Not killing a ghost
26th February 2014 – 5.37 pmThe new signature at home is a new pocket of gas. We have people for that. Not me, I'm hitting the wormhole. It's adventure time! Jumping to the neighbouring class 3 w-space system and updating my directional scanner shows me a tower and no ships. Okay, not so much adventure time as scanning time, but that's cool too.
Launching probes and blanketing the system reveals a messy seventeen anomalies and twenty-three signatures, so it's unlikely the locals will turn up any time this week, and I start wading through the signatures for wormholes. The first I find is from a weak signature and will be a disappointing outbound connection. I ignore it for now. The second wormhole is chubbier, and sadly that's it for wormholes.
Checking the static exit to low-sec sends me to Promised Land in Genesis, one hop from New Eden, the system that brought us all here. I've been there before, though, so I ignore any sense of history and launch probes to scan the three extra signatures instead. One combat site, one wormhole, one data site. That could be okay, depending on the wormhole type. It's a K162 from class 2 w-space. Yeah, that's pretty good.
Jumping to C2a has a clear d-scan, but my notes suggest a tower sits on a far planet. I launch probes, blanket the system, and warp across to see if the tower remains. It does, and has a piloted Astero frigate inside its force field. That's interesting, particularly as one of the dozen anomalies is a Superior Angel Covert Research site. Maybe the local pilot is working up the courage to foolishly take his frigate there. That is, if he's noticed the site.
I'm tempted to enter the ghost site myself, albeit after refitting my Loki, but not without checking for additional wormholes first. I could fend off the Astero easily enough, assuming the pilot even notices someone in a site out of d-scan range of the tower, but if other pilots are active nearby I could be in trouble, more so if they have also seen the ghost site and have eyes for it. I'd better scan.
Three more wormholes is not a good prospect for hacking an easily found ghost site in w-space. Maybe I'll watch the Astero a little longer, see if he does anything. Or, you know, reconnoitre the wormholes and find actual activity. The static connection to more class 2 w-space is okay, an outbound connection to class 3 w-space is just as disappointing because of the frustrating discovery scanner, and that leaves me a K162 from class 2 w-space that's fairly useless for being at the end of its life.
Sod it, I'll activate the ghost site out of spite and hit C2b. Updating d-scan in the new system sees an over-stocked tower but no ships anywhere. Scanning the three anomalies and seven signatures gives three wormholes, so hopefully I'm not stuck with just outbound connections again. And indeed I'm not, the two static wormholes to class 1 w-space and high-sec empire space being joined by, huh, a K162 from deadly class 6 w-space. Well, it's a K162, which by default makes it better than the other two wormholes. I'll go there.
Hullo, I appear on the wormhole in C6a moments before an Imicus warps in, the frigate jumping to C2b as he lands. There's little point in giving chase, as I'd be polarising myself, so I update d-scan to see a tower with an Orca industrial command ship, and a Tengu and Proteus strategic cruiser in the system. Checking the information on the passing Imicus shows it to be piloted by a capsuleer from Surely You're Joking. I've heard of them. I've also heard the wormhole crackle.
The Imicus is back, and although I try to react quickly, decloaking and getting my sensor booster active, the frigate is acting just as quickly. He's in warp before my sensor recalibration delay expires, and all I've done is give away my presence. Silly Penny. The Imicus didn't warp to a planet, though, so not to the tower here. I imagine that means there is another wormhole to further C6 w-space in the system, which I am happy to assume and not to look for, particularly as updating d-scan sees a Loki strategic cruiser new to the system. Maybe SYJ are already responding to a rogue pilot being spotted in their constellation.
I give up on this arm of the constellation and jump back to C2b whilst I still can, moving away from the wormhole and holding cloaked to see if anyone follows. Not for a minute, and even then the only ship that transits from C6a is a Buzzard covert operations boat, which warps away. Then again, another SYJ Loki warps to the wormhole from this side and jumps to C6a, indicating that the connection is probably hotter than I care to deal with solo.
I can still take a quick peak in to C1a, even if SYJ not swarming around it probably means nothing is happening there. Indeed, nothing is. A tower and a lack of ships shows up on d-scan. I declare C1a scouted. Back to C2b, and a return to C2a, where the ghost site persists. I suppose you have to actually interact with the Angel's gear before they throw a hissy fit and blow everything up. A check on the Astero shows the frigate to still be in the tower, still doing nothing. Time to go home.
2 Responses to “Not killing a ghost”
You have to uncloak on grid. Soon as you do that the clock starts ticking.
I shall remember this!