EVE Online - EVE-Pirate.com (Entries tagged as story)

Lesson Learned

nospam@example.com (Damien 1) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 02:14:00 +0200

I am a pirate and I am the most ruthless kind. A true pirate through and through. I only care about getting a lot of good kills, loot, and ransom by any means. I play eve to blow stuff up. I don’t care about people’s feelings and I’m not bound by some higher moral code in this video game. My loyalty is to my friends, my corp, and my alliance and no one else. I think role players and carebears are generally weak and pathetic and most pirates agree with me. I think these mislead kinds of mentalities are something to be ashamed of, where as they would probably feel the same about pirating.

I’ve been in one of the most ruthless pirate corporations and alliances in eve and I have come to tell of one of the most hilarious pirating stories I can remember, because everyone loves a good laugh.
Our whole alliance existed in one low sec system that bordered a busy high sec area. Anything that came into the system that wasn’t blue died and most residents of the area steered clear of the system.

This fine evening I was waiting at a perch in my Megathron with some mates and ready to pounce on anything that came to the gate. Randomly, I got a convo from a neutral in system I had never met. Some pilots had been trying to locate him for about 15 minutes but he was nowhere to be found. I am not sure why he convoed me out of everyone in system… but I prefer to think it was fate.
Me - “How can I help you?”
Him -”I need some help”
Me - “Sure man, what can I do for you”
Him - “Well I am having trouble with this mission and I could really use some help. These ships are really kicking my butt.”
I’m thinking this guy can’t be serious. He comes into our system, a low sec system known for its pirate presence, to run a mission and then convo’s someone with a negative 8 security status to get help with it? I’m thinking this has to be Christmas.
Me - “Well what level mission is it and what are you flying so I know what to bring. Should I be tanked for sansha or guristas?”
Him - “It’s a level 4 and I’m in my raven. Its just my regular tank. I don’t know what you mean.”
Me - “Hold on a minute, let me grab my ship.”

He actually told me what he was flying and I confirmed it by d-scan. All the intel I could ever hope for. I get on voice coms and I tell everyone in system whats going on. We all meet at the perch and I tell everyone to hold and not say anything in local. After all, we were hoping it was a trap.

Me - “Well I’m ready. Why don’t you join our fleet so I can warp to you.”
Him - “Join your fleet? Ok sure”
HAHAHA! He actually joined the fleet with my entire alliance in it! We all warped to the mission gate and warped into the mission grid at the same time. He was 50k from the warp in point and he freaked out when he saw all the ships we brought and immediately warped off. Aww, crap. I tell everyone to start shooting the rats and stay at the warp in.
Me - “Where did you go? We all came in to help you with your mission? Come back dude we need your help with this. We are taking a lot of damage and some of us have to warp out.”
Him - “Sorry, I saw a bunch of flashy red guys and I ran. I’ll come back.”
Me - “Hurry up we need your help.”
Him – “I’m coming.”

I told everyone in voice coms he was coming back and they kept pretending to help with the mission. He warped back in. He was immediately tackled and my alliance opened fire. I shouted in local “Hey guys what are you doing?” (pause) “No don’t shoot him he is the friendly we are helping! Shoot the rats not him!” Meanwhile we are all laughing so hard in voice coms we can barely breathe. Tears streaming down my face I am laughing so hard. His ship pops fast under the hail storm of dps and he warps out of system in his pod. The walk of shame.

Him - “What the hell man?? You blew me up?”
Me - “Im so sorry dude it was a mistake. I didn’t shoot you at all, check your killmail. They thought you were neutral and panicked. Bunch of morons. I told them not to shoot you. I can’t believe I asked them to help. They killed most of the ships in this mission for you though. I can help you finish your mission if you want. I won’t ask for their help this time. I just thought they would get it done faster. Do you have any other ships?”
Him – “Its ok man I understand I guess. Yea I have a brutix I just bought in Dodixie and I need to fit it. Let me go get it.”

Im thinking, he cant be serious can he? Is he really going to go get another ship for us to kill? All my alliance mates let the GCC wear off and they go wait on gate. About 20 minutes pass go by and I hear a roar of laughter in voice coms.

Him – “They blew me up.”
Me – “Huh?”
Him –“They just blew up my brutix when I jumped into system”
Me – “You gotta be kidding me. I told them you were coming and not to shoot you. I am so sorry dude. I should have linked your name and stuff. They just said they didn’t realize it was you. What a bunch of idiots. We have had a lot of ships come through here in the last few minutes and they thought you were with them.”
Him – “I thought you told them not to shoot me.”
Me – “I did I swear! Do you still want to finish this mission? I can’t do it alone.”
Him – “I guess. The only ship I have left is my merlin and I don’t have any money left. Fitting that brutix was all I had”
Me – “That merlin should be enough.”

Sure enough he comes back into system and gets insta-popped on gate by everyone waiting for him, haha. This was back when there were only one size of rig and they were expensive as hell. We found out when we posted the killmail that he had rigged his frigate and it was worth 20-30 million isk, lol!
He finally realized he had been had.

Me – “What did you learn? Never trust a pirate.”

We blew up every last asset he had and he kept coming back again and again. Stupidity is the only constant in the eve universe and my ship is fueled by carebear tears. The odd thing is I didn’t get on any of the killmails because if I had, he wouldn’t have believed I was on his side. It was still some of the most fun I’ve had in the game and one of my finest displays of my talent as a scammer. I did take the time afterward to tell him every stupid mistake he had made and try to make sure he learned his lesson well. I normally don’t do that but I thought after all he had lost, he should walk away with something priceless – how to make sure it never happens again.

I am not with that corp anymore, but I have to admit I will always miss it.

First Attempt At Piracy - Success!

nospam@example.com (Slaul) — Sun, 30 May 2010 02:20:00 +0200

I decided to fit out a Rifter with a cookie-cutter build and go cruising around low-sec looking for a fight. I found one. While jumping through the asteroid belts in a 0.4 system, I encountered some wrecks. Checking the ownership details, I found out whose wrecks they were and that this pilot was still in local! So I kept jumping through the belts, this time moving more quickly, and after three or four more jumps I found him! He was piloting a Vexor ratting the belts with T1 light scout drones and T1 medium scout drones.

Since it was my first time out and I've only been playing EVE for about three weeks now, I was slightly intimidated by the idea of fighting the Vexor and all the drones at the same time but I decided to do it anyways. It'd be good experience regardless of the outcome.I quickly moved in, afterburner blazing, while the Vexor pilot simply looted his wrecks; didn't he notice me?

Once I made it within range, I activated my scrambler and stasis webifier and quickly started orbiting at 500m. Within moments his shields were going down under the combined firepower of three 150mm autocannons and a rocket launcher. However, the Vexor had not yet opened fire or attacked with drones. What was he doing? Did he have a secret weapon? Apparently not because around when I started hitting his armor he finally began attacking me with, if I recall correctly, 250mm railguns which could not hit me. His drones, however, were now attacking me and were eating through my shields rather quickly.

Choosing to forgo targeting the drones in favor or trying to finish the Vexor quickly, I kept all my firepower on the main target and in short order he was into structure. At this point I opened a conversation hoping for a nice ransom to pad my wallet. However the Vexor pilot turned out to be Russian and did not speak English so he did not understand my demands for ISK and I ended up destroying the Vexor in one of the most beautiful explosions I have seen in EVE.

I decided to let the pod go and just go straight for the loot. A decision that probably enabled me to escape with any loot at all because seconds after I had filled my cargohold a battleship warped to zero right on top of me! With my armor and ammo running low, I decided to warp to a nearby planet and then docked at a station to survey my winnings. In total I made over 1.5M from my first kill!

It was a good day and I look forward to more kills, and probably deaths, in the future.

-Slaul

Mistakes and Lessons Learned

nospam@example.com (Seligas) — Sat, 29 May 2010 02:20:00 +0200

I suppose we all start somewhere in this vast universe. Alone in the middle of nowhere, a tutorial window hollering at you to do its bidding before carelessly sending you off into the broad expansion of Eve to make your first mistakes. I made many such mistakes - some cost me my ship, some my life, and even worse, some, my pride. I came into Eve not knowing where I was going. I fit a ship, haphazardly throwing on whatever I thought would work - a shield booster, an armor repairer, some mismatched weapons - nothing really seemed to work. I would lose ship after ship before finally mastering the art of fitting - to a degree.

By this time, I gleaned much from others - learning of the ways of the universe, knowing how much there was to explore, and conquest. I realized how much wrong there was - pirates, ninjas, can flippers, gate campers, spies, thieves - and I began to have visions of glorious battle, of myself piloting a powerful ship and hunting down these miscreants. So just barely into a cruiser, I fit up something possibly held together with popsicle sticks and paper-mâché and hurled myself into the mysterious unknown(low security space, because I was a wuss).

I'm not sure what I was honestly thinking back then. Perhaps I thought I could tackle whatever lie out there in wait, utilizing my "massively powerful" small tech 1 blasters against such foes. I really don't know - but I digress. I jumped to the nearest 0.4 system and quickly found myself warping between asteroid fields, melting down computer pirates while I searched for a real one. To my misfortune, they found me first - two of them, to be exact. They demanded a payment of 100 million for my ship and my life - a sum of money I could not fathom at my current state of existence.

Knowing full well the outcome of this exchange, my set of blasters made an underwhelming counter-proposal against their shields. Before I knew it, I was a small pod in the midst of vacuum as their interceptor-class frigates locked and opened fire. Score: Pirates one, Me: Zero. Chalk up one more mistake made, one more lesson learned.

After what I considered at the time to be a fairly costly mistake, I came to a realization that perhaps a pirate hunter's life wasn't for me. Instead I settled for high security space, training my skills and running missions to pass the time. I thought I was safe here of course, as many naïve fools are wont to believe, and went about my daily life as if the whole fiasco in low security space had never happened. However, I soon realized how wrong I was to believe that even here, surrounded by Concord and their single-minded intent to hunt down and slaughter even the most minor offender.

By now, I had a battlecruiser, decked out in missiles and an unbreakable passive shield tank - a Drake, you guessed it - running level 4's at a slow but steady rate. I came across a particularly difficult mission that had me warping in and out constantly to maintain my tank while slowly picking them off to the point where my shields would hold. It was in the middle of this process that I suddenly noticed a big red square on my overview - a merlin-class frigate, stealing something out of one of my wrecks. I had just killed the mission objective, and I didn't want him stealing that before I could get my hands on it, so I "shooed" him away with my drones.

I sigh now. Another mistake made, and yet another lesson about to be learned. Add another tally to the pirate score you are no doubt keeping track of in your head, for within minutes I found myself staring down the large blocky bulk of another drake - piloted by none other than the same pirate who had been in the merlin. I honestly do not think he would have posed much a problem had I been taking only his fire - but with my shields already buckling under the pressure of several computer battleships as it was, I soon found myself staring at the scattered remains of my own drake. Fortunately, I was able to dock with the nearest station rather than find myself waking up in a cloning vat.

As was only natural, I was very angry with the pirate. I was naïve enough to message him without realizing that his original intent was to kill me in the first place. I apologized profusely for firing on his merlin, stating that killing me in retribution had been entirely unnecessary. I relayed my dismay that I simply could not afford to buy and refit another ship like that, and how far it would set me back. He drank my tears and dined on my loss - laughing at my misfortune. The billows had been pumped, and the ashes sparked aflame again. My resolve to hunt down and slaughter these miscreants was renewed.

Fortunately, this time around I had a corporation to lean on and was able to regain my ship at the cost of my pride. I did not seek revenge, and called off the manhunt that was about to be set loose. I had made the mistake of firing on him - the loss was on my shoulders, not his. However, I was tired of these pirates, preying on the weak and the naïve. I wanted to do something, anything - but was afraid that any action I could take would simply lead once more to my ruin.

However, an idea sparked one day. Born when a new corporation mate was can flipped - one of the other members warned them off about firing on the wrongdoer. I realized that I could turn the tables - that I could choose to initiate the fight, and who I fought. I had seen it on battleclinic - an interesting fit involving an Osprey fit with a single mining laser, and then filled out with a battle fitting made for taking out players.

The plan was simple - I would fit such a cruiser, taking care to place a mining laser that didn't take up too many resources, and I would find a suitable system with a multitude of players and asteroid fields. There I would mine ore into a can and wait for someone to flip it, and lo and behold, the "mining ship" would suddenly open fire and hopefully take them by surprise. It was foolproof, or so I hoped. With that tactic in mind, I could pick my targets, even as they picked me, choosing one of a suitable difficulty level without any risk. If it worked out, then I would continue to do it.

The time came, and I initiated the plan. After jumping around aimlessly, checking the starmap for suitable systems, I finally found a high-security system, chocked full of asteroid fields and with no lack of players meandering about their business. I picked the first asteroid field I saw and warped out to it. Miners, everywhere - the place was mostly stripped. A second field almost proved suitable - only two miners present, but spread out just enough to reach from one end of the field to the other with their mining lasers. I was looking for a field where I could seclude myself - to present a juicier, defenseless target.

The third jump found me precisely what I wanted. A miner or two were active off to one side of the field, but the other side was completely untouched and barren of anyone. I burned my way over to a space rock, jetted the ore I had brought with me, and turned on my mining laser. A few cycles passed, with not much going on. One of the miners on the other side of the field had taken aggro from some computer-controlled pirates, so I sent my four T2 hobgoblins to help them out - giggling to myself as I called them back - they'd be a nasty surprise.

A few more cycles found a new ship entering the overview. It's name was "Stabber", and it appeared to be heading right for me - slowly. A cruiser. I wasn't really sure how to proceed as he approached. Should I really take the risk, or should I wait for something more along the lines of a frigate? I was assaulted with indecision as I watched him crawl across the kilometers between us and enter a makeshift orbit. He sat there, orbiting me, judging and weighing me - he left the can untouched for what seemed like hours, but was only seconds. My heart was beating like the bass of a homosexual nightclub, I could hear and feel it reverberating within my chest.

And then, the can was gone.

A burst of primal instinct flared up as a red square invaded the overview. Without even thinking, I already found myself locking onto it and looking to my modules. Missile launchers, nosferatu, webifier, warp scrambler, damage control - and last but not least, my drones swarmed out like a hive of angry wasps. My weapons and drones wailed on his shields and within an instant his too were set loose upon me. I watched as his cruiser altered its course, trying to gain some distance, or perhaps orbit me. But he soon realized the folly and simply stopped in place.

The battle dragged on - our shields dropping almost as if synchronized. To my alarm, my shields appeared to drop faster before screeching to near halt at about 20%. His however stopped closer to 10%, his armor getting scratched and lightly scuffed by the damage slowly getting through. My heart was still pounding, and my burst of wild instinct had drained and was replaced with panic as I watched my shields once more drop and reach armor. I recalled my drones with the intention of escaping, forgetting to realize that he too had thought to warp scramble me in case of just such an occasion - I had honestly hoped he would forget to do it.

With nothing left to me but imminent destruction, I set my drones upon him once more and did what damage I could - watching my armor retreat into structure, and structure retreat into the emptiness of space. As I stared out into the starry expanse with nothing but the shell of a pod between me and endless blackness, I briefly wondered where I had gone wrong. What could I have done differently with my life here in Eve? Had I actively pursued the life of a pirate hunter even after my first defeat, would I have lost that encounter? Would my path have been much different? With another heavy loss on my shoulders, my pod warped off to a nearby station to pick up a shuttle and head home. I tallied up another victory for the pirates.

I contacted the pirate afterward. I congratulated him on his victory, and found out that he had been just as scared shitless as I had been about his own defeat, and rewarded me by telling me how much the drones had surprised him. We laughed a bit and parted ways, I off to my corporation's headquarters, and he presumably to flip his next can. I suddenly didn't feel so bad about my loss. Perhaps pirates aren't so bad after all.

Then I yelled a curse really loud when I realized I had forgotten to fit the rigs I had bought.

Another mistake made, another lesson learned.

Meanwhile in Olfeim...

nospam@example.com (Xonja) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:31:00 +0200

First off, I've been reading EVE-Pirate a lot a year or so ago, and always loved the stories. Haven't been reading a lot recently, mostly because i've hung up the eyepatch since my parrot had to go on rehab. All that rum wasn't good for him. I'm a part time killer now, but i guess this story still fits in here. Originally posted on my alliance's internal forums, a little birdie (not my parrot, although he and Nanobot share the british accent) suggested I re-post it here. Hope it makes you smile at least

As i'm moving the bit of stuff I still have in Bosboger over to Hek, I make a quick stop in Olfeim in my Ranis. Haven't been here in ages. Sure enough, it is the same sleepy system it always used to be. A deadend lowsec with only one entrance from a 0.5, it used to be playground for noob ratters and pirates alike. It's more than quiet tonight, and the tranquility carries over to me.

Bored, I warp around for a quick scan. I don't feel like engaging anything, having my cargohold full of the shiny faction stuffs i'm hauling. The faint "ping" of my scanner barely wakes me, and like in a trance I turn the dials and knobs. My tiny 'ceptor seems to move by itself, sleepwarping in on the Scythe Fleet Issue in belt 1-1.

The pilot, short of a year old, is oblivious to my presence. I'm not too excited either, having just NPC'd my security status back up to -1.94, being barely legal in 1.0 systems again. I hate missions. Mindless and boring, almost as bad as... wait-- Getting closer, I notice a distinct glow emerging from his ship. Mining lasers! As my ship eases into a 500m orbit around his, I almost bump into the little dronies zipping about between the Scythe and a nearby 'roid. A closer look reveals them to be Harvesters, the holy grail of mining directors.

I must be dreaming. Is this some kind of set up, deliberately staged to rob me of my precious secstat? It just looks too good to be true. It dawns on me this young pilot might not have noticed that he has left the safe haven one stargate over, and is no longer under CONCORD protection. Slightly amused, I do the logical thing: I flip his can!

The ore muncher gives me an unexpected reaction. Not only does he keep mining, he reaffirms his generous altruism in local chat:

Vector 8 > you're welcome

Seems there's a mining party, and i'm invited. Coming to my senses, I strike up a convo.

QUOTE private chat:

Xonja 2zero > hi
Vector 8 > Howdy M8
Xonja 2zero > so, what are you up to?
Vector 8 > Im mining so that I can pay the 50 mil to join ur corp
Xonja 2zero > really
Vector 8 > yup
Xonja 2zero > that's kinda cute

Right. Cute in a very special way. What's he on? Joining our corp? I have no idea who he is, or since when we require 50m to join. Much less accept miners. I'm pissed off. Stupid roid humper got bonked on the head by a few too many rocks, thinks we're a mining corporation? This cannot be tolerated. His icon in my overview has changed to a dollar sign. However, I play along, holding back, drawing out this moment of tranquility. I want him to feel his stupidity, all the passed chances of running away as long as he still could.

QUOTE private chat:

Xonja 2zero > wait, let me kill these rats
Xonja 2zero > so that's done
Vector 8 > hehe....ty
Vector 8 > luv killin rats

A couple other chat windows pop up, and while I tell people to get back to me later I miss the mining Scythe picking up speed... and warping out. To station. Escaped. ARRRGH!!! Convinced now that the pilot is a noob, I figure he might still have noticed his mistake and ran to never come back. Staying in character as the friendly hisec ore thief, I keep up the chit chat.

QUOTE private chat:

Xonja 2zero > btw, you can have your ore back if you want
Xonja 2zero > i don't mind
Vector 8 > that's ok m8....It wasnt that much and there's alot to go around....gotta keep on friendly terms with my new corp m8's
Xonja 2zero > how do you mean?
Vector 8 > keep the loot
Xonja 2zero > oh, ok :)

Is he playing with me? I'm puzzled, as endlessly long minutes pass. I'm hammering the scanner, and finally, there is his Scythe again. Moments later, he's back in belt. Refitted? Expecting a barrage of projectiles and missiles hitting my hull any second now, i'm almost speechless as he turns his mining lasers back on.

QUOTE private chat:

Xonja 2zero > btw, i'm not sure if you noticed
Xonja 2zero > did you?
Vector 8 > what?
Xonja 2zero > you didn't
Xonja 2zero > you're in lowsec
Xonja 2zero > wanna keep your ship?

As I say this, I get to work. Describing his duo of Tech 1 Hammerhead and Acolyte drones as underwhelming would be giving them grossly too much credit, but I kill them off anyway, going for a ransom.

QUOTE private chat:

Vector 8 > yes
Vector 8 > I know that
Xonja 2zero > make me an offer then
Vector 8 > im in low sec
Vector 8 > I can only spare 10 mil
Xonja 2zero > well, you could spare your ship then
Vector 8 > common.....Im joining your corp after all
Xonja 2zero > doesn't look like it

While we chat, two rifters warp in. They're noobs, but go for my itsy red-flashy ceptor without a second thought. Not their lucky day. Just as I vaporize them, Mr. Mining Fleetscythe takes his chance for a bold maneuver: he ejects to save his pod! Without his skills holding it together, structure melts down to a little square, my drones still whacking on it. Phew, called back just in time :o

QUOTE private chat:

Vector 8 > bye bye

Quickly, I park the ranis at a safespot and go back in pod to pick up my catch. Expecting a lackluster mining setup worth selling for around 50m total, i'm speechless as I find this:

Over 500m worth all together it seems. I'd have settled with a 30 to 40 mil ransom. Silently, I fly my new Fleet Scythe back to Hek, a question burning in my head:

WHY? D:

So.... ahem. Anyone want to buy a Fleet Scythe with a T2 Purger?

The Old SwitchTheIbisForTheMegathron Trick

nospam@example.com (Darktrinity) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:29:00 +0200

Interesting story, a few weeks back we had a particular member in our corporation that was causing issues with abuse to other players including myself. He was spoken to by senior officers and eventually left the corp on bad terms.

About 2 weeks later I spotted him in one of my corps mining belts (I was mining at the time) so I decided I would get a little revenge on behalf of the corp. I travelled back to station and grabbed just an old empty Ibis. I knew that this enemy was smart, but not that smart. Smart enough to know if he could kill a ship or not, but not smart enough for what I was about to do.

I took my Ibis to a nearby belt that had some rats and I let the rats pound my shields and armor down to almost hull. I then travelled back to the system where the enemy lay jetcan mining in a retriever. I swapped the ore and named it "I dont have weaps, but what you gonna do punk". I knew of course that he had drones on board capable of killing the rest of my already badly damaged Ibis.

Just as I had planned, he whipped out the Warrior I's and they started zapping away. About 20 seconds later I was back in station and changing into my Mega. A further 30 seconds later and I was within 5 meters of him. A further 15 seconds later and I was watching his Pod warp back to station.

A very small victory, but worth it in my opinion ; )

Cleared for publication by: Ander

Change of Plans

nospam@example.com (ignemiati) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:29:00 +0200

"We're not going to wait for contact with the locator agent", the Fleet Commander(FC) shouted over the Fleet comms link. Our 9 ship squad was poised in close formation less than 2500m away from the Stargate, that leads to a system that a few war target pilots were reported to have been in; however, our scout has confirmed the contrary. "Bandit Actual, Bandit Actual, this is Birds Nest", came over the comms from headquarters(HQ), "Birds Nest this is Bandit Actual send it", the FC responded. The comms officer at HQ replied, "Bandit Actual we have confirmed 6 reds(enemy pilots) in system, I say again we have confirmed there are 6 reds in system, how copy", "Solid copy Birds Nest, 6 reds in system" barked the FC. "Bandit Actual, what is your current position", the comms officer at HQ asked, "we're currently 10 jumps out from base, Birds Nest", replied the FC. "Roger that Bandit Actual, return to Base and engage red pilots on contact, how copy", asked the comms officer, "Solid copy Birds Nest, Bandit Actual return to Base, Bandit Actual out".

The FC addressed the fleet on Fleet comms and ordered everyone to set destination to Base and align to the next Stargate. The nine-ship squad turned in unison toward the Stargate and headed in its direction. The search for the war targets was put on hold as we all began downloading the reports of what ships the red pilots are in, and where in the system they were last spotted. At the 4 jumps out mark the FC got word from HQ that the red pilots have moved out of the system. "Change of plans gents, looks like HQ wants a blockade at the empire gate(a Stargate in the HQ system that links high-sec to low-sec, our base being on the low-sec side), once in system get re-fitted or change ships if needed, for a blockade setup and form up at the empire gate in 10 mins, how copy", the FC barked over Fleet comms, all of the squad members responded in order confirming their acknowledgment, "Bandit Actual, this is Bandit Five, solid copy", was my response.

When we were 1 jump out from base I ordered my comms officer to make contact with the Dock Officer at HQ. "Sir I have the Dock Officer on link", my Comms Officer informed me, "good, tell him to prep the Caracal Navy Issue(A-1) for a blockade with max damage output", I ordered. After jumping into the HQ system the Intel Officer reported, "zero reds in system sir". "Align to dock, warp when ready", I ordered as my Blackbird(E-4) cruiser came out of jump cloak and aligned to the HQ station. While the ship was moving through the warp corridor towards the HQ, I gave the crew their disembark and re-embark orders and then checked the last reports from HQ on the activities in local the past thirty minutes. The reports were reasonably mild, a few rats got splashed and a dullwatt(idiot) miner got popped in an ice field. This dullwatt somehow did enough research to find an ice field one jump out of high sec, but doesn't do the extra clicks to find out that it is home to a few pirate corps.........dullwatt.

At the HQ the ship change went smoothly, the crew were moving into their stations aboard the A-1 quickly and the officers were reporting 100% systems and stations readiness. "Sir we are ready to undock" the Bridge Officer turned and said to me, "Undock and align to the empire gate", I ordered. Outside the HQ station my corp-mates were testing their resistances and locking speeds on each otherâ€™s ships, once assured they can tank damage as long as they plan to, they warped off toward the gate to get into position. When the A-1 came out of warp at the empire gate, the trap was already set by my fellow corp mates and a few blue(friendly pilots of another corp) pilots in BS's, BC's, and Tech 2 cruisers.

"Gate Fire, Gate Fire", exploded over the Fleet comms link, "Ready the launchers", I ordered, "Launchers ready" the Missile Chief barked. Then the overview lit up when the unknown ship came out of jump cloak, "Its a Vagabond" my Intel Officer informed me, "Not blue shoot it, get webs on it fast", the FC shouted over Fleet comms. The sentry guns came alive blasting into my corp-mates who were quick enough to lock and fire first. As soon as my ship's sensors gained lock the missile launchers opened up with a thunderous roar and a bright glow.

The infamous blue hue from a corp mates weber wrapped around the Vagabond as my heavy missiles closed in on it with screaming velocity. The BS's already nullified the Vagabond's shields so my volley of heavy missiles smashed directly into the Vagabond's armor releasing an incredible amount of kinetic energy upon impact. The other ships unleashed a portion of their ordinance payloads into the Vagabond, which commenced its destruction. After the fantastic light display from the large amounts of energy released when the Vagabond erupted disappeared, the dull metallic glare of a pod capsule could be seen. The pilot tried to maneuver her lone pod to align to any object in which she could warp off to relative safety, only to be locked and popped as well. I'd bet that pilot wishes she had a change of plans before she jumped into this system.

Cleared for publication by: Ander

My first solo

nospam@example.com (DexterTripod) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:40:00 +0200

I was cruising through my home system getting used to my new ship. I can't believe I forgot about the station guns.
sigh

"Oh well, gotta learn somehow" I keep telling myself.

The system has been dead most of the night and I'm about to set my nav to the station and call it when I see a blip appear on my scanner. It's one I remember seeing earlier but was too busy tweaking my targetting computer to track it down. I do a quick scan and don't see any 'buddies' hiding in the system so I decide to go take a look.

"Hmmm, a Merlin."

I track him from cluster to cluster, looks like he's ratting.

My hands are shaking from the adrenaline rush. This is my first try at this with no corp backup.

I punch in the coordinates for the cluster's planet and scan each belt.

"Got him!"

He's sitting in a belt face to face with one of the local rats...I'm not sure he even saw me warp in behind him. I quickly throw the nose of my ship toward him and punch the MWD on full. Gotta close this distance fast.

My targetting computer screams as positive lock is established and I scramble his computer.

"No where to run now my friend"

I feel the slight shudder of my ship as my weapons toss their deadly payload toward him. Explosions all around him as his shields and armor melt away. It all happens much faster than I expected as the void of space explodes in a brilliant light in front of me. I lock down the pod and send the pilot on a quick trip back to the cloning facility.

Quickly securing the leftovers from the wreck, I zip off to a safespot to wait out the timer...those station guns are cruel mistresses.

I constantly watch my scanner for 'friends' to jump in and start hunting me. My heartrate finally slowing down I realize in my haste I had forgotten to turn on my defenses! 'Good thing he went down quick or I would've looked REALLY stupid' I think to myself.

A comm flickers from my CEO:

"Congrats"

I smile to myself, "So this is it...this is what I've been searching for..."

I hear my warp drives powering up as I turn toward home...

"Yarrr"

Cleared for publication by: Ander

Hunt: To Be, or Not To Be.

nospam@example.com (Ziku) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:40:00 +0200

I have never agreed too much with Gallente ship design, always thought it to be too 'pretty'. The soft lines, a smooth bubbly forms... Put that Engineering effort into making a better Auto Cannon I say. But there is just something about the way that Thorax felt, that rush of power flowing in when all systems came online. I havenâ€™t felt this way since my first Hurricane. Even the tight, swept back form of this vessel appealed to me. I continue to fantasize the killing potential in this craft until the proximity alerts go off.
Single Target in-bound. I had dropped out of warp less than fifteen seconds ago and already a target! Rifter class frigate. Thought spans in all directions, as my ship fires all engines, leans into a tight orbit, slips into partial warp with the Micro Warp Drive, and the concentration shifts to locking the target. All modules stand ready as my sensors pinpoint their target. I can feel my mouth water, I have to force I swallow.
Lock. A brief moment everything dims as all modules light off. Warp Scrambler, Statis Webifier, and Four Nosferatu modules. Almost as quickly, energy surges back in to the capacitors, bleeding the target dry.
The Drones, already armed, spill from their hiding place, blazing towards the target. Their first combined volley tears away the Rifter shields. No big accomplishment there, but when the second and third sear and char their way through the Rifterâ€™s armor and into his hull I giggle. I command a ceasefire to the drones.
I hail my target. Two Hundred Thousand ISK. Short and sweet. I'm nervous at this point, I'd rather not become someone else's kill. This is taking too long. I start counting off over comms.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
... A reply. "1 second"
One Decimal Five.
One and One Third.
One Decimal One.
Another message, begging "I'm a new pilot"
Decimal Nine.
Decimal Five.
Zero.
The drones eagerly jump to life. Their first volley ignore what little shield recharge had occurred in the interval. Pieces of the Rifter go spewing in all direction as that one lucky round ruptures the Fusion Core.
The Escape Pod flies past my Thorax, already initiated into Warp. That's fine. There will be others.
I hit Warp again; I spent too long in that belt. Next time I'll know not to wait so long. After a few belts my mind wanders back to the plasma cloud burning freely from my last target. What beauty is to be found in destruction!
Proximity alert! My warp drive had already aligned to the next belt. Scanners already cleared their cache. What was that?
I stop in this belt and fire up the MWD. I want some distance between me and the opponent. Local comms start to chatter. I'm being hunted! The thrill sparks again. A whole new rush, not of the kill, but of the chase.
I let my eagerness gets the best of me. I allow my position to slip over comms, and within seconds a Rupture class cruiser warps in. With over 243km between us, I realize that I am still in control of this fight. Just then, some Angel Militia Pirate's warp in to investigate. My opponent quickly dispatches them. In fact, so quick that my surprise attack doesn't succeed. I couldn't align that fast.
The same dance begins. Lock. All systems initiate. Drones released. I hear the larger Auto Cannons of my opponent penetrating my shielding, tearing into my armor. Enemy Drones sending their Lasers into my hull, separating steel from structure. I increase orbit and try firing some Smart Bombs that I had fitted to shake the drones, open distance to prevent Auto Cannon damage, but it was too late. Modules and main systems alike were shutting down. Damage controls had failed and most of the ship had de-pressurized. Now I watch from my escape Pod as my Fusion Core erupts. I chuckle, as the odd tingle the Pod has in its warp shudders through me, and I make a clean getaway back home.
Once at a safe distance I pull my attacker up on comms. I thank him, now I know what to be cautious for, I have learned. One more lesson, one more step towards my destiny.

I return to station and browse the markets for my next combat ship. I run a few simulations for Capacitor Efficiency, Shield and Armor Durability, and Weapon Damage Outputs.
But before I have a chance to make any purchases, other pilots from my corporation send me a fleet invite. We have a war target trying to make his way towards Rens.
I ponder a moment. Haste requires a ship already fitted, in hangar, and ready to fly. I put out the alert, scramble my Jaguar for immediate departure!
The Hunt Is On!

Cleared for publication by: Ander

Old Dog still learning New Tricks

nospam@example.com (Ziku) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:15:00 +0200

Pator Tech. wasn't my first choice but then again, who ever gets their first choice in life? The day out from academy I used the last bit of isk I had (stolen) to buy a Reaper and a few fitting options. I set my NeoCom to monitor the "Recruitment" channel, where I would prove myself as the fiercest pirate in the galaxy and procure my fortunes and infamy.
I did meet up with a startup pirate corp, and went so far, far away to a system called "Jan" The galaxy was a lot bigger than I had imagined. Here I found out two things. One: T2 fittings and ships beat T1. And Two: I had no way to pay for or fly such things.
So my course was this- I make a fortune and pay for these things, and train constantly as hard as I could until I was the best! I invested in Learning Skills so I could train harder and faster than I supposed any other pilot could, and researched fitting schemes and money making ventures....
... I woke up. A year and a half later, there were foreign objects in the POD fluid, and Iâ€™m still aching from detox. I don't know where I am, no familiar stars are in view. I had been piloting the same ship class I had fantasized about, only it's scatted remains were in orbit with me around an unfamiliar moon. I rebooted my Navigation system and found that I was 44 jumps outside of any CONCORD presence. What I had been doing out here was still baffling me. I checked my comm systems, most of the data there was either encrypted or corrupted. A few sparse messages informed me that I had joined up with an alliance and then had been removed. My assets had been removed from my hangar and I was wanted. Infamy it seemed was not something I enjoyed. I'm not sure how I had escaped the same wrath the debris of my once proud ship had endured. That thought alone got my heart racing. Panic sobered me the rest of the way up and I stressed my ship systems in getting "home". I few close calls but thankfully my brain still knew how to fly this thing better than I ever remembered. I had dozens of "Books" downloaded that I cannot remember fully to this day, but I always seem to come up with the answer.
Lost and confused, I was accepted into a corporation to help with their industry concern. Oddly, I had also been trained in that too, although it bores me to no end.
Another year has passed. I have enjoyed the company of numerous pilots and been hired into a few corporations since. I finally have been accepted back into society and even get jobs from an agent or two from Brutor Tribe. I'm back in my homeland and it feels great...
...Until Yesterday.
The local channel fires up. A Pilot was upset that no one would "take his can" Producing such a challenge was not too smart, someone might take him up on it. I jump into my trusty Rifter. I open his can. Flagged for combat, his friends uncloak and I barely get my pod back into station. He laughs and informs me that if he had lost to a Rifter he would have quit flying.
Anger! Just like in those first long months. I have not felt this way in years. Only today, I have a generous account, the skill to fly ships of any race, and well, and the support of numerous other pilots.
I place a "Buy Order" on the markets for a Thorax. They have a deadly potential, and I have been researching other ships for more capabilities...

I will have my fleet, I will have my revenge.
Cleared for publication by: Ander

My start as a pvp'er

nospam@example.com (Lady Destruction) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 17:49:00 +0100

First of all, i'll introduce myself, i'm a pvp noob, with countless loses and 3 kills by now, but i think i'm learning really fast . Besides that, i tried to be a pirate and i just couldn't destroy ppls ships, so i ended up refunding every isk i was destroying because i felt sorry for doing a bad thing. So i figured i'd rather become an antipirate, that protects innocent carebears from the bloody pirates . But because thereâ€™s no antipirate forum I could find, I figured I could as well post my stories here, since we r somehow linked .

So, said-done, i created this char and started to train my learning skills from the start, with a nice set of +3's, my other char is a trader so i had more than enough isk to invest in my pvp char :), dreaming of how i will become a great pvper.

Cleared for publication by: Ander
Rest of story in extended body.

Continue reading "My start as a pvp'er"

That Same Old Story: My First Ransom

nospam@example.com (Wiseones) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:35:00 +0100

So I've been trying my hand at piracy for a while, even joining a pirate corp fairly soon into my trial account, wherein I didn't make much money, but I did manage to get a few kills. When that trial account ran out and I was still broke, I moved on to another trial account, in which I made no money, joined no corp, but blew up a few mining barges. All in good fun, but hardly a good way to make ISK.

Fortunately for me, I'm not broke anymore, and I began work once more on the original trial. I flew around for a while, gathering supplies, buying and selling, looking around for a good place to begin the work of the yarr.

Cleared for publication by: Ander
Continue reading "That Same Old Story: My First Ransom"

ZOMG I am shaking

nospam@example.com (WuuZii) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 06:31:00 +0100

So, tonight I engaged in my first act of piracy. No background story here. I was interested in this aspect of the game and was hanging out in Hek and decided it was time to take the plunge, and plunge I did.

Selecting my Rifter from the multitude of ships at my disposal (3 - Rifter, Thrasher, Mammoth) I set about fitting it out for my journey towards PVP.
MWD (check)
Web (check)
Point (check)
Guns - 3 150mm AC (check)
Gyrostabilizer (check)
PDS (check)

With my dedicated flight crew telling me all was good for launch, plus the few tips I recieved from am associate who just passed the 500 kill mark (congrats again man) I headed for the Otou (0.3) Gate. I expected to be jumped from the second I arrived in Otou but instead I found the are around the gate nice and quiet at least.

I warped to the other gates in system to check for activity, nothing going on so I warped to the only station in system and took a look at who was in local and then the stationd quests.......... most of the systems current inhabitants were like myself docked up but then 1 pilot undocked. I quickly undocked after him, to see what he was flying, a Scythe Cruiser. after 20-30 seconds of watching he warped to a belt, again I immediatly followed. My heart was starting to beat faster with every second as I approached this lone cruiser sitting in an otherwise empty asteroid belt, it was now or never. I locked, closed the distance and told my little frigate to orbit at 500m while I stuck the point and web on him and unloaded the contents of my Auto Cannons into his shields, they melted quickly under the constant fire. All the while my ships onboard sound system pumped out some of the heaviet Pantera tracks I could lay my hands on.

As his shields faded to nothingness and "Yesterday dont mean shit" rang through the bulkheads of my Rifter I could see that his armour was starting buckle under the intense pressure my auto cannons were putting on. Yet why no reaction from the cruiser pilot, not even a lock back, was he trying to run with out even engaging........ he couldn't be.......... then, a reaction, he locked me.

As his armour was shorn from his ship exposing the soft hull underneath I could tell he was panicking, but why was he doing so little damage. Only 1-2 missiles had hit me since he locked and my guns were eating away at the hull of his ship.

Alarm bells rang, another bogey on the overview...... a Punisher, neither friend nor foe to either of us currently fighting. The crusier poped. I could feel my heart beat so fast Itaught it was going to jump out of my chest and start doing the happy dance, as I wanted to do but I had other problems. The punisher locked and engaged me, I returend the favour all the while forgeting about the cruiser pilots pod which sat in space while the Punidher and I exchenged ammunition at high speeds.

My forst foray into what will be a life for me in the EVE universe was bitter sweet, I killed a semi afk cruiser mining in a Scythe, lost my rifter and forgot about the cruiser pilots excape pod. Luckily for me though I escaped with my pod and enjoyed a little friendly banter with the Punisher pilot. If you are reading this you know who you are, Good Fight man, I really enjoyed those brutal few moments.

Now to fit a new Rifter and journey once more into the darkness while my entire body shakes from the massive adrenal rush. 3 hours later and I am still buzzing. Hell yeah this is for me

Fky Safe

WuuZii

Almost forgot
Killmail #1
2008.02.18 02:43:00

Victim: Volund Smith
Alliance: NONE
Corp: Republic University
Destroyed: Scythe
System: Otou
Security: 0.3
Damage Taken: 2521

Involved parties:

Name: WuuZii (laid the final blow)
Security: 0.0
Alliance: NONE
Corp: Republic Military School
Ship: Rifter
Weapon: 150mm Light Prototype I Automatic Cannon
Damage Done: 2521

and killmail #2
2008.02.18 02:45:00

Victim: WuuZii
Alliance: NONE
Corp: Republic Military School
Destroyed: Rifter
System: Otou
Security: 0.3
Damage Taken: 1357

Involved parties:

Name: Chronoxi (laid the final blow)
Security: -6.3
Alliance: VENOM Alliance
Corp: Baptism oF Fire
Ship: Punisher
Weapon: Dual Light Beam Laser I
Damage Done: 1049

Name: Volund Smith
Security: 0.1
Alliance: NONE
Corp: Republic University
Ship: Capsule
Weapon: SV-2000 Assault Missile Bay
Damage Done: 308

Cleared for publication by: Ander

Heavly outnumbered but still up for a fight!

nospam@example.com (Avaricha Halo) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 09:18:00 +0100

I posted this story on EVE-O, but everyone there is just bitter and smacks. Since I've seen a lot of quality writting here I figured I'd join in too.

Lately my corp has been involved in wars with three carebear corps which are friends, or became friends after we war dec'd and forced them to work together towards us.

Cleared for publication by: Ander

Continue reading "Heavly outnumbered but still up for a fight!"

The path of War

nospam@example.com (Sniper061) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 15:24:00 +0200

Our corporation had declared war on our target merely two days prior and so far, our kill count and reputation had gone through the roof. Already with seven prior kills to our name, one being a Caracal, we had put the fear of God into our enemy. Now, every time we entered a target system, our victims fled to the safety of the nearest station and either logged off or waited until the 2 or 3 members of their corporation who had battleships were able to jump in system. We could only wonder as to why they continued to refuse our ransom. Cleared for publication by: Ander Rest of story moved to extended body by request.
Continue reading "The path of War"

Teaching miners to steal ore

nospam@example.com (tincan) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 18:14:00 +0200

I've been a reader of Eve Pirate for a while now and decided it was time to post one of my own.

Pirate stories don't exactly come thick and fast for me because I'm not a full-time evil criminal. I do however want to get as much as possible from my monthly subscription so I try to get involved in everything the game has to offer. This means that it's great for me to have two characters and a dual identity.

One character is trained for PvP, has been in a merc corp and has no worries about losing his sec status for a little bit of fun. I respect piracy and PvP in general as being the most creative and challenging gamestyle available and I couldn't do without my fix once in a while. My other character is a member of a mission running/mining/industrial corp. The idea being to provide a safe environment, away from all the bad guys for new players to get into the game. My excuse is that we're trying to do something for the community but OK... I'll say it - we're carebears.

It will come as no surprise to the readers of this site that we cannot keep our rookies safe from the nasty PvP all the time. We practice flying in a gang, do some low-sec stuff and frigate tournaments. All the normal things to help people to be able to defend themselves, but at the end of the day some people get it and others would rather avoid it.

What happened the other night gave me hope for the new generation.

Cleared for publication by: Ander

Continue reading "Teaching miners to steal ore"