The Anniversary

The people who really run organizations are usually found several levels down, where it is still possible to get things done.
-- (Terry Pratchett, Small Gods)

As is more common these days, I missed something of great significance...

NovaKane Incorporated turned four on the 25th of January 2011.

From humble beginnings four long years ago, it has grown to be respected by its peers and feared by its adversaries.

In four years we have inflicted 110.5 Billion ISK in damage, killed 2026 space ships, ransomed countless pilots and stolen anything that wasn't nailed down. we have also lost 10 Billion ISK, which is quite a scary stat to be honest.



The Rizzels and associates would like to thank all the friends we have flown with, the enemies and sometimes friends we have fought against, the victims, the unlucky and the downright stupid for four great years, we hope to share many more with you all.

The Rattler

"Taxation, gentlemen, is very much like dairy farming. The task is to extract the maximum amount of milk with the minimum of moo. And I am afraid to say that these days all I get is moo."
-- (Terry Pratchett, Jingo)

Rattlesnake baits on Gusundall station, I take the bait and undock an Armageddon, he engages me, I shoot back, taking him to 80% shields with me at about half shields. His friends, a Typhoon, Armageddon and Loki jump in, I de-agress... And dock at 86% armour.

EVE System > Channel changed to Gusandall Local Channel
Kane Rizzel > man, that rattler has poor dps
MMEEEE > says the guy that cant get me past 98% shields
Kane Rizzel > I stopped shooting when your friends jumped in
MMEEEE > and pussy out and dock
MMEEEE > like i said
Kane Rizzel > want to 1v1?
MMEEEE > gf
MMEEEE > mybe nextime
Kane Rizzel > don't be a pussy
MMEEEE > you cant brake my tank and you guys never fly alone for long
Kane Rizzel > 1v1 mate
Kane Rizzel > offer stands
Kane Rizzel > me vs you, no one else
MMEEEE > would love too
MMEEEE > but
Kane Rizzel > but, you're a pussy
MMEEEE > to many of your corp/ friends have played that game before
Kane Rizzel > ok, I'll log my alt out, that make you happy?
MMEEEE > only to get 5 or 8 more peeps
MMEEEE > but always fun
Kane Rizzel > 1v1, at a safe, your safe, your gang, you and me, no one else
MMEEEE > fly safe gents
Kane Rizzel > but if you're not confident in you're abilities
MMEEEE > always fun kane/
MMEEEE > lol
MMEEEE > smak dont bother me bro
Kane Rizzel > man, this will be blogged about, people too afraid to 1v1
MMEEEE > really though fly safe man
Kane Rizzel > you too

Calling me names because I wouldn't fight him and his friends :(

Edit: Re-reading all this, this guy is talking out his ass

MMEEEE > to many of your corp/ friends have played that game before << My corp is me and my family, no-one dishonours 1v1 and Mean are very strict on honouring 1v1s, don't make shit up.

The Scythe

Although the scythe isn't pre-eminent among the weapons of war, anyone who has been on the wrong end of, say, a peasants' revolt will know that in skilled hands it is fearsome.
-- (Terry Pratchett, Mort)

Earlier this week I was approached by an old corp mate and friend Rex Hargrove for a duel of epic proportions.

We spoke for a bit, he would come slum it in Gusandall, we would battle and then have cookies and tea.

The decision about which class of ship to use was tough, I needed to level the playing field somewhat as I don't have a clone without implants that could massively swing the fight in my favour in a number of ships.

Somehow one ship automatically came up as the choice for this and I proposed Battle Scythes to Rex...

Scythe

The Scythe-class cruiser is the oldest Minmatar ship still in use. It has seen many battles and is an integrated part in Minmatar tales and heritage. Recent firmware upgrades "borrowed" from the Caldari have vastly increased the efficiency of its mining output.

Minmatar Cruiser Skill Bonus: 20% bonus to mining laser yield and 3.5% bonus to tracking links per level.

Role Bonus: 500% bonus to range of tracking links.

Well now, here's a challenge if I ever saw one, how would we turn these into ships suitable for battle. I thought long and hard about this ship and how to fit it. With no weapons bonuses I could choose whichever type of weapon system would suit me best.

My first thoughts though were to undergun and go with smalls. Blasters, while higher DPS, they were short range, autocannons gave me more options damage wise but there was something staring me in the face that I could not ignore... The massive EM hole on the shields of the Scythe. There was only one gun system that would do and that was lasers.

I also thought about going with rocket launchers, but bouncing ideas off another friend, Jonothan Xavier, we decided that heavy assault missiles would fit the purpose of the fit nicely, and also giving me damage options not available to lasers.

Here is the fit I finally decided on:

[Scythe, OOK!]
Damage Control II
Heat Sink II
Heat Sink II

Y-S8 Hydrocarbon I Afterburners
Large Shield Extender II
Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I

Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
'Malkuth' Heavy Assault Missile Launcher I, Caldari Navy Hellfire Assault Missile
'Malkuth' Heavy Assault Missile Launcher I, Caldari Navy Terror Assault Missile

Medium Core Defence Field Extender I
Medium Core Defence Field Extender I
Medium Core Defence Field Extender I

Hobgoblin II x1

With OOK! ready for battle and the day of destiny upon us, I would have to wait for Rex to make his way out of zero zero for this epic encounter.

He arrived in Gusandall after a hectic trip from nullsec and went about setting up his BATTLE SCYTHE. I had made arrangements with the locals to mind their own business and stay out of mine as I started to meditate before what was sure to be the battle of my illustrious career.

We formed gang and I made my way to the safespot, Jon came in a Hyperion to make sure we kept it honest.

Rex undocked, an associate reporting his every movement, he made warp for my position and it was time to meet in glorious battle.

Rex landed about 15 clicks away and I hit my afterburner, chosen as it would not be affected by warp scramblers. I closed quite easily as we locked each other up, I launched my single hobgoblin drone and ordered it to attack, attack it did, my lasers tore space apart as they sent cleansing light across the gap, heavy assault missiles spewing forth and assaulting Rex's shields.

Locked in mortal combat, Rex launched that which has been my nemesis for far too long, a single EC-300 drone made it's way towards OOK!...

Rex's shields evaporated, his armour melted and his hull crumpled as the stress of space and my weapons fire was too much, the EC-300 not being able to get a jam on.

One of the more interesting 1v1s I have ever been involved in and a lot of fun.
Thanks to Jon for the advice with regards to fitting and to Rex for making the trip from nullsec for this.

Yoink

"There must be a hundred silver dollars in here," moaned Boggis, waving a purse. "I mean, that's not my league. That's not my class. I can't handle that sort of money. You've got to be in the Guild of Lawyers or something to steal that much."
-- (Terry Pratchett, Wyrd Sisters)

An associate was doing the rounds of neighbouring systems when she spotted something very curious in an ice belt next door to Eifer in a High security pocket.

"Two Mackinaws mining next to an unpiloted Orca"

You have got be shitting me?

"I'm not shitting on you"

I wake Keira up and start to scheme. Mackinaw's have a very short locking range and a ship cannot be boarded if it is locked, it being in a highsec pocket meant I could not take part in Operation Free Willy but Keira could, along with the help of two associates.

One associate went ahead in a covops to setup a warpin, the other docked her covops so that she could pilot our prize away as she was the only one who could fly it.

Keira would need something with some good speed but also some good weight behind it to bump the Orca away from the two ice miners, Interesting Times, a Machariel class battleship has been rebuilt and it's first duty for NovaKane Incorporated, would be aiding in the liberation of an Orca class Mining command ship.

With all the pieces in place, Keira made her way to the system, warped to our covops friend, and started her first run.

She hit it dead on, accelerating the Orca to over 1km/s and it started to move swiftly away, the Mackinaw pilots must have gotten a fright as the massive Machariel class battlership narrowly missed them. The Orca started to move away from the ice miners, as they responded by trying to move closer, but they are too slow, Keira makes her second run, bumping the Orca further away, our Orca pilot undocks and makes her way to Keira's position, as she lands she's 30km away from the now free-for-all Orca, she makes quick adjustments, warps to an ice block and back to where Keira is, right on top of the Orca, she boards it and immediately sets warp for the station.

Keira Rizzel > thanks guys
Hermodr Thrym > you're welcome : /
Hermodr Thrym > idiots

NovaKane Incorporated and associates would like to thank Hermodr Thrym and Savora for the fine gift of an Orca, now we just need to figure out what to do with the bloody thing.

Hello new Hotness

Greebo could, in fact, commit sexual harrassment simply by sitting very quietly in the next room.
-- (Terry Pratchett, Maskerade)




I'd rather have kept Kane's tattoos but this is a pretty good effort

Edit:

Here's the rest of the family and friends

Fare thee well my old face

"I'm vice-president of Throwing Out People Mr Dibbler Doesn't like the Face of."
-- (Terry Pratchett, Moving Pictures)



:(

The Drones

"Well, 'scuse me. I was jus' tryin' to save the world."
-- Gaspode the wonder dog
(Terry Pratchett, Moving Pictures)

A Rifter and an Ishkur in Gusandall, one more challenging than the other, I warp The Cunning Man to the 2/10 plex and wait.

The Ishkur warps in and immediately locks me up but doesn't fire as I'm about 25 clicks away from the warp in. A quick look at his weapons leads me to the conclusion he is blaster fit, so the plan is this, stay on the edge of scram and web range and kill his damage drones, then close in and start windmillin*

I start to close, but not too much, 10clicks is all I could allow. He deploys a mix of hobgoblin and warriors, tech 2 variety. With overloaded web and scram keeping him at bay I start to pick off the drones one by one, until the last warrior was left, then some ec-300s appear on overview and that was pretty much it.

I'm jammed till the last moment of the Cunning Man's illustrious service to NovaKane Incorporated, I stayed till the end in the vain hope of getting lucky and the ec-300s were defective or something but as is my luck, I had none.

Kane Rizzel > ecm drones were a bit gay but gf
Doctor Genocide > yep, gf dude
Doctor Genocide > ECM drones are fair on a boat with 2 flights of drones
Doctor Genocide > you killed my damage drones
Kane Rizzel > not when you're fighting a rifter :)
Doctor Genocide > lol
Doctor Genocide > true
Doctor Genocide > but hey; without them you'd have kited & killed me
Kane Rizzel > tbh, I just wanted to kill them so I stood a better chance of going toe to toe
Doctor Genocide > AC Vs Hybrid is leg to toe

So ec-300s once again prove to be the bane of Kane, was frustrating but c'est la vie.

Two losses in a row, things are not looking so good at the moment

*Verb; To whirl one's outstretched arms around in a circular motion, fists clenched, with the intention of hitting something (or someone). This action resembles the spinning blades of a windmill.

EDIT:

I finally killed something. So, there's a Jaguar that undocks from Gusandall station, I casually board Flubber and join him in the black. Jag is tough cookie to crumble and it would be tougher still to do so under sentries.

The jag pilot was hesitant to engage, I nonchalantly dragged him away from the station, a bit of lame Kane at 60% thrust. At over 150 clicks off station it's game time. The jag pilot is from an alliance that is well known for not flying without backup, so it was a race against warp speeds for me to kill the jag and get out with Flubber in one piece.

Jag is trying to keep range but Flubber is tricksy and jag can't keep range, so jag dies just as local comms fill up with his alliance mates, a Tempest, two Myrmidons and a Hurricane warp in to our position just as the jag pilot's escape pod warps to safety.

At full thrust it's time to make tactical advance to the rear, a dangerous counter-attack that is practised by many grand armies, at about 40km the Tempest loses point and I make casual exit from battle ground tipping my hat to the combatants as I leave.

The Loss

I think that sick people in Ankh-Morpork generally go to a vet. It's generally a better bet. There's more pressure on a vet to get it right. People say "it was god's will" when granny dies, but they get *angry* when they lose a cow.

-- (Terry Pratchett, alt.fan.pratchett)

A sad day ladies and gentlemen, Interesting Times is dead, without going into too much detail as the loss is gonna piss off Keira as it was originally hers since about 2007, I bit off more than I could chew as a rather juicy trap was sprung.

To be honest, I should have known better, the baits corp and the fact he was hanging on the station should have had the alarm bells ringing.

Anyways, here it is, a very, very expensive loss for me:

2011.01.10 00:28

Victim: Kane Rizzel
Corp: NovaKane Incorporated
Alliance: Unknown
Faction: NONE
Destroyed: Machariel
System: Gusandall
Security: 0.4
Damage Taken: 43901

Involved parties:

Name: Reck0ner (laid the final blow)
Security: -9.9
Corp: Immortalis Inc.
Alliance: Shadow Cartel
Faction: NONE
Ship: Zealot
Weapon: Heavy Pulse Laser II
Damage Done: 9856

Name: W0wbagger
Security: -10.0
Corp: Immortalis Inc.
Alliance: Shadow Cartel
Faction: NONE
Ship: Loki
Weapon: Loki
Damage Done: 4871

Name: RemyHansen
Security: -9.6
Corp: Immortalis Inc.
Alliance: Shadow Cartel
Faction: NONE
Ship: Zealot
Weapon: Zealot
Damage Done: 4399

Name: Blackblade23
Security: -8.9
Corp: Immortalis Inc.
Alliance: Shadow Cartel
Faction: NONE
Ship: Vigilant
Weapon: Warrior II
Damage Done: 3977

Name: Tankmug
Security: -9.7
Corp: Immortalis Inc.
Alliance: Shadow Cartel
Faction: NONE
Ship: Proteus
Weapon: Proteus
Damage Done: 3630

Name: Rubenson
Security: -9.1
Corp: Immortalis Inc.
Alliance: Shadow Cartel
Faction: NONE
Ship: Deimos
Weapon: Deimos
Damage Done: 3502

Name: cl1de
Security: -10.0
Corp: The Tuskers
Alliance: None
Faction: NONE
Ship: Muninn
Weapon: Muninn
Damage Done: 2428

Name: ItsmeHcK1
Security: -9.7
Corp: The Tuskers
Alliance: None
Faction: NONE
Ship: Ashimmu
Weapon: Ashimmu
Damage Done: 2373

Name: Robert Mason
Security: -9.7
Corp: The Tuskers
Alliance: None
Faction: NONE
Ship: Proteus
Weapon: Hammerhead II
Damage Done: 2091

Name: mazi leigh
Security: -10.0
Corp: Immortalis Inc.
Alliance: Shadow Cartel
Faction: NONE
Ship: Loki
Weapon: Loki
Damage Done: 1977

Name: Sim Mental
Security: -2.1
Corp: The Executioners
Alliance: BOGLYFT
Faction: NONE
Ship: Drake
Weapon: Hellfire Rage Assault Missile
Damage Done: 1462

Name: Ariartus
Security: -9.9
Corp: Gunpoint Diplomacy
Alliance: None
Faction: NONE
Ship: Zealot
Weapon: Zealot
Damage Done: 1411

Name: Zane Direstorm
Security: -7.4
Corp: Immortalis Inc.
Alliance: Shadow Cartel
Faction: NONE
Ship: Rupture
Weapon: Rupture
Damage Done: 652

Name: lncognito
Security: -9.8
Corp: The Tuskers
Alliance: None
Faction: NONE
Ship: Rapier
Weapon: Rapier
Damage Done: 632

Name: Kravot
Security: -3.2
Corp: Green Merchants LLP.
Alliance: Shadow Cartel
Faction: NONE
Ship: Blackbird
Weapon: Blackbird
Damage Done: 389

Name: Asakura Manji
Security: -3.2
Corp: Immortalis Inc.
Alliance: Shadow Cartel
Faction: NONE
Ship: Guardian
Weapon: Warrior II
Damage Done: 251

Name: Waveshifter
Security: -0.4
Corp: Immortalis Inc.
Alliance: Shadow Cartel
Faction: NONE
Ship: Zealot
Weapon: Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I
Damage Done: 0


Destroyed items:

True Sansha Heavy Energy Neutralizer
Republic Fleet EMP L, Qty: 436
800mm Repeating Artillery II, Qty: 3
Navy Cap Booster 800, Qty: 6
Gist X-Type 100MN MicroWarpdrive
Domination Gyrostabilizer, Qty: 2
Domination Nanofiber Structure
Damage Control II
Barrage L, Qty: 2000 (Cargo)
Republic Fleet EMP L, Qty: 4713 (Cargo)
Large Core Defence Field Extender I, Qty: 3
Warrior II, Qty: 3 (Drone Bay)
Valkyrie II, Qty: 2 (Drone Bay)

Dropped items:

800mm Repeating Artillery II, Qty: 4
Republic Fleet EMP L, Qty: 327
Dread Guristas Invulnerability Field
Heavy Capacitor Booster II
Large Shield Extender II
Republic Fleet Warp Disruptor
Domination Tracking Enhancer, Qty: 2
Domination Nanofiber Structure
Navy Cap Booster 800, Qty: 15 (Cargo)
Republic Fleet Fusion L, Qty: 1084 (Cargo)
Republic Fleet Phased Plasma L, Qty: 2947 (Cargo)
Standard X-Instinct Booster, Qty: 4 (Cargo)
Nanite Repair Paste, Qty: 929 (Cargo)
Warrior II, Qty: 3 (Drone Bay)
Berserker II, Qty: 3 (Drone Bay)

To the victors the spoils, now I just need to figure out how to break the news to Keira

The Gate

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to
(a) mate with,
(b) eat,
(c) run away from,and
(d) rocks.

-- (Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites)

The nano age of space combat was for some a golden age, an age where you could shoot at will and run away like a little girl once things went pear shaped. It was an age where I flew a Crusader at 63km/s, nothing could touch me and that speed was exhilarating, a drug like no other.

It was also an age of innovation, where new tactics evolved to deal with the speed and ease with which others could run away. You either were part of the problem or you tried to deal with the problem. I could go very fast, faster than anyone else, but what I really enjoyed was embarrassing fast pilots in their fast interceptors in my lowly tech 1 Rifter, which wasn't so fast but it certainly made some folk think twice about breaking the speed limit.

The nano age never really went away, it changed as technology changed and it evolved, but the tactic remained the same.

Now I've seen a few so called nano Ruptures in my time, not my thing to be quite honest but it's sort of like a poor man's Vagabond.

Now, one such Rupture was running the gates between Eifer and Gusandall and because of his speed, was being more than a little annoying to some of the locals. After they gave up trying to catch him, I waited a few minutes, for him to catch his breath, cause that amount of running isn't healthy.

There's only one ship for someone who is determined to run away when the going gets tough, only one logical choice... Flubber.

As my Stabber Fleet Issue undocks, I take a moment to appreciate the beauty of this harsh universe, the small yellow star at the center of the Gusandall solar system illuminating the sharp lines of this miracle of Minmatar engineering.

I punch the warp button to the Eifer stargate and soon, with trails of hyperspace pouring off Flubbers engines, the Rupture appears on my overview, hugging the gate like a new born baby hugs its mum for security.

I make a few runs, trying to get a good bump off, but the Rupture is steadfast in its resolve not to be budged. I lock him up, again, no reaction, until he jumps through to Eifer, I follow and so begins the gate race. He nanos it back to the gate, I punch my MWD and make it back just as he jumps, I follow.

Now it gets interesting for the Rupture pilot.

Keira is in her Claymore, a ship she hasn't flown for a long while, with her command skills, my tackle is huge, like frikkin humongous, the Rupture breaks cloak about 20clicks off me, I start to close, with webs overheated, I lock him up and they go green, slowing him down, but the best is a 20km warp scrambler, which stops him warping away but also shuts down his MWD.

Not so fast now that I'm quite literally crawling up his tailpipe, a good 12km from the gate and his salvation.

With guns spiiting hot death in his general direction I launch some Warrior IIs, to help take some of the sentry gun heat, he reciprocates by launching some EC-300s...

...


...

...
...

The thing about ships that nano it up, they're rather brittle once you break their shields, the EC-300s, the bane of Kane, did not save him, no sir, they did not.

His shields melted and with not so much as a gesundheit, he exploded, kind enough to be slow on the escape pod and getting tackled by moi.

I offer 100million ISK for the safe extraction of his pod, he counters with 200million, I say 100million sharpish, he says 200million, I pop his pod as I'm under sentry fire and he was obviously stalling.

I scoop the loot and the corpse and head back to the station, Flubber's armour at the brink of melting from the heat from the stargate sentry guns.

It ain't nothing but a noob thang

The fight of the day, nay, the fight of the year came about as I was tinkering with Gaspode, my Reaper class rookie ship.

A rather young Rifter pilot was trying to run the Minmatar Contracted Bio-Farm 1/10 complex in Gusandall. I took it upon myself to extract the usual toll of such visitors to my system and I would do so in Gaspode.

I undock and warp directly to the complex, hammering the primitive onboard scanner as I do so, making sure, the Rifter is where he's supposed to be for when the toll man cometh.

I activate the ancient acceleration gate and Gaspode is launched into the first room of the plex, the Rifter calmly going about his illicit business about 30 clicks away from where Gaspode exits warp.

I start to close... Slowly.

"It would probably help if you got out and pushed" I hear Keira half say, half giggle over the corp comms system.

At about 12km I lock him up and apply my warp scrambler magic, courtesy of Keira's command skills and liberal application of the overheating button.

I set a close orbit, no fancy flying needed, as I'd probably have to concentrate on praying, if I believed in a higher power that is.

The Rifter is easily faster than me and even a semi competent fit would mean that even if I started believing in some higher power, now was probably not the best time to not show up and help.

I launch a Hobgoblin drone, tech 2. My two guns launch hot fusion bullets into space in the general direction of the Rifter. He shoots back, repping his armour handily, I start to shout as Gaspode enters armour, the Rifter hits structure but reps chunks of armour before too much damage is done, guns overheating to the point of melting, I yell at the little drone to shoot for all his worth.

COME OOOOOOOOOON LITTLE BUDDY, WE CAN DO IT.

With Gaspode at 45% structure, the last slivers of the Rifters structure vanish, an explosion the likes of which have never been seen rocks the Gusandall sky, like a supernova, but smaller, a not-so-supernova.

I tackle the pod for good measure, send him on his merry, scoop the loot and warp to a safe spot for a well earned breather.

The mighty Reaper victorious in fierce battle. Props to the Rifter pilot, he stayed and fought, even though he could have just hit his afterburner and warped away once out of range.