Diary of a Pod Pilot

CVA. Why didn’t I think of that? I had thought you might return to PIE, but it didn’t fully make sense.

Word has reached my ears of what you did to gain redemption. I wonder if it was your own choice, or if they made you. I suspect a bit of both. Thank the spirits you had left us already, the Cartel would not have looked upon us kindly if you hadn’t yet. But you wouldn’t have wanted that right? I know you weren’t much of an Angel loyalist, but you cared about us.

It is such a shame CVA doesn’t want a thing to do with pirates, the Empire and the Cartel could do such excellent business if the willingness were there. Not to mention what damage combined forces could do to the Sansha that crawl around Providence. Kill some for me, would you?

—

This post is a follow-up to Rikaato. Both adress Yishal leaving Ghost Festival in search of a new home. Should any CVA read this, take good care of her, or we shall come for our Yishal!

Myrhial is sitting up straight on the edge of a low sofa. Behind her a glimpse of the rest of her apartment can be seen. Typical modern take on Achur architecture, the same natural tones and sober yet practical designs, but classic materials such as wood have been replaced by synthetic counterparts. On the tea table lays a small book which stands out like a slaver hound in a songbird pen, the Pax Amarria.

I think we both knew it would lead up to this eventually. I was in fact certain the moment you advised me Jude would be an excellent second director for Ghost Festival. You sought to replace yourself so you could get out.

No, I don’t blame you. I understand. This is not your home. I think you wanted it to be though. We’re a great deal more honest than those who pay lip service to a God who forms a convenient excuse for the atrocities committed in His name or those clinging to the same principles in the fear of what speaking against them might bring on. Hmph, I wonder who really are the slaves sometimes… But I digress. Honest as we might be our path is not one of virtue. Extortion, ransom and profiteering are our trade; violence, torture and murder accepted means to reach our goals. We call it business.

You’ve played a major role in all of it too. Operation Bold Harvest was your idea. You’ve served as a director for the larger part of the year. Even our move to Goinard was one of your controversial ideas. And look at how well it worked. You’re even on The Last Gate’s VIP list. I hope you will not deny or forget who you were here, Yishal. Do not disappoint me by having to hear such news. After all I do have your old insignia right here.

As for the book, I have read it before. Curious about the words your race holds sacred, and adorn the hulls of several of my ships. I accept the gift however, and what I believe you are trying to tell me with it.

Uaaka, Yishal, you were a great teacher and a treasured friend. I shall hope to never meet you again.

I have died twice in three days. Twice due to my own fault. Twice due to the same mistake: Carelessness.

On Monday I joined a patrol led by Yishal. Assault Frigates are second nature these days and I have plenty of experience with the Harpy so I thought discussing some PRELI affairs with Lilly at the same time would mean I would get work done while looking for targets. Bad idea! Even more so since the topics discussed were quite serious and I am known to be terrible at multitasking. It is not so much that I cannot manage, but the fact that I want to give my full attention to whatever I do. I informed Yishal I would break away from the fleet and return to Goinard on my own. I should have known better as a few systems before we had learned that gatecamps equipped with remote sensor boosters are quite capable of locking you unless you minimize your align time. So when I jumped into Kamela, and aligned to the next gate, while reading what Lilly was saying, my ship got locked, scrambled and melted before I realized full well what was going on. Instinctively I tried to initiate warp and get my pod to safety but the split second I took to select a celestial was enough for them to get a lock on that as well. Valnurana was quite surprised when I sent her a request to bring me a new set of implants from Dodixie. After all the last set had only been in my head for a good month.

So then yesterday Jude requires an ammo delivery deep down in nulsec, and asks me if I am up for the challenge. Considering it a good learning experience I accept on the terms of him briefing me how to make it there in one piece. After receiving a crash-course on avoiding and surviving bubbles I transfer into a jump clone and take my Buzzard his way. The irony starts when I remark on comms that I often hear nulsec dwellers call lowsec far more dangerous, something I find difficult to understand. “I don’t meet gatecamps all that often, and if I do I know how to slip through them. I never fly my bigger ships unescorted either.”, I say. As I arrive at the nulsec entrance readouts show my adrenaline level spiking. I watch the gate a moment, before shutting off my thoughts and jumping. As my camera drones activate again a surprise awaits me. There are no other capsuleers in this system and there is no bubble on the gate. I am almost disappointed but conclude there might be one further on. Warp, jump, warp, jump, warp, jump and so forth until I reach my destination. No bubbles anywhere. I’ve seen a grand total of five pilots registered, never more than two in the same system. Delivering my cargo I plot the course back home. Jude and Morwen are laughing on voice comms. “Well maybe I’ll die on the way back!”, I retort. Ah, karma must have heard me there. I leave nulsec without meeting any bubbles again, the only thing that seems to be going on around these parts is a group of pilots bringing in ships through cyno. Considering myself safely back into lowsec I continue my course to Goinard while talking over voice comms. Jump, align, cloak, warp, system after system. Until I enter Old Man Star. There’s a good reason I usually plot a course around that system, it’s a place akin to Amamake. But who is going to catch a covert-ops, right? As I align and activate the cloak I receive the message I cannot cloak and hear my ship is getting locked. And then there is no more ship. “Not again”, my last thoughts are before I woke up in another new clone.

While I didn’t lose implants the second loss stings the most. They must have been really fast or my cloak must have broken the moment I came through the gate — they were orbiting it, and I spotted drones — and they had plenty of time while my system adjusted. Three days, and two deaths. Two deaths that could have been avoided by paying the attention needed. Two times I have taken a step closer to the edge. I must not let this happen again any time soon. And yet I must not try and solve it by keeping myself restricted to the confines of our home station. Because that, though not as much as my own carelessness, has a hand in this as well.

The petite Achur is seated in a large and luxurious black leather chair at her desk, a massive crystal plate supported by glossy white side-panels. On the front panel of the desk a large back-lit version of the corporate logo and name are attached. The rest of the room echoes the same sleek black and white glossy design complemented with metallic chrome accents. The light in the room is dimmed giving the cold interior a warmer appearance. A reinforced glass window reaches from the floor up to the ceiling and spans the entire back wall offering a spectacular view of the station’s exterior and surrounding space. As the camera drone zooms in Myrhial sits up and leans on the desk, folding her hands.

No sooner has Aria left us or more changes take place. Yishal stepped down as director of Tactical Command as of this week. A shame, her dedication to her job has brought a lot of good to Ghost Festival. But she is now given the time to focus on her academical pursuits and I have full confidence in Vaden being a worthy follow-up. Being assisted in this task by Mortis I really have a dream team to work with.

It will be nice to have more frequent and planned operations again, both those we are familiar with as well as new strategies. It would be a waste not to use the access we have to the low security systems of many adjacent regions to its full potential. I know I’m feeling eager to roam again. And it will be good for the other Ghosts as well.

Myrhial pauses, sits back and looks thoughtful before continuing on.

I’ve concluded that extended station-side life has a negative effect on Capsuleers. I do wonder as to why. Are we losing our humanity, or clinging to it too much in fear of becoming emotionless weapons? Is it the wealth and the isolated lifestyle creating a culture of its own? Are we trying to escape our duties and responsibilities, or do we deal with so much we’re slowly going insane? And most importantly is this a question that will be answered in time? Who knows … One thing is certain though, whatever it is, it stands in the way of fully spreading our wings. I may sound like a broken record but moderation, in everything, is the key to success.

The lights in the room slowly begin to fade out and Myrhial nods politely to the camera, before turning her chair to admire the magnificence of the Goinard starscape while lost in thought. The camera drone pans up and zooms in on the stars while the visual fades to black. The PRETA logo and corporation name briefly appear in view before the video feed ends.

I absolutely love the Pilgrim now I finally got to fly him. Rabisu – his name derived from an ancient demon that stalks the dark corners and porches of houses waiting to ambush humans and tear them apart – really lives up to his reputation.

After spending a few days stationside and only having returned to my duties this morning I found Yishal and Kimochi already out in their pilgrims. We did a lot of quiet observing to get used to these new platforms and the special tactics that come with them. Waiting cloaked in an asteroid belt as we watched a target move around from one celestial to another I finally snatched the Harpy as it landed close enough to me. Poor thing tried to fight me as well. Sadly there was not one but three pilgrims eager to pick him apart. Flying one myself at times I know just how devastating neutralizers and nosferatus can be. Not to mention a swarm of drones. Shame on me though for labeling my drones incorrectly and sending out the wrong group! Although the damage reports show I was only a little short of the damage Kimochi did. That should prove well for when I further finish up specializing in the operation of Gallente and Minmatar drones.

Recon ships also prove to make excellent spectators for other engagements. Looking around for more targets we stumbled upon a friendly corporation laying siege on a POS tower while being under fire by defenders. What a massive fleet they had. Yet for unknown reasons they disengaged after a good while despite holding the advantage in both numbers and firepower. Yishal believes they must have grown tired of it and decided to seek opportunity elsewhere.

And then there is the usage of recons to set up cleverly formed traps. It’s no secret that we sometimes await militia fleets at military beacons to ruin their plans. But it works even better when you’re not actually visible at the location through the directional scanner. Not that a simple glance at the local neocom channel does not betray our presence. But not all pilots bother to do so while blinded by the desire to fight.

I feel a milestone was reached today after so many months and I don’t think all pilots fully understood the significance of this. Or perhaps I am appointing too much value to something as simple as flying a new ship class for the first time. Every day comes after all, sooner or later. But one thing is sure however. Recons are something I want to make an important part of our operations in the near future. As much as I enjoy frigate hulls – and I truly hope they will always continue to be a solid option – I also enjoy further finesse and greater firepower in order to take on targets of more value, more skill and more capability in order to perfect our skills and fill our wallets.