Be back soon

Time is precious even for us immortals and unfortunatly circumstances have left me no choice but to leave my pod and the cause for a while whilst I deal with some complicated matters planet side.

I will however be back as soon as I get things straightened out. Untill then fly safe!

o7

Into the Abyss

Most of the agencies Warriors and Horde Chiefs were already gathered in the dark briefing room at Vard Six Kin Development Studio Station when I arrived. The Matari Tribal War Chief and CEO of the T.R.I.A.D corporation, Det Resprox was hunched over the holo table pointing at various star systems, his hard facial features accentuated by the blue glow from the map projection. Reamorph, a Matari Horde Chief, known for his unquestionable loyalty to the cause, stood on the other side of the table with his arms crossed, a serious stern look on his face, listening to Det. “Ah Jae” Det said turning to face me, “Thought you were not going to join us”. “Sorry I’m late, had some problems with pirates on the Amamake gate” I said, quickly taking my seat near the back of the room, nodding at my fellow corp mates as I went. Truth of the matter was I’d woken up in Dodixie Fed Navy station literally 20 minutes ago and had to race my way across 8 jumps in a shuttle, not wanting to appear unprofessional I thought it best to tell a little white lie, there were pirates on the gate after all. Thinnish and Nasty1, two more Horde Chiefs both took their places with Reamorph to the side as Det moved to the center of the room. “I’ll keep this short as our brothers from the Tribal Liberation Force will need our help in Auga in a few hours.” With his hands now clasped behind his back he seemed to look at every one of us in turn. “As you all know, more and more Amarrian fighters are being put against the Republic and it is time for us to strike back and hit them where those warriors are born!” His raised voice echoed off the metal walls and ensured everyone’s full attention. “We need to mount a strike into the Amarrian home worlds itself – into the very heart guarded by the Amarrian Navy and to tear down all those we see as a threat to the Minmatar Republic!” A shout of agreement rose from everyone around me as Det turned and pressed a button on the holo table’s console, which projected a map of the Domain region into the air above it, at its center highlighted in red, the Amarr system.

Nasty1 then took a step forward, a courageous looking woman that is known and feared across the militias and who holds substantial kill statistics to warrant those fears. “After extensive testing we have what we believe to be a near perfect Wolf Assault Frigate setup, concentrating on high agility and ranged high alpha strike damage, it should wreak havoc in Highsec. I’ll be issuing the ship fit for your Neocoms after the briefing.” Reamorph then took the floor “This will not be your usual Lowsec stuff ladies and gents, our tactics will be much more precise, no room for error” he said as he paced the room in a militaristic fashion. “The Navy are nasty bastards, they appear in seconds and you will be in a whole world of hurt if you don’t pick your targets. You get in, stay aligned, out of scram range, kill and get out! I’ll be taking a squad up there in a few days to start decorating the killboard with the Amarrian emblem and show you all which systems the scumbags use as trade routes and mining hubs. So, are there any questions?” Spar raised his hand, an aggressive looking individual, his red Mohawk matching the colour of his pro-Minmatar t-shirt. “Yes Mr Multendor?” Spar shuffled in his seat slightly then said “Will the speed at which we have to get in and out mean I won’t have time to pick up corpses for my collection?” The room erupted with hearty laughter, “Not unless you want me to come along after and scoop your corpse up to give back to you?!” cried Nitro DSP, a good friend of Spar who was sat next to him. Spar’s middle finger slowly rose from his fist, a smirk appeared on his face and the room laughed again. “Right people dismissed, give them hell!!” roared Det and with that everyone in the room left their seats and made their way out, just leaving the Chiefs milling around the star map.

Spar Multendor

Two days later a small squad of four T.R.I.A.D members,

Battle Report – Assault Frigate Fleet 21/2

Our small Assault/Faction frigate gang rallied in the system of Frestorn with the intention of patrolling the pipe of systems through to Dal, using our usual hit and run tactics to avoid the inevitable Amarrian “blob” fleets that are often sent to overwhelm us with numbers. However, we then got reliable intel that one of the notorious Amarrian Fleet Commanders had left the region, so in the hope of picking off small fleets flying around like headless miniature slaver hounds, we headed back to Auga.

As our fleet numbers increased and now consisted of multiple elite frigates and inteceptors, a few cruisers, a battlecruiser and a Falcon ECM ship, we spread out around the numerous stargates in the system and scout pilots jumped through to provide us with intel on enemy movement in the neighbouring systems. The first kill of the day was a curious one. A lone Caldarian pilot flying a Federation Navy Comet was reported to have jumped through the Amamake gate, so the fleet mobilised and waited for him to uncloak. Instead of using the Comet’s high manoeuvrability and trying to make it back to the gate, the pilot decided to open fire on one of our interceptor ships. Knowing that this action would deny him access to the stargate for a period of time, six of us swarmed over him and his ship melted in a hail of miniature explosions that irrupted over his hull within seconds (see here). Reports then came in over the comms that a Retribution assault frigate piloted by another Caldarian had entered Auga from Dal, had managed to speed his way back to gate and successfully jumped, he was greeted by auto cannon fire and missiles from one of our Cyclone battle cruisers on the other side. An Amarrian stealth bomber then entered the system via the gate my squad was orbiting and due to the skill and speed of two interceptor pilots, was pinned down before he could even activate his cloaking device. My overview computer barely registered a ship being in space before it was replaced by a pod, then by a frozen corpse. Much to the whole fleet’s annoyance an enemy Harbinger battlecruiser then managed to evade multiple war scrambling attempts on either side of the stargate, presuming the ship was warp core stabilised to counter the effects of our modules, a method often adopted my industrial ships to elude pirates, we reluctantly let him go.

My Jaguar approaching a gate

A string of victories then ensued for our fleet.  

Business Offer Part 1

I was staring down at my handheld datapad that was wired into my Wolf Assault frigate in the open expanse of Rens VI, Moon 8, Brutor Tribe Treasury station docking bay. The reflection of Jenna my mechanic standing behind me snapped me out of my tired daze. “I don’t understand it either” she said as I turned to face her. An attractive Minmatar woman, her red hair tied up in a bun, wearing grimy orange overalls with a lump of grease smudged on her cheek. She’s been in my crew for a while, based at stations conducting repairs and fitting work on my ships. I always take a direct input in the fitting of all my ships, fine tuning them exactly to what is needed and she is excellent at ensuring every bit of CPU and Power is utilised. “I’m not getting the range I need!”  I said as I tossing the datapad on the work bench. “I nearly lost the damn ship earlier, wasting time closing on a target at a gate”, “Leave it with me, I’ll run some more checks on the tracking enhancer” she said picking up the datapad. “Thanks, I’m off to the bar, feel free to join me when you get as frustrated and fed up as I have”.  Jenna gave me a smile as I patted her shoulder and made my way to the elevator. All of a sudden sirens started whining as a smouldering Mammoth industrial ship was towed into the bay next to ours. Automated drones were buzzing around it extinguishing the fire on its hull, thick black smoke filling up the bay. Presumably another victim of an Amarr Militia hit and run attack, they are lucky to be alive I thought as I tossed the oily rag I’d been wiping my hands on into a bin and stepped into the elevator.

Rens VI Moon 8 Brutor Tribe Treasury Station

Rens VI Moon 8 station never sleeps, being the main trade hub in Minmatar space it is always alive with activity, peoples evenings, mornings and nights all merged into a continuation. I exited the elevator and joined the swath of people moving through the corridor towards the tram system. The usual pushing and shoving ensued when the tram arrived, finding a spot at the back of the carriage I leant back on the wall and tried to relax. Wishing I was wearing a jacket to cover up my spinal implants, I ignored the looks that Capsuleers seemed to always attract when they were amongst their mortal counterparts. Eventually reaching my destination outside the business district, I left the tram and took yet another elevator to my favourite place on the station

Throw away lives

I lost my Stiletto interceptor a few days ago (see here).  I foolishly tried to be the hero and tackle an artillery fit Hurricane that was at range to our small roaming fleet. I left the microwarp drive cycling to close the gap, but as soon as I was in range of  his guns and because I’d left the MWD on, which bloated my signature radius making me a huge object to hit for his targeting systems, one of his volleys took my shields and armor down instantly. Time slowed down as my adrenaline kicked in and I initiated warp to escape but whilst the Amarrian’s guns slowly reloaded, he fired a salvo of missiles, their trails curving out away from his ship and just before I hit warp speed they collided into the rear of my fragile already smoking frigate. A surge of pressure hit me as my Pod was instantly ejected whilst the ship exploded around me, instinctively I hit warp and made it out. My three crew members aboard the ship were not so lucky.

My Pod

Once back at station, I then made holo calls to each of the crew members’ familys. Most Capsuleers I’m sure just mail the next of kin or get someone else to inform them in a cold formal fashion. I’ve always felt it my responsibility and duty to tell them at least over the holo network in person, after all the crew are my responsibility whilst they are aboard my ship and therefore their deaths are down to me in one way or another. The families seem to somehow always know what I am about to say, expecting it by the mere fact I have contacted them, then their faces change to pure agonising misery and grief, words always fail me. Going through that highly unpleasant experience each time, reminds me that although I am technically immortal, the crews I take out into battle, that put their full trust in me, are not.

So many times I have heard, even within my own Militia, “It’s a cheap ship, I don’t mind losing it” or pilots that are happy to take a loss if it doesn’t negatively effect their isk efficiency ratio. Have we all become that narcissistic and ignorant due to our own immortality, that the people we rely on to fly our ships are treated as throw away objects, their lives being just as expendable as modules installed on a ship? I for one fly every ship no matter what it’s cost with the intention of doing all I can to keep the crew and I safe. Don’t get me wrong, I will follow orders  to the letter and indeed take risks, but providing they are educated risks and I am not just potentially throwing people’s lives away for nothing. Some may argue that it is just sacrificing the few to save many and is inevitable in war. I am sure those that sign up as Capsuleer crew men and women are prepared for the risks and dangers, but a line must be drawn where such sacrifices are unacceptable, where that line is will come down to the individual pilots own morality and values towards his comrades.

To me a pilot’s kill to loss ratio shows more than just skill, it shows that they do not just run headlong into every fight, with complete disregard for those aboard their ship. Maybe you wouldn’t expect anything less from the Amarr who even use our own enslaved people as their ship crews, but we Minmatar are better than that. We should realise how valuable these men and women are, that they are human beings, our people, fighting the same fight as us with the same passionate beliefs and they deserve more respect and admiration than they currently receive.

Battle Report – BC Fleet 29/1

Last night saw an overwhelming victory for the Minmatar Militia as both Caldari and Amarr forces were obliterated during a massive fleet engagement in the Minmatar controlled system of Auga.

Five Corp mates from TRIAD and I met up with a long-range battle cruiser and battle ship fleet  to try to break up a large pirate gate camp, that had been causing major issues for local traffic over the previous days. Whilst in warp to the Osoggur gate in Amamake we received intel that the pirates had moved on and a large Amarr fleet had now formed on the gate we were heading to. As Osoggur is Minmatar Highsec space and the Republic Security Forces would be on hand to help, we all jumped on contact and reproached the gate, waiting for any enemy pilots stupid enough to jump through to us. A Caldari Heavy Assault Cruiser pilot did indeed jump though, perhaps under the presumption that his allies would follow, his Zealot was destroyed very quickly as artillery rounds pounded into his hull whilst he tried to limp back to gate, this was the fleet’s first kill.

Waiting on the Amamake gate in Osoggur

We waited on the gate in Osoggur for a while whist we gathered new intelligence. Blood was in the water now, the Minmatar warrior in all of us wanting more. However I’d learnt during my time as a Capsuleer that patience is one of the most underrated and useful weapons that we all posess. Before long we had intel that a cynosural field had been lit in Auga and several capital ships had jumped in, all from the alliance “Royal Navy”, who were reported to be operating as pirates. The fleet jumped into Auga and warped to the Militia Corp owned defence platform to regroup. We then had reports that the Caldari and some Amarr ships were now engaged with the capital fleet. Seeing this as a tactical opportunity to have the upper hand over our war targets for once, the Fleet Commander warped us in at range from the cyno field.

As we deaccelerated out of warp my overview stuttered into life filling up with orange flashing bars, indicating the field was full of targets, mostly Caldari at this stage. The Carriers; 3 Archons, a Chimera and a Thanatos were at the heart of the fight all heavily engaged with the Caldari. I could see at least 5 Caldari Guardian Remote logistics ships all spider tanking, their yellow and green energy trails wisping between the ships repairing each others armour.  It was quite a scene and it took a member of my own crew shouting in my ear to snap me out of the daze I was in and bring myself back to focusing on what I needed to do. The orders started to come in over the comms,

Welcome

I’ve been stuck at the station for a few days, getting this journal up together. I’ll be back in my Pod soon and will get posting soon after that.

Feel free to check out the “My Past” page here if you have not done so already, it’s just a little bit about my history.