Scanning high-sec for wormholes
17th November 2010 – 5.59 pmIt's time to start looking for a new w-space home. I haven't scanned my way in to w-space from empire space before, only looking for exits previously. Finding one specific system via randomly spawning and connected wormholes is a lesson in futility, which is why I never tried finding my way home when isolated and waited instead for a guide. Now I am looking for just a class of system, with a suitable linking connection, although it may still take a while. I don't know how often outbound connections open in empire space, nor how likely it is for a K162 opened from a w-space system to appear in any given empire system. I suppose I'll start collecting data on that soon enough.
There is no better place to start looking than where you are, so I undock my Buzzard covert operations boat, warp to a nearby planet, and launch probes to start to scan in our new ad hoc base system. One good aspect of scanning in empire space, which I quickly find, is that most activities have defined locations, whether they are stargates or pockets of deadspace for missions, vastly reducing the number of signatures in any given system. Only one signature is currently in the base system and it turns out to be a wormhole, a K162 from a class 2 w-space system. I warp to it cloaked, preserving some habits from w-space, but also helping my presence remain undetected initially should any ships be loitering on this side of the wormhole. It looks clear, the wormhole is stable, and I jump in.
I see a tower and some ships on my directional scanner, and trying to narrow down the tower's location reveals that a Bestower hauler is flying free somewhere in the system. It could be collecting planet goo from the various customs offices, but my puny Buzzard won't be able to stop it. I need a pointier ship! Most of my ships are still six hops away from the base system, a division arising from using two exits to leave the corporation's class 5 w-space home, but I am still thankful that they remain this close and are not some twenty jumps away in Gallente space. Glorious leader Fin is close, and she is ready to bring in a suitable ship for shooting a hauler. I just need to show her the way in to the system.
I exit the C2 to return to empire space, where I can leave a copy of the bookmark to the wormhole for Fin. With that done I go back to w-space and try to find the Bestower, but his presence eludes me. It looks like he has finished whatever he was doing, so instead I go looking for the tower, as Fin brings in a scanning boat to help. Locating the tower finds the rest of the ships on d-scan, as well as positioning me in range of a second tower in the system. There remains no sign of the Bestower, although some ship swapping is being performed at the first tower. I disregard it as unimportant and begin looking for the second static wormhole here, class 2 w-space systems having two static connections and the first here being the exit to high-sec empire space I came through.
I resolve a wormhole soon enough, the system kept fairly clear of extraneous signatures. It is not the second static wormhole, though, instead a K162 from high-sec empire space. I need to keep looking before I resolve the static connection, which leads to to a class 3 system. Jumping in gives me a clear d-scan reading, only celestial bodies visible, so I bookmark the wormhole, launch scanning probes, and warp off to check the outer planet. Bubbles, dreadnoughts, and carriers, oh my! A piloted Tengu strategic cruiser and a nekkid pod sit nestled amongst Phoenix, Moros, and Naglfar dreadnoughts, and a Nidhoggur and Chimera carrier. Fin calls them 'pansies' for having so much firepower in the fairly weak class 3 system, as we start to scan for the next wormhole.
A static connection heading out to null-sec space is found, one reaching the end of its natural lifetime. Our expedition in to w-space has ended quickly, although scanning in to low-class systems is more likely to spit us right back out again more often than not, I suppose. A quick check on the locals back in the C2 has them moving, a Drake battlecruiser warping to the static exit and jumping to high-sec. Maybe more ships will follow, or maybe the Drake will return. Either way, it could be a lark to plant an Onyx heavy interdictor on the wormhole in the C2, which is what we do. Fin pilots the HIC, and I get my Widow black ops ship primed to provide back-up, sitting cloaked on the high-sec side of the wormhole to spot any incoming activity and ready to jump if required.
But we've been made. The pod of the Drake pilot undocked as we were shuffling ships ourselves and perhaps was vigilant enough to discern our direction of warp, seeing us head towards his wormhole home. The pilot opens a communication channel with Fin letting her know they've seen the Onyx, and my Widow, removing any element of surprise we may have had. But we're not deterred, we have nothing better to do right now. Besides, with at least two strategic cruisers and a recon ship spotted at their tower they have the resources to chase us off the wormhole, and we'd prefer a fight to nothing. We loiter whilst chatting, but even if we may be stopping inter-system movement it doesn't look like the C2 inhabitants want to deal with any aggravation. Never mind, it's starting to get late anyway, so we head back to space dock to get some sleep.
3 Responses to “Scanning high-sec for wormholes”
Good luck with your WH search. If you want to short-cut it you could try a WH seller/broker, like this guy: http://www.eveonline.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=1347422 . But sometimes finding your own way is half the fun!
Hey me and my Corp are moving out of a class 4 with a static class 3 if your interested a deal could be made im sure probably got about 24 to 48 hours so if your interested hit me up in game.
Thanks for the link, Btek. I'm hoping finding the right w-space system will be interesting, but I seem to be only scraping the surface so far. Maybe a good connection will present itself soon.
It's a kind offer, Diziet, but you caught me as I was planetside (and had scheduled a couple of posts). Thanks anyway.