The Hunted

It was hard enough to kill a vampire. You could stake them down and turn them into dust and ten years later someone drops a drop of blood in the wrong place and *guess who's back*? They returned more times than raw broccoli.

-- (Terry Pratchett, Feet of Clay)

Bait Brutix on Gus station...
Of course it's a bloody bait Brutix...
Nobody in their right mind hangs about the undock of Gusandall that long without being up to something.

So what do we do?

We try the reverse bait.

Now this is not as easy as it seems, first you need a big juicy target, like say, my Bhaalgorn, which I undock.

Bhaalgorn

Named after a child-devouring demon of Amarrian legend, the Bhaalgorn is the pride and joy of the Blood Raider cabal. Though it is known to be based on an Armageddon blueprint, the design's origin remains shrouded in mystery. Those of a superstitious persuasion whisper in the dark of eldritch ceremonies and arcane rituals, but for most people, the practical aspect of the matter will more than suffice: you see one of these blood-red horrors looming on the horizon, it's time to make yourself scarce.

Special Ability: 100% bonus to Large Energy Turret damage

Amarr Battleship Skill Bonus: 15% bonus to Energy Vampire and Energy Neutralizer drain amount per level
Minmatar Battleship Skill Bonus: 20% bonus to Stasis Webifier activation range per level

Now in order for the reverse bait to work there needs to be a few critical issues to sort out. First and foremost, you can't really bait solo, it seems most of my contacts and alliance mates were passed out in the local bar.

That's ok, I can pull this off on my own... Sure I bloody can, I'm Kane Rizzel.

Secondly and this is the important part, the baitee mustn't just dock as soon as you undock :(

Unhappy with my failure to do even the simplest bait job, I dock the Bhaal and grab my Fleet Stabber, which I've had some fun with today already. Covops reports the Brutix undocks and warps towards Ingunn, at this point an associate has joined me on the hunt.

Stabber Fleet Issue

Responding to voices stating that the Stabber needed an upgrade to be viable as a fleet vessel of military standards, the Republic Fleet commissioned the creation of the Fleet Issue Stabber; a slower, hardier version of the original that packs quite a bit more firepower. Being as new as it is on the battlefield, the Fleet Issue Stabber hasn't seen many large engagements yet, but its engineers as well as Fleet command are very optimistic about its performance.

Minmatar Cruiser Skill Bonus: 5% bonus to Medium Projectile Turret firing speed and 10% bonus to Medium Projectile Turret tracking speed per level.

WayCharles, my associate in this rather devilish game of cat and mouse reports the Brutix has warped to Sotrenzur and I point my Fleet Stabber in the direction of the gate and punch warp.

WARP DRIVE ACTIVE

AYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!

I barrel in and warp trails still pouring off my stabber as I lock the Brutix up, he replies in kind and BLOODY HELL, THE FUCKER HAS JUST ENGAGED ME... GAME ON BITCH.

The trap is sprung as intel reaches us of two Cyclones waiting on the other side of the gate have just jumped in.

I open up with some light showers of barrage ammo, as I keep well out of warp scrambler range but just enough to keep them interested. However they soon tire of chasing me and warp to the station. I warp to a spot 250km above and spy on them with my little eye.

I warp closer to about 10km off the station as we try another reverse bait whilst WayCharles reships into something with more range. The three battlecruisers start the chase, in true Benny Hill fashion I can hear Yakety Sax playing in the background. This goes on for about fifteen to twenty minutes before I have them sufficiently out of range of the station's docking radius.

The time has come, I close in on a Cyclone closest to WayCharles and tackle, he gets to about 15% hull when I stupidly lose point and he warp out but I'm quick to point the second Cyclone and we apply the hurt, meanwhile the Brutix has scarpered along with the first Cyclone. Qre and Shiln join in as the Cyclone of Pooterhead goes down. Pooterhead, the name rings a bell, a plex farmer from way back.

A great fight and capped off a good day for me, which saw me solo a gang of three Rifters in Eifer with the Fleet Stabber, an asleep at the wheel Rupture pilot who decided to take a break at a safespot in Gusandall, a curious Vexor pilot who claimed to be a little rusty in Eifer and a good trip out for the Bhaalgorn in Eifer as Mean Coalition welcomed a dual Maelstrom, Drake and Gila gang to our home (We missed the Gila)