The month of October was the busiest yet in my activities for the Intaki Liberation Front. I substantially picked up the pace in my industrial output, producing not only the allowed amount of ships I could for the corp, but several more for myself. I was particularly proud of the Vexor that I recently built to replace the one I lost at the beginning of the month. By the end of the month another one of my invention projects came to fruition, allowing me to more easily replace the small ships I was losing.
Truthfully, I lost more ships in the month of October than at any other point in my five year span as a capsuleer, seventeen ships all in the space of a single month. Many of my losses were failed attempts at continuing to use the Maulus in one on one engagements, but just as many were Tristans or destroyer losses. I stopped offering standard crew contracts on my frigates long ago, instead foregoing even the minimal crew necessary. I would have done the same with my destroyers, but their more complex systems required at least a skeleton crew to maintain. The loss of a Vexor as the month began would have been a tragic loss of life had I not ordered the ship evacuated as soon as the warp core had been scrambled. Most of the crew had decided to not extend their contract to the new ship, but a few had retained the right to change their minds at least. On the flipside of my PvP coin I had the most victories in combat in the ILF for the month, with eight ships destroyed, six of them in solo engagements. It's something that's starting to fill me with a growing sense of pride, perhaps I'm finally learning to be more confident in my own combat abilities.
Overall I ended the month more than 50 million ISK in the hole, but I still think I came ahead when it comes to the amount of experience I accrued. I'm learning more about successful PvP every time I undock, and my industrial efforts supporting the economy in Placid are leaving me flush with more ships, materials, and liquid assets then at any other point in my career. I continue to be eager at what the future of New Eden holds for me...
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
Hanging With Hong
My day began rather quietly, starting with the normal station-side updating of my planetary production facilities. The water processing plant in one of the hot equatorial seas of Intaki Prime was one of my favorites to visit due to it's mild - for the Intaki equator - climate. Admittedly there wasn't much to do but relax and chat with the small staff of the mostly automated facility, the overly warm seas could only support the hardiest of complex organisms, but that was most of the reason he liked it.
I roused myself from thinking about my next planet-side visit, and loaded into my favorite Ishkur for a roam of the local asteroid belts to combat the for now ubiquitous Serpentis menace. The Empyrean conflict raging in and around Intaki provided a lot of possibilities for some of the... less savory types that frequented the system, so armed patrols would be necessary for the foreseeable future. I eliminated the few Serpentis combat craft I found, marking the escape pods for retrieval by the few firms willing to conduct such dangerous work, many of those within likely being conscripted from space-based colonies in Intaki and outlying systems. The ships themselves were taken completely apart to recover any useful modules and materials that may have survived their destruction. Once I completed my rounds I headed back to Intaki V-5 to work on a new Maulus fit. I'd gotten some tips from some other ECM pilots, and I was going to make it work... and likely die trying!
The local fluid-router announced a new connection in system as I was working, a personal acquaintance of mine, blue to the IPI named Hong WeiLoh. We'd actually met in person at a recent conference discussing the upcoming improvements to ships, Warp Drives, and other ship systems. We reminisced on old holovids and novels for a bit before Hong found the near -5.0 pilot Izy L hanging around in a complex near Intaki II. His encounter with her ended in failure before I could get to him, but he found out she was using a dual-webbing artillery Firetail. Both of them had warped off by the time I arrived, Hong in his pod and Izy in what I assumed was a damaged Firetail, so I scooped Hong's stuff before heading back to station and putting it up on contract for him.
At this point I undocked and did a scan of the system, notifying Hong after I found Izy at the complex once again. I then proceeded to the complex on my own, hoping that I could take on an arty Firetail once I got range on it. As is normal for me though I ended up landing right on top of her then trying to burn away and failing. Once my pod had bounced off a safe and back to station I was nearly out of her scrambler range with the initial burst from my micro-warp drive. I told Hong of my failure and he recommended we fleet up to confront her once again. We both worked on reshipping, Hong in a destroyer and I started on some new frigate fittings. Hong's hope was that she would finish the novice level complex and move onto one open to larger ships. At this point we activated voice communications to make coordinating hopefully easier.
We met back up in Intaki, locating Izy still in system, this time in a small complex much to Hong's vengeful glee. The first time we moved to engage she warped off, likely seeing Hong's destroyer as a greater threat. We moved in again this time i moved in first to engage, but I was unable to provide enough dps to get through her tank. She started to wear my Incursus' down as Hong started to warp in, and by the time he landed my ship was in the process of exploding, allowing her to warp away before Hong could engage. I exchanged a Good Fight with Izy in local before I headed back to station, thoroughly done with PvP for the night. Hong soon tired of chasing Izy and decided to turn in as well. He and I exchanged a few more pleasantries, with Hong gifting me the modules he had recovered from my wreck, before he headed home for the night. I spent a little while rebuilding an Incursus around the recovered modules before turning in for the night as well.
Not a particularly productive day PvP wise, but certainly an interesting one...
I roused myself from thinking about my next planet-side visit, and loaded into my favorite Ishkur for a roam of the local asteroid belts to combat the for now ubiquitous Serpentis menace. The Empyrean conflict raging in and around Intaki provided a lot of possibilities for some of the... less savory types that frequented the system, so armed patrols would be necessary for the foreseeable future. I eliminated the few Serpentis combat craft I found, marking the escape pods for retrieval by the few firms willing to conduct such dangerous work, many of those within likely being conscripted from space-based colonies in Intaki and outlying systems. The ships themselves were taken completely apart to recover any useful modules and materials that may have survived their destruction. Once I completed my rounds I headed back to Intaki V-5 to work on a new Maulus fit. I'd gotten some tips from some other ECM pilots, and I was going to make it work... and likely die trying!
The local fluid-router announced a new connection in system as I was working, a personal acquaintance of mine, blue to the IPI named Hong WeiLoh. We'd actually met in person at a recent conference discussing the upcoming improvements to ships, Warp Drives, and other ship systems. We reminisced on old holovids and novels for a bit before Hong found the near -5.0 pilot Izy L hanging around in a complex near Intaki II. His encounter with her ended in failure before I could get to him, but he found out she was using a dual-webbing artillery Firetail. Both of them had warped off by the time I arrived, Hong in his pod and Izy in what I assumed was a damaged Firetail, so I scooped Hong's stuff before heading back to station and putting it up on contract for him.
At this point I undocked and did a scan of the system, notifying Hong after I found Izy at the complex once again. I then proceeded to the complex on my own, hoping that I could take on an arty Firetail once I got range on it. As is normal for me though I ended up landing right on top of her then trying to burn away and failing. Once my pod had bounced off a safe and back to station I was nearly out of her scrambler range with the initial burst from my micro-warp drive. I told Hong of my failure and he recommended we fleet up to confront her once again. We both worked on reshipping, Hong in a destroyer and I started on some new frigate fittings. Hong's hope was that she would finish the novice level complex and move onto one open to larger ships. At this point we activated voice communications to make coordinating hopefully easier.
We met back up in Intaki, locating Izy still in system, this time in a small complex much to Hong's vengeful glee. The first time we moved to engage she warped off, likely seeing Hong's destroyer as a greater threat. We moved in again this time i moved in first to engage, but I was unable to provide enough dps to get through her tank. She started to wear my Incursus' down as Hong started to warp in, and by the time he landed my ship was in the process of exploding, allowing her to warp away before Hong could engage. I exchanged a Good Fight with Izy in local before I headed back to station, thoroughly done with PvP for the night. Hong soon tired of chasing Izy and decided to turn in as well. He and I exchanged a few more pleasantries, with Hong gifting me the modules he had recovered from my wreck, before he headed home for the night. I spent a little while rebuilding an Incursus around the recovered modules before turning in for the night as well.
Not a particularly productive day PvP wise, but certainly an interesting one...
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
A Busy September
The last few weeks had been very busy for Erun, and he'd gotten quite a lot of things done he had not expected to. The thing that had surprised him the most as the month progressed was simply how much ISK he had been making. He suffered nominal losses after replacing a ship every time he was unsuccessful in his combat effort, which was a often. But somehow through his various combat and industrial activities he'd acquired nearly half a billion ISK, more money than he'd made in a month, ever. The best part in his mind is that he'd been actively engaged and interested in all of his activities, rather than performing them as a necessity as he had been before he had joined the Intaki Liberation Front.
The biggest change for Erun though was that he no longer considered himself what many in the capsuleer community derided as a "carebear," or a pilot whose only purpose was to make more ISK by actively avoiding confrontations with other capsuleers. He now saw himself as something he had affectionately dubbed a "care-badger," an industrial minded pilot willing to use deadly force to protect his interests. Personally he thought his combat skills were only getting marginally better as time wore on, but the kill-board seemed to suggest differently. He found his position at the top of it for the month of September to be particularly startling, assisting in or personally seeing to the destruction of 7 vessels. In the same time frame he'd lost 8 vessels, many of them Maulus-class frigates that he had decided to stop taking into solo engagements.
The losses he took while engaged in his combat activities were easily replaced with materials he acquired while combating the local Serpentis menace. What modules he didn't use for the fittings he had lost were reprocessed into materials he could use to make new ships and modules. His other industrial efforts had been highly successful, completing several of his personal projects and starting on some new ones. He'd also worked on some larger scale building projects for the corp that he hoped would help in their efforts to bring peace and civility to the Intaki sovereignty. More so than ever, Erun looked forward to what the future might bring.
The biggest change for Erun though was that he no longer considered himself what many in the capsuleer community derided as a "carebear," or a pilot whose only purpose was to make more ISK by actively avoiding confrontations with other capsuleers. He now saw himself as something he had affectionately dubbed a "care-badger," an industrial minded pilot willing to use deadly force to protect his interests. Personally he thought his combat skills were only getting marginally better as time wore on, but the kill-board seemed to suggest differently. He found his position at the top of it for the month of September to be particularly startling, assisting in or personally seeing to the destruction of 7 vessels. In the same time frame he'd lost 8 vessels, many of them Maulus-class frigates that he had decided to stop taking into solo engagements.
The losses he took while engaged in his combat activities were easily replaced with materials he acquired while combating the local Serpentis menace. What modules he didn't use for the fittings he had lost were reprocessed into materials he could use to make new ships and modules. His other industrial efforts had been highly successful, completing several of his personal projects and starting on some new ones. He'd also worked on some larger scale building projects for the corp that he hoped would help in their efforts to bring peace and civility to the Intaki sovereignty. More so than ever, Erun looked forward to what the future might bring.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
All endings are also beginnings
Phalad Sahantun. It meant "patient shield" in the language of his ancestral homeworld, the embattled planet of Intaki. He'd picked the phrase as his designation upon beginning the training to become one of the new breed of immortal mercenaries being drawn to the battlefields of New Eden. He was filled with a sense of trepidation as he contemplated his last assignment, possibly his last assignment ever. As the final act of their old lives, and to complete the process that would turn them into immortal clone soldiers, each candidate had to take their own life.
The purpose behind this act was twofold, the first was to complete the physical portion of their transformation. Cranial implants which they received at the end of months of mental and physical conditioning were designed to record their consciousness up to the moment of death. The second, and more important purpose was to test the candidates' willingness to face their own deaths and to overcome that fear. The form of this test would differ depending on the group or government issuing it, but the candidates were all given a finite amount of time to perform the final act of their lives.
Talking with other clone mercenaries had revealed numerous grisly methods. One had been led into a room with a table, a chair, and a gun. Another who had also received a chair and table, but was instead greeted by a glass of water and inconspicuous but near instantly lethal medical capsule. Phalad had even heard tales of a paraplegic who had turned down the gun, instead throwing himself off of a skyway.
He'd been given the better part of three days to make his decision, and told it would be better if he didn't do extensive damage to his cortex beforehand. Never being fond of the mind altering, and generally mind damaging substances his peers were fond of, found Phalad wandering the streets reading the latest news on a handheld datapad. His fascination with the rising tensions between the Gallente and Minmatar almost kickstarted his career as a mercenary, just barely being being able to dodge the speeding vehicle of a joyriding couple. Thinking to himself as he leaned against a nearby building for support, he realized that he didn't want to lay his life at the feet of someone else. He'd much rather his death came as a consequence of his own thoughts and actions than someone else's, or worse in his mind, Mother Nature's.
Returning to his training base, Phalad told his trainers he was ready. He was led to a blank room with a pill and a glass of water waiting for him. Leaving a shoe to jam the door open he grabbed the pill and water before turning back around. Never hearing the door close his escorts had turned around to see him walking back out. Moving to restrain him they stopped as their eyes glazed over, and upon receiving their new orders they escorted him back to his quarters. As they left him alone he quietly said to himself, "Suprab Nahi..." The guard on the left nodded his head respectfully, while the one on right who looked eerily similar simply gave a thin smile before they both turned and walked away.
Slipping out of his remaining shoe and then all but his training shorts, Phalad moved to sit on the side of the cot in his nondescript room. He grabbed the pill and water the guards had left on the side table and quickly downed them both. Lying down and folding his arms behind his head, he closed his eyes and fell asleep for the last time, wondering what the future might hold...
The purpose behind this act was twofold, the first was to complete the physical portion of their transformation. Cranial implants which they received at the end of months of mental and physical conditioning were designed to record their consciousness up to the moment of death. The second, and more important purpose was to test the candidates' willingness to face their own deaths and to overcome that fear. The form of this test would differ depending on the group or government issuing it, but the candidates were all given a finite amount of time to perform the final act of their lives.
Talking with other clone mercenaries had revealed numerous grisly methods. One had been led into a room with a table, a chair, and a gun. Another who had also received a chair and table, but was instead greeted by a glass of water and inconspicuous but near instantly lethal medical capsule. Phalad had even heard tales of a paraplegic who had turned down the gun, instead throwing himself off of a skyway.
He'd been given the better part of three days to make his decision, and told it would be better if he didn't do extensive damage to his cortex beforehand. Never being fond of the mind altering, and generally mind damaging substances his peers were fond of, found Phalad wandering the streets reading the latest news on a handheld datapad. His fascination with the rising tensions between the Gallente and Minmatar almost kickstarted his career as a mercenary, just barely being being able to dodge the speeding vehicle of a joyriding couple. Thinking to himself as he leaned against a nearby building for support, he realized that he didn't want to lay his life at the feet of someone else. He'd much rather his death came as a consequence of his own thoughts and actions than someone else's, or worse in his mind, Mother Nature's.
Returning to his training base, Phalad told his trainers he was ready. He was led to a blank room with a pill and a glass of water waiting for him. Leaving a shoe to jam the door open he grabbed the pill and water before turning back around. Never hearing the door close his escorts had turned around to see him walking back out. Moving to restrain him they stopped as their eyes glazed over, and upon receiving their new orders they escorted him back to his quarters. As they left him alone he quietly said to himself, "Suprab Nahi..." The guard on the left nodded his head respectfully, while the one on right who looked eerily similar simply gave a thin smile before they both turned and walked away.
Slipping out of his remaining shoe and then all but his training shorts, Phalad moved to sit on the side of the cot in his nondescript room. He grabbed the pill and water the guards had left on the side table and quickly downed them both. Lying down and folding his arms behind his head, he closed his eyes and fell asleep for the last time, wondering what the future might hold...
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Damp Experiments
Erun was nervous, anxious even, to the point where his pod's medical suite had already offered him a mild sedative to soothe his nerves. The reason for his current state of anxiety happened to surround him in the form of a Maulus-class frigate. More than the ship itself, it's designed purpose as an electronic-warfare platform was throwing him for a loop, he had literally no experience using e-war modules. He'd experienced their effects before - range dampening, electronic counter measures, even tracking disruption - for all the good these all did once his drones had a valid target for their aggression. But he'd been in situations where he'd been unable to give his drones targets and then couldn't bring his own armaments to bear against the offending craft. His continued theory-crafting to improve his PvP had led to thinking about combining his drone expertise with this ability to prevent an opponent from targeting him back. Taking one more minute to ready himself, he finally undocked from Intaki 5-5 to begin looking for viable targets.
Long range directional scanning quickly resulted in a potential pirate at one of the many faction warfare sites the Empire Navies left scattered across the Viriette constellation. Erun kept his d-scan running as he approached the site at high warp, identifying the ship in the site as an Imperial Navy Slicer. He felt some hesitation as he arrived at the acceleration gate into the complex, but quickly gathered himself and broadcast the activation signal, sending him hurtling towards a possibly violent end.
As he landed on grid Erun ran a quick background check on the pilot flying the Slicer, a Teens in Jeans with a marginally criminal security status. They quickly targeted each, with Teens firing the first salvo allowing Erun to engage at will. The four Hobgoblins he had deployed when he landed immediately streaked towards the Slicer as Erun activated his E-war suite and attempted to get to a longer range. The Slicer's lasers lanced through his shields while his drones and artillery made quick work of the Slicer's. His ship began to shake as the minimal armor plating on his Maulus began to ablate under the concentrated hail of laser fire. The drones had only gone through half of the Slicer's more reinforced armor when his own began to fail, sending structural integrity warnings racing through his mind. Aligning to the first point on the Escape section of his Overview, he felt the nanofiber enhanced structure collapsing as it ejected his pod into space which quickly reached warp velocity and raced off.
Erun bounced off his escape point before docking in Intaki 5-5 and attempted to calm his rather frayed nerves, now taking the sedative previously offered by his pod's medical suite. He offered his congratulations to Teens in Jeans in local and got a "good fight" back. Erun was curious to know how effective his Dampeners had been and asked Teens, who responded that he'd been reduced to a range of less than 13km. Teens told him that it had been very close, the drone damage had been "sick" getting him down to 3% of his armor. Wondering what he could have done better, Erun asked, and was told that if he'd kept past 13 kilometers and kept his speed up he might have won. Laughing, Teens told Erun he would probably just run the next time he saw a Maulus, and that he'd gotten lucky this time. Teens soon left the Intaki system, and Erun wrapped up his own business resetting his PI and market orders before turning in for the night...
Several days later...
Mentally sighing in frustration as his pod warped away from yet another lost Maulus, Erun tried to think of what he had done wrong this time. This would be the fourth Maulus he'd lost this week either due to his own errors, or just landing into a situation he couldn't handle. His first loss had been his informative battle with Teens in Jeans. The second he'd been torn to shreds by a nearby Thrasher before he could even get his drones out. This loss taught him that warping to zero wasn't always a good idea, and that he should immediately start burning away from his target. He'd unfortunately landed on his target again which resulted in him losing his third Maulus, although this time he'd managed to get away long enough to deploy his drones. This fourth loss he'd once again been unable to get to a safe range before his opponent's rockets ripped him apart.
Almost unconsciously Erun made his way back to Intaki to fit yet another Maulus, the fitting process itself was relegated to another unconscious part of his mind as he pondered his next course of action. As his pod was transferred to the newly constructed E-war ship he decided to continue with his current plan of trying until he succeeded. He'd stopped taking even the minimal crew out with him on his combat roams once he realized he'd be losing so many ships, so he wasn't putting anything at risk he wasn't willing to lose.
Undocking from Intaki 5-5 Erun ran a quick D-scan and found no valid targets so he headed through to Agoze. The D-scan showed clear but there were numerous valid targets in system, so he headed to Agoze 9-2 which offered him a better "view" of the system. A nearby faction warfare complex showed activity so he decided to head there, and engaged his warp drive. As he landed on the acceleration gate he saw a hostile heading into the complex followed closely by a blue named Xander Lehman.
Erun hurriedly broadcast the activation sequence and followed only to be jarred violently as his warp bubble collapsed! The vector for the attack was determined in an instant and he threw his ship in the opposite reaction as he activated his microwarp drive. He targeted and damped the hostile vessel, a pilot named Rivika in a Thrasher who turned her attentions to Xander who had begun attacking her. Erun's drones were launched and sent after Rivika as he closed back into disruptor range. A quick stock of his bearings showed that the single volley had overloaded his shields, ablated most of his armor, and damaged the struture to the point the ship was barely holding itself together. As he approached the maximum range of his disruptor and activated it he saw Xander's ship explode under the fire from what he assumed were Rivika's artillery cannons from the alpha damage they were doing. Bringing his own artillery to bear, Erun began firing on Rivika's Thrasher while keeping his remote dampeners active, rendering her unable to target him. With the damage Xander had already done to her shields, Erun's drones and artillery fire were able to get through Rivika's defenses and destroy her ship, but he was unable to capture her capsule.
Another hostile ship landed in the complex and Erun pulled in his drones and took his leave, his Maulus was barely holding together as it was. Once he landed on station he alerted to be ready in case the ship fell apart, he'd already vented the ship's atmosphere to stop several small fires onboard. Station services dragged the ship to his hangar before they gave him an estimate on the cost to repair it. He signed off on the estimate without even thinking, waiting the few minutes it took the stations nanonic repair services to put his ship back together. "Good fight" was tossed in local by all the involved parties, with Rivika lamenting as Erun's damps had left her helpless.
As soon as the repairs were complete he sent his thanks to station services before undocking again and making a beeline for the Intaki gate. Once on the other side he ran a cursory scan before setting a course for Intaki 5-5 and docking up for the remainder of the night. He was soon decanted from his pod, toweling off ectoplasm and relaxing on his couch with a warm bowl of ramen in his lap. As he got up to pull a second bowl out of the commissary unit he called up the schematics for the Maulus, looking to see what he could do to improve it. Maybe if he swapped out the damage control for another drone damage amplifier... It may have saved him today, but he wasn't supposed to be taking fire in the first place... Or maybe he'd...
Long range directional scanning quickly resulted in a potential pirate at one of the many faction warfare sites the Empire Navies left scattered across the Viriette constellation. Erun kept his d-scan running as he approached the site at high warp, identifying the ship in the site as an Imperial Navy Slicer. He felt some hesitation as he arrived at the acceleration gate into the complex, but quickly gathered himself and broadcast the activation signal, sending him hurtling towards a possibly violent end.
As he landed on grid Erun ran a quick background check on the pilot flying the Slicer, a Teens in Jeans with a marginally criminal security status. They quickly targeted each, with Teens firing the first salvo allowing Erun to engage at will. The four Hobgoblins he had deployed when he landed immediately streaked towards the Slicer as Erun activated his E-war suite and attempted to get to a longer range. The Slicer's lasers lanced through his shields while his drones and artillery made quick work of the Slicer's. His ship began to shake as the minimal armor plating on his Maulus began to ablate under the concentrated hail of laser fire. The drones had only gone through half of the Slicer's more reinforced armor when his own began to fail, sending structural integrity warnings racing through his mind. Aligning to the first point on the Escape section of his Overview, he felt the nanofiber enhanced structure collapsing as it ejected his pod into space which quickly reached warp velocity and raced off.
Erun bounced off his escape point before docking in Intaki 5-5 and attempted to calm his rather frayed nerves, now taking the sedative previously offered by his pod's medical suite. He offered his congratulations to Teens in Jeans in local and got a "good fight" back. Erun was curious to know how effective his Dampeners had been and asked Teens, who responded that he'd been reduced to a range of less than 13km. Teens told him that it had been very close, the drone damage had been "sick" getting him down to 3% of his armor. Wondering what he could have done better, Erun asked, and was told that if he'd kept past 13 kilometers and kept his speed up he might have won. Laughing, Teens told Erun he would probably just run the next time he saw a Maulus, and that he'd gotten lucky this time. Teens soon left the Intaki system, and Erun wrapped up his own business resetting his PI and market orders before turning in for the night...
Several days later...
Mentally sighing in frustration as his pod warped away from yet another lost Maulus, Erun tried to think of what he had done wrong this time. This would be the fourth Maulus he'd lost this week either due to his own errors, or just landing into a situation he couldn't handle. His first loss had been his informative battle with Teens in Jeans. The second he'd been torn to shreds by a nearby Thrasher before he could even get his drones out. This loss taught him that warping to zero wasn't always a good idea, and that he should immediately start burning away from his target. He'd unfortunately landed on his target again which resulted in him losing his third Maulus, although this time he'd managed to get away long enough to deploy his drones. This fourth loss he'd once again been unable to get to a safe range before his opponent's rockets ripped him apart.
Almost unconsciously Erun made his way back to Intaki to fit yet another Maulus, the fitting process itself was relegated to another unconscious part of his mind as he pondered his next course of action. As his pod was transferred to the newly constructed E-war ship he decided to continue with his current plan of trying until he succeeded. He'd stopped taking even the minimal crew out with him on his combat roams once he realized he'd be losing so many ships, so he wasn't putting anything at risk he wasn't willing to lose.
Undocking from Intaki 5-5 Erun ran a quick D-scan and found no valid targets so he headed through to Agoze. The D-scan showed clear but there were numerous valid targets in system, so he headed to Agoze 9-2 which offered him a better "view" of the system. A nearby faction warfare complex showed activity so he decided to head there, and engaged his warp drive. As he landed on the acceleration gate he saw a hostile heading into the complex followed closely by a blue named Xander Lehman.
Erun hurriedly broadcast the activation sequence and followed only to be jarred violently as his warp bubble collapsed! The vector for the attack was determined in an instant and he threw his ship in the opposite reaction as he activated his microwarp drive. He targeted and damped the hostile vessel, a pilot named Rivika in a Thrasher who turned her attentions to Xander who had begun attacking her. Erun's drones were launched and sent after Rivika as he closed back into disruptor range. A quick stock of his bearings showed that the single volley had overloaded his shields, ablated most of his armor, and damaged the struture to the point the ship was barely holding itself together. As he approached the maximum range of his disruptor and activated it he saw Xander's ship explode under the fire from what he assumed were Rivika's artillery cannons from the alpha damage they were doing. Bringing his own artillery to bear, Erun began firing on Rivika's Thrasher while keeping his remote dampeners active, rendering her unable to target him. With the damage Xander had already done to her shields, Erun's drones and artillery fire were able to get through Rivika's defenses and destroy her ship, but he was unable to capture her capsule.
Another hostile ship landed in the complex and Erun pulled in his drones and took his leave, his Maulus was barely holding together as it was. Once he landed on station he alerted to be ready in case the ship fell apart, he'd already vented the ship's atmosphere to stop several small fires onboard. Station services dragged the ship to his hangar before they gave him an estimate on the cost to repair it. He signed off on the estimate without even thinking, waiting the few minutes it took the stations nanonic repair services to put his ship back together. "Good fight" was tossed in local by all the involved parties, with Rivika lamenting as Erun's damps had left her helpless.
As soon as the repairs were complete he sent his thanks to station services before undocking again and making a beeline for the Intaki gate. Once on the other side he ran a cursory scan before setting a course for Intaki 5-5 and docking up for the remainder of the night. He was soon decanted from his pod, toweling off ectoplasm and relaxing on his couch with a warm bowl of ramen in his lap. As he got up to pull a second bowl out of the commissary unit he called up the schematics for the Maulus, looking to see what he could do to improve it. Maybe if he swapped out the damage control for another drone damage amplifier... It may have saved him today, but he wasn't supposed to be taking fire in the first place... Or maybe he'd...
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Panicked Elation
The hum of the mining lasers thrummed throughout the hull of Erun's Retriever as they chewed their way through a sizable rock composed of Dark Ochre. He'd taken to mining more often after the last Neocom update had included a significant improvement on gravimetric triangulation. This allowed all capsuleer vessels to quickly find what were now being dubbed, "Ore Sites." The materials available from the asteroids in these Ore Sites had been a major boon to his production of sub-capital vessels and their accompanying modules and ammunition.
A flash in the corner of his eye drew Erun's attention to the ever present local window, two suspects had entered the Intaki system. Quickly ascertaining their security status, he began aligning his ship back to Intaki 5-5. Running a directional scan within 14 Astronomical Units of his position gave him the suspects' ship composition, a Rifter and a Griffin. A small gang, but more than capable of reducing his Retriever to dust. A mote in the distance off his starboard bow grew quickly into a Rifter 14 kilometers out. A thrill of panic ran through him as it started to target him before his warp drive kicked in, whisking him away to the safety of the Intaki Astral Mining Station.
Docking quickly, Erun had his pod transferred to the waiting Tuhvrakh, a Tristan he'd made ready for just such an occasion. Undocking just as quickly, he aligned and warped back to the ore site, cycling and then overheating his guns and electronic warfare modules in preparation for when he landed. And what luck! His opponent had moved closer to his bookmark allowing him to land within less than a kilometer. Tuhvrakh began targeting as soon as it landed, weapons deploying and e-war bringing the Rifter to a standstill. Erun's T2 Hobgoblins began working through the Rifter's shields a moment later. Alarms went off as his own shields were quickly evaporated by a hail of autocannon fire, followed by the ship shaking as the armor began to take hits. As the Rifter tried to break away it's own armor began to fail, the occasional shot getting through to the vulnerable superstructure beneath. Almost a third of Erun's 200mm armor plating had been ablated when the Rifter finally succumbed to the hail of fire from his own blasters and the almost mindless fury of his drones. Heaving a mental sigh of relief Erun halfheartedly attempted to grab the pod of his opponent before it slipped away. He was distracted however by the arrival of the Griffin he'd forgotten in his excitement! Staying at range it promptly shut down his targeting capabilities before it began firing on him. Fortunately Erun had yet to recall his drones, and sensing an attack on their creator had automatically streaked toward the Griffin before they began tearing through it's shields. It could only withstand a few seconds of the brutal assault before it wisely disengaged and followed pod of it's partner.
A sense of elation filled him as he realized he had just won his first real battle against another capsuleer! He posted his congratulations on a good fight into the local chat, a sentiment reciprocated by his opponents before both pilots left the Intaki system. He scooped out what he could salvage from the remains of the Rifter before heading to dock for some repairs. Tuhvrakh has lost almost two thirds of it's armor plating, and one of his drones had been damaged at some point in the battle. As Erun was decanted from his pod and toweling himself off, he realized he was shaking. Whether from fear or the remnants of the adrenalin from the battle, he was shaking like a leaf in the wind. Tossing his pod fluid soaked towel into the recycling system before he flopped into the now thoroughly worn couch. He'd taken to sleeping there instead of the provided bedding, which was obviously intended for some with a much smaller frame than his own. Noticing one of his more combat oriented contacts was awake he asked about the problem. This got him laughed at before they explained the feeling was normal, especially for the first such engagement. After ending the conversation he looked down at his still shaking hands before making a conscious effort to stop them. He felt an odd tightness in his chest before finally bursting into a fit of laughter that eventually exhausted him into an easy sleep...
A flash in the corner of his eye drew Erun's attention to the ever present local window, two suspects had entered the Intaki system. Quickly ascertaining their security status, he began aligning his ship back to Intaki 5-5. Running a directional scan within 14 Astronomical Units of his position gave him the suspects' ship composition, a Rifter and a Griffin. A small gang, but more than capable of reducing his Retriever to dust. A mote in the distance off his starboard bow grew quickly into a Rifter 14 kilometers out. A thrill of panic ran through him as it started to target him before his warp drive kicked in, whisking him away to the safety of the Intaki Astral Mining Station.
Docking quickly, Erun had his pod transferred to the waiting Tuhvrakh, a Tristan he'd made ready for just such an occasion. Undocking just as quickly, he aligned and warped back to the ore site, cycling and then overheating his guns and electronic warfare modules in preparation for when he landed. And what luck! His opponent had moved closer to his bookmark allowing him to land within less than a kilometer. Tuhvrakh began targeting as soon as it landed, weapons deploying and e-war bringing the Rifter to a standstill. Erun's T2 Hobgoblins began working through the Rifter's shields a moment later. Alarms went off as his own shields were quickly evaporated by a hail of autocannon fire, followed by the ship shaking as the armor began to take hits. As the Rifter tried to break away it's own armor began to fail, the occasional shot getting through to the vulnerable superstructure beneath. Almost a third of Erun's 200mm armor plating had been ablated when the Rifter finally succumbed to the hail of fire from his own blasters and the almost mindless fury of his drones. Heaving a mental sigh of relief Erun halfheartedly attempted to grab the pod of his opponent before it slipped away. He was distracted however by the arrival of the Griffin he'd forgotten in his excitement! Staying at range it promptly shut down his targeting capabilities before it began firing on him. Fortunately Erun had yet to recall his drones, and sensing an attack on their creator had automatically streaked toward the Griffin before they began tearing through it's shields. It could only withstand a few seconds of the brutal assault before it wisely disengaged and followed pod of it's partner.
A sense of elation filled him as he realized he had just won his first real battle against another capsuleer! He posted his congratulations on a good fight into the local chat, a sentiment reciprocated by his opponents before both pilots left the Intaki system. He scooped out what he could salvage from the remains of the Rifter before heading to dock for some repairs. Tuhvrakh has lost almost two thirds of it's armor plating, and one of his drones had been damaged at some point in the battle. As Erun was decanted from his pod and toweling himself off, he realized he was shaking. Whether from fear or the remnants of the adrenalin from the battle, he was shaking like a leaf in the wind. Tossing his pod fluid soaked towel into the recycling system before he flopped into the now thoroughly worn couch. He'd taken to sleeping there instead of the provided bedding, which was obviously intended for some with a much smaller frame than his own. Noticing one of his more combat oriented contacts was awake he asked about the problem. This got him laughed at before they explained the feeling was normal, especially for the first such engagement. After ending the conversation he looked down at his still shaking hands before making a conscious effort to stop them. He felt an odd tightness in his chest before finally bursting into a fit of laughter that eventually exhausted him into an easy sleep...
Friday, June 21, 2013
When Diplomacy Fails
A disgusted sigh escaped Erun's lips as he closed the comm on yet another unsuccessful attempt to ingratiate himself with the Reasearch and Development agents of the Amarr Empire... His standings with the theocratic hegemony had deteriorated so far in his assignments with the Gallente and Minmatar governments that even the lowest grade agents of the Amarr refused to even speak with him. His efforts in aiding the Sisters of EVE had cooled tensions to the point the the Amarrian Navy wouldn't shoot him on sight anymore, but he'd apparently been blacklisted in their research community. Looking out over his hangar he made up his mind and decided to pack it up and head home to Intaki. He'd spent the last week or so doing mundane tasks for the few Amarrian agents who would even speak to him, and it had been getting him nowhere quickly.
A quick thought sent a substantial severance package to the small crew of the Cormorant destroyer he'd cobbled together for his work, as well as an order for the vessel itself to be mothballed for potential future use. Another thought sent the random bits and bobs he'd collected to the station's reprocessing facilities. He'd take the resulting higher end materials like megacyte and zydrine, with him back to Intaki. The piles of low end materials comprising of tritanium and pyerite were simply too large to fit in the Ishkur Assault frigate he would be flying home, so they were quickly shortsold on the market. All of these preparations were completed while Erun was reintegrated with his pod and inserted into Sura K'Yevpeyshaara. The name of his Ishkur was a MCI translation of the ancient Gallentean god of storms who gave the ship it's name. A curious reminder of Erun's interest in cultures both ancient and modern.
Final preparations were completed and after being given the all clear the ship navigated it's way out the bottom of the station before aligning itself on the outgoing gate to the Cleyd system. There would be a short hop through lowsec to get his adrenalin going before the long trip back to Intaki sovereignty. The warp drive came online and the beautifully crafted golden facade of the cathedral-like station shrank to nothing behind him as Erun's thoughts turned to some no less serious, but perhaps happier news. He'd received notification that Suresha Saxon Hawke had resigned his post as CEO and elevated Sakaane Eionell to fill his place. Already the corp channel was filling with ideas on how to celebrate the new Suresha's well deserved promotion, ranging from fireworks and laser shows, to a race through the Viriette constellation in her honor. Mentally grinning to himself, Erun could only laugh at the likely fun and interesting times ahead.
A quick thought sent a substantial severance package to the small crew of the Cormorant destroyer he'd cobbled together for his work, as well as an order for the vessel itself to be mothballed for potential future use. Another thought sent the random bits and bobs he'd collected to the station's reprocessing facilities. He'd take the resulting higher end materials like megacyte and zydrine, with him back to Intaki. The piles of low end materials comprising of tritanium and pyerite were simply too large to fit in the Ishkur Assault frigate he would be flying home, so they were quickly shortsold on the market. All of these preparations were completed while Erun was reintegrated with his pod and inserted into Sura K'Yevpeyshaara. The name of his Ishkur was a MCI translation of the ancient Gallentean god of storms who gave the ship it's name. A curious reminder of Erun's interest in cultures both ancient and modern.
Final preparations were completed and after being given the all clear the ship navigated it's way out the bottom of the station before aligning itself on the outgoing gate to the Cleyd system. There would be a short hop through lowsec to get his adrenalin going before the long trip back to Intaki sovereignty. The warp drive came online and the beautifully crafted golden facade of the cathedral-like station shrank to nothing behind him as Erun's thoughts turned to some no less serious, but perhaps happier news. He'd received notification that Suresha Saxon Hawke had resigned his post as CEO and elevated Sakaane Eionell to fill his place. Already the corp channel was filling with ideas on how to celebrate the new Suresha's well deserved promotion, ranging from fireworks and laser shows, to a race through the Viriette constellation in her honor. Mentally grinning to himself, Erun could only laugh at the likely fun and interesting times ahead.
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