Warping without a wing
15th January 2010 – 5.31 pmWe almost have enough pilots available to wreck some Sleeper ships. Fin and I are around to pilot the twin Guardian logistics ships, that will provide enough remote repairing to keep the fleet afloat. If the other capsuleer dares to dual-box to bring two battleships on-line, we can attempt to clear some anomalies. Our lack of firepower would struggle to let us clear anything more difficult than an anomaly, in our class 4 w-space system, and it would be unwise to try with one capsuleer controlling two ships.
Fin creates the fleet hierarchy. As wing commander, she can warp us as a squad to the anomaly, but having the two Guardians cancel the warp to follow behind. The battleships get warped in to the heart of the anomaly, the Guardians drop out of warp 50 km away, far enough from the action to be safer but still comfortably within range to effect repairs to the fleet. This tactic isn't entirely necessary, but it is certainly preferable to having the more agile, and vulnerable, Guardians warp to the site first. It also allows for a clever use of the Zephyr that has been found.
The Zephyr may be a poor scanning boat for dedicated w-space operations, but it is treated like a capsule by the Sleepers, meaning that they won't engage it. This allows the Zephyr to be used to scout a site and bookmark a suitable point to warp the fleet to. As the Argos guns of the Sleepers hit for significant damage, and can appear over 100 km away from the scanned warp-in point, being able to create a closer bookmark is quite advantageous. The battleships can engage the guns sooner and at a more convenient range, with no additional risk.
The first Sleeper anomaly is cleared smoothly, if a little slowly with only two battleships. Ships are swapped to destroyers as the loot and salvage is picked up, before moving to the next anomaly. At least, that's the plan. Warping the wing goes awry, and only Fin in her Guardian shoots off to the anomaly. Expecting the fleet to enter warp simultaneously means we are not immediately aware that the situation has gone amiss. By the time we realise what has happened, Fin is in the anomaly alone and warp-scrambled. Prevented from fleeing, the Sleepers are blasting their way through her ship's armour.
As squadron leader, I make the executive decision to warp the whole squad in to the anomaly to rescue our colleague. I prepare all four of my large remote armour repair systems to activate on the damaged Guardian as soon as is feasible. But we are seconds too late, dropping out of warp to see the Tech II dust disperse from what is left of the ship. I turn us around to warp out again, as the fleet is not fitted to survive running only a single Guardian, but the Abaddon doesn't follow. The battleship has been caught by the Sleeper frigates and scrambled itself. But we're not losing another ship today.
Back at the tower, Fin and I jump in to our trusty Drakes and warp back to the anomaly where Sleeper frigates are swarming around the Abaddon battleship. Our battlecruisers lock on to the frigates and cruisers and start raining missiles on them, managing to break the lock on the Abaddon so it can warp out safely. I am told not to shoot the last frigate, but it's too late. I wreak my vengeance and the next wave of Sleeper ships warps in, but not fast enough to stop me from warping my Drake out safely, the last ship back to the tower.
We don't have a spare Guardian, nor enough pilots to make an effective fleet without two logistics ships. An exit is scanned out of w-space to buy and fit a new Guardian, whilst I abuse the Zephyr's properties to salvage whatever loot I can get from the wrecks, the Zephyr's 10 m3 cargo hold and immunity from Sleeper aggression proving handy, even if unintended. Sadly, we don't have enough time to get the fleet re-coordinated and back in to the anomaly, and the profits from the one we successfully cleared don't come close to covering the subsequent loss. It has not been the best evening in w-space.
3 Responses to “Warping without a wing”
I would like to speak with you in greater detail regarding w-Space. Like you, I am also a member of a corporation which exists solely in w-Space. Perhaps we can compare notes.
I look forward to speaking with you in-game. Keep up the good work, tiger.
It is still interesting to me how effective the Zephyr is working at a quick wormhole looting ship. I'd like to say it only gets used rarely, but we've managed to screw things up a few times.
Not only can it rescue a few of the smaller modules that drop, but it can also pick up the bloot that falls from the Sleepers.