Start by scanning and scouting
17th November 2012 – 3.50 pmMy spider sense is tingling, making me think that someone has already been in the home system today. If that's the case they've hidden their tracks well, as all our anomalies remain and there is no sign of a wormhole expect for our static connection. I'll have to accept that I'm not much of a spider and get on with a quiet, reconnoitring poke around the constellation.
Jumping in to the neighbouring class 3 w-space system plonks me next to a K162 from where my directional scanner shows me nothing. Two planets sit out of range, which could hold activity, or at least occupation, but before I take a look I launch probes and perform a blanket scan of the system. My probes return no anomalies and a mere four signatures, which makes this a pretty clean system indeed, and the lack of ships means there is no activity.
Checking my notes shows this to be my seventh visit to the system. The previous time was about eight months ago, where Fin and I attempted a bombing run at an escorted Noctis salvager, which warped clear before our bombs even hit. I vaguely remember that, and it looks like our daring assault scared the locals out of w-space, as the tower I have listed is no longer present, and hasn't been replaced. It's a little rum that the system has so few sites and yet no occupation, but it's possible a raiding party has passed through recently.
Resolving the signatures gives me gas, rocks, and a static exit to low-sec. And, as if to confirm my suspicion of an earlier fleet, the wormhole is at the end of its life from being opened long before my arrival, ending the constellation at its earliest opportunity, along with my exploration. I shall continue, though, just not through this system. I return home, throw massive ships through our static connection, taking care to bring them back again, and smoothly collapse the wormhole.
Starting again still has no intruders in the home system, and once again jumping to the neighbouring class 3 system has nothing to see on d-scan. This time, three planets sit out of range, and one of them holds a tower. It's a different tower to the one from fourteen months ago, but I won't hold that against it, and I scan the two anomalies and eleven signatures to resolve mostly gas, a couple of radar sites, and again just the static exit to low-sec.
No, that's ten signatures, and I counted eleven. I trust my counting this time and, sitting near the exit to low-sec, re-launch my probes and take a second look. Indeed, I failed to cover a distant planet with my scanning, where another pocket of gas waits to be ignored. I could resolve and bookmark it, but it has been probably years since I last caught a capsuleer in an already bookmarked site.
I recall my probes, satisfied that I've found all the signatures in C3a, and jump to low-sec. The system in Heimatar doesn't look particularly interesting, and scanning finds just the one extra signature, which turns out to be merely a radar site. Another simple constellation ends almost as soon as it begins. Okay, scouting is complete! It's time for a sammich. I'll come back later.
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