Not even shooting rats
27th January 2013 – 3.41 pmA late night poke around w-space has me finding new rocks at home, and no way to go but through our static wormhole. The connection takes me to our neighbouring class 3 system, where my directional scanner shows me nothing but a bubble in range. I launch probes, blanket the system, and start warping around to see what else I can find. Not much, really. Not even any off-line towers. It's all a bit eerie.
There are also only five anomalies and seven signatures, which is scant offering for an unoccupied C3. And amongst those signatures is one too far from anywhere to be anything but a wormhole. It's more obviously a wormhole once I resolve it, but the K162 from null-sec is a little disappointing. The rest of the signatures don't hold much more of interest, with only the static exit to low-sec empire space giving me another choice of direction.
I jump through the U210 to appear in a system in Placid. The system offers me a good view of the Cloud Ring and Gallente Faction Warfare pilots lots of benefits, as the system is at level V control. That means more to them than me, but two extra signatures resolving to be two extra wormholes is more what I'm looking for. Well, if they weren't another K162 from null-sec and a dying K162 from class 3 w-space. It's probably worth a quick look in C3b, though.
Lots of drones could be interesting, but those I'm seeing on d-scan are deceptive. There are no ships or wrecks also on d-scan, so I suspect the drones are scattered around some bubbles near the tower, looking to decloak unwary pilots. And without any obvious activity I don't care to risk the wormhole dying by exploring further. I return to low-sec, and as I've run out of other directions I may as well see where in null-sec that other wormhole takes me.
I jump from low-sec to null-sec without using a stargate, and appear in a system in Perrigen Falls. I'm by myself, so consider ratting to help my security status get back on its feet, but a lack of rock fields in the system puts paid to that plan. A few anomalies tempt me to try them instead, except a new pilot enters the system and I retreat to the wormhole until I can determine circumstances to be safe to continue. What I don't expect is to see the pilot appear in a Prowler on the wormhole, and warp away.
The transport ship quite took me by surprise. I'm sure I didn't think I was even looking at a ship when it appeared, as I barely reacted before it warped away. But I saw where it went, and the pilot disappears from the system a minute later. Maybe there's another wormhole to find. Launching probes and blanketing the system reveals five signatures, which resolve to be drones, drones, rocks, and a wormhole, but a wormhole not anywhere near where the Prowler warped to. That's odd, but I'm happy to ignore the disappeared transport in favour of the outbound connection to class 3 w-space I've uncovered.
Four ships, two towers, and no wrecks appear on d-scan in C3b. Locating the towers finds a Viator transport ship piloted in one, and an Abaddon battleship and Buzzard covert operations boat piloted in the second, alongside an empty Rorqual capital industrial ship. There's nothing else in the system, so I loiter outside the tower with the Viator wondering if he goes anywhere. It's a long shot, because if he goes anywhere it will probably be through their static wormhole which I don't know about than the K162 I do. Even so, when the transport aligns and warps, I'm right behind it.
I'm only behind the Viator because he looks to be heading to the second tower. And, indeed, the transport drops out of warp inside the other force field, nuzzles up to his Abaddon buddy, and goes off-line. I think I should do that too, but without the battleship. I head back through null-sec, across low-sec, and in to C3a, where the first null-sec K162 calls to me. I may as well see where it leads, and jump through to a system in Vale of the Silent. With rock fields! With rats in rock fields! With rats with ECM in rock fields! I can't be bothered with my lock dropping twice a minute for twenty seconds at a time, so head home for sleep, flipping off the rats as I leave.
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