Fully Dressed

I walked in to the station promenade and had all my clothes on.

Remember

The world blinked in to existence, opening my eyes again the room drifted slowly in to focus.

Everything seemed so familiar, yet at the same time i couldnt place my surroundings.

I was lying ni a bed, machines surrounded the bed beeping at regular intervals, lights danced around the cases and phantom lines traced across the screens.

The machines were connected to me, thin wires snaked their way from outputs on the machines and disappeared under the covers that held me.

The room was barely large enough to contain me and the equipment around me, there was something odd about the walls. 3 of them seemed to move and to flow as if they were giant opaque sheets of water suspended from floor to ceiling. voices echoed softly on the other side of the walls, too quiet to make out what was being spoken.

The wall in front of me faded away and rippled as someone stepped through.

Then it dawned on me where i was… It was a hospital room, but i had been in too many and all alike i couldn’t tell which one i was in.

I could tell it wasnt empire. the machines reeked of age and misuse, that just left low sec and null sec.

The nurse who had stepped through started talking to one of the machines directing a series of commands, seemingly oblivious to the fact there was someone else in the room along with her.

i reached a hand across to my right cheek, and felt for the familiar scar, it was still there. A remnant of an old bar fight, on its own unimportant but it had a major implication. I hadn’t died. i was still in my original clone.

My subconscious searched for the implants and hard wiring i had installed, final confirmation i was still in my original body.

They were all there. implanted but offline. Memories started to flow back in to my mind, neural connections remapping themselves as i instructed the implants to initialize.

I remember the Griffin, going after a moa or a caracal in a belt, when we were interrupted by a harbinger pilot, who managed to kill me and the other pilot i was with, but form their memories seemed to merge past and present, it was hard to tell the order they were supposed to be in.

I need more information. And i knew exactly where to find them.

I start stripping the sensor pads from various parts of my body and jump out of the bed, scanning the room for some clothing, anything more practical than a hospital gown that barley covers half my body. opening a locker i find my kit and start throwing it all on.

This got the attention of the nurse who suddenly decided i need more attention.

” you need to get back in to bed.”

“the doctor has to clear you to leave”

i ignore her and continue to get dressed.

” i really must insist you return to your bed sir”

and with that said, i smiled at her and walked towards the wall, pausing to wait for it to shimmer, my sign i could walk straight through it.

Ahh Evati, i recognised the system. i was home, and it would be easy to get the information i needed.

I head straight for the Corporation offices. Theres no one around but i dont need anyone there the boards will show me whats i need to remember.

Walking through the office door i see the two large screens in front of me. The Kill Board and the Ransom Board.

Giving a quick once over i apply some filters, instructing the screens to show only those engagements i had been involved in.

2 losses, A Merlin and a Crow. The crow loss looks like a stupid school boy mistake, closing on the ship at the wrong range and loosing the use of my MWD. the merlin tried to take on more than it could handle.

And 2 kills, a Dominix and a Ranis.

More memories started to form in my mind. There was a BS roam i had gone out on, at its peak 24 strong, over half were Battleship class, the remainder in tacklers and scanners. but thats something for another day. Today i need to get myself back in to a ship, get myself back amongst the stars.

Birthdays And Tackling

Round One

There was something important i needed to remember today, something i was supposed to say, somewhere i was supposed to be… But for the life of me i just couldnt figure it out.

Joining The Bastards Channel i look through the list of Members currently connected.

Ahh that was it.

Happy Birthday Avid.

Birthdays are a difficult concept when it comes to POD pilots, as no one chooses the same occasion to celebrate.

For some its their true Birthdate, After all we were all natural conceived and cloning is only a way to extend our lives, not create them.

Some how ever choose the day their first clone rolled of the assembly line, the day they became immortal.

Avid Nray was not one of the latter, She chose her natural date of Birth as her celebration, which was today. And to celebrate the occasion she would be leading any online members in a Roam she would FC herself.

The fleet invite arrives and i accept it.

You still coming? someone asks

Yes, of course i am, What do you want me in?

We are heading out to Amamke, A busy system and a dangerous one, so Frigates is the call. Specifically for me any EW frigate i can field.

I have a griffin prepped and ready to roll i reply, hastily keying instructions on the pad telling the hanger crews to get her flight ready.

The griffin is a hard ship to use in EW combat, with the BB my optimal has me out of range of almost all encounters. a healthy 86KM, and withe 6 mids assigned to Jammers i have plenty to go around.

The griffin is a smaller ship with a slightly larger bite, (with my current skill set)

But it is limited with its fit, Only having 4 Mids is hard to balance a racial fit, So its full Multi Spectral fit, This however lowers my EW power and my effective range. Down from around 9 points to 6 at 34 KM. Well within range of anyone with proficient drone skills.

The other problem i face, is a complete lack of any tank, not so much as a buffer. But i know my boats, i know how far i can push them.

So the fleet grows in size, Hellcats and Bastards alike.

Zode leads the way scouting us safely through the systems, reacting to Avids directions, There is nothing much to play with, until we reach Amamake.

Amamake is a Very busy system and it’s not practical to sit outside whilst scouts search and tackle inside. So everyone Jumps in and searches, Calling point if they get it. For me i am of no use to anyone till an engagement starts, so i set myself up in a comfy SS listen the comms chatter and align to various planets and belts as people call their locations.

And this is where things start to get interesting.

Now before i continue with this narrative i want to take the time to explain the role tacklers have, and how much respect they deserve for a difficult job.

Tacklers and the art of tackling.

Tacklers are arguably the most important part of any succesfull op. Without a tackler it makes no difference how much DPS you can lay down (with teh exception of alpha strike) as the target will just warp away if he feels he will loose.

So what exactly is the tacklers job, the tackler is responsible for the initial engagement, it is his or hers job to get in range, and ‘Point’ the target before the target has a chance to escape, He must then stay alive long enough for the remainder of the fleet to engage.

Sounds simple right?

Well not so much, The most succesful tacklers need to be quick. The quickest ships are typically frigates and their T2 Equivelants. This leaves the unfortunate downside to their strength.

Tackling other frigates isnt going to be much of an issue, but also doesnt require fleet level engagements. So the tackle we are concerned with is on larger ships. Which have much higher DPS.

So this can be split in to two sections.

1. getting that first point.

Quick frigates can usually get under the guns of larger ships, with a high transversal velocity. So where is the danger? It’s in the Approach. The shortest and hence quickest distance between any two points is a straight line, heading to a target in a straight line means 0 transversal, Means he is a lot more likely to kill you before you reach him.

To counter this tacklers will take a slightly longer trip to them approaching at an angle and altering their vector during approach. Or if time and location allows, they will try multiple warp in and outs, to land at that perfect range. This is harder and takes a lot of luck and skill to be succesful.

2. Keeping that point.

If the tackler successfully gets that initial point he now needs to maintain it. Keeping the target pointed requires power from your ships capacitor. Drones, Well tracked turrets and high missile skills will increase damage output on ships, so the tackler needs to stay alive, this requires the use of local tanks. These are typically active tanks and require capacitor use. High speed improves your chance of survival, but requires cap.  additionally the target may be using capacitor neutralisors. thus making it highly difficult to keep your mods engaged, so the tackler has to keep himself alive, whilst still keeping this lock.

You can start to see some of the complications involved here, balancing the cap while keeping your target and staying alive is a complicated process. Most tackers are resigned to the fact that they have a high chance of loosing their ship, and will often sacrifice their own survival, keeping that point in order that the rest of the fleet can arrive and get secondary points on. For this they have my respect.

So back to our tale….

A Vagabond has been located in a belt. vagabonds are frigate killers if fitted correctly. And this one was.

Lakasha Nachthexen makes the first attempt at tackling the Vagabond, and is unsuccessful, Dieing almost instantly.

http://hellcats.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=4933472

The 2nd attempt is performed by Avid, again unsuccessful, dying instantly.

http://hellcats.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=4933472

Both these attmepts used the direct aproach.

Zode not wanting to give up tries the 2nd approach, warping in and out untill he finds himself right on top of the vagabond. multiple attempts later and the others are refitted in ships, my Griffin is aligned to the belt and ready to go.

“What chance do you have of Perma Jamming the Vaga?” the message came from flash.

performing a statistical analysis of my jamming strength to that of the vagabond my answer comes back

” 90% chance of perma jam”

The numbers are accurate but i can only hold one target and intel reports others in the Belt, but they appear to bu uninterested in our attempts.

a few more attempts later and it comes in.

“Point, Warp to me”

Instantly warping to my optimal range i land a few seconds later. jammers primed and ready to go, I initiate the lock sequence. It seems an eternity passes before my targeting systems report a succesful lock. My jammers initiate automatically.

“jammed”

But it’s too late, Zode has lost his ship.

The others are also arriving so we may still have him.

Then my ship shakes under the explosive ordnance of a nearby ship, The other belt inhabitants want to join in the fun.

I dont have enough Power to Jam any more targets.

” Im taking heat i cant stay much longer”

“get out” was my only response

Holding my cycle as long as i could to allow the others escape options, i slip in to my own warp tunnel. Unfortunatly Fruchten who had also landed was also taking damage and had multiple points on him, There was nothing i could do. landing away from the engagement, i offer to come back

let me know who has you i should be able to get them off long enough for you to escape

But it was too late.

With our fleet in pieces scattered across an asteroid belt, the pilots who escaped intact head for home.

Arriving back at Evati i have some paper work to finish, so after some general conversation i disconnect myself from the NEOCOM and silence falls across the comm lines.

Part Two

After finishing everything i needed to do, i reconnect to The Bastards intel channels and see whats going on.

Venom has a scorpion and a retriever somewhere in Brin. i offer my services and fit my BlackBird to tackle Caldari Class Battle ships.

heading out towards Arnstur one jump out from Brin we are joined By Fruchten who after his earlier loss is re shipped and ready to engage. a short while later and there is no Joy on the scorpion. it had made its way to a POS and the pilot retired for the evening. With Venom called away to some Hellcats Business, it was only myself and Fruchten remaining.

D-Scan shows a Moa somewhere in the system so Fruchten heads out to investigate.

It’s not long before he is located.

“Got him pointed”

“If you need me call, otherwise ill stay here and let you take this on your own”

fruchten reports he is holding his own so i stay aligned just incase but wont get involved.

” He jammed me”

“say again” Moa’s dont usually carry EW modules.

” yeah he jammed me i lost my point”

The Moa pilot thinking he had the advantage now chose to stay in the fight

” I can stop him jamming you if you want me in”

“Yeah ok”

Warping in i already have the correct fit for this one.

Landing 45Km from the Moa I Jam him myself.

Moa Jammed

With the target now unable to get his own cycles on Fruchten Quickly re establishes his point we have him now dead to rights.

“Ransom?” i offer to my fleet comrade

“Sure”

Inviting our now disabled pilot in to the ransom channel negotiations begin.

[ 2009.11.12 00:20:51 ] TheHermit > Sir would you like to keep your ship?

[ 2009.11.12 00:20:55 ] Elite Qin > yes

[ 2009.11.12 00:21:10 ] TheHermit > 15 mil sir

[ 2009.11.12 00:21:18 ] Elite Qin > 10?

[ 2009.11.12 00:21:27 ] TheHermit > 12

[ 2009.11.12 00:21:32 ] WaliWorld > we got kids to feed

[ 2009.11.12 00:21:33 ] Elite Qin > thanks

[ 2009.11.12 00:21:48 ] Fruchten > ty

[ 2009.11.12 00:21:53 ] TheHermit > A Pleasure sir may we interest you in a pass

[ 2009.11.12 00:21:58 ] Elite Qin > fly safe

[ 2009.11.12 00:22:03 ] Elite Qin > no thanks

[ 2009.11.12 00:22:11 ] TheHermit > ok the sir thank you for your time

[ 2009.11.12 00:22:16 ] Elite Qin > thanks

http://the-bastards.com/ransom/?p=ransom&id=207

With the ransom payed, the pilot is released to carry on his business. Not opting in for the pass, wont protect him from future engagements, but for now at least he is safe.

With his connection issues now solved Ishalar returns to the system and joins us for some more action.

Arriving in system fruchten and ishalar head out to see what they can find.

And its not long before we get a bite.

Ishalar has a Falcon engaged. The Falcon is the T2 counterpart to my Favourite ship of Choice the BlackBird. and has more power than me, But less range, If we can get this right this should make for a nice ransom.

Ishalar is Perma jammed but stays within range fighting the Falcons Drones waiting for us to arrive. Landing outside of the Falcons range, but inside of mine i cycle on.

“Jammed”  I love making that call

With the Falcon unable to prevent it. Ish gets his point on. and Fruchten is on his way in.

20 seconds later and Things take a turn for the worst.

dropping a cycle on the falcon i quickly bring more online aimed at him.

He is only unjammed for a fraction of a second, not long enough for him to lock and prevent ish’s point. yet he warps away…

“What happened there?”

“I lost my point” replies ish as Fruchten lands beside him.

“How did you lose that?”

” I capped out… Im sorry”

One down side to EW is the inability to Jam Drones, and once set drones will continue to fight even if the controlling ship can’t lock the target.

With Drones Already upon him Ish was using his repper to stay alive, His cap approached critical and luck conspired against us. As the cap approached empty it was time for the Point to cycle with no power available ti cut out. thus allowing the Falcon to escape.

” Im really sorry”

“Its ok dont worry about it… its only a 50 / 60 mil ransom you cost us”  I say in jest.

“Honestly don’t worry about it, It happens”

With our target gone and time running out, we head for home, general banter filling the comms channel as we make our way.

Some people would be angry and upset over the loss of such a nice target, but not us.

if we were to get upset over every lost and missed opportunity our close-knit community would not last very long.

we continue to laugh at Ishalars misfortune and he in return laughs back.

Not all pirates are nasty villanous monsters, although the job we do certainly makes us look that way.

So should you be unfortunate enough to appear on the Receiving end of my ship, remember that. Im a nice guy, Unless you are disrespectful to me or mine.

Then you get to see some real Pirate behavior.

Another Mean Engagement

“Onyx just landed.”

“The onyx has me locked.”

Missiles continue to fire at the locked and pointed drake.

“The onyx Popped Cyno. Everyone out…”

“The onyx has me pointed switching targets.”

“Align out burn away.”

My Drake is too slow to get out of range…

The Cynosaural field widens, Distortions ripple through space as the first ship starts to pass through the event horizon of the field. Designed as an anchor to allow carriers and capital ships, that can’t use gates, to leave their system of manufacture.

Its a Thanatos and its launching Fighter drones at me. The Cyno field pulses again as another carrier emerges… and another… and another… and another… and another.

4 Thanatos, Thanotos’s, Thanotos’, Thanoti? and one Archon Emerge from the Cynosaural field. The onyx and drake are still firing and somewhere out there is a rifter engaging. My overview is flooded with objects orbiting my rapidly decaying hull. fragments of my ship fall behind me as i desperately push the engines well past their maximum attempting to get out of range, But with that rifter on me its a moot point, i resign myself to the loss of a ship. My primary effort now is my pod. I start to disengage the Neural Interface with the sinking ship, the last thing i need is a Neural feedback loop interrupting my escape sequence, Warning symbols appear in my mind, The ship is warning me that no more than 5% structure remains. I sever all connections spare one, this last connection is tied to the structural sensors, i need to know the very second my structure expires.

There it is 1% and a millisecond later the final connection is severed and my pod is ejected several meters above my exploding ship, My mind floods the pods AI with warp commands, and my pod escapes before anyone has a chance to target me.

Safely docked at my station i strip myself from the pod, and retire back to my quarters. How exactly did i come to be in the middle of such a massively overbalanced engagement?

My story really begins a few hours earlier with some good news.

Logging on to my NeoCom i see i have a new Message From Flash, CEO of The Bastards, to which i have applied.

I had spoken with Flash and Happy San my recruitment officer over the previous couple of days and was aware that my application was in its final stage. Perhaps this was the answer.

But what was that answer?

I sat and stared at the flashing mail icon. Joining the comms channel i see the fleet has already set their channel and there is only Myself and venom in the lounge area. I start some conversation with Venom and we talk for a few minutes before we are interrupted by Flash.

“Have you checked Your Mail yet?”

“Not yet i have just logged on to my NeoCom i reply. Im checking now.”

With no other option before me i open the mail

2009.11.10 21:13

Dear TheHermit. Your application to join The Bastards has been accepted.

“Great, thank you kindly i respond”

“You still coming on the roam?”

“I was going to but i was a little late getting here thought you would all be gone by now.”

“No where still here in Evati, how long to get ready?”

“give me 5 mins and ill have a drake ready.”

And so a few mintues later and im invited to the fleet undocked and joining my first roam as a real Bastard.

There is quite a gathering as i land at the Form Up Point with the rest of the fleet.

Drake, Drake, Drake Harby, Cane, BB, Broadsword, Scimitar.

Persephone flying the BlackBird this time providing EW overwatch.

As we sit here Flash starts to assign roles and priorities, im assigned the secondary point. Whoever is identified as Secondary, its my job to point him, still putting my DPS on the primary. This can start to become awkward if the targets are separated. But ill cross this bridge if it shows up.

Our destinatoin for this roam is Katugumur, a route that will take us back through Means Territory. Arriving one jump short of Gussandal our scouts start sending their reports in, Dominix, Hurricane, Megathron. Mean Corp all on a gate.

Our bait ship jumps in and waits for the inevitable aggression. It doesnt take long and we get the confirmation to engage

“Megathron is primary, Hurricane is secondary, Dominix Tertiary, Dominx Primary EW.”

The fleet jumps through and the aging Jump gates are pushed to stress level coping with the sudden influx of mass all wanting to be converted to energy, digitized and sent through subspace to teh corresponding gate, But it copes and everyone successfully reintegrates in Gussendal.

Primaries are already known and the fleet quickly gets to work,

points are called on all the target ships and DPS is going on the Megathron.

The Dominix is Heavy Neut fitted and Fennick finds himself at the other end of this, with his cap dead and all DPS on him he is unable to save his ship and looses his hurricane.

The loss of the cane slows the DPS slightly but not enough to change the inevitable outcome.

A Rook appears on the area looking to support our targets, But with a single volley of ordnance sent towards him he turns and escapes.

back at the primary engagement the megathron explodes in a rather impressive fireball, sending shrapnel and exploded mods in all directions.

http://www.the-bastards.com/kb/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=13449

“Primary Cane” as everyone switches fire to the new target.

With less incoming DPS and the EW providing support the hurricane starts to follow his friend in to armour,  in to structure and finally in to space.

http://www.the-bastards.com/kb/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=13450

this only leaves the dominix on the field, but everyone is warned we are in the Heart of Mean here, they can switch ships easily and can drop more on us easily.

Mean come to the conclusion that there is nothing more they can do, rather than risking more ships they choose not to re-enter the ‘War Zone’.

With the Dominix finally exploding all hands are set to collecting loot and drones that were dropped by both sides.

http://www.the-bastards.com/kb/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=13451

Updated orders appear over the comm.

“Burn back for Evati, we dont wont to out stay our welcome.”

And so the fleet turtles its way back home, heads held high at the victory. Messages of consolation are passed to Fennick for his Loss, but he seems unphased by the incident.

Arriving back at HQ all loot is passed to Flash ready for the Loot process, and congratulations are passed around. But theres to be no drinking yet, our roam is not over there are still some planned maneuvers to finish.

After a few miutes downtime to re stock ammo and re assemble the fleet we head out in to the void once more.

Otosela –> Wisk –> Katug –> Sotrenzur –> Evati.

The round trip is decidedly uneventful and even sticking our head back in towards mean doesnt elicit a response.

Arriving back in Evati slightly unsatisfied that there was no further action on the 2nd half of the roam.

The local comms channel lights up with a single comment

James Weir > need help in belt 3 1 to help kil a rat

obvious bait is just plain obvious but we have a half decent fleet here and thirsty fr death several of us go for the bait, expecting some support to jump in to help the stricken Bait drake, what happened next was defiantly not expected…”Onyx just landed, The onyx has me locked.”… and the rest you know.

So another succesful raid against Mean corp and the loss of the drake providing my first real engagement against carriers.

But the highlight of my night was the successful application to The Bastards. its good to be flying with you guys and the Hellcats of course.

Mean Corp Not So Mean

Eyes open sharply, the wall is the wrong way round and the floor is in the wrong place, my head feels like it’s the size of a blimp, and i can feel the blood rushing away from my feet. I’m upside down tied by my ankles to a hook in the ceiling spinning round.

With nothing much going on The Few Bastards, Hellcats and recruits that are in Evati are all gathered in one of the station bars, getting to know each other a little better. And this seems to be the game of choice, sitting in a station and spinning.

The spinning is soon interrupted by The Bastards CEO. Not a harsh man to his Alliance Friends and us recruits, but when he Burst in to the bar and starts barking orders, They are followed.

” Form up a gang please and drop down into the appropriate  channel – send the fleet towards Ingunn / Gus to stir the m34n hornet nest.”

There is a small fleet already established and it’s not long before a few more if us are invited to join. Dirty Protagonist assumes the role of FC, and shortly the field is set. T1 Cruiser roam.

Everyone undocks and makes their way to a SS in Evati.

There is some chatter in local and Several GCC counters appear. In no time at all scouts are sent out across the system attempting to locate these mystery targets. They randomly appear hopping in and out of Scan range, never staying in one place long enough to get a clean lock on them. After several minutes playing shadow games, our fleet is finally formed and ready to deploy, Destination Gusandall home of Mean Corp.

kalius Prime has already started scouting his way up towards the system, its only 5 short hopd from Evati and in no time at all Sub Space channels are opened Relaying the Intel in real time back to the remainder of the fleet.

Route up is clear, Hurricane, Myrm and Crusader on scan.

Dismounting one of my orbital cameras i send it scouting around our fleet to see what we will be taking to meet them.

Rupture, Rupture, Thorax, Thorax, Rifter, BlackBird and an Arazu.

It’s a sight to behold, the fleet sitting in space, Evatis bright orange Star behind them.

With the road ahead clear DeePee starts calling the maneuvers, Gate, Jump, Gate, Jump. There is no checking of local for viable targets we have our orders and are on route to carry them out. The Pro’s and Con’s of engaging Mean on their home turf is discussed on the way up, Talk of carriers and RR fleets jumping in to assist them, at one point we even had Mean jumping in with T2 Haulers to carry away the loot.

Arriving one jump out in Ingunn the fleet sets up in a SS awaiting further instructions, aligning to the gate, i start my pre-fight preps, A few milliseconds worth of Neural data bursts later and i’m all set to go.

Our prober in Gus reports that they enemy targets are moving around too much to get a successful lock.

So we wait patiently. we know by now that our fleet must have been reported back, Mean are bound to have spy’s infiltrating these systems. But we wait, We are hear for a fight and no matter the outcome we are engaged.

” Got a Cane, 100%. Rifter to the gate Please.”

Kalius in his Arazu lands on the Ingunn Gate to find the Hurricane gone

Ishalar is our tackler for this roam along with the Arazu, Landing on either side of the gate anything coming our way should not be able to escape.

Myrmidon here, Its Dogzbody, im going to see if he agresses.

Ishalar holds on his side of the gate, Everyone else re-checks their align to the gate.

This is engaging on a gate, so my tactics have to change to my usual methods. My ships rely on keeping at optimal range, away from drones. and the aim is to ‘Perma Jam’ as much as i can.

When it comes to gate and station engagements i cant perma jam. If they dont Agress within 60 seconds then they are free to jump away from the gate.

“Guys, Once i land on the other side ill be warping to the closest object then back in at my optimal, Zero is not a safe range for me.”

Msg received and confirmed by the FC

” Additionally i will be dropping cycles to give them an opportunity to re-engage so they can’t all jump.”

Msg received and confirmed by the FC

“I have engaged, waiting for aggro back”

” He has aggro’d”

The fleet springs in to action, warping to the gate and jumping through, Primaries and points are called, it’s not long before Mean reinforcements arrive.

2 Myrmidons, Hurricane and the Crusader all appear on grid as i warp to the closet celestial.

Turning round and heading back in to optimal, the Voice comms is full of chatter, We are taking them down but we are taking damage ourselves.

“Ill be landing shortly” I call

Landing at 50Km from the engagement i switch my overview to ignore drones the filed is littered with them and i need to get my targets identified, Locking all targets i align for a planet just incase.

Hurricane Jammed, Crusader Jammed, Myrmidons Jammed.

The first set of cycles go on clean, 2nd set of cycles engage.

The Crusader Keeps getting out of our tacklers range and hops in and out of the engagement. But withing seconds of him landing back on grid, i have him jammed, and damage is re-applied.

“Dropping next set of Cycles so they can re-enage”

Cycles dropped Holding a 12 second count, should give them time to re-engage.

“cycles back on”

“dogzboddy in Structure”

“he is goign down… Down”

http://www.the-bastards.com/kb/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=13427

The hurricane isn’t far behind him, unfortunately the 2nd Myrmidon seeing he was about to die, managed to stay de-agressed and jumped through the gate with the smallest sliver of structure.

DeePee our FC attempts to escape his Burning Rupture, but the ship Explodes around him, Watching my overview i see his pod escape intact.

The Crusader having jumped out and back in was now burning towards me. I have him perma jammed so he cant do any damage to me. What must he be thinking. Then it dawns on me. He is after a warp in point, As soon as he is in range i set of my smart bombs and throw my limited ordnance at him, Re checking my align in case something nasty jumps on top of me.

The following events all happen almost simultaneously

The Crusador Explodes, under the force of my radial Plasma Bursts,

http://www.the-bastards.com/kb/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=13429

The Hurricane succumbs to the remainder of the fleet.

http://www.the-bastards.com/kb/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=13426

And a Muninn Lands 630m to my starboard side.

basic human instincts fight or flight.

Im already aligned and am about to initiate the emergency escape warp out command when my fight instincts kick in.

“Muninn Jammed”  i giggle across the comms channel,

“what was he really expecting to happen.”

Now at this point the rest of the fleet is still sitting on the gate which is over 50Km away from me.

But we have the Arazu, with its Bonus to Disruptor Range.

Harrat, the pilot, nearly burns his Disruptor out, Throwing it at the ship, 62KM’s away and he gets the point. Muninn Outside of Jump range, Perma Jammed and pointed. General Dogzboddy looses a ship for the second time.

http://www.the-bastards.com/kb/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=13428

No one else returns to the battlefield, so Every one else starts to Collect the loot dropped and burns back for the gate and back for home. No point staying around, this is their Home and they could jump a lot more in at any moment, The victory was ours, GF offered in local and the fleet burns for Home. DeePee reports it as clear all the way.

I must offer congratulations to all those involved. The tacklers for holding on to everything, The FC for calling primaries and directing our rabble in to a coordinated Fighting machine and to Flash for sending us here in the first place.

There is a part two to this story, Interrupting another mining OP out in Osvetur a Cylcone and a Stabber refusing to pay ransoms, But that can wait.

http://www.the-bastards.com/kb/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=13437

http://www.the-bastards.com/kb/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=13435

The Long Way Home

The Universe is a large place, Some say its infinite in size, others believe it has a finite size but is constantly expanding, until that fateful day when the laws of entropy realise that they have some unfinished business. There are even those who truly believe that we are all the figment of someones imagination.

Me i believe what i can see. There is too much going on right here. Although the universe holds many mysteries, its size not withstanding, these are questions best left to physicists and philosophers, not some young pirate trying to make a name for himself.

So what is going on here that out weighs the mysteries of the universe, what is so important that i cant devote my time and skills to unanswerable questions, questions that bear no relevance to me or what i do. Questions that will neither help me or those i have come to call friends.

Im pretty sure i just answered my own question there.

So anyway on with life, Life such a funny word in todays age of clones and immortality. The sanctity of human life was so revered because it was so short, It was our short life spans that drove humanity to explore, that drove us to the stars and beyond, With a limited time in this world we had to make the most of it.

With the first succesful cloning came about two points of view. Those that believed the human race would grow stagnant with no death what would force us to strive for the future, afterall the future was un ending and would get to us eventually. Then those who believed that without a fear of death, mankind would be willing to take more risks. Ill leave it to you to decide which side of the coin won the toss.

For me i fall with the latter. The ability to die and to wake has removed almost all fear thus enabling me to take more risks. There are still moments of hesitation, depending upon when my last clone was updated i still have the potential to looses a lot of memories.

There was this one time, although i only have her word for it.

Having recently been revived in to a new clone, the details of which i wont go in to, i take a seat in one of the bars located within my local station. My only intention is to ruin my nice new liver. Anyway one of the barmaids starts heading straight for me. She is a picture of beauty, 5″8 with a slim rounded figure,  Long flowing auburn hair, soft peachy skin, and dark blue eyes that could drown even the strongest of swimmers. as she steps in front of me, i look up and smile.

“How have we never met before?” i ask her

My reply is a smart slap across the face and a splash of beer to cool it down.

As it turns out, it had been two months since my last update and for those two months we had enjoyed quite a relationship. None of which i could remember…

But im drifting away from the real story to be told, What do you care about my take on life and the universe?

Not when i have tales of Ransoms and fights and long roams through the infinite/finite universe.

So if you have managed to make it down this far i congratulate you.

Todays story starts, the same as all the others. Sitting in my station pads covering the desk going over fittings and keeping a keen eye on the Bastards voice and data channels.

Avid is calling for a roam, the aim of this roam is to ransom over kill. I take a look at my wallet and immediately offer my services. I could do with some isk.

X’s are given, ship types confirmed and Watch lists are set.

It’s a cruiser roam so i know exactly what to bring, My BB slips silently out in to space, it’s already decided that this is going to be a long roam so im carrying spare EW mods in my hold, this makes it easy to switch for optimal fittings at any station. It also means that if i pop my KM will be a lot more expensive.

So anyway we head out, the fleet is small to start with and as we get further out and more bastards log on our fleet grows.

Avid leads the Roam as FC a difficult job, one i don’t envy her for. coordinating scouts and jumps and targets and when to hold, when to move, but this is a job she does well. Several jumps later with no action, we hit the jackpot. A Hulk, Eos and a Mackinaw Ice mining in Osvetur.

As our scouts search for them we find them at a POS taking shelter, a quick scan of the ice belts shows the remains of their operation still there, and incomplete, The local spike must have scared them. so the plan is set. The can they left behind is bookmarked, Everyone leaves system. The idea is they see local, empty return to their can. We wait a few minutes, our tackler jumps in warps to the can finds them there and points as much as he can. the rest of the fleet follows on command.

And it works, The tackler calls point on the Eos and the Hulk, the rest of the fleet jumps in and heads for optimal. Instinct kicks in and i get cycles on everything.

With the targets successfully neutralised they are invited to Yarrsom. unfortunately a language barrier makes negotiations more difficult than they needed to be, All the ships are being piloted by the same pilot, who refuses to pay a ransom, claiming he has no Isk. So he is relieved of his ships. His escape pods are captured before they have a chance to escape and the song and dance routine begins again. With the same result, he has no interest in paying, so his pods follow his ships, joining the debris littered around space.

http://the-bastards.com/kb/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=13409

http://the-bastards.com/kb/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=13408

The now ‘deceased’ pilot in an odd turn of events deposits 1 million isk in to the accounts of several fleet members, me amongst them.

Heading back towards Evati, its 19 Jumps to home, and my night has only just begun.

A Cyclone missioning is scanned down and our tacklers move in, the rest of the fleet right on his tail. Landing in the complex with him DPS is thrown at him, then pulled ready for the ransom, After the order to pull DPS is called he is still loosing HP, The rats still have him agressed. Members of the fleet switch fire to the Rats and i join them pushing all available cycles out, the last thing we want is for our ransom to disappear in a puff of smoke, The ransom succeeds 10 Million between 9 pilots, it doesnt spread very far, but its better than nothing.

http://the-bastards.com/ransom/index.php?p=ransom&id=204

The trip home runs us straight in to a gate camp and we lose one of our scouts. Our route is adjusted to find a new way home adding several jumps to our trip.

The rest of the trip home is uneventful, but have no fear our story doesnt end here.

Arriving back in Evati there is a drake and an absolution ratting in akkio. We pull a fleet together and head out to the akkio gate in Todi.

The tackler in system tries to narrow down a location for the Drake and or Absolution, it’s a long wait but patience pays out.

“The Drake warped to a belt, should i take the bait?”

“Hell yes!” Someone calls across the voice comms.

“Warping in”

“Pointed warp to me”

The rest of the fleet obliges and Jumps across the systems and warps in. Im sure by now you know what happens so i dont need to explain all the details, suffice to say our target is pinned, jammed and unable to escape.

The ransom is offered and 50 Million isk is payed. The drake pilot is released and allowed to continue

http://the-bastards.com/ransom/index.php?p=ransom&id=205

A little less haste on calling in the fleet may have had the Absolution join his friend but there is no point in second guessing what may have happened, One ship is better than no ships.

There is one final chapter to todays events.

I told you today was a busy day. Fruchten one of my fellow recruits has found a Dominix in Evati, A quick Check in The Bastards Channel reveals it is not Blue, and is a legitimate target, I fit my BB accordingly and offer my services should they be required. Undocking once more im about to head out for my insta.

“…point…” comes across the intercom

” You have him pointed?” came several reply’s unsure to the exact content of the message

“warp to Fruchten”

“In warp now”

landing in the belt we set about our business, DPS to break the tank, EW to prevent the Domi fighting back. Pinned and jammed, time for the ransom.

Avid Nray > hi wanna save your ship?

Julian Lorner > sure

Avid Nray > 75 million to me

Avid Nray > now

Julian Lorner > do you have any idea what you pay for a domi these days?

Kai’rae Saarkus > then haggle

Avid Nray > drones are pricey

Julian Lorner > gonna pay 50

Avid Nray > 60 million

Julian Lorner > mos of my drones are dead anyway

Julian Lorner > 50 M + a shiny set of hammerrheads

Avid Nray > done

Avid Nray > agreed

Avid Nray > have a great night o/

http://the-bastards.com/ransom/?p=ransom&id=206

For those of you who fly New Eden you know that EW can be your greatest friend or your worst enemy depending on whether it is on your side or against you. Our victim felt the same way, as most of them do.

Julian Lorner > hate ecm… would have loved to die fighting otherwise

TheHermit >

Fruchten > now you didnt have to die at all

Julian Lorner > well, as you may have guessed I’m in this for the pvp

Julian Lorner > don’t mind dying, just doing so without the ability to do anything

DJ Akula > even without ecm your drones would have died quickly

Julian Lorner > you know, these “would haves” are what make this game great

Fruchten > yep..

DJ Akula > lol indeed

Well that is the end of todays events, there is more to be told, chasing a frigate gang around the area, some missed opportunities, but if you have read this far im sure you are sick of my voice by now. So i leave you with a final thought….

Obsession

Friday night, I always remembered Friday nights in a different light, as a teenager drifting through space on my fathers freighter, the weekends were the highlight of my week.

Low sec stations were the most fun. The beer had more taste, the walls had more blood, and the girls, well the girls had less of everything. Less clothing and less morals.

And this is how i used to spend my Fridays. I would break in to one of the compartments on my fathers boat and steal something small and pricey, any item i could sell quickly to fund my weekend of debauchery. Sneaking of the boat and in to the crowded corridors of the stations, It was the smell that hit me the first time i stepped aboard, how different it was from the stations in CONCORD controlled systems.

There maintenance crews took pride in their workmanship, making sure the station was presentable, clean and comfortable. But not here. The Life support systems and C02 scrubbers were well past their service dates, leaving the air dry and stale.

Jerry rigged wiring and electronics sprung from the walls like the dense foliage of a jungle, creeping their way from room to room, No doubt the occupants way of avoiding some bill or other, The station owners must have given up long ago trying to control and repair this deviant behavior.

Leaving the maze of corridors surrounding the docking platforms to enter the promenade. This was a familiar sight to me now.

Bars overflowing with drunken pirates, fights spilling out in to the open space of the promenade, girls screaming trying to pull their paying victims away to some dark corner. The noise of several arguments mix with the loud music coming from several bars, preventing any kind of sensible conversation in the area, But i don’t think anyone here was looking for sensible conversation.

So with nothing better to do i would join in the fray, Drink myself in to a stupor grab at random women and inevitably end up in a fight with whichever enterprising capsuleer was pimping her out that night.

That was how my friday nights used to run. Not anymore.

Now age and adventure have a hold of me. Instead of getting in to random bar fights i fleet up with some like-minded Bastards out in space, still looking for fights but these ones are better structured, for the most part! and usually end up without me in a Hospital room.

And thats where i found myself on this friday night in New Eden. Having spent the better part of the day randomly roamnig systems, Platinum calls for Cruisers to join him on a roam.

Offering my services in a BlackBird we start to pull some pilots together. Omen, Thorax, Rupture and a Hurricane. The Cane isnt a cruiser hull, but the pilot has none local so this is his choice.

Where to then is the question asked around the comms channel. I still dont know the area very well but i open my Map and have a look for some routes.

“We could head out towards Frerston, and see what we find.”

no one else offers any other suggestions so the system is linked and destinations set.

One of our pilots pulls out one of his other clones and sends him one jump in front of us. This alt will act as early warning and will spot targets before our fleet can scare them off.

It’s not too long before he reports a sighting.

“Ishtar and Scimitar, Probing them out now.”

The rest of us hold our position outside of the target system aligned to the gate ready to go as soon as the call comes in.

“100%”

The fleet jumps and moves in for the engagement.. To late they are gone leaving behind only one wreck, Looks like we got them just as they were leaving.

They leave local so we carry on with our roam.

What happens next was not expected. The gate is called clear and our scout moves on to the next gate, holding for a little to long the remainder of our fleet jumps straight in to an unfriendly gang. Scattering to safe spots everyone makes it out except the Cane pilot. Burning back to the gate in a vain attempt to get clear of the enemy guns, he explodes just out of jump range.

http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=8469288

Adjusting our roam path to avoid running in to that gang again we hold in a SS for J-man to refit a contracted rupture and rejoin the fleet.

Moving our way through systems on our way to Wiskeber we run in to the ishtar and scimitar again, but despite getting a 100% lock they seem overly paranoid and escape us once again.

While we wait to see if they return we get news of a Sacrilege sitting in a belt a system over, This time we plan it a little more carefully.

A tackler jumps in to the system, everyone else stays on the gate in jump range.

I run my pre fight checks, I have run them time and time again this evening but it never hurts to check them again. Orbit and distance ranges set just inside my optimal, ammo loaded, EW mods are primed and ready Signal distortion amplifiers are enaged, Neural interface are linked in to every system.

” Pointed”

The Gate activates as the fleet jumps in to katagumur, Warping to my optimal i hear the others confirming stable warp tunnels everyone racing towards the target.

Landing 50 Km away from the Sacrilege i know what to do.

“jammed”

The target melts a little to quickly to get a ransom out of him, and he knows what to do with his pod, and escapes.

http://www.the-bastards.com/kb/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=13393

At least he was polite, not like some of the pilots we meet and inevitably destroy

Ren Hespere > nice job fellas

GF is offered in local and we move onwards.

The remainder of our trip home is uneventful, Space is vast and mostly empty a point proven on this roam. Perhaps they are all tucked away in stations enjoying the pleasures of beer, women and bar brawls.

Gate Camping And Mission Busting

I Shimmer back in to reality 16Km away from the Arnher/ Egmar jump gate.Massive machines overshadowing my little Harpy, Raw metal and electronic systems combined in massive quantities, these beasts draw power from the stars themselves. The residual particle dispersion created in the wake of a jump between solar systems causes a rather unique effect on my shields. Im Hidden from view. my ship is cloaked from view and from any scanners in the area. The effect wont hold long, but its long enough for me to check my immediate vicinity.

My overview is clear, scanner shows nothing of any threat within 14AU’s and finally local shows only one other person

5 systems and all of them empty, but i have nothing else to do so i continue roaming the empty systems.

Whats going on this evening that has everyone else so pre occupied that i have no one to hunt. Even The Bastards are few and far between.

Zode Appears in the comm’s channel and joins me on my impromptu roam. passing through systems scanning for targets we continue roaming, me in the lead, with no particular destination just making sure i stay in low sec with the occasionally system name coming from Zode over the comms channel. Im not a very talkative person, preferring to speak only if there is anything to say, so the comms channel stays quiet.

Its not long before another pilot joins me and Zode. One of the Hellcats by the name of Avid Nray and by all accounts a rather ‘Hot’ Hellcat joins us in a Thorax The three of us continue jumping from system to system following the same routine i jump first Zode and Avid holding the gate while i scout the area. But the standard routine reveals a standard lack of targets.

landing at a planet i find a catalyst on scan, out towards one of the orbiting asteroid belts, it’s not worth a fleet engagement, but its will be enough to break the monotony of this roam, Warping to the belt i arrive 30Km away, I only have a short point i need to be within 10 to trap this pilot, Firing my Afterburner i head towards him, prepping my Scram, web, nos and weapons, As soon as i get a clean lock everything will engage without further intervention from me.

“Got a catalyst”

“You need any Help or can you handle it”

” i should be able to handle it”

He warps away at 11KM. There is no point hunting him, he isnt worth my time, if i was solo i would have done, but i have a Myrmidon and a Thorax holding on the gate behind me. so i continue onwards.

The route i’m following has me heading towards a High Sec dead-end, High Sec is now out-of-bounds to me, and is the same for those behind me. so going as far as we can we turn around and head back.

On the return trip Zode and Avid are one in front of me but it’s not long before i catch up with them,warping to the next gate a Hurricane appears in front of us. It’s not red so i cant engage. It attacks Zode and Avid vanishes from my overview. Turning round i see the gate begin its activation process and within seconds Avid is gone from local flung in to the next system.

Im just about to follow her when the comm lights up

“Gate camp here, Im Dying”

The Hurricane pilot has friends waiting on the other side, a total of two Hurricanes a Drake and a Thorax.

http://hellcats.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=4888061

Zode throws ECM drones at the hurricane on this side and we both escape intact. Avid was not as fortunate. Throwing commands at her Pod via the neural interface, she attempts to open a warp tunnel to save herself. But either there is a fault with the electronic sub systems or the Neural interface suffers from Signal Lag, Either way Avids latest clone vanishes in a cloud of vapor and debris as the Pod explodes under the combined fire.

I Just watched a friend die. I should be upset, I should feel more, But i don’t. There is a small amount of Sympathy, the discomfort of dying is never a pleasant one. and the potential ISK loss is of the most concern, more so than that for the body, For us life is eternal, Never ending, a constant supply of clones exist for us, a transfer of memories and we are back, whole once again. with only our most recent memories missing, This is the saving grace. We die often, and in some truly horrendous ways, Explosions, Burns, Exposure to the Vacuum of space, Your Blood boiling under your skin, the oxygen Sucked from your lungs, gasping for breath but unable to do so, solar radiation hammers at your exposed flesh, And lets not forget the enemy ships are still firing missiles and ammo at you.

So where is the saving grace i spoke of?

We never experience our own death. We die and are reborn in a new clone, But the memories of the event itself are missing, if i had the memories of every death i experienced,  i don’t believe i could carry on the way i do.

With one member down zode calls an end to the roam, waiting for local to clear, i scout the way back home, and much the same as the way out the way in is just as quiet.

Zode sums it up perfectly

“Empty, Empty, Blob, Empty, Empty, Yep this is EVE”

Arriving back in Evati Zode docks up for the evening. Avid in her newly awakened clone is on her way back to Evati as well and will be here shortly, And Ishalar has just arrived as well. so back up to three.

It seems that if i had wanted some action i should have just stayed in Evati.

Caracal on scan calls Ishalar

I have a Crow as well. I reply

Using the directional scanner we narrow their location down to a quarter AU from planet VI they are in a mission, there are wrecks on the scan as well.

Avid has just arrived in system and quickly gets Ishalar invited to the fleet taking the place of Zode.

Im getting my Buzzard out, Ill scan Him down then switch ships.

Docking up i instruct the crews to grab me the Buzzard and make sure its fitted with Faction probes and a cloaking device. The ship is fitted and is ready for me.

Scotty the docking manager disagrees and inform me i have a further 22 seconds before i can switch ships and undock myself back in to space.

24 seconds later and im in warp to one of my safe spots, launching combat scan probes and cloaking i initiate the scan sequence.

“whats their range from the planet” i ask, as a a map of the solar system expands in my mind.

“250,000K,” comes the reply.

I interface with the probes 0.5 AU scan radius 5 probes one central, 4 overlapping points and issue them with their coordinates.

the map shows me structures and ships in the area, focusing in on one of the scan returns 100% lock on a rifter, Thats our rifter, ish is still in the area. i quickly add him to the ignore list and scan again. The scan signatures for the Caracal and Hawk have vanished.

“Ish do you still have them on scan?”

“yes but they have moved”

“ok ill open up the range see if i can find them”

My Neural interface connects to the probes again and instructs them to expand the Probe field to 1 AU and rescan.

“Caracal to 50%”

repositioning the probes and lowering the scan field radius again i initiate another scan cycle, hoping they cant see my probes.

“100% lock. Everyone ready?”

“Yes”

“Yes”

“right im jsut switching ships then ill be on my way in”

“Just warp in the covops cloaked, ill warp to you and get point then you can switch your ships.” suggests Ish

It’s not a bad idea now i think about it.

“ok warping to 10″

My buzzard slips in to the warp tunnel, a thought back to the Wormhole incident has me hoping i dont run in to anything that will break my cloak before Ish can get in.

“caracal at 15 and moving come to me now”

A few seconds later and ish arrives in the Mission area. i see the confirmation that he has point just as he calls it across the comms channel. with my first job done i warp back to station to switch ships.

“please dont kill him too quickly i ask, wait for me to get back first.”

Docking at the station my Harpy is still exactly as i left her. switching pods should be a simple and quick process, But Scotty is still about and forces me to wait the full 30 seconds.

Eventually un-docking and warping back to the action things are going well we have the Caracal’s shields coming down and he is invited to Yarrsom the hawk had escaped before any one could catch him.

There is no response in yarrsom and so the Caracal begins to explode. Just as we are about to go for the Caracals pod the hawk jumps back in to the fray.

http://hellcats.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=4888141

“primary the hawk”

Me and Ish both get points and webs on the Hawk Pilot he isnt going anywhere. the mission still has Rats in so whilst me and ishalar hold the pilot Avid heads out for the rats which have started to aggro me i’m thankful for this it would be rather embarrassing to lose not only the ransom but also my ship to a couple of rats.

He is invited to Yarrsom the same as his partner was and is given the same opportunity to save his ship

Ishalar Molina > Hello sir!

Ishalar Molina > For the low price of 22mil your ship can be freed from us

Hieroglyphe > 22m ?

Ishalar Molina > 22 million ISK

Ishalar Molina > In unmarked bills please

Hieroglyphe > cant belive so

Ishalar Molina > Really now, then we would be forced to blow up your ship

Ishalar Molina > And that would be unfortunante

Ishalar Molina > Are you sure you don’t want to pay your wauy out?

Hieroglyphe > ^^

Hieroglyphe > but bad fight guys

Hieroglyphe > 4ppl

Hieroglyphe > thats just say

Hieroglyphe > you are all newbs

Hieroglyphe > ;D

TheHermit > 3 ppl sir

Hieroglyphe > ya 3nubs

Hieroglyphe > ^^^^^^^

With the ransom rejected all three of us return our DPS to the target which promptly explodes.

http://hellcats.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=4888140

Unfortunately his pod manages to escape, but he was faction fitted and dropped some reasonable loot for us. Which should work out more than the ransom money anyway.

With the job finished and the loot collected there is a small debate about how to work the loot, None of us are Bastards so we cant get them to do the hard work for us. Its decided one person takes the loot contracts it out then pays the splits after its all sold. I’m not sure who ended up with it in the end, But they are both honest people. Well as honest as pirates can be, so i’m sure my end will make its way to me in due course.

With everything sorted i hold in the Mission complex waiting out my GCC just in case they return, Doubtful but you never know.

With my GCC expired and no more immediate action i head for home. The Camp that caught Avid earlier is now in Evati up to its same tricks, so i dock up.

Slipping out of my pod i head back to my quarters, im in no rush to head back out just yet, so i check the news and look over the Local communications channels. keeping a listen out to The Bastards channel just incase anyone needs any assistance, they remain silent.

I check my skill Que’s 16 Days 2 Hours 12 minutes till i can slip in to my new ship, I have already placed the orders in Hek for all the fittings, i have a hauler standing by ready to pick them all up, I have been waiting 6 months for this day to come and now its just out of reach. Wont be long now, I just hope that it lives up to my expectations.

Dropping myself on the bed i hit the switch for the Entertainment portal, selecting a film from the library the appropriate Holo reel is loaded. The Holo projectors Shimmers in to life, the room lights dimming to maximize the effect. Characters and objects from the story line appear in my room. the backdrops show in full perspective on the screen behind these imaginary life-like projections. you could almost reach out and touch them, grab one by the hand, but of course you can’t, they are nothing more than a combination of photons and electric fields . The experience is heightened by the sound, carefully placed speakers around the room can make the sound appear to come from any of the characters.

The more comforts i add to my living quarters the more comfortable i become.

I must keep reminding myself i don’t know how long i’m going to be here. I’m not a Bastard yet and might still fail to qualify. I don’t want to settle in too much till i’m sure i can make this my home. I cant help myself, Ill be staying here regardless of the outcome, There is no way i can ever return to high sec, even if my security status would let me. I could never return, i have had a taste for the life here.

And its a taste i’m not willing to give up. Not yet anyway

Not A Great Start

My eyes open slowly, the high ceiling drifts in to focus. My arm reaches out to the bed side table, The metal cold to the touch, my fingers dance around searching for the light switch, I havent been here long enough to hit the switch the first time.

The lights flicker on casting a dull orange glow around the room, chasing the shadows back to their corners. The clock in the corner of the room tells me its time to get up. Something at the back of my mind tells me i should stay in bed but i brush that thought away and head for the shower.

The mechanics were round yesterday installing the new sonic shower. Its a strange sensation standing in the middle of this small cubicle, your whole body gently vibrates under the resonant sound waves colliding with your body from all sides, a small series of fans pull the dirt and grime away to the recycling facility, destined to end up… well i never think to hard about where it ends back up.

Getting in to my pod suit i make my way to the hanger grabbing my pad from the table as the door slides open with a barley audiable hiss. Looking over the ships and fittings availaible to me i select the Crow and fit it accordingly.

That though drifts back in to my mind. ‘ I should go back to my bed’

Arriving in my hanger i see the crews fitting the last of my modules. I head for the pod room and climb in, The fluid fills the pod. Instinct makes me thake a deep breath as the fluid rises above my head. I have done this enough times to know that im not goign to drown but that first deep breath is the worst.

My pod is lowered in to the Crow and i request undock permission.

There is a Claw in system attacking reds on the Todi gate

Ishalar has already succumbed to his guns, testing his new tackle fit. I warp out to the Todi gate to find it empty.

It dosent stay that way for long, the Claw appears back on my overview, red to the world and heading for me.

My range is set, I throw My long point, and hit the MWD. Missiles are let loose from their launchers and impact the Claws shields, streasm of displaced particles flying of in every direction . Then my speed Drops, Damn he has a Scram fitted my MWD faisl to engage and his 200mm Auto Cannons start biting in to my shields.

“Help” echoes across the voice channel as i call in anyone who can help me.

Unfortuantly no one arrives in time and i warp my pod back to my station.

I should have stayed in Bed…

But its too late now so i go back to what i love.

The Blackbird is lowered in to the hanger, i should have done this from the start.

Watching the comms channel SkillzKills have a couple of drakes in Evati and a fleet is out trying to catch them. So i fit caldari Racials plus a few others and head on out to join the fray.

By the tiem i have undocked the fleet is engaged and a drake is pointed, i warp in and land right on the edge of my optimal.

2 Enemy drakes, one in range one out of range, I cycle on the on one in range and head towards the other.

“HTI is jammed, Cant range the other”

These drakes are faster then me and right on the edge of my optimal they quickly pull out of range.

“Im warping back out and back in”

There is no response, everyone else is focused on their own tasks,

I return back at range HTI is back within my optiaml but the 2nd still eludes me.HTI’s Drake explodes in short order and escapes pod intact, The other drake has realised he cant win so runs.

Thats 100 kills a milestone has been reached, perhaps this day is getting better.

http://www.the-bastards.com/kb/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=13347

They Drake pilots have support somewhere around so we wait to see what happens next.

A few moments later a Hurricane lands right on top of our fleet. Intel reports a lot more support following it in, the fleet scatters, But our own drake pilot is warp scrambled, I throw every cycle i have availaible towards the hurricane. Why didnt i fit minmitar jammers to this…. The first cycles didnt jam him…

I start to align out keeping in range of the cane, every cycle i have on him, my overview starts to fill with incoming ships.

Our drake pilot is still scrammed, i cant leave yet…

Something starts to lock me, i cant stay much longer, but i dont want to leave…

The ship targetting me gets his lock, im aligned ready to go.

“CYCLE ON, you should be able to warp”  I shout down the comms channel, holding a couple more seconds i enter my warp tunnel hoping it was enough.

” did you get out?”

” Yes, Thank you” comes the reply

everyone else made it out as well. that was close.

Slippery Ferox

Theres a lot of chatter about a Ferox that people cant seem to catch, he is a young capsuleer, But lady luck seems to be on his side. Im sat in my BlackBird aligned to the Todi Gate a short hop away. about 500Km or so. Im restless, all to often i want that easy kill, But The universe has taught me one simple thing, A Little patience usually holds great rewards. A great pirate once told me that The universe obeys this rule.

…New Eden is not a FPS if you are lucky its 98% preparation/research and 2% combat. Dont whine if theres no easy target…   –No Beard–

And so i sit there pretending to be patient silently hoping that sometime soon Karma will not realise im up and let me have something to shoot at. But alas every time someone tries to engage, the target is jsut out of reach. So i return to my station and contemplate how i can kick karma up the ass and trick her in to thinking im still behind…

And then Ishalar logs on. Some of you may remember ishalar from some of my earlier memories. Ishalar was a pilot i met in my last corp and he followed me out to low sec applying for entry to The Bastards. Ish has a great Knack for tackling (Just ask him about the cans…)

And so ish decides he wants the Ferox. Beleiveing Karma is still out to screw me over, im not confident, however knowing ishalars track record and uncanny ability, i undock anyway and head to my Todi Spot aligned and ready to go.

Some intel from the guys whe had tried to catch him previoulsy fills the channels.

Known celestials, distances he was sitting etc.

And so ish hears the target mention Ice Field, he was last seen there at 100Km. and away Ish goes.

At this stage im not expecting much but i was proven wrong.

“Got Him Pointed”

I didnt even have to think im interfaced with every electronic system on my Boat, a simple thought and my ship is flung in to the warp tunnel, Inertia having no effect as my fluid filled pod absorbs the transfer of motion. Dropping out of warp on top of the gate, i open the channel and request jump clearance, The old Jump gates seem to take forever to confirm my ship identity and initiate the jump sequence. The gravitational power of Two stars slings me between systems. In comparison to a wormhole jump this one is quite comforting, I have done it so many times now it barely registers in my mind.

“Warpin to you now” i call

and other replies respond in kind, from several differnet directions we are converging on our target.

The fight is already underway when i drop out of warp and instruct my ship to lock the Ferox.

My systems report a clean lock and my first two cycles start. Cycle dropped No Jam…..

I throw two more racial jammers on him again with no effect….

Is he ECCM fitted? im already aligning out i dropped out o warp within 30KM of the target so im well within my optimal…

Diagnostic subroutines fire deep within my subconciouse and start checking all my electronics and systems.

the first cycles end and the 2nd set begins.

The 2nd set of cycles dropped again i still cant jam This ferox…

Luckily no one is any immediate danger and as i pull out to 50Km my Cycles engage.

“Jammed” i call across the comms lines.

about frackin time i mumble to myself

with my jammers now engaged and the air between us filled with Gravitons disrupting his targetting systems, i start to pull a few of them off, just keeping enough on him to perma jam.

” Pull DPS” comes across the channel

“invite him to YARRSOM”

Ish made the cach so ish decalres the ransom. im not in the channel so i cant see how its going. but in one of the other channels i see this pop up

Ishalar Molina > For the low low price of 15mil, your ship can be freed

Then aurua pops up and tells me our target has jsut initiated self destruct. well we cant behaving that. The DPS is reapplied and the ferox dies beneath the combined damage of the surrounding ships.

http://the-bastards.com/kb/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=13328

The pilots pod appears amongst the wreckage and everyone attempts to lock his pod down, they are usually more likely to agree to pay the rpice for their pod.

Lady karma must have been watching over him at this point because with less than a second to go his pod escapes intact.

Criminal Flag now, 14 minutes remaining so i warp off to a safe spot and wait out my counter. Running another set of diagnostics on my BlackBird just to make sure my systems still work, i dont want to be in that position again where my ECM fails to engage, Not only for my own pride, But most importantly for the protection of those im flying With. In this case they could easily have survived without me.

But next time …