Friday, January 2, 2009

Solo Sard

So it's been roughly three weeks since starting my solo corp experience. Time to reminisce upon my feats and follies.

Pirates of Molden Heath

The evening of December 26th saw me logging in to once more terrorize the residents of MH. I entered the game from my lowsec base in Egbinger, and decided to take out my Huginn for a spin. This recon ship had seen some heavy combat in the two days since its commission, and I wanted to see just how far my lucky streak would go. I undocked from station, and hit the scanner out of habit to see if there were any folk lurking in my lair.

It just so happened that a Bellicose and a Hurricane were on scan along with the normal POS fodder. I set to narrowing my scan, and after bouncing around some belts, I receive a convo from one of the pilots in local. He inquired if I was a pirate.

I answered in the affirmative, surprised my five million bounty and -3.9 security status didn't answer his question for me. He quickly got down to business, stating he was also a pirate and asked if I was willing to join him roaming into the nullsec nearby. Figuring I could only lose a ship, I accepted.

From what I've encountered flying about Molden Heath, there are basically few 'professional' pirates in the area. I'm considering only individuals with stature, moxie and the firepower to back up their trade. Biz Quick is an example of one of these individuals. He's the kind of pirate that is not only a good PvPer and knows his trade, but honors pacts between pilots.

Taking up for all I knew a completely random pirate and his friends on a joy ride into nullsec probably wasn't the best of ideas. It was quite possible these guys were the complete opposite of 'honest pirates' like Biz and would blow me to hell at the first opportunity. However, I went along with it anyway for two reasons: it'd be fun if they were trustworthy, and I need contacts within Molden Heath for when one ship ain't enough to get the job done.

The two pirates in local ended up being one individual commanding two accounts, and we shortly worked out our plan of attack into nullsec. I swapped out of the Huginn and into my Broadsword, while our gang of three was soon joined by another pirate piloting a Rapier. Our gang consisted of my HIC, a Rapier, Bellicose and Hurricane: plenty of hurt, tackle and was mobile enough to get out when necessary.

The B-VIP pipe was quiet that night, and we found ourselves progressing quickly into Great Wildlands. An attempt to bait a Typhoon with the Bellicose in 0PI4-E proved unproductive, though further along in L1S-G1 we acquired the PvP we sought. Jovian Enterprises dwell in the system, and as usual, several of their pilots were out ratting the belts.

Our plan was simple: I scouted the system, while the rest of the gang waited in the adjacent UNJ-GX. It took me a matter of seconds to narrow down my scanner to a belt containing a Hurricane. A short warp later landed me 26km off the ratting battlecruiser: just in range for my Focused Warp Disruption Field Generator. I tackle the surprised ratter and call down the thunder.

The normal 0.0 doctrine of Jovian Enterprises (JE) is to POS up, gather gonads from the POS, then chase me out of their ratting systems with clumsy blobs. This night saw a change in tactics: shortly after tackling the Hurricane, a Harbinger and Caracal warp into the belt to aid their comrade. My HIC shudders under the impact of all three foes' weaponry, and with my gangmates arriving on the scene, I call primary on the waning Hurricane, requesting points of the other foes.

Seeing my reinforcements was too much for the JE support ships, and both the Harbinger and Caracal are able to warp out of the belt before tackle is placed on their ships. The Hurricane quickly succumbs to our gang's firepower, and I call for loot to be scooped and start checking scanner for other clueless ratters. Roughly a quarter of a minute after the Hurricane was destroyed the Caracal returns to the belt next to the Hurricane wreck.

Why the pilot decided to return is beyond me. All I know is that Caracal hulls crunch like fresh popcorn when so much as glanced at. This particular Caracal was no different.

With the loot in our cargo and all other targets at POSes, we left L1S-G1 to return to Egbinger after deciding it was getting late. This small taste of the pirates of Molden Heath was soon to blossom the next day with much more spectacular results. These are good days to be a pirate in Molden Heath!


1 comment:

  1. Fun times, good read! That is a fun area of 0.0 to hunt in. Gotta go....Solo Sard 2 is queued up for a read...

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