Looking for a Loki
23rd March 2012 – 5.48 pmThere are still problems affecting Fin and my attempts to stay in space. Fin's more than mine now, which isn't any solace, as Fin's activities are limited to her continuing bid to locate a stray jet-can in our home system. That in turn limits me to solo activities, until the connection problems are finally admitted to and fixed. I suppose I can start by trying to find the Loki strategic cruiser that blips on my directional scanner and combat probes as I start to scan. Is he scouting, stalking, or just passing through?
More gas at home is a diversion I can quickly take to activate before investigating the second wormhole here. At least there is a K162 to be found, from class 5 w-space this time, as that makes it more likely the Loki was passing through or scouting and isn't looking to cause trouble with us directly. Maybe just indirectly. I jump in to the C5 to see what waits for me there.
There's little to see on d-scan from the wormhole, with just the one probe on scan. The probe's appearance is a little peculiar, given that the static wormhole is already discovered and opened, but there are explanations for its presence, both involving a K162 also being in this system. Either a new wormhole has opened up here recently and a scout from deeper w-space is scanning, or a wormhole opened up here some time ago, letting in a scout discover this static connection, and it's now the locals' turn to find it. Either way, I warp off to see if I can find a Loki.
I may not have to look hard for the ship, as I was only in this system two months ago and have two towers listed in my notes. I also jotted down 'lots of pilots and big ships, collapse WH shortly after I open it'. Right, I remember this system. I came in through a chain of class 5 w-space, opening a K162 in to this system when the locals were clearing anomalies escalated with carriers and dreadnoughts. They quickly found the wormhole I entered through and collapsed it, with my getting lucky to jump out at just the right time. I wonder how active the locals are today.
A Magnate frigate and shuttle are piloted at one tower in C5a, with an empty Revelation dreadnought floating nearby. The second tower has a neat bubble trap, positioned to catch ships warping between the two towers, along with a Talos battlecruiser, Cynabal cruiser, and Archon carrier all piloted, and a Chimera carrier and Phoenix dreadnought sitting empty. So there are some ships, a few pilots, but no Loki and nothing happening. That's probably for the best, given my previous encounter in this system. I would imagine the Loki came from deeper w-space and the Magnate is currently scanning.
I'll leave C5a alone for now. I don't quite get back to the home system, though, as the wormhole flares as I approach it. I pause to watch a Loki—maybe the Loki—decloak and warp to a local tower. Okay, maybe he is from here after all. I follow the Loki to the tower to see if I can gauge what the plan is now, and see some ship changes and the Magnate warp out to where their static wormhole isn't. Maybe there is another unwanted K162 that they'll collapse shortly. I return to my plan of ignoring them and hope they'll ignore us, and head home and onwards in to our neighbouring C3.
There is a tower but no ships visible on d-scan in the class 3 system, a tower that won't be hard to find in another fairly sparse system. There are eleven planets and only twelve moons in total in the system, with six of the planets bare of satellite bodies. Oh, and the tower is where I have it listed from an earlier visit seven months ago. Still, there were two towers back then, so I didn't have it too easy in finding this one. No one's home, so I scan. My probes pick up seven anomalies and eight signatures, and I have to assume that the Loki has already scouted this system thoroughly, popping easy targets and leaving me with sloppy seconds.
Even if a scout has passed through this system recently, he may not be quite as tenacious as me with looking for targets. Assuming I'll find nothing here, and probably in any connected w-space system, I can always exit through the static connection and look for more wormholes in the system in low-sec empire space. Doing so will be probably my best hope for finding activity too, as the only other wormhole in this C3 is a K162 from more class 5 w-space, but one that is reaching the end of its natural lifetime. I jump through the U210 instead to scan.
I launch probes in the low-sec system in the Domain region, which reveal an uninspiring two signatures. I'm sitting on one of them, the K162 back to C3a, so resolve the other. It's a dirty site. A dirty, dirty site. I'd give it a spanking but there's another pilot in the system. It's not that I mind if anyone watches, or even joins in, but not in a low-sec system. I insist on a bit more protection when indulging in such behaviour. Nothing's happening tonight, unless the C5a pilots are launching an incursion in to our home system with an unguarded salvager. Taking myself home finds no such luck, making tonight a quick and quiet evening of exploration. I hide my ship in a corner of the system and go off-line.
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