The Tale of Two Herons

Exploration in all honestly is one of the best professions to skill into early on.  Career Agents will give a ship and reasonable fit to start, basic skills are provided, and the training time reasonable.  High Security(HS) space can provide a great start, build up some initial capital while the skills are improving in queue.  Then a filament out to Null Security(NS), a dip into wormholes or a run through Low Security(LS) to find that a single site can pay for the ship, fit, and then some.

The T1 Exploration ships are all decent as well, and inexpensive.  Against a Stealth Bomber they can even be a bit menacing.  Fortunately the newly minted exploration citizen likely won't fit the ship with survival in mind.  Granted there are some situations where hunters become the hunted and find themselves in a baiting situation.  This a good lesson for the hunter and a part of the calculation when evaluating the prey.

Two herons on a single grid, I will generally have questions.  But, like a cat, I am curious and so after bit of homework, a review of what I can see fit on the ships, and a flick of the lucky rabbit's foot I plan my attack.

On this day, two herons on a single site:

One with a bit of history and the other with no history.  I choose the latter.  Setting a course for Shadow Orb, I await the heron's focus on hacking the can.  Then, I strike.  While in progress delivering overheated torpedos to the target, the second heron decides to defend sending drones after me.  Curious.

The drones are unpleasant, but I dispatch Shadow Orb's ship to salvage.  I am, unfortunately, unable to secure the pod and the frozen corpse trophy.  The drones of the second heron put me into 30% shield fairly quickly so I retreat to my ping and the comfort of my cloak.  Shortly after the second heron returns to the HS wormhole and exits, likely to console the fellow traveler.

But this adventure is not yet concluded.  As I've scanned out the current wormhole, I am compelled to have a quick look at the remaining connections.  Hopping into a neighboring C4 I decide to have a look around.  Always wise to have a scanning overview looking for hangar containers and whatnot.  No containers, but I do find an item of interest.  Abandoned by a POCO is a magnate.  I am compelled to return the magnate to its base minerals and metals, yes scrap even.  Ok, its an unpiloted exploration ship.  Not an uncommon sight in wormholes.

I conclude the session with a smile.

For now,

Be Well New Eden!

The Assignment

Wormholes are interesting pockets woven within the fabric of New Eden.  They constantly morph and change their connections.  They allow travelers to bounce from one end of known space to another in a mere few jumps.  They are equally spooky as you can bet there's always someone or something cloaked and watching.

In our story, that's me.  I'm the one cloaked and watching.  Scanning and waiting.  Cautiously maneuvering with an effort to avoid detection.  For the most part, since I am in a Stealth Bomber, I am hunting a specific kind of prey.  Explorers, mining ships, or industrial haulers.  And honestly anything found un-piloted, but that's a story for another time.  Depending these travelers can be skittish, quick to escape on the slightest of notice on their d-scan.

Generally it's good to be prepared and waiting.  This way the prey don't know they are operating in a location that is already scanned.  Ideally they are well into their Netflix, maybe another game, or potentially a drink or two into their evenings.  Nice and slow on the reactions.  Ideally not paying attention.

After spending a few days with no success I am on my return to Jita, the main trade hub of New Eden.  I happen upon a High Security exit that is in Caldari space, so I figure I'll scan out the signatures en route back.  A few signatures scanned and a few wormholes explored and I happen upon these two intrepid rock hounds:

Finally.  I use the term rock hounds and not huffers as these guys were mining in an anomaly, a known anomaly that does not require scanning.  All that prep work I mentioned a minute ago, not necessary.  Just a few clicks of d-scan to narrow down the location, a subtle warp in at range and jackpot.

I select the first venture based on the fact they have no velocity and that I can quickly approach and tackle without too much movement.  Both miners are reasonably near each other...at least within Target Painter and Torpedo ranges.

I execute the first venture and then greedily try to nab the second.  No luck, the other venture and pod warp away.  Ah well.  I have fulfilled 50% of my assigned task.  Feeling a bit better about this I cloak up and take a restroom break.  Upon my return I see the following:

They are back, and back in known ore anomalies again.  This time they are operating separately, good idea.  I don't want to be greedy, so I select the other venture pilot.  Wisely, the second venture keeps some velocity when mining.  After bit of geometry and vector mechanics I set my Stealth Bomber on a trajectory to intercept the venture.  Op success, the second venture is eliminated.  I also obtain a small trophy by also nabbing the pilot capsule(Bob bless that I was not greedy like before).

Mission accomplished, 2 solo kills in wormhole space, and a song in my heart.  I collect the drops from the ventures as well as the frozen corpse and return to Jita.  It was a good day in wormhole space!

For now,

Be Well New Eden!

The Candidate

As I embark on this journey, I have an idea that could further propel this experience.  Having the Wormhole Killer and Stealth Bomber Killer blogs as a motivator, there is also a well known group with a well documented 'service delivery' method that very much aligns with my intentions.  Enter WiNGSPAN Delivery Network.

The Delivery Agent theme and focus on torpedos matches my initial goals.  I'm planning to heavily utilize Stealth Bombers, operate out of wormholes, and do a nomadic style of movement around the various wormhole connections. I'm also a fan of the founder and series, so why not learn from one of the very originators of this play style.

Granted I have no kills at this point and a rather embarrassing mining ship loss(Zkill link):

What can go wrong, I immediately put in my application.  Not too long after my the submission I have an initial conversation with one of the WiNGSPAN recruiting agents.  They quickly note my lack of PVP experience and rather empty killboard.  

They do note my enthusiasm as we review my interest in the group, discuss a bit of background and my previous experience with the game.  As we wrap up some formalities, the recruiting agent does have some valid concerns.  I believe to either validate my intentions, or possibly to not get questioned by their own leadership, they provides me with an assignment.  This assignment must be completed to move into the next phase of recruitment, the interview.  The assignment is to deliver at least 2 solo kills in wormhole space.  A fair ask.  I agree and hastily depart to get scanning and begin the hunt.

For the next 3 days I scan out various chains in wormholes looking for the intrepid explorer or that anxious gas enthusiast huffing.  For three days, I find nothing.  I am beginning to think this test was more than I could handle, and maybe my hopes and dreams of taking on this mantle of wormhole hunter a fallacy.  But on the fourth day, a fateful Saturday, I am gifted what I seek.  More on the assignment in our next update.

For now,

Be Well New Eden!

Let's get started...

Thanks for Stopping By

This blog is an attempt to continue the good work started by several Stealth Bomber and Wormhole based hunters that maintained blogs of their own:

1. Confessions of a Wormhole Killer

2. The Chronicles of a Lone Stealth Bomber Pilot

I have read and enthusiastically enjoyed their adventures.  Both Blogs are no longer actively capturing these pilot's adventures.  I hope to pickup and carry this burden and hopefully inspire or activate the next great blog and blogger that will capture the essence of these two great pilots.

As we get started, I just want to note that we will be following a number of capsuleer pilots.  To begin the series let's delve into wormholes and follow some trials and tribulations of Bush Wellington.

An Introduction to Bush Wellington

Bush began with mining, and a lot of it.  Day after day of hanging out in the high security(HS) parts of New Eden mining ore and ice until one day it's decided a change is necessary.  A move to Null Security(NS), or no security, space and joining of an industrial group, Evian Industries.  A pleasant group of people all part of the Evictus. Alliance.

As Bush arrived to NS in the region of Immensea to the system of I-NGI8, the home system of Evian Industries.  It's noted also that this is the time of the first New Eden Blackout.  The New Eden Blackout basically shut down the Local Chat window and treated NS similar to Wormhole(WH) space.  This was somewhat traumatic for NS people and rather than keep operating they decided not to login.  Fun stuff.

Within a month Evictus would relocate to to Feythabolis and interestingly the Blackout would end.  This very much livened up the group and NS in general.  There was a period where the Alliance went into the day to day routines of protecting and farming the systems they controlled.  The occasional roaming group passed through, the occasional joint operation in other regions, but life was simple.  This would continue for a time until the greater Legacy Coalition(lead by TEST Alliance Please Ignore) decided to bring a war to the Imperium and its allies.

The initial curiosity about this Coalition level war was quickly turned into a ticket to burn-out.  Battles daily and relocations weekly it didn't take long before my bags were packed and a fond farewell wished upon the Corp and Alliance mates.  The return to HS would be met with a 3 year hibernation.

In that 3 year period a group identifying themselves as the Triglavians would descend upon HS and LS systems and close down the known gate connections to form an area known as Pochven.  Seeing some success in the ability to navigate and hunt in Pochven a seed is planted.  Let's get out of our comfort zone, embrace the Covert Ops Cloak, and work on some scanning and missile skills.  This ultimately leads to training into a Stealth Bomber.

This journey will begin nomadically in Wormhole space.

For now,

Be Well New Eden!