It was a slow night. Having pottered around and finished tieing up a few loose ends I headed back to Vittenyn Moon 13 Station with the intention of calling it a night.
Exiting the warp tunnel the station began to loom into view but something made me pause; I sat there with the docking ramp beckoning me home.
I had moved to Vittenyn a few months ago after finding my services needed by a Fed Navy contact I had in station there. I enjoyed the bustle and its busy atmosphere. It had only been a short hop from the quiet and sleepy next door system of Pucherie where I'd spent a lot of my time previously.
Swinging the ship around an impulse made me head for the system which had been home for so long. Appearing the other side of the gate I was met by the familiar sight which had welcomed me back many times before. Pangs of nostalgia swept through me.
'Let's have a look around' I thought.
The course was entered for the first asteroid belt. My Arazu swung seemlessly into its warp and, engaging my cloak, it disappeared into the dark.
Appearing 30k from the belt I stumble upon a Megathron mining away, his corpmate sat at the other side of the belt in his Hulk. A quick background check reveals the Mega pilot to be reasonably fresh from the academy; the exhumer pilot on the other hand has been around a fair old while, since years before my own creation.
What strikes me as interesting are the cargo containers floating aimlessly next to each ship, their nights industry seemed juicy for the taking.
Swinging the Arazu around and above the ships and rocks below me I strike up a conversation with my corporation. It is the Mega which inspires most interest...the waste of such a fearsome combat ship, we all felt, deserved a little retribution.
One of the younger miners, a good friend of mine already, wants a look see.
I sit and watch.
A few minutes later, his navitas, dwarfed by even the rocks, let alone the ships, in the belt, comes to a stop between the two. A second later he is gone, only to reappear alongside the imposing silouette of the Mega.
Within seconds the property so lovingly mined had changed hands. However, as we are all aware, ore theft is petty crime, and decidedly underwhelming.
As the navitas one again disappears into the dark his amusement is clear from his tone of voice.
I sit with the Mega in full view, a little over 30k away. With Concord already breathing down my neck I must abide them here. I am already considering my indignation at the cheek of the pilot for stealing our ore and the carefully worded letter of ignorance regarding any initial theft which I would be writing to Concord the next day to explain my assault on the Megathron.
At the same time, my thoughts are clouded by the repetition 'Uncloak, target, scramble, damp...'
By this time my the fuss has stirred the hornets nest. A Raven, Harbinger and Thorax belonging to my corporation flash up on my direction scan, the names familiar and the pilots good friends of mine. They are waiting a quick warp away.
The tension is deadly, my lethargy has expired and the thoughts 'Uncloak, target, scramble, damp' get my heart pumping.
A little while later the Mega pilot, seeemingly baffled, has stopped mining and is staring at our ore, perhaps in amazement. He stays here for a further fifteen minutes until, low and behold the daring navitas shoot back into view, this time at the barge's can. The Miner's drones flit around.
Again, with split second timing, the ore is relieved of its prior owner and the navitas had departed for the safe-haven of the nearby Moon 8 station.
Again I wait another agonising fifteen minutes, all the while becoming more and more disheartened at the unflinching and uninterested miners. I wonder if they are truly so reserved or whether they wear the mask well.
All of a sudden my spirits are renewed by the departure of the Hulk. Only to be dashed by his return in a Bestower. Was this going to be yet another helpless industrial to cause us no problems and die quietly?
My respect for the Miner is hightened when he manages to confer to his cargo hold a load of ore in the split second he departs the belt. Does he sense I'm here, I wonder?
Expecting a long fifteen minute wait until his return I idly strike up conversation with my corpmates.
Within seconds, though, the pilot returns to the can. The red flashing on my overview shakes me out of my stupor. Uncloak, target, scramble, damp. I begin to draw a lazy arc around the ship at my 30k distance.
'Warp to belt, Raven is primary'
Even I cannot believe my words. The miner has returned in his Raven to grab the rest. Checking his speed and direction I assess my own orbit, his behemoth wheels slowly around and begins move away but I am yet to engage my own propulsion at full. It is an easy catch.
Within seconds our Raven, Harbinger and Thorax appear from their warp. If the Raven pilot had thought he could tank his way to a stalemate he was sorely mistaken.
Seconds later the my guns are blaring, cutting lines inbetween my drones which are speeding their way towards the unfortunate ship. They mingle with the others already at the hapless ship. Our Raven and Harbinger begin pounding at the shields. Their fits, I know, are strongly in favour of damage output.
To our suprise the shields break quickly revealing below a soft armour which melts in two fell swoops.
The explosion is immensely gratifying though the modules we manage to retrieve are perplexing at best. Checking the logs we find a most unusual fitting, one which certainly would have dealt a swift blow to the navitas but little else.
All the while, the Mega pilot sits and watches. His can disappears before his eyes in a hail of antimatter.
Killboard Link
oregin