A Hotspot

The Following Took Place Between 10 am (PST) and 11 am (PST).


The system of Notoras in Black Rise is a nice little, out of the way system I dock up in every now and then. When I roam and don't want to head back to Isho, I'll call it a night there so when I undock I'm already behind enemy lines *cue in James Bond theme*. I see a fellow Black Jacket xxMACKxx in corp chat and we start chatting it up. As I undock a cyno is waiting for me *smile*. Off to a good start! I align to a celestial, lock up the Reaper and explode the cyno. I continue on my roam of Black Rise, stopping along each system on my route to scan around and look for targets. A few systems and no targets so I begin to roam towards Isho, stopping by the Asakai constellation first. Mack is having more luck finding fights as he shares a couple killmails with me. I enter Okkamon and continue to search. About twenty minutes in and no luck. I turn my Rifter towards Isho with the intent of hopping into my Astero and trying my luck with wormholes again. Mack dropped another fight in chat and I looked to see that he had fought the same Rifter twice, and was defeated. The fights happened in Isho! A Rifter pilot in Isho killing Black Jackets! I must fight him! I skip scanning the systems in the Isho pipe and burn as fast as I can over there. I was excited at the possibility of fighting a Rifter mano a mano! I entered Isho and as usual it was active and populated. I checked out local and saw the Rifter pilot was still here *fist pump* As soon as I enter system I see this:

[ 2016.01.20 18:23:15 ] Lost touch > you good for ISK?
[ 2016.01.20 18:23:21 ] xxMACKxx > totally
[ 2016.01.20 18:23:40 ] Lost touch > hehe T1 frig pew is cool coz you die its like 8m

I like this guy!

[ 2016.01.20 18:23:52 ] Sem Skord > Lost touch 1v1 nov?
[ 2016.01.20 18:23:55 ] xxMACKxx > yeah every now and then I sell a plex and I'm good for months
[ 2016.01.20 18:24:04 ] Lost touch > man let me rep
[ 2016.01.20 18:24:08 ] Sem Skord > kk
[ 2016.01.20 18:24:51 ] Lost touch > T1 frig?
[ 2016.01.20 18:24:59 ] Lost touch > or dragoon?
[ 2016.01.20 18:25:04 ] Sem Skord > t1
[ 2016.01.20 18:25:11 ] Sem Skord > your Rifter and my Rifter are gonna dance :]
[ 2016.01.20 18:25:28 ] Lost touch > hehe sounds like a party i wanna be a part of :p

Awesome! I warped to my home station and saw a flashy Thorax on the undock. I ignored it as I made last minute repairs and resupplies to my Rifter. After everything checked out I undocked and warped to the novice for our 1v1. But my opponent, Lost touch saw the Thorax and had other plans.

[ 2016.01.20 18:27:14 ] Lost touch > Thorax on gate
[ 2016.01.20 18:27:16 ] Lost touch > novice
[ 2016.01.20 18:27:20 ] Lost touch > team?
[ 2016.01.20 18:27:21 ] xxMACKxx > awesome
[ 2016.01.20 18:27:23 ] Sem Skord > sure
[ 2016.01.20 18:27:23 ] xxMACKxx > let's do it
[ 2016.01.20 18:27:35 ] Sem Skord > iw
[ 2016.01.20 18:27:48 ] xxMACKxx > undocking

For some strange reason I wasn't worried about this guy setting us up or backstabbing us during the fight. I think the fact that he fought Mack 1v1 and he was in a Rifter was the cause. Three frig pilots uniting to take down a nice big Thorax is always special though!

After a bit of warping back and forth between plex's trying to land on top of the Thorax (he was really fast for my AB brawling Rifter), I land 40km away from him as Lost and Mack are closer at 25-30km and burning. Mack brought his Crucifier to the fight and was able to land his long point on him but the Thorax was still faster than our frigs. I warped off to try warping back at a distance to get closer as Lost and Mack stayed on grid with the Thorax.

[ 2016.01.20 18:29:10 ] xxMACKxx > point
[ 2016.01.20 18:29:14 ] Sem Skord > iw
[ 2016.01.20 18:29:18 ] Lost touch > omw
[ 2016.01.20 18:29:35 ] Sem Skord > burning
[ 2016.01.20 18:29:50 ] Sem Skord > too fast
[ 2016.01.20 18:29:54 ] xxMACKxx > he's too fast
[ 2016.01.20 18:30:35 ] Lost touch > scrammed
[ 2016.01.20 18:30:36 ] Sem Skord > burning
[ 2016.01.20 18:30:49 ] Lost touch > drones

Yes! I landed on grid and was again 40km away but the Thorax had lost its speed advantage. The sights and sounds of battle were echoing as my Rifter made its way towards the fight. The sounds got louder and louder. The drones were out and were swarming the Rifter. I landed my point on the Thorax to hold him down in case Lost had to warp off and began going to work webbin' and shooting the drones. Mack's Crucifier had gone down during my trek to get to the fight but his sacrifice wasn't in vain as it allowed Lost to land a scram and hold down the cruiser. The system was still bustling with activity our Rifters shot down the wave of drones and turned our guns onto the Thorax. Our auto cannons and rockets were blasting through his shield and putting nice smoldering holes into his armor. A Firetail had landed but he took the gate immediately, probably unsure of what to make of the situation. Soon after a Punisher landed and was burning towards us.

[ 2016.01.20 18:31:25 ] Lost touch > kill kill
[ 2016.01.20 18:31:35 ] Lost touch > punnisher is friendly
[ 2016.01.20 18:31:39 ] Sem Skord > rgr
[ 2016.01.20 18:31:50 ] Sem Skord > dragoon after?
[ 2016.01.20 18:31:50 ] Lost touch > is draggon is friendly?
[ 2016.01.20 18:31:52 ] Sem Skord > no
[ 2016.01.20 18:31:54 ] Sem Skord > i dont know him
[ 2016.01.20 18:32:02 ] Lost touch > let us know if aggro

A Dragoon had landed about 50km from the killzone and was holding steady, not moving but watching what was going on. The Punisher was slowly making its way towards us as we continued to pound the Thorax. The cruiser turned its webs on me and fired away with its medium blasters landing a few grazing shots. I overheated my afterburner as the target entered deep armor causing his shots to miss my Rifter. Seconds later, the Thorax fell to the might of frigates! Woooo! A Vigil Fleet Issue was on short and the Dragoon began to burn towards us. At this point my paranoia kicked in, telling me to get out of there incase the Rifter and the Punisher decide to kill me as well. Mack's Crucifier wreck was nearby so I grabbed the loot and warped to a safe, leaving Lost, his Punisher friend, the Dragoon and the VFI at the plex. I watched d-scan and saw a couple pilots go flashy.

[ 2016.01.20 18:35:12 ] Sem Skord > well that was a turn of events
[ 2016.01.20 18:35:17 ] Sem Skord > good shit :]
[ 2016.01.20 18:35:27 ] Lost touch > hehe
[ 2016.01.20 18:35:28 ] Lost touch > was fun
[ 2016.01.20 18:36:00 ] Sem Skord > mack i grabbed ur loot from ur wreck
[ 2016.01.20 18:36:02 ] Sem Skord > show me the km plz
[ 2016.01.20 18:36:05 ] xxMACKxx > ahah thanks
[ 2016.01.20 18:36:13 ] xxMACKxx > Kill: xxMACKxx (Crucifier)
[ 2016.01.20 18:36:23 ] xxMACKxx > i'm pretty rusty
[ 2016.01.20 18:37:05 ] Lost touch > hehe that was hectic
[ 2016.01.20 18:37:18 ] Lost touch > oldschool ships tho :)

Lost and I returned to our previous arrangement.

[ 2016.01.20 18:41:06 ] Lost touch > wanna fleet and safe
[ 2016.01.20 18:41:11 ] Lost touch > coz some ships on scan
[ 2016.01.20 18:41:37 ] Sem Skord > 100km off planet x?
[ 2016.01.20 18:41:42 ] Lost touch > okies
[ 2016.01.20 18:41:53 ] Sem Skord > iw
[ 2016.01.20 18:41:54 ] Sem Skord > gl
[ 2016.01.20 18:41:57 ] Lost touch > need a sec
[ 2016.01.20 18:42:00 ] Sem Skord > np
[ 2016.01.20 18:42:01 ] Lost touch > repper loading
[ 2016.01.20 18:42:09 ] Lost touch > i derped and misclicked haha
[ 2016.01.20 18:42:21 ] Sem Skord > haha no worries
[ 2016.01.20 18:42:54 ] Lost touch > ok r
[ 2016.01.20 18:42:59 ] Lost touch > Gl Hf mate
[ 2016.01.20 18:43:05 ] Sem Skord > ditto

We moved towards each other from 100km out. He approached me at a side spiral as I went the climb altitude then dive bomb method. I eye balled his guns and he had auto cannons. At 50km we activated our afterburners and closed the distance. At around 15km he locked me up and began landing solid blows to my shields. I was still closing the distance and by the time I got to 10km I was already in low shields. I fired my guns and rockets and activated my repper. For a few seconds we exchanged gun fire and rockets, but I couldn't get closer than 5 or 6,000 meters. I checked his speed and sure enough he was faster than me. That meant he must of had falloff rigs with no plate and a gyro because my repper was getting overwhelmed with the incoming volleys. I managed to get him into deep armor and punch through his hull a bit but the speed gap between our Rifters was the deciding factor. Gf!

[ 2016.01.20 18:44:57 ] Lost touch > gf
[ 2016.01.20 18:44:58 ] Sem Skord > gf
[ 2016.01.20 18:45:07 ] Sem Skord > scram fit? no plate?
[ 2016.01.20 18:45:18 ] Lost touch > yup
[ 2016.01.20 18:45:24 ] Lost touch > want fit?
[ 2016.01.20 18:45:32 ] Sem Skord > sure
[ 2016.01.20 18:45:36 ] Sem Skord > 1 more?
[ 2016.01.20 18:45:44 ] Lost touch > Bleh?!
[ 2016.01.20 18:46:34 ] Lost touch > yea can do mate
[ 2016.01.20 18:47:32 ] Lost touch > Should have gave you my fit after the 1v1 hehe
[ 2016.01.20 18:47:52 ] Sem Skord > lol no worries, i got no mods to counter it :]
[ 2016.01.20 18:47:54 ] Sem Skord > same place?
[ 2016.01.20 18:47:58 ] Lost touch > okies

As I was hopping into another Rifter, Mack informed us of some more possible action.

[ 2016.01.20 18:48:28 ] xxMACKxx > couple incursus out there
[ 2016.01.20 18:48:36 ] Sem Skord > got 'em at plex's?
[ 2016.01.20 18:48:46 ] Lost touch > what plex?
[ 2016.01.20 18:48:49 ] xxMACKxx > they're gone
[ 2016.01.20 18:48:56 ] Lost touch > :(
[ 2016.01.20 18:49:06 ] xxMACKxx > rax at medium
[ 2016.01.20 18:49:12 ] Sem Skord > lets do it
[ 2016.01.20 18:49:13 ] Lost touch > team?
[ 2016.01.20 18:49:16 ] Lost touch > ok
[ 2016.01.20 18:49:16 ] xxMACKxx > nm he's warping around
[ 2016.01.20 18:49:18 ] Sem Skord > ah
[ 2016.01.20 18:49:22 ] Lost touch > go together
[ 2016.01.20 18:49:43 ] Lost touch > fleet me

After some scanning and chasing around, the Thorax was no where to be seen as well as the two Incursus's. Once again Lost and I returned to our previous arrangement.

[ 2016.01.20 18:50:22 ] xxMACKxx > yeah
[ 2016.01.20 18:50:25 ] xxMACKxx > system's clear now =/
[ 2016.01.20 18:50:38 ] Lost touch > ok 1v1 P x at 100?
[ 2016.01.20 18:50:44 ] Sem Skord > lets do it
[ 2016.01.20 18:50:51 ] Lost touch > rgr
[ 2016.01.20 18:50:55 ] Sem Skord > gl!
[ 2016.01.20 18:50:59 ] Lost touch > go on landing
[ 2016.01.20 18:51:11 ] Lost touch > gl fh

I was flying the exact same fit as before except I had Barrage loaded in an attempt to counter his speed. Midwarp I switched to regular close range ammo (Fusion) since we both warped from the same spot at the same time. I exited grid followed moments later by Lost exiting warp as well. He was right on top of me. Immediately we lock one another up and let loose the bullets and rockets. I kept my AB overheated to stay close as long as I could to dish out as much damage as I could. His shields fell first as his armor began to take heavy damage. My Rifter wasn't far behind him but I activated my reps at mid shield to time the incoming damage to my armor. A few more volleys blasted through his reps sending him into hull! I was holding steadily at half armor with some gun fire sending me a bit over; but my reps would patch the damage up and hold. The first few seconds allowed my Rifter to gain the upperhand early in the fight, but he was beginning to out pace my frig and gain range on me. The Gyro was kicking in as my tank began to cough up reps in a feeble attempt to repair the heavy damage. Quickly the fight became reminiscent of our previous 1v1 as I struggled to stay on him. He entered half structure as my last nanite rep kept me in deep armor. Soon both our Rifters were smoking and aflame but intact and firing away! It was glorious! A hard volley sent me into structure as he crept into low structure, it was getting close! He reached 4,000 meters and I thought it was done. There was an explosion as my neocomm pinged, with the wreck of my opponent in front of me!

[ 2016.01.20 18:51:53 ] Sem Skord > gf
[ 2016.01.20 18:51:54 ] Lost touch > gf
[ 2016.01.20 18:52:09 ] Sem Skord > Ishomilken IX - Moon 4 - Corporate Police Force Assembly Plant for loot
[ 2016.01.20 18:52:18 ] Lost touch > am good mate keep it
[ 2016.01.20 18:52:26 ] Lost touch > spoils of war :P
[ 2016.01.20 18:53:42 ] Lost touch > Well guys the fights were super fun so thanks alot
[ 2016.01.20 18:53:48 ] Lost touch > i need a shower and food tho
[ 2016.01.20 18:53:59 ] Sem Skord > yea man gf's and good killin stuff with ya
[ 2016.01.20 18:53:59 ] xxMACKxx > sure thing
[ 2016.01.20 18:54:08 ] Sem Skord > you gonna operate around here?
[ 2016.01.20 18:54:25 ] Lost touch > yea mate just remade fla5hy and isho top station
[ 2016.01.20 18:54:37 ] Sem Skord > awesome :]
[ 2016.01.20 18:54:49 ] Sem Skord > we dont have blues, but we can set you to the orange setting
[ 2016.01.20 18:54:57 ] Sem Skord > means ur honorable and give gf's
[ 2016.01.20 18:55:03 ] Lost touch > you guys need a hand takeing something down or a few 1v1's just holla at me or any of my guys
[ 2016.01.20 18:55:13 ] Lost touch > hehe sounds ood
[ 2016.01.20 18:55:15 ] Lost touch > good*
[ 2016.01.20 18:55:18 ] Sem Skord > will do, same for you n ur guys

Gf! My stomach was rumbling as I hadn't had breakfast yet, so I docked up and was about to log when Mack again informed me of a possible target.

[ 2016.01.20 19:00:12 ] xxMACKxx > sem
[ 2016.01.20 19:00:14 ] xxMACKxx > caracal?
[ 2016.01.20 19:00:41 ] Sem Skord > where
[ 2016.01.20 19:00:47 ] xxMACKxx > novice entrance
[ 2016.01.20 19:00:52 ] Sem Skord > lets do it
[ 2016.01.20 19:00:58 ] xxMACKxx > sec
[ 2016.01.20 19:01:04 ] xxMACKxx > looks like a blob
[ 2016.01.20 19:01:08 ] xxMACKxx > tons of crap
[ 2016.01.20 19:01:17 ] Sem Skord > lets hit the nov
[ 2016.01.20 19:01:19 ] Sem Skord > see if anyone enters
[ 2016.01.20 19:01:26 ] Sem Skord > the other nov
[ 2016.01.20 19:01:27 ] Sem Skord > compound

The Caracal had left by now, but the two Incursus frigs from earlier were in system. D-scan showed them at one of the two novices, so I waited at a safe for Mack so we could hit the other nov at the same time and duke it out with the frigs. A couple minutes went by and Mack informed me he was ready.

[ 2016.01.20 19:01:58 ] xxMACKxx > hmm kk
[ 2016.01.20 19:02:28 ] xxMACKxx > undocking
[ 2016.01.20 19:02:40 ] Sem Skord > rdy?
[ 2016.01.20 19:02:45 ] xxMACKxx > yeah
[ 2016.01.20 19:02:51 ] Sem Skord > iw
[ 2016.01.20 19:02:52 ] xxMACKxx > iw
[ 2016.01.20 19:02:59 ] xxMACKxx > tristan now
[ 2016.01.20 19:03:01 ] xxMACKxx > gonna be fun

Tristan? I didn't see anything but the two Gallente frigs at the nov but maybe my d-scan was acting up or something. I landed on the acceleration gate and Mack wasn't on grid with me nor on short. Only one Incursus was left inside the plex. I scanned the other one and it was a party. Condor, Incursus's, and a Tristan. That's when I realized Mack had probably warped to THAT nov!

[ 2016.01.20 19:03:14 ] Sem Skord > taking gate
[ 2016.01.20 19:03:18 ] Sem Skord > bro!
[ 2016.01.20 19:03:20 ] Sem Skord > the other nov!
[ 2016.01.20 19:03:29 ] xxMACKxx > fuck dude i'm warping into this thing
[ 2016.01.20 19:03:37 ] Sem Skord > lol take the gate
[ 2016.01.20 19:03:39 ] Sem Skord > omw

I chuckled and smiled to myself as I warped to the nov where the party was it. I mashed d-scan expecting to see his capsule but the Tristan, Condor and both Incursus's were still on scan along with Mack's Rifter. Don't die Mack don't die! I landed on the gate and activated it. Everyone was still alive, even Mack. My auto cannons were spinning with eagerness and my Nova rockets were ready to fly and deliver their deadly payload. What better way to end the session by going out in a blaze of glory with a fellow Black Jacket!

I enter the plex and the sounds and sights of battle greet me. I saw a capsule and figured it was the Tristan. The two Incursus pilots were flashy, the Condor was flying around and Mack was in the middle of it all, alone and unafraid firing at one of the Gallente frigs. I locked up the frig he was firing on and let my guns and rockets loose. I landed my point and web and began to orbit outside his blasters. The frig was already in half armor as Mack and I shredded through his armor and blasted away his hull. I locked up the other Incursus and Condor as the frigate began repping. The Condor had pulled range to 20km plus but was still on grid. Incursus #1 (our victim) was in deep hull but stubbornly refusing to explode. He was within a sliver of hull left when he repped once more but our guns quickly overwhelmed his reps and exploded the Incursus. Wooo! The fight wasn't over yet! I turned my fire to the remaining Incursus. My auto cannons and rockets were firing away as I set into my orbit. This Incurus seemed to crumble as his shields melted, his armor fell apart, and his structure simply disintegrated. Two down, one to go! The Condor was at 18km as I turned my Rifter in its direction. Suddenly it was approaching us at a fast speed, within seconds he was in scram range as I landed my point and web and fired away with my Fusion ammo and Nova rockets. Mack had closed range and began to tear apart the Condor's shields as I shut off my auto cannons to load EMP. I took the time to check short scan as my guns loaded and it was just us three on short. The Condor's shield were about to fall as my guns were ready to roll with EMP ammo. I fired away and we punched through his shields, blasting apart a nice chunk of armor. A Hookbill was on short but the Condor was close to exploding. A few more volleys ripped through the rest of its armor and moments later destroyed his hull as the Condor joined the wrecks inside the plex.

[ 2016.01.20 19:06:21 ] xxMACKxx > lol
[ 2016.01.20 19:06:22 ] Sem Skord > lol loot up
[ 2016.01.20 19:06:56 ] xxMACKxx > gotta dock
[ 2016.01.20 19:06:59 ] Sem Skord > rgr
[ 2016.01.20 19:07:11 ] Sem Skord > im looting
[ 2016.01.20 19:07:13 ] Sem Skord > short is clear

The spoils of war were ours! R1FTA was the victor in this frigate brawl! I was still laughing at the fact that Mack was in there by himself for a good little bit. I imagined him just firing his guns at everything and I laughed again. Man that was intense and badass!

[ 2016.01.20 19:08:04 ] Sem Skord > lol i warp in and ur just alone n unafraid in this frigate brawl
[ 2016.01.20 19:08:08 ] Sem Skord > that was fucking awesome
[ 2016.01.20 19:08:13 ] xxMACKxx > it was pretty rad =D
[ 2016.01.20 19:08:17 ] xxMACKxx > i should have been recording
[ 2016.01.20 19:08:17 ] Sem Skord > hahaha oh man
[ 2016.01.20 19:08:21 ] xxMACKxx > this place is becoming a hotspot
[ 2016.01.20 19:08:26 ] Sem Skord > aye
[ 2016.01.20 19:08:55 ] Sem Skord > alright man i gotta go
[ 2016.01.20 19:08:58 ] Sem Skord > get my kids ready for school
[ 2016.01.20 19:09:06 ] Sem Skord > good luck! o7
[ 2016.01.20 19:09:07 ] xxMACKxx > haha sure man have a great day dude
[ 2016.01.20 19:09:09 ] Sem Skord > you too bro

El Lupo, MAAAAAAAACK!

P.S.
Finally got the video to work! It has the Vagabond fight I mentioned before along with the Stay Frosty fight (the fight was longer than the video, I just didn't hit record until the end). I also included the footage from our frigate brawl. Hope you enjoy!

Out of My Funk

First off the video I mentioned before is running into technical difficulties. I'm having trouble rendering the final product into high quality when I upload it to YouTube and I've been working on it all morning and afternoon. Uploading, deleting and re uploading again. I'm not gonna give up! The vid is missing our seven man frig gang battling a gang of battle Ventures (10+) because the firefight was intense and I didn't hit the record button to capture the action. The vid highlights a very tough fight against a Vagabond and an honorable Stay Frosty Rupture who met our gang at the sun in his Rupture to whoop it on. Full after action report is here for this who are curious! (Report courtesy of Amand Caldurik!)



Breaking Out of My Funk!
In the past three/four days I've been on a dry spell of sorts. I attribute this to playing other games and putting EVE on the back burner for a bit. Scraping by on cyno's and the random farmer, and racking up a few Rifter explosions along the way as well. Determined to break out of this bad mojo, I grabbed a Rockstar (Lime green flavor), sat down, cracked it open, booted up EVE and got in the zone! My buddy Sam Saboti was online spreading the love along with one of our Prospects Ziro Santos. Whenever Sam and I are online we always pair up and roam space together looking for fights, and rarely do our roams disappoint. Ziro accepted our invite to fly with us and get some pew pew. It was a good roam, snagged a Venture and a couple faction frigs and a pod or two. I logged off wanting more. 



Later That Same Day
Later on in the day (about 11pm ish ) I logged in to the ambiance of the station. I had docked up in Melmaniel and I was still carrying the loot from the earlier roam with Sam and Ziro. I reloaded my guns and rockets, put some last minute touches on my Rifter (some duct tape here, a little bit there), undocked and set off for my nearest outpost to drop off the loot. Hopefully on the way I find something to shoot! The flight there was uneventful as I arrived at my outpost and restocked on the essentials. With a fully loaded, ready for anything Rifter, I undocked once more and set off towards Black Rise. I would enter Black Rise through Abune from Heydieles (it was late and not the weekend, which reduced the risk of a gate camp greatly). From there I'd do a half circle through Pynekastoh/Rakapas/Reitsato/Okkamon, hit the Asakai cluster of systems, then victory lap it to Isho.

I don't remember exactly which system, but somewhere in that constellation I saw a Hookbill on scan at a novice. Why not? I loaded EMP and Mjolnir rockets and warped to the plex pumping myself up. Just overheat the afterburner and stay on him. Pretty straight forward plan I had! I entered the plex and the Hookbill was right on the beacon waiting for me. We locked each other up as bullets and rockets flew furiously from both sides. My systems showed a TD being used on me but I ignored it as we continued to shoot each other. The Hookbill began to pull range as it's dual webs were dictating range, all I could do was keep the afterburner overheated and fire away. His shields gave way in the first couple exchanges of gunfire. When my guns broke through and he hadn't repped that's when the thought that he may be armor tanked entered my mine. A chunk of armor was repaired to confirm my suspicions. My own tank was repping incoming damage from half armor as I immediately shut off my weapons to reload to Fusion. Precious seconds ticked away and I was getting pummeled waiting for the guns to be loaded. The Hookbill was about 4,000 - 5,000 meters away as I returned fire and filled his ship with holes putting him in half armor as well. The Hookbill was just stronger than my Rifter as I pumped out my last two nanite reps and began to evade. The ammo switch was working as my Rifter slowly pulled range to escape the Hookbill's scram, but I was in deep hull as Aura assured my narrow escape. Gf gf!! I found a station to dock up and repair the damage and went over the fight in my head. I think if I had Fusion ammo from the get go I would've got him, but how was I suppose to know he was armor tanked! Ah well! 

I continued my roam of the Asakai cluster but nothing was there to shoot. I was clinging to my fading hopes that I would find something to shoot on the pipe to Isho. It's funny how you'll roam 20+ jumps away from home, and end up finding a fight either 1 system over or your home system! Lo and behold, as I landed on the gate to the system before Isho, Uuna, the Hookbill I had fought earlier was there as well. We both jumped into Uuna and held cloak. I opened up a novice and watched the Hookbill de cloak as I warped off. This time I was ready! I loaded Fusion and Nova rockets, took the gate and waited right on the beacon. Everything was overheated as seconds ticked by, the shakes already setting in. Unless he switched to shield tank between our first fight and now, I got him. The Caldari frig was on short. I steadied my nerves and waited. The Hookbill entered the plex and I immediately burned to him and spammed target lock. My scram, web, guns and rockets activated simultaneously as I kept my afterburner overheated to keep up with him. His shields fell quickly again as my auto cannons and rockets began blasting through his armor. My shields were about to give so I activated my repper and continued the assault. The Fusion and Nova rockets were overwhelming his repper as he danced between low and half armor! My repper was tanking the incoming damage ok but I had an early lead on him. A volley punched through his armor and damaged his hull. The Hookbill was trying to evade now as I overheated my scram to hold point for as long as I could. He drifted out to 7,500 meters and it was looking like he might escape! I couldn't do anything but stay on with my current tactic. The Hookbill coughed out its last reps as it exploded! Gf! Man! I was stoked! At last I had killed something other than cyno's! I looted 'n scooted and warped to safe so I could shake off the shakes. I jumped into Isho and docked up my battle scarred Rifter, adrenaline still running through me. I just roamed about 15+ jumps from Placid, Verge Vendor and Black Rise to find this fight. I wasn't finished! 



Wormholes
Instead of re-roaming the same route in hopes of finding something, I decided to grab my Astero to probe down wormholes in hopes of finding one last thing to fight. I admired the ship for a bit (looks so cool!), ensured I had enough probes along with a mobile depot and my pvp mods (for those explorers I might find!) and undocked. There was only one signature in Isho, so I probed it down and to my pleasant surprise it was a wormhole to another part of low sec! I bookmarked it and jumped through and ended up in the Gallente border zone. There were four sigs in system. I launched my probes and began to scan 'em down. One was a combat site (unrated), another was a wormhole that led to J-Space, and the last was another wormhole that led to another part of low sec! I jumped through the low sec wormhole and was in Minmatar space. I checked my assets because the name of the system was familiar, and again to my delight I was four jumps from our old club house, Gultratren! After a short trip I docked up in Gultratren and grabbed a Rifter, checked to make sure it was ready to go, and undocked. 

Something about the warm, rusty red glow of Matar space feels very homey to me. Maybe because I'm a Brutor? I jumped into Arnstur which was empty, and jumped into Brin. I saw one person in system but nothing on scan, so I warped to Helga. There was a few people in system, but all I saw on d-scan was a Comet. I held cloak as it landed on the gate with me. Feeling confident from my last victory against a faction frig, I zoomed in on the Comet to eye ball its guns. Before it jumped into Brin I was able to make out rail guns on the bad boy. Burn back! I decloaked and burned back towards the gate. If I caught up to him, my plan would be to keep my afterburner overheated and hold a close orbit to counter the rails tracking. 

I entered system and he was there along with the lone pilot from Helga, but the plex's were well outside scan range. I opened a novice and that's when a Comet and a Kestrel showed up on scan. One was at a small, the other at none of the plex's. I warped to the Kestrel's plex, loaded my shield ammo and entered it. The Kestrel was 15km from the warp in but warped off before I could point it. I checked scan and the Comet was at the novice I opened. Let's dance. 

As I warped towards the plex, Fusion and Nova rockets ready, my heart beat increased. The shakes were returning! The Kestrel pilot was still in system, but nothing was on short as I took the acceleration gate and landed right on top of the Comet. We locked each other up and furiously exchanged volleys of gunfire. I was successfully closing range as I eyeballed the speed of our two frigs and I was significantly faster than his Comet. I kept my afterburner overheated anyway and continued the assault. My shields had fallen but he was already into armor, his repper struggling to patch up his ship and keep him in the fight. The drones were the only thing hitting my ship (pretty hard too) but the rails were effectively out of the fight as I stayed right on top of him sending bullets raining and rockets flying towards his ship. I was halfway through my reps as he entered deep armor. I checked short scan and saw a Kestrel on d-scan. You little bastard. I stayed on the Comet hoping to finish him off before the Kestrel joined the fight, but it was putting up a stubborn defense. The Kestrel locked me up and landed his webs, which allowed the Comet to pull range and land solid hits with his rails. I began to zig zag towards the Comet with my afterburner a couple cycles from burning out. My tank was holding steady a bit past half armor but I wasn't in deep trouble yet. A final barrage of gunfire and rockets exploded the Comet, allowing me to focus everything I had left into the little Kestrel. I had about 1/4 of my armor left, with a couple nanite reps left (still cycling to tank the Kestrels rockets), my afterburner about to burn out, and my guns with half heat damage. Immediately I shut off my weapons and loaded EMP and Mjolnir rockets. The ten seconds of doom seemed like ten minutes as the Kestrel was landing free shots on my Rifter. As I choked out my last rep and began the empty rep cycle's, my guns were ready to fire! I burned towards the Kestrel to get a comfy orbit and throw it down in a good 'ol fashion brawl. Steadily his buffer shields were falling, but my repper drained my cap as it began the 60 second reload of death with a bit of armor left. A volley of rockets put me in hull as I could do nothing but shoot back. Our frigs were orbiting each other firing away as my hull was slowly but surely giving way to his rockets. I had 3/4's left with nothing but my DC keeping me in the fight. Finally I punched through his shields and began tearing huge chunks of his armor away. My afterburner had burned out, and I had perhaps a good two or three volleys worth of overheated guns and rockets before they burned out. My Rifter was halfway into structure as I overheated my weapons and ripped through his hull. We both held a bit past 3/4's hull. I didn't align to a celestial and stayed on him. The neocomm pinged as the Kestrel exploded and my smoking, fiery Rifter flew victorious among the wrecks. I let out a deep breath and smiled in disbelief. I threw them a gf in local which they returned as I looted the wrecks and safed up again. The shakes took over me again and I was ecstatic at what just happened. I walked around my living room and kitchen again to shake off the shakes with a big smile on my face! My goodness that was intense! Saint Wensley was pleased. 

After I gathered myself, I went to Gultra to drop off the loot, repair and rearm. From finding the wormhole in Isho to finding that battle, only ten minutes have passed. I decided to continue forth! Why end the hot streak? 

I passed the Arnstur triangle, went straight through Todi, took a detour into Ofstold and Las, and continued on to Egmar. Bosbogger and Lulm yielded no fights. Even though I miss this place, I remember why we left in the first place. I entered Amamake, the ghetto of New Eden, but nothing was there for me to fight. About twenty minutes in I decided I would circle through Metropolis and back into Heimatar then return home via the wormhole chain. I jumped into Vard and saw a Breacher on scan. Among T1 frigs, the Breacher has been my Rifters nemesis. They're too tanky for my Rifter to break and about 80-90% of the time I explode when I fight 'em. But today was different. Today I was slaying faction frigates and wild T1 frigs alike. Today this Breacher will fall to my guns. I load EMP and Mjolnir rockets and entered the plex. Immediately I see two ECM drones on grid. Ah shit. The second I recognized them and exited warp the Breacher was locking me up, so I ignored the drones and returned fire on the Breacher. 

I overheated my afterburner and scram and orbited at 7,500 meters. Now I know missiles hit full damage, but the reason I extend my range on Breachers is my belief that the flight time from when the rockets launch and when they hit gives me just a bit of time to land more hits with my guns before the rockets land. I'm most likely wrong with this train of thought, my knowledge of missiles is just how far they fly out before losing their target and which rockets to use for which tank. 

The Breacher was going through his shield reps as my autocannons were blasting through his tank, damaging his armor. I noticed an ECM symbol and hovered my mouse over it to see what it was. The ECM drones were failing to jam me! I continued to orbit and fire my guns as I broke through his shields and begin to tear apart his armor. I was pulsing my reps so I wouldn't waste any nanite cycles and burn through my tank. The Breacher's armor had been destroyed and my guns were putting holes through his hull, so I closed the distance to maximize the damage. I had a few reps left and was still a bit below half armor and holding. As I went in for the killing blow, the drones managed to get through and jam my Rifter. Noooooooo!!! Right as the frigate was in hull!! I overheated my afterburner and continued with my path hoping the extra speed would shave some of the oomph off the rockets. The change in distance was allowing the Breacher to rock my Rifter with devastating explosions. I began to align towards the sun as the ECM jam cycle thing was still halfway and I was now in deep armor. The distance between us was slowly but surely widening and I was still unable to lock him. When I reached about 5,000 meters my afterburner burned out. He realized what I was trying to do and went in for the finishing blow himself. My smoking Rifter continued with its slow trek towards the sun as it got pounded by volley after volley of rockets. Finally the jam finished and I spammed target lock and landed my web and point and fired my guns again. His armor was still gone and his hull was hanging on by duct tape but his shields had fully recharged. Go down fighting. The first volley of bullets and rockets rocked his shields to 3/4's damage. No way. Another volley punched through his shields. DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES!? My neocomm pinged as my capsule ejected from the exploding Rifter and I warped off to the sun. 

Ah man! SO CLOSE! SOOO CLOSE! 

[ 2016.01.19 08:29:06 ] Sem Skord > gf
[ 2016.01.19 08:29:08 ] Sem Skord > nice ecm drones
[ 2016.01.19 08:29:19 ] Shadow Kaundur > very good fight
[ 2016.01.19 08:29:31 ] Shadow Kaundur > so close
[ 2016.01.19 08:29:39 ] Sem Skord > yea
[ 2016.01.19 08:29:49 ] Sem Skord > woulda had you ;}
[ 2016.01.19 08:29:56 ] Shadow Kaundur > I know
[ 2016.01.19 08:30:25 ] Shadow Kaundur > i almost bailed

[ 2016.01.19 08:31:20 ] Sem Skord > o7

It gave me a bit of consolation with him admitting I would've had him if it wasn't for the ECM drones. On the way to Gultra I was going over the fight, replaying it in my head. Should I have gone for the drones early on? Would it had made a difference? I could've, would've, should've the fight but I wasn't gonna let it ruin my night. I had the chance to get out of there when I first saw the drones, but I chose to stay and fight. But Griffins and ECM ships ... I still hate you and your existence.

I jumped through the wormhole chain in my Astero and docked up in Isho. Tonight was definitely fun as hell! I made it just in time to catch my favorite show, CONCORD!

Big Game Hunting

The final credits for the episode of CONCORD rolled as I stood up from the couch and made my way to the fridge. I popped open a Quafe and made my way towards the hangar where the crew was loading the last crates of bullets and rockets onto my Rifter. I took a seat on a dusty crate of Caldari Navy Antimatter and sipped my delicious cold drink. The crew finished their work, I gulped down the last of my Quafe and admired my Rifter. Let's do this baby!



A Region Away From Black Rise

My usual route through the Isho/Manjo pipe turned up nothing. I had to push out from Okkamon to hit the Okkamon/Pynekastoh cluster of systems in hopes of finding a fight, but again no success. I could either go through Abune and take the Heydelies pipe towards Placid, or go through Hikkoken and take the back way into there. I weighed the pro's and con's of each route and went with the more populated route through Heydelies. I warped system through system, stopping at each to scan around for things to explode but no luck. I reached the fork in Melmaniel where you could go into Placid via Ouelletta or continue down towards the Jov pipe towards Aeschee. I was feeling lazy and didn't wanna venture too far from home, so I turned my Rifter towards Ouelletta in hopes of finding a fight in Placid.



Intaki

I entered the system of Agoze and basked in the ambiance of Placid. Having roamed this region when Black Rise didn't have things to shoot, I set off on my route through the cluster. I jumped into Intaki and it was only myself and another pilot in local. I warped to the center of the system and scanned around. Unnamed Gnosis. Oh baby! After all those systems of nothing to shoot, a big juicy ship was in system! I scanned the plex's, nothing. As I was scanning down the anom sites, I saw a couple Operation Frostline plex's in system. Jackpot! Not knowing what the tank would be for a Gnosis, I loaded Phased Plasma and Inferno rockets and warped towards the plex. My heart beat increased as my Rifter rocked side to side exiting the warp. Nice and easy man! Nice and easy! The Gnosis was sitting about 40km from the warp in with two drones out. With my afterburner overheated I burned towards the battlecruiser locking him and the drones up. His shields were at half strength and I noticed T1 drones around him, but I wasn't going to underestimate them. The Gnosis was slow boating towards the Serpentis rats in my direction. 30km and closing and he still hadn't locked me up! 25 .. 23 .. 15 ... 13 .. 10! I activated my scram and web, and let the guns loose! The guns were chipping away at his shields but they were steadily falling. I held a close orbit and saw that he had railguns fitted as my small nimble Rifter was too fast for them to hit me. I orbited the Gnosis and continued to fire away at his ship waiting for the drones to attack. My autocannons and rockets punched through his shield and were tearing up his armor. That's when the drones came to life and swarmed my Rifter. My shields were holding, but if I wanted to finish off this Gnosis those drones would have to go. I switched my guns from the battle cruiser to the drones and fired away. The pilot's rail guns were firing away but missing my Rifter. Suddenly my shields get rocked! What the!? The damn Serpentis rats were firing at me! One of the cruiser rats landed a solid hit! C'mon guys! I'm one of you! I'm defending you!! I overheated my afterburner to mitigate the tracking of the cruisers. The Gnosis had pulled in his drones as I blew one of them up, so I returned my weapons to their original target and pressed on. Moments later another wave of drones, this time Hobgoblins were out in space and swarmed my Rifter. The cruiser rats landed another solid hit that put me into armor which was followed by a volley of drone strikes. I activated my repper and began shooting the drones again. My tank was holding but my repper was on its last two nanite reps. No! I'm taking this guy down! I shot down two of the hobs and worked on the last one as my repper ran out of paste and began to pump out empty reps. I was managing the overheating on my afterburner as the drones and I continued our dog fight around the Gnosis and other cruisers firing away. The rats had closed in on us which gave my Rifter the advantage of flying under their guns as well. Alright, still in this fight! My SAAR pumped out its last rep as my capacitor ran out which began the 60 second reload of death. The Gnosis was still in armor as another wave of drones entered space. My speed was working to my advantage against the incoming fire. My armor was roughed up a bit, but I finished the last drone and and turned my attention to the Gnosis. 

My Rifter was in half armor. The cruiser rats were getting lucky with random hits that rocked me as my guns steadily grinded away at the Gnosis's armor. My repper was about 10-15 seconds from having a full cycle of nanite reps ready to patch up my ship. The amount of heat damage on all my mods made it very dangerous to risk another heated cycle of any of 'em. I watched with anticipation as the reload bar dwindled closer to completion. Yes! REP!! I activated my repper and chunks of armor were brought back to life! The Gnosis was in half armor as my guns continued to fire away. With my Rifter back at full armor, no drones in space, and a couple nanite reps left, I ceased fire and switched to my trusty Fusion ammo and Nova rockets. Time to finish this! The extra armor damage will blow nice big holes into the Gnosis and turn it into a smoldering wreck. The switch worked as planned as my guns were tearing apart the last bits of his armor and sent him into structure. My shields were coming back online, almost at half strength as I zoomed around dodging fire and pounding away at the last line of defense of the battle cruiser. As the Gnosis reached half structure, local spiked by two people. No! My heart beat spiked as I switched between long and short scan looking for any incoming ships. Another wave of drones entered space as the cruiser rats landed a nice blow to ship that damaged my armor. I activated my reps and ignored the drones and focused on finishing off the last bit of structure left in the Gnosis. As I pumped out my last two nanite reps, the battle cruiser was on its last slivers of hull. The drones were slowly damaging my armor as my reps entered their reload cycle. I watched a volley of rockets and bullets hit the Gnosis as it exploded into a glorious flash of light and fire. I was excited to have brought down a big 'ol ship! I looted 'n scooted and warped to a safe. The entire fight lasted almost ten minutes! I thought when those two pilots entered system they would interrupt my kill, but thankfully I never saw anyone but us two on scan. I finished that roam with a close fight with a rail Comet and came out victorious with some zig zagging to close the distance. A couple days later, another big ship fell under the cross hairs of R1FTA's autocannons.



Two Days Later, in Manjo

Amand, Ruthless Chi and myself were flying around the Neighborhood blowing stuff up and getting blown up. After a brawl we made our way back to Isho to reship and head back out. On the way out we spotted another unnamed cruiser, a Rupture. All three of us saw the same thing and spread out to scan it down. We scanned it down at the sun, and Chi was already there in his Slicer. Gotta go help him! Expecting the Rupture to be a big armored brick, Fusion ammo and Nova rockets were loaded. I landed on grid with drones surrounding the Rupture its guns firing away at Chi's Slicer. As I locked up the cruiser I saw that Chi had brought down his shields and was going to work on his armor. My guns and rockets joined the party as we began to put dents in his armor. It was slowly giving way, so I switched my fire to the drones out in space and began to shoot 'em down. Amand landed on grid as Chi's Slicer exploded valiantly. It was just Amand's Firetail and my Rifter left to take down the Rupture. We focused our fire on the drones and the dog fight was in full throttle. As the first wave of drones exploded and the second wave entered space, local went up by one. I checked short scan ... Daredevil. The Rupture had been focusing his firepower on Amand's Firetail leaving me untouched as we shot down a few more drones. The Daredevil was still on short but not on grid, so we continued to fire away at the cruiser. The Rupture pulled in his drones so we switched our guns to the hull. There were no reps as our autocannons were ripping through his armor, followed up with love taps from rockets. The Rupture was in deep armor as the drones came back out. We ignored the drones and focused on punching through its remaining armor to finish it off. The decision led to Amand's Firetail going up in flames, leaving me with a Rupture almost in structure and my Rifter with a full load of nanite reps to avenge my Black Jackets! The pressure was on! My speed plummeted as the Ruptures webs landed on my Rifter. I immediately overheated my afterburner to gain some more speed to out-track its big guns. The Hob's landed their first volley scratching my shields but so far nothing significant from the cruiser's big guns. I punched through his armor as a chunk of hull got blasted off the Rupture. It's Dual 180mm's missed my Rifter. I was under his guns, but my afterburner was midway from burning out. I would have to do as much as I can without burning out my prop mod, or else all this would be for nothing! At half shields I activated my repper to time the incoming damage. The drones were doing their cold thoughtless work strafing my Rifter putting me in half armor, but my tank was holding. The big guns on the Rupture were still missing as he entered half structure. He was nearing the final stretch of structure! I overheated my afterburner (which would surely be its final cycle) and pressed on to finish it off. The rockets spiraled towards the cruiser, causing it to go up in a glorious explosion! We did it! The sacrifices of my fellow Black Jackets were not in vain! The pod was caught amidst the smoke and debris of the wreck, and I exacted final revenge for the ships of my comrades. It was a good finish to that night's roam as we congratulated one another for the combined effort on bringing down the Rupture.


Final Note

We recently had a corp roam that yielded good fights and high octane adrenaline pumping explosions! I had written a good chunk of this post before that roam happened, and decided to finish this one and work on getting the events of that day published hopefully this week. With the next post on the corp roam, I will also work on putting together a vid of the fights from that roam so you can see the awesomeness of one fight in particular. Until then,

Happy Hunting o7

First Blood

Happy New Year! Three days and I haven't had the time I'd like to spend exploding space ships in my Rifter, but fortunately my fellow Black Jackets have been spreading the love themselves! Dr Bob Madeveda shares his stories of his travels from time to time with us, and this one was so full of badassery and pew pew I had to share it here!

In his own words from THE DOCTAH!

Yes, he's a Dr.

So it's been a while, but I finally got back in a Rifter in Ishomilken:

First up I spotted a Thrasher in a small, with good odds he was a newer pilot, seemed reasonable odds:  as I landed a Comorant landed alongside, took the gate and hoped for the best.  They were together, so I just got smashed.

Re-shipped into an alternative fitting: 150mm guns, neut, and 400mm plate.  Not sure how good it is, we'll see.  Launched myself at a Kestrel. Dual web: got kept at range; neut no use; my DPS too low; I exploded.  Definitely missed the extra power of the 200mm Autocannons and the little extra help from the rockets.

Got back in the standard brawler again, and headed out.  Saw a Stay Frosty in a Kestrel in a Novice plex.  The last one was armour and dual web, so I loaded Fusion and Nova, and took the gate.  We locked each other up and opened fire.  His shields were dropping slowly, he's shield fit and I'm firing the wrong ammo.  I overheat the AB and speed up the orbit, mitigating more damage.  His shields drop slowly, and my reps start triggering. I staggered the reps to save some cap, and overheated the rockets as well.  I was in deep structure as he exploded.  The AB burnt out before I could loot the wreck, and a Tristan appeared in short scan. I aligned and warped out as another SF warped in.  The pilot suggested a fight once I had repaired, which I took.

Reloaded with Fusion and took the Novice gate.  We locked each other up and opened fire.  I kept a loose orbit to avoid the neut, and overheated everything.  My damage punched through his reps and so I dived in at the end to punch through the final bits of hull.  GFGF!

Two Stay Frosty kills back to back!

Dropped the loot off, repaired up, and headed out.  Flushed with success against Tristans, I took a fight with another.  Loaded Fusion, set a tight orbit and opened fire.  His shields were blown away and his armour reps pulsed.  As my shields dropped, I went to trigger my own reps, but no cap!  I'd missed him neuting me out!  I overheated everything and I exploded with him in structure. The fight was closer than I expected, and if I'd thought to keep a looser orbit it might have been a different outcome.


Re shipped and headed out again.  Saw an Incursus, Rifter and Punisher on scan, but I couldn't find them at a plex. Thought they might be at the sun, so I loaded Fusion and Nova (common theme tonight!) and warped to zero.

No one was there, do I started D-scanning again, and after 30 secs or so, the Incursus landed: Great come to me!  We locked each other up.  I orbited wide, anticipating Neutron Blasters and overheated guns and fired the rockets.  My damage punched through his armour, and his reps started.  As he started dropping into armour the Rifter and Punisher appeared alongside us!  Shit, locked them up, but I'm going to take at least one out - overheated guns and AB and dived directly at the Incursus.  More damage was coming in, but I watched him explode.  Damage was high, and I was losing armour.  I switched guns to the Rifter, not hopeful, but he would be least tanky.  I went to trigger reps but no cap!  Shit, not again...  I overheated everything on the Rifter, and prepared to go down fighting.  We both dropped into structure together, maybe I'll get two!  Suddenly he disappeared; he warped out!  Orbit the Punisher, mitigate some damage, watch the cap, fire shells and rockets at the Punisher. Cap inches higher, and bang, off goes a rep!  Watched the mod cycle round, as my structure dropped down. With a sliver left it pulses a big chunk of armour back!  Still in the game, but desperate times. Before I can do anything else the Punisher warps off too.

3v1 and held the field!  GFGF in local, looted the wreck, and went to find a station to repair again.

Found one more fight with a Tristan, more luck in one night against them than I've ever had before. That recent little nerf clearly helped.  They don't feel quite as OP anymore.

A fun return to shooting and looting.

Good stuff Dr Bob, real good stuff :]