(I'm a little embarassed to post this but I think it needs some documentation. I went for my first ransom last night.)
Through the jumpgate to a sparsely populated low-sec system I went. Up went the scanner and there sat my prey. My scanner work was nigh-flawless. I narrowed the Retriever down to his planet and low and behold the planet had only one belt. I snickered, pleased with myself as I warped in. I knew the Fat Man was a slow one and, as soon as I spotted her, I winced at the sluggish pace by which I approached the mining barge.
'Too slow, mate,' I thought to myself.
As I crept in she didn't seem to notice me. In range. Target. Scramblers up, just like I'd learned. Open fire.
She reacted immediately, though did very little, perhaps bringing her mining drones home. I smiled, relaxing a bit as her shields drained. I hailed the ship, ready to give my ransom speech. I figured I could make an easy couple mill off this lout, sure of myself as the shields went down and down. Then something happend; her pilot rejected my hail and out came the drones. The drones tore into my Fat Man like a scalpel, shields dropping quick. Luckily the miner was nearly at hull and I wasn't backing down. If I hadn't been submerged into the cool gel of my pod I would have been sweating bullets as my eyes darted back and forth from my readouts to hers. So close. One more rocket. So close...and pop I went. I was so sure that I'd had the bugger I sat there for a moment, staring at my pod, waiting for her to go up in flames. Such was not the case so, coming back to my senses, I warped out to the nearest planet I could find.
Victim: Hekaton Keirez
'That was close.' Finally the pilot spoke up.
'Aye, very. Congrats to you.'
I sat in that awful pod for fifteen minutes, cursing myself and 'beginners luck'. At the very least I scared the lout because as soon as my boss warped in he left. My wallet fattened up a bit with my instant insurance payment and I was pleased to find most of effects unscathed by the explosion. To soften the blow to my pride the corp had a few frigates hanging about for me to pick up at no cost so, being well-insured, I actually came out ahead.
Feeling less dejected I picked up my Velator and headed for safer space when this message popped up:
'Strange - did you use that passive targeter?'
'Why?'
'Because I got the targeting alert...'
One more time, I cursed my own stupidity. But who knows, maybe getting the jump on him wouldn't have changed things...maybe it would have. Mistakes will be made the black sea is always full of prey.
Cleared for publication by: Ander