Chasing Tech III
23rd April 2010 – 5.10 pmWe have a convenient exit to high-sec space, close to the trade hub of Jita even! Well, it would be convenient if it weren't for the large warp disruption bubble placed on a connecting wormhole. Having to crawl haulers through the bubble would be dangerous, and doing so with loot to sell or goodies brought back in would be foolish. Let's shoot it. An unguarded bubble can act as a deterrent, but it can also act as target practice, and we aim to show that a bubble is only good if it is being watched. My colleagues get in to a Myrmidon and Drake, but I am unsure what ship to use. I choose my Manticore stealth bomber, if only because it fires battleship-class torpedoes, as I am still quite restricted in dealing damage otherwise. We head out to clear the path.
My Manticore offers me the benefits of stealth as well, which makes up for the flimsy frigate-based hull. Although I don't need to sneak up on a warp bubble, having a cloak lets me warp to the tower in the system and check that there is no activity, which I do. Given the all-clear, my colleagues start shooting the bubble as I warp to join them, loosing torpedo volleys once I get there. It doesn't take long to pop the bubble, freeing the wormhole and meaning shopping can begin. I need a few more bookmarks before I think about going anywhere, so I head back to the tower first.
A Loki strategic cruiser is spotted warping away from a wormhole on our route out, which adds a bit more danger to the journey. In a display of how far we have come, rather than halting operations and cowering we actually have the temerity to consider engaging the Tech III ship. My colleagues are happy to sacrifice their battlecruisers still, and I am again unsure what I could take to the battle. I may bring logistics and warfare links to battle against Sleepers, or the controlling bubble of a heavy interdictor, but I still lack anything particularly sharp. I decide to stay in my Manticore, which would at least let me scout ahead a little without risking losing anything more expensive than a battlecruiser.
We have no guarantee we'll find the Loki again, or that we won't bump in to friends of his when we do, but we head out full of spirit. Jumping in to the system where the Loki was spotted shows one each of the Legion and Proteus strategic cruisers, making us vastly underpowered even without the Loki as well. Core scanning probes are visible in the system as well. Oh, and there is a Tengu strategic cruiser to complete the racial set, as well as a Nemesis stealth bomber. Maybe we made a mistake coming out here. However, it would be prudent to find out where all these expensive and dangerous ships are from. I am the cloaky ship, so I stay in the system to scout whilst the others retreat a little to safety.
Checking the null-sec wormhole finds no ships, neither does the wormhole leading to a class 6 system have ships loitering around it. I return to the null-sec wormhole and jump, if only to get a new red dot on my star map for places visited, exiting to SN9-3Z. The corpse on the null-sec side of the wormhole catches my attention, as do the Thanatos and Chimera carriers showing on d-scan, along with wrecks of rat ships. There are no Tech III ships visible, though. For reasons I haven't analysed yet, I stuff the corpse in to my hold and head back to w-space. Then, like an idiot, I head in to the class 6 system, thankfully remembering to bookmark the wormhole on the other side before warping off, only to find an empty system. Unoccupied and no ships.
Jumping back, a Helios is now on d-scan. I ponder which wormhole to camp in my Manticore, but there are no probes visible so the Helios is probably only travelling. I make my way back home, checking the other systems on the route, but there are no signs of any ships, let alone strategic cruisers. They quietly slinked away somewhere, which is probably for the best for us. Picking a fight with a Loki may have been interesting, but jumping in to the middle of four of them would have been, well, comedic.
3 Responses to “Chasing Tech III”
You blog is...
Really really good.
Interesting, clear wording and tactics.
I like the personalities of the bloggers I follow, and they all have their quirks.
Some are really mean (some of the pirate ones), others kinda goofy or enjoyably light (k162 for example), and some are just frank (EVE Wormholes, Life in the Hole, Etc), but yours is kinda aloof, and tbh kinda clean.
I like it due to the following reasons.
You tell the tactics, you execute maneuvers, and type clearly and often.
Some of my favorite blogs are so infrequent to enter a post that I often loose interest (Planet RISK!!), ah well. Keep it up!
Cor, thank you. I try to write with the assumption of readers having only basic knowledge of EVE Online, which I think helps with my clarity even if it makes my posts a little wordy. I'm glad you find my little adventures interesting.
Gah, how much did you pay Glenn?