from the shadows

It’s been a while since my last post. Sorry about that. It’s only since the 27th has my connection to the internet been stable enough to support active gaming online. Even then, some times things just don’t work out, and I pay the piper for attempting PvP on a shaky connection.

So, it seems in the three weeks I have been absent from Molden Heath, little has changed. As usual, a few powers have moved off, and others have taken their place. The Harbinger & pod loss linked above have a bit of story related to one of the new alliances which has staked claim to a system in the area. Beyond that, it’s still the sleepy small pirate infested region of lowsec I call home.

With some help lended to me by friends in the area, my internet connection was made stable enough for combat. After a few minutes wait to see if the changes indeed mended my situation, I set out with friends from Decimus corporation to sate the blood thirst I’ve had to hold back for so long. Piloting a Cyclone battlecruiser, and accompanied by a bait Maller and Rifter, we set destination to Metropolis in search for fights.

Molden Heath passed by without incident, and after giving our Rifter pilot scouting duty, our progress slowed to a crawl. While not new to the game, the pilot was new to scanning, and the first four systems outside of Molden Heath turned into training for the green pilot. Eventually we eschewed a forward scout in favor of making time towards Evati, as Mynxee had informed me of targets abound there. My roam was not fated to end with Mynxee however, as chance would land an engagement sooner than expected.

Passing through the final region before Metropolis yielded a roaming gang heading in the opposite direction, composed of several battleships and supported by a few tackler frigates. Spying my battlecruiser, they halted their course and returned to the stargate, intent on distributing free munitions my way. Two of the battleships opened fire on me while my gang slipped by, and with my fellows through I jumped as well, into the adjacent Otosela system.

While my gangmates warped to the next stargate, I lingered a few seconds, aligned and ready to MWD away from the gang behind us. Sure enough, the gate activated, and a Tempest was the first ship through. He locked me, and once within 20km opened fire with large autocannon. Both of our engines flared as each ship engaged their MWDs, the Tempest trailing my Cyclone away from the gate at nearly a kilometer per second.

Despite the massive ordinance detonating against my shields, my shield booster was able to keep up, and soon we were several dozen kilometers off of the gate. Sentry fire from the stargate had begun to take its toll on the Matari battleship, and maintaining a MWD chasing me meant the Tempest’s capacitor was in dire straights. With distance established between ourselves and the stargate, and with the Tempest’s tank failing against sentry fire, I reversed course to bring the fight to my cocky aggressor.

Even with nearly 60km between my foe and the stargate, I knew it was only a matter of seconds before the returning gang would be upon me. I needed to finish off the Tempest with all haste, and then reassess the situation. I overheated my rack of 425mm autocannon and HAM launchers, engaged my warp scrambler, and set to work on the Tempest. The Tempest returned with a scrambler and webifier of his own, and the line was drawn. Either I or he perished, as there would be no MWDing away from this fight.

With his target tackled, the Tempest was able to disengage his MWD and devote all his capacitor to tanking damage, and sure enough his armor repairers began clawing back against the damage output of my battlecruiser. To make matters worse for me, he had given the go ahead to his gangmates, and they had jumped through to support their beleaguered comrade. Two Ishkurs were the first to fly out to assist, and promptly engaged. Sentry fire faded from the Tempest to meet these new foes, and further reduced incoming DPS on the battleship. It soon became clear that my bleeder Cyclone fit wouldn’t be capable of ending the dual LAR Tempest.

Glancing away from my overview and back to my modules, it became obvious that my Cyclone wouldn’t be ending anyone’s life. In the excitement of new arrivals into the fray, I had forgotten about my overheating weaponry. By the time I noticed, it was too late, and my high rack was burned out and gone. The best I could wish for at that point was to employ my ECM drones on the Tempest, and hope fervently that the Ishkurs were forced off by sentry fire.

Seconds passed as I overheated my tanking modules trying to hang on, the boosting displaying only brief effect before the boost of shield was swept aside and new holes were blasted into my armor. I was losing, and it didn’t look like my drones were going to lend deliverance from this fight. However, despite my guns gone, the sentries were still biting, destroying drones and finally forcing one of the Ishkurs from the field. A few seconds later the second Ishkur was forced off.

I was already aligned to a celestial, and was mashing the warp button, my eyes burning as they observed the Tempest’s EWAR effects on the overview. Just once, just this once I needed my little AI controlled soldiers to do their work, and free me from this menace! It was not to be, as before my drones could break the lock of the Tempest, the remaining battleship support had MWDed into range, and a Megathron began punching holes through the structure of my ship. Seconds later, my pod was free and deftly warped away.

Would the small gun Maller and Rifter made a difference in the fight, perhaps at least allowing me to make my escape? I can’t say. It was enough for me that I was the only casualty to the gank squad. Then again, I really need to learn to share, as at least with my gangmates present, those two Ishkurs would have had hell to pay for engaging. Regardless, with my battlecruiser ruined, the gang disbanded, Raxip deciding to log in system and the Rifter pilot sailing home behind my pod towards Molden Heath.

Taking the walk of shame home, I did have one thought running through my mind that brightened my mood: I was back, and no amount of losses would deter me from meeting the next foe cannons blazing!