Insomnia makes me edgy

Mal: (into com) "Wash, we've got some local color happening. Your grand entrance would not go amiss right now."

I'm on fire... I'm on fire!

I have engaged Red Tides once before in the form of a Dominix at a gate... well, to be more accurate he engaged me so I had to return the favour and as he did me the honour of agressing first I didn't have to worry about sentries. His friends all jumped in and it wasn't looking good. Onyx, Rapier & Raven had joined the Domi, my shields had failed, my armour was being torn to shreds, I was venting atmosphere and fuel into space, Karma, my Hurricane was being annihilated. I pointed Karma in the direction of a planet and punched the warp button and much to my relief I warped off. I had glanced at my overview and seen that none of them had me pointed.

A very close call.

Karma was on fire, atmosphere and fuel being vented into space so I docked up and contacted the station's repair crews.

"You want how much?" I said with disbelief
"5.4million ISK for repairs to your ship, not to mention the damage you caused when you docked" said Scotty the Docking Manager
"Uhm... I'll get back to you" I replied

I asked some friends if anyone had a hull repairer and lucky for me flashresh had one. Good old flash, of course he'd have a hull repairer.

I had my deck crew fit the hull repairer and an armour repairer and undocked to let them work their magic on Karma and after a long wait in a deep safe spot she was no longer on fire, the breaches in my hull repaired.

The tide turns

Red Tides had been hanging out in system for most of the day, with some pilots docked and the Rapier pilot cloaked somewhere in system. As previously reported I was doing my best to avoid the various gangs floating through my home by not straying from the station, instead I was hanging out in a bar having drinks with some friends when we were informed about Red Tides activity in Eifer and surrounds, a fight was brewing and Pirates were getting anxious. Earlier four of us had undocked into a random 14 man blob but they ran, scattered like skittles on a perfect strike.

"Domi on Gus gate in Eifer"

Right, a Domi and the Rapier in space, Onyx and Raven docked up. We undocked a few times to see if they would bite but nothing. After about half an hour:

"Onyx Undocked... Raven too, warped to Eifer or Ingunn"

OK, what are they up to, we had receiveed reports of another two Domis in Emolgranlan, possible reinforcements but not in Red Tides. Six ships, four battleships, a recon and a heavy interdictor. We had seven pilots looking for a fight, Colonel Kurtz in a Raven, who from now on I shall call Krusty, WayCharles and Ceraci in Myrmidons, Jaxx Blackfox in a Phobos heavy interdictor, myself in Karma, Daplat mode in his Falcon and deathstar in an Armageddon coming in from elsewhere.

A motley crew if I've ever seen one but a great bunch of guys and I do enjoy flying with them when firepower is needed. Seven of us, six of them, this was shaping up nicely.

Now to get them to engage.

deathstar came to the rescue "Raven engaged on Eifer gate in Gus"
You beauty, good to have you back in the area. Karma undocks into the black and I set warp to the gate, bursting out of warp as all hell has broken loose. Missiles, lasers, hybrid rounds, drones and finally my autocannon shells added to the mix. Raven is primaried, shield tank absorbing massive damage. deathstar goes down but warps back to station to grab another ship. Raven is violated in an extreme manner and explodes. It's absolute carnage as the two Domis jump in, I start on the Onyx, drawing sentry fire in the process, our communication is haphazard. Two myrms down for us at this point but death is back in the fight. Sentries batter my shields and I'm forced to warp out.

There's confusion

"Primary that Onyx, his shields are down" I shout as I warp back into the fight. Onyx goes down as I land, first Domi is next, they decide I'm primary and Ogre IIs, sentries and varying forms of violence hit my Hurricane, shields fail, armour is being torn to shreds, I align and warp out once again.

No shields, half armour I warp back to the gate, first Domi has jumped out, we primary second and it goes down, third course Domi is next but not before we pop the Rapier pilot who got too close. Third Domi is going down hard but he has de-agressed and slowboats to the gate, activates and jumps through, with about 10% hull left, lucky escape. Raven pilot had returned in a Drake but got smart real quick and left.

Ooh, what's this? A pod, the Rapier pilots escape pod is 4000metres off my starboard. Lock, lock damn you before he jumps or warps out. Lock resolves and my 425s spin up, a few rounds and the corpse is freed from its confines.

The field of battle is ours and with it victory, four kills and a pod to our three losses.

A truly good fight in my opinion and this I shared in local. A good bunch to fight as they were respectful in defeat. Turns out the Rapier pilot had Snake implants which brought a massive smile to my face. They'll be back and I truly look forward to it as they seem up for a good fight.

I would later help some friends violence a Raven in Eifer who foolishly allowed himself to get tackled by a friend in a Vagabond but the fight on the gate had already made my night.

I docked up and wandered out of my hangar in search of some cigarettes as I had run out and getting some "air" would do me and my insomnia good, Repairs to Karma could wait for now.

It's just a bump to left...

... and then a bump to the riiiiaaaiiight

OK, it's been a slow day, between the blobs and general lethargy I haven't felt up to much but when someone reported a Retriever mining barge slow boating to a gate I had to see what I could do... IN A TARANIS.

I warped to the gate and tried to get a good bump off but he was too close and jumped through, so I followed suit. My systems resolved the next system and I started moving, breaking my jump cloak and waiting for the Retriever to do the same, he waited and so did I, the local intel channel was in raptures as the news of a Retriever spread, it seems to be more of an attraction than any capital ship kill as pilots were spilling out of stations from all directions.

Finally the mining barge dropped cloak and aligned for warp, I hit the MWD and made a bee line straight at him, I braced for impact as my interceptor slammed into him, the crunching sound made me wince and I shook the stars hovering in front of my eyes and tried to refocus. I activated my targeting systems but didn't open fire, the gate sentries would tear me apart, instead I went in to bump again, hoping that someone, anyone would jump through and engage him, thus drawing the aggression from the sentries and allowing me to open up with my blasters.

An Absolution decloaked behind me and I was pleased to see the system comms announce that deathstar had incurred the wrath of the Republic and the sentries opened up on him. That was my cue and I punched my blasters, the barge melted. His escape pod vanished in the blink of an eye as my targeting systems were too quick for him to warp out.

I took that as my cue to leave so I warped out and found a nice quiet spot in system to wait out my Global Criminal Timer, those sentries would play havoc with my Taranis so best to stay out of their way.

Not an epic kill in any way but my bump was flawless, the way it was executed had a sort of fluidity to it, strange that something so jarring could be described as such but was vital in the kill.

I eventually went back to Gus and docked up, stars still floating in front of my eyes from the impacts of ship on ship. A cigarette and a drink my reward.

Pulchrawhat?

I've had to set a password to comments on my killboard due to recent posts like this.
If anyone wants to comment on future mails, just ask me ingame and I'll pass it along, it's not difficult, it rhymes with my surname ;)

I made a new friend

Mal: "Pupils were fixed and dilapidated-"

Simon: "Dialated-"

Mal: "Dialated! Dialated! Ching-wao tsao duh liou mahng!" [Ching-wah tsao duh liou mahng = Frog-humping sonofabitch]

SO I couldn't sleep, my headache getting worse. Earlier, as my day was shitty already, a friend had probed out a mission, my initial warpin was met with failure as the Raven was too far away and easily warped out. Things at that point just weren't going my way.

Lying in my bunk I was listening to music when I spotted something on my local comms net, the Raven pilot was back in system. I slowly crawled out of my bunk and headed to my new Sleipnir, might as well get her baptised. I undocked, hit the scanner in the general direction of where it was earlier and smiled.

WARP DRIVE ACTIVE

She has such a soothing voice.

I arrived at the acceleration gate, scanned in the direction of the deadspace and my smile got wider. I accessed the gate and was launched into deadspace. I burst out of warp... RIGHT ON TOP OF HIM. Lock, tackle, guns and drones. The Raven was rocking as my 425s launched round after round of Republic Fleet EMP rounds into it's shields, then armour and then hull.

The explosion was blinding, the blast rocking my ship as debris flew in every direction. The Raven pilot warped his escape pod out immediately even as my systems were trying to lock it down. My head still throbbing but a grin across my face. That was a good kill, a touch unnecessary, might have got a good ransom out of him but all was laid to rest by the following outburst in local:

Lang ren > cao
Lang ren > Kane Rizzil cao ni ma (Apparently means: fuck your mother
Aiko Shinjiro > ding dang dong ching dong dei (Aiko trying his Chinese)
Daplat Mode > LOL
Daplat Mode > its a sad day for the lp store
Kane Rizzel > dude, I would never do that to my mom
Kane Rizzel > cao ni made bi, yi zhi zou, sha bi (A phrase in Chinese given to me by a friend but what it says I don't know yet)
Lang ren > vFUCK YOU
Lang ren > ni ge zhu ,chi shi zhangda de (Still waiting on translation)
Kane Rizzel > I learnt chinese from watching firefly
Kane Rizzel > and Jackie Chan movies
Prediction Pain > shen mei ya???

Was entertaining to me at least, it made me feel better knowing I had made a new friend, hopefully he will seek vengeance and bring many of his friends.

The Onyx of DOOM

Mal: "This is the captain. We have a...little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and then...explode."

Was feeling sorry for myself in station wondering how I was going to explain my losses to Keira, I decided to take out some frustration on the myriad of haulers that move to and from the Gus station, was popping merrily when I had myself a friendly fire mishap, my Broadsword vaporised a pod of a friend's friend. Not wanting to do any more damage than I had already done I docked up when I received a call.

An Onyx heavy interdiction cruiser was reported to be killing haulers two jumps out, seeing as I was already in my Broadsword I decided to go and see for myself, a few other locals decided to join and off we went on our merry.

I jumped in first, being able to tackle and tank very well is a handy trait. I jumped in and my systems resolved, my overview showed the Onyx right on the gate, doing his thing as he popped one hauler after the other, I broke my jump cloak and hit the MWD, activating my Invulnerability field and priming my tackling gear. Once in range my warp disruption generator blinked into life and the steady green glow and hum was kinda soothing. I was closing quickly and then got in web range and it too went live. The Onyx was trapped between a rock and a hard place as a friend in an Astarte also jumped in and engaged, the rest of the Gus locals rushing to catch up.

Unfortunately for them the legendary tank of the Onyx was not up to it and it started to vent atmosphere and fuel into space, it was on fire and soon it flashed into nothing. The pod was sitting amidst the wreck and my systems quickly locked it and it too flashed.

2008.07.15 04:29
For your termination of arc alpha we have paid you the bounty that was set to his head: 2,005,000.00 ISK

I scooped the corpse to add to the morgue and then scoped the loot... DAMN SON.

The Onyx was fit rather expensively and for once some of the good stuff survived the explosion. Faction gear is always nice. I split the ISK from the sale of loot amongst all the pilots who answered the call, not only the three who made it on the kill itself. It's only fair and even though I'm a Pirate, I'm still a nice guy ;)

I returned back to Gus, my head pounding from my earlier poddings, the painkillers starting to kick in and my fingers going numb. I stumble out of my Broadsword and head for my bunk, a good day after all.

What a horrible day

Jayne: "She is starting to damage my calm."

Well, day didn't get any better, joined a gang looking to get some Faction Warfare kills but I ended up killing a Deimos and then watching my systems overload as the entirety of the blob warped in so I ended up losing my Sleipnir but not before I managed to kill one more ship whilst my systems were lagged. They even managed to pod me as the system lag was so bad. First time since I was in 0.0 that I've experienced it like this, was most unpleasant.

Then later my hate for ECM was once again reinforced as I lost a Rupture when I tried to engage a Maller and Deimos combo, they uncloaked a Falcon on me and permajammed my cruiser. What would have been an epic fight ruined.

A horrible day and not much to cheer me up, even a mission Raven that was probed out by a friend was too far away and warped out before I closed the distance.

14 kills, 5 losses, no ransoms and a big hit on the wallet, Keira is gonna be pissed.

I need a lie down, two clonings in one day means I have the mother of all migraines, hope these painkillers kick in quickly

It's a TRAP!

Wash: "Inara...nice to see her again."

Zoe: (beat) "So...trap?"

Mal: "Trap."

Zoe: "We goin' in?"

Mal: "Ain't but a few hours out."

Wash: (confused) "Yeah, but...remember the part where it's a trap?"

Mal: "If that's the case then Inara's already caught in it. She wouldn't set us up willin'. Might be we get a shot at seein' who's turnin' these wheels. We go in."

Kaylee: "But how can you be sure Inara don't just wanna see you? Sometimes people have feelings. I'm referring here to people."

Mal: "Y'all were watchin', I take it?"

Kaylee: (everyone looks guilty) "Yes."

Mal: "Did you see us fight?"

Kaylee: "No."

Mal: "Trap.

Of course it is but damn I was going to spring it.

One of my favourite plex farmers was in system in his Crow, the last time we fought was an epic 5 minute dogfight so I was up for it again. He had a corp mate in system, probably cloaked in a stealth bomber but I was going in regardless.

I warped to the gate and activated it, checking my scanner to confirm the Crow was still there, affirmative. I burst out of warp with the Crow 45 clicks off my starboard, I made the motions to approach, he locked and engaged and the stealth bomber uncloaked, just as predicted, a Hound. I changed course and headed straight for him, my shields being stripped away by the cruise missiles, he was 52 clicks away and it was a race to get into range before the Hound's missiles violently relieved me of the confines of the Jaguar.

It was a race I lost, my Jaguar exploding as the Hound reached half structure, my pod was locked before I could warp out and I awoke in the station, my head pounding. The two pilots had just scored a nice bounty and some good loot, good fight and a very well executed trap.

They'll be back.... and I'll be waiting :D

Has priacy died out?

Zoe: "Preacher, don't the Bible have some pretty specific things to say about killing?

Book: "Quite specific. It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps."

Don't look at me, that's how it was spelt, I bet you clicked on the link saying to yourself "What an idiot, Kane can't spell Piracy, watch how I pwn him with my leet spelling skillz".

Well I don't know about priacy but Piracy is still about, just different than it used to be. As the EVE universe changes so must the Pirates to adapt or die.

Belt Piracy, gatecamping, can flipping, ninja salvaging, mission jacking, high security suicide ganking, war dec griefing, POS ransoming, random acts of violence for ISK and pleasure are all what I consider Piracy. Any endeavour that sees you profiting from the misfortune of others is piracy.

I'm a traditionalist, sticking mostly to belt piracy, which is not the most profitable but is by far the most interesting to me, the thrill of the hunt so to speak. The mission jack is another favourite past time, where teamwork is important. I have a tight knit crew that assists me but the violence is all down to me.

The old school Pirates lament how things have changed. To be quite honest, most older pilots wax nostalgic about how things were. The universe keeps moving forward, new technologies and tactics emerge all the time, pilots quick to latch on to anything that will give them the edge in combat. Some of these tactics are despised by those that are unwilling to adapt but it doesn't make them any less viable.

I too have my pet hates...

Electronic Counter Measures... ECM... I FUCKING HATE ECM... how much, a whole fucking lot!!!

If it's one thing that gets under my skin, it's the prevalence of Falcon pilots. They are the biggest force multiplier in the universe with the ability to shut down multiple ships at a range which makes it difficult to engage them. Many evenings I've spent talking to friends in our local bar about how to best deal with these ships. The most common answer is to bring a Falcon pilot of your own but that makes you part of the problem.

It's become so that if you are in a roaming gang and you don't have ECM support then your roam is going to be very short or not very succesful. You can just imagine the Falcon pilot sitting 150 odd clicks away, rubbing his hands together like a fat kid at a cake stand. "Oh look, I press this button and that dude over there can't do jack and shit, I press this button and that other dude is going to swear like a sailor at a whorehouse."

Where's the fun in that?

It takes a sick individual to be an ECM pilot, seriously. I'm not sure how it started to be honest but I imagine it went something like this:

Combat Ace > Hey guys, let's go out looking for a fight
ECM Muppet > I have a Falcon, can give them the Raspberry
Combat Ace > Awesome idea, will be an epic battle, they won't be able to shoot back
Voice'o'Reasun > Uhm, but it won't be much of a fight then
Combat Ace > Shut up you, we are uber combat pilots, they won't stand a chance, our superior skills will pwn them
Voice'o'Reasun > but they won't be able to shoot back, how are you supposed to prove you are better than them if they can't fight back, that's like punching a quadriplegic and claiming you're the greatest boxer in the world.
ECM Muppet > They won't be able to even shoot me, I'll be way over there and if they come close I'll just cloak or run away like a little girl
Combat Ace > dude, you're so awesome I want to have your man babies
Voice'o'Reasun > you guys are lame
Combat Ace > your mom is lame

Keira once asked me if we should recruit a Falcon pilot. I think it's the only time she's ever been truly scared of me. I've used ECM in the past, in the shape of ECM drones and they have never worked for me, seriously, these things are useless in my hands yet whenever I go up against someone with them I always get jammed... ALWAYS. So I ditched them, of course this is dumb but I'm making a stand against ECM.

I could of course fit Electronic Counter Counter Measures but that would dilute some tried and tested setups that I use and to be fucking honest, I don't want to, sure I'm going to lose a lot of fights but damn, at least I'll respect myself in the morning.

It's a BLOB

How many pilots are required to win an engagement? Well, it's not an easy answer, it requires a degree in Quantum Physics and a Doctorate in Advanced Matematica, neither of which I posses but I can say for certain that it's definitely more than me.

Rule number one of Piracy: IT'S ALWAYS A TRAP, YES ALWAYS... NO REALLY, ALWAYS!!!

I'm not afraid to go in outnumbered, in fact it's a prospect I relish, a 2 vs me are good odds, unfortunately it's never just two, 10 of their buddies are sitting waiting in the next system, waiting for the signal to jump in and blob out the sun and my ship.

It's an epidemic in EVE, people have no faith in there abilities to fight that they rely on superior numbers to overpower the prey, it's not just something peculiar to anti-Pirates or 0.0 alliances, the Pirates do it too. It's just too easy to form up a gang and go gank some helpless sod out of his hard earned ship.

I've been guilty of it too, flying in mixed gangs and to be honest, sometimes it feels soooo good but it dulls my senses, muzzles my skills and experience... point and shoot, like a zombie, following orders of the hive mind.

The art of solo combat is being drowned by the majesty of the blob and I for one will not go gently into that good night.

Of course this means a reduced pool of targets, having to choose with more discretion, avoiding the over obvious traps but it also means more satisfaction in the kill, marvelling at your artistry as you delicately remove the pilot from his ship... and it is art.

Where am I going with all this, I don't really know, sometimes you just have to write things down to see what they look like.

Oh yeah, I FUCKING HATE ECM!!!! not sure if I mentioned that

A missioner? in my system? I don't think so

Mal: "Y'all see the man hanging out of the spaceship with the really big gun? Now I'm not saying you weren't easy to find but it was kinda out of our way, and he didn't want to come in the first place. Man's lookin' to kill some folk. So really, it's his will y'all should worry about thwarting." (to Simon) "Gotta say, doctor, your talent for alienatin' folk is near miraculous."

Simon: "Yes, I'm very proud."

All the pieces are in place, it's just a matter of time. Comms are silent, waiting for that magic moment when I'm given the go to warp in.

Seconds turn into minutes as the waiting continues, the cruiser being a difficult mark to probe out in a mission as it's already small signature radius would be further masked by deadspace interference. My on board scanner showed the mark was busy salvaging as wrecks were disappearing off scan.

Local Intel channels were buzzing at the prospect of a carrier kill but the bitching and moaning had me cold so I waited for my friend to report back on the cruiser. I was itching for a kill, been a bit quiet so patience was the order of the day.

"Warp to me now"

WARP DRIVE ACTIVE

Deep in system a Claymore uncloaks, Keira activates her gang assist modules, I would need every bit of speed and range on my tackling gear to catch my prey. The rack of modules is primed to overload as I burst out of warp, 15 clicks from the acceleration gate, I approach, time is of the essence.

My Jaguar arrives at the gate and I activate, launched into deadspace, the Caldari cruiser still there, I drop from warp, 30 clicks from his position as he salvages a small wreck. My two point warp scrambler is primed to overheat, with Keira's bonuses I'll need to get within 18km. I hit the afterburners and approach, willing my Jaguar to close the distance, not locking till I reach that magic number' I close very quickly and once in range I initiate lock, scrambler and web kick in as it resolves and it's on. Guns spin up and salvo after salvo of Republic Fleet EMP rounds smash into the shields of my prey, the additional Caldari Navy Gremlin rockets adding to the slaughter, his drones are out and are set on me, I switch my weapons to them and they explode in single volleys. My attention is now firmly fixed on the Caracal as my weapons once again bridge the gap with round after round, rocket after rocket and soon he's deep into structure. I hold fire and initiate a conversation but it is not answered, my thoughts of ransom now vanish, the final sliver of his hull disappearing under two salvoes, the cruiser shudders violently and then explodes into nothingness. The pilot was alert enough to warp his escape pod out before I could lock but the fight was over, my shield systems intact, small repairs to my weapons and tackling gear all that was needed as I scooped the loot and warped out to a safespot to wait out my GCC.

Not an epic kill but a strangely satisfying one, mainly because my friend managed to probe out a cruiser in a mission, not something that's too easy.

Meanwhile local Intel channels were starting to remind me of 0.0 alliance channels as the whining increased as the carrier kill was aborted as the hostiles warped in more battleships and more carriers and it made me thankful I'm an independent pilot.

Crusader

Book: "I am a Shepherd. Folks like a man of God."

Mal: "No, they don't. Men of God make everyone feel guilty and judged."

As my good friend flashfresh would say "It's feast or famine" and it's been famine the past few days. A few frigates here and there, a plex runner kill and a station fight in which I helped pop an Abaddon, strangely the Armageddon that was with him never showed up on my overview so I popped a Condor and Rifter scavenger duo instead.

I did get to unveil a new addition to my fleet, a Crusader interceptor. I've flown this ship in the past, specifically to set the Interceptor speed record but I had never used it in combat until yesterday evening. It's something I'll need to get used to and I'm not entirely happy with the setup. I've used pulse lasers on the Succubus before but maybe I should use a Beam setup for the Crusader and fight at range. I'll keep experimenting.

Kane Rizzel > 02:09:59 Combat Your Gatling Pulse Laser II perfectly strikes ecto seven [4-CE](Slasher), wrecking for 140.1 damage.
Kane Rizzel > first blood for the sader
Xaren Keth > I'm sure the locals are thrilled that you no longer need to reload :)

Confuscious say...

Harrow: "I know him. And I think he's a psychotic lowlife."

Mal: "And I think calling him that is an insult to the psychotic lowlife community."

Evannater was dead, not a soul about and the few that were, weren't exactly forthcoming with fortitude for a fight. I've been in three different ships tonight, spoiling for a fight, Taranis... nothing, Rifter... nothing... Huginn... nothing.

So when I spotted a Raven in Eifer making its way to Gusandall I got on comms and gave a shout to my friend and her Cheetah to get her ass down here ASAP

"8 jumps out"

Come on woman, hurry up, this guy has just gotten started and I don't want to miss the opportunity to explode him.

"Relax, I'm moving as fast as I can"

Sheesh, by the time you get here he'll be done and then I may have to kick a puppy or something.

I had docked up and prepped the Sleipnir, my ship of choice for any mission jack. I undocked and warped to a safe and was pleased to see my friend enter system.

"Probe in the water"

Excellent, now the wait... patience tonight was wearing thin as frustration grew without a kill.

"Don't know if it's just me but this seems more difficult than before"

Aye, I've heard reports of people struggling with probes, hits becoming less frequent, but my friend has all the skills and above all, more patience than me tonight. She had already burnt one Spook probe out without a hit, 20 minutes and nothing, she had dropped another and the scanner revealed that the Raven was still there, but he had a friend close by in a hauler, more than likely a scout sitting on the plex gate. Damn, this was going to be tough even if she did get a hit.

"Got a hit on a drone, 864km variable, will warp in and drop a closer range probe"

Excellent, now we're getting somewhere, she warped in, right on top of the gate, a bit of a surprise and as expected there was the hauler, the gate uncloaked her and whilst I was in warp she targeted and scrambled his warp core, making sure he didn't get away, I landed on the gate and knowing the hauler had probably given us up to his friend, ignored him and warped right in.

DAMN, HE'S WARPED OUT, KEEP THAT HAULER POINTED, I'M GOING TO KILL SOMETHING TONIGHT.

"Uhm OK, but my security status is going to take a hit"

Suck it up, I'm a Pirate, you work for me remember.

I warped out and back to the gate where the hauler was pinned by the Cheetah, I locked and took over the tackle as the Cheetah warped out, my 425s spun up and the hauler was no more, the escape pod warping out instantaneously as the pilot logged his systems.

SCAN OUT THAT POD, I'M FEELING VINDICTIVE

The pod was scanned out in short order and a new corpse was added to "The Morgue"
I docked up, upset that the Raven had gotten away but I was tired and on edge and probably needed a good nights rest, it didn't help that I stubbed my toe on the way to my bunk, Keira really needs to move this loot to a market hub.

You are a degenerate simply

A new day dawns over Gusandall as I wake up, slightly groggy from the painkillers, I check on the local chatter, lo and behold, the Raven pilot is back in system, he's not on the station roster so must be out in space. I sprinted to my Sleipnir, the systems still primed from the night before, good thing I forgot to power her down.

UNDOCK DAMN YOU

The undock was slow, no idea why but as I entered the dark I hit the scanner. The usual junk littering space but in the middle of the scan results is a Raven. A smile lights up, right, this time I'm going to kill him.

"Warp Drive Active"

Those dulcet tones a pleasure to hear. Normal space envelopes my ship as I drop from warp, the gate still there and a shuttle, damn best move quick. Gate is activated, hopefully I can get in before he has a chance to warp out. I'm slung into the deadspace and as I exit the warp I see the Raven, aligning to get out but my lock is quick, my tackling gear glowing and the fight is on. Well, it's not much of a fight, my command ship too much for the Caldari battleship and it's wreck soon becomes a part of the spacescape, these Republic Fleet EMP rounds too much for it's massive shield systems. The escape pod warps out directly to the station and I move towards the wreck to grab whatever loot survived the explosion. I'm grinning, a good kill.

The pilot of the Raven opened up a conversation with me and I think his translation software is slightly out of date, what follows is a transcript of the conversation:

grhuee > You are a degenerate simply
grhuee > 我在做任务也打我的船
grhuee > I am making the duty also to hit my ship
Kane Rizzel > I am making duty for violencing boats
grhuee > I am making the duty
grhuee > Was called you the friend not to hit my OK?
Kane Rizzel > no idea what your talking about, I don't speak English
grhuee > 是英语
grhuee > Is English
Kane Rizzel > No, I only know how to say I don't speak English in English
grhuee > We may be the friend
grhuee > My ships had already been hit by you happily
grhuee > I enter your regiment whether can not hit my ships?
grhuee > hi
Kane Rizzel > ?
grhuee > Do not hit my ships
Kane Rizzel > can't promise that
grhuee > On this time is good lets me complete this duty
grhuee > tanks
grhuee > May ?
grhuee > Calculated that your fierce eldest child I am poor person not ISK
grhuee > Now did not have ISK to buy the ships
grhuee > This is my destiny !
grhuee > bye

I think he wanted to join NovaKane so I wouldn't kill him again, not really sure as I was laughing so much, I considered for a moment ransoming the mission but decided against it as sometimes these guys are dubious at best and no telling where the ISK comes from.

Eventually he left the conversation and I had to go meet some friends for drinks, so I left the hangar, still smiling.

I am Kane Rizzel, fierce eldest child

Ramblings of a Pirate

Jayne: "Shiny. Let's be bad guys."

Been thinking a bit after reading a discussion regarding Piracy, what does being a Pirate mean to me?

First off I always find it worthwhile to be polite when committing acts of violence, it generally pays better and people are more wiling to pay any demanded ransoms as long as you're not being a jerk, of course it's difficult for people to see things straight while their ship is being pummelled into scrap. As much as I try and be polite, I do take offense to name calling and any such endeavour normally results in a closed convo and a continuation of hostilities, at this point all thoughts of ransom disappear and all attempts to pod will ensue. This doesn't sit well with aggressive clients and will normally result in a tirade via evemail or another convo.

I make my living through Piracy, being good at it means a good living and reputation means everything. Honouring ransoms and 1v1 requests is very important to me, a kind of honour even if I'm trying to steal the fillings from your teeth.

I try very hard not to smack but sometimes it's difficult to resist, I try to remain dignified in defeat but when you get blobbed and denied a good fight it leaves a sour taste in your mouth.
I can however smack with the best of them if given the opportunity, it's just not my style.

It's weird, but I consider myself very honourable even though I am a Pirate, not someone who is traditionally considered to be trustworthy but I am a man of my word and any of the Pirates that know me can attest to this. I try and help where I can, even moving ships with my connections for friends who are unable due to security status. It's not what you know in life, it's who you know and Keira is one of the best.

I suppose I don't have a definite definition of me as a Pirate, I just do what I want, when I want and if someone gets in my way... well, I'll attempt to rob them blind, kick them to the curb and say "Have a nice day"

...Trust me, I'm a professional...

It gets lonely though and there have been a few times I've considered openly recruiting to NovaKane Incorporated but every time I've pulled out. I don't have much to offer besides a flag to fly under. I've been a solo operator so long it's a daunting thought of flying with others on a regular basis and it's with that in mind I have rejected numerous invites to other corporations.
I just don't know if I'm a team player any more, maybe I never was. I do fly with others but often find it not profitable enough but it's nice to be able to fly with some good fire-power behind you.

Not even sure what I'd look for in prospective pilots, well, certainly the ability to fly Assault Frigates and Interceptors with appropriate tech 2 weaponry would be the starting point. I'm a big fan of small ship combat as you might have gathered by now ;) and I personally will not fly anything bigger than my Sleipnir, everything else feels like swimming in jello. Of course I'm limiting my options but I find it more of a challenge to be honest. There would be certain rules of course, like any business but for the rest I would probably grant my pilots the same freedoms I afford myself.

SO , don't know what to do really but will definitely think about it, it might just be a passing fancy and maybe it's best I stay on my own, I suppose the freedom is very addictive and being in a corp of many, even if you are running it can be suffocating and Deities know I don't need the stress.