Halmah IV was a planet in crisis. Located in the Bleak Lands, it was a backwater planet in a backwater region all but forgotten by its government. The soil wasn’t hearty enough to produce the prized Amarrian wheat and there were no indigenous species of livestock worth going to the trouble of shipping to other parts of the Empire. No valuable minerals to speak of…

No, the only reason the Amarr Empire held onto the Bleaks at all, let alone Halmah, was that the region served as a buffer between the Minmatar Republic in Heimatar and the Amarrian Throne Worlds. Sure, the Republic could launch an attack without conquering the Bleaks – that much was shown by the Elder fleet’s attack on the day everything changed – but without holding the Bleak Lands, their forward elements would be cut off from resupply and easily defeated after the initial shock had worn off. It was for this reason that the Bleak Lands had become a prime target the moment the war began and the capsuleer militias were sanctioned.

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The young man glanced furtively over his shoulder before ducking around the corner into the alleyway. It was dark here, and damp, but he knew he was long past any concerns of physical comfort. The sound of his footfalls was largely masked by the constant, overbearing thrum of heavy machinery from the Camal IX Water Treatment facility nearby. He had a very important job to do in service to a cause greater than himself; he wondered if his name would ever be remembered, but even if it wasn’t he knew his sacrifice would be remembered as the act of a hero — a true Minmatar.

He dropped to one knee and slung the heavy satchel off his back. It was an old bag and he had to fumble with the zipper a little to get it open. No use bothering to replace it now, anyway. He removed his grey WT cap from the bag and put it on, but for now he just slung the grey uniform shirt over his shoulder. He had been told that the small but weighty blocks were molded from the most potent non-nuclear explosive known throughout the cluster. They’d said that his own death would be swift and painless and that the sheer force of the shock wave would most likely see to it that the deaths of his co-workers was equally humane. The object here wasn’t to inflict direct human suffering, after all. The target was the water treatment facility itself.

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“Du’uma Fiisi Integrated Astrometrics seems a straightforward enough corporation. With the discovery of the first wormholes, they look to be just another start-up vying for a small piece of the multi-trillion ISK in potential profits to be gained from exploration of this new, unknown frontier. Spending much of their time in covert ops frigates or recon cruisers, their capsuleers seem well-equipped to face the dangers of w-space while taking as few risks as possible — just like everyone else seeking to make their fortune on the unknown. There are whispers, however, that DF1AS’ goals may not be as clear as they’d have us believe.

Their CEO, a Sebiestor known as Havohej (birth name unknown at the time of this report), is known to have pirated for some time in Derelik, Domain, The Citadel, The Forge and several other regions in the cluster. After being labeled as an outlaw and rated -10.0 by CONCORD’s DED, he fled empire for the lawless reaches of nullsec space; Havohej spent time in Omist, Curse, Outer Ring and Deklein before vanishing without a trace. Having not been seen for months, it was presumed that he’d met his final death on some obscure pirate outpost somewhere far, far from the safety of empire space. Then, just recently, he was spotted by one of our agents on the Thukker outpost in M-MD3B, apparently travelling in secrecy. What he was doing there is not known at the time of this report.

A few weeks after his visit to Great Wildlands, Havohej emerged once again in Molden Heath, this time as the founder and CEO of Du’uma Fiisi Integrated Astrometrics. DF1AS has not made any official announcement of intent, but rumors among the hangar crews in Gulfonodi where Havohej seems to have made his base of operations suggest that they’ve been stockpiling equipment and ammunition in preparation for some sort of offensive. While it’s certainly possible that this equipment is meant for use in w-space, the CEO’s history makes this improbable. However, given the very small size of the DF1AS corporation, it is unlikely that Havohej and his followers will be able to execute anything larger than a very minor pirate operation and as such, it is our assessment that the threat posed by this particular start-up is minor at worst.”

– Kaalakiota Corporation Senior Security Consultant

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As long-time readers already know, I’ve been gone from EVE-Online for a good six months at least. I took my leave after the siege of Deklein was pretty much won (there were just a couple of IRON towers left in a couple of systems, but it was as good as over). This was before the Quantum Rise expansion hit and changed almost every game mechanic I built my solo and small group strategies around.

My ‘Hurrycane’ (fit mostly stolen from flashfresh) doesn’t work anymore, my Stabber Fleet Issue is about 2km/sec slower, the Rapier isn’t quite as scary… the only thing that still seems to work exactly as before (if not better) is my old Wolf fit. Once upon a time, AFs were considered absolutely useless by the majority of the playerbase, particularly the Retribution with its single mid slot. The Wolf wasn’t highly regarded, either, as it has only two mid slots and couldn’t really be made to go fast. The lack of speed especially had many people considering it to be inferior to the Rifter, its Tech 1 counterpart! But now, my old fit is considered a cookie-cutter build and the ship is widely feared – go figure.

So, in addition to largely re-learning PvP, I’m also in the process of starting a new RP-themed corporation. I apologize for the infrequency of blog updates right now, but my free time is kinda occupied. I’ll try to have something interesting to read up here in the next couple of days – hopefully it’ll be good news!

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Without further adieu, the conclusion of “The Return”. (+5 Internets if you recognize the cinematic reference herein).

“I wish to visit the Oasis,” Havohej said. His voice was firm, as if a challenge to any who would deny his right to visit the very heart of the Thukker Tribe.

“Why?” Surprisingly, there was no antagonism in Harun’s tone. It came forth as an honest question.

“I wish to visit my grandfather,” Havo answered.

“No, pilot,” the elderly man replied, “I mean why now? What makes you want to touch base with your Thukker roots after so many years away?”

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