On Saturday I wandered down to my hangar and fired up the corporate communications channels. The guys were out on a roam in Placid. I hopped into my Bellicose and set out to join them. By the time I hooked up with them in Loes they were heading home but I tagged along for the ride. There were a couple of outlaw battlecruisers in Ouelletta but I was unable to make a tackle on them. Giving up I warped to the Melmaniel gate and jumped. Imagine my surprise to see a Drake, Harbinger, and Brutix on the other side. Better still the Harbinger and Drake proceeded to engage the Brutix. The sentry guns took a dim view of this and opened fire on the two battlecruisers. Then a Manticore belonging to Distructo uncloaked and began firing on the Drake. With the sentry guns, Brutix, and stealth bomber on it the Drake’s shields collapsed and it exploded. Scared by my presence the Manticore cloaked and I burnt for the Harbinger. My warp scrambler activated as the Brutix’s hull ruptured and buckled. Now it was just me and the sentries against the golden-hulled Harbinger. All I had to do was keep him pinned down. Alex Rudd jumped through in his Stabber and joined in the fun. Amazingly the Harbinger engaged me. Why he didn’t try and tank the sentries and just jump back into Oulletta I’ll never know. The Harbinger exploded just before Novantco could make it to us to join in the fun. We held the field and I looted and salvaged all three wrecks. A very nice haul for very little work indeed.

Later on I was prowling with another small Tusker gang. We were back in Placid and this time I was in my Stabber. We found a Hurricane in Agoze and the fleet engaged. Yet another nano’d ship. Once again we found it hard to get a scrambler on him but it didn’t matter. I was able to keep up in my Stabber and with Latronicus’ tracking disruptors as well as Caster’s ECM drones he was unable to fight back effectively. Just as he was about to explode local suddenly spiked and a fleet of battlecruisers descended upon us. Where had they come from? None of us had seen them arriving in system. Crap. We overloaded our guns and burnt away from the incoming gang. As we fled the Hurricane exploded but we were unable to loot the wreck. As we disengaged Caster’s Thorax and Latronicus’ Arbitrator were caught and gunned down. In my desperation to flee I’d left my ECM drone in the belt. Rather than let a good drone go to waste I warped into the belt and range and recalled it. With the drone safely tucked in my ship I engaged my warp drive. The Stabber aligned and began to pick up speed. “Warp drive active” appeared on my display and I relaxed. But my ship didn’t warp. It bobbed around. I hit the command again. Nothing. Shit. A Crow was burning for me. Once again, warp. Nothing. The Crow had me. Oh bugger. My Stabber went down. That was, erm, stupid.

Related posts:

1. Last Week: Part Four
2. Last Week: Part Two
3. Last Week: Part One
4. A Slow Week
5. The Vagabond (Part 2)