Known space is boring space
28th January 2013 – 5.30 pmA more regular start to my day has me arriving at the usual time, to the usual sight. It's just me in the home system, as far as I can tell. Launching probes and scanning finds no intruders, blue or otherwise, and a couple of new signatures to resolve. A few more Sleepers have appeared, trying to reclaim the space for their shadowy masters, but an extra wormhole potentially gives me more to explore. But not just yet, as I'm not risking a dying K162 from class 4 w-space and getting isolated before I've found myself a way home. I'll go to our neighbouring class 3 system first.
It looks just as quiet in C3a as it did at home, my directional scanner being clear from our K162. As the home system only has a wormhole at the end of its life there is unlikely to be any other pilots following me, and I consider it safe to launch probes at the K162. Arranging my probes for a blanket scan of the system lets me check my notes, which tell me that a tower was present when I was last in this C3 a couple of months ago, and that I can expect to find a static exit to low-sec.
If the tower's still here, the locals aren't that busy. The blanket scan reveals seventeen anomalies and twenty signatures, which is a fair number to manage. And the tower is still in the same place, empty of pilots, and owned by a corporation involved in faction warfare. I admit I don't know much about faction warfare, but I get a nagging feeling that this corporation isn't doing it quite right. Whatever. I start sifting through the signatures.
Amongst rocks, gas, and Sleepers are four wormholes. I'm feeling lucky today. The static exit to low-sec is joined by a K162 coming from low-sec, a K162 from null-sec, and a second K162 from low-sec. Lucky, my arse. I got myself excited for nothing. But more w-space systems could connect to the k-space systems, and it would be churlish of me not to check before crashing our own connection to refresh the constellation.
Exiting through C3a's static wormhole puts me in Black Rise, in a system involved with faction warfare. Okay, maybe the C3ers are on to something after all. But I don't get involved in faction warfare, so I ignore whatever's happening in the system, launch probes, and scan. One extra signature gives me some hope, but delivers crushing disappointment by resolving to be a gravimetric site. I'm not here to chew on rocks, sir. Maybe the other wormholes lead to more connected systems.
Crossing C3a and jumping through the null-sec K162 puts me in a system in Perrigen Falls, which feels familiar. Wasn't I here yesterday? I think so, but at least this system has a rock field, a feature yesterday's system lacked, and even though I care not for the rocks there could be some rats to help repair my ailing security status. And with three asteroid belts to choose from I'd feel positively blessed, if it weren't for the capsuleer in the system, transparently known to me thanks to the populated local comms channel.
The threat of ambush prevents me ratting, but not scanning. It's the lack of additional signatures that prevents me scanning. Okay, it's now time to kill our connection. I don't care to poke the other two low-sec systems for other wormholes when I can be guaranteed a new w-space system to explore by turning our wormhole off and on again. But before I start pushing massive ships through the connection, I probably ought to check what's happening beyond that EOL K162 in the home system. I'd rather not get jumped from behind if I can help it, and I have a way to get home should the wormhole get petty and die after I jump through.
Appearing over seven kilometres from the wormhole and sitting almost on top of the deadspace signature in C4a is not a good omen for activity. Which is good, I suppose, as I don't want there to be anything happening that could come my way. The Orca industrial command ship, Dominix battleship, and Cheetah covert operations boat on d-scan aren't fooling me, as they are probably all at the tower also visible. The combat scanning probes are, admittedly, fooling me a little.
Locating the tower lets me check the ships, where I see the Cheetah piloted. I imagine he's the owner of the probes, but I suspect he hasn't visited his dying static connection in hours. I also suspect he won't care to jump through it when he finds the wormhole in the state its in, which should make my wormhole crashing relatively safe. I head home, hold on the wormhole for a few minutes to see if the Cheetah appears, and warp back to the tower to start collapsing our connection when I realise I'm just wasting my time. Orca, Widow, Orca, Orca. Done. The wormhole dies.
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