Indecision in Amarr
9th June 2014 – 5.24 pmToday's static wormhole sits where yesterday's did. I wish I'd realised this before I resolved it, given that there was a bookmark obviously guiding my probes. I'll never get that twenty seconds back. I have to scan anyway, though, as an unexpected signature is a second wormhole, this one from class 2 w-space. Let's see who connects to us, and how good their high-sec exit is.
There's nothing to see from the wormhole in C2a, my directional scanner turning up blank. There's not much more to see on the system map, the discovery scanner only irritatingly pinging three signatures to my ship, although there are twelve anomalies. Launching probes and performing a blanket scan of the system adds two ships to the system, at the far planet, by the looks of it. Warping across sees the Sleipnir command ship and Deimos heavy assault cruiser on d-scan first, then floating unpiloted inside a force field once I locate the tower.
I scan. Gas and a wormhole. The static exit to high-sec goes to Domain, the gold nebula shining through from the other side, but anywhere good in Domain? Yeah, not bad, five hops from Amarr. I think I can afford a small diversion to look at new ships. I make the few hops, dock, and stare at the market for a bit longer than I should without actually doing something. Decisions are hard enough normally without the added detriment of not knowing what I'm doing. Sod it, I'll go back to w-space just as I left it.
A fly-by of the tower in C2a sees no change, so it's back home and in to—nope, a new signature in the home system is interesting. I launch probes and resolve what turns out to be a K162 from class 5 w-space, where maybe caution is advised in jumping through. I go anyway, because the new wormhole is a great sign of activity, and am greeted by, well, not much again. Two mobile depots are in d-scan range. At least there's more space to explore, and if nothing's in it then there is almost certainly another wormhole to find.
Blanketing C5a reveals nine anomalies, eight signatures, and two ships. The system is big enough, with planets in all directions, that I loiter by the wormhole as the scan completes, and only now that I have a rough direction for the ships do I warp away. Getting closer to the source of the signatures and updating d-scan sees a tower, Tengu strategic cruiser, and Epithal hauler. Closer still, both ships are piloted. That feels a bit ominous.
Less ominous is realising that the Tengu is quite idle, the Epithal maybe not so much. I imagine the hauler has gone on his goo round already, but I watch him anyway, just in case. The experience is much like suffering from crippling indecision in a space station, but without the market screen displayed and a greater sense of actual purpose. Either way, nothing much happens.
An Astero frigate blips on d-scan. Quite how I manage to see that with my completely inadequate updates is beyond me, but it was there. Maybe a local scout going back and forth, maybe someone from further up the chain. He appears again a minute or two later, with added second Tengu, although the Tengu warps in to the tower to join the first and the Epithal, the Astero remaining at large. As quickly as he arrives, the Tengu leaves again, dragging the first behind him too. They warp to empty space and drop from d-scan.
I imagine the locals have found targets. I doubt I could get involved without regretting it, but being a spectator can be interesting. I got a good vector from the Tengus' departure, and as the Epithal hasn't budged an inch I call my probes in to look for the wormhole I suspect the strategic cruisers used. Thar she blows, but warping to it sees only a K162 from null-sec. Maybe there are targets out there, maybe they are only ratting. I suspect the latter, but I still don't think it wise to poke my Loki strategic cruiser through to Cobalt Edge to find out.
I loiter by the wormhole for a bit, updating d-scan and seeing an Ishtar heavy assault cruiser new to the system. Maybe I should be back at the tower. Naw, I'm good here, the Ishtar dropping on to the wormhole and jumping to null-sec presumably to join his colleagues. That just leaves me and the Epithal, and the hauler is doing less than I am. There's little point in hanging around any longer.
Back home, and I have time for a quick peek through our static wormhole. D-scan is clear in C3a, with two planets out of range. A blanket scan reveals seven anomalies, nine signatures, and a big ship. It's an Orca, unpiloted and inside a tower's force field. I could scan, I suppose, but that would only take me to another system that would need scanning. My time and spirit have already been whittled down, leaving little left for the evening, so I simply turn my ship around and go home.
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