Testing for bait

Back to C3b, across to C3a, and in to the home system. Through the w-space constellation, all the time feeling a pull back to the class 4 system and the Procurer chomping away on an arkonor rock. I'm concerned about the state of w-space activity, and I'm leaving an active ship behind me not only unmolested but unthreatened. I can't leave it that way.

The mining barge is not an easy target, though, that's the problem. I certainly wouldn't be able to chew through its defences in my cloaky Loki strategic cruiser particularly quickly, definitely not before help could arrive, help that I know is potentially available in the same system. That's assuming there isn't already some cloaked escort, if the Procurer even needs it to survive.

I need more firepower, and cheaper firepower. I consider what options we have available. A stealth bomber would do. I could lob a bomb at the Procurer to make a big dent in its armour to start with, then hit it with torpedoes. Sure, if the Procurer has warp core stabilisers fitted it will escape, but this is more about making the best of the opportunity, not ensuring a kill from what is probably a prepared pilot.

Okay, I swap boats and head back the way I came, warping point-to-point in my Manticore. I get back to C4a and warp to the perch I made in the ore site. The Procurer is still there, still chipping chunks of ore off a rock. The situation looks much the same as I left it. I warp in to take a closer look, aiming to get roughly in to bomb launch range.

Damn, it's not a great approach. It can be difficult to gauge from a couple of hundred kilometres away, but a bloody great rock somehow gets in the way and decloaks my Manticore as I drop out of warp, still almost fifty kilometres from my target. There's nothing for it now but to give it my best shot. I get a positive lock on the Procurer, activate my torpedo launchers, and burn towards the barge.

I'm closing the range to the Procurer quickly, the micro warp drive pushing my Manticore hard. I consider launching a bomb now that I am in range, but I know that I will have to slow down or get caught in the blast. I cut the micro warp drive and start slowing down, watching my speed and range, but being a little premature. I'm still not close enough to disrupt the Procurer's warp drives. That's got to be some minor cause of why he warps clear.

The first volley of torpedoes didn't even hit their mark. The Procurer pilot was awake and alert, which isn't the least bit surprising, given his situation. Then again, he probably had warp core stabilisers fitted. Besides, I only really came back so that I wouldn't regret not knowing the outcome, and at least I didn't lose my own ship to a baited ambush.

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Tags: eve online, loki, manticore, mmorpg, penny ibramovic, procurer, pvp, w-space

Probable bait

I'm back again. I dunno why. Unfounded optimism, maybe, or just a creature of habit. Either way, I only feel like a quick session, which definitely makes my appearance feel habitual, although I have other activities I can be doing. Let's get on. Two new signatures in the home system are gas and, oh, just the one new signature. I know about the other gas site already, leaving the static wormhole that you'd think I'd be used to seeing by now.

Jumping to our neighbouring class 3 w-space system and updating my directional scanner sees two towers and Thanatos carrier somewhere in space, almost certainly together. As is usual, I warp away from the occupation, launch probes, and perform a blanket scan of the system. Four anomalies, four signatures, just that one ship. This will be quick. My notes from ten months ago point me to the towers, saving me a bit of time.

Scanning resolves two wormholes and a data site. The static exit leads to low-sec Lonetrek, but is at the end of its life and not terribly useful, making the K162 from class 3 w-space my next jump. C3b has a tower, Helios covert operations boat, and Gnosis battlecruiser in the system, but no wrecks to suggest that the Gnosis is active. A visit from eleven months ago notes a static exit to null-sec, but I suppose a wormhole is a wormhole, and there may be more K162s to uncover.

I warp to a distant, bare planet, launch probes, and blanket the system, revealing fourteen anomalies, eight signatures, and the two known ships. Back to the inner system to locate the tower, where I find the Helios piloted, the Gnosis not. The cov-ops is quite idle, though, so I call my probes in to scan. Gas, data, chubby wormhole, static wormhole. I disregard the K346 in favour of the K162 from class 4 w-space, which gives a good first impression, d-scan showing me a tower, Procurer mining barge, and Bestower hauler.

Hold on, a Procurer? That must be bait. Even if it's unpiloted and sat inside a tower's force field I doubt I can trust it. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I move from the wormhole and cloak, and point d-scan to locate the tower, the one in range of two I found in this system about two weeks ago. There it is, with the Bestower coincident—but not the Procurer. The mining barge, after a little more searching, is actually in an ore site. Damn.

Okay, don't panic. Check the other tower first, look for other ships and pilots. Yep, it's still here, and it has nine ships inside the force field. Only three of the nine are piloted, but those include a Tengu strategic cruiser and Typhoon battleship, so there is the distinct possibility of help coming to the Procurer's aid, if it doesn't already have a colleague or five floating cloaked next to his barge.

I warp in to the ore site anyway, just to take a look at the situation. The Procurer is at least chomping on a rock, arkonor at that, but is quite clearly running active defensive modules, the blue shimmer on its hull unmistakable. It may not actually be bait, but it also won't be quick or easy to kill. Let me take a look at that Bestower. With any luck, he'll be used occasionally to collect ore.

Landing outside the first tower finds the hauler piloted—and moving. Maybe he really is about to collect some ore, the Bestower being a much squishier target than the Procurer. Nope, the hauler warps to a planet. Or, I suppose, the customs office around that planet. Who uses a standard hauler for planet goo these days? Hopefully this pilot, as I give chase. Well, I sluggishly follow behind many seconds later, not having been able to trace the ship's alignment.

The Bestower isn't by the planet's customs office, but he remains on d-scan, at least for a few more seconds. Maybe he got here, collected his goo, and turned around before I could arrive. Maybe I am reduced to little more than a spectator in w-space, which is appropriate when returning to the tower to watch the Bestower once more. Or I could go to the rock field and watch the Procurer.

Perhaps I could just wake up the Procurer with a few autocannon rounds, and any of his nearby colleagues, but even that sounds a bit risky. More so when a pod appears on d-scan, followed by a Proteus strategic cruiser, neither of which are at the tower in range. At least they stop me from revealing myself and maybe getting killed. The pod and Proteus are a curious sight, though, until I realise that they are probably coming slowly through a warp bubble anchored around a wormhole. That would make sense.

The Procurer warps away, but I don't think it's a reaction to the pod and Proteus. When the Proteus drops off d-scan I warp to the second tower and see him there, so the pilot is local. Indeed, returning to the ore site sees the Procurer also returned. He was just dumping ore. Well, at least he's doing something, but even if he isn't bait he will take too long to kill in an active system to risk my Loki strategic cruiser over. I'm going home, but it's good to see other capsuleers being productive.

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Tags: bestower, eve online, gnosis, helios, loki, mmorpg, penny ibramovic, procurer, proteus, scanning, tengu, thanatos, typhoon, w-space

Extra time for extra signatures

Back through class 2 w-space. The Helios covert operations boat is probably still running idle loops around its tower, the Impairor frigate motionless nearby. In to class 3 w-space, our neighbouring system, and is that a new signature the discovery scanner is blinking at me? It's not immediately obvious, what with the other signatures also blinking annoyingly at me, but I counted how many there were before and there is one more now. Information without input.

I launch probes and resolve the new signature. Unsurprisingly, it's a new wormhole. Somewhat surprisingly, it's not a K162. The wormhole is an I182, an outbound connection to class 2 w-space. Well, that somewhat reinvigorates the constellation, albeit through a link that the discovery scanner will soon propagate in to the connected system. I'd best hurry through.

Updating my directional scanner in C2d sees a tower but no ships, which is a bit of a shame, least of all because the eighteen anomalies are accompanied by a puny three signatures. Those will be the K162 I am sitting on and the system's two static wormholes. Outbound connections only. The abundance of anomalies to lack of signatures also suggests the locals are somewhat industrial in nature, more likely to suck on gas than shoot Sleepers. They are good to find. Well, used to be good to find, when you had time to surgically hunt the gassing ships.

I may as well exhaust the chain, particularly when scanning the next link is so straightforward. The two wormholes are an exit to low-sec Sinq Laison and a connection to more class 2 w-space. Okay, press on, although jumping to C2e lands me almost seven kilometres from the K162's locus, and d-scan is clear. Never mind, launch probes, blanket the system, see what's there. Eight anomalies, eight signatures, one ship, seven drones. That's a suspicious number of drones.

Exploring the system has d-scan showing me a tower with a Mammoth hauler, making drone use even less likely. Even so, it will be worth locating the ship, which doesn't quite work out as I plan. By the time I'm floating cloaked outside the tower the Mammoth is no more, replaced by a Probe frigate. I suppose I could try to catch the Probe when he goes to take a look at the new wormhole in his system, but the pilot doesn't even launch scanning probes. I think he's just swapping to a sleeper ship. A ship to sleep in, that is, not a drone of an ancient and lost civilisation.

The Probe blinks off-line as a cousin of that pilot appears in an Ibis frigate. This is as temporary as the Probe, the Ibis disappearing as it is replaced by, hullo, a Tayra hauler. I get my hopes up for a possible chase, not that I currently stand a chance even against a slow ship, only for my hopes to be dashed as the Tayra blinks off-line, this time with no immediate replacement. Okay, balls to the constellation, I've done enough scanning for tonight. It really is time to head home and go off-line.

Well, it would be time to go off-line, except when I get home there's a new signature in this system too. I launch probes and resolve the signature, under some misguided notion that I'm performing system security, resolving a K162 from class 4 w-space. I poke through to see what kind of activity may be stirring up, to see two Dominix battleships on d-scan. No tower. Nothing out of range either. I'd be more interested if I saw either Sleeper wrecks or drones, but without either I am not inclined to believe the battleships are actually doing anything.

I move from the wormhole and cloak, watching the Dominices on d-scan anyway. They must be here for a reason, even if I don't know what it is. I open my system map and poke around with a narrow d-scan beam. The ships aren't in an anomaly, aren't at the star, aren't at a planet. They're in space. Well, obviously. Although not any more, having dropped off d-scan completely. I think that's my cue to launch probes and get them safely out of d-scan range.

Eight signatures, five chubby enough to be potential K162s. Two signatures seem more likely than the others, but a quick check finds them both to be gas sites. What about the others? Well, one of them has to be a K162, what with the battleships being here one minute and not here the next, and there it is. I drop out of warp next to a K162 from class 2 w-space, pulsating from being stressed to half mass. Maybe the Dominices were just pausing from collapsing this unwanted connection.

I re-hide my probes outside of the system, confident I've found the wormhole I am looking for, moments before the connection crackles. A Scorpion battleship piloted by a capsuleer in a state-owned corporation appears and jumps back, no doubt continuing the wormhole's demise. I watch, just to make sure, perhaps less to keep the home system safe and more because this is about as exciting as w-space gets at the moment.

Polarisation over, the Scorpion makes another pass, dropping the wormhole to critical mass. The next pass has the battleship left behind in favour of an Onyx heavy interdictor, a Buzzard cov-ops coming in at the same time, perhaps for safety. One pass in the Onyx is not enough, although the second drags the rest of the wormhole with it. I dunno what happened to the Buzzard. Maybe he just wanted to go on a roam, or wasn't actually affiliated with the C2 corporation and was heading home. Either way, there's little point waiting for a ship that could be anywhere. Yep, it definitely is time to go home and head off-line.

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Tags: buzzard, dominix, eve online, helios, ibis, impairor, mammoth, mmorpg, onyx, penny ibramovic, probe, scanning, scoprion, tayra, w-space

W-space life is rubbish

I don't know what there is to do in w-space any more. The discovery scanner has made finding active pilots more difficult. Even if I do, mobile tractor units have all but made salvagers obsolete, removing another significant source of targets. Now the 'look at' feature doesn't let me track a ship aligning to warp, meaning I can only start to follow seconds after my target has shot off in to the distance, effectively losing the last significant group of targets.

Maybe I need to start using the local channel to arrange fights. I'm pretty sure that's what capsuleers envisioned when they first encountered unknown space. Still I persevere. For now, anyway. Maybe the 'look at' function is merely glitching, and I can at least get back to being frustrated by chasing planet gooers. Or maybe I can find some solace in scanning empty space for days, despite knowing that exploration kinda needs something to see at some point, or I'm just aimlessly wandering from system to system.

Scanning the home system resolves the static wormhole and uncovers a new pocket of gas. Hmm, maybe I should start sucking on it. That makes ISK, is barely dangerous even in w-space these days, and will clearly give me lots to write about. Soon, perhaps, but today I continue through our wormhole, to the neighbouring class 3 w-space system, where my directional scanner shows me nothing and a blanket scan reveals twelve anomalies, fourteen signatures, and, of course, no ships.

My notes give no occupation and list the static wormhole as exiting to null-sec, which, considering my previous visit was around two weeks ago, looks about right. There could be K162s, though, so I call my probes in to see what I can find. The first signature looks like it could be the K346, but, no, it's just a relic site. The second is a wormhole, chunky, so it isn't the K346. I warp across as I continue to scan, dropping next to a K162 from class 2 w-space. That's good.

Further scanning finds plenty of gas, data and relic sites, and a few more wormholes. One is a K162 from null-sec, another a dying C2 K162, the last the static exit to null-sec. I get the exits before heading to more w-space, for some reason not getting as excited about another w-space connection as I used to. The K162 comes in from Curse, where no one else is in the system and an extra signature prompts me to launch probes. I pop a rat and ignore the combat site, but spot a siphon unit on d-scan. I'll take a look.

There it is. The siphon unit is lightly disguised as a laser battery, and quite obviously empty. That will be bait, easy to ignore. I return to w-space, cross C3a, and jump through the K346 to appear in a system in Malpais. There's no one in this system either, but also no signatures to scan. I take a moment to pop a rat anyway, taking less time than I thought it would, and I return to w-space to see where the healthy C2 K162 will take me.

A tower and two ships light up d-scan from the wormhole in C2a, but the ships are just an Impairor frigate and Helios covert operations boat, nothing to get excited about. There's nowhere to hide either, the system being relatively small, so I locate the tower to check for pilots before decloaking to launch probes. Both ships are piloted. The Helios is moving as well, but it's obvious he's only performing idle loops around the tower and probably not at the controls. The Impairor is aligned with the hangars and so is definitely idle. I'll scan.

The seven anomalies and four signatures don't take long to sift through, giving me two wormholes and a touch of gas. Another K162 from class 2 w-space will keep me going a little longer, and the static exit to high-sec leads to a system undergoing an Incursion in Kador that I don't care to get involved in. From C2a to C2c, which holds a well-stocked tower, with all of its hangars being put to use, given there are no ships visible. I warp away, launch probes, and perform a blanket scan. Ten anomalies, five signatures, no ships.

I locate the tower for reference and switch filters on my probes, revealing a clump of structures elsewhere in the system. It's a second tower, but still with no one around. A quick scan resolves two data sites, some gas, and a wormhole, a static exit to low-sec that clearly leads to Kor-Azor. That's the end of the constellation, nothing happening inside it, and I don't have the impetus to scan the low-sec system. I poke through to bookmark the low-sec side of the wormhole for reference, and turn my ship around to head home.

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Tags: eve online, helios, impairor, mmorpg, penny ibramovic, scanning, w-space

Gigs of 2014, part two

Finishing up the gigs of late-May, bleeding in to the start of June, has an interesting mix of bands and genres. In general, it's still good to get out to gigs, but sometimes, if I'm not fully motivated, it can feel a bit of a chore.

Speedy Ortiz, Empty Pools at Electrowerkz

I'm quite enjoying Speedy Ortiz's debut album, and am keen to see what energy they bring to a live performance. When Empty Pools are announced as the support act I snap up a ticket, almost more looking forward to seeing them again than the main act.

I saw Empty Pools support Menomena at Cargo quite a while back, and I was quite taken by them. I wasn't entirely sure, I have to admit, but they caught my attention enough to pick up their album earlier this year. I really like Saturn Reruns too, so make sure I get to the venue early enough to see them play. I'm plenty early enough too, letting me spot the lead singer wandering around and fawning over her a little. She's cool about it.

Empty Pools take the stage after the first support band, Omi Palone who I largely forget. Their music was okay, their vocals were a bit flat. Empty Pools, on the other hand, are brilliant. Leah has a wonderfully expressive voice, the music is interesting, and the band are fun to watch. I have to say that I don't recognise any of the songs, not even the REM cover, which makes me wonder how much of a fan I actually am. I later learn that they played all new material, which seems a little peculiar given the album was only recently released, but perhaps promises another release soon. It would have been nice to hear a familiar track or two, but their set has solidified Empty Pools as a band I really like.

I have high hopes for Speedy Ortiz, spurred by enjoying Empty Pools. Curiously, the music doesn't quite click. I know that it took a few listens for the album to settle with me, but I was hoping that my repeated listens and familiarity with the songs would let me enjoy the band live. A couple of the songs I recognise, most I don't, and although the audience seem to be getting down it's just not gelling for me. I end up leaving a little early to catch an earlier train, which I may not have done if the trains didn't run on a half-hour schedule at night.

Courtney Barnett at Islington Assembly Hall

In contrast to the dark, small, cable-ridden Electrowerkz venue, Courtney Barnett plays just up the road in the Islington Assembly Hall. It's bright, big, and clean, although the floor is rather springy, even just when people casually walk past. It seems a suitable venue for some quirky folk music, and Barnett easily provides that. It's good to hear her songs played live, and although Barnett's voice isn't particularly strong it has a lovely quality to it normally. She shares some banter with the audience, nicely at ease with the crowd, and at the end of the set says that they have one more song, 'not one more fake song', thoroughly detuning her guitar at the end. Still, enough applause brings Barnett back on—'I'm just packing away my stuff'—and she plugs in a different guitar to play one more, just for us.

Victorian Whore Dogs at Camden Underworld

I know the bass player for Victorian Whore Dogs, which explains why I am at a gig outside of my normal genres. I'm not even sure what genre they play in. Heavy rock? I dunno. Very loud, shouted vocals, double-pedal bass drumming. That kind of music. I tell you what, though, VWD know what they're doing, and I enjoy their entire set, playing first on the bill of four bands, the other three I've never heard of.

The skill and musicality of VWD becomes more evident when contrasted with the other bands. The others play standard power chords for a bit, then wail on their axes for a solo, with a typical Axl-wannabe on vocals. That's a bit denigrating, I know, but it's not my scene so I don't see the nuances. Victorian Whore Dogs, on the other hand, mould each instrument in to the songs, moving outside of the tropes, with guitarist Adam even playing deliberately atonally for a part of a song. It all really elevates their music. It's nice to see Andy and the gang, and actually really good to see them at their own gig. Victorian Whore Dogs are pretty damned good.

Fujiya & Miyagi, AK/DK at XOYO

AK/DK's album is called Synths + Drums + Noise + Space. How could I not be interested? Seeing they are supporting Fujiya & Miyagi makes this a gig I probably don't want to miss, and I get to XOYO early enough to see the support band. My interest is piqued when I see that AK/DK have two drum kits on stage, although this is tempered by wondering if the opportunity for intermingled beats will be squandered. It's not.

Blips, drips, and strips are punched in to the samplers, fed back on to themselves several times, looped, and then the drumming starts. Slamming a rhythm over the catchy synths and layering vocals on top of that, the various effects and layers are fed in and out of the stream to create an amazing and dynamic performance. And even though there is clear direction to the tracks, there is an improvisational feel to each song's creation that suggests each performance is different.

The middle song of the short support set is even introduced as an entirely improvised affair, which shows the skills and communication between G and Ed. They know what they can do, what the other is doing, and combine to form a greater whole. I have not been as excited by new music in a long while. Having recently wondered what new direction contemporary music can take, AK/DK show me what I can only believe is the new wave: synths and drums and noise and space.

Headliners Fujiya & Miyagi have a tough act to follow. It helps that AK/DK's Ed is their new drummer, plus that they have four albums of top-notch material to draw on. I bump in to guitarist David Best at the merch stand (are you Fujiya, I ask, 'Actually, I'm Miyagi'), who jokingly says they are going to be playing a kind of Fujiya & Miyagi greatest hits set, sprinkling in songs from latest album Artificial Sweeteners, and lets slip that both instrumentals from the new album will be played when saying that Cassettesingle won't feature. Sounds good to me.

It sounds even better when Fujiya & Miyagi get on stage and start playing. They have a serious groove that they can lay down seemingly effortlessly, which they couple with some mesmerising projections behind them. As promised, old songs are mixed with new, across all four albums, and they each manage to have distinct character whilst retaining their individuality. It's a solid set that never wavers, the new material standing strong, and an enjoyable gig from start-to-finish.

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Tags: ak/dk, courtney barnett, electrowerkz, empty pools, fujiya & miyagi, gig, islington assembly hall, omi palone, speedy ortiz, underworld, victorian whore dogs, xoyo

Wormholes popping

Lurking on a wormhole, waiting for a scout. I can't really say why, because beyond this w-space system being his home there is little reason to believe the Imicus frigate will come back this way any time soon. I think I'm more frustrated at the new behaviour of the interface that prevents following a ship as it aligns for warp, drastically reducing the chances of chasing a ship successfully. I'm lurking on the wormhole because I can't work up the motivation to hunt targets when my tools for catching them are being removed one-by-one.

Thankfully, my malaise isn't yet shared by my colleagues. My glorious leader went forwards through our static wormhole to the neighbouring class 3 system, where she scanned and dove through a wormhole to null-sec that promptly collapsed behind her. 'I am fifty jumps from anywhere', she says, with us being pretty much unable to help. Aii remains in C3a, where he now sees scanning probes whizzing around. Maybe they're from the Imicus.

If the Imicus is scanning in C3a, why am I waiting in my Loki strategic cruiser across our home system and through a K162 in C4a? At the very least, I can move to our static wormhole and gain a second chance to catch the frigate, either on that connection or this one. Further, I don't need to be in my Loki. I can swap to an interceptor, or interdictor, and have a much better chance of catching the tiny ship. Positive thinking, Penny. Let's do it.

I jump to our home system, warp to our tower, and don't get in to an interceptor to plant on our static wormhole, because the discovery scanner is showing me a new signature. Yeah, it's helping me, but where's the thrill of being jumped by a fleet that you didn't even know was there? I honestly miss that feeling. Whatever, I warp back out of the tower, launch probes, and scan the new signature. Naturally, it's a wormhole, this one a K162 from class 5 w-space.

No intercepting for me yet, not without a peek in to C5a first, just in case some sneaky fellas will head this way and catch me otherwise unawares. Or I would peek in to C5a, if I didn't update my directional scanner on approach and see an Anathema covert operations boat, followed by a Legion strategic cruiser. They're new, not having seen them in C4a, so I back away from the wormhole and wait for them to come to me.

Of course, expecting the two ships to come my way supposes that they originate from C5a. That probes are spewed in to the system suggests otherwise, given that nothing has come through this wormhole as far as I can tell. I force an update from the discovery scanner and, sure enough, there's yet another new signature. It's all go today, and I'm getting a little uncomfortable about all the uncertainty surrounding me.

I stay sitting on the C5 K162, wondering if the ships will come this way, but that's not guaranteed. There are two of them, and three wormholes beyond their own in our system. Ah, but here's the Anathema, finding the K162 and jumping to C5a. That's interesting. I watch d-scan and, yep, there's the Legion blipping on and off, indicative of a cloaked ship jumping. Now maybe I can get my interceptor and catch the Anathema's return, aiming ever-so-slightly higher than the Imicus.

I warp to our tower, updating d-scan regularly, just in case the Anathema returns too soon, and instead see the Legion blip on d-scan again. Now I have no idea if he's in the system, and available to help the Anathema or not. For a second time, I abandon my interceptor plan, warp out of the tower, and launch probes to scan. The new signature can be nothing but a wormhole, but the Apocalypse battleship sitting under my probes is a mite unexpected.

Clearly the new connection isn't desirable, for whatever reason, because when I reach the K162 it is already stressed to half mass. The Apocalypse has done its job, and is followed by a Raven battleship and Orca industrial command ship to finish the job. That was quick. Hey, maybe now I can plant the interceptor on our static wormhole and wait for the Imicus, which may be somewhat oblivious to what's happened in the system behind him.

In to the tower, swap to my Malediction, and remember why I abandoned this plan the first time. Oh, right, the C5 K162. Well, nothing came from that way, the Anathema was clearly unimpressed—or maybe scared away by a serious force—and I would quite like to rip apart a frigate before I hit the sack. I'm sure that if I keep d-scan updated I can avoid being ambushed. Or see it coming early enough to make peace with losing the Malediction.

I finally get the interceptor on to our static wormhole, Aii reassuring me that the probes are still visible in C3a. I watch the wormhole, update d-scan. Watch the wormhole, update d-scan. The probes disappear from C3a and, finally, the wormhole crackles. It's just Aii, though, coming home to go off-line. I could be playful and 'catch' him, but that would give him an engagement timer and stop his safe departure for a few minutes. I'm not totally horrible.

I wait a little longer, almost expecting the Imicus to return, given the lack of any decent connections out of C3a, but with no more wormhole activity. I cut my losses and abandon my watch. At least Fin finds a wormhole in null-sec to class 3 w-space, from there scans her way to low-sec and moves to high-sec, where she buys a replacement marauder. That's progress!

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Tags: anathema, apocalypse, eve online, imicus, legion, loki, malediction, mmorpg, orca, penny ibramovic, raven, scanning, w-space

No chance to chase

It's a full house when I finally get my ship on-line, fashionably late to the party. 'What are we going to do?' Good question. Scan that second signature in the home system for a start, and if it's gas I can leave my colleagues to suck on it for ISK. So, of course, the signature resolves to be a second wormhole, the K162 from class 4 w-space meaning our system isn't secure. We'll be exploring.

I jump backwards, through the K162, glorious leader Fin jumps forwards, through our static wormhole. I think I have further back to go too, as C4a looks really messy in the system map and my directional scanner is showing no signs of occupation. Launching probes and blanketing the system adds two fat ships to the fifteen anomalies and twenty signatures, conveniently out by a distant planet, and warping that way sees two unpiloted Nidhoggurs float inside a tower's force field.

The local corporation is already tagged orange, perhaps because they have capital ships that can't leave the system but apparently fail to use them against the Sleepers. Either way, no one is home and there are plenty of signatures to sift through for K162s. Focussing on the chubby signatures lets me cut the list by half, letting me see that it is all gas without much delay. Well, except for that one wormhole at the end of the results. It's another C4 K162.

Hullo, a Cheetah warps to the K162 as I approach in my Loki. I slow my strategic cruiser down and let the covert operations boat jump unmolested, a wave of benevolence washing over me, and nothing to do with the tiny ships being buggers to catch. I follow behind a minute later, hopefully unseen myself, hoping to see if the cov-ops pilot considers the constellation safe. Probably not, not with my colleagues further down the chain, but you never know.

Updating d-scan in C4b sees nothing more but a canister in space, but the discovery scanner passively showing me two anomalies and three signatures pretty much confirms the system being occupied. With such a clean system, those other signatures may even be further wormholes. We'll see, once I've located the tower and checked for pilots.

I launch probes whilst out of d-scan range of anything, and perform a blanket scan. Two ships appear under my probes, guiding me towards the right planet, and a refined d-scan beam taking me to the moon with the tower. The Cheetah is here, along with a Vexor cruiser and Tornado battlecruiser, all ships piloted, all but the cov-ops decidedly inert.

I should be able to resolve the two signatures without anyone noticing, the tower being significantly further than d-scan's range away from them. There are simply two gas sites, making this the end of the chain. That keeps it simple. I activate both gas sites and both anomalies, because I'm feeling helpful, and sit back and wait for the locals to thank me.

Nothing's happening. Damned ingrates. Actually, something's happening, but something unwanted. Repeated blanket scans, looking for new signatures or new ships, now show me only two ships in the system, yet three still most certainly appear on my overview. That's rum. I check my ignored results, twice, and I've not done anything silly, neither are the ships being swapped and my probes glitching as a result. They're just glitching. I hope this won't become common.

Back to three ships on both probes and overview, I'm more comfortable. Well, as long as the three ships on my overview are the three ships under my probes. I'm not sure how I can tell. I shall ignore it for now, considering the Vexor has been swapped for an Imicus frigate. The Imicus even moves, and I can tell he's initiated a command to warp because my target camera reverts to my ship, preventing me from seeing the frigate's alignment.

I see where the Imicus heads, which is to the only wormhole in the system, a destination I could have guessed anyway. Only knowing this as the frigate enters warp gives the Imicus a fair old head start on my Loki, as I have to turn, accelerate, and enter warp behind it. It's frustrating to be ten seconds or more behind a ship I want to track, although no surprise that I can't beat a frigate through warp to a wormhole. Maybe he'll come back. I'll loiter with intent.

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Tags: cheetah, eve online, imicus, loki, mmorpg, nidhoggur, penny ibramovic, scanning, tornado, vexor, w-space

Finding more class 4 systems

Oh, unknown signature, what are you? More gas? You do not interest me. Through our static wormhole I go, updating my directional scanner on the other side to see nothing but some cans littering the class 3 w-space system. I launch probes and perform a blanket scan, not expecting much for there being just one planet beyond d-scan's range, and detect no ships. Tonight's start is not looking positive.

Warping to the far planet finds occupation, three towers in total, there's just no one home. I'll scan the ten anomalies and seven signatures. It should be quick, as there is only one weak signature amongst them. Wormhole, gas, wormhole, wormhole, gas, really weak wormhole, and a final wormhole. They're everywhere. I've resolved a K162 from class 4 w-space, a second C4 K162, another C4 K162—they're everywhere—and a K162 from null-sec. Damn, that means the weak wormhole is the static connection, making it an exit to null-sec.

Null-sec or class 4 w-space. Exits first. The K346 leads to Geminate and is at the end of its life, so doesn't lure me through. The K162 comes from Immensea, where no one is around and there is an extra signature. I shall rat and scan. Or I shall just scan, as I've resolved the wormhole by the time I've dropped in to a rock field. It's a shame I've only found an N432 outbound connection to class 5 w-space. Still, I work with what I've got.

Jumping to C5a has nothing on d-scan and nothing out of range. What I see is what I get, the lack of occupation explaining the thirty-two anomalies, leaving me to scan the seven signatures for wormholes. I resolve three, yet another C4 K162, plus an outbound connection to null-sec Cloud Ring, and the static wormhole to deadly class 6 w-space. How lovely.

I poke the static wormhole first, where d-scan shows me a tower and no ships from the K162, and the discovery scanner highlights loads of anomalies and signatures. I'm not ploughing through them to hit another outbound wormhole, not with more unexplored w-space behind me, certainly not with my notes telling me this C6 has a C5 static wormhole. The chain may never end. Back to C5a and in to C4d.

C4d looks like the other systems so far, devoid of activity. There's no occupation either, even if there is plenty of space—not that the signatures understand this concept as well as the anomalies do—so unless a wormhole has been collapsed there is a K162 to be found. I launch probes and start sifting through the sixteen anomalies and six signatures, concentrating on the three chubsters that are possible K162s. Gas, gas, wormhole, one scan. I resolve the wormhole, but warping to it sees a dying K162 from class 2 w-space. Okay, back the way I came.

Through C5a, across null-sec, in to C3a. My first class 4 system explored was C4d, so why not go backwards with the others? Because there are RSS core probes visible in C3a, maybe. There is another signature too, so I launch probes to resolve it, not seeing any ships under a blanket scan and watching the probes disappear from d-scan. Huh, the new signature is just gas. I'll check the C4 systems after all.

Oop, a Tengu strategic cruiser is on d-scan in C3a. And gone. It can't be worth waiting for near the home K162, not when I don't know where he came from, what he's exploring now, and given that he can cloak and evade me. In to C4c at last, where a tower on d-scan is accompanied by ships, not that I'm holding much hope that the five Orcas are really pack hunting like they would in the wild. Industrial command ships aren't known for their aggressive behaviour.

Locating the tower finds all the ships unsurprisingly empty, and I'm not scanning any deeper for now. Back to C3a and in to C4b, where a tower, Orca, and shuttle on d-scan almost make me lose interest immediately, until I see from my notes that the occupation has changed from three months ago. That delay in reaction is just long enough for the Tengu to jump past me to C3a too. I'm tempted to try to engage, but that would make me polarised and him not, which makes the idea rather foolhardy.

I resist chasing the strategic cruiser, instead waiting for my polarisation timer to expire and, not having the Tengu return, moving on. C3a to C4a. D-scan shows me a tower and no ships. Exploring finds a second tower, and quite why I'm scanning I can't say, but I resolve yet another C4 K162. I found it, I may as well jump through it, but C4e is pretty lame too. A blanket scan reveals five anomalies, a mere two signatures, and a ship, the Probe frigate floating empty inside a tower's force field.

Just one other signature, why can't I leave it alone? Because it is almost inevitably a wormhole, and on a night like this it is a K162 from class 4 w-space. Just one more, I can stop whenever I want. In to C4f, update d-scan, see a tower and no ships. Okay, I've had enough. There's only so much empty space a capsuleer can scan in one evening.

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Tags: eve online, mmorpg, orca, penny ibramovic, probe, scanning, tengu, w-space

Cruising for a Covetor

Back to the class 5 w-space system and across to the last of the three wormholes I've resolved. It's a K162 to more class 5 w-space. I bet that Deimos heavy assault cruiser that entered our home system came from this way. Deeper I go, aiming to find out. Woo, that's a lot of towers lighting up my directional scanner. I'd say this is probably the home of Hard Knocks, the corporation the Deimos pilot belongs to.

There are fourteen ships dotted around too, some industrial, most combat. Well, I assume they are dotted around, because I'm sure as hell not individually locating a couple of dozen visible towers just to confirm that, yes, there are ships in the system. I doubt I could even be convinced to stay and watch a hauler, not with so much support available.

My notes for the system suggest there are more towers on the planets out of d-scan range, some thirty-eight in total. Today, I believe you, notes. I copy the last entry for this C5 down to the current field, and turn my Loki strategic cruiser around. I came looking for the home of the Deimos, and I'm pretty sure I found it. I won't be doing anything else here.

I head back the other way, crossing C5a to the home system, and from home I jump through our static wormhole to class 3 w-space. The Deimos isn't waiting for me on our K162, not that I was expecting him to, but it's nice all the same, and d-scan is clear, with just one planet out of range. I launch probes and blanket the system, warping to the first moon of the far planet, bumping in to a tower and a Probe frigate that my combat probes detect slightly earlier than my overview shows me.

The Probe is piloted, but a lack of scanning probes makes me think he's idle. His alignment with the tower structures is a surer sign that the pilot's done nothing recently, so I call my probes in to scan the two anomalies and five signatures. Wormhole, data, wormhole, wormhole. More options. Warping around the wormholes finds the static exit to low-sec, a K162 from class 4 w-space at the end of its life, and a K162 from a null-sec region that from the wormhole colours looks like The Spire. I'll check that.

Yep, I'm in the Spire having jumped through the K162, where there appear to be active pilots, given all the rat wrecks littering the system. There is also a Covetor mining barge and Mackinaw exhumer within d-scan range, but with over a dozen pilots in the system are the two miners bait? I warp across to the ore anomaly to take a look, and see the two ships actually shooting mining lasers at a rock. There's even a jet-can sitting next to them. I think I set my Loki's drive to time-warp by accident.

I get closer to the ships, if only to spring the counter-ambush, the jet-can being an excellent beacon, landing close enough to a big rock that I am sure my cloak's integrity won't hold and I'll be provoked in to attacking. But, no, I am just far enough away for my cloak to hold, letting me manoeuvre slightly and review the situation. The Mackinaw is aligning away, by the looks of it. Does this mean they've now spotted my face in the local channel? Maybe not, as the Covetor remains motionless.

Off warps the Mackinaw, leaving me with one target. That's nice and simple. I get just within warp scrambler range, decloak, and get my systems hot. Once I can get a positive lock, I do get a positive lock, and start rattling autocannon rounds towards the mining barge. I exercise a little caution, aligning back out of the site in case I get caught, but this doesn't look like bait, not with the barge's shields dropping so precipitously. It looks like he really is here to mine ore.

Boom! The Covetor explodes with a satisfying burst of flame, and both the pod and my Loki disappear in different directions. I don't really care for the loot, although I suppose I could have popped the wreck. Still, a second opportunistic kill for the evening is a jolly good result. Even better, heading back to w-space and checking C3a's static exit to low-sec has the orange blur of the Deimos warping away as I land, so that's him accounted for too. With nothing else to see through the empire connections, I turn my Loki around and head home to rest.

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Tags: covetor, deimos, eve online, loki, mackinaw, mmorpg, null-sec, penny ibramovic, probe, pvp, scanning, w-space

Bumping in to a Buzzard

Cock it! Wandering monsters have swiped all the ISK from our home. No more anomalies for us. Well, not a few days. They'll be back, I suppose. Under the circumstances, finding a second wormhole in the system isn't a surprise, possibly being the trail of breadcrumbs leading back to the perps. I know they are probably long gone by now, but I still move to the K162 from class 5 w-space to see what I can find.

The wormhole isn't mass stressed, but it doesn't take much to send a handful of strategic cruisers both ways. To prove that the connection is active, though, it crackles as I approach. A Deimos heavy interdictor assault cruiser appears, accelerates, warps. He has gone to our static wormhole, judging by his vector, and jumps, given that he drops from my directional scanner. He stays off d-scan, nothing else comes through the wormhole. It's probably safe to take a look.

The other side of the wormhole is clear, as is d-scan, and this looks as good a place as any to launch probes. I perform a blanket scan of the system, revealing a messy sixteen anomalies and fourteen signatures, which doesn't strike me as the state the Hard Knocks corporation would choose to leave their home system in. I switch probe filters over to show structures, and there are none. Literally none, which is unusual, but a fairly good indication that there is no occupation.

Time to scan for K162s, loitering on the wormhole home in case any ships look to come home. Three quick wormholes are followed by gas, data, relics, and more gas. I have options, then. No Deimos has returned, nor any other ships, so I reconnoitre the wormholes. The first connection is a dying K162 from null-sec, Vale of the Silent region if my colour recognition is correct. The second is a healthy K162 from The Kalevala Expanse, looking quite vivid without space dust dirtying the wormhole. I should take a revised image for my collection.

Snapshots taken, I switch to the visual filesystem on my personal cloud server terminal mainframe interface and rename the files. Turning my attention back to space sees a Buzzard sitting on the wormhole. I didn't hear the wormhole crackle, so have no idea if the covert operations boat has just jumped through from null-sec, or warped here from somewhere in the C5, or chosen just this moment to decloak after a prolonged period of inactivity. Either way, he's not moving, I'm nearby, and he's not affiliated with the Deimos I saw. I'll try to shoot him.

I decloak and get my sensor booster working as the recalibration delay counts down. Once able to, I gain a positive lock on the Buzzard, disrupt his warp drive, and start shooting. His shields take a few hits, waking up the pilot enough for him to flee through the wormhole. What the hell, I give chase, following him to null-sec. Huh, twenty people in the system. I hope the Buzzard doesn't have friends nearby.

I get my Loki strategic cruiser moving as soon as possible, dropping the session-change cloak and enabling me to activate the sensor booster again. No recalibration delay this time, so with the Buzzard visible I go for a second lock, and get it. I make sure he can't warp clear and get my autocannons chattering away once more, not entirely sure if he's polarised or not. Either way, there's not enough left of the shields to protect the Buzzard for long, the cov-ops exploding with a few sparks.

No ships have come to the wormhole to chase me away, so I aim for the pod, unsuccessfully. It gives me to time to loot the wreck, though, bagging more Sisters probes than is strictly necessary for a whole fleet of cov-ops scouts. Maybe the pilot doesn't realise they are recalled after use. It pushes the small ship loss up to a hundred million ISK, though, which works for me, particularly as I loot most of the ISK.

Wreck looted, I shoot it and take time to reload my guns before cloaking in a lazy orbit around the wormhole. Still no one comes to shoo me out of the system. But why am I waiting? This is a good result, getting an opportunistic kill without repercussions. There aren't even any extra signatures in the system for me to scan. Best that I head back to w-space whilst I remain unmolested, eh?

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Tags: buzzard, deimos, eve online, loki, mmorpg, null-sec, penny ibramovic, pvp, scanning, w-space