For Mynxee

It had been a long day for Darus: with Tritanium prices ludicrously high, he had taken his Scythe mining cruiser to the edges of empire space searching for a patch of asteroids not already mined out. After asking in the corporation communications channel, other Republic Fleet graduates commented that he should try lowsec, as only a few people mine there. Tiring from his search, he agreed and set course for a nearby pocket of space he had until then avoided.

It wasn't long until Darus reached Evati, and to his surprise the first belt was brimming with asteroids, some he hadn't even seen before in high security space. He set to work immediately, jettisoning a cargo container into space and working to fill it with all the precious ore he could reach with his mining lasers.

Minutes passed uneventfully, and smiling, Darus agreed with the pilots that suggested mining out in low security space. Not only was there no competition, but there were asteroids which yielded increased product; this way Darus got more for his hard spent time. Even the Angel Cartel roaming gangs gave better bounties, although the last one placed a serious drain on the Scythe's shields. Darius didn't even know Cartel battlecruisers roamed asteroid belts before today!

The jetcan was three quarters full when another ship had arrived in the belt Darus was mining in. Quickly sending camera drones to investigate, Darus was chagrined to discover it was the same hull used by the Angel Cartel, a cruiser sized vessel to be exact. However, sensor contact stated it didn't belong to the Cartel. The mystery ship soon revealed it's intentions as Darus' scythe rocked under the impact of medium autocannon shells.

Darus was no rookie when it came to combat. He had spent months deflecting the predations of Cartel ships from his venerable mining operations, and he would be damned if a single cruiser forced him off of his ore, Cartel owned or not! He launched his drone, and sent a flight of Havoc Heavy Missiles towards his foe.

"Geez, this guy really hurts! How is he taking so much damage?" Worry was running through Darus, as this Cartel designed ship he was facing evidently was much, much more than standard issue. It had smashed aside his already weakened shields, and was quickly decimating his armor. Darus tried to initiate warp, but his engines refused to respond. His warp drive had been disrupted.

As the pirate ship began its final assault into the Scythe's hull, Darus made one last glance at the attacker.

The image the camera drones reported back was surprising.

"I'll get you back, you bare chested vagabond! And don't think I won't smash those silly glasses from your face! I know what you look like!"