Managing to kill a low-sec rat
24th May 2014 – 3.55 pmThe barely scratched Epithal hauler is back in his tower, where he sits for a moment before going off-line. I dunno why, his stupid ship will let him collect all his goo with little threat. But he's gone. The Helios covert operations boat returns from wherever, and is joined by a Leopard shuttle, but whatever. I'm leaving.
Through the U210, sending me to Metropolis, where a Buzzard cov-ops sits tantalisingly close to the wormhole. I pounce! Or I would, if I remembered that I have to move to shed my session change cloak. Instead, my targeting systems merely complain with every failed attempt of mine to lock-on to the Buzzard until the cov-ops moves and disappears under its own module cloak. It's a shame I didn't get to shoot it, as the pilot is an insulting dick.
I leave this horrible system alone and head back in to w-space, across the class 3 w-space system to a K162 from more low-sec, and get a second exit. This system is in Verge Vendor, and is also home to faction warfare, like the one in Metropolis. So that's that, then. I have a couple of wormholes to more w-space available to me in C3a, and I think I'll poke through the K162 first, which takes me to a class 4 system.
Updating d-scan once inside C4a sees towers and ships, but no wrecks. I doubt the Tengu strategic cruiser and Devoter heavy interdictor are up to much, but how about the Bestower hauler, Prorator transport, or Buzzard? Opening the system map to start prodding planets with d-scan also lets me marvel at the discovery scanner again, showing me a mere two anomalies and two signatures, all without doing anything. I just have to live with it.
One tower is easy to find, and it holds the Tengu, Devoter, and Buzzard, all of them piloted. TEST pilots too, which is probably good to know. The second tower has the two industrial ships floating inside its force field, empty of capsuleers. Okay, I'll scan that other signature. It won't take long. It's a wormhole, a K162 from class 3 w-space. That's mildly interesting.
I warp to the K162 but spot a Venture on d-scan before I jump. I pause, point d-scan at the towers, and see the mining frigate is with the three piloted ships. Is that of any significance? I head back to find out, at which point the Venture is swapped for an Anathema, at which point I lose interest. The Anathema warps, but I don't care. I take my Loki strategic cruiser to the K162 and jump.
Updating d-scan in C3c doesn't show me much from the wormhole, and although the one planet out of range holds occupation the lone ship inside the force field is an empty Imicus frigate. I think I've seen all I need to. Back to C4a, in to C3a, and across to the N968, taking me to C3b, where first impressions are much like those from C3c. D-scan is clear and, oh, opening the system map sees that nothing is out of range. What I see is what I get. I probably shouldn't have launched probes.
I did launch probes, though, somewhat reflexively, so I may as well use them. I sift through the nine anomalies and nine signatures, all fairly close to each other in the small system, and resolve a single wormhole amongst the gas and one data site. It's the static exit to low-sec, perhaps to Kador—I've not quite got the hang of low-sec region identification through wormholes. Poking the U210 takes me to Khanid—it starts with a K—where I'm alone.
It's too late to scan the two extra signatures, I tell myself, but maybe I can find a clone soldier to pop for pocket ISK and security status. Nope, but this rat battleship will do nicely, if I don't panic and warp back to the wormhole the moment I engage it when a new pilot enters the system. D-scan shows he's only in a shuttle, though, and he passes through in seconds. Okay, back to the battleship, pop it without interruption, and turn to head home, happy with causing one minor explosion.
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