System orientation

1st March 2011 – 7.43 pm

Our neighbouring class 3 w-space system is dull, particularly now the trapped pilot has left. Oh sure, she was blue to us and technically not a target, but I still had an ethical decision to make. The good news is that we now have a brand spanking new exit to high-sec space, by way of a class 2 system connecting in to our class 4 w-space home. Having only now scanned the exit, after the old one collapsed, and seeing the blue pilot leave the system, I head out myself to see where the exit leads. And it may be high-sec empire space, but it doesn't look very inviting, being a dead-end system and many hops from any of my assets. Checking my atlas is more enlightening, a cross-region jump being more obvious when looking at a fuller picture, and putting us only eight hops from a decent hub. We can buy some fuel at Tash-Murkon Prime.

Two combined trips from me and Fin can get us a whole lot of fuel, and we both board Crane transport ships to start hauling. The first trip is nicely uneventful, the second outward journey through the C2 sees the Iteron hauler that has been sitting lazily in a tower now gone from my directional scanner, replaced by a Buzzard covert operations boat. I ignore him for now, being no obvious threat and perhaps simply looking for the new exit to high-sec himself, no doubt more aware of the timing of his own system's static wormhole than we are.

My second trip to empire space also has my hold partially filled on the way out, as Fin reminds me that we also have Sleeper loot to sell. I have to take a small diversion to find an dealer willing to pay the best prices, but we get a nice injection of capital in to our wallets, and some tax in to the corporation wallet. I pick up more fuel and head back home, where the tower becomes nicely stocked indeed. And with tower management out of the way for a couple more weeks I jump in to my Manticore stealth bomber to lurk in the C3, where the Buzzard was seen coming and going.

A pod is now visible on d-scan, although his whereabouts isn't easy to discern in this silo system, and then the pod is gone. I can't tell if he's logged off or used the exit to high-sec himself. I like to think the latter, and that he'll come back with a suitably squishy ship I can pop when he unwarily decloaks on the wormhole before the session change timer ends, preventing him from jumping out again. With my imagination somewhat fevered, I warp to the exit wormhole and lurk, letting Fin know where I am and asking her to inform me when she jumps my way, so that I can be ready to pop any other ships.

A flare! Fin's said nothing, this must be the pilot returning. I get my systems hot, and prepare to drop my cloak to engage. But only the purple fleet icon appears on my screen, Fin's Crane cloaking and warping away, and I let my heartbeat return to normal levels. 'I thought you were on the C3', she says, after I point out my recent request. Yep, that's what I said, and this is the C2, so I'm not here. There remains no activity in this system and I am not keen to wait for a pilot to return when I have no evidence that he left. Now that Fin's home safely I have no real need to loiter in the C2, so I go home myself and call it a night.

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