Officially converting to yarrbears

Five jumps out, our static wormhole collapses. The podded pilot we were hoping to get back in to w-space has made a dozen jumps for naught, the wormhole in high-sec space she was heading for now leading to a dead-end. Quite why our static wormhole chooses this time to collapse is uncertain, as it didn't seem to be at the end of its life. Now we need to get out and scan again, to find not only the new location of the static wormhole but a route out to empire for our pilot to use. The static wormhole is relocated quickly enough in our system, and two of us jump through to start looking for an exit.

Checking the directional scanner in the new system reveals nothing but celestial bodies, so after bookmarking the wormhole home we drop probes and start scanning. I note the presence of a planet in the system that's out of range of d-scan, so as I position my probes for an initial sweep I warp to this outer planet to check for signs of life. As my probes return only a few signatures in the entire system, d-scan shows that there is a tower set-up around the outer planet. There are also some Covetor mining barges and a couple of Drake battlecruisers around. I pick the sole signature around this planet to resolve first, whilst using refined d-scan searches to find the tower. And there it is, with the pair of Drakes sitting alone in the shields. But that means there are five Covetors elsewhere in the system, and they must be active. Not only that, but I am currently scanning the only signature within d-scan range, which turns out to be a gravimetric site. It's time to form a fleet!

I resolve the gravimetric site with all haste, recalling my probes as soon as I get a strong enough hit to warp to it. Oh, it's a beautiful sight, five mining barges shooting the same rock, all huddled around the same jet-can in space. To actively use a jet-can a ship needs to be within 2,500 metres of it, which means my Onyx's warp disruption bubble will easily encapsulate all of the ships. To make it even more juicy, instead of having to bookmark the rock they are shooting and warp-in some 10 km away from them, the jet-can can be directly bookmarked from my remote position, allowing me to drop right in the centre of the ships. I'm tingling with evil as I warp back to the tower to get my heavy interdictor. The fleet sits ready, my Onyx joining a Lachesis, Myrmidon, and Zealot. It's overkill for miners, but to protect their operation the Drakes may turn up, or more.

We warp to our wormhole and hold position for all of the fleet to arrive. Our situation is excellent, as the other side of the wormhole is not within d-scan range of the miners, so we will be in warp before our ships can be detected. Once all our ships are on the wormhole we jump and hold on the other side. With everyone in the system the fleet is put in to warp, aiming for zero-point on the Covetors. If the miners had been watching d-scan they weren't spooked by the core scanning probes I was using, as they are still right where I left them a couple of minutes ago, my Onyx dropping out of warp right on top of them, its bubble capturing them all.

With callous disregard for capsuleer life our fleet starts popping the ships, as well as the pods that are soon ejected. The Drakes don't turn up to protect the mining operation, but an Iteron hauler drops out of warp and gets stuck in the Onyx's bubble, no doubt coming in to pick up the ore being mined. I like to think he was already in warp before we turn up on d-scan, as it is worrying to think that he began his trip to the gravimetric site without first checking his scanner. He is welcome to join our slaughter, though, and both his Iteron and pod are destroyed along with the rest of them.

The ambush is flawless, snaring all five ships and pods and even getting a sixth that happens to turn up. The Drakes don't leave the tower, although it is uncertain whether they are paying attention and choose not to throw themselves at us or are not around to help in the first place. However, we still need practice in withdrawing quickly, as it takes us a good five minutes to collect loot and ore and get out of the pocket. Our slow response time has cost us in the past and we really ought to improve, as we ourselves continue to show that no evident threat doesn't mean there is no actual threat. With all the loot and ore returned to our tower we can now find a new exit in peace, not that miners were likely to pose any obstruction to scanning.

Oh, right, our wayward colleague is still waiting to return to w-space. That's why we're out here shooting miners, because we are actually looking for wormholes. A new exit is found easily enough, one that remains convenient for our colleague to travel to, and she is brought back in to w-space and our home system with no further drama.

Posted in Gaming |
Tags: covetor, drake, eve online, lachesis, mmorpg, myrmidon, onyx, penny ibramovic, pvp, scanning, w-space, zealot