The Defias Blog

¶ Far and wide. Sometimes, that’s how you have to travel in search of fun or profit in New Eden. Sometimes, that’s where you have to look for affordable equipment, especially if you’re like me and have committed so many crimes that the Four Empires don’t allow you in their high-security systems.
¶ If you’re lucky, you’ve got a close friend or two who might be persuaded to pick things up for you and bring them to your lowsec base of operations. I’ve managed to befriend a young Caldari capsuleer with a penchant for Badgers - the last few days, he’s been invaluable as many of the things I need to outfit the “Wendigo” are either unavailable in low-security areas of Molden Heath or they’re ridiculously expensive. It saves me quite a bit of ISK and travel, and what’s more, the Caldari works for Tobacco.
¶ Still, while Tobacco isn’t overly expensive, it adds up. And though CONCORD pays well for killing Angel Cartel employees by the Machariel-load in Omist, that’s not one of my favorite pastimes. Not that I mind the wholesale slaughter of less-skilled fighters… it’s just boring. Besides, I think of myself as a pirate and shouldn’t a pirate make his living off of other capsuleers? It was time to hunt.

¶ After leading a successful defense in Omist two nights ago, in which we destroyed an Onyx-class Heavy Interdictor belonging to Anthrax Death alliance and ran off his accomplice in the Crow, and then last night when I mustered a defense fleet strong enough to make ANTX’s Raven, Dominix, Drake, Crow and Blackbird think twice and turn home, I needed to make some ISK and as I said, hunting Angel Cartel ships is boring. So, I clone jumped back to Molden Heath, checked my hangar inventories and fired off a message to my Caldari friend to bring me a few odds and ends while the hangar crew prepped the “Wendigo”.
¶ I’ve made my opinion of the Wolf-class Assault Ship perfectly clear in this journal already, but I have to say again after tonight’s hunt, the Wolf is king of the frigates and most definitely NOT useless. Her ability to handle four 200mm AutoCannon II’s in addition to 200mm armor plating and a powerful, Tech 2 Repair system makes her an incredible close combat platform. Add to this the fact that, properly rigged, she can fight very well from outside of web range and you’ve got versatility unmatched by any frigate-sized vessel in New Eden - I doubt even the Jove could do better. The Wolf’s design is so simple it’s genius.

Derelik

¶ I’ve usually had good luck in Derelik. It was in Derelik that I caught the Typhoon and the Omen last week, so I after personally conducting my own pre-flight inspection of the “Wendigo”, I undocked into the red Bosena night and set out toward Astabih, from which I would search the entire lowsec pocket on the Molden Heath-Derelik border. There is also an inlet to Great Wildlands in this area, but flying solo in a Wolf, I didn’t think I wanted to hunt Drakes and Ravens in 0.0 space.
¶ I was disappointed to find that the first few systems in Derelik were either empty or the pilots in-system were flying ships I couldn’t handle or couldn’t engage as they were traveling from stargate to stargate. When you’re flying a frigate, you really have to catch your targets in a belt, at a planet, or in a deadspace area - far from the sentry guns and their hateful glare. Luck turned better in Uanzin.
¶ On jumping into Uanzin, I fired up the D-scan. There was only one Asteroid Belt in scan range and I could see a Thorax, five drones and the remains of two Sansha ships of the type they use in belts - not the slightly stronger deadspace variant. I warped straight to the belt, spinning my AutoCannons and priming the warp scrambler. I dropped out of warp 20 kilometers from the Gallente cruiser, but as I was using the 2-point version of the Tech 2 Warp Scrambler, I needed to close the gap and fast so I activated the afterburner and refrained form targeting the Thorax until I was actually in range. I knew that I would be flashing red on her overview, due to my low security status (-6.0 at the time) but I wanted to avoid spooking her. If she hadn’t noticed me among the asteroid belts and planets, she would definitely notice me if I targeted her.
¶ It felt like forever (it always feels like forever), but I closed to within 10km and powered up the targeting computer. Just as I got within range, the Thorax recalled her drones and began to align for warp but it was too late. I had her.

[ 2008.05.15 03:43:53 ] (combat) Your 200mm AutoCannon II perfectly strikes Arisa Dax <CPU>[LM.](Thorax), wrecking for 234.3 damage.

¶ The drones swarmed again, but I saw that they weren’t doing enough damage to overtax my Small Armor Repairer II, so I ignored them and just continued beating on the cruiser. Like many Gallente-designed ships, her shield was weak but her armor was tough. I couldn’t find any affordable Hail S this evening, so I was using Republic Fleet EMP S to batter shields and switching to common Fusion S to wear away at armor. It took longer than I might’ve liked, but the ship finally crumbled.

¶ I considered ransoming the pod, but the pilot’s bio suggested that she wasn’t wealthy enough to have any implants worth saving so I just let her go. I wasn’t out for blood tonight, I was out for ISK. The Thorax’s wreck didn’t provide much of value, and the drones were mere Tech I Hammerheads, but the 400mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates were market-worthy, so I took them and moved on.
¶ The rest of the Derelik-Molden Heath border zone was dry of targets, so back to Molden Heath I went. Lately, there has been so much pirate activity in Molden Heath that it’s getting difficult to catch anyone traveling alone in the type of ship that a Wolf could engage and so it was tonight. Try as I might, I couldn’t find a viable target in any of Molden Heath lowsec, so I went up the pipe toward Gusandall to see what was going on in the Heimatar region. After all, flashfresh and Kane Rizzel have always spoken highly of the area.

Heimatar

¶ I’d been to Gusandall once before, a few days ago in fact, but it wasn’t a good night. The only things moving seemed to be industrial ships and shuttles, carrying out couier missions en masse. Literally dozens of Tech 1 Industrial ships. I could see names like Jubes, Kane Rizzel and Sarvic on the gate registry - all known pirates - but these haulers worked as if they felt no fear or threat from the dangerous operators in the area… and then it dawned on me why.
¶ The goods that people generally haul on courier missions are worthless. The ships used to haul these goods are similarly worthless. The pilots hauling the goods don’t care about either - they care only for the Loyalty Points accumulated with the corporation they’re hauling for, and so it’s simply not worth the time for a pirate to sit on gates blowing up these Badgers and Iterons and Hoarders.
¶ The last time I’d been here, I couldn’t find a single combat vessel, let alone a viable target, but again, flash and Kane have related dozens of stories of successful piracy in this area so it warranted a second look. This time, I found what I was after in Eifer, one jump out of Gusandall.

Splash One Rifter

¶ The D-scanner showed the usual compliment of Tech 1 haulers, just like last time, but this time there were also two Rifters as well as some Angel wrecks, both belt and deadspace variants. Keeping a low profile, I scanned each belt and found them all empty, so just as a last-ditch effort, I decided to fire up the on-board scanner and see if maybe - just maybe - I could find one of the Rifters in a Cosmic Anomaly.
¶ I got a hit on the first try, warped in and sure enough, the overview registered about a dozen Angel Cartel deadspace ships, from frigates to cruisers, and one heavy missile batter… and two Rifters. I was 80km from one, and 25km from the other… both immediately warped out. The “Wendigo” just isn’t fast enough to catch Rifters under those conditions, but I knew they wouldn’t give up on their little deadspace, so I wouldn’t give up on them.
¶ I had Aura display both of their personnel files and neither pilot was extensively experienced, but both were old enough to possibly yield some Tech 2 or decent named equipment. I gave them a couple of minutes and warped back into the deadspace, this time 50 kilometers away from the closer of the two. Again, both warped out. I bookmarked a couple of the wrecks, in hopes that I might be able to warp in closer to one of the Rifters at least. I also tried to get a look at what direction they were warping out in - if they were going straight to a planet, I might catch one or both of them.
¶ Considering that I might get them to pay me to just leave them alone, I hailed one of them.

[ 2008.05.15 06:43:25 ] Havohej > o/
?[ 2008.05.15 06:43:29 ] Asmaeth > ?
?[ 2008.05.15 06:43:43 ] Havohej > So you guys are having a hard time finishing that anomoly?
?[ 2008.05.15 06:43:54 ] Asmaeth > you the wolf guy?
?[ 2008.05.15 06:44:51 ] Asmaeth > you can basicailly go fuck yourself
?[ 2008.05.15 06:44:59 ] Havohej > You can pay me, or you can leave.

¶ He closed the channel, so I assumed they’d decided to leave instead of paying. However, a few minutes later, I still saw the two Rifters on the D-Scanner. Having seen which way one of them had warped each time, I warped into the anomaly and then warped straight to the same planet, banking on the fact that they’d warp out as soon as they saw me and hoping that I’d get there right on time. In fact, I got there first. His loot wasn’t what I’d call impressive, but the Small ‘Accomodation’ Vestment Reconstructer is the best small armor repairer you can get without using Tech 2 or faction equipment so I went ahead and scooped it up for the market.

What Have We Here?

¶ The planet the Rifter had warped to has only one asteroid belt in the vicinity, but three of the system’s stargates, so when I looked at the D-scanner to see if maybe Rising Fenix’s friend Asmaeth was on the way in to try to help his friend, I was a bit troubled by the Hurricane that popped up. Having been in the area for at least an hour, it wasn’t hard to figure out who was flying it - everyone else was either Asmaeth or somebody running Courier missions. I looked up the Hurricane pilot’s background and found that he was a member of Interstellar Alcohol Conglomerate (IAC), a well-known and notably powerful 0.0 space holding alliance who has recently been having trouble with Against ALL Authorities (-A-). I also saw that he was no older than myself.
¶ I was once attacked by a -A- Wolf in 0.0 while hunting Angel Cartel ships in my own Hurricane, and I remembered that, even though I’d webbed the Wolf, my AutoCannons couldn’t hit him and my Heavy Assault missiles hadn’t done much damage. In fact, he disengaged and when we talked afterward, he told me he’d only disengaged because with the ammo he was using, he couldn’t track my drones well enough to kill them and he couldn’t tank my missiles AND my Warrior I’s. I wasn’t using that ammo. I could kill drones.
¶ Another look at the D-scan showed a new wreck in the only belt in range. I narrowed the angle down to 15 degrees and pointed it at the belt. Bingo! One Hurricane, 5 mixed drones, a wreck and a cargo container - apparently he was salvaging his kills as well, which meant at least one less missile launcher to worry about.
¶ The decision was made. I warped to a safespot to drop my expensive cargo (The 400mm rolled tungsten plates, the meta 4 small armor repairer, and a Low-Grade Halo implant I’d picked off of a Domination Hunter’s wreck on my way through Molden Heath) and warped to the belt. I was pleasantly surprised to drop out of warp only 5km from my prey. The guns were already cycling and the warp scrambler was primed, so I locked targets - first the ‘Cane, then two of his drones - and went to work.
¶ The drones were dead within the space of two minutes, and he’d fired no missiles. I took a closer look at the battlecruiser and saw that he had Tech 2 artillery fitted - he had no chance of hitting me with those, I’d taken his drones out of the fight, and he had no missile launchers fitted… he was at my mercy, as long as the ‘Wendigo’ could do enough damage to break through the ship’s tank. Most Hurricane pilots use a very strong armor tank. Others fit for speed and use a passive shield tank. This one had fitted a T2 Invulnerability Field, a Photon Scattering Field, a T2 Medium Shield Booster and a T1 Medium Armor Repairer, in addition to a Warp Core Stabilizer that couldn’t save him from my 2-point warp scrambler.
¶ Before long, I saw his shield booster quit - his capacitor had run dry. As my Republic Fleet EMP S ripped away the last of his shield and I switched the loads to Fusion S, I figured that he had to know as well as I did that it was just a matter of time now. I convo’d the pilot, expecting to have no problem getting a ransom out of him. After all, IAC is a rich 0.0 alliance and this pilot could easily rat or mission in their space - he must have ISK.

[ 2008.05.15 07:07:12 ] EnginUr > why?
?[ 2008.05.15 07:07:14 ] Havohej > 30M and you can leave.
?[ 2008.05.15 07:09:15 ] EnginUr > 15
?[ 2008.05.15 07:09:20 ] Havohej > Don’t be stubborn - give me 30 million and you can go.
?[ 2008.05.15 07:09:31 ] EnginUr > I have only 17
?[ 2008.05.15 07:09:42 ] Havohej > Ask a friend for the rest.
?[ 2008.05.15 07:09:52 ] EnginUr > I am solo
?[ 2008.05.15 07:09:56 ] Havohej > IAC is a rich alliance
?[ 2008.05.15 07:10:00 ] EnginUr > just in a group

¶ I thought about it, and maybe he was individually poor. Still, there was no way in hell I was going to take 17M for a Hurricane. I thought about making him eject, but I had nobody nearby who could fly the battlecruiser out for me and I wasn’t going to leave it floating unattended - not for one single second.

?[ 2008.05.15 07:10:42 ] Havohej > 25M, final offer.
?[ 2008.05.15 07:10:57 ] EnginUr > ok
?[ 2008.05.15 07:11:01 ] EnginUr > cut fire
?[ 2008.05.15 07:11:07 ] Havohej > Make the wallet flash.

¶ This is where everything went wrong for EnginUr… not that things were going right for him with the Wendigo’s guns pelting his hull. You see, he decided to try to ‘outsmart’ me.

?[ 2008.05.15 07:11:20 ] EnginUr > first 12,5
?[ 2008.05.15 07:11:25 ] Havohej > No.
?[ 2008.05.15 07:11:30 ] Havohej > You don’t have much time.
?[ 2008.05.15 07:11:34 ] EnginUr > sended

¶ The wallet did indeed flash, so I opened the journal and took a look. He had sent 1.25M ISK to my account. A far cry from 25M, and only a tenth of the 12.5 that I’d refused to begin with. Now I was pissed. Now, even if he paid, he wasn’t getting away. Not with his Hurricane, and not with his pod.

[ 2008.05.15 07:10:07 ] (combat) Your 200mm AutoCannon II perfectly strikes EnginUr <IAC>[IMP1](Hurricane), wrecking for 189.1 damage.

?[ 2008.05.15 07:11:46 ] Havohej > Liar.
?[ 2008.05.15 07:11:48 ] Havohej > Now you die.
?[ 2008.05.15 07:11:56 ] EnginUr > sended
?[ 2008.05.15 07:12:00 ] EnginUr > check
?[ 2008.05.15 07:12:06 ] Havohej > you sent 1.25M
?[ 2008.05.15 07:12:10 ] Havohej > I said 25M

¶ To make matters worse, he just went on and on and on, as if I were truly an idiot. Is this how IAC became strong? Or is this why, with Tyraxx Thorkk’s departure, they’ve become weak? Look at the lies and the empty threats from this peasant…

?[ 2008.05.15 07:12:10 ] Havohej > I said 25M
?[ 2008.05.15 07:12:23 ] EnginUr > last part I sended
?[ 2008.05.15 07:13:05 ] EnginUr > now you are dead
?[ 2008.05.15 07:13:07 ] Havohej > Lying is bad, k?
?[ 2008.05.15 07:13:34 ] EnginUr > you got money but dont be happy
?[ 2008.05.15 07:13:45 ] Havohej > You send me 2 point 5 M
?[ 2008.05.15 07:13:57 ] Havohej > I demanded 30, then to be nice, I said 25
?[ 2008.05.15 07:14:00 ] EnginUr > I sended 25 mil
?[ 2008.05.15 07:14:04 ] Havohej > Next time, PAY the man the ransom he demands.
?[ 2008.05.15 07:14:16 ] Havohej > I took screenshots. This’ll go on C&P and my blog hehe
?[ 2008.05.15 07:14:40 ] EnginUr > good for you I ll finf you dont be so happy
?[ 2008.05.15 07:14:55 ] Havohej > lol
?[ 2008.05.15 07:15:04 ] Havohej > don’t be mad
?[ 2008.05.15 07:15:10 ] Havohej > take it as a lesson, next time pay the man
?[ 2008.05.15 07:15:18 ] Havohej > I fly hurricanes too
?[ 2008.05.15 07:15:26 ] Havohej > the ship alone costs 35M
?[ 2008.05.15 07:15:33 ] Havohej > plus fittings, you’re talking 50, easy
?[ 2008.05.15 07:15:44 ] Havohej > 30 was reasonable, 25 was generous.
?[ 2008.05.15 07:15:53 ] Havohej > and you sit there, give me 2.5, and say ’stop I paid you’
?[ 2008.05.15 07:15:59 ] Havohej > Get real - I’m not stupid.
?[ 2008.05.15 07:16:18 ] EnginUr > I ll get my Vaga and be on your tail
?[ 2008.05.15 07:16:20 ] EnginUr > it has no salvager
?[ 2008.05.15 07:16:30 ] EnginUr > But this hurricane had 3

¶ No it didn’t. It had 1 salvager and 1 tractor beam and 2 Salvage Tackle rigs.

?[ 2008.05.15 07:16:37 ] Havohej > I won’t let your vagabond engage, number 1
?[ 2008.05.15 07:16:45 ] Havohej > and your cane wouldn’t have hit me even with a full rack of arties
?[ 2008.05.15 07:16:51 ] EnginUr > not alone friend not alone
?[ 2008.05.15 07:16:51 ] Havohej > too close, no MWD so sig radius too small
?[ 2008.05.15 07:16:59 ] Havohej > next time, fit a MWD and you can run away from a wolf
?[ 2008.05.15 07:17:26 ] EnginUr > Hurricane was for salvage only
?[ 2008.05.15 07:17:40 ] Havohej > Should’ve used it just for salvage then, and not lowsec ratting.
?[ 2008.05.15 07:17:46 ] Havohej > why weren’t you ratting in 0.0 anyway?
?[ 2008.05.15 07:17:57 ] Havohej > -A- kicking your asses too bad, not letting you rat?
?[ 2008.05.15 07:18:22 ] Havohej > Fly safe… er

¶ It’s easy to be envious of the large ‘powerbloc’ alliances. But each one of them has idiots, just like EnginUr. Being a part of one of those alliances doesn’t make you special. It doesn’t make you specifically powerful. EnginUr made a mistake. He let his being in a corporation that is part of Interstellar Alcohol Conglomerate convince him that he was safe anywhere. He let himself believe that IAC is so big and powerful, that little lowsec piss ants like me would be too scared to attack him. That little guys like us would just dock or run to a safespot, for fear that if we pissed one of the 0.0 big shots off, their whole alliance would be all over us.
¶ But I live in 0.0, too. I know the real face of 0.0 powerblocks. Just as I have seen the indisputable power of the large 0.0 alliances, I have seen the soft, fleshy underbelly of alliances like GoonSwarm, Tau Ceti Federation, United Legion, Mercenary Coalition. Everybody in 0.0 isn’t a 50M SP juggernaut.
I have no fear… and I don’t like being lied to.
¶ Before the Global Criminal Countdown had worn off, I caught a Breacher-class frigate in the very same belt that I killed the IAC Hurricane in. I didn’t bother asking for a ransom on such a terrible frigate, and I was still in such a sour mood from EnginUr trying to play me for a fool, that I podded the young Breacher pilot reflexively. Sorry, blizzyy. Wrong place, wrong time.
¶ Still, though, between the Low-Grade Halo implant (which I might just use myself, to further reduce my signature radius) and the Tech 2 gear dropped by the Hurricane in addition to the Meta 4 gear dropped by the Thorax and Rifter I’d killed earlier in the night, I expect to make a few million. Nowhere near the 30M that the Hurricane pilot would’ve paid if he were smart, but… them’s the breaks.

-Havo out.

2 Responses to “Far and Wide”

Leave a Reply