Scanning until spotted

21st July 2011 – 5.36 pm

I'm home alone again in the class 5 w-space system. Checking the bookmarks can finds references for the static wormhole here and a connection in the neighbouring class 4 system marked 'unopened'. I copy the bookmarks to my nav-comp and warp out to take a look at what's out there. Jumping in to the C4 has nothing of interest appear on my directional scanner, and I warp off to explore. The system is unoccupied, which I expected from noting the next wormhole being kept closed, probably so that the corporation could plunder sites of specific Sleeper interest here. But I'm out and exploring, so I'll push through and see what else there is to find.

The newly opened wormhole leads to more class 4 w-space, and the K162 is only in d-scan range of the outer planet in the 50 AU-radius system. I launch probes to perform a blanket scan of the system, revealing no anomalies, two signatures, and a bunch of ships. I locate the tower that is obviously here to find ships from covert operations boats to industrials, command ships to strategic cruisers, and even a dreadnought, but none piloted, not even the pod. That's a nice bubble boy they've constructed though.

Scanning is easy here, the two signatures obviously being the wormhole I entered through and the static connection, and I am soon jumping in to a class 3 w-space system. I was here seven months ago, when I noted the location of a tower but not the type of static wormhole I can expect to find. The tower remains in the same place and, like the rest of the system, is devoid of capsuleer activity, letting me launch probes and scan. Nine anomalies accompany seven signatures, one each of a gravimetric, ladar, magnetometric, and radar site, along with two wormholes and the K162 homewards.

Increasing the evidence that all C3s lead to k-space, one wormhole is an exit to low-sec empire space, the other being an outbound connection to further class 3 w-space. I jump to the second C3 to continue my exploration, d-scan immediately showing me four ships and Sleeper wrecks. Game on. Or maybe not, as the drones are recalled and it seems that the ships have warped away from where the wrecks are. I may have been spotted when entering the system. It's also possible that the anomaly has been cleared and the fleet is moving on to the next, but a passive scan locates the anomaly containing the wrecks and warping in sees a Sleeper battleship still there. I've been spotted.

I find the tower in the system, where three of the four ships sit unpiloted. I had assumed the Dominix battleship was out shooting Sleepers and the Noctis waiting to salvage, even if I didn't actually think the Bestower hauler was part of the operation too. It seems I've encountered a lone Proteus strategic cruiser and, although unlikely, it's possible he warped out to recharge his tank and I may still have a target.

Okay, I've been spotted. The little message in the local communication channel can only be directed towards me, leaving me no ambush opportunity. And as this class 3 w-space system will probably only lead out to more low-sec space I don't even bother to scan for wormholes. Instead I turn around and head home, copying my new collection of bookmarks to the shared can when I get there and taking a break for food.

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