Watching the discovery scanner in action

2nd September 2014 – 5.40 pm

That gas still hasn't gone yet. I bet that extra signature in the home system is more gas, just to prolong my discomfort. Or maybe it's a second wormhole, a K162 from class 2 w-space that will have a second static connection to high-sec empire space. That's a decent option, as it could give me a chance to export some of the loot I've been accumulating recently.

Jumping to C2a and updating my directional scanner sees little, although there is a can labelled 'myrmadon charges', which intrigues me. All I have to do is find the myrmadon. To help, I launch combat scanning probes and perform a blanket scan of the system. No myrmadon here, not that I really know what I'm looking for, but unless it is an anomaly, signature, or drone, it's not in this system.

myrmadon charges

Switching filters to look for structures as possible signs of occupation sees a bunch of them dotted around here and there. They just cause me to waste time warping to a couple of points around the system, though, as I only find off-line towers, nothing active. At least I see the drone is a humble mining drone, nothing to care about rescuing. Talk to the rocks, man.

There are lots of anomalies, few signatures, thirty-five and five. Out of the five, there is one fat signature, one potential K162. Scanning it even finds a wormhole, a K162, but only one from high-sec. Along with that, I also resolve two more wormholes, and identify and ignore a gas site. I check the K162 exit first, leaving w-space to appear in Sinq Laison, four hops from Dodixie. That could be good for exporting, depending on the other wormholes.

I return to C2a and warp to see where it's static exit to high-sec leads, but warping to the two wormholes first sees an exit to null-sec, which is peculiar, and then an outbound connection to class 5 w-space. Now it makes sense. These are the two static wormholes, and the connection to our home system is a random link. That makes sense of the lack of occupation too, as C2 systems with C4/high-sec static wormholes tend to be snapped up.

I've opened it, I ought to use it, so I jump through the wormhole to C5a. A messy, eccentric C5a, with a black hole. I'm guessing there is no occupation in this system either, but, just like my first guess, I'm wrong. A blanket scan adds seven ships to the twenty-two anomalies and eleven signatures. Warping away from d-scan range of the first planet to be in d-scan range of the second sees the ships, plus a tower.

Eccentric class 5 w-space system

Locating the tower and warping there finds just an Anathema covert operations boat piloted, leaving the three Buzzard cov-ops, and Armageddon and two Scorpion battleships empty. As the Anathema is doing nothing, I start scanning. That seems to prompt activity, although I'm pretty sure it's not because of me but the silly discovery scanner pinging the new signature to the Anathema.

The cov-ops warps out of the tower, launches probes, and cloaks. I identify loads of gas and resolve two wormholes, and as I turn to accelerate towards one of the wormholes the Anathema reappears and warps back in to the tower. That he decloaks to warp is interesting, as it implies he doesn't have a cov-ops cloak fit. Normally that wouldn't matter, as the tiny, agile ships could easily evade the attentions of my Proteus strategic cruiser. In a class 5 w-space system with an inertia-imposing black hole, however, I may stand a chance.

I stop my Proteus and watch the Anathema. I don't know why, really. Yeah, I may have a chance of catching the cov-ops, a slim chance, but only if he actually jumps through the wormhole and returns polarised. Well, there he goes, aligning and warping, and I follow, rather slowly, also being afflicted by the black hole, the cov-ops naturally heading to the new wormhole the discovery scanner annoyingly told him about.

The Anathema drops from d-scan before I reach the wormhole, and I don't know if he's turned around or jumped. If I had kept my combat probes out I could perform a blanket scan and count the number of ships, but I haven't, so I can't. If he jumped, will he want to explore, leaving me sitting on the wormhole like a lemon? Maybe. Personally, I don't think he'd jump if he wasn't going to explore, and I don't see much point in waiting here. Not right now, anyway. As I see it, if the Anathema explores and finds the high-sec K162, maybe he'll take a fatter ship out of the system.

As I consider the possibility of catching a hauler, I bounce around the two wormholes I've resolved. One is a K162 from more class 5 w-space, the other is C5a's static wormhole to class 2 w-space. And there's the Anathema briefly back on d-scan. Maybe I could have waited, or maybe he is a mean scout and has found the high-sec K162. I warp back to the tower to see what the pilot does. Hmm, probably nothing, not with a C5 K162 connecting in to his system, and not when he would be a fool not to realise that someone must have opened the K162 back to C2a. Sure enough, a few minutes of watching sees no change. I should probably move on.

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