TRS - Fitting Discussion: Incursus Rail Scramkiter

The common fitting meta for Gallente ships tends to focus on blaster fit brawlers. One of the exceptions to that rule is exemplified by this fit:

[Incursus, RailScramkiter]
Damage Control II
Adaptive Nano Plating II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Small Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste

Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I
Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I
1MN Afterburner II

125mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S
125mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S
125mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S

Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Small Transverse Bulkhead I
Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I

Hobgoblin II x1

Fitting the ship like that is actually pretty easy and can be achieved even with average fitting skills. The main bottleneck is CPU and if you should run out of it, you could use a low-cost CPU implant or downgrade one of the midslot modules to something with lower CPU requirements. I would however not recommend doing that because the range of your tackling modules and the speed increase of the afterburner are instrumental for that ship to function in its intended way.

Another fitting particularity which has to do with the purpose of the ship is the Transverse Bulkhead rig. Like with many Gallente ships, hull hitpoints are the highest buffer you have and this rig increases it further. Fitting the ship with an armour plate and/or resist rig would result in somewhat higher effective hitpoints, but it would decrease the ship's speed which would again be self-defeating.

I have hinted at the intended purpose of the ship a few times now, so let me explain how it works. The most important thing to do at the beginning of a fight is to apply the web and scram. Those two modules should initially be overheated for maximum range. Once you are close enough, do not forget to turn the heat off again because you depend highly on the availability of both. The range you want to stay at is between 7000 and 8000 km. Further away, you risk getting out of scram range, and moving closer means that an opponent can potentially get under the tracking of your guns. You would also run the additional risk of being within range of small energy neutralizers which would put you under a lot of pressure.

At that range you are only slightly above the optimal of your guns, so you will be very good at applying damage. Only artillery cannons, missiles or pulse lasers with Scorch crystals would be able to compete with your damage projection but all three weapon systems would lose out in the DPS race. With 140 DPS at maximum skills, you would even outperform a Retribution or Wolf Assault Frigate. Short range weapons like autocannons or blasters will not even be able to hit you in most cases if you manage to control range effectively. Since you are fit for relatively high speed, you should be able to outmaneuver an opponent even if you are webbed yourself. If your opponent has no web, you are at a definitive advantage.

The main thing that needs a lot of attention is the Ancillary Armor Repairer. It is important to anticipate when you want to run it, and only do so for one cycle, two at most. You need to save capacitor and make sure you do not burn through your charges too quickly. If necessary, overheat the module to gain extra repairs and to accelerate the cycle time. Always remember that armor repairs become effective at the end of their cycle and act accordingly. Your structure buffer should provide you with some margin for error there.

If you need to get out of a fight, move away from the enemy, keep web and scram active and overheat them, overheat your afterburner as well and the armor repairer if necessary. Pay attention to your capacitor though, make sure you always retain enough to run the afterburner and the tackling modules. Eventually you should be able to escape from the point range of your opponent except if they are in a fast afterburner ship themselves.

Alltogether, this ship is cheap, easy to fit and easy to fly.You should avoid confrontations with more than one ship because your DPS tend to be insufficient to deal with several opponents quickly enough, but In frigate duels or in a small gang this is a very effective fighting ship for beginners and experts in frigate PVP.

OOC Entry 111 - Titles

When I wrote in a comment that I will have my next chapter ready within the week, I should have written within a week. I wrote that comment exactly a week ago and so I would have just about kept my word.

You may not believe this, but I struggled most with the title of the story.

Everything I could come up with sounded like some EVE expansion or the name of some movie with Tom Cruise as the male lead, and I hate Tom Cruise. I have hated Tom Cruise since I saw Top Gun with my very first boyfriend and decided that Val Kilmer is definitely way sexier and should have been the guy who wins.

Well, at least I didn't have to endure seeing the female lead getting it on with Val Kilmer and was free to dream my young girl dreams about him. Sadly he turned rather fat later in life.

But I digress.

I have long wanted to write a story with Gallente antagonists, and now I finally saw the opening to do so. It will tie in with things that happened waaaay back in my stories. I find that rather suitable for a story set in New-Eden that things the protagonists did in the past catch up with them in a bad way.

For starters, this chapter will not feature any of my main protagonists, but I am bringing back my favourite obnoxious support character. I am not sure yet for how long I will stay on this track where I keep my main capsuleers out of the narrative, but I feel like it could go on like that for a bit.

I think it can create some extra tension when the story is about people who can actually die instead of being revived in a clone through some technological wizardry.

Not that I haven't brought a few of those poor capsuleers very close to true death.

Oh yes, and then there is the unsettling death of a bunch of scantily dressed girls in that interlude I wrote last.

Let's see what becomes of that particular thread.

But for now, the story begins with some nice food.
 

The Chain of Being - Part 1

Adrain Sourail decided to finally break the awkward silence that hung over the table in the exclusive restaurant his superiour officer had invited him to for supper. He set down his wineglass and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Madame, I can't help to ask why you invited me here."

Dechenne en Chalune chewed and swallowed slowly. She half-closed her narrow eyes while she savoured the taste of her last bite and hummed softly in appreciation. Adrain wished the old intelligence director wouldn't draw it out so much. It was her signature thing to do. Always keep everyone guessing - and worrying - what her next move could be. She hadn't earned the nickname "Lady Anxiety" among the members of the department for nothing.

"Because you are my most valued operative of course, and I thought you would enjoy some good food and drink" The Intaki finally said and smiled.

Adrain looked at her cheerful expression with skepticism. Her matronly smile emphasized the wrinkles on her golden-skinned face. She managed to look like anybody's favourite grandmother if she smiled like that, but Adrain knew there must be something else to it. There always was with Dechenne en Chalune.

"Have you ever considered how much food tells us about a society or a culture?" The old woman continued after skewering a rubbery small cephalopod on her plate. "Minmatar cooking, for example, favours dishes which are intended for communal consumption. A lot of different small items of food which are arranged on big platters. Everyone at the table shares and exchanges."

Adrain wondered where this was going while the intelligence director put the marinated piece of seafood into her mouth and chewed languidly. She swallowed, sipped from her glass of wine and then carried on.

"They are also fond of strong natural tastes. Game, spicy vegetables, intense fruit flavours, bitter herbs, that kind of thing. The combination offers a lot of diversity and contrast."

She pointed at her own plate with the fork. "Quite different from our own style. In Gallente cuisine everything is about creating the most refined combination of tastes, subtly tailored to personal choice. There is diversity, but it is a diversity of choice for each individual." Dechenne en Chalune picked up some vegetables together with another piece of squid and ate it at length.

Adrain was wondering where this whole talk about food preparation was supposed to go, but he did listen intently. He knew his superiour. She hardly ever engaged in idle talk without meaning to get to a point. So far the Gallente agent failed to deduce what it might be though.

"I can see that you are becoming impatient, so let me come to the point." The elderly intelligence director retrieved a neocom from her handbag and slid it across the table.

Adrain skimmed through the Scope News item that was on display. Clearly Eifyr & Co unexpectedly announced a conference to present a revolutionary scientific breakthrough. The name of the main speaker caught Adrain's attention. "Hegomir Torstan? Wasn't he abducted by some capsuleers recently."

"Correct. Wormhole dwellers to be more precise. Specifically a corporation called Awakened Industries under the command of this man." Dechenne reached over to touch the necom display which emitted the holographic image of a bearded Gallente looking man.

Adrain nodded gravely. "I recognize him. He was last on record interacting with one of our agents before she vanished."

The white-haired Intaki emptied her glass and leaned back in her chair. "Right, Nevire Chatal. So, where does that leave us?"

Adrain finished the article and stroked his chin in thought. "It looks like a group of lawless capsuleers lead by a former navy officer have dropped a major scientific breakthrough in the lap of a Matari megacorporation. In addition to that, they might be involved in the loss of an agent." he frowned for a moment. "If I am not mistaken then the agent in question was on the trail of a wanted capsuleer spy. According to intelligence reports, the same woman agent Chatal was after, was also involved in the abduction of Savant Torstan. Sounds like we have a challenge on our hands." Adrain smirked slightly "And an opportunity to tie up a few loose ends."

Dechenne nodded and displayed her grandmotherly smile again. "Like I said in the beginning, you are one of my most valued operatives. You are good at connecting the dots" she took the provided cloth napkin from the table to dab her lips. "Now remember what I said about food and its reflection of a society's values."

Finally Adrain understood her meaning. "The difference in culture. The recent political moves by Empress Jamyl have defused the conflict between the Amarr Empire and the Republic. Since then the cultural differences between the Gallente and the Minmatar have become more of an issue. Now some Gallente ..."he searched for the appropriate word "... renegades have provided a Matari scientist with the means to get ahead in the game. This might develop into an issue of federal security."

The smile of the old Intaki widened to the same extent as her eyes narrowed. "Which is where we come in. Or you more specifically."

Adrain looked at his superiour quizzically.

Dechenne en Chalune responded to his unvoiced question "I am sending you to that conference with the fake identity of a Duvolle Laboratories acquisition specialist. We need to know everything we can get our hands on about that new breakthrough in Sleeper research Torstan will be presenting." she waved her hand nonchalantly "I expect that the public presentation will only scratch the surface. Your job is to get your hands on the whole story."

"How far can I go?" Adrain asked. His demeanor had turned from slightly confused to fully professional in an instant.

"Any means necessary." his superiour answered matter-of-factly. "Just make sure it remains deniable." she smirked "I would hate it if I had a senator pacing back and forth in my office shouting something about a diplomatic incident."

"Understood." Adrain replied curtly. 

"Well" Dechenne en Chalune gestured at Adrain's almost untouched food. "Enjoy the meal. You are leaving tomorrow on the first liner to Eram."

***

"Seriously! Is all that excessive caution necessary?!" Agitated, Hegomir Torstan paced back and forth on the forward bridge of the Rapier class recon ship. "This is a nimble ship of Minmatar design. With my added modifications it should easily be able to evade every trap, and time is of essence here my Gallente friend."

Sitalaerd Baunee tried his best to concentrate on the tactical holograms displayed before his captain's chair. "You do want your research, and yourself, to reach Eram safely I would assume." he said dismissively and then issued the order to move closer to the wormhole in a spiral course.

The veteran Gallente captain did not want to take an unnecessary risk here. Most of Awakened Industries' crews were still not back home. Their stations were hardly defensible and none of the corporations capsuleers - including his commander - had returned to the Anoikis cluster either.

At least he had received word that the daring mission to rescue Sandrielle Jaunes was successful. Everyone would be due to return soon. The many Sleeper drones which kept circling their main control tower, still gorging their machine minds on all available information, created an effective deterrent against attack, but they were also an unknown factor. The former Gallente navy officer did not like unknown factors. If Cedrien Roucellis himself would not have agreed with the urgent demands of savant Torstan to be allowed a visit to the Arek'Jalaan facility in Eram, he would certainly not have risked one of their few remaining ships for something like that.

Particularly not at a time when they needed to rebuild their battered defenses. Even now, their station barely had the fuel to last through a full defensive reinforcement cycle despite the fact that the shield generators had been restored. Granted, Torstan's insights gained from communication with the Sleepers had helped a lot to make that happen, but that did not make this trip less risky in Sitalaerd's opinion.

"Captain. I just registered a Buzzard class frigate on long range scan for a moment." the crewman at the sensor station reported.

"Any new entry signatures?" Sitalaerd asked.

The young Matari nodded affirmative. "Yes sir. One new wormhole is being picked up by our probes." the crewman paused and turned around to face the captain. "Sir, its graviton emission profile indicates a class six phenomenon on the Criele scale."

Sitalaerd frowned. "That could mean a scout for a major force." He considered the situation and finally shook his head. "We are in no shape to defend against anyone who would want to confront us now."

He turned to the communications officer. "Lieutenant Maillot. Notify the station crew. Tell them to go on full defence and prepare for evacuation. Inform commander Roucellis on fluid router about the situation too."

If this small exploration ship was the harbinger of an attack, him and his crew would not make any difference either. He pressed his lips together and looked at the wavering vortex before them. "Helmsman. Take us through. We will continue our mission."

"Finally" Hegomir Torstan threw his arms up with a sigh or relief.

The Chain of Being - Part 2

Adrain's superiour had been right.

Despite the fact that Arek'Jalaan officially hosted the “groundbreaking” presentation of Hegomir Torstan, Eifyr & Co corporate security had provided the venue and they kept a tight ship. Everyone who was not a member of the corporation was required to wear an implant blocker to prevent recordings. Even neocoms and similar devices were taken away from non-affiliated visitors. Adrain even suspected that several of the people dressed in security uniforms were actually Republic Intelligence.

His instincts, developed throughout years in the service, enabled him to notice the telling signs. The forced casual behaviour. The furtive glances and subtle signals exchanged between agents working as a team. That effort to inconspicuously follow and watch their chosen targets, himself clearly one of them.

The small number of attendants who were not Minmatar each had one of those intelligence operatives shadow them throughout the conference. Adrain pondered the merit of such surveillance. He was not formally trained as a scientist or engineer, but even with his limited knowledge about the presented material, it seemed remarkably thin to him. Despite the subject of possible advances of Sleeper reverse-engineering, Torstan's presentation came across as more of a sales pitch than an actual scientific lecture.
When Torstan concluded, followed by applause that seemed way to enthusiastic, Adrain re-evaluated his options for losing his tail. He acted his best to look like he was hanging on Torstan's every word during the Q&A session, but in the meantime he expanded his senses to gauge the reactions of people he suspected to be agents.

The net was tight.

Grudgingly Adrain had to settle for the fact that he would not be able to make his move just yet. He made an effort to not let his annoyance show when he left the auditorium and stepped out into the red light of Eram's sun and the crowd of reporters who descended on the scientific and corporate representatives who walked out of the Eifyr&Co building.

'This is Aishe Guldar for Eram System News.' a stunning young Krusual woman blocked his path. She wore a recording visor and her black hair was braided along the crown of her skull.

'Girome de Roue of Duvolle Laboratories has just emerged from the building and is willing to answer a few questions on Gallente interests.' she opened and beamed a disarming smile at Adrain when she confronted him with his cover identity in a way that was clearly meant for him to be caught off-guard.

Had he truly been a Duvolle corporate official who wanted to keep a low profile, he would indeed be uncomfortable with being recorded on a live newscast. The Gallente agent acted as if that were the case while sizing up the young reporter.

Adrain inhaled through his nose. 'Tailored pheromones, how cute.' he noticed. Either the local news-channel spent a lot on biomodifications for their reporters or this was a honeytrap. If it was, they obviously had not figured him out completely or they would know his preferences. He smiled back at the admittedly well chosen female and for a moment he was honestly endeared with her for trying hard to appear desirable. He used that feeling to make his smile appear genuine.

Adrain knew most Republic Intelligence operatives from the records of his own agency. He had taken the effort to thoroughly familiarize himself with each and every one of them before departure. If that girl was not who she pretended to be, then she would most likely be a junior corporate counter-intelligence agent who had gotten a chance to score a big one with this assignment. Adrain decided to take the bait. If his hunch were to be correct, this could be a way to get closer to Torstan and the actual knowledge the Sebiestor engineer possessed.

'Indeed, how may I be of service?' he asked and very obviously let his eyes travel along the girl's curves for effect. She had dressed in a form-fitting ensemble that would work wonders on someone who actually cared about breasts and hips like hers.

Adrain made sure that he appeared to care.

'A Duvolle representative coming all this way to listen to a presentation by an Eifyr&Co scientist? What is the story behind that?' The young woman asked aggressively.

'Well …' Adrain replied. 'You are the reporter so I leave the storytelling up to you.' he intentionally looked at her cleavage more than her face. It would help to make her think she had the intended effect.

'Come on now.' she kept pushing. 'Someone working for a shrewd woman like Jinneth Duvolle must have an agenda.'

Adrain had to admit that she got the part about working for a shrewd woman right. Only in his case it wasn't Jinneth Duvolle.

'Guilty as charged.' he replied and played the role of the boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Looking around and then back at her décolleté before he met her eyes again he cocked his head slightly and softened his voice. 'My corporation has not authorized me to make public statements, but …' he paused for effect and smiled suggestively. 'I would agree with continuing this conversation in a more ... private place.'

**

Adrain checked his wrist-neocom. He had enough time to do what he needed to and get away before the girl would wake up. The sedative he produced from his sweat-glands would easily keep her under for another hour or two. He had initially been skeptical of the biomods provided by Poteque, but he had to admit they were effective and had the additional advantage of not registering on the usual augmentation scanners.

Strategically he had ordered a bottle of “Sun Blood” a very potent local drink known for its aphrodisiac properties as well as its devastating hangovers. Of course they never drank all of it and he had poured half of the strong liquor down the toilet drain, but when the girl did wake up and find the empty bottle she would chalk up her groggy state and fuzzy memory to the beverage's aftereffects.

It was as Adrain had suspected. After going through her purse he linked up the girl's necom to his own portable device. He was soon able to break the encryption on her system and identify her as a member of Eifyr&Co corporate intelligence. Her clearance was low but enough to serve his purposes. Using his own neocom's data pattern extractor he transferred her security key onto his own identity profile and modify it accordingly to fit him.

Adrain did not want for her to return empty handed, that would be too suspicious and attract further attention, so he fed some data into her storage to make it appear as she had lifted interesting information from him. It was all fake material about his assumed identity and largely inconsequential internal information about Duvolle Laboratories which he retrieved from Federal Intelligence databanks. That should be enough for her to report a success to her superiors, maybe get a small pat on the back for a job well done. Case closed, no reason to pursue any further.

Adrain liked tying up loose ends.

Before this was over there would be many more for him to take care of.

**

Miranjee suppressed the urge to yawn. She was tired but her sense of duty prevented her from showing it. Despite her drowsiness she was dedicated to her task keeping watch at the sensor station during the late shift. The capsuleers of Awakened Industries had provided for them better than most pod-pilot commanders would. Never since she left her tribal homeland had she experienced such true dedication to a community. Now it came down to her and all the remaining personnel to rebuild as much as they can until the capsuleer contingent would return home from their dangerous mission. Reports indicated that it had been successful, but many ships had been lost together with their crews. Regrouping and finding a way back to Anoikis would take time.

When the directional scanner readout flared and the proximity alarm sounded, Miranjee came to full attention in an instant. She called up the scan analytics and her eyes widened. What appeared on the display was a full fleet of combat ships, and their transmission beacons marked them as …

Miranjee uttered a string of Matari curses just before the communications console lit up with a hailing signal. She got up from her chair at the surveillance station and looked out of the window into space. Ship after ship appeared out of warp beyond the starbase shield. Miranjee hit the receiver almost absent-mindedly as she looked at the red-splattered Amarr vessels which assembled into formation out there.

With the hailing frequency open, the communication system came to life and transmitted a cold voice accustomed to command. 'Members of Awakened Industries. This is Deacon Commander Dam-Tharel of the Blood Raider Covenant. We are here to make you an offer.'

Miranjee activated the station's battle alarm.

The Chain of Being - Part 3

Ffeifra was surprised how exhilarated she felt about the return of Hegomir Torstan to active duty.

A light bounce was in her step as she walked down the flight of stairs and the corridor which lead to the Savant's personal laboratory on the Eram University campus and she felt butterflies in her stomach. It wasn't any form of physical attraction she felt for the man. Having worked for Torstan as personal assistant over the course of six years, she was quite certain that she didn't have any feelings for him in that way. Neither had the exceptional engineer himself made any advances towards her, quite unlike the Eifyr&Co executive she had served before. A terrible, lecherous old man who would leer at her suggestively whenever he had her make arrangements for pleasure girls to visit him and other corporate dignitaries in their private quarters.

Hegomir Torstan could be arrogant, unsympathetic and rude, but he never touched her or even as much as looked at her ambiguously. He always behaved strictly professional and in his own special way he treated Ffeifra with respect. Still a bachelor, despite his age and fame, he had of course attracted rumours that his tastes lay elsewhere, but Ffeifra knew him better than to assume such things. She was quite sure that Torstan was largely incapable of intimacy and would rather spend his time with complex field equations or the design of a propulsion system than indulging in romantic pursuits. He would probably consider that a waste of his capacities, Ffeifra mused, and she had to smile as she reached the door to Savant Torstan's laboratory.

The Krusual woman was so preoccupied with how unexpectedly happy she was to have Torstan back and the opportunity to resume her work for him that she didn't even notice the missing security guard who should have been posted outside the lab. When the heavy blast door slid open she settled into the realization that, in a really subtle way which she could not even fully understand herself, she loved that ingenious but socially inept old man.

Then, as she took her first step into the laboratory, her internal reflections were shattered when she saw the security guard. He lay on the ground and the angle at which his neck was bent looked disturbingly unnatural. She wanted to put her satchel with the neocom and other equipment on the ground and check on the man, but before she could do so, something hit her just above the sacrum and a jolt went through her body. It did not hurt. In fact, her mind reeled at the sudden realisation that she did not feel a thing at all from her waist down and within moments her legs collapsed beneath her uselessly. While the door slid shut behind her, a quick sequence of further blows uncannily paralysed her upper body as well and she fell against the heavy barrier that shut the room from the outside.

At that moment Ffeifra cursed Hegomir Torstan for insisting that no surveillance should be installed in his private laboratory because he wanted to conduct his work without prying eyes.

***

'Say that again?!' Cedrien's voice sounded just as surprised as the expression on his face looked.

'You heard it right commander' the holographic projection of Sitalaerd confirmed. 'It's Blood Raiders, a whole fleet of them. They are floating in space outside our shields.'

'Are the Sleeper Drones still there?' Sitting across the table from Cedrien in the rented office they all occupied, Shisei looked on with a furrowed brow

'Yes, some of them.' Sitalaerd nodded 'The majority have dispersed but a few are circling around the Blood Raider ships doing nothing.' The projected image of the aged Gallente man flickered momentarily and his voice distorted. Clearly the Intaki Syndicate did not reserve the best fluid-routers for people just passing through to use anonymous short-stay uplinks.

Sylera stared blankly into the starscape of Poitot that was visible through the wall-size window. 'They will not attack unless fired upon.' Alira, who sat next to her, confirmed that with a nod. The bond both women had shared with the collective consciousness of those enigmatic machines was enough for Cedrien to trust their appraisal of the situation.

'Imud Sefrim' Keram cursed in Amarrian. 'Sani Sabik, the only people with a more fucked up religion than the Empire itself.'

'What is it that attracts all those religious fanatics to us?' Cedrien wondered with a sigh.

Whether it was intended as a rhetorical question or not, Sitalaerd answered. 'Commander, they want to negotiate with us about a material called Isogen-5. I have never heard of it sir.'

'I have.' Shisei said slowly. 'The scientists of Arek'Jalaan were very interested in it and are convinced that it had a central role in the Seyllin Incident.'

When the others around the table looked at him expectantly, he elaborated. 'A disaster which occurred before the first wormholes to Anoikis were discovered. The researchers of Arek'Jalaan are convinced that Isogen-5 was the source of a powerful shockwave which caused those tunnels in the space-time fabric. Furthermore ...'

Cedrien's raised hand interrupted him.

'You just mentioned Arek'Jalaan.' The Gallente capsuleer tilted his head. 'Sandrielle is on her way back to us from Eram where she dropped off Torstan.' he pressed his lips together. 'She's got to turn around and ask Torstan to get us in contact with those Arek'Jalaan people.'

Cedrien returned his attention to the projection of his trusted lieutenant. 'Sitaelaerd. Do what you can to stall them. Tell them we are bringing an expert on the subject to negotiate for mutual benefit.'

The old Gallente nodded in response.

'In the meantime all of us need to get to work and find ourselves a route in.' Cedrien addressed his assembled capsuleers. 'Vacation is over.'

***

The man who pulled up a chair and sat down across from Ffeifra wore the uniform of technical maintenance staff, but he clearly wasn't Matari. He looked more like a Gallente to her with his soft comely features and dark eyes. The expression on his face was strangely sad as he leaned forward and sighed before speaking.

'You will die here today' he stated with a voice that sounded surprisingly emphatic despite that ultimate declaration. 'You will, however, have a choice to save many lives, innocent lives, if you help me.'

Ffeifra, still unable to feel or move anything but her hands that he had bound behind her back, stared at him defiantly and said nothing. Still, his words shook her to the core with the quiet inevitability he conveyed.

'There is a reactor powering this laboratory as you probably know.' the man continued with his soft voice. Ffeifra wondered why his face looked vaguely familiar.

'Currently this reactor is approaching a critical condition which will cause a massive explosion.' he took something from a pocket of his utility jacket. 'Nobody can stop this from happening.' he continued. '… but you, you can influence when it happens.'

He held up the object from his pocket. It looked like a short tube with a single button on top . 'This trigger will cause an acceleration of the reaction which will result in the explosion happening within thirty seconds after you press the button.'

Ffeifra's eyes widened and her breathing accelerated. Quickly she tried to get a hold of herself. She did not want him to notice the fear that took hold of her.

'It is still very early and there are few people in this building, but soon a large group of schoolchildren will arrive to visit the university where the famous Hegomir Torstan works. If not triggered earlier, the explosion will occur when they are well inside the building.'

The man shook his head. 'But I don't want those children to die and I am sure you don't want that either. So if you help me I will give you this' He held up the device. '… and you can sacrifice yourself and a few others to save dozens of young people who have their whole lives ahead of them.' he into Ffeifra's eyes directly, imploringly even. 'Will you help me?'

'What do you want?' Ffeifra hissed at him through clenched teeth and strained to get some sort of control over her body to no avail.

'Hegomir Torstan's private residence is a well kept secret. I want you to tell me where it is … and the access codes to the place.' The man demanded.

Ffeifra felt the chill caused by the thought of her impending death creeping up her spine but it was soon followed by a wave of intense heat caused by intense hate against that Gallente with his false empathy and the cynical choice he offered her. If she was to die here today, maybe she could take that man with her. In the end she nodded. 'I will help you.' she said with grim determination.

He got up slowly, walked around Ffeifra and closed her fingers around the small tube, then he returned to his seat and looked at her again expectantly.

'Get fucked by a slaver dog' Ffeifra spat at him and pushed the button.

The man shook his head. 'It is not armed yet, of course. The location and the access code.' he paused and locked gaze again with Ffeifra. 'Please.' he added softly.

***

Adrain walked across the central plaza of Eram University campus. A group of anti-gravity passenger vehicles touched down at the far end of the large open expanse. Children poured out, attended by their teachers. The adults did their best to contain the overly enthusiastic gaggle of minors when the explosion occurred.

Adrain was thrown to the ground by the shockwave just as everyone else in the vicinity of the blast that tore up the lab complex. He got up and walked away calmly without looking back while the campus behind him erupted in a cacophony of alarms and panicked screaming.

He knew his destination and nodded to himself introspectively. 'Minmatar. They will always make a sacrifice for their people.'

24 - Metempsychosis

'How many have died?'

Keram shrugged, unsure, while appreciating the backside of the naked woman gazing out of the wide panorama window of the observation deck into the endless depths of space. 'Fifteen-hundred, maybe two-thousand.' He did not sound particularly affected by the idea of so many dead people.

'And on their side?' she asked.

'Probably about ten times as many.' the Amarrian replied. 'A good part of them died when you turned off life support on that Nyx before self-destructing.'

'Self-destructing.' she echoed with a bitter chuckle. 'As if there was anything left of me to destroy.' She did not turn to face Keram, and if she minded him staring at her nakedness then she showed no sign of it.

The former pirate shook his head. 'I got to say, turning off life support was one thing, but locking down the escape pods, that was just cold.'

Now the woman turned her head to look at him. 'Do you realize how many I saved by letting none of them live?' she said with an intensity that belied the low whisper of her voice.

She turned back to stare into the void.

'Well.' Keram said with mocking cheerfulness. 'You clearly cared enough to commit mass murder.' He drew his eyebrows together and continued more seriously. 'Actually, so did we, and we sacrificed a lot too. Don't forget that.'

'Forget.' she repeated introspectively, hugged herself and shivered. It was not a tremor caused by chill. In fact the interiour of the Tombship was rather hot and humid due to its aged and struggling climate control systems. The woman ran her hands along her body like she had to remind herself that it was actually there. 'I remember my name.' she said only slightly louder.

'Good.' Keram answered sarcastically. 'I wasn't sure whether the burn scanner was still working properly.'

The olive skinned woman turned around fully and now fixated his eyes with her own. 'My real name.' she breathed in a low voice. Keram found that he could not hold her gaze. Since he had known her, she had never been a person he felt at ease with, but now there was something decidedly unsettling in her eyes. He distracted himself by looking lower and following the swell of her breasts while she slowly approached.

'The Hive had erased me. The Ida nuns gave me a new name, but it was not mine. When they released me to go back to the stars they gave me another. It was also not mine. Year after year I have lived a life as another woman. Now that they wanted to destroy me again, I finally remembered who I once was.'

Due to her tall Gallente physique she ended up face-to-face with Amarrian man and the intensity of her presence forced him to look into her eyes. 'I will not ever forget anything again.' she finally added.

Keram pressed his lips together. With uncharacteristic seriousness, and suddenly not interested in her body at all anymore, he finally looked at her directly. 'Sandrielle, or whatever your real name is, you know I have suffered a lot too. We all have. It is a fucked up universe out there, and being immortal does not make us gods. If anything, it makes us even more fucked up.' he put his hands on her shoulders. There was nothing but sincere concern expressed by the gesture and his voice.

'Don't go crazy on us Sandrielle. We need you. You are one of us. We came for you because of that. Tenshin Noy and all the men and women in his fleet came for you because of who you are. It doesn't mean shit who did what and when to make you that person. That you are here today and talking to me, alive, that's all that matters. If you lose it then everyone who died in that battle gave their life for nothing.' he grasped her shoulders more forcefully and almost shook her. 'Do you hear me?'

'Tenshin Noy?' Sandrielle looked perplexed.

Before Keram could reply, a multicoloured flare outside illuminated the Amarrian's aquiline features and he looked over Sandrielle's shoulder. 'What in the name of the empress' tits?' he growled and let go of Sandrielle to approach the panorama window.

At the center of the crackling energy field a spindly ship with solar panel outriggers floated motionlessly. Seconds later, space erupted with ships. A whole fleet with the massive discus shape of a red-and-green patterned Nyx supercarrier at its centre suddenly floated right in front of the Tombship.

'Great!' Keram shouted and threw up his arms in defeat. 'So much for the secret hiding place of our clone store.'

***

'Sandrielle!' Tenshin Noy increased his pace to be the first to reach her after entering the expansive observation deck together with several of his commanders and the Awakened Industry capsuleers in tow. The Intaki was spurred on by the excitement of seeing the woman he had once loved back among the living. Upon reaching her, he immediately threw his arms around her now robed body and rested his cheek against hers with unrestrained affection.

The woman who had always displayed the most incredible self-control for as long as her wormhole-settler companions could remember, now appeared utterly surprised and incapable of any reaction. Then, tentatively, Sandrielle returned the hug. At last she wrapped her arms around him more tightly and kissed his face. 'Tenshin.' she breathed. 'It has been so long.' she ran her hand through his black hair and it looked like tears were clouding her eyes. 'I can not even say how that makes me feel now.' Overwhelmed by her own reaction she shook her head.

'Then say nothing.' Tenshin Noy replied with an affectionate smile and pulled her closer again. Tears rolled from his eyes, and against his shoulder Sandrielle spilled her own.

Cedrien remained at a respectful distance from the two former comrades, friends and lovers embracing each-other. Of all the Awakened Industries capsuleers he had known Sandrielle best. Yet he could not make sense of her reaction at that moment and wondered how she had changed. He looked at Keram with that unspoken question written on his face. The Amarrian leaned back in the chair he occupied at a seating area off to the side and shrugged helplessly. It looked like he would come up with something witty, but he never made it. Alira came at him faster than that and straddled him with her slender frame.

'It's good to feel you again.' she said with a saucy smile and a wink.

Keram displayed a crooked grin. '... said no Minmatar to an Amarrian ever.' he took the opening to finally deliver a snarky oneliner. The red-haired Sebiestor playfully slapped his face and then leaned down to plant a kiss on his lips.

At the rear of the group who had entered, Kassina Vikkonen smirked sourly. She switched to her native Caldari, addressing Shisei Kanioota who stood next to her and smiled beatifically at the emotional reunions. 'I reckon we can all be thankful for the passion of Gallente, Minmatar and Amarr people and the great adventures that has provided us.' The tall bounty-hunter frowned. 'As long as they don't forget to pay their debts to me.' she added.

Shisei's smile did not falter. 'Sarcasm? And I took you for such a strictly professional woman.' he paused. 'Sometimes achievement is its own reward.'

Kassina shook her head slowly. 'Spare me your Achura motivational quotes.' she sighed.

As Cedrien looked on, sadness cast a shadow over his features while he watched Sandrielle showing a side of herself that he had never seen and while Alira and Keram kissed wildly.

'She used to be very much in love with you.' a soft voice suddenly said next to him. He hadn't noticed Sylera appearing at his side. Bewildered he looked at the pale young Amarrian. 'I shared my mind with her. I felt the memory of it.' Sylera elaborated further and nodded in the direction of Alira and her Amarrian lover.

Cedrien nodded. 'I know.' he sighed heavily. 'But I couldn't. I am her commander.' He took a deep breath. 'And you might remember what happened to the last woman I loved.'

'You can not always live in the past commander.' Sylera said firmly. 'None of us can afford to do so. Actually, it was Sandrielle who made me realize that.'

Cedrien looked at the fine-featured Amarrian again, and she looked back up at him with those light gray eyes, smiling softly. Even affectionately, it seemed to him.

***

Darkness. Cold, damp metal against her skin. The skimpy dancing costume she had worn during the last moments she remembered hung in tatters from her. The depleted air stank of urine, faeces and the cloying, sweet odour of menstrual blood. She heard sobs and groans, pleas for mercy, names being called out, prayers and offers. A medley of female despair in all languages of the cluster. Slowly her fingers crept along the metal wall she must have been propped up against during her unconsciousness. She recoiled when she touched something that felt like hair.

For a split second the image of another young woman was illuminated by an impossibly bright light. It would have burnt itself into her retina, but before that could happen, she and everything around her had become vaporized.

***

With his chest thrust out in pride, the bridge adjutante approached the tall, straight backed figure wearing a long red coat trimmed with grey and white. He stopped at a respectful distance from the man viewing a tactical holograph of the fleet assembled at the newly spawned wormhole.

'Archdeacon-Commander. The Lord has accepted our sacrifice! Our scouts report that we have found the right place!'

'Finally our prayers were answered. Order the fleet to proceed and move up behind them.' The Archdeacon-Commander replied calmly.

OOC Entry 110 - Back on the Battlefield

After an extended holiday I am back on the battlefield, and I mean this in more than one way. On the one hand I have returned to the scenery of devastation that I left behind at the end of my last story, on the other hand I return after a round of rather turbulent things have happened in the world of CCP Games.

Of course, if you are reading this blog I am pretty sure you already know about the cancellation of World of Darkness and the further layoffs that were more recent.

I would love to say I am surprised, but I am not.

It is my personal experience both from military and professional experience that many endeavours that are thought up by higher ups often work out not because their idea was so incredibly good, but because they manage to motivate those who need to do the actual work. Sometimes those people are motivated themselves, sometimes they are even demotivated by their leaders but they still keep going because of personal conviction, professionalism, dedication to a cause or any number of other personal reasons.

If the decisions of the leaders are wrong, then it is often the lower ranks who have to suffer. In wars they die, get injured or have to endure a lot, and in business they can lose their job.

I myself have long become a very cynical person with absolutely no trust in any leadership whatsoever. This is also the main reason why I have never become part of any nullsec alliance in EVE. I simply have nothing but a sour smirk left for all those people leading their space empires. How could I become enthusiastic about something in a game world which I feel disillusioned about in real life already?

I also never felt any loyalty to CCP. They make the game which I liked to play, and they created the universe I like to write fiction about. Apart from that I could not care less about who they are and what they do. Personally I am sure they have a lot of dedicated people there (there are numerous testimonies confirming that too) and I am equally sure that their senior management are a bunch of people who consider themselves to be more important than they are.

Nothing new there as far as I am concerned.

That general attitude was what attracted me to life in Wormhole Space and more specifically it kept me there when our celebrity leader left us and the man who took over mainly lead on paper but he was just one of us. Sticking to my friends, my lovers, my family, my comrades and colleagues, that is something I can live for.

I do wish that all the continuing players of EVE get the development they hope for. I hope that Valkyrie and Legion will not be unrealistic pipe dreams that get scrapped before they can develop properly so more people can enjoy an immersive gaming experience in that universe.

I myself will stay in my little corner over here and continue to write stories. Right now it is a quiet corner because my fellow blogger is moonlighting on Evenews24 and Crossing Zebras and now it is him who is on holiday.

Of course I had my moments of inspiration while travelling around, and there is enough to pick up. What happened at the end when the Nyx changed hands? Did they win against the Hive? Have they managed to transfer Sandrielle into a new clone? What will happen with Awakened Industries anyway now?

That's what I am going to deal with in the next few days when I write my next chapter.

Until then.

TRS - Fitting Discussion: Shield Coercer

I like fits that are out-of-the-box designs, and while there are quite a few people who would shield-tank some Gallente ships, it is very uncommon to do the same with Amarr ships.

During research for a community feature piece, I went on a public roam with Redemption Road. There I saw an exception to the armor tanking rule for Amarr. Considering that we flew around in nullsec and fought people with considerably heavier ships, this destroyer fit performed surprisingly well in a fleet of just under 20 people:

[Coercer, Shield Tank]
Heat Sink II
Heat Sink II
Fourier Transform Tracking Program

Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Experimental 1MN Afterburner I

Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S

Small Ancillary Current Router I
Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Anti-Thermal Screen Reinforcer I

Let's look at the good things first.

This ship can reach a very nice 290 DPS and close to 600 volley damage. The Scorch crystals give the ship an optimal range of up to 18km at maximum skills. That range can be surpassed by long-range destroyers like artillery Thrashers or railgun Cormorants, but those ships will have significant disadvantages in tracking. A Thrasher with 280mm artillery will have less optimal as well. That makes the Coercer much better at actually applying its full damage.It comes close to the DPS of a blaster Catalyst but with much longer range.

If you switch to short-range Conflagration crystals, you can even outperform a Catalyst using Neutron Blasters loaded with Null ammunition. Except if it's a full-out gank fit.

Even at level 2 of the Destroyer skill, the tracking bonus of the ship together with the meta level Tracking Enhancer already compensates for the drawback from Scorch. Everything else is an extra bonus. With maximum skills the Pulse Lasers will not reach the tracking of a blaster Catalyst, but it will be better than any other alternative.

It has somewhat decent buffer and resists, and its signature is still very low for a shield-tanked ship. It can also perma-run the Afterburner and maintain a comfortable speed. Together that gives the ship average defensive abilities. There are more flimsy destroyer fits than this one.

Now, let's look at the negative things.

The most glaring problem is, that this ship does not have a point. If you want targets held down, you need to bring tacklers. An opposing FC who pays attention can just wipe the frigates off the field and escape without problems.

The second problematic thing is fitting. The available amount of CPU forces you to use a meta level Tracking Enhancer and Shield Extender. T2 lasers are practically a must, otherwise you wont be able to get the range and DPS out of the ship that makes it work well. Alltogether you will need pretty good fitting and weapon skills for that, so it's not suitable for the really new players.

Last but not least, this ship is not exactly fast. Positioning on the grid is best done by getting warp-ins from the tacklers which you need to have with you anyway.

For comparison, let's have a look at a more standard armor fit Coercer.

[Coercer, Wolfpack Coercer]
Damage Control II
400mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Tracking Enhancer II

Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I
Warp Disruptor II

Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S

Small Anti-Explosive Pump I
Small Energy Locus Coordinator I
Small Energy Locus Coordinator I

As expected, this ship has a much better tank. About 8500 EHP compared to the 6000 of the shield fit. It is also a lot faster of course, but that speed can only be maintained for short bursts. It has slightly better range and tracking, and it has it's own point.

The one thing where the shield fit excels is damage. With 120 less in DPS and 270 less volley damage, the armor version is not really impressive.

In Conclusion

Would I fly such a shield Coercer in my day-to-day fleets? Most likely not. It is, however a workable and creative fit that doesn't do too bad considering that it goes against common fitting philosophy. As a mid-range DPS platform it performs exceptionally well, and even more so as a short range damage dealer. With its good tracking and damage projection, it is an excellent fit for gatecamps and ganks while still maintaining an average level of survivability.

It is also a cheap ship, so losing one for the sake of flying an experimental gimmick fit is not such a bad tradeoff.

TRS - Fitting Discussion: Shield Logi Frigates

In my previous fitting discussion post, I said that I will feature shield logi frigates, and so here we are.

To begin with I have to admit that this is pure theorycrafting. I prefer to write about ships I have some experience with but I have never actually flown a shield logi frigate. I have flown shield logi (Scimitar mostly), but that was in a time before there were frigates available for that role.

I have, however, applied much of the same fitting logic I would apply to the armor versions. That is: Keep your signature low, keep your speed up, maximize buffer and keep your capacitor stable.

When it comes to shield fits, there are two challenges with those goals: Shield ships tend to have pretty high signatures and they tend to have lower hitpoint buffers when compared to armor. Those negative aspects are balanced out by two pretty nice advantages: Shield ships are generally faster and shield transfers become effective at the beginning of the cycle. The latter factor makes it easier to apply your repair cycles correctly.

When it comes to fitting a ship that I am not experienced with, I usually have a look at the EVE University Wiki to check whether they have some example fits there. Unfortunately their suggested shield logi frigate fits are not what I would call optimal. They have a higher signature and lower EHP than the fits I came up with. A rather bad combination, because the higher signature makes it easier to hit you for full damage.

I would still recommend to take a look at their Microwarpdrive fits. They may have their uses despite me being prejudiced against using an MWD for such a ship because of the signature bloom. If your fleet tactics involve crossing some distance and moving fast on the grid, MWD fits might be necessary.
The ship that clearly has the speed advantage is the Minmatar Burst:

[Burst, AB Logi]
Damage Control II
Capacitor Power Relay II
Capacitor Power Relay II

Medium Shield Extender II
1MN Afterburner II
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II

Small S95a Remote Shield Booster
Small S95a Remote Shield Booster
Small S95a Remote Shield Booster

Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I

With the Burst setup above you will have a lower buffer than any of the armor logi frigates, but you will be significantly faster. The ship is also easier to fit than any armor counterpart because of the lower powergrid needs of shield tank and shield transporters. With good skills you can fit a T2 Afterburner for some extra speed advantage.

Other than armor, there is no rig for shield that reduces the amount of capacitor you need for remote repair. That means you need to use Capacitor Control Circuits to achieve cap stability. Still, with the Burst you can get just as comfortably stable as with the armor repair frigates.

Another thing that sets the shield frigates apart from the armor versions is their better scan resolution. The Burst stands out the most in that respect. It gets noticeably faster locks, and it is important to lock fast if you are a logistics pilot.

So how does the Caldari version - the Bantam - compare to this?

[Bantam, AB Logi]
Damage Control II
Capacitor Power Relay II

1MN Afterburner II
Medium Shield Extender II
Cap Recharger II
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II

Small S95a Remote Shield Booster
Small S95a Remote Shield Booster
Small S95a Remote Shield Booster

Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I

Almost all Caldari ships are natural shield tankers and this one is no exception. Its hitpoint buffer comes close to that of the Inquisitor and its EHP is superiour to the Navitas. Interestingly enough, its buffer is lower than that of the Navitas and it's EHP are worse than the Inquisitor's because of lower resists. Quite nicely balanced.

This ship is just as easy to fit as the Burst. You have slightly lower powergrid but better CPU, but even if you run out of powergrid, you can still downgrade your Shield Extender or Afterburner to a meta 4 version.

The Bantam has the highest signature of all the logi frigates and it is slower than the Burst. That puts it at a disadvantage for avoiding incoming damage. It still manages to outrun any armor logi frigate easily. Do not forget to keep moving within range to the friendlies you want to support. As I wrote in my last post: Always make sure you stay away from the thick of the fighting and always keep your radial speed as high as you can.

Shield fleets tend to be less popular these days, but there are still quite a number of frigate doctrines which use shield fits and take advantage of their high damage and speed. With the Bantam being a very well-rounded ship, and the Burst being the quickest and fastest locking of all logi frigates, those ships are definitely a good addition to any frigate based fleet doctrine.

Too bad that the Bantam was built by the State Bureau for Ridiculous Ship Design.

P.S. As with the other logi frigates, bring a scout drone to get on killmails.

TRS - Fitting Discussion: Armor Logi Frigates

Logistic ships are an important backbone of more advanced fleet operations. In the past, there was exactly one T2 hull for each race available to fulfill that role.

Since Retribution we have T1 logistics cruisers and frigates available. That opens the way for pilots to grow into the role of "healers" without having to train up to a T2 ship at first.

For the new pilots who would like to train for that role, the logistics frigates are an ideal entry point. I will feature all four of them, but I will begin with the two armor logi frigates.

The Amarr Inquisitor is the one I have most practical experience with. A good standard fit for that ship looks like this:

[Inquisitor, Logi Standard]
400mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Pseudoelectron Containment Field I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II

Cap Recharger II
Experimental 1MN Afterburner I

Small 'Solace' Remote Armor Repairer
Small 'Solace' Remote Armor Repairer
Small 'Solace' Remote Armor Repairer

Small Remote Repair Augmentor I
Small Remote Repair Augmentor I
Small Remote Repair Augmentor I

The Inquisitor's drone bay has room for one small drone. Personally I would suggest using a Warrior II because it can be directed at targets quickly to get on killmails. Using a single repair drone or ECM drone is hardly effective.

This ship is quick to train for and easy to fit, but I would suggest training Amarr Frigate and Remote Armor Repair Systems to V as soon as possible. Both skills reduce the amount of capacitor needed by the RR modules. Being cap-stable is important for this ship, as I will explain.

To begin with, you want to be able to run your RR modules permanently if possible. You will also be in need of something to help you survive, because logi ships tend to get primaried often. Apart from a decent tank for a frigate, you will rely on a low signature and speed to avoid incoming damage. That makes the ability to permanently run your afterburner particularly important.

With your extended range for the RR modules, you can stay out of range from the main fight, and you should. Pay special attention to ships with stasis webifiers and energy neutralizers. Both can mean the end of your ship really quickly. Enemies with medium to long range are best dealt with by keeping your radial speed up to challenge the tracking of their guns.

Often fits for this ship will use an anti-explosive rig. Personally I consider the speed-tanking advantage of running your afterburner permanently a better asset in combat than the extra explosive resistance. So I prefer going for three Remote Repair Augmentors to stay comfortably cap-stable with everything running.

The Pseudoelectron Containment Field is chosen above the Internal Force Field array because of the price. If ISK is not an issue, and you are not worried to have a needlessly expensive frigate on your list of losses, by all means, go for the meta 4 version.

Of course you are not only there to avoid damage, but mainly to repair it.

The main challenge for the beginning logistics pilot will be to time their repairs properly. Because armor repair becomes effective only at the end of the cycle, you need to be proactive. Keep as many friendlies as possible on your watchlist and pre-locked. Start repairing once they take damage. Do not wait until they enter armor or your reps could be too late. Especially in frigate fleets one missed cycle can mean the the difference between exploding and surviving.

For those who do not have Amarr Frigate trained, the Navitas is an alternative.

This weird-looking fish-like ship has one less low slot but an extra mid. This means a less effective tank, but on the other hand you gain a bit more versatility. You can fit an ECCM in the extra mid to protect yourself against electronic warfare, or you could provide some EWAR support like in this example:

[Navitas, TD Logi]
400mm Reinforced Steel Plates II
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II

Experimental 1MN Afterburner I
Cap Recharger II
Balmer Series Tracking Disruptor I, Optimal Range Disruption Script

Small 'Solace' Remote Armor Repairer
Small 'Solace' Remote Armor Repairer
Small 'Solace' Remote Armor Repairer

Small Ancillary Current Router I
Small Remote Repair Augmentor I
Small Remote Repair Augmentor I

The main problem with the Navitas is it's powergrid. Even with maximum skills you will need a rig or an implant to fit propulsion, three reppers and a 400mm plate. Even with a Tungsten Plate you will have too little powergrid, so better use that rig and fit a T2 plate if you have enough CPU with your skills. Because you are forced to use a powergrid rig, you will have a much harder time to get this ship cap-stable. Only with maximum skills in Afterburner and Fuel Conservation in addition to others that's achievable.

Personally I find that the Navitas is a bit broken in that respect. With maximum skills this fit should be possible without a rig. It's only 0.75 that's missing!

In total you end up with more hitpoint buffer, but still a good 1000EHP less than the Inquisitor because of lower resists. The signature of the Navitas is slightly higher, but it is also faster than the Amarr ship. Together those factors balance each other out nicely.

Just like the Inquisitor, the Navitas has space for one drone. Again, I'd suggest a Warrior II.for the killmails.

This concludes the first part of logistics frigates discussion. The next time I will deal with the shield versions: The Burst and the Bantam.

OOC Entry 109 - Technomagic

One of the things that fascinates me most about technology is the strange realm where it almost begins to feel like magic. When it comes to EVE that feeling was always strongest for me in relation to the way capsuleers existed.

The skill system tells us of Infomorph Psychology. That's the thing you need to be familiar with to have multiple clones.

But what is that infomorph, and what sort of psychology applies to it? Like any good magic, such technology poses a lot of very intriguing questions, and I love those.

In my last chapter of the current story I make a bit of an attempt to explore that state of mind which makes a capsuleer something else than other humans. That consciousness which resides both in a brain but also in a computer. The part that can travel between machine and flesh in an instant and which is the actual immortal aspect of the capsuleer.

Such a mind can achieve great things when melded with a spaceship, but what else could it do immersed in an artificial system of complex machines?

Well, there is all that in the story but also some close combat in the corridors of a supercarrier and an escalating fleet fight still going on.

It's a bit of a longer read, but I hope you enjoy it.

I'm delivering this to you on the evening of my departure for two weeks of holidays. So next time I will actually have an excuse for taking longer to write something ;)

TRS - Fitting Discussion: Scram-Kite Kestrel

I had something bigger in development, but it's been a busy week of frigate combat and I have flown something I never sat in before: A Kestrel. Now, I have been active in EVE for more than five years, but I was never really a Caldari sort of guy. I guess everyone who starts as Caldari will get a Kestrel during the tutorials, but I never did. I did promise last time that I'd do something newbie friendly, and this was a new ship for me too, so here we are.

For my first Kestrel experience I got into a small gang of three with my alliance mates Zerkova Bluecrown and Julianus Soter. Credit for the fit goes to Zerkova Bluecrown.

[Kestrel, Small Gang Kestrel]
Damage Control II
Ballistic Control System II

Medium Subordinate Screen Stabilizer I
Experimental 1MN Afterburner I
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator

Rocket Launcher II,Mjolnir Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II,Mjolnir Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II,Mjolnir Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II,Mjolnir Rage Rocket

Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I

The whole package is pretty easy to train for and to fit. On my 25mill skillpoint character I still have some CPU and powergrid left over. If you have better skills you can opt for more T2 modules.

The first one to upgrade would be the warp scrambler. The more range you get there, the better. The reason for that lies with the tactic for flying this ship: This Kestrel is used in a way that people generally call scram-kiting. That means you keep at the edge of your warp scrambler range and shut down the opponent's microwarpdrive and slow them down further with the web.

With your opponent held down, you maintain a tight orbit at your best speed and let loose with rockets. It is a good idea to set your default orbit for that ship to 8000 if you don't want to be manually piloting all the time. The missile velocity bonus of the ship will allow you to out-range blaster fit frigates easily. You don't even need perfect missile and frigate skills to fight effectively inside your scram range. Even frigates fit with railguns or artillery will be forced to fight in their falloff range, and since you can easily maintain your top speed of around 1km/s, they will have trouble applying damage if they can't web you.

Obviously, this tactic works best against brawlers that rely on MWD to close range. Atrons and Merlins come to mind as ships that are often fitted like that.

You can even engage ships with heavier firepower. Despite the shield tank your signature remains rather low which also helps with avoiding damage. In it's virgin flight with me at the helm, this ship survived a fight against an MWD fit gank catalyst. (I was at 95% structure by the end of the fight, but I won). Ships you should be wary of are those which are very likely to use webs themselves. Caldari Navy Hookbills, for example, should be avoided on 1v1 fights. Energy neutralizers can be a problem too if you don't manage to get out of their range quickly enough, but at least you can keep shooting at them without capacitor.

The DPS on this ship looks low when compared to turret-based ships, but that can be misleading. After all, with your opponent scrammed and webbed, you will apply close to full damage all the time even while you orbit at full speed to avoid incoming fire. While an Incursus or Merlin will do more DPS on paper, they will graze or miss ever so often if there is any significant transversal or radial motion going on. Even in comparison to blaster frigates, a maximum DPS of ~130 and volley damage up to ~340 is still pretty respectable. Since the Kestrel has a damage bonus for all light missiles and rockets, you get the added bonus of selectable damage type. I have used Mjolnir Rockets here, but you should choose the ones that best exploit your opponent's weakness. Because missile damage relies a lot on signature, shield tanked ships are the best targets to engage. Hence the Mjolnir Rockets in this example: They exploit the weakness in EM resistance which shield tankers tend to have.

All together, this is a very solid fit and a fun ship to fly for new pilots and more experienced PVPers alike.

Fly deadly.

OOC Entry 108 - Carriers and Mercs

The Easter weekend is behind us, and I used the opportunity of some time off to work on the next story chapter. This time I directly referred to the "Rooks & Kings Manual of Advanced Triage Carrier Tactics" for the way how Rasenzoku are using their carriers.

Like I said, this chapter also features some shipboard combat for which I have been browsing through quite some Dust514 informational material. As always I am dedicated to keeping things as close to game-lore as possible. I've never played the game myself, so I needed to get familiar with the weapons and armour that is being used by the infantry elite of New Eden.

It turns out, that I am still unable to bring the battle to a conclusion in this chapter, so you can look forward to yet another chapter full of excitement and action.

I think after this story I will have had enough for some time of large battles ;)

At some time my poor protagonists should be able to enjoy a moment of peace, don't you think?

TRS - Fitting Discussion: Legion Black-Ops Logi

I'm on a bit of a roll here with the "elite PVP" stuff, so bear with me for a bit. Next time I'll do something for the newbies again.

Many people consider the Legion the red-headed stepchild of the T3 ships. It's not great at PVE when compared to the Tengu. It lacks the DPS potential of the Proteus and often people will favour Loki support rather than Legion.

But there is one specialization where the Legion really holds the field undisputed: Armor black-ops logistics.

Logistics with black-ops gangs is a difficult thing, and that's why it is rarely used. You could have logistics on the field already before you drop your black-ops gang, but more often than not, that wont be the case. So if you want logi support for your hotdrop, the only possibility you have is to commit a T3 ship with a covert ops subsystem. Outside of the Etana Alliance Tournament price ship, no other alternatives exist.

So when you fly an armor black-ops gang, there are really only two possibilities for logistic T3 ships: The Proteus and the Legion.

To be honest, I only mention the Proteus here because it technically offers the possibility of an armour repair subsystem. In reality, you should never use a Proteus as a remote repair platform. It will be inferiour to the Legion in every way when set up like that. EHP, speed, signature, capacitor ... you name it. The Legion will always beat the Proteus. If you are going to bring Proteus hulls to your black-ops gang, then fit them for DPS and tackle, never for logistics.

The Legion, however, does work perfectly in that role:

[Legion, BLOPS Logi]
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Thermic Membrane II
1600mm Reinforced Steel Plates II

Cap Recharger II
Cap Recharger II
Medium Capacitor Booster II, Navy Cap Booster 400
ECCM - Radar II
10MN Microwarpdrive II

Medium Remote Armor Repairer II
Medium Remote Armor Repairer II
Medium Remote Armor Repairer II
Medium Remote Armor Repairer II
Medium Remote Armor Repairer II
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II

Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Remote Repair Augmentor I

Legion Propulsion - Wake Limiter
Legion Offensive - Covert Reconfiguration
Legion Defensive - Adaptive Augmenter
Legion Electronics - Dissolution Sequencer
Legion Engineering - Capacitor Regeneration Matrix

I'll start with the subsystems. The Covert Reconfiguration is the obligatory thing here, otherwise your Legion wont be able to jump through a black-ops bridge. The Adaptive Augmenter is another one you just have to choose because it has the remote repair bonus. Unfortunately, it does not have the range bonus you would usually see on logistics ships, and that brings up the issue of propulsion.

Normally a logistics ship would be fitted with an afterburner to keep it's signature low, but this ship will be forced to close range quickly with targets it needs to repair. To get at least some reduction of the resulting signature bloom during that approach, the Wake Limiter is used.

The Dissolution Sequencer is an obvious choice to increase you sensor strength so you are less vulnerable to jamming. The Tactical Targeting Network can be a good alternative because it increases your scan resolution, resulting in faster locks and defense against Sensor Dampeners. Because both subsystems offer similar stats and the same slot layout, you can switch them in the hangar depending on what you are facing in terms of enemy EWAR.

Finally, the Capacitor Regeneration Matrix is a good choice because of it's namesake capacitor regeneration and the additional low slot.

While we are on the subject of capacitor. Obviously cap is essential for a logistics ship to offer some resistance against neuting and to keep remote repair modules running. A Capacitor Booster is therefore a good choice here. Even without the cap booster, this Legion has the potential to perma-run two reppers as long as the MWD is turned off. For as long as you have charges, you can run four of them and maintain cap stability. The fifth comes in when incoming damage becomes really heavy. Under such pressure, you could load an 800 booster charge for one cycle (you wont be able to fit more) and run all reppers cap stable for the 12 seconds cycle time. If you are not neuted, you can run all reppers long enough to coast through one recharge cycle of the cap booster.

When it comes to the charges, note that the Navy versions have less volume, so you'll be able to fit more into your cargohold, and when it comes to the 400 charges, you can fit three instead of 2 into your cap booster.

When using 400s, you will even be able to run three reppers together with your MWD. That can come in handy if you need to get transversal up (keeping in mind that your signature will increase) or if you need to reposition yourself quickly on the field while still repairing someone. A situation where you need to keep up with a fast ship that is under attack comes to mind.

The ECCM can be run permanently without any problems, together with the Dissolution Sequencer it will provide quite good defense against jamming. If ECM is not an issue, you could fit a target painter for killmail whoring instead.

You could also go for a tankier version with three Trimark Armour Pump rigs. On max skills you gain about 14K EHP, but you would lose the continued use of one remote armor repairer. Basically everything I said above about how many reppers you can have running cap stable will be minus one. It's a question of preference, but if you fight enemies with high-alpha doctrines, the extra buffer can be a life-saver when your ship is primaried.

Some people really like to pimp their T3 ships. I'm not a fan of it if it's not strictly necessary. You shouldn't have any significant problems fitting this ship, but you can knock yourself out with Faction and Deadspace stuff or T2 rigs to give it even more tank than the 104K (118K with three trimarks) EHP it can already have with max skills.

Everything considered, the Legion offers a viable option to have logistics support for armor hotdrops. I myself have flown that configuration to great effect during such operations. Also, it's a damn sexy looking ship.

TRS - Fitting Discussion: Armour Loki Part 2

On this second installment of my Armour Loki discussion I want to start out with a fit that is more of a backbone for a combat fleet rather than support.

Role: Artillery Gang

This doctrine saw wide use among such noteworthy PVP crews as Black Legion, Shadow Cartel and Snuffbox. It is used for nullsec and lowsec mid-size fleets with fast tackle and logistics support. It looks like this:

[Loki, Arty Armor]
1600mm Reinforced Steel Plates II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Armor Thermic Hardener II
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Damage Control II
Co-Processor II

J5 Prototype Warp Disruptor I
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range Script
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Experimental 10MN Afterburner I

650mm Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M

Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I

Loki Defensive - Adaptive Augmenter
Loki Electronics - Immobility Drivers
Loki Engineering - Power Core Multiplier
Loki Offensive - Turret Concurrence Registry
Loki Propulsion - Fuel Catalyst

Tactically, this ship works similarly to a Zealot AHAC in the way how it relies on low signature and heavy armour for defense. The major combat asset of this fit is it's high alpha strike capability at a respectable range. (Up to ~2100 at an optimal of 21km) The Turret Concurrence Registry subsystem helps maximizing that. It also provides a tracking and falloff bonus which are both very useful for artillery cannons. When taking falloff into account, you can achieve engagement ranges of almost 50km. You can even switch to Tremor T2 ammunition and turn this into something of a sniper ship with 78km optimal range, albeit with a significant damage tradeoff. You will lose a good 1000 volley damage.

With high damage ammunition, the optimal range of your artillery cannons is similar to your web range. A very useful trait when considering the horrible tracking of artillery. At closer ranges you should definitely switch to a tracking script for that TC, so always keep one in your cargo hold. Apart from that tracking drawback and lower DPS, the artillery Loki is superiour to the Zealot AHAC fit. It has a staggering advantage in volley damage, it's hitpoints are far above the Zealot too and it's even slightly faster thanks to the Fuel Catalyst.

Just like the other fits, this one is prone to run into CPU problems, but again, you can optimize your fit by using implants or faction modules. If you do so, you open up the possibility to fit heavier artillery like this: 

[Loki, Arty Armor Faction]
True Sansha Armor Kinetic Hardener
True Sansha Armor Thermic Hardener
True Sansha Armor Explosive Hardener
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Damage Control II
Gyrostabilizer II

Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range Script
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range Script
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Experimental 10MN Afterburner I

720mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP M
720mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP M
720mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP M
720mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP M
720mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP M
720mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP M

Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I

Loki Defensive - Adaptive Augmenter
Loki Electronics - Immobility Drivers
Loki Engineering - Power Core Multiplier
Loki Offensive - Turret Concurrence Registry
Loki Propulsion - Fuel Catalyst

Now you can get a pretty sick alpha strike in excess of 3900 and an optimal range of 28 with 36 falloff  added. Thanks to the better resists, you get virtually the same EHP as before even with downgrading the armor plate. Still, this fit needs a +2% powergrid implant to work. This fit also shows the alternative of completely leaving point and tackle to other fleet members and go for even better range or tracking. You keep the web, however, to slow down targets at close range.

The total package comes with a hefty pricetag, but when flown properly with good logi support and even command bonuses from links, a squadron or two of those Lokis will turn into a fighting force that can punch significantly above it's weight.

Special Forces

As the last part of this discussion I want to introduce two more specialized fits. Both are built around 100MN Afterburners instead of 10MN Microwarpdrives. That way you keep signature low during approach or escape and reach similar speeds thanks to the bonus of the Fuel Catalyst subsystem.

The 100MN AB has two major drawbacks when compared with the MWD: First, it's rate of acceleration is a lot slower, so you will need two or more cycles to reach full speed. Second, once you achieve top speed, stopping or even maneuvering is extremely hard. You will have the inertia (and align time) of a freight train while the propulsion is active. Then again, when fighting inside scram range, that 100MN AB can make the difference between being unable to leave before the enemy tacklers are down and being able to pull range because scramblers do not shut down your propulsion module.

The first 100MN AB setup is a variation of the previously discussed heavy tackler:

[Loki, 100mn Armor Webloki]
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Armor Kinetic Hardener II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
1600mm Reinforced Steel Plates II
Damage Control II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II

J5 Prototype Warp Disruptor I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Experimental 100MN Afterburner I

220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M

Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I

Loki Defensive - Adaptive Augmenter
Loki Electronics - Immobility Drivers
Loki Engineering - Power Core Multiplier
Loki Offensive - Projectile Scoping Array
Loki Propulsion - Fuel Catalyst

As with all other setups you can optimize here by using faction modules. By now I am sure you can fill in the blanks. As for the rest, this works just like the standard heavy tackler with the considerations for 100MN AB added.

Finally, there is the possibility to use a similar setup as tackler and hunter-killer for black ops gangs by using the Covert Reconfiguration subsystem:

[Loki, BLOPS Webloki]
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Armor Kinetic Hardener II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
1600mm Reinforced Steel Plates II
Damage Control II
Co-Processor II

Warp Disruptor II
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Experimental 100MN Afterburner I

220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
Covert Cynosural Field Generator I
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II

Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I

Loki Defensive - Adaptive Augmenter
Loki Electronics - Immobility Drivers
Loki Engineering - Power Core Multiplier
Loki Offensive - Covert Reconfiguration
Loki Propulsion - Fuel Catalyst

Because it lacks damage bonuses and a full rack of guns, this ship really is mainly a tackler. Yet again, some potential for optimization by means of faction modules exists here. One should go for better resists then. Because in it's role as hunter-killer this ship needs to move ahead of the Black-Ops gang and act as tempting bait for would-be attackers, so you need to be able to soak some damage while you light your cyno.


Wrapping up

So, this concludes my two part excursion into the realm of expensive "Elite PVP" fittings. If you are a new player, this can offer you an ambitious perspective for training. If you are more experienced, you might already be familiar with T3 gangs, but I hope I could still offer some insight. If you think of joining any of the small to medium gang PVP crews in the game, being able to fly something like this ship will make you a useful asset.

Of course, this was not an exhaustive discussion of Loki configurations. There are several more which are quite viable and widely flown, but this is one specific aspect I have personal experience with and which has been battle-tested. It remains a strong addition to T3 armor gangs or - in the case of the artillery fit - the main combat platform for roaming gangs.

That is until CCP Fozzie and Rise mess around with the T3 subsystems probably later this year. At that point I'll probably have to rewrite this whole thing.

Happy hunting!