Having recently killed a cruiser and a mining barge I'm skulking around the belts looking for someone to ransom. I keep looking, about to give up hope when I see a Brutix jet-can mining.
I quickly bookmark his can, and “show info†to see what I'm up against. As I'm doing so the drake is aligning to warp out so I don't scare him off.
I sit at a nearby planet looking over the info I've just collected. He's about 3 and a half months old, in a Brutix and in a corp. I'm tempted.
I jump back in to the bookmark right on top of his can, and jettison one of my own at the same time looking at his ship very carefully. It seems to be mostly mining lasers. Woooohoooo! Now I'm * really * tempted..... but I'm only 2 and a half weeks old.
Still, with a bit of previous experience under my belt I think I can just about manage. I flip the can and get into an optimal position. Nothing yet... wakey wakey... I lock him to get his attention – which it does!
I see him locking me and smile at the impending shot about to strike my shields, which it does a few seconds later. He's already locked, so I engage the scrammer and the nos along with the 7 light missile slots. His shield creeps down * very * slowly which is a little of a concern. Then, he launches 5 hammerhead drones. Damn.. I hadn't counted on that – or the fact he had a webber.
Not to worry, with a shield booster (albeit civilian) and an armour repper I know I should be ok. So I can't move, he can't warp. His drones peck at my shields, my missiles repeatedly slam into his ship and I start to wonder “have I taken on too much?â€.
I decide to rattle his cage and start a convo “3 Million now and you can goâ€. A brief discussion ensues regarding the ore I've stolen and concord.
I look at my cap and a smile breaks from ear to ear.. it's hardly touched, the nos topping it up nicely. I switch on the shield booster and sit back whilst his vanishes. Worried about backup, I align ready to warp out.
At 50% armour I tell him again “3 million – your time is running out quicklyâ€. My shield is at about 35% - but I know this is the zone when they recharge the most quickly. I sit back and continue to enjoy the fireworks.
The light missiles make slow going of the rest of his armour, and I reload half, then the other half to keep a constant battering. He's now into about 60% structure as I scream at him “3 MILLION – RIGHT NOW!!â€. He offers 1 mil. I reject and continue to fire as my shield fails. I don't even worry at this point, switching on the repper and knowing he's too far gone to do anything.
Threats fly my way as his structure beings to burn. A promise to hunt me down, to which I reply “bring something bigger next time :p†only enraging him further. His last words before he pops “ok, destroy me thenâ€.
I warp away, the ransom failed but the Brutix now nothing more than debris. Happy, relived that I'd pulled it off and shaking with adrenaline. I wait a few moments before I can jump, but remember I've left the ore. I return, load what I can into the cargo. Locking onto the can I fire a salvo of missiles, it explodes instantly. Once more, I leave the crime scene.
I paste the kill mail into the killboard wondering what the value of the ship and fittings were. I'm stunned to find that the ship itself is 22mil. A single fitting, an advance damage control of some sort was worth 13 mil alone. The total loss is a whopping 44.8 mil – my best ever.
The stubbornness to part with a measly 3 million cost this guy his ship, his equipment, his pride and his wallet. If he'd of paid up, he'd have walked away 41.8 million better off with only a dented ego.
The moral of the story? Don't fight unless you can win – and if you can't – pay up and live!
Cleared for publication by: Ander
Stubbornness gets you killed, cash gets you free!
15 Comments
So got him in a drake, using standard missiles, packing civilian shield booster AND an armor tank?
I'm not sure should i cheer or cry...
Props for the kill but ffs browse the forums a bit and get that drake properly fitted... this way, you should consider yourself VERY lucky you're still alive...
oh, and welcome to the dark side
you should not be flying a drake with those pathetic fittings you are lucky indeed try fitting it properly and then see how it operates.
drake fitting(high 7 heavys (med 2 large shield extenders)2 active hardeners multi spec 2 shield rechargers)lows 2 power diagnostic 2 power relays ) rigs 3 field purgers. thats 1 fit have fun.
And you can tackle with that fit exactly how ?
Get the skills, learn the setups, and do it in a frig, you'd be surprised at how much a Merlin can tank, and how rewarding it is to kill bc's in it. :)
on the set up its a wicked tank off the forum you sound like a right pratt but there you go theres always one.
soz all mistake on set up mid slot 2xinvulnerbility field 1x shield recharger 3x large shield extenders. rigs 3x core defence field purgers.
waste of a brutix
Same thing, what's to stop him from warping off ?
a real drake setup :7 heavy launchers, 2large shield extenders, 3 active hardners, 1 scram, 4 shield power relays, 3 core defence field purgers
Wow... I hadn't even realised this had been published, I wrote it months and months ago. Thanks for the congrats on the kill everyone that did.
I *KNOW* it was an utterly crap fitting, as I said I was only 2 weeks old.
I wouldn't have got into the fight if I didn't think I could win. I examined it *very* carefully first. Luck, no. Judgement, yes!
Drake is now fitted wonderfully, and tanks insanely.
Being forwarned, forearmed and prepared allowed a 2 week old char to take down a 3 month one - despite fittings. Intel goes a long way :)
tbh mate, that's the pathetic setup. you kill bugger all although the tank is huge.
Heavy assault missile launchers, w/e you want in meds and 2 BCU and 2 SPR. w/e rigs you want. THAT will kill alot :)
Thanks everyone for your replies, some congrats, some cringes LOL.
As I said, I knew how to fit a Drake, I just couldn't actually fit it at the time.
The Drake is still happily going, and I've gone into more detail on my blog about this story.. Link here: http://caldaripiratess.wordpress.com/2008/02/23/smack-that/
Hopefully I'll be posting again on Eve-Pirate... If I can remember my password :p
Look at how my penis enlarges when I impress everyone by posting a vanilla Drake setup, proving to be omniscient.
To the op, good job, but your days are numbered because you fly a BC at 2 weeks, not even knowing how to fit it. It´s an attitude thing.
In all likelyhood, I wouldn't have paid the ransom either. Ignoring the principle of denying a pirate the filthy lucre, not many pirates IME honor their ransom demands. They just want to have money AND the pew pew.
Pirates who actually honor the ransom are a rare breed. I salute you if you do, and think pirates should turn on their own who don't. :P
He probably wouldn't pay up because most pirates will take the money and still kill you.