Another day, another chance to repair my security status. Scanning out of the home system finds a class 3 w-space system with an exit to low-sec empire space, which leads to the Domain region. One pilot shares the system with me, replaced by another, but then I'm alone with some anomalies and I start popping a few rats. Another pilot enters the system within a couple of minutes, though, and I move on. Today I'll loop around low-sec, as the region seems quiet. I manage to get a minute or two by myself in a few systems along my route that lets me pop some rats here and there, but I eventually run out of steam, either with pilots in the system making me too cautious to enter anomalies or a lack of anomalies forcing me to move on.

I make my way home with a fair few small increases in my security status, but still far short of where it was before destroying a single cruiser in low-sec. I'm not impressed with how much time and effort it is taking to gain security status compared with how quick and easy it is to be penalised. And whilst exiting to known space may offer different opportunities occasionally, I know I'll be much more wary about engaging ships there because of the hit my security status will take, compared to the freedom of action available in w-space. If I had to shoot Sleepers for a week for every capsuleer ship I popped, I'd not be doing either. I go off-line for the day having achieved little.

A new day in w-space has evidence that a fleet has passed through the home system. All but one anomaly has been vaporised, leaving little profit for us to realise. If only I could spend iskies to increase my security status, I'd have been out here shooting the Sleepers myself instead of looking for crappy empire rats. Never mind, the fleet has come and gone, not even leaving their K162 to find, so I'm once more jumping through our static wormhole to the neighbouring class 3 system. Hullo, lots of ships and ECM drones could indicate activity, even if they share my directional scanner with a tower. Marauders, battleships, mining barges, and industrials are all visible, but also all coincident with the tower, according to a narrow d-scan beam.

Locating the tower indeed finds all the ships and no pilots, the ECM drones scattered amongst the tower's defences teasingly. Oh well, I'm back to scanning. Launching probes, I bookmark the lone anomaly and poke through the thirteen signatures, which are mostly radar and magnetometric sites, their weak signals making scanning time-consuming today. I find just the one wormhole, an exit to low-sec, and jumping through it puts me in a rather busy system in the Metropolis region. That it is a low-sec island surrounded by high-sec perhaps explains the traffic, but I won't be doing any ratting here.

I make a safe spot in the low-sec system, launch probes, and scan. Ignoring the three anomalies gives me five signatures, four of which are of the 'unknown' type. Whilst in w-space this guarantees finding a wormhole I know that empire space is a cruel mistress, and I resolve three Angel rat bases before finally coming across another wormhole, a K162 from class 2 w-space. That's a good result, as the second static connection in the C2 will lead to more w-space, continuing the constellation further. And I need it too, as the C2 itself is occupied but empty, but thankfully kept tidy. Scanning the six signatures doesn't take long and finds me a connection to more class 2 w-space amongst the rocks and gas.

I jump in to C2b to a clear d-scan result. I launch probes and perform a blanket scan of the system, warping to a distant planet as I arrange the probes. I find the sole ship in the system by serendipitously landing outside a tower moments before my probes give me the same result, the Helios covert operations boat sitting stationary inside the force field. Except it's not inside the force field but far outside of it, and for some reason lodged in a warp bubble. This is convenient, as I warp to the bubble to get close to the Helios, but it is also dangerous, as I am probably in range of the tower defences and I know what happens when a tower gets its grip on a strategic cruiser. But a sitting duck is too tempting to ignore.

I move towards the still-stationary Helios, not concerned about getting trapped in the warp bubble myself, because of the interdiction nullifier subsystem on my Tengu. However, I remain cloaked and cautious, as I don't want to use my micro warp drive and have my signature radius flare up to make my ship easier to lock-on to. I manoeuvre close enough to the Helios before decloaking so that my normal speed will have our ships bump together and prevent mutual cloaking, and wait what feels an age for the recalibration delay to dissipate before locking on to the smaller ship. It still refuses to move as I start shooting, but I'm moving. I pull back from my target, now that the positive lock prevents it cloaking, so that as soon as the poor pilot is thrown in to space I am far enough away to cloak again.

Cloaking breaks any current attempt to lock on to my ship, which I am expecting the automated tower defences to be doing, but it only needs to be for a moment. Lock attempts broken, I decloak again, wait a second time for the recalibration delay, and set my sights on the pod. I get a positive lock and the pod sits nice and still for me whilst I crack it open to get to the frozen corpse inside. I suspect the pilot may have tried to flee but was flummoxed by being in a warp bubble. Now she's ready to be scooped, once I cloak again to keep my Tengu safe from the tower's defences. I make a second approach and scoop the corpse, and loot and shoot the wreck to complete my assault.

That was a pleasant diversion, and I'm glad I was able to avoid the ire of the tower defences. Now I have the ire of my combat scanning probes, as they show me twenty-three anomalies and twenty-seven signatures. A quick look for wormholes finds a nice static connection to class 1 w-space, which makes me forget the rest of the signatures and recall my probes. There's no one to find in the C1, though, and a quick scan only finds two connections to high-sec empire space, one a K162 reaching the end of its life, the other the system's static wormhole. I jump through the static connection to be in the Genesis region, where scanning reveals no more wormholes but a Blood Watch site, where some rats are waiting for me to pop them.

A podding and an increase in my security status, that sounds like a good afternoon to me. Even better, on my way home I spot a canister on d-scan in C2a labelled with a request to contact a specific capsuleer. That's intriguing, I wonder if he's lost and wants help, or is looking to extort the locals for ISK or he'll attack their tower. I think it's worth starting a conversation and seeing what he wants. Nothing, apparently, except for me to shoot the can. 'Friends' of his planted the canister in the system ages ago—in a pretty distant safe spot too, one I have no hope of finding—and he continues to get occasional messages to this day. From people like me, I suppose. He's good natured about it all, at least, so I apologise and let him get back to his business, and I continue on my way home.

Hunting or ratting, either will suit me today. I'd still like to repair the hit my security status took when I accidentally blew up a wreck of a ship I accidentally blew up whilst it mined ore in low-sec empire space. Or, at least, get a comfortable enough buffer so that I can do it again. Accidentally, of course. I imagine I'll be ratting, if only because the hour is early, so I launch probes and start scanning, looking to find the limit of the w-space constellation and exit to known space.

The home system is quiet, and jumping in to our neighbouring class 3 system sees only a warp bubble and off-line tower on my directional scanner. One planet sitting out of range of d-scan holds a tower with an unpiloted Orca industrial command ship, making the system look currently inactive. Scanning will be quick, there being no anomalies and a mere five signatures, and I soon resolve gas, rocks, and two wormholes, a U210 and N968. I get the exit system first, through the U210 static connection to low-sec, ending up in the Lonetrek region, before returning to C3a and jumping through the outbound connection to C3b.

A warp bubble and off-line tower on d-scan greets me in this second class 3 system, much like it did in the first, but this time there are three planets out of range of d-scan. Another tower lies hidden on the outskirts of the system, also with no one home, and I find myself scanning again. A signature on the edge of the system is a wormhole, what a shock, and the nine other signatures present provide the usual rock, gas, and radar sites, along with three more wormholes. I've found an N968, a second N968 that is reaching the end of its natural lifetime, a K162 from low-sec, and the system's static U210.

Normally I wouldn't mind finding so much to explore, but I was rather hoping for a simply terminated constellation so that I could get on and be productive somewhere. I suppose I could ignore the extra systems, but the lure of finding capsuleers being careless is too strong to ignore, and I jump through the stable N968 to C3c. No warp bubble and an on-line tower on d-scan makes a pleasant change here, but still there is no one home. Despite being here only three weeks ago it seems I have to find the tower manually, as the one noted before has already gone, but that's a simple matter and I am soon scanning. Four anomalies and five signatures resolve to give only one wormhole, another exit to low-sec, which looks like the end of the constellation.

I jump out of this latest U210 to look at getting some tasks done, finding myself alone in a system in the Devoid region. Looking for a skill book finds one sold only a couple of hops away, but in a low-sec system. Docking to pick it up should be okay if the system's quiet, and making short detour finds no one around. I buy the book, dock, and exit back to space without interruption. Now I want to find some rats to pop, which I won't be able to do here, as this and the surrounding systems look like faction warfare space. I return to C3c, jump to C3b, and exit through the U210 to a system in The Forge, where there are some Guristas to shoot but also some other pilots in the system that could cause me problems.

I go back to C3b and warp across to the K162 from low-sec, jumping to a system in the Sinq Laison region. It's just me and some anomalies full of Serpentis rats, but not for long. I pop a single frigate before another pilot appears in the system, frustrating my efforts again. Never mind, I am a single hop from high-sec, I may as well jump safely between Concord-protected systems and pop rats as I go, which I do. Then again, rats in high-sec anomalies are pretty pathetic, almost exploding when I warp in to the sites. I would quite like another null-sec connection, as the rats there put up enough of a fight to be worth an increase in security status.

A little persevering in one anomaly sees a Shadow Serpentis Chief Watchmen warp in at the end, which is a nice surprise for high-sec. He's still not exactly a challenge, and the faction ammunition he drops is hardly worth a fortune, but his bounty is a couple of orders of magnitude greater than the standard rats, which should give my security status an almost noticeable boost, unlike the other rats. But that's about the highlight of my high-sec ratting. I make a circuit of systems and return to low-sec, finding the system empty again, but again not for long. Rather than continue playing hide-and-seek with other pilots I bring my adventure to a close, heading home to settle down for now.

Glorious leader Fin has arrived; what to do, what to do. Well, what to do once I've got all the excitement of two Hulk exhumer kills out of my system. And talking about getting out of the system, I leave the scene of the crime and jump back to the first class 4 w-space system, warp across it, and jump to our neighbouring class 3 system. The unoccupied system remains clear but even though my targets and their colleagues have gone off-line we cannot ignore the incoming connection to this C3 that makes it less safe. Rather than collapse our static wormhole, and deny us the null-sec exit and the ratting possibilities this C3 promises, we decide to collapse the connection between C3a and C4a, taking two Widow black ops ships outside of the home system.

The operation sounded good to start with, but once the wormhole destabilises to half-mass I realise that we are collapsing a wormhole in rather expensive ships, neither of which are fitted with scanning probes, without a guaranteed escape route should something go awry. It seems we've not entirely thought through this plan, giving it the Penny hallmark. Even so, the actual collapse is going to plan, which is a good indicator that Fin is behind the practical aspect of the operation. With one final return trip planned I head home for a scouty Tengu, the strategic cruiser hopefully providing a safety net should the final jump go wrong. Thankfully it doesn't, and we both end up in C3a with the connection to C4a now severed. We can look for the exit to null-sec k-space now and make some ISK and security status gains.

I launch probes and start sifting through the signatures, ignoring rocks, gas, seeing a Probe frigate—that's weird. Actually, no, what's weird is that it's now an Orca industrial command ship. That's quite a transformation. And it's gone. I think I've got a touch of the space madness until the Orca reappears, but I can't pin down the ship as it seems to be in continual warp. I haven't so far tried to hide my probes, being caught somewhat unawares initially, and no doubt the pilot has seen them and is keeping on the move so that I can't interrupt... whatever it is he's doing here. The C3 is unoccupied, only an off-line tower on the outskirts of the system, and as far as I can tell there are no new signatures that would indicate a new wormhole has opened.

The Orca is on and off my probes, in my d-scan boresight and gone. Maybe this capsuleer is a nomad and is wandering system to system, or perhaps has set himself up a floating platform in the Orca for a simple planetary interaction base. I guess that he's perhaps collecting planet goo and stalk one of the customs offices, choosing not to warp between them in a fruitless pursuit this time, and an alerted Fin is back in the system and in a stealth bomber around a different customs office. But my probes have probably worried the Orca in to delaying his plans, as he continues to warp from safe spot to safe spot, the Probe frigate making an occasional appearance, along with a jet-can.

My waiting at the customs office is not going to bring the Orca to me. I bring my probes back in to the system and make a best guess at where I've seen the big ship so far. One scan gets a rough position, a second scan finally gets a 100% hit on the massive Orca, and I get rid of my probes once more as I warp in. The pilot must have seen my probes converge on his position again, as I drop out of warp to see only an abandoned jet-can. Then again, I have found one of his safe spots, and one with something left behind. I remain cloaked, as does Fin, now joining me by the canister, and we can wait here to see if the Orca returns. If he does, we can strike.

Of course, the Orca doesn't return. We can't be that lucky. It appears on d-scan again, giving me a chance to get a good estimate on its bearing and range from d-scan, and although I hope to use that information to use my probes to scan a second safe spot of his the Orca disappears and this time is gone for good. It's quite possible the Probe also seen remains in the system cloaked somewhere, and without a capsuleer name we can neither confirm nor deny that, but he won't be seeing much information either as both Fin and I remain cloaked. Well, I do. Fin's curiosity gets the better of her, and with the Orca looking to be well and truly gone she takes a peek inside the jet-can in the found safe spot. 'Helium. 51,000 units of helium.' That's worth nicking.

We wait a few more minutes, during which I pass the time by finally finding the static exit to null-sec, and Fin heads home to get a Crane transport ship. She returns to the C3, warps to the canister, and transfers the helium to her hold, claiming it as our own. As Fin hauls the twenty million ISK of goods home I poke my nose out to null-sec, finding myself in a system in the Stain region with one other pilot. There are even a few anomalies in the system, but it's all a bit late to do much now. I can't complain. I destroyed two Hulks and chased an Orca. It's been an exciting and productive evening.

Look at all of these anomalies. It looks like we are due a passing fleet any day now. Until then, I'll be my own passing fleet of one, scanning my way out of the home w-space system and in to our neighbouring class 3 system. There's not much to see in this C3, with two warp bubbles on my directional scanner and only an off-line tower to discover floating around the planet out of d-scan range. It's my fifth visit to this system, each time it being unoccupied, making me unsurprised to learn from my notes that it holds a static exit to null-sec k-space. I suppose having a regular connection to null-sec isn't good for your survival, but having the occasional connection available could be good for my security status.

Ten anomalies and eleven signatures should be quick enough to sift through, but a K162 sticking out like a sore thumb makes me recall my probes and go exploring backwards through wormholes. It being the first signature I resolve will make picking up scanning where I left off a simple matter, should I hit a boring dead end and come back this way. I jump in to the class 4 system to see core probes on d-scan and I cloak and hold position to see what comes my way. But an adjustment of d-scan shows the probes to be quite distant, so I ignore them and warp away to explore. There are lots of warp bubbles scattered around the system but no occupation to account for them. Assuming there is another K162 to be found I launch my own probes and start scanning. Once again, I pluck a wormhole on a first attempt out of twelve signatures, and recall my probes to continue my rapid exploration.

Another warp bubble greets me on the other side of the wormhole, and I don't need d-scan to show me this one. The bubble has been planted on top of the connection, making it fresh. Well, either fresh or an amazing coincidence. The warp bubble doesn't concern me, partly because there is no one obviously monitoring it, and partly because my Tengu strategic cruiser has the interdiction nullification subsystem and can warp through bubbles as if they aren't there. I cloak and move away from the wormhole, checking d-scan to see four big ships and a tower. Another repeat visit, I was last in this system about sixteen months ago and have no notes about occupation. I need to start from scratch.

Locating the tower is straightforward enough, made easier by only one planet being in range of the wormhole, where I find a Thanatos carrier, Orca industrial command ship, and Chimera carrier all floating empty near a piloted Rorqual capital industrial ship. The piloted Rorqual is interesting and makes me wonder what may be elsewhere in the system, an Occator transport ship warping in to the tower and back out again making me more than curious. I follow the Occator as best I can, warping my Tengu to a planet along the transport's general vector, where d-scan shows me the beautiful sight of two Hulk exhumers and two flights of mining drones sitting in space. The hunt is on.

The hunt stalls. I have nowhere safe where I can launch scanning probes, which I'll need in order to find the Hulks in their gravimetric site. The Hulks are in range of all but one planet, and the one planet that is out of range holds their tower, where the Rorqual pilot sits and the Occator is pinging back-and-forth. I'll have to take a chance with launching probes quickly and hoping no one notices, and my best chance is out of range of the Hulks, even if it is in range of the tower. I would imagine the Hulks are more concerned with their safety than the Rorqual, and with any luck the locals have placed far too much trust in the bubble 'protecting' their wormhole.

I warp away from the miners and launch my combat scanning probes, flinging them out of the system and reactivating my cloak as soon as possible. I return to get close to the Hulks, monitoring them indirectly with d-scan and happy to see the mining drones not being recalled. That's a fair sign that the launch of my probes has gone unnoticed. Now I need to scan their position. I have a fair idea of where the Hulks are after watching the Occator warp out, presumably to haul back some ore, and I start narrowing down their position using d-scan, stepping-down the angle of the scanning beam and using a probe's box as a datum point for each refined search. Once I get the Hulks' position within a five degree d-scan beam I adjust the range gate to gauge how distant they are. And with both bearing and range estimated I position all of my probes around where I think the Hulks are. It's time to scan.

My probes are called in from far out of the system, guided to the boxes I've carefully positioned, and set scanning. The results are good, as I get a 100% hit on the Hulks, their drones, and the gravimetric site. It's essentially a perfect scan. I recall my probes and warp directly to the Hulks, not waiting to see if they react, if they've seen my probes on d-scan. Even if I have been spotted, Hulks are slow to react and I still may have a chance of catching one if they decide to recall their drones and warp out. I haven't been spotted, which is good but gives me a new dilemma. I have two Hulks in my sights and only one point of warp disruption in single module.

One module can't simultaneously prevent two ships from warping, as it can only be active on one at time. I have, however, mused on this before, in the quiet times in space, and I think I can hold these two ships with a single point, thanks to also having a web module fitted. As a ship needs to reach three-quarters speed to enter warp and a web module reduces a target's speed, my theory is that, against sluggish targets, I can cycle the web and point across each target, slowing them down enough so that they never get a chance to reach warp speed. But I'll need to be careful. To prevent web modules acting as inadvertent warp disruptors, a web reduces a ship's speed by reducing its maximum speed, so that it still has facility to reach its three-quarters speed needed for warp. It is in this way that it is possible to slingshot ships in to warp more quickly, by webbing them at the right moment, such that a ship's current speed instantly becomes greater than its maximum speed. And it is this effect I must avoid.

My theoretical holding of two targets with one point is as follows. I point and web the first target. I deactivate the web, and then the point, and then point the second target, followed by webbing the second target. The first target is sufficiently slowed that it needs to accelerate up to warp speed before escaping, and whilst the first target accelerates I am preventing the second from warping and simultaneously slowing it. I remove the web then the point from the second target and return them both to the first target, the second now slowed and needing to accelerate to warp speed, as the first is brought back down to a crawl. I repeat this tactic for as long as necessary. At least, that's the theory. I must get the activation and deactivation order correct, or the web will slingshot a Hulk in to warp, and I can't dally with the changeover, or even a sluggish Hulk will accelerate to three-quarters speed. And I have little time to consider this further, as I have both Hulks in front of me. I need to put theory in to practice.

Pointing and webbing the first Hulk is pretty easy, and I start shooting missiles in to its shields. I am not entirely convinced my theory will work but I remove the web and then the point and transfer them to the second Hulk, as I still shoot the first. If my theory goes wrong now at least I should still have the second Hulk as a target. But the first stays as I cycle the two modules back to it. A couple more cycles of switching back-and-forth and the first Hulk explodes. I ignore the pod and concentrate on keeping the second ship in my sights, this time keeping the point and web on it as I shoot. I make a slight error in trying to snare the Occator too, forgetting that the transport ship has increased warp strength and is essentially immune to my warp disruptor, but luckily I don't lose the second Hulk during that lost cycle. The exhumer soon explodes as did the first. This time I try to catch the ejected pod, but the pilot has had plenty of time to get used to the idea of losing his ship, and he warps away cleanly.

That was beautiful. Using the point and web gave the Hulks no chance of escape, as neither ship was physically able to accelerate fast enough to enter warp. They were both pinned in the gravimetric site and at my complete lack of mercy. Of course, a second point instead of the web would have been just as effective, and less hassle, but the web is a useful module to couple with the point in different situations, and the utility of having both fitted outweighs the rare occasion when I encounter two feasible targets. I am really happy to see my theory work in practice, even if I realise that it will only really work with ships that are slow to accelerate.

Now I need to tidy up. I shoot both Hulk wrecks and cloak, not even bothering to see what they have dropped, as mining gear and ore tends to be voluminous in a way my Tengu's cargo hold isn't. Only after I cloak do I realise there are still two jet-cans floating nearby, no doubt holding even more mined ore. With d-scan clear of all but one of the Hulks' pods—and I don't bother trying to find or chase him, knowing he can easily warp away before my Tengu finishes dropping out of warp—I decloak and pop both cans, destroying what was inside, if only to be brutally efficient in my assault. Cloaking again, I wait for the reaction to my destructive attack. And here it comes. The Chimera warps in to the gravimetric site, soon followed by the Thanatos and a Dominix battleship. An overreaction is a wonderful sight indeed.

There is not much two carriers and a battleship can do against a cloaked ship, any more than my covert Tengu can do against two carriers and a battleship. I sit quietly and I watch. It looks like the big ships are there mostly to look big, as a Viator warps in and collects the drones left behind, which is all that remains of the mining operation. Once done, the ships warp out until none remain, and the pilots start going off-line. I leave the system behind me, heading back the way I came through the ineffective warp bubble on the wormhole, and reflect on what a thoroughly satisfying start I've had to this evening.

It's all quiet in the home system, I've little choice but to scan. Well, I suppose I could shoot rocks or gas or... so, I've little choice but to scan. But even scanning can't have me avoid running in to gas, with two new ladar sites cropping up, making our system look quite busy with signatures at the moment. And even though running in to gas doesn't really hurt, the Sleeper cruisers waiting to shoot me in one of the sites could leave a scorch mark or two. A quick excursion in a battlecruiser pops the cruisers and nets me some ammunition iskies, leaving me free to explore our w-space constellation.

The neighbouring class 3 system looks interesting, with nine ships visible on my directional scanner. There are no wrecks, though, and as a passive scan of the system reveals a whopping twenty-six anomalies I don't think the locals are particularly active. Having only been in this C3 two months ago lets me confirm the tower is in the same place as before, where I see all of the ships floating pilot-free. That removes all their power of intimidation. I warp out to launch probes and scan, picking up twenty-one signatures to go with all the anomalies. The locals don't shoot Sleepers, and they don't mine rocks or harvest gas. They are some lazy bastards.

Sifting through the signatures finds the usual gas, rocks, and radar sites, with nothing of interest beyond the static exit to low-sec empire space. Jumping to low-sec puts me in the Bleak Lands, which doesn't feel like much of a change from the C3 but at least there are other capsuleers in the system. Quite a few, in fact, including a Broadsword heavy interdictor, Loki strategic cruiser, Stiletto interceptor, and Hurricane battlecruiser all on d-scan. I prudently make a safe spot before launching probes to scan. There's only one other signature in the system and, luckily for me, it's another wormhole, a K162 from more class 3 w-space. Glorious leader Fin's turned up and is preparing to follow behind me when I see a Tengu strategic cruiser decloak in low-sec and jump to C3b, before I get close enough to do the same.

I wasn't quite expecting that. I falter for a moment, then let Fin know what happened, and follow the Tengu. I may not be able to pop it myself but if Fin's hot on my heels then all I need to do is hold the Tengu in place. Sadly, all I can do on entering C3b is watch the Tengu warp away from the wormhole. I was too slow. I update d-scan to see no sign of the Tengu, probably meaning he isn't local, particularly as a tower is in range. I would like to think the Tengu was scouting the exit for a logistics run, but my bad timing in being too slow to catch him but just quick enough for my entrance to be noted probably means no haulers will be coming this way. I may as well scan for wormholes.

Two K162s stand out nicely from the background noise of sixteen anomalies and seven signatures, one from class 2 w-space and one from class 5 w-space. As I drop out of warp on the C5 K162 I see the Tengu again, as it once more decloaks and jumps on my arrival. It seems plausible that he was watching my scanning probes converge on the wormhole and then disappear, as if recalled, almost as if he's baiting me in to following him. I have Fin in C3b with me now, in a Legion strategic cruiser, so we could take down the Tengu easily enough, but maybe not a waiting fleet. And even though I am tempted to take a look in the C5 this is enough to get Fin nervous for me, and she's normally the one who is pushing for engagements.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I jump to the C5. What I see is nothing, but only for a second or two, then the Tengu reappears and jumps back to the C3. It's almost as if it was waiting for me to follow so that it could evade me. I alert Fin and tell her to engage, as I hold in the C5 in case it jumps back. The Tengu escapes the Legion's recalibrating sensors and warps clear, Fin trying to follow, and I jump back to the C3 just as a second Tengu drops out of warp on to the wormhole. I'm having issues with my sense of timing again tonight. I hold in the C3 on the wormhole but the Tengu doesn't jump, so I follow Fin to the C2 K162, where she thinks the first Tengu went.

Fin jumps to the C2 to have a poke around. Not wanting to be thwarted by decloaking delays again, I decloak my Tengu now so that I am ready for any running Tengu. We don't see one, although there are ships in the C2. Fin warps around and finds them, only for them to be blue-ish to us and probably not valid targets. Meanwhile, a Tengu blips on and off d-scan in the C3, indicative of a ship making wormhole jumps. But before too long I am called by name in the local communication channel. This means two things. First, the pilot must be near the wormhole, as ship names do not betray capsuleer names. Second, I've been recognised!

It turns out my readers are an intelligent bunch, not willing to decloak when given only a vague impression that I may not shoot their flattering self. It turns out we are looking in the wrong direction, which I suppose should be obvious given I first saw the Tengu in the low-sec system. This Tengu has been scouting for other ships, one of which was carrying a few billion ISK in loot. That would have been quite a prize. It seems the way our ships crossed was purely coincidental and not by design. Now he's finished his logistics and just fancies a chat, and who am I not to oblige? Fin returns from the C2 and we stalk C3b a little longer, in case more ships are passing through and I'm being bluffed, but I don't think I am. More ships are coming, though, as it seems our friend has attracted more attention.

The pointy ships in low-sec must have seen the Tengu scout moving ships back and forth, as they have since found the wormhole leading in to this C3 and are taking a look around. As I sit on the U210, thinking about heading home, the wormhole flares and a Manticore appears. That should be small fry for my Tengu but I am also not prepared, and my decloaking would give the stealth bomber more than adequate time to cloak or jump back to low-sec. And it's good I do nothing, as a Hurricane battlecruiser appears shortly after the Manticore cloaks, jumping back to low-sec once its session change cloak dissolves. Another wormhole flare brings a rather scary Arazu recon ship in to the C3, making it clear that the low-sec pirates have found the wormhole and are looking for a juicy ship to pop.

As we can't leave the way we came just yet, and as my new friend tells me there are more wormholes to discover in this C3, I warp out, launch probes, and return to scanning. And he's not wrong, as six of the seven signatures here are wormholes, my scanning resolving outbound connections to class 1, class 2, and class 4 w-space, along with the two K162s already resolved, with the final signature being a ladar site. I think we have time to poke our noses in to the systems to look for an opportunistic kill. The C1 is occupied but inactive, a single tower holding no ships. The C2 is much the same as the C1, but with an unpiloted Orca floating inside the tower's shields.

The C4 shows some initial promise, with scanning probes converging on the K162 I'm sitting on, but they soon diverge and disappear without any ship making itself known. Fin waits patiently in the C3 as I scout each system, hoping as I do for someone to shoot, but we come away empty-handed. At least we've passed enough time for the pirates to get bored and move on, letting us bridge across the low-sec system back to C3a, where there remains no activity, and jump home. It's been a good evening. A boring-looking C3 opened out across low-sec to become an exciting hunt-or-hunted operation.

I've almost run in to a couple of Golems. To be fair, the marauders are a response to my shooting an Orca industrial command ship of theirs, as it came back from low-sec empire space to w-space. Now I'm in our neighbouring class 3 system and about to scan for the wormhole the Orca fled through when the Golems come to look menacing on the exit wormhole. If only Fin was here, we could have a proper scrap. As it is, I don't think there's too much I can do against a couple of Golems, but they won't stop me completing my scan of the system. So far, I've found this C3 to be occupied, but with only an absent pilot in an Anathema covert operations boat in the local tower, and the wormhole to low-sec. There must be another connection.

I don't have many more signatures to resolve, having worked through them methodically to start with, not realising a logistics operation was occurring, so I find a second wormhole fairly quickly. I warp to the wormhole to find a K162 from class 2 w-space, which would make the Golems, if not the Orca, rather fancy toys to have in such low-class w-space. A third wormhole appears under my scanning probes, the final signature in the system, this one a K162 from class 4 w-space. This seems more likely to be a home for Golems, almost confirmed by the wormhole being destabilised to half-mass, as if at least an Orca and a couple of marauders had made a return trip.

The Golems aren't on this K162, which is understandable. They are probably looking for me, or at least trying to keep my exit threatened, rather than guarding their connection home. They may think I've entered from low-sec, or have come from the C2, instead of a new wormhole opened since their own scouting. Only one marauder is visible on my directional scanner anyway, the Golem with the Orca pilot moved away from the exit to low-sec and cloaked, which I'm glad I saw. So I know there are two Golems out and about, and I am confident I know where they came from. There's still not much I can do about it.

Hello hello, an Iteron hauler is on d-scan now. That may even be the industrial ship my combat scanning probes initially picked up moving to the wormhole to low-sec, rather than the Orca that I ended up engaging. If he was still out in empire space and is only just returning it would explain why the Golems are persisting in this system, rather than retreating when faced with my cloaking Tengu strategic cruiser. But if that's the case, I think they are in totally the wrong ships. Sure, they are big and scary, but I reckon I could pop the Iteron before a Golem could do me much damage.

I move closer to the destabilised K162 just as the Iteron warps in, confirming this to be the right place to be waiting. I hold until the ship jumps to the C4 then drop my cloak and follow, as a Golem warps in behind the hauler. That's okay. I can't say I was expecting to face a Golem, but I have considered it a possibility and think I'll be okay. On the other side of the wormhole the Iteron is nowhere to be seen. He's holding his session change cloak, I imagine, waiting for his Golem chum to protect him. As the wormhole flares the Iteron makes a break for it. I make my move too.

I shed my cloak and lock on to the hauler, disrupting its warp engines and unleashing volleys of heavy assault missiles. The Golem shimmers in to existence but does nothing. I'm not surprised, as this is the Golem fitted with a standard cloaking device, which adds a sensor calibration delay and a penalty to the ship's scan resolution, significantly increasing locking times in both respects. My missiles have shredded the Iteron's shields and armour, and rip the hull apart to reveal the squishy capsuleer centre of the ship. I am still unthreatened, so aim for the pod, snatching it before the pilot can warp clear. A few more missiles and a fresh corpse is spat in to space. Job's a good 'un.

Now the Golem's locked on to me and starts shooting. The torpedoes slam in to my shields, which take the first hit easily enough, but I've done almost all I can here. I shoot the wreck of the hauler and jump back to C3a. I don't try to loot the wreck, nor scoop the corpse, not being entirely sure if I'll remain within jump range of the wormhole if I tried to do so, as I'm also not sure how much time I'll have to flee if I need to. I choose leaving the corpse behind in preference to perhaps leaving my own.

Back in the C3, I move away from the wormhole and cloak, moments before the second Golem warps in. I get to a safe distance and hold station, waiting to see what happens next. The newly arrived Golem jumps home, the Golem I embarrassed by podding his charge comes to the C3, the pair of jumps between the two big ships critically destabilising the wormhole in the process. Nothing else happens for a couple of minutes, after which the Golem keeping watch returns to the C4, also managing to collapse the wormhole behind him.

I think that was pretty successful. I may not have caught the Orca, nor had the clout to engage a Golem or two, but podding a pilot under the noses of its formidable and rather expensive defence was a lot of fun, and quite exciting for what was essentially engaging a soft target. Shooting the wreck was the icing on the cake, denying the capsuleers their two capital drone bay modules, which may not be expensive but both survived the ship's destruction. By popping the wreck I completed the kill. This has been a splendid evening.

It's another day in w-space. Home remains clear, which is always reassuring, and I need to look abroad for activity. I scan and resolve our static wormhole and jump to our neighbouring class 3 system to see a clear return from my directional scanner. The j-number of this system looks familiar and it could be, but only from ten months ago. There were four towers then, when 'Legions engage Sleipnirs, bombers' for 'no kills, no losses'. I remember that. It's all changed now, though, as three of those towers should be in d-scan range, yet I see nothing. I launch probes and perform a blanket scan of the system as I warp across to see if the fourth tower remains.

One tower is indeed in the same location as ten months ago, holding now a piloted Anathema covert operations boat. The ship looks inactive, however, and I don't see any scanning probes in the system, giving me freedom to scan myself. I bookmark the two anomalies present and start sifting through the seven signatures, resolving a gravimetric site, a second gravimetric site, an industrial ship—what? I fling my probes out of the system, no doubt far too late for them not to have been seen, and wait to see what happens.

The industrial ship doesn't come to the tower to join the Anathema, and warping to the inner system finds it gone. I also see a second tower on d-scan, one I missed from the K162 on the outskirts of the system. That's lax scouting again, Penny. It's possible a hauler left that tower for low-sec empire space, although that doesn't explain why it didn't show up on my probes initially. But I would put iskies on the industrial ship having used a wormhole. I reposition my probes and, sure enough, resolve a wormhole after two scans, the position of the hauler giving me a good starting point.

Warping to the wormhole shows it to be the system's static exit to low-sec, and also that the connection is reaching the end of its life. I also see an Orca industrial command ship heading my way, how exciting! It's possible the Orca is the ship my probes picked up and that the pilot is trying to collapse the wormhole instead of waiting for it to die of old age. I maintain my cloak near the wormhole as the Orca warps in and jumps to low-sec, and wait with baited breath to see if the tempting target returns after the short session change timer. A polarised Orca by itself would be vulnerable indeed.

Of course, the Orca isn't coming back. Maybe I should have followed it to low-sec and attacked it there, but I've missed my first chance. Let's hope I have more than one. I am at least assuming the Orca's coming back, and that its journey will be brief, given the condition of the wormhole. I wait a minute in w-space then, armed with the pilot's name, jump to low-sec myself. I make myself a bookmark of the other side of the wormhole and check the list of pilots in the local communication channel. The Orca pilot's not amongst them, but a colleague of his is in the system. That might not be good.

There's his colleague, in a Helios cov-ops on the wormhole, returning to w-space. It's possible the Helios has been scouting for the Orca, but I don't know whether he saw my Tengu appear in low-sec before cloaking and can warn the Orca pilot of my strategic cruiser, or was travelling closer to the Orca and missed me. Either way, the Orca pilot is now in local comms. I wait until I can see the Orca itself on d-scan and then jump back to C3a, where I hope the Helios has—nope, he's still here. I don't suppose I have the element of surprise. Even so, d-scan remains otherwise clear, so I should be good to take a shot at the Orca.

I hold my cloak and hope for the Orca to jump home regardless, and when the wormhole flares it looks like that's just what he's done. The session change cloak drops and I have a whale of a ship as a target. I decloak, lock, and start shooting, taking care to disrupt the Orca's warp engines. The Orca's taking damage but he's also tanking it, a shield booster effectively absorbing all I can throw at the massive ship. Hopefully that won't last for long, otherwise we'll be here until I run out of ammunition. The Helios reappears, perhaps to distract me, but my eyes are firmly on the prize of the Orca.

Here come the ECM drones, the Orca launching its natural defence mechanism. I'm not surprised, nor really disappointed. It will take a lot of shooting to down this ship and it may be a better use of both our time for the drones to jam me and let the Orca get on its way. But I won't let him get away without a fight. The drones get a successful jam on my Tengu, so I order ramming speed and slam my ship in to my target. The bump I give the bigger ship knocks it a little off course, slowing its approach to warp speed enough for the jam to cycle and for my Tengu to regain its lock and point.

A second ECM jam is countered by a second bump, and when I am back to shooting the Orca its shields are definitely depleting. I think I've caused it to suck its capacitor somewhat dry, which is good. But the Orca makes a course change, heading in the opposite direction to before. I pull back to get a run up for my next bump, but the drones get another successful jam before I'm ready and, as soon as my warp disruptor deactivates, the Orca warps away. Oh well, it was a good little scrap whilst it lasted. And here's the Helios, returned from wherever, appearing to give me a new target just in time. He doesn't run either, and it is a simple matter to pop the smaller ship, although the pod flees before I can trap that too.

I loot and shoot the wreck of the Helios, and scoop the ECM drones left behind, taking care to watch d-scan for any more hostile ships but comfortable to be close to a wormhole for an easy escape route. As I clear the wreckage and drones I wonder why the Helios made himself an easy target. It could have been an accident, or a misguided attempt to recover the ECM drones himself, or he could have been a distraction. I favour the distraction idea, keeping my attention away from following the Orca, particularly now that it has loosed a flight of ECM drones that would leave it more vulnerable, letting the industrial ship return home safely at the cost of a much cheaper cov-ops.

Sacrificing the Helios is a good idea, even if the pilots aren't to know I haven't scanned the system completely yet. But it also highlights the option that I naively hadn't considered so far, that the ships are not local to this C3 but just passing through. That gives me another wormhole to find. I warp out and relaunch my probes, and I get to work looking for the source of the Orca, although I realise an ambush may be waiting for me when I find it. In fact, the capsuleers may not be content with my stumbling in to their ambush, as warping back to the wormhole to low-sec to keep an eye on the situation almost sends me right in to the path of two Golem marauders. Circumstances are escalating.

I'm looking for someone to shoot. There's no one in the home w-space system but me, and a new signature is just more dumb rocks that I activate and forget about. There being only the one wormhole sends me to our neighbouring class 3 system, which looks initially disappointing. My directional scanner shows me the familiar tower-and-no-ships result that I'm getting used to. But the day is early and an empty system now may hold pilots later, so I scan, looking for extra connections and sites for potential ambushes.

Six anomalies and a dozen signatures hold the normal gas, rocks, and radar sites. What looks like a new signature pops up under my scanning probes, it turning out to be a wormhole getting my hopes up that I'll bump in to activity, but warping to the connection shows it to be a K162 from class 4 w-space that's reaching the end of its natural lifetime. I suppose it isn't a new signature after all, nor is it particularly suitable to explore beyond. Besides the possibility of the wormhole dying and isolating me from the home system, that it is in its death throes suggests that whatever activity opened the wormhole has long since dispersed. I continue scanning.

I resolve two more wormholes, hopefully giving me more options, and I end up with a static exit to low-sec empire space and a second K162 from class 4 w-space, this one stable. I jump to low-sec, bookmarking the exit wormhole in the Placid region for safety, then return to C3a to explore C4b, through the stable wormhole. Except the wormhole I land next to is wobbly, in its EOL stage. In case I've managed to mix up my bookmarks and come to the wrong wormhole I warp to the other C4 K162, finding that EOL too. Okay, both K162s are now on their last legs, so I'm unlikely to find much happening.

It's still worth a look through the newly EOL K162. I have plenty of time to do so, a few hours or so, and there may be an insomniac shooting rocks or collecting planet goo to get himself to sleep. Jumping in sees nothing of interest on d-scan, and although performing a blanket scan of the system reveals four ships they are all empty, the capital ships being too big to stow. The ships are split unevenly across two towers in the system, which I find and note but otherwise ignore, leaving this inactive system behind as I head back to low-sec to scan.

Having six signatures in the low-sec system looks promising. I resolve drones, drones, a Scythe—hullo, what's he up to, I wonder. I don't know much about the ship, interrogating d-scan to find out it's a cruiser, then having my interest piqued when I call up the ship's information panel to see that it has bonuses for mining. It's a rusty Osprey. It's also in an asteroid belt, which makes him really easy to find but also a rather dubious target. A relatively soft target in an obvious location looks like bait to me. But, taking a look around, he has no colleagues in the system, so he's either really good bait or a little oblivious to the risks he's taking.

The Scythe is simply cruising through the belt for now, which isn't suspicious in itself but doesn't make him look particularly vulnerable. Oh, but mining some jaspet does. A Scythe fitted for mining, mining in a low-sec belt. Even if he's bait I may be able to pop him and escape before help comes, or escape myself before I am caught. It's worth a go, at least, and I am out on the prowl. I bookmark the rock the Scythe is cutting through and bounce out of the asteroid belt so I can warp in closer. And on my way out I hit a rock, even if it looks like it is some ten kilometres away at least, and my cloak drops. Maybe that's the end of this ambush.

I warp out of the belt and back in to see the Scythe still mining jaspet, his drones attacking a couple of rat frigates that have turned up. He could still be bait, I suppose, not fleeing as soon as he sees my Tengu strategic cruiser appear ninety kilometres from him, but he continues to mine the rock. I am now twenty kilometres from the Scythe and, thanks again to the rocks, my cloak is dropped. I may as well take my shot. I lock on to the ship, disrupt its warp engines, and start lobbing missiles its way. The Scythe's shields hold up a short while, then the whole boat disintegrates, sending the pod in to space.

I leave the pod alone, not really wanting to take a huge hit to my security status when popping the ship will do, contenting myself with looting what I can from the wreck and shooting that instead. I also pause to pop one of the rat frigates before realising that I am making a target of myself, and decide to warp out. That was short and sweet. And a little sour. My security status has taken a dive! I understand I get penalised for attacking another ship, but it seems a bit harsh to take a second hit for actually destroying it. Is low-sec meant to be like touch football, where pilots operate on the honour system? Shoot but don't kill?

Not only am I punished for destroying a ship I was punished for shooting, Concord have got their knickers in a twist about my shooting the wreck! 'Property damage', they call it. They could at least have warned me, perhaps with an easily ignored and dismissible dialogue box that crops up as I start to shoot the wreck. Low-sec is stupid, I should stick to w-space. Speaking of which, my probes are still somewhere in the system and I have two more signatures to resolve. One is a magnetometric site, the other is a weak wormhole, an outbound connection to class 5 w-space.

I leave low-sec behind me for the C5, finding it empty and inactive. Scanning finds an EOL K162 from class 4 w-space, which is currently the in-vogue wormhole to be seen with, and the static connection to more class 3 w-space. This second C3 is also unoccupied, the known tower from two months ago torn down to leave only a container for bookmarks. I know there's a connection to null-sec k-space to be found but I'm not looking. Maybe I'll come back later to explore further, but for now I am going home for food.

No later exploration for me! Glorious leader Fin is here and we're going to make more iskies. The only change in our neighbouring system is the death of the two EOL K162s, there being still no sign of the locals. We bring out a pair of Tengus to clear a magnetometric site and four anomalies, analysing and salvaging afterwards in a pair of Noctis salvagers, to bring home just shy of three hundred million iskies in profit. That's a pretty good haul for the evening. I wonder if Concord take bribes to fudge security statuses.

Three extra signatures seems like a lot. Can they all be Sleepers? Yes, they can, being gas, gas, and our static wormhole, which doesn't really count as a new signature but a replacement for yesterday's. Silly me. I activate the two new ladar sites and jump to our neighbouring class 3 w-space system. I see some ships on my directional scanner, the Tengu strategic cruiser, Rokh battleship, Drake battlecruiser, and Noctis salvager potentially out shooting Sleepers, and the Viator transport maybe collecting planet goo. But there are no wrecks in the system and I suspect I'll either find no pilots, or pilots doing nothing. I move away from the wormhole and cloak, and perform a passive scan of the C3 anyway.

My passive scan throws up nine anomalies, which I bookmark whilst checking my notes. This is my third visit to the system but the last was fourteen months ago, and as the C3 was unoccupied back then I suspect I'll need to locate the tower the old-fashioned way, using d-scan. It takes a couple of minutes before I'm floating outside the tower, looking disappointedly at all of the empty ships inside its shields. At least they aren't blue, I suppose. Confirming a lack of activity, it's time to scan. I warp away, launch scanning probes, and blanket the system. I've cleared all the anomalies from the scan results already, leaving me with fourteen signatures to sift through. I'd better get to it if I want to go anywhere tonight.

Ladars, radars, and gravimetric sites, oh my! A single magnetometric site hides away amongst the noise, along with two wormholes. The system's static exit leads to low-sec empire space, which wouldn't be surprising even if I hadn't noted it over a year ago, and the second wormhole is a boring old K162 from high-sec. By Odin's 0·6 system, I jump out to a region that is Devoid, but not of pilots, where I don't even bother scanning, instead heading back across the C3 to its exit to low-sec, where I do scan. I am simply getting back in to the habit of getting exit systems for emergency use. Maybe one day doing so will come in handy, even if I hope otherwise.

Two signatures are in the low-sec system, which turn out to be gas and some drones. How dull dullity dull. I pop some Gurista rats in the sole anomaly here, hardly a strenuous activity, and decide to scan the high-sec system after all. One extra signature is in the high-sec system, causing me to wonder what the odds are that it also is a wormhole. Pretty good, it turns out, as I stumble in to a K162 from class 2 w-space. This is a rather good find, as the C2 system will have a second static connection that leads to more w-space, which should prolong my exploration. I jump in to class 2 w-space with good spirits, only to see on d-scan a whole fleet out and about somewhere. Even better!

Well, 'even better' if the fleet is shooting Sleepers and leaving an unguarded salvager to sweep up behind them, but I rather suspect not. There are no wrecks to be seen on d-scan and I wouldn't imagine a battleship fleet of an Armageddon, Abaddon, Megathron, Typhoon, and three Tempests, plus several flights of drones, would have much difficulty demolishing Sleepers in a C2, even without a pair of Guardian logistics ships to keep them all afloat. Something else is happening here. Maybe manoeuvres, as the ships all appear to be coincident with the local tower, and as drones are out I imagine they are not sitting passively inside the shields.

Ah, how slow I can be sometimes. The fleet is indeed at the tower, but this is no training exercise, the tower itself is being actively engaged. All of the defences have been incapacitated and now the tower is being steadily ripped apart. And with the static exit to high-sec I imagine the fleet will return after the tower enters its reinforced mode and depletes its strontium reserves, or maybe even simply stay here. And as I watch the fleet shooting mechanically at the tower, Guardians supplying extra capacitor juice to the hungry, hungry battleships, a Prorator transport ship appears, this one blue to our corporation.

It looks like the Prorator is supplying ammunition to this operation. That he is allied to our alliance, and none of the other pilots are, is interesting but not so much to try to find out what's happening here. It pretty much stops me interfering, however, if I could actually think of a way to interfere without stupid risk to myself. I don't feel like interrupting, although it would probably take a fair amount of threat to interrupt the tower attack, nor do I want to announce my presence to the fleet because of the sole blue pilot. My explorer spirit has been sated for the evening, so I simply turn my boat around and head home, thankful that I'm not the one shooting a stationary object for the next few hours.

Home is empty, without even a glorious leader in sight. A new signature tries to keep me company but I don't want to waste time shooting rocks. Let's see what else is out there in w-space today. A single canister is visible on my directional scanner in our neighbouring class 3 system, with my notes from eight months ago suggesting a tower may be further afield. I launch probes and warp to the tower's listed position, finding it still there and orangified. It would be impressive to face the Drake battlecruiser, Abaddon battleship, Megathron battleship, Rifter frigate, Nemesis stealth bomber, and pair of Imicus frigates, if any of them held pilots, but no one's home.

My notes also tell me this C3 has a static exit to high-sec, which could be useful. We've been lucky recently with some good connections. Then again, with two more wormholes amongst the six anomalies and five signatures here we may not want to risk a logistics run with some vulnerable ships. Along with resolving the exit to high-sec empire space, I find the signature NIL to be a K162 from null-sec k-space, which is so close, w-space overseers, but still wrong, and an N968 outbound connection to more class 3 w-space, sadly reaching the end of its natural lifetime.

I pop out to high-sec, appearing in the cosy-sounding Bleak Lands, looking to be far from anywhere, before returning to C3a and poking my nose through the dying wormhole to C3b. I see an off-line tower and nothing else, so I launch probes and perform a blanket scan of the system as I warp away to look for occupation manually. I find a tower with an Orca inside its shields, but the industrial command ship, the only ship my combat probes detect in the system, is unpiloted. There's nothing for me here to risk a circuitous trip home, so I jump back to C3 and out through the K162 from null-sec.

There's no one else in this null-sec system in the Querious region, so I launch probes and scan for more connections. Two extra signatures could be promising, but I resolve only two sites called Independence and Radiance, which are suitably cryptic names. I consider hopping across to high-sec to scan there, but my glorious leader has arrived and is planning a trek to Amarr for a new toy or two. I'm game. I head home, ditch my scanning boat, and warp pod-nekkid towards Domain.

The ships we are buying today are the new Oracle battlecruisers, a little late to the party but we're not really that hip anyway. And we're buying Amarr because the Caldari ship uses guns, and we can't use guns. Of course, the Oracle uses lasers, which are guns, but we kind of know how to use them because of tentative plans to fit in to a Revelation dreadnought. And we know a bit about projectile weapons because of equally tentative plans to sit in Loki strategic cruisers. But hybrid guns are a mystery. And so we buy and assemble yet another giant robot head that is typical of Amarrian engineering.

I name my Oracle the Almighty Tallest Purple, which has to be shortened to Tallest Purple because of futuristic naming restrictions on spaceships, and fit it with guns and upgrades according to Fin's wisdom. I know nothing of gunboats, this probably being my first proper one, and we head back home with some relatively cheap, low-mass damage machines. I get to the high-sec system holding the wormhole with Fin three jumps behind, which she thinks is 'situation normal'. I think she plans it, personally, letting me be her canary for danger.

Jumping in to w-space has the C3 remain clear, at least from any obvious signs of ships, which lets me warp to the nearest customs office to give my new boat a test-firing. Yep, the lasers work, that's a good sign. I'm only scratching the customs office, though, despite the quite impressive damage I seem to be inflicting. If we want to wreak any havoc on customs offices we'll need a few more of these ships and plenty of time on our hands. But for a test-fire a barn door is as good as anything, and I am happy to be shooting in a new ship for the first time in ages.