Day 574 - Atier

Seems that this Exploration lark is getting rather addictive, and not for the first time this week, I find myself undocking in Obscurément to scan the 10 local systems around Adrellezoen. So, because I follow the same route, I found myself back in Atier. The system I spent a few hours earleir in the week scanning for a Radar hit, without success. This time around my multispectral probes pickup not just the Radar hit, still sitting there (or possibly a different one), but also a Gravimetric signature...

So I hastily set about placing my probes. This time I feel lucky. Maybe it was the few cans of Quafe Ultra I had disposed of while chatting to Pete about some rather fun looking Myrm setups, but whatever it was, it seemed my instincts were right on as after the first analysis came I got a 0.544AU hit come in... unfortunately it was just outside the Sift probe range, but never-the-less, I warped to it, added it to my now overflowing 'explo' bookmarks, and launched a Comb...

After some heavy skill training lately, I've got my analysis time down to 204 seconds, but it still seems an enternity. I watch eagerly as the timer counts down... BINGO..! a red blob appears on my system map, and my scanner shows an accuracy of 3,750km, nice...

I warp to it, get ready to feast my eyes on the filled with tumbling rocks and whatever else is among them... empty space... hmm... I re-check everything... scanners, system map... yup... it's still there 3,750km. Doubt started to creep into my mind... was it an echo of an old belt that some other lucky explorer had found before me and cleared it out? I sat there in the cold empty space, my mind reeling - half full of curses for the lucky pilot, and half of potential visions of what may of been...

Out of desperation, I launched a Sift... "What the hell", I said to Aura, half expecting a response telling me to prepare myself to warp out and try the next system. To my surprise, the scanner came back with a 0km hit. So strapping back in, and with a soundless word of thanks to the Supreme, I found myself looking at 'Deadspace - Medium - Omber'.

Within the belt an old forgotten wreckage of a station, still burning, red and angry, looking like the gateway to Hell itself, and strewn around old forgotten remnants of a long ago mining operation. POP, POP, POP... Drones.! Lots of drones..! Probably part of a one time defense, or a wing of superior AI drones gone rogue. Which ever, I wasn't going to hang around for long in Obscurément. It has its uses, but combat isn't one of them. So a quick warp out and return with the Myrm to clear out the drones and then a run out for the mining workhorse.

So after a day's mining, I managed to clear the belt of all of it's 350k units of Omber. I haul it back to Bawilan and my manufacture station where I was quickly knock into place by my agent for not completing a mission for him, and hit me with a 4% standing fine... oh well, win some lose some...

Day 564 - Caretyn

Still playing around with my Helios today in Empire space until my skilltree completes. Hopefully in 30 days I'll have reached the level I want to be at to take "Obscurément", for that is what I have named it, into deeper space...

• Astrometrics IV
• Astrometric Pinpointing IV
• Astrometric Triangulation IV
• Signature Analysis IV
• Signal Acquisition IV
• Covert Ops IV
• Cloaking IV

But, after 6 hours of trying to track down an 'Unknown' signature today, I'm less than happy about my future successes. Although I was happy with my placement of probes, the choices seemed limited, I never got a hit on the scanner...

Oh well, practise makes perfect I guess...

Day 562 - Croleur

I probed down my first Exploration site today. It was my second attempt. The first time I tried, I came across a Gravametric signature, but for the life of me, could not find it after the first multi-scan...

So, around my normal mission systems, I took the Helios out for a spin after sickening myself on missions after farming WC4 for the passed 5 days, and low and behold a nice RADAR signature was found...

I placed 4 Quests, and on the third scan I got a nice, result and a Pursuit and 2 Combs later I'd nailed myself this. . .

With only a Destroyer and 2 Frigs defending, I got my codebreaker ready, and headed for the Serpentis Scanner Shards sitting amongst the roids. . .

The first Shard landed me a bunch of parts, the second had nothing that I could use, so I headed to the third. . .

But alas, again nothing useful... so I left my calling card in a jet can and ran back to Adrallezoen for a Quafe and some quiet reflection on today's exploration...

Day 545 - Brapelille

Another day, another Myrm...

I have always been a shield freak, and a passive one at that. My current setup, much to the disdain of the rest of my Gallente friends, and to the amusement of Pete, the service operative in Brapelille Fed Admin station is as follows;

hi-slot;

• 5 x 250mm Proto Railgun
• 1 x Drone Link Augmentor

med-slot;

• 2 x Invul Field II
• 1 x Rat specific Shield II or named
• 2 x Large Shield Extender II

low-slot;

• 3 x Local Shield Power Relay
• 2 x Power Supply Unit II
• 1 x Damge Control II

rigs;

• 1 x Field Purger
• 1 x Field Extender

drones;

• 5 x Hammerhead II
• 2 x Ogre

...but I felt it was time to test exactly what the inherent armour bonus of the Myrm could do.

As Pete pointed out though, I could have prolly picked a better time to try out an armour rep setup as the manufacturers have just downscaled the modules' effectiveness due to power flow issues. So they now have a stacking penalty, but not to be detered, I head into Pete's fitting shop pulling a hover-trolley full of modules behind me.

Pete looks at me and takes a sharp intake of breath through his gritted teeth, rubs his chin and tells me that it's going to be next week before he can even look at my boat.

I pout, and tell him I have 200 units of protein delicacies in the hold that he can have on top of any charge.

"Come back tomorrow, and I'll see if I can get one of the boys to work on her over night."

So, I leave him to it, looking forward to trying out a new armour rep Myrm tomorrow.

Day 544 - Barkrik

Maru Hackers... need I say more?!

Day 530 - Inder

While working for the Brutor Tribe. I cam eacross a guy called Rozor Mothrus working out of The Carnival in Inder...

While he was a nice sort of a guy, his chosen profession was less than pleasant. He collected body parts...

I'm not that choosy about the type of cargo I haul, to be honest, and when I heard he wanted ten frozen livers couriered to a nearby medical facility. So I put on my humanitarian hat and took him up on the offer. Although, I was somewhat perplexed when I turned up in my shuttle only to be told they would take up 100m3. Needless to say I never asked if he had any free samples. Shame really as I had obtained some fava beans and a nice spiced wine from a run in with an Amarrian trade caravan...

Day 525 - Deltole

Looking for a Yan Jung Tech skillbook without having to quest or spend 50 - 100mil ISK for it..?

Head to Deltole VI M1 with an analyzer equipped and farm some YJ items and hopefully a skillbook or two...

I managed to get 2 in half an hour... re-sale value 100 - 200mil, nice YJ archaeological finds...

Know of any of the other racial COSMOS areas where the books drop from doing some digging let me know plx...

Day 520 - Adrallezoen

Grey... Grey walls, grey tables, grey chairs, grey food... Everything was grey. Small grey food room in a dirty out of the way corridor, in a grey corner of the RSS station.

Strangely, it was only space that seemed full of colour these days. Shiny ships, shiny stars, shiny rounds of ammo, bright shiny missiles... even brighter, shinier, ship tearing explosions.

"I've been away too long", I muttered into my Quafe. "Everything has lost colour".

A loud thud on the table brings me out of my thoughts. Faces turn back to their conversations, drinks, food, or secrets... Lying in front of me sits a pristine, and still shrink wrapped slab of a book. Standing at the other side of the table is the gift giver. Abrirk Goggert. Just standing there, looming over the table grinning at me.

-Military Connections-

"I need my mission runner back". He slid the book over to me. "Here is an incentive. Enjoy it. You've worked hard in the past for it". His grin changes into something more sinister. "I need Terrazan's head. You've got 24hrs". He leans forward and picks up my Quafe and finishes it for me. "Today is your last day before I hand it over to someone else, plus I'll spread the word around that you're no longer up to it". He turns and heads out of the door, into the grey.

I pick up and stare into the bottom of my Quafe and watch the sludge slowly slide down the side of the container. It's grey. I look at the integrated Neocom on my wrist and message Aura to ready the ship, pick up my skill book and head for the docking bays.

Time to put some colour back into my life...

Day 519 - Yulai

Wow, I wondered where I'd left my journal..? Better start catching up.

Day 279 - Brapelille

While doing some work for Federal Administration, I find myself out in Sinq Laison in a dirty little backwater system of Brapelille. Although I say 'dirty' that's prolly due to the contrast of standing in one of the cleanest fitting bays I've ever seen. The Med-Clone centre on the other side of the station wasn't this clean. Pete, the head opperative for the fitting centre, was obviously the driving force behind the standards here - I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but he just had that look in his eyes. The total opposite of my contact here, Prot Lerveine, who I'd just finished a series of Human Cattle missions for...


I've been hitting the agents for missions using the Vexor Bel gave me, on and off for a few cycles now, and found it a very reliable crate and the market here held some nice Mark II items that I wanted to upgrade to. Not being a fighter at heart, I love the Vexor for it's strength and versatility. Being able to hang at the 40km mark and sit back letting my 5 Hammerheads do all of the work while even the most aggressive missile assaults never see my shields go past 30%... plus I just planted myself a tractor on the top slot, which helps when I'm sitting in the middle of a container field.


So here I am in a pristine fitting bay, looking at the config report that Pete just handed me:

hi-slot

• 2 x 250mm 'Scout' I Acc Canon (Uranium)
• 1 x Med Nosferatu
• 1 x Sml Tractor Beam

med-slot

• 1 x Invulnerability Field II
• 2 x Lge Shield Extender II

low-slot

• 3 x Power Diagnostic System II
• 1 x Shield Power Relay

drone bay

• 7 x Hammerhead

"So you think I'll have enough juice", I asked him, and he just laughed.

"I could run this station on 3 PDS. Just get around to doing something with that Power Relay, it ain't got much life left in it. Also I can arrange a few janitors to come and clean her out for you?"

"I've really got to fly. You know, people to see, deadlines to keep. Maybe next time?" He turns, mutters something inaudible and heads back to his terminal, taking my empty Quafe Lite carton with him, wiping away the mark it had left on the counter. I stand and ponder him while he taps in the final configuration. Now there's a man I wouldn't want to meet in a dark corridor. Anyone this obsessive with cleanliness must have some deep seated emotional problems.

Day 232 - Jel

Hmm... maybe stumbled onto something of a quick and easy money maker.

I got a message this morning that Bel had been doing some Level 3 agent missions in Sinq region and got a few R&D skill books after ransacking an Informant's mobile home. So after picking them up from Escrow at Jel VIII Moon 20, and a quick market check, I noticed that quite a few changed hands at around 100k - 300k ISK.

Anyway, after a little scouting around, I headed back to base, with the books, and decided to put them straight up for sale, as I have all my R&D skills that I need. To my delight, it seems that Verge Vendor has a difficulty in supplying the demand for R&D skill books as they were currently selling at 650k - 1mil ISK!

Do you know how many skill books you can fit in a shuttle..!?!