After what felt like ages I was finally tucked back into my pod and nestled in the belly of my Rifter. I had finally achieved Sophomore status at the Uni which entitled me to some goodies like free Rifter hulls. I was a bit demoralized as I am painfully still training just to use my new larger auto-cannons for my new cruiser so it was back to my Rifter frigate to fly around in.
I had previously purchased several modules to fill out my compliment of 3 Rifter fits and 3 Rupture fits. The rub was that to get a decent price I needed to pick up these items from the space station in Hek. Hek is probably the nearest trading hub to my home station in Aldrat. The worry stems from the fact that once again we are at war with the Omniscient Order, a group of mercenaries that has twice blown up my ship. They like to patrol this route between Aldrat and the Hek trade hub for easy kills. So I purchased these items with my plan to make the run at a time when the fewest number of capsuleers are flying. I was a bit nervous by this journey as not only would I have several million isk worth of supplies in my cargo hold on the return leg but I also could only fit two of my usual three auto-cannons on my outward journey. I also didn't have the ammo type, barrage, that I like to use against other capsuleers. So it was with these worries in my mind that I set off for the short journey to Hek. About one or two jumps into the route I looked at local and saw several red to me capusleers. This means they have very poor standing but as they were not blinking (oh man I hope I really did fix my overview) I should be safer (as a blinking red target means a war target). Well despite the brief uptick in my pulse I was soon safely docking at the Hek space station that held my goods. The return trip was also fortunately uneventful.
So in my home station with a good compliment of supplies I was thinking about turning in. I still don't feel like my Rifter is the right ship for my kind of isk earning venture especially as we are now at war with three different groups. I don't have enough isk to go and search out duels in Libold so I figured I was done. Before I signed off for the night I noticed a noob fleet would be forming in about half an hour. As I have been lean on adventures recently I couldn't resist.
The night foretold of some adventure. It was only my third fleet and as we were forming up I noticed in my squad chat these jokes about being tasty. A little later I noticed our squad was called tasty pie. A bit after this I learned why, we were the bait squad. I wanted action but I was not so sure I wanted to be the hunted again.
The patrol started off normal enough and then shortly our squad was sent ahead of the fleet to look, well be tasty. We were two small frigates and a battlecruiser. We were the lure, a small group not intimidating enough to put pirates or war targets (WT) off but juicy enough to arouse interest. This certainly kept me on my toes. On patrols events happen quickly. The large lapses of boredom interrupted by sudden violence. Soon enough we encountered the violence. My recollection is spotty as I am still so inexperienced it's hard for me to follow what is actually going on. It seems our scouts found some pirates gate camping and the fleet was ordered in. Our fleet was over 50 strong and the pirate group despite having some fine ships was heavily outnumbered. I quickly targeted and set off to engage the primary target. Being a tackler my job is to get in quick and disable his warp drives so that he can't leave the field quickly. My skills are poor enough that I am not ever the first tackler to arrive. What was curious and what I wasn't aware of at the time is that the fellow tackler in our squad was killed. I noticed that I had begun to take some damage so the pirates were aware of me. Like a fool I did not approach the target correctly. With all the ships flying around I could not take in the battlefield correctly and rushed straight in making myself an easy target. Fortune was with me as the battleship I was sprinting towards must of switched targets to something more substantial. Our fleet was able to pin him down, I had my afterburners on, reached my range and began to orbit opening up my auto-cannons. The battleship died shortly after and I had my first shots fired in anger in a battle that wasn't a duel.
We had two engagements that night and they were similar. I clumsily arriving at the fight a bit late having difficulty finding the target and approaching stupidly head on. I managed to get on four kills. I didn't do much damage but I was a part it (our fleet killed 15 targets that patrol so I really should of done better and been a part of more kills). One comical and nearly deadly event occurred when we were ordered to warp off of a target and warp back in on the target. A strategy designed to close the gap in distance faster than just burning straight to the target at sub warp speeds. Well I warped off OK but then forgot where I was supposed to warp back to. Everyone was fighting so no one could answer my desperate pleas. I saw the last of two fleet mates warp away from the planet I was at back to the fight. Time began to slip away as I nervously wondered what I should do. I had a sinking feeling that I shouldn't stay in one place too long, especially a planet that is easy to warp to. As the moments grew longer I think I warped off to another location. I eventually learned where the fight was happening and joined the fray, perhaps that's how I got on some other kills but I am not clear. It seemed the whole night targets were dying before I could get to them. After the fight for some reason, in the lull, I clicked over to local (this is the local system communication channel) and saw my name in the chatter. Another pilot was calling me out stating how lucky I was that I warped away when I did. I unknowingly was being hunted. Fortune was with me. I sent out the good fight call and chatted briefly with my would be killer. I was safe with the fleet now but it was a stark reminder of the dangers of Eve.
So I still have 6 or so days until I finish training my guns for my Rupture. I will then need to train a few more skills to fit the all modules I have chosen, I hope only a few more days training after that. We are at war with new enemies and some deadly and familiar ones. My bank account is half of what it once was and I have shown no ability to earn isk. I am learning lessons like situational awareness, keeping myself moving around a target and seem to be developing some instincts for my own preservation. I will have some time before I can ventrue out in my Rupture and the days will pass slowly, I will see how I can use this time wisely. There is still so much to learn but I long to fly, fight, make some isk. My wormhole group seems stuck but I will see if I can get them motivated. I kind of like the fleet actions and am thinking of training towards becoming a member of the Ivy League, our combat fleet (as opposed the noob fleets I have been flying with). It's good to be back in the saddle.
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