It's Not a Habit.

It's not a habit, it's cool, I feel alive
If you don't have it you're on the other side
I'm not an addict (maybe that's a lie)
K's Choice - Not An Addict

I hit my scanner once, thrice, ten times. There's the target, coming in fast. I turn the scanner off, I'm going to need all of my CPU focused on this. He drops out of warp and my targeting system starts to ring in my ears like Christmas bells. Both of us resolve a lock at approximately the same time, I throw on the webber, scram, and activate my microwarp drive. The ship swings dangerously into a tight circle. Suddenly my 200mm Auto-Cannons add a little warmth to the cold eternal night. I watch happily as his shields melt away. My own shields evaporate in a few moments, and my armor plates begin to absorb the majority of the damage. The Tristam stars to buckle under the pressure, it's shields dropping. Suddenly I'm dealing armor damage. Then I notice, too late, that I'm in structure. This is going badly. I bring up a planet in my overview and wait for the inevitable, my guns hammering away the entire time.

POP

Five minutes into Vitrauze and I've lost my rifter. I could get used to this place.

What did I learn from my encounter? Just because someone says they want to duel in T1 frigates doesn't mean they'll be coming with T1 equipment. We exchanged good fights across local and he offered to blue status me since I honored the duel conditions. I declined. I'm here for the target rich environment after all.

Did I mention I'm flying Rifters now? Something of a recent development, they are by far superior to my Kestrals in every whichaway. I love the way they look, fly, and deal damage.

Tomorrow I'm seriously thinking about checking out the Eve Gate. I'm also seriously considering recruiting people into my own corp or joining someone else's. I like my freedom though, so recruitment is more likely. I need backup, friends, help. I love my freedom, but going it alone at times can be a lonely sad existence.