Scrambling Sleepers
28th July 2009 – 5.46 pmOur wormhole engineer expedition decides to enter a magnetometric site that has been scanned down in w-space, analyser modules at the ready to unlock the secrets of loot to haul back to known space for profit. Just as the previous radar site was my introduction to containers that require codebreaking modules this too is my introduction to magnetometric sites. It's all rather exciting being in w-space.
Sleepers yet again awake to prevent us from rightfully claiming their property, but the opposition they muster is no match for our guns and missiles. At least, not until two battleships turn up and start dealing massive amounts of damage. Luckily, our own battleships are able to repair through the worst of the damage and our weapons are able to reduce the two Sleeper battleships to wrecks with only minor concerns for the saftey of our ships. With the big Sleeper ships destroyed, the cruisers soon to follow and frigates chomped by drones it looks like we have survived the onslaught and are free to scavenge the area.
Just as we feel confident of our victory and give our systems time to cool down the next wave of reinforcements appears. Along with a few smaller ships are three battleships! The Sleepers take quick umbrage to the superior fusion of engineering and style that is my Drake battlecruiser and aim all guns for me. Despite its reputation for having a solid tank even my Drake cannot withstand this kind of attention for long without buckling, but I am prepared to beat a temporary retreat, having aligned to a celestial object immediately after warping in to the site. Considering the damage three Sleeper battleships can output I am unlikely to escape without some scratches to my armour, but that can be repaired.
All I need to do to escape the devastating incoming fire is to re-select the celestial object and warp to safety. Warp to safety, ship. Warp to... why are my warp drives not coming on-line? All those red bars on my HUD are worrying me. Ship, you have a message for me, something about situational factors preventing the warp drives from engaging? Thank you, ship, but that's not helping and, unless I'm more vastly mistaken than someone who believes Hillaire Belloc is still alive, the incoming fire is now evaporating the hull, there no longer being any armour left. Oh, I see it now, the Sleeper frigates are warp scrambling me. Splendid. On a more positive note, at least now that I am reduced to piloting my pod I can warp back to the POS.
Poor Lightness of Being, my trusty Drake no more, reduced to a crumpled mass of jagged metal scraps, scorched and electrically burnt, much like a Minmatar space station but with more salvage value. It was a combination of having full aggro on a new wave of Sleepers, more battleships than we've safely encountered previously, and warp scrambling frigates that caused the Drake's demise. With drones destroying the frigates quickly and the damage being taken by one of our own active armour-tanking battleships we may have been able to survive long enough to be able to warp out when needed, but I am overwhelmed too quickly.
It is all a learning experience, and we can always build more ships. The real tragedy in losing the Lightness of Being is that, on buying a replacement Drake, I have to think of a new name to christen it. Buying and fitting a new ship isn't really a problem, as it is a simple matter of finding the best prices and warping to various systems to collect everything, but coming up with a suitable name is a nightmare.
My first idea for a name for the new Drake, 'Ceci N'est Pas un Canard', unfortunately cannot be painted on the hull without running out of room, so I need to think of something else. Getting flustered by wanting to pick up modules to get the new ship fitted, but not making the faux-pas of exiting a station with the default ship name still attached, I quickly settle for 'Rock Lobster'. I am kind of hoping I will be able to think of a better name before the Drake sees combat action, but Rock Lobster is already growing on me. I'll be back in w-space before too long.
4 Responses to “Scrambling Sleepers”
How about 'The Unbearable', in tribute to the valiant 'Lightness of Being'? =P
'Abbreviate', advised Kename Fin, 'but I don't know how'. I realised that if I removed all the spaces to leave 'CeciN'estPasUnCanard' I would have a name that only just fits in the maximum number of allowed characters, but looks a bit like a variable name.
I like 'Unbearable', though! It's a splendid tribute, as well as a good warning for those I'm approaching. Thanks!
I think `Verbose' or `Erudite' might also be good names for your ships. For that matter, I might have even been suggesting that you name the ship `Abbreviate' in hindsight.
You could look at it from the Sleepers' point of view and perhaps then name it `Canton Street Food' or `Dog pile'. Other names they might like to see are `Non Sentient Ship', `Pilot On Ambien‚Ñ¢' and perhaps my favorite, `Sitting Duck'.
Now you see why I ask you to name my ships, although I think you are better suited to piloting the good ship 'Erudite'.