What could be a better end of a long day: a good read, a tasty beverage, and comfy pillows to snuggle into. There was a reason that I had been procrastinating my return to the Bleak Lands - the comforts of this my old place were seductive.
But I was also running out of things to do around here. There was only so much belt-skipping and Sansha-chasing I could stomach before I was getting antsy, and it was time that I headed out again. Except… just one more night in comfort, immersed into the adventures of the heroine, yes?
Of course it was not to be: I had just gotten back into the flow of the story, when a polite chime from my comm unit announced an incoming call. Only one person would dare to interrupt me at this time… with a sigh, I switched my pad into comm mode and took the call.
“Hey, Eta, what’s up?”
[ Hey Sis. Sorry to disturb you, but the General has brought out his dreads again, and we could use
some more sub-caps on the field. ]
some more sub-caps on the field. ]
I was tempted to decline, as I was rather tired, but it was Eta asking... I could always call it a night later on.
“I’ll be right there.”
Throwing the covers aside, I got up and grabbed some clothes for the short trip to the hangar, all the while wondering if I even had a ship left here capable for the job. Well, if not, I’d borrow one from the Flyers.
At the exit, I briefly looked back at my bed, the pad on it glowing temptingly.
Soon… soon.
----------
A few hours later my Apocalypse was welcomed back into the warm embraces of the station, settling into its customary spot in the hangar. As for myself, however, tiredness had given way to giddiness.
Part of it was caused by my disappointment with my Apoc’s performance. While I hadn’t expected miracles from this old Sleeper-oriented fit, which put survivability above everything else, I had expected better.
I hadn’t even tried shooting the two POSes themselves, seeing my abysmal damage projection; instead I had helped cleaning out the incapacitated Energy Neutralizing batteries left over from when the first POS fell. But even there my ponderous battleship was out-damaged three-to-one by a mere Brutix. Granted, with no opposition in the system, the Brutix didn’t have to worry about surviving and could bring the full might of its tech-2 blasters to bear, but still…
I initiated the pod disembarkment protocol, but I wasn’t quite ready to call it a night - I needed to do something uplifting first!
Hmm… I still had a suspect timer, how about …
Minutes later I powered up my Executioner and undocked from the station. Let’s see if we can maybe scare some hapless miners. Not that I could do anything to them, this being hi-sec, but I figured, I could get a chuckle out of it.
A quick warp, and the warp bubble expelled me at the top belt in the system. Nobody there but a few Sansha frigates. I turned my ship and headed to the next belt down.
Well, lookee there - a Retriever, with a handful of Hobgoblins out, surrounded by Sansha wrecks. Zooming in with the camera drones I saw the shimmer of a shield hardener - but the strip miners were silent. And no reaction to my rapid approach either. This pilot was either a very cool-headed customer, or asleep.
Well, if you ignore me, I’m going to bump you! Not that my Executioner had enough mass to make much of an impact, but it was the thought that counted.
A few commands, and seconds later a stress warning registered in my systems, as the shield generator strained to compensate for the impact. I didn’t even check back on the Retriever - I just threw my ship back into warp to the next belt, giggling like a little kid.
The warp bubble collapsed, and I found my self a little over 20 klicks off a Venture, its lasers and mining drones making short work of a Kernite asteroid. And suddenly I was tempted. While my Executioner was not much more than tinfoil, so was the Venture, and this was only a 0.5-sec system… hmm… he did have a shield hardener, though.
I fired up my engines and pulled up the info record for the pilot. Licensed about five months ago, so not exactly a rookie - but still using a Venture. And no combat recognition.
When I focused back onto the mining frigate, the decision was made for me: the mining drones returned into their bay, the mining lasers fell silent, and a sudden bright glow from the Venture’s engines heralded its departure.
Korvan Shadie > I’m not risking it.
Druur Monakh > :D
Mission accomplished!
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