Deeds Worthy of Song

My crew is small. A handful of good ole’ boys and girls and in a few short weeks we’ve managed to procure enough wealth for some nicely fitted frigates and cruisers. Those who have been in the underworld for a long time may be a little jaded and mock at the lower end ships we keep stored in our hangars but I’m in no rush. Patience is a virtue and I strive to be excellent in what I do. I don’t have to be the best, but I want to be respected among my peers. I suppose it’s that way with most of us, criminal or not.

Enough of my ramblings though. This log entry was meant to discuss today’s operation so on to business. We were flying in a Minmatar frigate class vessel known as a Rifter which my crew and I affectionately call Spidertail. We set up our base of operations in Eifer. A system just outside the reach of the mighty Concord, with a lot of traffic which occasionally draws the eager entrepreneur. I ordered the helm to set several coordinates from which to conduct our scans of the system and operations began immediately.

Things seemed relatively empty for a bit until our tactical officer reported picking up a stealth bomber on scan. The ship was a Manticore; a nasty little alpha strike vessel of Caldari ingenuity. We were beginning to narrow down her position when she disappeared. I ordered tactical to keep scanning. Meanwhile I pondered the situation. A bomber is best in a gang so she could be waiting to strike as part of a larger scale operation. But in this instance I had my doubts. The system’s public gate log (simply known as “local”) showed very few pilots in system and upon checking their profile none of them seemed associated with one another.

We picked her up on scan again and this time was able to narrow it down to a cluster of celestial objects. I ordered the helm to warp us to the general area so we can make a better scan and we managed to pinpoint the bomber’s location in one of the asteroid belts. I knew it was risky but I’m not one for overt caution so I order the warp in. We come out of warp and there she is!! Unfortunately 100km away. We’d never close the gap in time before the bomber’s cruise missiles ripped us to pieces so I ordered an immediate warp out. Then the Manticore disappeared from our scans. I was a little disheartened thinking we might have lost our chance for good but I chose to wait it out and see if the Manti captain was up for playing the game. It appears he was as the bomber reappeared on scan, narrowing it down I could see he wasn’t sticking in one place. Having pinpointed their location again the Spidertail warped to the new position trying to come in within a different km range but still no luck. Coming out of warp 70km from a bomber is not where you want to start when you're in a Rifter. I had no choice but to order a warp out.

This charade goes on for several more rounds in different locations all over the system. I could feel the anticipation of my crew and my own blood was beginning to boil. I wondered if it was the same for my opponent as there was know doubt that we were after them. Like pieces on a chess board we were simply jockeying for position to make the kill. We managed to get closer a few times but the Manti would simply cloak and we’d have no choice but to leave. They got a lock on us a few times but they never managed to strike a hit before we could get out.

The bomber captain’s only real mistake in all this was that he continued to play the game. Odds were that eventually, if done enough, the Spidertail would manage to come out of warp close enough to get a lock and disrupt their warp. And then it happened. After the bomber’s countless cloaking and uncloaking and all the warping and maneuvering we once again narrowed the bomber down to a belt. This time I ordered a 50km warp in range and we came out of warp within locking range. I think I screamed the order to lock target, fire the afterburners, and get a point on them. Perhaps the bomber captain was caught off guard because he wasted precious time. The Spidertail closed the gap and webbed them and began to fire all weapons before they even responded. Then the message came in from tactical, “Incoming!!” Within an instant explosions lit up the display as three cruise missiles hammered the ship. Our shields failed immediately with the last missile even penetrating our armor. I was informed that the armor integrity of the ship was holding at 78%. I shouted for them to keep firing as I could see the shields of the Manti were breaking. Sparks were flying on the bridge from the first salvo and as I began to take full stock of the situation I knew that there would be no retreat. Only would ship would leave this engagement entact. It was simply a race against the clock. At that moment the shields of the Manti broke. With the armor and structure of the ship being ripped to shreds by our barrage, the bomber exploded in a glorious inferno that seemed to rival a battle cruiser before she could even fire off a second salvo. I was informed later that the awesomeness of the explosion was possibly due to many of the cruise missiles detonating when the ship exploded.

The deed being done, I ordered the salvaging of the wreck. It was nothing great as I had hoped but somewhere in between 1 and 2 million. As for the bomber crew...They fought gallantly but I regret that their captain would not speak with me. We managed to capture his escape pod but he refused all attempts of communication. Perhaps it was stubbornness or perhaps pride. I’ll never know, but I count his death honorable and chose to preserve his corpse in our hangar. I can’t say that I feel sorry for him. He was a warrior, and he died a warrior’s death. My crew and I still drink to his memory to this day and on occasion we gather round after a long night of drinking and comradery and sign songs of the great Manticore hunt.

Concord records:

2008.03.02 22:12:00

Victim: *** ****
Alliance: NONE
Corp: ****** *******
Destroyed: Manticore
System: Eifer
Security: 0.4
Damage Taken: 1037

Involved parties:

Name: Izzy Lizzy (laid the final blow)
Security: -2.6
Alliance: NONE
Corp: Sebiestor tribe
Ship: Rifter
Weapon: 200mm AutoCannon II
Damage Done: 1037

Destroyed items:

Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I
Contaminated Nanite Compound, Qty: 2 (Cargo)
Standard Missile Launcher I (Cargo)
Wrath Cruise Missile, Qty: 60
Remote Sensor Dampener I
Targeting Range Dampening
Malfunctioning Shield Emitter (Cargo)
'Malkuth' Cruise Launcher I, Qty: 2
Medium Capacitor Battery I (Cargo)
Miner I (Cargo)

Dropped items:

Ballistic Control System I
Wrath Cruise Missile, Qty: 234 (Cargo)
Signal Amplifier II
Smashed Trigger Unit, Qty: 2 (Cargo)
Targeting Range
Alumel-Wired I Sensor Augmentation
Remote Sensor Dampener I
Targeting Range Dampening
Salvager I
Medium Shield Extender I (Cargo)
Prototype Cloaking Device I
'Malkuth' Cruise Launcher I
Angel Ship Log 523366291 (Cargo)

2008.03.02 22:16:00

Victim: *** ****
Alliance: NONE
Corp: ****** *******
Destroyed: Capsule
System: Eifer
Security: 0.4
Damage Taken: 326

Involved parties:

Name: Izzy Lizzy (laid the final blow)
Security: -3.6
Alliance: NONE
Corp: Sebiestor tribe
Ship: Rifter
Weapon: 200mm AutoCannon II
Damage Done: 326


Izzy Lizzy out – End Log