Rifter Drifter

A couple of days ago The Tuskers were out wandering around looking for prey like we always do. Almost by pure chance we ended up with a smallish gang in Adirain, one of our favourite systems. The fleet consisted of new members Kelshall and Borreau in a Myrmidon and Rifter respectively, Ebrey in a Drake, Egrat in a Moa, Commoner in his life-giving Scimitar, and myself in my Republic Fleet Firetail. Yes, that’s right, I brought out a shiny ship to play. Before I arrived the gang had been using Commoner’s Scimitar to hunt ships coming in and out of the high security gates.

Adirain is a fairly small system that borders two high security systems. As well as its ten asteroid belts it also has a wide variety of mission agents working for CBD Corporation and Modern Finances. The neighbouring lowsec system, Aeschee, contains five L4 Q20 agents and two L5 agents so there are plenty of big fish around. Because of this it is a good place for pirates to hang out. The Roughnecks are an alliance that occupy the Peccanouette constellation and spend a lot of their time in expensive ships running these missions. Our probers make a nice living for us scanning down these juicy targets and generally they are pretty slow to form a response if they do at all.

Anyway, I digress. Our fleet was pottering around Adriain looking for targets. There were a few ships floating around and we rushed from belt to belt trying to find them. Eventually I narrowed down a Vexor that had already escaped our clutches once. “Vexor on scan. Wensley is going for the tackle.” My frigate leapt into warp and I prepared my tackle systems. The Vexor was there and I fired up my afterburner and shot towards it. “Point! Warp to Wensley.” There was urgency in my voice. Drone ships can be deadly to frigates and my Firetail is not the sturdiest of ships. Thankfully the Vexor was fitted for range and I was able to evade his turrets and drones. The gang descended and we polished him off.

The next target was a Stabber that we’d seen on scan. I’d been chasing it around for a while and almost completely by accident landed in a belt with it. “Stabber is here. Going for the tackle. Point! Warp to Wensley.” The comms crackled as the fleet leapt into action. The Stabber was, erm, an odd fit and crumbled under the weight of my guns. It was distinctly possible that the fleet wouldn’t get here in time but to everyone’s relief he held out long enough for the gang to make their mark before he exploded.

Back in our safe spots we started scanning again. Borreau found a Bestower in a belt and went in to get the tackle. By the time the fleet arrived he had already destroyed it. You’ve got to love Rifters. While we were looting the wreck a Cormorant landed in the belt and was vaporised before I could get into range.

A Punisher appeared on scan towards planet IV and once again my instincts kicked in. “Point on the Punisher. Warp to Wensley,” I barked into voice comms. At the same time I set my ship into a tight orbit and began to pound on him with RF EMP. This was the first time that I had put my Firetail into single combat with another frigate and I was curious how it would compare. It turned out that I had no need of the fleet but I was still grateful when they showed up. The Punisher was destroyed and his wreck looted.

By now things were starting to hot up in system. We had been shooting ratters and miners like fish in a barrel and our activities hadn’t gone unnoticed. The local channel showed an increase in numbers with several hostiles in system now. Battleships, heavy assault ships, and recons were starting to show up on scan. It was time to call it a night and get our fleet out. The frigates would have no problem but as the hostiles marshalled on the gate back to Aeschee we were going to need a hand to get the battlecruisers out. After a couple of nervous moments we got everyone out safely and retreated back to Hevrice.

Sure, it was hardly taxing but hunting around a system like this is where the fun of old fashion belt piracy kicks in. Communications are pretty relaxed and a good time is had by all. Vive les Tuskers!

Related posts:

1. I’ve Got 99 Problems But BoB Ain’t One
2. Blog Fleet
3. Rifter Fleet Issue
4. Don’t Listen To Them, Kids. Piracy Does Pay.
5. Insomnia