some of us to leave and come back with armor repair capabilities. This further confused our quarry, though at this point I'm pretty sure he understood we had no intention of actually killing him.

Though it's likely Richard's smartbombing Megathron landing on grid a few minutes later scared him a little bit. We let him go a a bit later once we had run out of chemical explosives and frozen water to throw at him, with a stern warning and more than likely a confused smile on his face.

I later went on to lose an Algos to a small Dead Star Syndicate fleet comprising of an Enyo, two Tristans, and oddly enough, a Bantam.

My industrial activities for today were limited to some minor production and shipping, and the retrieval of a blueprint original I apparently misplaced in Amarr space. It should help me with some of my defensive capabilities, provided I can find the materials, some of which are hard to come by in my area of operations. Pretty quiet day overall to be honest.

That's all for today,
Suprab nahi tayam!

A New Year, A New Format

Namas tayam! (Greetings everyone)

I've been wanting to post more of the happenings in my life over the last few months, but I've not gotten the urge to sit down and do it all in one go. Instead I'd like to begin keeping a daily log of my activities, something I feel I'll be able to keep up with more readily than large posts every who knows when. For the most part I'll be dividing my posts into combat and industry sections, unless of course the two overlap for the day.

Combat for today consisted mostly of my daily patrol of the Placid region. I was close to catching a pirate Daredevil in Vey but his faster align time meant I was unable to keep up with him as he hopped around the system. Once my corpmate Richard Masseri undocked we attempted to catch another pirate, this one in an Arbitrator. Richard was able to get the target pointed, but by the time I arrived he'd already destroyed the pirate's ship. Looking at the loss afterward, we were both surprised how fast the pirate died, since it was using dual reps, both normal and ancillary repair units. 

My industrial activities consisted primarily of my continued efforts to rescue lost and abandoned drones, as well as unclutter my Directional scanner. I ended the night having recovered more than 25 million ISK of drones, mostly Warriors.

That's all for today everyone, suprab nahi! (Good night)

Incursions Into Intaki

I woke to the sound of blaring sirens, as ear piercing klaxons sounded across all levels of the station with a decibel level high enough to shake even me from my normally coma-like slumber.

"This is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill. Gravimetric sensors have detected the opening of several wormhole interstices across the Viriette constellation in rapid succession.  Analysis of the pattern indicates we are facing a sizable incursion by the forces of renegade capsuleer Sansha Kuvakei.  All nonessential personnel are advised to report to designated shelters. All station defense crews are to report immediately to their assigned posts and remain on standby until further notice. Once again, this is not a drill."

The color had drained from my face during the announcement, and any semblance of tiredness was quickly banished. I quickly brought my Neocom online, Aura's synthesized greeting carrying a hint of worry as my normal chat windows unfolded. There was a new addition among them, the constellation wide fluid routers had been put online, displaying a warning to all capsuleers of the Sansha incursion. The last part of the message caused a moment of panic in my mind before I was able to tamp it down. Under normal circumstances the Empire navies would provide planetary overwatch while capsuleer forces would work on pushing back and eliminating the Sansha invaders. Intaki though doesn't enjoy the protection of either of the two Empires that bicker over it, neither the Gallente, nor the Caldari maintain a standing naval garrison in the system. Instead, home is protected with almost zealous fervor by the Mordu's Legion mercenaries, many of whom are ethnic Intaki or Caldari sympathizers. If I remember what my contact told me, they'll be pulling their ships into a defensive cordon around Intaki Prime, with round the clock sensor coverage to protect the civilian population below.

I imagine that Phalad will have his consciousness moved planetside in order to provide any assistance that he can. My own duties will be making sure that the stargates into and out of system remain clear, and the destruction of any Sansha assets I can find in the asteroid belts. The Serpentis who would normally be hunting them have just as much to worry about as any law-abiding citizens, so they are more than likely to pull their forces to defend any habitats they have in system. For now though I'm going to prep my ships for heavy combat and see if I can get in touch with some of my contacts in E-Uni and see if they are planning any offensive actions. There's a lot of work to be done if we are going to repel these zombies...

A Combat Filled Day

I can probably mark it down as one of the most turbulent days I've had in my time as a capsuleer. I've been neglecting my blog the last month or so due to a lack of anything terribly exciting happening, but this day was just filled with ups and downs, both physically and emotionally.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m still busy making ships, modules, and drones, both for my own use and for the market. And I’m still maintaining my planetary production lines, making it a stable source of passive ISK on my part as they only need my attention once a week now. My industrial efforts continue apace, and I've even made a few of the new Prospect frigates for my own use and put some up on the Placid market. I even plan on taking one into Nullsec in the coming days and mining some Mercoxit for myself…  

I haven't been slacking in my combat efforts either, a good portion of my income still comes from Concord payouts of the local Serpentis pirates' bounties. And I was just as active against the capsuleer threats to Intaki, it's just that I was doing awfully in those engagements. I'd lost more than a dozen ships of various sizes and classes with nothing to show for most of June. Pend Insurance is threatening to increase my rates, despite the fact that the payout on some of the ships I lost was just abysmal. For example, I had a few Tormentor frigates in my hangar leftover from their days as mining vessels, and decided to refit them according to their new specifications as a front line combat vessel. I received less than 50,000 Isk when I inevitably lost them, even though they were Platinum insured for the full cost of the materials that go into their construction. In any case, I've told my hangar manager not to hire crews for anything smaller than a destroyer at this point, so at least I'm not costing other people their lives in my attempts at even a Pyrrhic victory. 

The rut I was in was not improved by the three ships I lost that day, one of which was the Aliastra Catalyst I'd received for our roam into the Serpent's Coil earlier this year. The others were just situations where I ran up against superior firepower. At that point much of the corp began to join me in space, and I had a pirate Enyo in system whose location I was reasonably sure of. I decided to go for broke and brought the Caracal online and stocked it with explosive warheads. I was initially disappointed with my warp-in, more than 20 km off, but the Clone Soldier Negotiator he was fighting had him disrupted and damaged allowing me to close range. It didn't take many volleys before I found myself alone with the notoriously vicious Serpentis pirate, who wasted little time in focusing his attentions on me. I called for help from my corpmates, knowing I didn't have the kind of sustained damage necessary to break the Negotiator's tank. Several minutes later, corp-mate Richard Masseri and I left the belt several million ISK richer, and me with my first PvP victory for the month. Richard and I roamed Placid for a bit in smaller, less expensive vessels, with numerous sightings but no engagements before most of the corp decided to get some sleep. 

My own elation at finally getting a pirate kill led to a flurry of activity on several projects I'd been putting off, mostly finishing the fits on various ships. I tend to have plenty of hulls on hand, but gathering all the guns, modules, and rigs that I can't make myself, from all over the region, tends to put me off leaving station. One of the fits I had recently finished was one of my favorites, the Vexor. The fitting I had devised enabled me to make short work of the local Serpentis menace, while also being capable in most PvP situations. I worked for several hours, clearing the asteroid belts around Intaki, and occasionally warding off curious capsuleers in vessels smaller than mine. All but one, a pilot named Lincoln flying a Rifter who insisted on attacking me, despite my warning that it would only result in the loss of his ship. A short fight later I had another kill for the day, and Lincoln hopefully learned not to attack a drone boat cruiser with frigate. We continued to talk for a few hours as he stayed in system fighting other pilots as they came through. Apparently he'd spent the last few months in the safety of Null sec and was looking to become less risk averse in his flying. His situation was one that was familiar to me, as I'd spent a considerable amount of time fighting for Nulli Secunda in their war against then rising starts TEST Alliance. He eventually ran out of ships while fighting against local pirate Brian Skrudland, and left on amicable terms and with a neutral setting in my personnel notes.

I continued my search for Serpentis pilots throughout Viriette Constellation, finding and eliminating several more Clone Soldier Negotiators and Transporters before I came upon a vessel that left me checking my sensor readings. It was one of the new Mordu's Legion Cruisers reported to be patrolling in Lowsec space. I quickly transmitted my intentions not to attack to the cruiser, but to no avail as it quickly closed the distance between us and began its assault. My Vexor was rocked by massive blasts as the first volley slammed into my shields, severely depleting them. I released my Hammerheads from their cradles and brought all of my E-war and guns to bear against the vessel I could now identify as an Orthrus. A second volley smashed into my Vexor, taking another significant chunk out of my shields as my drones streaked towards a vessel I was reluctant to call an enemy to swarm it with plasma fire. The third volley knocked out my shields and started damaging my armor, forcing me to cycle my repairer as my drones and guns began unleashing molten plasma against their own shields. The next few volleys hit even harder, forcing me to keep my armor repairer online as the cruiser's shields began to fail, with shots leaking through the gaps in their coverage to splash against it's armor. I was beginning to receive armor integrity and heat damage notifications when the Orthrus finally succumbed to the onslaught of plasma and exploded.

The skirmish with the Mordu's Orthrus had caused minor structural and heat damage as my repairer cycled back down to work on mending my plates back together, and my shields began to recharge. I approached the result of my retaliatory actions with a grim mindset, I hadn't planned on destroying the ship, but I think they more than likely have standing orders to destroy any capsuleer vessel they encounter. As I drew closer I remembered a talk I had with one of the corp leaders in the days after the first sighting of these new, formidable vessels. We both lamented that we had insofar been unable to make diplomatic inroads with the Mordu's Command, despite their presence guarding our home station above Intaki Prime. We had discussed this very event occurring, with the hope that we could establish peaceful or at least neutral standings to avoid just such a situation. Maybe in the future we'll have more success on this front, and I earnestly hope so, as fellow Intaki, many of the Mordus' are likely just as interested in a free Intaki as we of the ILF are...

I coasted next to the wreck and efficiently tagged those escape pods I detected for pickup by rescue crews from further in system, and then began salvaging what I could. My efforts were rewarded as I discovered the potent warp scrambler used against me was still in working condition, and seemed to be a design favored by the Caldari Navy. The real treasure I was able to find however was a schematic blueprint, good for just one production run, of the ship I had just destroyed.

Returning to Intaki soon after was necessary, both to repair the damage incurred in the battle and to give my crew some shore leave after what for them was likely a terrifying experience. It left me in a rather more contemplative mood, wondering how I could better relations with the Mordu's and maybe stop such a thing from happening again. No matter how lucrative hunting these vessels might be turn out to be, I still knew they were all crewed by people like me, fellow Intaki who had found a place they could do something useful with their skills. Maybe a personal visit out to the Mordu's Command station deep in Nullsec might help bring me some clarity on the issue...