OOC: Thirty-One

A long December and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last,
I can't remember the last thing that you said as you were leavin'
Now the days go by so fast
And it's one more day up in the canyons
And it's one more night in Hollywood
If you think that I could be forgiven...I wish you would
Counting Crows - A Long December

I'm thanking you, the reader.

This has been a fun month and a fun year for me. I've managed to accomplish my goal, Thirty-one posts in thirty-one days. If I didn't know there were folks out there reading and enjoying what I had to say, I know I couldn't've gotten through this. I want to thank you.

That said, I'll probably be going back to my two or three a week schedule in the new year. Hopefully the quality won't drag quite as much as it has in the last few posts.

I apologize, as I picked up a bug around Christmas that just decided to stick around for a while. Looking back at some of my latest posts is a bit disappointing, but I assure you the quality will improve.

Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year!

Hold On, Lets Not Be Hasty.

A drowning sorrow floods the deepest grief,
How long now?
Until the weather change condemns belief,
How long now?
When the night watchman lets in the thief.
Whats wrong now?
The Skids - The Saints Are Coming

Thukker Mix obviously knew what they were doing. The Cheetah is such a nice sleek ship, one almost couldn't imagine the death and destruction that ship has been able to cause in my hands. As it slipped out into the cold again my ship entered warp.

The bubble collapsed and I reoriented to warp to the Todifraun gate. As I entered warp I engaged my covert ops cloak. Space around me shimmered for a moment before the ship disappeared.

I requested clearance to jump through as I arrived, and my cloak never dropped. When I arrived in Todifraun I warped to planet six. The cloak reengaged immediately. I arrived and reoriented myself, hitting full speed before decloaking, hitting my afterburner, dropping a Ladar Quest Probe, and recloaking in one swift motion.

One hundred and thirty seconds later, I had a hit on the Hurricane. I warped to thirty and was surprised to find him in an open mission. He was literally five kilometers away from me. I called my support to warp to me and they did. He was pointed and after running a ship scan to determine he wasn't worth a ransom, he was killed in short order.

I warped back to the gate, then jumped into Evati. I docked at Kaalikota and smiled as I hopped out of my pod.

Good Day.

Lead Your Shots

I want to glide down over Mulholland

I want to write her name in the sky
I'm gonna freefall out into nothing
Gonna leave this world for a while
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Freefalling

So tonight I had quite an adventure trying to track a friend down and do someone a favor. Lets cover how it all began.

First I decided to head out to Vitrauze to sell off my belongings there. The ten million I made will be of much use to me elsewhere. After docking I went to check out a bar in the Federal Navy Academy. There was a particular waitress, who of course wasn't there tonight, who I'd been wanting to see again. She found me.

A ragged shell of a girl came up to me in that dingy bar and asked me if I could track someone down. She looked so helpless that I found it hard to refuse. I got her cleaned up, fed, and welcomed her aboard my ship. It was a mistake and wasted my time, but I'd do it again.

The person I was looking for was actually a friend of mine. She operated out of Evati just the same as I did, but was on a holiday. I had to find her.

Her last communication was from Dead End, and I figured that'd be a good place to start. Upon arriving there I found no trace of her, and moved back towards Vitrauze. As I did, a bit of intel came filtering in. A place out in null-sec called C9N-GC. I've barely ever ventured into null-sec, but I was determined not to dissapoint the girl that was surely pacing my ship at that very moment. Until a few jumps in, it was a fairly uneventful passage. Then instead of dropping out of warp at the gate, I was fifteen clicks away. I kicked on my microwarp drive and was jumping out as a single volley smashed into my shields. The ship barely rocked.

I passed by some Smuggler Gates along the way. They're of interesting design.

The remainder of the trip was completly uneventful until I arrived in C9N-GC. The system was completely deserted, and I keyed up a bit more info. In fifty jumps it had taken me to arrive she'd moved back to Evati. I cursed but discovered the wreck of a titan in system. I visited it.




In AZN-DZ, which was an unavoidable obstacle on my trip home, I noted a larger number of kills and pilots on the galaxy traffic maps. When I warped in, I discovered a huge camp on the gate I needed to travel through. I cloaked up and waited. Shortly the fleet moved, and I passed through. It was a simple waiting game. The path was clear for the rest of my trip back to Evati until the final piece of null-sec.

As I came out of warp on the Paala gate in LXQZ-T, I was almost seventy kilometers from the gate. I kicked on the microwarp drive and burned hard for the gate. A Manticore and Crow locked me and managed to place a warp disruptor on me. From what I understand these folks are more used to people cloaking when they run into trouble, and were probably better prepared for that instance. I was burning over thirty-five hundred meters a second towards the gate and actually jumped out just as their first volley passed through where my ship would've been and smacked off the gate. They were likely angry as my lowly rifter ran their gamut.

The trip back to Evati was alot more subdued and finally I was docked. I told the girl to go on her way, that she could find my friend in that station any time now. She thanked me and walked away.

A hundred and twenty jumps to end up back where I started.

Good day.

Diplomacy At The End Of An Autocannon

Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.

Lloyd Bentsen - Bentsen/Quayle Vice Presidential Debate

Why smack talk at all? Is there a good result that comes from it? I've seen Mynxee put it to deadly effect in ways I normally wouldn't think about. If used effectively you can get folks to engage who might not have done so before. That is generally it's only use.

The problem is when people smack to vent anger and frustration. You're at your least witty when angry. Friends don't let friends smack angry. Once you do that, people know you're riled, and you're alot less effective at it. It's just a means to an end.

You've gotta have some wit about you, a bit of class, and for god's sake, spell correctly.

Lets examine the various types of smacktalk.

The most common of all leads off: Cursing. Anyone who can type can string together a line of expletives. It doesn't help you, if anything it indicates you are indeed pissed off. Don't do this. Once they know you're mad you've lost.

After that? Self Promotion. Lets be honest, plenty of people go around talking about how great they are. If you can't back it up this is a waste of time. It don't help much if you do it docked either.

Who cares about how many kills you have? It's not a big deal. Skill points? Nope. This is the basis for alot of the smack I see, and yet again, no one cares. Stats don't matter a tiny bit.

Challenging someone as a coward can be the most effective type of smack. Stay off yourself and start asking questions. Be nice about it. Invite them to show their strength, courage, intellect, whatever. But be nice about it. There's nothing more annoying and sincere sounding than a bit of passive aggressive kind smack.

Oh, and I know I mentioned this before but... for god's sake, spell correctly.

Good day.

The Measure: Prelude - Part Three

I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
On holiday
Green Day - Holiday

Eight Years Ago:

"Hallan, why?" The headmaster looked into Hallan's eyes as he spoke, but Hallan looked at the ground.

"I won, and that wasn't good enough for him," Hallan fidgeted in his seat.

"This is the Navy, not some schoolyard, you can't hit your teachers,"

"I apologize sir,"

"That really isn't good enough,"

"I understand sir,"

"I'm putting this incident in your file and there will be a hearing," The headmaster put his hand on the folder sitting in the middle of his desk, "Hallan, would you like to avoid a hearing?"

"Yes sir,"

"Hallan, you're pretty bright. When we did physical tests for entry, we came across a particularly odd result,"

"Sir?"

"We've put up with a lot from you for a reason. You can be a capusleer,"

"What does that mean?" Hallan leaned forward, interested.

"It means you resign from the Academy. We're contracting the work for pilots such as yourself out to some private corps better suited to handle it. Once you graduate their course, you'll automatically graduate from the Academy,"

"A pod pilot training corp?"

"Good Arms Incorporated. One of the best,"

"When do I leave?"

"Now,"

Stink. Stank. Stunk.

It's coming on Christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
I wish I had a river
I could skate away on.
Joni Mitchell - River

Celebration Day.

The only thing we know about it is that it originated with the Amarr. Every year since their history was first recorded the Amarr spend one day in celebration of family and the prophet. It's rumored that the origins of the day reach back to the Eve gate. The day has become one of feasting and charity.

The tradition used to include seating the slaves at the same table as their masters, but since the Minmatar rebellion, slaves are only given a day of rest and a full meal. The tradition of gift giving that has taken root in other cultures has slowly trickled back to the race that originated the holiday. While not an official part of the holiday, some Amarr have taken to giving gifts to their family members in celebration of family. Almost all practicing Amarr spend half of their day in Church for Celebration and listen to the traditional sermon. The religion has spread to other races through the Minmatar who were able to have some real freedom for a day.

The Amarr spread the holiday through their conquest to many different races, the greatest of which were the Minmatar. The Minmatar Republic celebrates the day a bit differently than their former masters, usually with entire communities coming together for a day. The only tradition for the day among the Minmatar is the complete lack of bread. Given how scant the concept of a "full meal" was to some Amarrian masters, the Minmatar at times were provided with just a loaf of bread each.

The Minmatar began the concept of gift giving that has taken full hold of the Caldari and Gallente. They usually gave just homemade gifts, sometimes a valuable item they'd been able to hide from their masters. The gifts are never extravagant. The Gallente and the Caldari have managed to take the gift giving to another level, and the original meaning of the holiday has become somewhat obscured as the other races adapted it. Next to the Amarr empire, the largest non-Republic Minmatar population live in the Gallente Federation.

The Minmatar don't just comprise a huge segment of the population of the Gallente Federation, they are a political and cultural force to be reckoned with. The Gallente quickly moved to adopt Celebration Day, and the day has become one of gift giving and feasting. The Quafe corporation has even taken up official sponsorship of the holiday. A few of the same holo-vids make their way on the airwaves every year, and the Gallente Federation holds numerous parades to celebrate the day. The Caldari, and Ishukone Corporation in particular, found the consumerism inherent in the Federation holiday to be particularly profitable.

The Ishukone corporation has always been the most pro-Gallente of the Caldari Megacorps, and it's transplant from Gallente culture of Celebration day is among it's most profitable concepts. The gift giving of the holiday has been elevated to almost religious significance to the Caldari and those who do not receive a gift in Caldari culture consider it to be a slight.

Celebration Day has transcended, in a short time, the barriers of language and nationality to be a true galaxy wide holiday. The Amarr take pride in the fact that their holiday is celebrated in the farthest reaches of space, and take it as gods will that it has conquered where they have yet failed to tread.

Regardless of it's source, regardless of the why's, today we celebrate with our friends and family. Go out and have fun.

Good Day.

Do You Believe In Magic? #1

We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fightin' till the end
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions of the world
Queen - We Are The Champions

I got myself a singing ransom from a punisher. Enjoy.

Karaoke Corner #2: The Bastards Christmas Special

What can I say, when the muse hits, it hits.

To the tune of "The Most Wonderful Day Of The Year,":

We're from the system of Bastard Boys,
Here we aren't gonna stay.
We're gonna roam up and down the pipe
Please get in our way.

A missioner's joys mean some expensive toys,
For the Hellcat girls and for the Bastard boys.
The Bastard boys are here.
We are looking for some care bear tears!

Some bait in a belt gets the Bastards to shout,
"Undock, don't you know that it's time to come out?"
The Bastard boys are here.
We are looking for some care bear tears!

Corpse and gore.
Scattered on the floor
There's no room for more
Blame it on Hellcats and Bastard boys.

A gatecamp for me and some probing for you,
Mynxee and Shae found a few Drakes ratting too.
The Bastard boys are here.
We are looking for some care bear tears!

Would you like to go and visit Life in Low Sec?
Or maybe go check out Flashfresh - A pirate.
Maybe you've seen Jedziah's blog?
They're all Bastards!

How would you like to go see Sweet Little Bad Girl's cool art?
Or A Merry Life and a Short One?
Try out Eve Newb, A Blog About A Pirate And His Loyal Pony.
They're all Bastards!

If you're in a system with some pirate joys,
Don't miss all the fun with the girls and us boys.
The Bastard boys are here.
We are looking for some care bear, looking for some care bear, looking for some care bear tears!

I Found my Place in Nowhere

My eyes feel like they're gonna bleed
Dried up and bulging out my skull
My mouth is dry
My face is numb
Fucked up and spun out in my room
On my own... here we go.
Green Day - Brain Stew/Jaded

Neapolis Antioch > you know we don't have to play like this
Mynxee > i never get to play
Shae Tiann > not as much fun without the foreplay, though, is it?
Neapolis Antioch > Oh I love forplay
Neapolis Antioch > I just don't like finishing to fast
Hallan Turrek > We'll help ya reach the final climax. Promise.
Shae Tiann > depends on how good the climax is
Hallan Turrek > Lets make this a group job.
Neapolis Antioch > lol
Hallan Turrek > I'll get behind you.
Kerblamo > Dibs on first shot
Hallan Turrek > They'll get in front.
Neapolis Antioch > wow, well you guys have a great night
Mynxee > lol
Hallan Turrek > Then we'll just pound you with everything we have.
Hallan Turrek > It'll be awesome.
Hallan Turrek > You'll think you're ok, then I come from behind you and yell surprise.
Hallan Turrek > It's not a gank if you yell surprise.
VB Sarge > i prefer it if i dont' even know their name

We aren't quite right here in the Bastards, but that's pretty much how we like it. We get a few hangers on sometimes, we get a few fans even, but mostly we just get idiots. One particular fellah's been throwing expensive rigged ships at us for over a month now. He's entertaining to say the least, taking out a Thrasher or a Rupture, or a Republic Fleet Firetail is always a good thing after all. I got to help out with a bit of that, but mostly he just kept throwing stuff at us until he ran out. He promised to get more and be back. I sure as hell hope so.

I ran into Colonel Wieler at the station today. I was a bit intrigued to see him in Evati but apparently he's set up shop and brought down a few ships. He's even had the good sense to purchase a Bastard Pass. What that means is that I can fleet up with him and not have to worry about any of my corpmates killing him. That's always a positive when you're planning to work with someone. After a bit of discussion about any loyalties I might still have with the Caldari Navy, I offered to help him fully secure a few bases in Evati. I passed Jedziah on the way to my hangar and persuaded her to load up a ship of her own and get flying.

We sat at the first base as Wieler began to secure it. We knew he'd take a bit of time to get his Marines in the base and insure it's loyalty. Me and Jed had brought a couple of tech one frigates to the party and waited for any visitors while the soldiers did their job. Sure enough a Rupture dropped out of warp on top of us. I targeted him, and began to fire. His guns began to really lay down some hurt on me and my Rifer died quickly. He turned to Jed's punisher and burned it down as well. Roc's Jaguar reached the same fate. I grinned as I placed my pod inside my Stabber.

I undocked the cruiser, and as I did twenty people appeared in local. I was already enroute upon hearing my voice comms light up with warnings to stay docked. I came out of warp on a Rupture and pointed it. It's shield tank was alot stronger than I expected but I began to slowly whittle it down. As he reached about 25% shields the rest of the passing fleet went out of the system. Jed and Roc were on him in moments and he died quickly. It took a while to realize it wasn't the same Rupture, but that detail was unimportant. He died.

So we secured that installation and moved on. In mere moments the next installation lit up with an Ishkur. I moved to tackle and applied a heavy layer of damage. Suddenly though I was in a pod and my systems locked up. It was an uncomfortable experience, knowing my pod was sitting in space with no control over it's direction. Luckily he failed to lock me down and I headed back to the station. Jed had him down into extremely low structure as he exploded, but Roc got in at the last minute with Mynxee to take him down. We welcomed Mynxee to the fight and reshipped.

As the last of the Evati bases were secured, we joined up and Wieler asked how we would feel about taking the fight to the Amarr. The Bastards are natural rebels, and as long as their is profit we'll follow anyone. So we went. I went.

We warped as quickly as possible into Oyeman, from there we tracked down a few Amarr bases and began to do our work. I understand the Minmatar Militia may have more leaks than the Minmatar's Water Navy. It was just a few minutes after Weiler informed the Minmatar of a system that was contested that the Amarr fleets began to check the area out.

The next few moments are a blur to me, because of a very uncomfortable problem I suffered. According to the logs we had a Minmatar come into the system who was part of the Militia. He joined our fleet for a short time but began to act suspicious. He left and began to fly around watching us.

In the mean time we managed to down two griffins, and two thrashers.

I tried tackling a Catalyst and was smacked hard. Fortunately we had just commandeered a Kestral in system that someone had left. I hopped in and began to fly it around. The same Militia member from earlier started following us to planets. I tackled him down and he very quickly exploded my Kestral.

My warp system failed to engage. I had been commanding my pod to warp out since before my ship had exploded, but for some reason it failed to listen. My pod began to crack and that's all I remember.

The lovely Shae Tiann was kind enough to scoop my corpse and sell it back to me for only thirty million. I took it out into deep space and destroyed it. There is something really strange about losing your first clone. The twisted irony of your conciousness being effortlessly ripped from one body and placed in another.

I do know this: I will live forever.

Good Day.

EVE Blog Banter #3: What Not To Do.

CrazyKinux:

This month's EVE Blog Banter idea comes to us by Roc Wieler of Roc's Ramblings. Roc's asks us to "write a story about a fellow EVE Blogger, or an EVE player whom has inspired you or affected you in some tangible way. After your story, describe why you chose them, and any Holiday wish you have specifically for them".

I remember running missions. I picked it up pretty quickly, but I was in a corporation that had a number of people along for the ride that for some reason or another just could not figure it out. There was a fellow I knew, whose name is unimportant. The fellow could not figure out how to do a damn thing. The worst part was that he had bought quite a few game time cards and had huge ships bought and ready to go.

He discovered that his Caracal couldn't handle a level three mission. He upgraded to a Drake, he lost that as well. Upgraded to a Raven, he lost that as well. He went into a Caldari Navy Raven and got a friend to come along in a Hurricane. They both died.

He decided at that point that the game was too hard to play and promptly quit, never to be heard from again. He taught me three things. Pay attention, fit properly, and have an IQ over 80.

I won't forget him.

I chose this fellow because he inspired me to double my efforts to learn this game. I knew it would be hard, but I also knew I was better than that guy.

As for holiday wishes, I'd like to wish for him to come into Evati with a nice juicy Caldari Navy Raven and meet me at a safespot. Mmmm, tasty.

Participants:

• CrazyKinux's Musing: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
  
• The Wandering Druid of Tranquility: What will your verse be?…
• A Merry Life and A Short One: EVE Blog Banter #3: What Not To Do
• Mad Rant: My Hero
• The Ralpha Dogs: A Greeting Card
• Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah: The Station
• Diving into Psyche Diver's Psyche: CK's Blog Banter #3: Praise and kudos
• Life in Low Sec: EVE Blog Banter #3: Reverend Book
• Roc's Ramblings: Blog Banter #3 - PyjamaSam
• Sweet Little Bad Girl: Blog Banter #3
• Letrange's Eve Blog: Is it December Banter time already?
• Protosolus: EVE: Blog Banter 3 - A Piratical Legend
• Blogging from inside the Pod: The 'Jita Incident'
• Achernar: Citizen Zhang
• Cosmik R5's EVE Blog: Blog Banter: Tribute to an EVE player - Letrange
• Votrian's EVE Blog: EVE Blog Banter #3 - my influences
• Zen and the Art of Internet Spaceship Maintenance: Blog Banter #3 Ships that pass in the night
• A Mule in EVE: The reawakening
• Jinarre's New Eden: Blog Banter: Inspiration
• The House Theodoulos: EVE Blog Banter #3
• Flashfresh - The Pirate: EVE Blog Banter #3

A Little More Action Please

Come on baby I'm tired of talking
Grab your coat and lets start walking
Come on, come on
Come on, come on
Come on, come on
Don't procrastinate, don't articulate
Girl it's getting late, gettin' upset waitin' around
Elvis Presley - Little Less Conversation

"I've got a cyclone tackled in Ofstold," was all I needed to hear.

Ignoring my already active GCC, I undocked and warped to my undock point. I then turned my ship and entered warp to the Ofstold gate. The anticipation was so thick that I barely noticed as my GCC expired. I came out of warp on the gate and activated it.

The experiance of being shunted across lightyears in moments will always be a bit disconcerting, but I had no time to think about that as I warped to Maltrox, who'd already begun to engage the target. I heard on comms that the Cyclone was already falling apart around it's owner, and came out of warp with my Stabber's weapons hot.

I targeted, scrammed and began to fire. The Cyclone was already at half armor and as a few others came down on him, his pod disengaged from the ship. The Cyclone let out a rainbow of beautiful colors as it exploded around him, and we immediately nailed down the pod.

We asked for fifty million. We asked for a singing ransom. We got his corpse. At least we tried.

I had barely redocked when I heard a corpmate asking for support against two Crows. Not one to be left out I fitted out a Rifter for fast tackle and was on my way.

The Crows were playing with their food at this point, which was probably a bad idea for them, as we began to put out the birdcatchers. I heard "Crow is triple webbed," and burned in it's direction. The Crow was already venting plasma as I got in weapons range and popped suddenly.

The other Crow apparently got stupid at this point and got himself nailed down as well. He ignominiously popped as well.

It wasn't long before they came back to play, and he managed to kill my Rifter trying to nail him down again. I called it a night and chuckled. We'd lost an Incursus in the battle as well as another rifter compared to two interceptors. I call that a win.

Good Day.

OOC: Cleaning Up

The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.
John F. Kennedy

I've done a bit of work on my blog. Labels are updated for each post and consist of the following:

bastards
Blog Banter
blogpack
Closer To Home
fragment
IC
Karaoke
OOC
photos
Piracy
ramble
shortstory
The Measure

I also condensed Closer to Home to one post without artificially inflating my post count by posting it up again. Whooo.

Yes not a very substantive post here, but after fifty posts, I decided I'd better get that done.

Fragment Three

I get weary, and sick of trying

I'm tired of livin', but scared of dyin'
And old man river, he just keeps rollin' along.

Judy Garland - Ol' Man River

Janice looked up at the sky. She longed for the stars.

The Amarr masters were watching her. Her trip here had been brief. The Antapi had been peacefully exploring their solar system for millenia before the Amarr came. Now they were just one of many enslaved races moved from place to place. Her expertise in asteroid mining was useless to her in these fields. She just pulled the trej berries off the plants and put them into her basket.

The sky here was turquoise, and Janice closed her eyes for a moment as the twin orange suns evaporated the sweat from her brow.

"Get back to work!" A voice from across the fields echoed. She felt a small tingle in the collar around her neck and sighed. The master was angry again. He was never a very happy person. Janice picked another berry and moved onto the next plant.

One day she'd find a way out of here. She would be free. This was not the life she deserved. This was not the life she wanted. She wanted to cruise the stars.

She felt the collar buzz before it knocked her to the ground. She'd been distracted. The shock hurt severely, and it didn't stop. The master was making an example of her. She knew now. It wasn't going to stop.

She was going to be free.

Free.

OOC: To anyone who's thinking about correcting the lyrics at the top as Kern and Hammerstein(who did indeed write it) or any number of the other folks who performed it: No.

No one did it better.

A Ramblin' Man

A candle throws its light into the darkness

In a nasty world so shines a good deed
Make sure the fortune that you seek
Is the fortune that you need
Ben Harper - Diamonds On The Inside

So I took a friend on a little tour of Minmatar space tonight. I had alot of fun and I believe this will not be the last of my tourism. I'll offer you up a few of my pictures. Enjoy.

The Hyperbole Nexus

Lord Bastion

Sanctum Psychosis
The Asylum

Reactor Factory
Inside The Sister Camp

The Glass Edge

Assassin's Overhang
Culture Recess
Insurgent Encampment

OOC: Just to note, that Culture Recess image I took is my new desktop. ;)

OOC: Touch and Go

And all the roads that lead you there are winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
But I don't know how.
Oasis - Wonderwall

Hokay. So I don't know what's going on but apparently I've been tagged three times. Special thanks to Mynxee, Sarah Conna, and Manasi. The rules say I'm supposed to tell you the rules.

The Rules:

• Link to the original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
• Share 7 facts about myself in the post - some random, some weird.
• Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter.

The Facts:

1. I was born on the same day that the Thirteen Amendment to the constitution of the United States of America was ratified.
2. I have a genius level IQ.
3. I scored perfectly in the reading comprehension portion of the ACT.
4. Thirteen is my favorite number.
5. I never attended college.
6. I've worked seven days a week for the past two and a half years.
   
7. I've been working for five years and have missed a total of three days of work.

The Tags:
The blogging community in eve consists of about 150 people at most. Given that 7 folks are supposed to tag 7 people, the FIRST 7 that CK tagged would've nabbed 49 people. That's one third of the total blogging community. Given that if each of those 49 people would tag 7 more unique people, the total is 343. Since I've been tagged by one primary, one secondary, and one tertiary tagger, I would imagine this little thing's run it's course already.

So I won't bother tagging anyone.

Fragment Two

Back at the homestead

Where the air makes you choke
People don't know you
And trust is a joke
Don't even have pictures
Just memories to hold
That grow sweeter each season
As we slowly grow old.
Toad The Wet Sprocket - Walk On The Ocean

Ted looked at the clock. A few minutes since he last checked. It was taking too long. It had never taken this long.

He looked up at the receptionist again. She'd stopped returning his glances for the last two hours. That worried him.

"Ted?" Came a voice at his side. He stood up and the doctor looked at the ground.

"What is it?" Ted's voice trembled.

"She's had a mindfade, the cloning isn't going to take,"

Ted's eyes went wide and he ran. Down the halls, to the elevator, down another hall and to room two hundred and thirteen. He sat down in the chair beside her bed. He reached forward and held her hand. Her eyes were closed.

She'd been aging normally for the last eighty years. She finally convinced him to buy a new body for her sixty years ago. It'd been his anniversary present for her every year since. His own body was new and whole due to a recent run in with some pirates, and he'd never had a problem with it. He bowed his head and held her hands up to his face.

She never opened her eyes.

Into The Deep Night

His flaming robes stream’d out beyond his heels,
And gave a roar, as if of earthly fire,
That scar’d away the meek ethereal Hours
And made their dove-wings tremble. On he flared.
The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream - John Keats

It was quiet in space. It's always quiet. Sometimes, as I pass through the darkness between places and deeds, I wonder how anyone finds someone in that vast blackness. Aren't we all disconnected? How do we find ourselves? Does it matter?

I wasn't really concerned with finding myself today. That's going to take more than a Cheetah. As I guided my cloaked ship between planets and through belts, I found a sort of warmth in the cold. I found someone else, someone sharing the night with myself. I decloaked. I dropped a probe. The automated beeping was little shield against the darkness that surrounded me. I cloaked again and began to scan. The first scan came up with little beyond empty wrecks.

The second scan was more successful. I warped my covert ops ship to his location and ended up at an acceleration gate. I bookmarked the location in my navigation computer and went back to the station. I have flown rifters for such a long time, and I've fit out some other, larger ships. I decided that since the other ship was a rifter, I would bring something larger. The Queen of Diamonds, one of my new stabbers, drifted effortlessly out of the hangar and entered warp.

I landed at the gate again, and I activated it. The warp bubble rushed over me and I began to travel.

I came out of warp twenty-four kilometers away from the rifter. I headed his way and activated my disruptor at twenty kilometers. His rifter's shields were abnormally strong, and he was not an easy ship to kill. Still, he eventually died.

I messaged him as I locked his escape pod down. He answered me and I requested a million in return for his life. He declined, and I was alone again.

Good Day.

Fragment One

Don't talk like one of them. You're not! Even if you'd like to be. To them, you're just a freak, like me! They need you right now, but when they don't, they'll cast you out, like a leper! You see, their morals, their code, it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you. When the chips are down, these... these civilized people, they'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve.
The Joker - The Dark Knight

OOC: This is the first in what will be a long line of fragments from New Eden. All very simple short stories.

Paul looked over his Osprey for a moment before climbing aboard. He was in the pod in moments and undocked.

The traffic controllers were announcing warnings as he left Rens. As he got further from Rens the traffic lessened, only to pick up again as he approached Amamake.

As he entered a belt in Amamake, he began to mine. Local channels carried news of ransoms, and engagements as he continued to fire his mining laser at the rocks around him.

Suddenly a Kestrel dropped out of warp on top of him. It began to target him and fired off it's rockets, webifier, and warp scrambler.

Paul grinned inside his pod.

He grabbed the Kestrel with his own webifier, engaged his warp disruptor, released four warrior two's and began to fire heavy missiles at his target.

The Kestrel was soon an exploding ball of plasma, along with it's pod. Paul inched over to the wreck and removed the modules and body.

Paul was starting to see the appeal of this.

You Get What You Give.

Crime and politics, little girl. Situation is always... fluid
Badger - Firefly

Mean Coalition, our current neighbors and erstwhile friends have decided that it's time for a fight. Now I hang out alot in Eifer and Gusandall, so I'm affected in that I have to be alot more careful not to give them a kill.

On the other hand, with the way they've performed lately, I may not have much to worry about. I was expecting more out of them than to just lay down and get owned, but it's certainly not a bad result so far. The Archon kill pretty much put our guys over on them for a while. I can only imagine what implants that Archon pilot lost with his clone.

Of course I missed the fight, but I got the after action report from a couple of folks, it was apparently a truly epic battle.

Even more importantly though, we've formed an alliance and have brought the Hellcats onboard. We are greatly enriched by their contributions and I'm glad to have them officially with us now. Mynxee and Shae were actually the first pilots I'd ever flown in a pirate gang with. It's always nice to see someone else along for the wild ride that is The Bastards.

I missed out on all the fun but I had alot of laughs as others came on voice comms later that night and reacted to missing it themselves.

Lets just say the Bastards really enjoy killing people and leave it at a chuckle.

You know what? It's still a good day.

The Measure: Prelude - Part Two

O kinsmen we must meet the common foe!
Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow!
What though before us lies the open grave?
Claude McKay - If We Must Die

Eight Years Ago:

A Caldari State Cormorant is an interesting piece of work. It sports eight light neutron blasters, a full compliment of upgraded shielding technology and the speed of a frigate. It was Hallan Turreks first command, and if it looked impressive on the outside, bristling with weapons, it was even more so on the inside.

Hallan sat in a chair connected to a small dais in the middle of the bridge. On his left sat a weapons console and on his right a navigation console merged into his chair. He wore a holographic headset that gave him full sensor information of the entire ship.

He was not alone on the bridge, and he liked it that way. Behind him, he could hear the engineer fiddling with his own console. While in front of him his communications officer adjusted her headset.

"Sir," She began softly, "The Kuricas reports a bogey on scan at fifty-three degrees to the sun, on the plane of the system. They're asking for support,"

"Tell them we're on the way," Hallan said, punching a few commands into his navigation console.

The ship turned, and while Hallan noticed his sensor data changing a bit, inwardly the ship showed no change. He watched the navigation console as his ship slipped into the warp bubble.

"Sir," His communications officer continued, "The Kuricas is reporting more bogies," She went quiet for a moment, "Sir, the Kuricas is down with all hands,"

"That was fast," Hallan said while smiling, happy to find a fight. He played with his navigation console again, and ran his finger along the weapons console. It beeped softly at him.

"Celestis, Vexor, Thorax on scan," He announced, as his communications officer began to relay his message.

"Sir, the fleet is still a few minutes away," the comm officer stated after a moments pause, "What should we do?"

"Keep 'em busy," Hallan said, as he dropped out of warp next to the Celestis. His targeting computers found the somewhat larger Celestis an easy target to lock, and he dumped his cap into the afterburner, closing the distance between them easily. The blasters poured immense damage into the cruiser which in a few moments exploded, it's hold of drones spilling out into space, useless.

The Vexor and Thorax each released a full load of drones, and he began to burn away from the ships. The drones easily caught him, but the cruisers had a bit harder of a time. His blasters turned on the drones, which began to drop. A warrior fell first, then a hobgoblin, each drone targeted and in turn destroyed. As the numbers began to fall, Hallan ordered an about face and began to burn straight for the Thorax. It's drones had long since been destroyed and the Cormorant began to close the distance even as the Thorax began to run. The Thorax's aft shields began to feel the burn of his blasters, and quietly they winked out of existence. The armor plating around the engines began to peel away. Suddenly an explosion rocked Hallan's own ship as the Vexor had released a new fleet of drones which were now eating away at his armor. The Thorax's engines glowed much more brightly than normal for a moment and the ship went into a death spin, bits of debris flying off as it flew away, lifeless.

"Sir, I'm trying to get our shields back up, but the recharge rate is just not able to handle this kind of damage," Came a voice from behind him, as the engineer frantically worked his station to keep vital systems online.

Hallan turned his attention now to the Vexor, his fragile armor now buckling. He'd decided the drones would take much to long to kill and began to fire on the Vexor itself. The Vexor flew by the Cormorant which focused fire on it's passing starboard side. The Vexor began to crumple as it's shields were easily breached. The Cormorant was now on fire, and it wouldn't be long now before the battle was decided.

The Vexor exploded in a radiating ring of fire, and the drones fell silent. Hallan's ship smoked and burned.

"Freeze simulation," Came a voice from outside the bridge. The man who spoke walked through the door behind Hallan, who turned around to face him.

"Hallan, why do I need to remind you, yet again, that this class is called Tactical Retreats?"

Into The Valley Of Death

There's an old saying, 'Fortune favors the bold'. Well, I guess we're about to find out.
Benjamin Sisko - Deep Space Nine

I am a pod pilot. I am a capsuleer. I am immortal. I am Hallan Turrek, and if you don't remember the name, it's because it got lost with your new clone's memory.

You won't expect me. You won't understand why I'm doing what I do. You may kill me. You may die, but if you survive, you will remember me.

I find it hard to understand why people worry about losing their ships. Other people find it hard to understand why I don't care. We're pod pilots, we can replace them. You gain nothing by holding back. You may not lose anything, but that's the best you can hope for.

You gain nothing by holding back.

If you see a Hound lobbing cruise missiles from a hundred kilometers away, why not try to get him? He can try to kill you, but while he's occupied your corpmates can come around behind him. Make him focus on you.

The entire fleet leaves and the Vagabond they've decided to leave alone is all that's left with you. Tackle it.

You gain nothing by holding back.

A criminal Raven sits on a gate, bring it down or lose a ship trying. Why not?

See the Rifter, two Cyclones, a Crow, a Muninn, a Thorax, an Omen, a Vagabond, and two Nighthawks on scan? Even if they're together, you can take that Rifter.

You gain nothing by holding back.

I will win some. I will lose some. You will remember me.

Fortune favors the bold.

Good day.

The Measure: Prelude - Part One

Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all of the children are above average.
Garrison Keillor - A Prairie Home Companion

Ten Years Ago:

The alarm clock was deafening and Hallan's eyes shot open. The first rays of light shined through his blinds. He reached over and smacked the top of the clock and it stopped making noise. Satisfied, he rolled over and pulled his covers up further.

A few minutes later, it was back, louder this time, and Hallan growled as he sat up in bed. He reached over and grabbed the clock from his nightstand and threw it against his door. It recoiled and bounced around unharmed on the floor.

Hallan threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, briefly saying "Lights," before the brightness made him wince. He walked over to his dresser with only one eye opened and began rummaging through it for clothes. He looked into the mirror hanging above it and frowned before looking away again.

He pulled out a pair of pants and put them on. He found a t-shirt on the floor and put it on. He opened the door of his room and walked down the hall to the bathroom. He grabbed the doorknob, but he couldn't turn it.

"Treize, get the fuck out of the bathroom man," Hallan pounded on the door three times before continuing, "If you make me late for class today I'm going to fucking kill you,"

There was as small bit of rumbling on the other side of the door before it opened and Hallan rushed past his brother to get inside.

"Mom went out last night and isn't back yet," Treize said as the door closed, "She left a food card on the kitchen table and your mail,"

"Ok," Came a curt reply from inside the bathroom.

-------------------------

Hallan walked down the stairs into the living room. He turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs and went into the kitchen. He grabbed the food card off the table and put it in his pocket. He then looked through his mail.

"Bill, Bill, Bill, What?" He dropped the other pieces of mail on the table and turned his head to the side. He let that piece of mail fall back onto the table as well before running into the living room while yelling, "Treize!"

The piece of mail was addressed to Hallan Turrek from the office of recruitment for the Caldari Navy.

Closer to Home: Epilogue

I am sailing, I am sailing,
Home again cross the sea.
I am sailing, stormy waters,
To be near you, to be free.
Gavin Sutherland - Sailing

Start Here.

Hallan frowned as the shuttle began to accelerate towards the end of the runway. He was pressed into his seat as the shuttle began to pick up speed, and the sudden change of orientation as it went up the ramp was jarring as he looked out the window. He felt the engines begin a hard burn as the shuttle began to fly into the sky. In a few minutes the ship had passed the outer atmosphere, and he looked down at his homeworld.

The huge gray clouds that were ever present over some part of the planet were moving away from the Capital. He sighed at the visibly darker clouds over the cities. He could see the moon in the distance, and was pretty sure he could make out the station that held his Rifter.

____________________

Hallan piloted his rifter very carefully into his hangar at Kaalikota. He'd caught something about a Dominix fighting some angel cartel in a belt as he'd warped in. His corpmates, the Bastards had the situation well in hand

Hallan climbed out of his pod, took a shower, put his clothes on and then stuffed a few things into his pockets. He walked out of his ship and nodded to the hangar technician, who walked onto the ship.

Hallan made his way to his office and pulled a picture of his brother out of his pocket. He set it down on his desk and sat down.

Hallan closed his eyes for just a moment and fell asleep in his chair.

He Learned a Lesson

Well the two men took to fightin'
And when they pulled them from the floor
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone
Jim Croce - Bad Bad Leroy Brown

We set out with three Rifters, two Incursus', and a Punisher.

We noticed a Vagabond had followed us down the pipe, but he didn't seem to want to play. We warped into Todifraun and he did follow us into the system. We complained about gateguns on voice comms and decided to warp our little fleet to a planet. At planet one, we found an Ibis. Blood lust overrode common sense and we engaged. It went down fast and we had brand new global criminal countdowns. We decided to wait at the planet and hope someone would engage us, hoping for the Vagabond.

We scanned him down in the direction of the Arnher gate, so we decided to warp to planet Seven, which was a bit closer to him. We landed on the planet and sent someone to the gate he was sitting at. The scout came back and he followed soon after, landing sixty kilometers away from us. He started to orbit at a huge distance, and started playing with us. We kept mostly together, but Mynxee got caught out and nailed down by the Vagabond. We tried to help her, but the Vagabond pilot was playing it smart and keeping away from the rest of us. As Mynxee's ship exploded we got an order to warp out.

I looked over at Mynxee's wreck and had a better idea.

So I disobeyed the order.

Suddenly I'm the only frigate at the planet and I look like a tasty target. He apparently hit approach on me, And I hit orbit at five hundred on him. He closed inside web, and then scram range. Suddenly his oh so useful microwarp drive was shut down for good. He released his drones and they began to eat away at me.

I gave the call on Comms, having been quiet till that point, "He's scrammed. Warp to Hallan Turrek,". Someone actually felt like asking if that meant warp disruption or warp scrambling. I said as clearly as I could, "He's scrammed," again to get the point across.

He started to really wear me down, I had my armor repairer on and a damage control running. I caught on fire just as the first bits of the fleet came out of warp. Just as my pod popped out a second scram was called. The rest of the fleet came down on him hard. I heard that they were firing on him, and I made a point to say "Take his drones out first, take them out and he can't touch you,". They did that and I didn't even have time to get another rifter before he exploded.

The loot was scooped and we chuckled that a ship worth two hundred million was just killed by a bunch of ships worth a tenth of that, at best. He apparently didn't find it that amusing, and camped our station in Evati in a Maelstrom.

I wonder if he thought all we had were frigates.

I don't know. We pulled out some battleships and a battlecruiser and took him down. Fully rigged again, this time worth two hundred and seventy one million. I even got a few shots in with my rifter.

I didn't think we could top that for the night, so I docked up for good.

Ships you're not afraid to lose are always more fun.

Good day.

See Like Me

I guess what I be saying is there ain't no better reason
To rid yourself of vanities and just go with the seasons
It's what we aim to do, our name is our virtue
But I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait, I'm yours
Come on and open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damn you're free
Look into your heart and you'll find that the sky is yours
Jason Mraz - I'm Yours

I took an opportunity to fly with my corpmates and Mynxee today. I took over fleet command for a bit. I suggested we all get in basic frigates like I always do, so a crew of two Rifters an Incursus headed in the direction of Vitrauze. We got out to Dal, and picked up another bastard, he headed in our direction in a Punisher.

We decided to wait for him, so we spread out in system and started looking for targets. We didn't find anything, but along the way we heard about some activity in Arzad, so we headed to the Ezzara-Arzad gate. We waited on the other side but eventually the activity died down. We passed through, and caught a Blackbird warping to the bunker in the middle of the system. We obligingly followed, me saying "This is probably a trap but, you know," over voice comms as we entered warp. We came in on the Blackbird, and immediately pointed it. A Rifter came as the Blackbird was around half armor, so we finished him off and then picked up the Rifter as a new target. At this point a Merlin and two more Rifters dropped on us.

The first Rifter exploded fairly quickly, but all the frigates decided to primary me. I died, and then I got my pod out. The rest of the fleet dropped the Merlin, then another Rifter, then another Rifter. A Slasher and Moa showed up and they started to hit them just as two Vagabonds came down on them.

Mynxee lost a ship, and so did one of the other bastards. Another got out and we took stock of our losses. As it turned out, the Blackbird had been rigged, and was expensively fitted. We cursed that we hadn't held the field to get the loot. Then the surviving Bastard let us know something funny. The other guys had left us the loot. So we got back into Evati with the loot and started getting everyone reshipped.

Good day.

Money Is The Root

I will buy you a garden,
Where your flowers can bloom.

I will buy you a new car,
Perfect shiny and new.

I will buy you that big house,
Way up in the west hills.

I will buy you a new life,
Yes I will.
Everclear - I Will Buy You A New Life

I was hanging out in a Boundless Creations station yesterday here in Evati. I happened through the promenade and grabbed a snack at one of the stores there. A guy there asked me if I could spare some change and long story short: We won the lottery.

There's a whole interesting story in there, but I ain't taking the time to tell it, needless to say I'm six-hundred million richer today. I contacted a ship builder and put in an order for five Caracels and three drakes.

Boy did karma make a mistake.

I went out today to celebrate with Sarge, Mynxee, and a few other bastards. We caught a Cyclone ratting in a belt. I don't understand why, and I didn't care. He went down, despite being quite experianced. We nailed the pod down and asked for a very reasonable ransom. He balked and ended up in the clone vats.

We then chased a Hurricane around Evati for about a half hour before finally nailing him down while salvaging. He died as well, and we also got his pod.

For some reason people can't figure out how to pay a ransom, have blank clones, don't like their ships, or just feel like being defiant, but I'm six-hundred million richer anyhow.

Good Day.

OOC: A Chain Is Only As Strong

Listen to the wind blow
Watch the sun rise

Run in the shadows
Damn your love
Damn your lies

And if
You don't love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you saying
You would never break the chain.
Fleetwood Mac - The Chain

Do to my work schedule, Friday updates are going to be unusually short during this marathon. I apologize in advance.

I'd like to offer up some links, to cover some comics I keep up with on a regular basis and the blogs I find the most interesting.

There are the basics I enjoy: 8-bit Theatre, Penny Arcade and CAD. If you've never heard of them, that's fine. Read these instead. They are ordered by awesome.

1: Schlock Mercenary
2: The Order Of The Stick
3: Darth And Droids
4: Looking For Group
5: Erfworld

Now, on to a few of my favorite blogs, in no particular order.

Life In Low Sec

Kane Rizzel - a Pirates Perspective

Roc's Ramblings
The Travels of Blackclaw
Eve Newb

Consider this a full endorsement. The comics I listed should take you a few days to get through, assuming you have no life and stay out of eve. The blogs won't take you quite as long but you'll enjoy them.

Now, it's December 5th here, and I'm going to go to bed. Tommorrow is my birthday.

Closer To Home: Chapter Eight

Through these fields of destruction
Baptisms of fire
I've witnessed your suffering
As the battle raged higher
And though they did hurt me so bad
In the fear and alarm
You did not desert me
My brothers in arms

There's so many different worlds
So many different suns
And we have just one world
But we live in different ones

Now the sun's gone to hell
And the moon's riding high
Let me bid you farewell
Every man has to die
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms

Start Here.

"You're a real son of a bitch, you know that?" Hallan stood over a grave as water streamed down his face.

The gravestone was slick and shiny in the rain, with the words "Brother, Son, Friend," emblazened beneath his name. "Turrek," The sky above was almost black, and Hallan's face was clouded.

"I'll make sure they bury her here," He started, "I don't know who she was, but you cared,"

Hallan lifted his head and looked across the field of gravestones, it stretched into the distance, beyond his sight.

"We didn't get to talk much, the last time. So, you know, mom's still mom. I got hired by a pirate corp a month ago. I know you used to enjoy the stories. Why?" Hallan let the last word hang on the air a moment.

"It couldn't have been that bad. The bartender? Seriously? You call me up and say you want money? Tell me somebody's going to kill you," Hallan kneeled down beside the gravestone and leaned on it, "You're my brother. I didn't know,"

"You probably think this is funny, but I cut a path of destruction trying to find out who did this too you. The bartender was my first lead. I killed him so he couldn't warn anybody, figured he had it coming anyhow.

I must've watched the video twenty times. He's the guy. You could've taken him. You let him shoot you like a dog. Did you think it would save her?

It doesn't make me better. I thought he was innocent. I never claimed to be a good man. That was your thing.

I want you to know I love you and I cared about you. We'll meet again one day," Hallan stood up and sighed.

"I'll see ya around," He walked across the graves and to his taxi. He looked back at the grave for a moment, one long moment, and then sat down inside the car.

Somewhere above him, the clouds lessened, and a momentary ray of sunlight shined through, before the clouds closed again.

Closer To Home: Chapter Seven

It ain't gonna stop the world
If you walk out that door
This old world just keeps spinning round, spinning round
Like it did the day before
'Cause to them it makes no difference
It just keeps on keeping time
'Cause it ain't gonna stop the world, no
But it'll be the end of mine
Garth Brooks - It Don't Matter To The Sun

Start Here.

A Week Ago

It was warm. Treize awoke in the darkness and smiled. He ran his hand down Kat's arm and looked at her beautiful green eyes.

He slid himself out of bed and put his pants on, he struggled to get his shirt on, wincing at the bruises on his ribs. The streetlights provided just enough light for him to get his clothes on, and he opened the door of the bedroom.

"Tee?" He heard her say quietly as the door creaked open.

"I'm just heading out for bit babe, got a loose end to tie up. I'll be back before morning,"

"Ok, I'll be here,"

"I know,"

Now

Hallan sat at his computer and stared at the wall. He looked down at his screen and muttered, "Lets see where you were spending your money,". A few moments later a surveillance video from a local store showed up on his screen, and his brother was making his way through the crowds with a red headed woman. Hallan froze the screen and zoomed in on the girl. He leaned back and ran a facial recognition scan.

A Week Ago

"I need about fifty thousand credits," Treize was at a public phone booth, talking to a man who may as well've been his twin.

"What the hell for?" Hallan asked him with rage in his voice.

"I can't tell you,"

"Then I can't give it to you,"

"I'm in trouble Hal, this isn't like the last time,"

"Or the time before that, or the time before that?" Hallan leaned into the camera as he shouted, "You're never going to learn if I keep bailing you out!" Hallan shifted his weight back onto his chair and let his finger hover above the keyboard, in sight of the camera, "Get yourself out of a mess for once, and maybe I'll help you next time."

The video went dead and Treize turned around, "He'll come around,"

"It doesn't sound like it," A tall but skinny man stood behind Treize with a gun trained on his back, "That was your one call,"

"Look, Riq, I can get the money. I've still got the boosters. I can sell 'em and get it,"

"Where are they Tre?"

"I don't have 'em on me Riq,"

"Bullshit, you gave 'em to that whore of a girlfriend,"

"Look, I can get you the money, It's me man. I've never fucked up before," Treize smiled nervously at the bartender.

"You did this time, and too many people know about it man. This is my fault as much as yours. I got familiar. You thought you could get away with shit that no one can get away with. Turn around," Riq motioned with his gun.

"Look, I..."

"I said turn around!" Riq held the gun out and pointed at Treize's head.

"Alright alright," Treize turned around and put his hands above his head.

"Walk," Riq said as he followed Treize onto the bridge they stood next too. Treize looked over the edge as his pace slowed.

"I ain't going any further," Treize put his hands down and slumped his shoulders.

"That's ok, this if far enough,"The man said from behind two bulbous lips.

Now

Hallan walked down the street in the pouring rain. It'd been storming off and on for two days now. He checked the adressess as he walked.

A beautiful Caldari girl walked by, her t-shirt soaked through and through by the drenching rain. He looked down at her and smiled as she grinned back at him. He looked up at the apartment building he stood in front of. He turned around and looked at the river behind him. The Yul. If he walked a bit further he could cross it. He walked over to the video phone next to the bridge and shook his head. He looked back up at the apartment building and trudged through the rain to the door.

It was open, so he went inside. He checked the downstairs map for apartment numbers and found the one he was looking for. He walked into the elevator and hit the button for the fourty-second floor.

The elevatator dinged in succession as it passed floor after floor, before finally ending on the fourty-second.

A Week Ago

Riq got off the elevator and sighed. He walked down the hall a bit and looked at the room numbers.

"Two, three, four, five, six, there we go," He knocked on the door three times.

"Treize, is that you?" Came a soft voice from inside, "Just a minute," He heard the door being unlocked from the other side and he pulled his gun out of his pocket as it opened, "Treize I..." She stepped back from the door with her mouth wide.

"He's busy," Riq said as he closed the door behind him.

Now

Hallan closed the door behind him, but the smell was unmistakable. He covered his mouth and nose with his hand and walked into the living room of the apartment. Nothing seemed touched. He walked into the kitchen and checked the cabinets. A single glass sat on the counter, bone dry. He walked into the bathroom and checked the shower. He walked to the bedroom door, where the smell was strongest. He supressed a gag as he opened the door.

__________

CSP officers came in and out of the apartment building as Hallan stared out into the river. The raindrops made large splashes as the river flowed to his left. He looked up stream at the city, and downstream at the wilderness.

"Sir, we need to get your information," One of the officers yelled over the rain. He was standing a few feet away but Hallan pretended not to hear, "Sir," He repeated.

"I was looking into the death of my brother. I came here looking for answers,"

"Oh, alright sir. Since a crime was committed here, the survelliance videos are now public access. Hopefully that'll give you what you're looking for. You're Hallan Turrek?"

"Yeah, you could say that,"

Karaoke Corner #1: Yesterday

This is especially strange because I've never flown nano, but the reaction I saw people have to the nerf inspired this. I heard the line "Love was such an easy game to play" on my music player and the word Eve fit in there so well. The rest took a an hour or two. If you guys like these, let me know. If not I won't burden you with any future ones.

The Tune is: Yesterday - The Beatles

Yesterday,
I could keep a ship so far away.
Now I'm well within their falloff range,
Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Ship on scan,
I've got half the speed I used to have,
I traded nano for some warp stabs,
I'll warp away, yes that's my plan.

Why speed,
Had to go, I don't know, they wouldn't say.
I think,
They were wrong, how I long for yesterday.

Yesterday,
Eve was such an easy game to play,
Polycarbed and Nanoed Hurricane,
Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Why speed,
Had to go, I don't know, they wouldn't say.
I think,
They were wrong, how I long for yesterday.

Yesterday,
Eve was such an easy game to play,
Polycarb'd and Nano'd Hurricane,
Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Zoom-Zoom-Zoom-Zoom-Zoom-Zoom-Zoom.

Got a Vigil while I was writing this. True story.

Closer To Home: Chapter Six

Ooh, her love is heavenly;
when her arms enfold me,
I hear a tender rhapsody...
but in reality, she doesn't even know me
The Temptations - Just My Imagination(Running Away With Me)

Start Here.

The man with the snake tattoo caught the swordsman by surprise. He quickly knocked him to the ground and the sword fell out of his hands. The man with the pistol was shaking as he raised his gun to fire, but the shot missed and the chain was soon around his neck.

"We got this guy, Thad," He heard his men say from behind him as he tightened the chain.

It was all over in seconds, and both of the assailants were dead. Thad stood up and dropped the chain to the ground, running inside the house. He raced up the stairs and ran into the bedroom.

Horane Besake was sitting on his bed, rocking back and forth. He looked up at Thad as he came in.

"Thad, they killed everybody," He cringed as he spoke, "They were going to kill me. You guys showed up just in time," He leaned over the edge of the bed and vomited.

"Dude, what were they after?," Thad leaned against the wall.

"One of 'em was Treize's brother," Horane said while wiping his mouth.

"You told me you didn't get him,"

"I lost my gun though. He must've traced it back to me somehow," Horane was rocking himself back and forth again on the bed.

"But you didn't kill him," Thad moved to stand in the doorway.

"I didn't kill him,"

_______________

"That doesn't make any sense," Hallan looked down at the video output of the virtual world he'd created. The two men's heads were wired into the computer system in a tank next to him.

"They ain't lying," Korvan began, tapping on the glass.

"You don't have to stay you know," Hallan said without turning around, "I know you got paying customers,"

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright, Treize was a good man," Korvan hefted a gun and hooked it on his back, "Besides, you owe me breakfast,"

"It's a tie," Hallan said as he pointed at the tank and frowned, "You can't count them,"

"Whatever," Korvan turned around and grabbed the doorknob, "If you need any help again, let me know, alright?"

"I will," Hallan punched something into the computer as Korvan left.
_______________

A Week Ago

Treize looked down the hall he'd just come from. He imagined all kinds of demons had followed him, and yet, none were readily apparent. He knocked on the door, knowing he had too.

"Treize!" Came a voice from inside, and after some noise the door opened.

"Kat," He took a moment to look into her green eyes, framed with red hair. Her pleading face capturing him for a moment.

He walked inside and Kat's eyes went wide at the gun he had tucked into the back of his waistband, "Where did that come from?"

"Some guy was following me tonight," He walked into her kitchen and poured himself a glass of water, "It's alright though, I did everything I needed to do,"

"What does that mean?" She leaned forward.

"It means I'm leaving Kat,"

"When?" She closed her eyes as she asked the question.

"Tomorrow," He said, reaching forward to brush a strand of hair away from her face.

"Then we've got tonight,"

Closer To Home: Chapter Five

And then the bullhorn cackles
And the captain tackles
With the problems and the how's and why's
And he can see no reasons
'Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need to die
The Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays

Start Here.

"They're here," Korvan said, looking out the window as a number of headlights shined past him and into the now darkened house.

"Finally. I though Mr. Besaka's head was going to go bad on us," Hallan walked forward and looked out the window, "Wow, they brought alot of people."

"You were counting on that weren't you?" Korvan looked amused as Hallan leaned back.

"They aren't Serpentis. They work for 'em, but they're just small timers," Hallan sighed, "This is as far as I can go up the ladder," He pulled out his gun and checked it's chamber, "And yeah, I was hopin' they'd bring everybody,"

"So, feel like keeping count?" Korvan pulled out his mono-filament blade and twirled it in his hand as he grinned.

"I use a gun. You use that?" Hallan asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Deal,"

Hallan opened the door to the front yard, where over forty people were getting out of their cars. They all walked towards a rather stocky man with a huge snake tatoo running from his chest to his back. He wore no shirt, and carried a length of chain, spinning it as Hallan and Korvan approached.

"Kor," Hallan whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I need his head too,"

The man with the chain spoke up rather loudly, "What do you think you're doing here?"

"Uhm, what does it look like?" Hallan asked rather sarcastically.

"It looks like," The man with the chain continued, "You just killed a bunch of my boys, robbed their house, stole a bunch of boosters, and now you're in deep shit,"

"Kinda," Hallan said, running his hand along the handle of the gun on his hip.

"What'd I miss?" The man was wrapping the chain around his left hand as he spoke.

"Well one: we didn't rob the house yet. Two: we won't be stealing any boosters. Three: We're not in any kind of trouble. Four, and I believe this one to be the most important: I've got your dealer's head in a nanite bag," Hallan held up the bag and smiled softly.

Korvan flicked his blade out as the tatoo'd man rushed towards them. Hallan took careful aim with his pistol and said in a very even tone, "Well. Lets get to work,".

Run Into The Fire

Every time we think we have measured our capacity to meet a challenge, we look up and we're reminded that that capacity may well be limitless.

Josiah Bartlet - The West Wing

We had a bit of fun yesterday in the Bastards. We've had alot of fun recently period, but anytime I get to play a role in success, I'm happy with it.

Last night I woke up with an alarm blaring. My corp was killing people again, and I wasn't getting to take part.

I fitted out a rifter. You know, I've got sixty rifter's boxed up in my hangar. Whenever I lose one, another is usually being assembled before I even get back. Today would see the hangar techs and their automated helpers being put to the test.

Voice comms were active as I undocked, my sleek rifter cruising out of the hangar. I admired it's beauty from the camera drones. It is amazing that a ship that large can be operated by just one pilot, but I've proven time and time again it can be done. Automation and robotics has just progressed so much in the last few centuries, it's astounding what can be done today without people.

Regardless, I oriented my ship quickly towards the Arnher gate. Which brings me to a very important bit of information when you're operating out of Evati. There are quite a few gates in Evati, but one oddity, there is a gate called Arnher, and a gate called Anher. The very important thing to remember is that while Arnher is standard low-sec space(as are all of the other gates except one), Anher is a concord protected system. This can make it complicated when new folks are on voice comms, and a few people have lost some fairly nice ships due to a mistake here. One fellow even lost a clone with the best implants he could buy. Remember the arrrrr people.

As I came out of warp on the Arnher gate, I double checked to make sure I wasn't making that mistake, and contacted the gate control crew for a jump out.

The gate fired, and I was hurtled through space. Some people don't care for jump gate travel. The truth of the matter is, being throw into some connecting wormhole and shunted across lightyears in mere moments is indeed a harrowing experiance. It's also the only way to get somewhere in a hurry, and I was in a hurry. I came through and began to orbit the gate along with the rest of the crew.

There was a battle ongoing, and I caught a hound with my warp disruptor, I attempted to get into range and throw on some damage, but he exploded first. A good start.

At some point there was a call to go through to the other side, and I saw a thrasher come out of warp at that very moment. He flashed red, so I engaged, and offered the rest of the folks to take a shot. We dueled for a few moments before my rifter exploded. I was happy with the fact that his rifter met the same fate later that night.

That's one.

He was obviously well fit, and I warped the pod out. He got out too. I went back to the gate, warped into Evati, and grabbed another rifter. I undocked, warped to my undock point and then back to the Arnher gate.

As I did, there was another fight, this time a typhoon on the gate. He'd engaged already, but wasn't a criminal. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, I fired on him. The sentry guns gave me a disapproving look. The typhoon did not last. One bittersweet bit to the battle was a fellow fleet member's ship malfunction that cost him his Dominix.

However, that's two.

Back to the station, another rifter, and out again. I waited out my Global Criminal Countdown, which is among the oddest inventions of Concord. Out in the lawlessness of space, apparently fifteen minutes is as long as they'll wait to kill you, live through that and you're homefree. I'm sure some guy somewhere is trying to rush back to the Concord Assembly and change the statute of limitation for star ship crime to something a bit longer, but I like it as it is.

While sitting on the gate a bit later, an industrial came roaring in. I eyeballed it warily and quite suddenly we decided to give it hell. He actually had some sort of shield tank on it. It didn't go down immediately, and it was recharging it's shields as we fired. Soon it died, and for some reason the feds decided it didn't warrant a killmail. The sentry guns at that point had been firing at some of my compatriots rather than myself, but as I gave the pod a bit of love, they decided to take me down. I warped my own pod out, and midwarp got a message from Concord saying they disapproved of my actions against the escape pod. Good to hear.

That's three.

Back to base, another rifter, another fit, another undock, another warp to safe. The criminal timer went away shortly, and I was back on the gate.

At this point we had an audience. A Rupture was watching us from two hundred kilometers away. I noticed that from my vantage point he was roughly in line with a celestial object, so without prompting, I warped away and back in at a hundred clicks. Bam, one hundred and four away. I kicked my microwarp drive on and headed his way. He gave no indication that he even noticed my approach, and once I hit twenty three clicks I started to resolve a lock. He returned the favor and I kicked my warp disruptor on just before the lock resolved. It came on and he began to fire at me. The damage he was doing was minimal, as I was coming at an angle, I got in my scrammer range and dropped the disruptor. The talk on comms was jovial and on other topics as I literally yelled "CHECK-CHECK, WARP TO HALLAN TURREK, RUPTURE TACKLED," They obliged the request and the fellow began to align to warp as they approached. His ship was scrammed, and he honestly shouldn't have bothered.

Sometimes someone throws a curve at you out in the cold. This was one of those times. He'd warped in pretty far away, and had fit a warp stabilizer. Under normal circumstances that meant he could afford to spend a little bit of time with the tackler before warping away. I put my point on at twenty clicks, and he knew it was a disruptor, just as you'd imagine would be on any tackling ship.

So he played around a bit, and I closed the rest of the distance. I switched the disruptor for a scrammer, and his stabilizer was just a wasted slot. I can only imagine the horror he experienced as his ship melted around him and his ship refused to warp away.

I was pretty happy with myself at that point. The rest of the fleet managed another rupture on it's own, and we settled in again.

After a bit, I saw another rupture at only a hundred clicks out. He would be more alert, I imagined, but I kicked into tackle mode as I heard a few others saying they were burning in his direction. He was tackled in short order, and I waited for support to make it.

They were considerably slower than I was though, and eventually the rifter gave up the ghost and the rupture warped away. The rupture we'd killed was hanging out nearby in another one and gave him some support as well.

Oh, and four.

I don't half ass some thing, I half ass everything. I was back into a rifter and out the door before you could say "never ending rifters". As I was getting things together, the rupture decided to come back for more and the Bastards took him out which made me a bit happy. Better yet I showed up on the Concord sanctioned criminal report.

The night ended on a high note, and another rupture for rifter trade. A fellow came through and began to engage. I ended up dying, but we took him out a few minutes later.

With five, I was done for the night.

I docked up, chuckled at myself and the universe and went back to bed.

Good day.