Not sucking on an empty siphon
15th February 2014 – 3.58 pmExiting our neighbouring class 3 w-space system through its static wormhole puts me not in the wasteland that is high-sec Aridia but a system in the Kador region. I'm actually glad that I managed to mis-identify that wormhole colouring. I'm also glad that there are five extra signatures in the system to scan, which hopefully will give me more wormholes to explore through, maybe even find another target to shoot.
Scanning the signatures resolves relics, a sadly weak wormhole, a normal wormhole, relics, and more relics. Whatever, relics, warping to the chubby wormhole finds a good-looking K162 from class 1 w-space. I'm going to see if anyone's home. Nope, not according to my directional scanner, although there is occupation. Nothing is out of range, though, so to find activity I'll be scanning again.
Twelve anomalies and eight signatures get sifted down to three more wormholes. A K162 from class 2 w-space is good, and it would be churlish to consider a second K162 from class 2 w-space as anything but also good, but the third K162 from class 2 w-space definitely isn't as good, being at the end of its life. In another of my genius ideas, I'll check the first C2 K162 first. I know, I don't know how I do it.
D-scan shows me three towers and one ship, a Crane transport, which I hasten to locate in case there's a pilot. There is, as it turns out, but he may not be entirely active. Can I be bothered to wait around to see if the Crane goes somewhere? For a few minutes, apparently, even though I wouldn't have much hope of following him in this unscanned system. But I come to my senses soon enough and realise I have another system to check for activity.
Hold on, though. I spy a mobile siphon unit in this C2, and out of range of the Crane pilot too. But do those units work in w-space? Is there anything to siphon? Maybe, but probably not in this case. I suspect a trap before I even drop out of warp at the tower to see the siphon unit neatly nestled amongst some active defences, tempting capsuleers to try to sneak a peak inside. That the siphon unit has a visible indicator to its filled capacity, and this one is clearly empty, means the trap will only work on those more greedy and ignorant capsuleers. That's not me, not today.
Ignoring the siphon unit sends me back to C1a, where a new ship is in the system. The Myrmidon battlecruiser is merely at the local tower, but his appearance is still interesting enough to monitor for now. I call Aii to come across in case the Myrmidon actually does something, and he reports the wormhole connecting C1a to high-sec flaring. It's a Helios covert operations boat with a pilot belonging to the C1 corporation, the scout taking the briefest look at the system in Kador before turning around and returning to his tower in w-space. I see him now.
'Okay guys, do something', says Aii, urging the pilots not to waste our precious time. And they actually do something, although going off-line wasn't really what we were hoping for. Ah, but the Myrmidon returns a minute later, perhaps only having minor stability problems with his ship. Hah, that must be frustrating! And, yeah, it kinda is, as I find out when my Loki strategic cruiser locks up. I can do nothing but turn it off and on again, flicking the switch incidentally cutting the power from my cloak. I see him, but he sees me. Oh well, it was getting late anyway. When my Loki starts responding again, I merely turn it around and head home.
2 Responses to “Not sucking on an empty siphon”
Was that system a 2 planet 1 moon one and the pos had a badass bubbletrap in front of it? I think I looked into that siphon unit a few wh's ago myself.
Was empty when I looked at it, so it must be bait.
No, it wasn't that system. There was definitely more than one tower, which means more than one moon. I suppose the empty siphon is becoming popular as bait.