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My name is Hallan Turrek. This is my blog.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

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.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

OOC: For Your Consideration

Seek not the favor of the multitude; it is seldom got by honest and lawful means. But seek the testimony of few; and number not voices, but weigh them.
Immanuel Kant

I started blogging a bit over two months ago. I remember putting in a request to make it onto the blogroll and getting that. I also remember the wonder and awe with which I held those who had a place in the blogpack.

You see it's a wonderful thing, being part of this community. I've got ten people who've thought enough of this space to mark that they follow it. Do you read this on a regular basis? Follow it, if you'd like to. If not, I respect your decision and will skip ransoms entirely for you should you admit it mid-battle sometime.

"Oh by the way I read your blog and didn't follow it," will be met with swift justice.

Wait, that came out wrong.

Anyhow, on to the point, CrazyKinux has asked a simple question: So, you want to be part of the EVE Blog Pack? The answer is of course hell yes. But the truth of the matter is there are alot of folks that'll be saying hell yes, and I've gotta make sure my voice is heard above the din. So we're going into overdrive right now. There are two weeks until the rest of the blogpack gets to decide which of us become peers, so you guys're gonna get a post a day until then. As a matter of fact, just to make a point, you'll get thirty one posts in December and one tommorrow.

Add your comments, follow, mention me to others, and help me let everyone else know how much I want it.

Let the marathon begin.

Good Day.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Sleep Now In The Fire

"You think that life is nothing but not being dead? It is not the bread and water I fear. I can live on bread. It is no hardship to drink water if the water be clean. But to shut me from the light of the sky and the sight of the fields and flowers; to chain my feet so that I can never again climb the hills. To make me breathe foul damp darkness, without these things I cannot live. And by your wanting to take them away from me, or from any human creature, I know that your council is of the devil."'
Saint Joan of Arc

I am free.

I had a discussion today with a childhood friend. He said he didn't understand my drive to pirate. I told him, "A good sword needs a little heat to be strong. Think of me as the fire."

It's true. A capsuleer who never loses a ship ain't makin' full use of his abilities. I'm there to provide object lessons in why whatever they were doing was wrong. If I make a bit of isk from the lesson, so be it.

He was unconvinced and I cut the vid-phone's connection. I have freedom, and that' s enough.

So, I left Evati today and headed towards Amamake. I wanted to fly there without using the nav-computer, given that I may need to get somewhere fast in the future. After a few missteps, I was there.

I sat in the middle of the system for a long while really, amazed at the lack of activity in what is traditionally a deadly system. That's when I spotted the Caracal. Now, one little bit of information for those of you who don't pirate every day: If you see a single ship in a very active system, he's either stupid, looking for a fight, or it's a trap. I was betting on trap as I warped in on him. As my ship entered warp I spotted a Harbinger floating around as well, but not ahead of me, so I continued on.

I saw the Caracal as I entered the belt. My ship dropped out of warp inside my scram range, I immediately targeted the Caracal and began to fire away. I kicked on my afterburner and pulled into a tight orbit, and my shields held up remarkably well against his heavy missiles. I was liking my chances as he hit half shields. Then, and only then did he activate his own tackling gear. I was hoping he didn't have a web on him, but sadly he did. As my ship slowed down to less than half my speed, the missiles started to have an easier time with me. I turned off my own web to conserve cap and he began to burn away from me. I was forced to turn my own web back on or allow him to escape. We actually hit structure at around the same time, oddly enough, which I saw as a positive, but my cap was bottoming out, I was turning on my repper as I got cap, and had to reactivate my various modules periodically.

Then the Angel Cartel frigates warped into the belt. It wasn't a serious problem under normal circumstances, but we both knew they'd turn the tide of this battle one way or the other. Only I knew that his chances were better at that point. He could stand one of them hitting him, I was at my breaking point, and even if only one of them targeted me, I was going down. I got a rep cycle in at 80% structure, and watched his structure drop to 60%, then the locks of the Cartel frigates resolved. He got one and I got one. Not the worst scenario for me, but probably enough. My afterburner failed, as did my web. Scram and damage control stayed on. My structure was seriously hurting, I got a repair cycle in periodically, but I was pretty heavily on fire. I turned everything back on and kicked the armor repairer back on at exactly 6% structure. One cycle went through but another volley of missiles smashed my ship into bits around me.

I once again, like I've done almost 50 times since entering low-sec, warped my pod away from the wreck of yet another rifter.

I'd like to take the rest of this to mention a friend of mine. You see, most of us pilots have good luck charms inside our pods. Mynxee has Mr. Pink, Spectre's got his fuzzy slippers, just to name a couple of examples. Enclosed inside a special diamond case attached to the inside of my pod, I've got a little thing I've had for a quite some time.





















I've always held a special place for Choco the Coconut Monkey. Luckily my insurance policies include an exact copy of him to be delivered to my hangar with a single piece of tritanium inside. I'm still waiting for the day I'll have to give up my old childhood toy for a copy, but so far it ain't comin'.

Good day.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

EVE Blog Banter #2 - This Is My Time.

CrazyKinux:
"This month's EVE Blog Banter comes to us from Brinelan over at The Shard (http://www.theshard.org). He asks: What drew us into EVE, what keeps us playing the game and what brought us back if we've ever left?"

I enjoy the space combat genre of games. I played an old game called TDZK which was a text based EVE, I played Elite on the NES and it's sequels. Loved Wing Commander. Loved Freespace. Absolutely fell in love with Freelancer. The truth of the matter is, I love space combat. It is by far my favorite genre of game.

That said, EVE has a hell of a learning curve, but I'm sticking to it cause I know in the grand scheme of things I'm not doing so badly. That's right, I'm sticking around cause I know I'm learning it faster than some other new guys are.

If you look around at other MMOG's out there you'll find a lot of good ones and a few great ones. EVE stands head and shoulders above the rest.

I love a universe I can just immerse myself in, I love that I can do whatever I want. I love that it gives me an entire universe to play with. I can mine, hunt, police, build an empire, break one down, or watch it fall. I can hire myself out as a merc, research ships or technology. I can explore the universe and make money doing it.

This is my time. If anyone wants to take it away they'll have to fight me for it, and I like my chances.

Good Day.

PS. If this appears shorter than you expected, realize I just found the email 30 minutes ago saying this had to be up today. I don't actually check my email... ever... so uh... yeah.


Participants:

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Closer To Home: Chapter Four

"No reason to get excited,"
The thief, he kindly spoke
"There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I, we've been through that
And this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour's getting late"
Bob Dylan - All Along The Watchtower


It was shaped a bit like an egg. It flew end over end towards the dimly lit second floor plasteel window. It smacked into the window with an oddly wet noise. It exploded softly and clung there. On the inside the man sleeping next to the window stood up and looked outside.

"Hey guys, something sh..." He managed to get out before the grenade released a neutron radiation pulse into the room. The noise was considerable but the lights in the rest of the house didn't come on. Korvan and Hallan waited outside the house beside the front door on either side.

The house was, fortunately, all on it's own in the rural district, and the commotion they were about to cause was unlikely to disturb anyone else. Hallan was glad of that, he didn't have permits for public disturbance.

Hallan nodded to Korvan as the door opened.

"James?" The man said as he stuck his head just outside the door.

Korvan's thermal pulse laser caught the man in the temple and Hallan was already moving to take a position inside the doorway. Korvan rushed inside as well and took up a position opposite Hallan in the hall, who then moved down the hall to the living room. Hallan's silenced pistol fired twice and Korvan moved up the hall to provide cover. He noticed a body draped across a center table and on the couch.

Someone moved from the kitchen into the living room, firing a gauss pistol along the way. The impact of the round to his chest barely fazed Hallan as he fired a single shot at the man, who dropped immediately.

"Helmets on," Korvan said quickly, as the armor sprang up and formed a protective shield around their heads. Korvan moved ahead of Hallan and crouched in the entryway of the kitchen. Hallan then moved ahead of him and trained his gun up the stairway in the kitchen.

Hallan barely had time to notice the movement when a huge flash of light came flying down the stairs, bathing Hallan in brightly glowing fire. Hallan muttered to himself and looked at Korvan, who just smiled.

"Plasma rifles in close quarters, fucking brilliant," Hallan said, making his way up the smoking stairway. As he reached the top the smoking body of their assailant lay next to his rifle.

As Korvan walked by the body, he released a pulse from his laser pistol into the it for good measure. Hallan pointed at the door to the already cleared room, and then pointed at the only other upstairs room. Korvan kicked open the door of the room they'd thrown the grenade at and they both stood against the wall on either side of the door. Both men looked at their guns and then at each other. Hallan put his pistol into it's holster and pulled a Katana from his back. Korvan pulled a handle from his belt and flicked it outwards. A dark black blade formed immediately, while the handle hummed. Korvan turned the sword sideways and looked down the blade.

"You always gotta one up me, don't you," Hallan said quietly, a bit of a smirk on his face.

"I don't spend any time on stations man, I can use a mono blade," Korvan effortlessly stabbed his sword through the wall and looked at Hallan, "But yeah, yeah I do,"

The Korvan went through the door and sliced the other bedroom door off it's hinges in a moment as Hallan quickly followed him into the bedroom. A man lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, not moving.

Hallan walked up to him and poked his shoulder with his sword. The man sat up immediately and screamed.

"What the fuck man?" The man still looked rather out of it as Korvan poked him again, "You want some fucking boosters man? You're dead. My boys'll come through that door any minute now and kill your sorry ass," The man chuckled and blinked a few times.

"Horane Besaka right?" As Hallan asked, the man nodded. Hallan nodded himself and said "I've been looking for you,"

"You... you need information?" The man asked quietly.

"Kinda," Hallan switched his sword to his right hand and grabbed the man by the hair.

"Oh fuck, don't!" The man screamed and began to cry.

"Jeez, a Brutor without a backbone. I'm not going to kill you, ya big pansy," Hallan looked up at Korvan, "Cut his head off,"

"On it," Korvan replied raising his humming sword.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

It Ain't Suicide If You Live

Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.
Orison Swett Marden


Hallan Turrek > Rifter, Cyclone, Cyclone, Crow, Muninn, Thorax, Omen, Vagabond, and Two Nighthawks on scan.
A Bastard > Wow, that's a pretty big fleet.
Hallan Turrek > I think we can take 'em if anyone else wants to come along.
Another Bastard > What makes you so optimistic?
Hallan Turrek > 'cause I'm already in warp.

One Rifter later... well at least I had fun. I managed to get the rifter pilot to half armor before the rest of the fleet took me down.

Then I used my scanning skills to find a Thorax and Arbitrator. It was a good scan, nice and quick. Apparently though, and don't ask me how, I got to the belt before they did. They dropped out of warp on top of me and I started targeting the Thorax. The rest of our fleet warped my way and it was on. I couldn't understand why I was dying so quickly, and soon it didn't matter.

Luckily the rest of the fleet came in right after I died and started pounding on them. As it turned out the Angel Cartel goons hanging out in the belt realized why the don't like me, and started shooting me down. If not for that I'd have likely survived long enough for the rest of the fleet to come in. Eventually they both died. They even managed to nail down one of the pods.

I had fun even if I lost a couple of cheap ships. We did 20 million in damages and took maybe 250k in hurt. That's what some drones cost.

Good day.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Closer To Home: Chapter Three

Drink up baby
Look at the stars
I'll kiss you again
Between the bars
Elliott Smith - Between The Bars


"Get me the Caldari State Police," Hallan sat at a desk in a dimly lit apartment as his vidphone flashed to life in front of him.

"CSP, how can I direct your call?" Came the automated message.

"This is Hallan Turrek," He leaned back and watched the screen flicker as a person answered.

"Hey! Hallan," The girl on the other side of the phone was fairly cheery, and Hallan smirked to himself, "We've got you on cameras at the scene of a crime today at 12:46. I assume that's why you're calling?"

"Yeah, that's it," He chuckled at the look on the girl's face as she read the charges.

"Are you calling as a witness or suspect?" She looked back at him and began that strange smile again.

"Suspect, I'd like to lodge a guilty plea," Hallan reached over to a gun on his desk and picked it up. He ran one hand down the top of it as he spoke.

"That's fine sir, but the bartender you killed was a level three businessman," The girl's smile was unbroken, and he imagined she was smirking a bit now.

"What?" Hallan put the gun down and the smile left his face.

"Yes, I'm afraid he owned that bar, two brothels and ran a weapons depot for the Caldari Navy. The fine for his death is thirteen million credits," A thumbprint appeared in the upper right corner of the screen and Hallan pressed his thumb to it.

"Thank you for your continued patronage Hallan Turrek. If you'd like to look into our group rates I'd be happy to show you some packages,"

"You've been looking at my file haven't you?" He asked, the smile coming back.

"Yes I have sir, and I get the feeling you're not done yet,"

____________________-

"I have the permits already Korvan," Hallan said to the Gallente on the other side of the vidphone.

"You really need me to come all the way over there?" Korvan was fiddling with something off camera.

"I really do, they deal in boosters and it'll be my luck that some idiots got a quickdraw implant and X-booster," Hallan put a hand on his gun again.

The microphone on Korvan's side picked up a muffled scream, a blast, and silence.

"I can make some time for it man but we're even now. You know how much I get paid for this kind of thing on a regular basis?" Korvan picked up a towel and began to wipe the end of his gun.

"Way less than you made on the Kurkanski job and you got me to thank for that,"

"You ever gonna let me forget that?"

"One of these days,"

"Gimme a few hours, I gotta tie up some loose ends here,"

"That's fine, I gotta get some armor out of storage,"

"Low profile Fullerene?"

"Good god yes,"

"Just like the good ole' days," Korvan shifted and set his gun across his lap.

"Yeah, remember Ivar?" Hallan looked away from the vidphone for a moment and laughed.

"Man, you ever think about getting back into the game?" Korvan was grinning as well as he spoke.

"Nah, I got my hands full right now,"

"Goddamned pirate. Heh," Korvan shook his head.

"It pays the bills," Hallan said raising his hands up.

"Yeah, I uh, I gotta go, I'll see ya in a few hours," Korvan stood up and turned.

"Peace man," Hallan pressed a button on the side of the phone and stood up himself as it powered down.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

OOC: All These Pieces

I started out clean but I'm jaded
Just phoning it in
Just breaking the skin
Can you help me I'm bent
I'm so scared that I'll never
Get put back together
You're breaking me in
And this is how we will end
With you and me bent
Matchbox Twenty - Bent

Yo.

So's I got a spiffy new banner. Shae Tiann does such excellent work that I require you to go over to her blog now and read. Wait! Read this first. Then go. Also pay her some money and get your own banner.

Honestly, very satisfied customer here.

Moving on, I was staring at my wallet yesterday, happy at least that a "blinking problem" I'd had for weeks had apparently resolved itself(I think the patch may've done that). The only problem is it's slowly whittled it's way down to almost nothing. I started with 250 million and it's now at 2. It took 3 months mind you, but here I am.

I got Minmatar frigates to 5 today, and started training up Assault Frigs. I committed a whole lot of insurance fraud to get enough money to buy a Jaguar, Cheetah, and Covert Ops Cloak. I'm going to take the Cheetah out and do exploration to make more money once I get that trained up(I'm thinking 15 days). I also plan to buy a game timecard or two to really get things rolling. I'm at that tipping point I think when it comes to money. I can go on for a while as I am, I've 70 frigates and 120 fits, alot of minerals sitting in a lowsec station, and a bit of stuff spread out among the stars. I am not hurting, I just like having alot of money.

The new patch means my Rifter fleet is more survivable now than ever though, so it's nice to have them in backup.

That's probably the shortest comment on the patch you'll find anywhere. Heh.

I'm actually enjoying writing my story so far, and I promise that as soon as I see some real action you'll get a piratey update. Seems that despite my being online all week, I'm on too late to find stuff to kill. I get lucky sometimes but most days there's nothing. Weekends are pretty intense though.

I cannot sing the praises of the Bastards enough either. I will get in on a frigate roam one day.

Oh, and to end my rambling. Christmas is next month. I thought I'd get this out before Thanksgiving. You know, before you start buying that holiday swag. Now I know it's been a tough year pretty much everywhere for people, but there's a charity run by the guys over at Penny Arcade. It's called Child's Play, and I can't think of a more noble cause to throw a few gaming bucks. They buy books, games, movies, and toys for kids in hospitals across the world.

Check it out.

Oh, and I passed 1000 hits a day ago. I assure you only a quarter of those are mine. Probably.

Good Day.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Closer To Home: Chapter Two

When I pretend everything is what I want it to be
I look exactly like what you had always wanted to see
When I pretend, I can’t forget about the criminal I am
Stealing second after second just cause I know I can but
I can’t pretend this is the way it’ll stay I’m just
Trying to bend the truth
I can’t pretend I’m who you want me to be, so I’m
Lying my way from you
Linkin Park - Lying From You.



A Week Ago

"I've been following you since the club. Going back was really dumb,"

Treize Turrek stood with his hands against a wall. The alley was dark, and Caldari Prime's moonless sky provided nothing but the twinkle of stars to illuminate the night. The man behind him was patting him down and held a gun against the small of Treize's back. The gunman pulled a wallet and several packets from Treize's pockets.

"I just need a little more time," Treize started as the gunman interrupted him.

"My boss says you don't get any more time," The man took a step back and cocked his gun.

Trieze spun around and tackled the man, knocking him to the ground and causing the gun to fire harmlessly into the sky. Treize smacked the man's hand off the ground until he dropped the gun, then Treize grabbed it, scrambled to stand, and ran down the alley.

The gunman followed him to the end of the alley and turned to follow in the direction he'd gone. Treize had already disappeared, and the man slumped his shoulders.

"Shit,"

_____________

"Where are you?" The girl's face on the vidscreen was almost pleading.

Treize leaned uncomfortably down and whispered into the microphone, "I can't tell you right now, but I'll be at your apartment before the night's out," Treize leaned back and looked up and down the street.

"Alright Treize, be careful," The girl's sadness had transformed into happiness in an instant. Despite his precarious position, he was pleased with himself for that very fact. He allowed himself to smile for a moment.

"You uh, you need anything?" He asked the question as though he already knew the answer.

"No actually, I've got some here already," Her smile hadn't broken yet.

"Uh, really? Ok," Treize looked up and down the street again, "We'll talk about it when I get there,"

"We can. I love you Treize,"

"I love you too Kat,"

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Closer To Home: Chapter One

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
Marianne Williamson


The rain outside fell heavily on the taxi as it came to a stop. Hallan stepped outside of the car and pulled his coat tighter around him. The tall buildings that surrounded him reflected the dark clouds above, and he fought his way through the crush of people to reach the building in front of him.

This was New Caldari Prime, fourth planet in the New Caldari system. Since the exodus from Gallente space, the Caldari had built themselves an empire. Nowhere near as large as the Amarr or or Gallente empires, it's military might rivals that of any of the great powers.

Standing at the base of one of the corporate skyscrapers on New Caldari prime, Hallan could almost imagine the CEO's plotting behind their plasteel windows. He didn't need to talk to them today though, he needed to go to the bar.

The inside of the building was just as packed with people trying to get to and from work. The people droned about like sheep. Water dripped from his hair as he looked up at the signs, and the water running off his coat began to form a puddle on the tile floor. He saw the sign he was looking for and headed in the direction it pointed him towards. He found the bar tucked behind the elevator. He locked the door and turned to walk further inside.

As he walked in, he allowed his eyes a moment to adjust to the light. The floor was carpeted and there was a faint burning smell in the air. There were booths along the wall, and a few tables in the middle of the floor. The chairs were tall and wooden, and the stools along the bar were made of a clear material. A single chandelier hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room to provide a bit of light, and allow for the dark corners that such a place needed.

"Trieze?" Came a voice from behind the bar, "I thought you were dead,"

"My brother is dead," Hallan said walking closer to the man, "Who are you?"

"We're closed," The man spoke from behind two bulbous lips. His eyes were sunken in a head that proved a size to large for his body. The man was skinny but tall. He wore a t-shirt and carried a towel.

"How closed?" Hallan asked, sitting down on a stool.

"Very closed. Look, I liked your brother. He was a nice guy, always paid his tabs on time. It's a shame something happened to him, but that's life right?"

"You talk alot. If you got something to hide, I don't think I'll be leavin' anytime soon," Hallan reached into his coat pocket and fingered his gun.

"Yeah, I don't know anything," The man began to walk towards the kitchen door as Hallan pulled his pistol from his pocket. He pulled back the hammer and the man stopped as he heard the click.

"You know, they put a hole in my brother's head the size of a pea. Up close and personal. You know what that's like?" Hallan smiled as the man slowly turned around.

"I'm glad I've got your attention. You know something. That something may just be enough to save your life," Hallan cocked his head to the side as the man's eyes widened.

"Look, it's not me ok? It's the Serpentis. Your brother was in with 'em. Deep. I used to have him sell the stuff here but he started sampling his own stock. One day, 'bout a month ago they started coming in here looking for him. Said he had an outstanding bill. They started to threaten me. Last I seen of your brother here was a week ago, and when he left one of the regulars was followin' him out. Don't ask me why he came back, I don't know, but the next day they found him floatin' in the Yul," The man had backed up to the kitchen door and was staring Hallan's gun down.

"Got a name on the regular who was followin' him?"

"Yeah, he's got a tab here. Horane Besaka. Brutor. I was going to warn your brother about it, that's how's I remember the name,"

"Thank you," Hallan said as he got up to go.

"He never stole from me, always paid me on time," The man started, "If he'd just sold the stuff, this never would've happened. You know, your brother was a good man,"

Hallan fired a single shot, and only the sound of hammer coming down rang through the bar as the bullet flew through and out of the bartenders head.

Hallan walked over and looked down at the bartender, "I told you, my brother is dead."

Friday, November 14, 2008

Closer To Home

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

"Forgiveness is free. Why was it so hard for me to give it away?" Hallan stared at the casket. He ran his hand along the smooth metal and gripped the handle. He clenched it tightly and closed his eyes.

Hallan sighed and let his hand release the handle. He turned and walked down the steps and towards the door of the funeral home, passing empty seats as he did so. The director followed him from the casket to the door, their footfalls echoing in the empty hall.

"There's the small matter of the bill, sir," the director stated rather sheepishly, holding out a data pad in Hallan's direction. Hallan pressed his thumb to the data pad and the director disappeared into his shadows again.

Hallan opened the door to the funeral home. An elderly Achura female stood outside and looked into his eyes as he looked up. He winced at the sun as it shined behind her. Gray clouds hovered in the distance over a forest. Soon they would overtake the sun and the rain would come.

"This is your fault," She started as he walked past her, the wind blowing his long black coat behind him.

"How is it my fault?" He asked, turning around to face her.

"You were out having fun in your pod. He stayed here. He tried to start a family. You're his big brother, you were supposed to protect him. You weren't there when he needed you. You could've been there for him. He was your brother! He's dead. Hal, doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Go fuck yourself, Mom," He saw the tears welling up in her eyes and he turned away from her.

"Where are you going? The service is about to start," She said quietly.

"I'm going to find the guys that did this, and make them pay,"

Hallan opened the door of the Taxi and sat down inside, "Take me to the spaceport," He said to the AI driver.

As the clouds moved in front of the sun, Hallan closed his eyes and let it rain.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


The rain outside fell heavily on the taxi as it came to a stop. Hallan stepped outside of the car and pulled his coat tighter around him. The tall buildings that surrounded him reflected the dark clouds above, and he fought his way through the crush of people to reach the building in front of him.

This was New Caldari Prime, fourth planet in the New Caldari system. Since the exodus from Gallente space, the Caldari had built themselves an empire. Nowhere near as large as the Amarr or or Gallente empires, it's military might rivals that of any of the great powers.

Standing at the base of one of the corporate skyscrapers on New Caldari prime, Hallan could almost imagine the CEO's plotting behind their plasteel windows. He didn't need to talk to them today though, he needed to go to the bar.

The inside of the building was just as packed with people trying to get to and from work. The people droned about like sheep. Water dripped from his hair as he looked up at the signs, and the water running off his coat began to form a puddle on the tile floor. He saw the sign he was looking for and headed in the direction it pointed him towards. He found the bar tucked behind the elevator. He locked the door and turned to walk further inside.

As he walked in, he allowed his eyes a moment to adjust to the light. The floor was carpeted and there was a faint burning smell in the air. There were booths along the wall, and a few tables in the middle of the floor. The chairs were tall and wooden, and the stools along the bar were made of a clear material. A single chandelier hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room to provide a bit of light, and allow for the dark corners that such a place needed.

"Trieze?" Came a voice from behind the bar, "I thought you were dead,"

"My brother is dead," Hallan said walking closer to the man, "Who are you?"

"We're closed," The man spoke from behind two bulbous lips. His eyes were sunken in a head that proved a size to large for his body. The man was skinny but tall. He wore a t-shirt and carried a towel.

"How closed?" Hallan asked, sitting down on a stool.

"Very closed. Look, I liked your brother. He was a nice guy, always paid his tabs on time. It's a shame something happened to him, but that's life right?"

"You talk a lot. If you got something to hide, I don't think I'll be leavin' anytime soon," Hallan reached into his coat pocket and fingered his gun.

"Yeah, I don't know anything," The man began to walk towards the kitchen door as Hallan pulled his pistol from his pocket. He pulled back the hammer and the man stopped as he heard the click.

"You know, they put a hole in my brother's head the size of a pea. Up close and personal. You know what that's like?" Hallan smiled as the man slowly turned around.

"I'm glad I've got your attention. You know something. That something may just be enough to save your life," Hallan cocked his head to the side as the man's eyes widened.

"Look, it's not me ok? It's the Serpentis. Your brother was in with 'em. Deep. I used to have him sell the stuff here but he started sampling his own stock. One day, 'bout a month ago they started coming in here looking for him. Said he had an outstanding bill. They started to threaten me. Last I seen of your brother here was a week ago, and when he left one of the regulars was followin' him out. Don't ask me why he came back, I don't know, but the next day they found him floatin' in the Yul," The man had backed up to the kitchen door and was staring Hallan's gun down.

"Got a name on the regular who was followin' him?"

"Yeah, he's got a tab here. Horane Besaka. Brutor. I was going to warn your brother about it, that's how's I remember the name,"

"Thank you," Hallan said as he got up to go.

"He never stole from me, always paid me on time," The man started, "If he'd just sold the stuff, this never would've happened. You know, your brother was a good man,"

Hallan fired a single shot, and only the sound of hammer coming down rang through the bar as the bullet flew through and out of the bartenders head.

Hallan walked over and looked down at the bartender, "I told you, my brother is dead."

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


A Week Ago

"I've been following you since the club. Going back was really dumb,"

Treize Turrek stood with his hands against a wall. The alley was dark, and Caldari Prime's moonless sky provided nothing but the twinkle of stars to illuminate the night. The man behind him was patting him down and held a gun against the small of Treize's back. The gunman pulled a wallet and several packets from Treize's pockets.

"I just need a little more time," Treize started as the gunman interrupted him.

"My boss says you don't get any more time," The man took a step back and cocked his gun.

Trieze spun around and tackled the man, knocking him to the ground and causing the gun to fire harmlessly into the sky. Treize smacked the man's hand off the ground until he dropped the gun, then Treize grabbed it, scrambled to stand, and ran down the alley.

The gunman followed him to the end of the alley and turned to follow in the direction he'd gone. Treize had already disappeared, and the man slumped his shoulders.

"Shit,"

_____________

"Where are you?" The girl's face on the vidscreen was almost pleading.

Treize leaned uncomfortably down and whispered into the microphone, "I can't tell you right now, but I'll be at your apartment before the night's out," Treize leaned back and looked up and down the street.

"Alright Treize, be careful," The girl's sadness had transformed into happiness in an instant. Despite his precarious position, he was pleased with himself for that very fact. He allowed himself to smile for a moment.

"You uh, you need anything?" He asked the question as though he already knew the answer.

"No actually, I've got some here already," Her smile hadn't broken yet.

"Uh, really? Ok," Treize looked up and down the street again, "We'll talk about it when I get there,"

"We can. I love you Treize,"

"I love you too Kat,"

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Get me the Caldari State Police," Hallan sat at a desk in a dimly lit apartment as his vidphone flashed to life in front of him.

"CSP, how can I direct your call?" Came the automated message.

"This is Hallan Turrek," He leaned back and watched the screen flicker as a person answered.

"Hey! Hallan," The girl on the other side of the phone was fairly cheery, and Hallan smirked to himself, "We've got you on cameras at the scene of a crime today at 12:46. I assume that's why you're calling?"

"Yeah, that's it," He chuckled at the look on the girl's face as she read the charges.

"Are you calling as a witness or suspect?" She looked back at him and began that strange smile again.

"Suspect, I'd like to lodge a guilty plea," Hallan reached over to a gun on his desk and picked it up. He ran one hand down the top of it as he spoke.

"That's fine sir, but the bartender you killed was a level three businessman," The girl's smile was unbroken, and he imagined she was smirking a bit now.

"What?" Hallan put the gun down and the smile left his face.

"Yes, I'm afraid he owned that bar, two brothels and ran a weapons depot for the Caldari Navy. The fine for his death is thirteen million credits," A thumb print appeared in the upper right corner of the screen and Hallan pressed his thumb to it.

"Thank you for your continued patronage Hallan Turrek. If you'd like to look into our group rates I'd be happy to show you some packages,"

"You've been looking at my file haven't you?" He asked, the smile coming back.

"Yes I have sir, and I get the feeling you're not done yet,"

____________________-

"I have the permits already Korvan," Hallan said to the Gallente on the other side of the vidphone.

"You really need me to come all the way over there?" Korvan was fiddling with something off camera.

"I really do, they deal in boosters and it'll be my luck that some idiots got a quick draw implant and X-booster," Hallan put a hand on his gun again.

The microphone on Korvan's side picked up a muffled scream, a blast, and silence.

"I can make some time for it man but we're even now. You know how much I get paid for this kind of thing on a regular basis?" Korvan picked up a towel and began to wipe the end of his gun.

"Way less than you made on the Kurkanski job and you got me to thank for that,"

"You ever gonna let me forget that?"

"One of these days,"

"Gimme a few hours, I gotta tie up some loose ends here,"

"That's fine, I gotta get some armor out of storage,"

"Low profile Fullerene?"

"Good god yes,"

"Just like the good ole' days," Korvan shifted and set his gun across his lap.

"Yeah, remember Ivar?" Hallan looked away from the vidphone for a moment and laughed.

"Man, you ever think about getting back into the game?" Korvan was grinning as well as he spoke.

"Nah, I got my hands full right now,"

"God damned pirate. Heh," Korvan shook his head.

"It pays the bills," Hallan said raising his hands up.

"Yeah, I uh, I gotta go, I'll see ya in a few hours," Korvan stood up and turned.

"Peace man," Hallan pressed a button on the side of the phone and stood up himself as it powered down.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was shaped a bit like an egg. It flew end over end towards the dimly lit second floor plasteel window. It smacked into the window with an oddly wet noise. It exploded softly and clung there. On the inside the man sleeping next to the window stood up and looked outside.

"Hey guys, something sh..." He managed to get out before the grenade released a neutron radiation pulse into the room. The noise was considerable but the lights in the rest of the house didn't come on. Korvan and Hallan waited outside the house beside the front door on either side.

The house was, fortunately, all on it's own in the rural district, and the commotion they were about to cause was unlikely to disturb anyone else. Hallan was glad of that, he didn't have permits for public disturbance.

Hallan nodded to Korvan as the door opened.

"James?" The man said as he stuck his head just outside the door.

Korvan's thermal pulse laser caught the man in the temple and Hallan was already moving to take a position inside the doorway. Korvan rushed inside as well and took up a position opposite Hallan in the hall, who then moved down the hall to the living room. Hallan's silenced pistol fired twice and Korvan moved up the hall to provide cover. He noticed a body draped across a center table and on the couch.

Someone moved from the kitchen into the living room, firing a gauss pistol along the way. The impact of the round to his chest barely fazed Hallan as he fired a single shot at the man, who dropped immediately.

"Helmets on," Korvan said quickly, as the armor sprang up and formed a protective shield around their heads. Korvan moved ahead of Hallan and crouched in the entryway of the kitchen. Hallan then moved ahead of him and trained his gun up the stairway in the kitchen.

Hallan barely had time to notice the movement when a huge flash of light came flying down the stairs, bathing Hallan in brightly glowing fire. Hallan muttered to himself and looked at Korvan, who just smiled.

"Plasma rifles in close quarters, fucking brilliant," Hallan said, making his way up the smoking stairway. As he reached the top the smoking body of their assailant lay next to his rifle.

As Korvan walked by the body, he released a pulse from his laser pistol into the it for good measure. Hallan pointed at the door to the already cleared room, and then pointed at the only other upstairs room. Korvan kicked open the door of the room they'd thrown the grenade at and they both stood against the wall on either side of the door. Both men looked at their guns and then at each other. Hallan put his pistol into it's holster and pulled a katana from his back. Korvan pulled a handle from his belt and flicked it outwards. A dark black blade formed immediately, while the handle hummed. Korvan turned the sword sideways and looked down the blade.

"You always gotta one up me, don't you," Hallan said quietly, a bit of a smirk on his face.

"I don't spend any time on stations man, I can use a mono blade," Korvan effortlessly stabbed his sword through the wall and looked at Hallan, "But yeah, yeah I do,"

The Korvan went through the door and sliced the other bedroom door off it's hinges in a moment as Hallan quickly followed him into the bedroom. A man lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, not moving.

Hallan walked up to him and poked his shoulder with his sword. The man sat up immediately and screamed.

"What the fuck man?" The man still looked rather out of it as Korvan poked him again, "You want some fucking boosters man? You're dead. My boys'll come through that door any minute now and kill your sorry ass," The man chuckled and blinked a few times.

"Horane Besaka right?" As Hallan asked, the man nodded. Hallan nodded himself and said "I've been looking for you,"

"You... you need information?" The man asked quietly.

"Kinda," Hallan switched his sword to his right hand and grabbed the man by the hair.

"Oh fuck, don't!" The man screamed and began to cry.

"Jeez, a Brutor without a backbone. I'm not going to kill you, ya big pansy," Hallan looked up at Korvan, "Cut his head off,"

"On it," Korvan replied raising his humming sword.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"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 a lot 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 tattoo 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,".

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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 Besaka 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,"

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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 addresses 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 forty-second floor.

The elevator dinged in succession as it passed floor after floor, before finally ending on the forty-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 suppressed 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 surveillance videos are now public access. Hopefully that'll give you what you're looking for. You're Hallan Turrek?"

"Yeah, you could say that,"

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"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," emblazoned 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.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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 home world.

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 corp mates, 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.

OOC: Across The Universe

Words are flying out like
endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass
They slip away across the universe.
The Beatles - Across the Universe


What is the point?

Everything I learned about piracy I either taught myself or learned from blogs. I'm not anywhere near the best out there, but I'm pretty good in my niche at this point. It's almost two months later, and of course there's more to learn.

When I went into low-sec on the 24th of September I didn't even know how to work my scanner properly. Three days later I caught a blog post by Kane Rizzel that filled in the blanks on scanning people. His blog was one of the reasons that I started pirating in the first place, so if I kill you, you can blame him.

Actually while I'm at it, lets list off the piratey blogs that really got me started on this Bastardly Path of Death and Destruction. There are four blogs I followed before I even started pirating.

  1. Kane Rizzel
  2. Ka Jolo
  3. Flashfresh
  4. Mynxee
If you've got a brain in your head, and you actually read some of the stuff they post, you'll learn something, guaranteed.

Anyhow, reading should teach you something. Dying should teach you something. You're always learning in Eve, and not just with skill training. Did you know you can scan down anomolies with a shipboard scanner? I didn't till a couple days ago. Netted me a Vexor and a Bellicose kill for my troubles.

I trained an old corpmate yesterday in the proper use of safespots, undock points, basic combat tactics and scanning. I think I'm going to write up a few tutorials on those topics to get people started on the road to piracy.

I'm learning in game too, give me a month and I'll just be able to sit in all the frigates I want to. Give it a couple more and I'll be able to use them extremely well. After that? I'll probably start on cruisers.

It's always a grind.

I'll end with this, if anyone comes away from my blog a bit better informed than they were before they started reading, I'll be happy. I want you to learn, that's why I write ridiculously detailed battle reports. I want you to know what I did and why.

Learn.

Good day.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Weapons In Hand As We Start To Ride

This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man's hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.
T.S. Elliot - The Hollow Men

It doesn't haunt me, and that bothers me. I've got about forty bodies in a station container in Evati. There's five to ten more scattered about the galaxy. I took a stroll through that container yesterday before I launched my Rifter back into the black. I know these people had their consciousness copied and sent to a clone before they died. I shivered anyhow, from the cold.

I almost had my first out of body experience in my first trip to nullsec. That's getting a bit ahead of myself though.

____________

I rolled over and looked at the clock on the wall. 23:30 Galactic Time. I closed my eyes again, then stood up. I looked down from my room onto my hangar. The Boundless Creations folk had sprung for a very nice hangar, but I'm a pod pilot, and at this point I'm used to that kind of treatment. As I looked down at the Rifter that's sitting there, I noticed a single man polishing the side of the ship.

I reached over, flipped a switch, and the glass window began to shimmer. I leaned through it and yelled down to him, "It's just going to get blown up anyhow, you're wasting your time,".

The man looked up at me and then went back to his polishing.

____________

My brain searched through the sub-system checklist. I've grown so familiar with these Rifters that I know where everything is. It's just habitual to check everything as I undock. After a quick checkoff I warped from the undocking bay straight to my predetermined safespot. The Bastards voice comms were alive with chatter. They were roaming. I got a location out of them, near Vitrauze, and began the long trip. By the time I caught up with them they'd already begun on a path to a new system.

It got interesting once we jumped into 0.0 and set up a warp bubble. Once I arrived I set up an orbit around the gate and waited. Before long our first target showed up. A Malediction. I was set up for tackling, so I did my best to get a hold of him for everyone else. I succeeded in catching him in a web and scram, and pretty soon it was over for him. The pod couldn't warp out because of the bubble and we got that too. I scooped the body. I imagined it would add some flavor to the already macabre collection I had back in Evati.

It wasn't too long after that that a Navitas showed up in local. He came to our waiting hands and was removed from his ship. The pod followed soon after. As this was happening we had a pod show up at our gate. He wasn't long for this world either.

Then the real fun began. A Falcon showed up at our bubble, cloaked and began to burn away from the gate. San Rintu began heading in his direction as the rest of us groaned, and were suprised to hear him say "Tackled" on voice comms as he approached and decloaked him. It wasn't much longer before the Falcon died too. That fellah's corpse found a nice home in my holds as well after we killed him.

The Falcon was almost certainly part of a larger force, and we were just waiting to see what they'd bring at that point.

We were engaged a few minutes later by a Maelstrom, Vindicator, Damnation and Pilgrim. A command ship targeted me early, and I died quickly. It was at this point I had my brush with death. A number of pilots had traveled back into low-sec to dock up for some much needed sleep, and what was left of the fleet was fairing poorly against the new ships. We lost the battle. A bubble was maintained for much of that however, and I could not warp my pod out. I began to slowly head towards the gate. Then the bubble went down too, and just as it did, I warped out. I came back right on the gate and passed through.

I lost the bodies in the explosion of my ship. That bothered me.

____________

The fun for that night was not yet over however. I headed back to Evati and reshipped. I had told the hangar crew to have a ship prepped as I left, and they did not disappoint. I headed out to my old stomping grounds: Eifer. The first scan brought back a Vexor on scan. I looked about the system and could not find out where it was. I decided to check above me, and that's where it was.

A corpmate told me about using my onboard scanner to look for anomalies and after doing so, I discovered the Vexor was at a fairly definable location.

I knew I couldn't take the ship, that ship's full compliment of drones would kill me effectively. I began to harass him by killing his drones off two at a time. I noticed a Bellicose along for the ride with the Vexor. After noting that they were in the same corp, I then got a warning to stay away from them or face death. Of course I had plans of my own.

During this time I'd recruited some help of my own, two Vexors were heading my way. One piloted by a Bastards applicant and another by Spectre who's piracy logs are a fun read. I jumped in once more, killed a drone and left. The other guys told me they were one jump over and I went ahead and tackled the Vexor. He was actually almost to half structure already, and I started to pound him. Both allied Vexors landed and I began to burn towards the Bellicose. He was already shooting me down and was using a warp disruptor on me. I hoped to fly under his guns in time. The Vexor died almost immediately and fire focus turned to the Bellicose. He shot me out of the sky just as he exploded. We thought about spending a bit more time in Eifer, but that's a Mean Corp hangout, and I try to keep out of their hair these days.

Spectre, myself, and the new recruit made our way back to Evati. We almost immediately picked up a Python Cartel member Spectre knows and found a Rupture in a belt. He didn't last very long at all. It always amazes me how often people let themselves get podded. If you go into low sec, you need to be better prepared. Trust me, I know: I'm why you should be prepared.

A corpmate by the name of Ard UnjiiGo joined up at this point just as we saw a Vexor who didn't appear to be in any conventional locations. Ard's Cheetah found him fairly quickly and we warped in on top of him. The Vexor died. We locked down the pod this time, but offered a ten million ransom. He didn't answer us, so we asked a corpmate of his who'd escaped if he felt like paying for it.

"I'm not with him," came the reply. Ahh, denied three times. He made a delightful squish. We weren't quite done yet though.

We took a trip to Amamake shortly thereafter, where there's always a fight. Ard managed to scout out a Myrm and a Drake fighting a Myrm and a Brutix in a belt. We waited a bit and engaged the much weakened ships. One Myrm escaped, one died to the others guns and we snagged the Brutix and got on the killmail for the Drake. All the ships were extremly well fitted and I imagine that little encounter will probably pay for a lot more Rifters.

I docked my Rifter that night and took the elevator up to my room. I laid down and looked back at the clock. 5:30 Galactic time. A nice long killing spree.

And a good day.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

There's No Hiding Place

If you just put your hand in mine,
We're gonna leave all our troubles behind,
Keep on walkin' and don't look back.
The Temptations - Don't Look Back.

The whole point of this public log is to keep track of my progress in low-sec. I've been out here for a bit over a month now. I've learned some things, but there is always more to learn in this cold universe.

I think I've got the hang of this pirating thing. I didn't have any good fights, but I did get a bit of hatemail, which, since I publish my logs through Amarrian channels, I cannot repeat here. I found the mail somewhat interesting however, so I initiated a conversation with the fellow to inquire as to his... well being. The Amarr censors will likely do a number on the voice log, so I apologize in advance.

tao fedong > what
Hallan Turrek > Hi!
Hallan Turrek > I was wondering how you were doing.
Hallan Turrek > I see the clone vats have been good to you.
tao fedong > y the f*** would u do that a**
Hallan Turrek > Do what?
Hallan Turrek > Kill you?
Hallan Turrek > It's my job. I'm a Pirate.
Hallan Turrek > I was just wondering how you're doing now.
tao fedong > u mean douch bag
tao fedong > f*** off a** whole
Hallan Turrek > No no no, Pirate. It has a similar amount of syllables.
Hallan Turrek > I can understand how you might get confused.

He then promptly closed the conversation. It's my first hatemail and I will treasure it.

It's struck me though, that I've come quite far in my time out here. I've learned the solo game pretty well. I've begun to pick up bits and pieces of knowledge on group work as well, but that's still an ongoing process. The Bastards is filled to the brim with active, intelligent folks. I've had alot of fun and made a fair amount of money in my time there so far. As for the ins and outs of group work? I will learn or die. Or learn and die, since I can do both effectively.

Yesterday I was tracked down by that damn Angel Cartel Domination, that's been after me for a while. A low-grade halo implant survived the explosion of his ship. It was a surprise to say the least. I don't know why he thought to come after me flanked only by a couple of Defusers, but having seen what he could've brought, I'm glad he did.

I've also been seriously working on my training. Given the success I've had in frigates, I'm aiming to perfect my skills in flying them before I even think about working on my Cruiser skills. I've got my eye on a Manticore, a Jaguar, a Kitsune, and Cheetah. Once I can fly them and well, I will begin to think about possibly getting into a larger ship. I'm was talking to an engineer in a bar I frequent about the practical applications of thermodynamics with regards to ship modules. I'm beginning to think I can push them beyond spec if I'm willing to deal with some heat. It's all interesting stuff.

I'm also seriously considering buying that bar. The By Jove, of which I'm a frequent patron, is currently up for sale. There are no buyers, but I'm thinking sooner or later I will probably be the one to buy it.

Good day.

An Illegitimate Person

I fly a starship, across the Universe divide
And when I reach the other side
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain
But I will remain
And I'll be back again.
Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash - Highwayman

Piracy is in my blood. It permeates my being. I am the personification of fear on the space lanes. When people see my ship on scan, they run. If they're in larger ships, they still avoid me. If they're older than me, they still back off.

Idiots.

I can't lose a ship in a stupid jump as easily anymore. I had a drake scurry along in a belt in Eifer. That was annoying. I knew he could beat me, but I still wanted a fight.

So I'm sitting in my central scan spot in Eifer, looking around for anything. It takes an hour but I finally get a hit. A rifter. I warp in on him and he explodes very quickly. I lock down his pod and ask for a five million ransom. I get no response so I down the pod. I pick up his stuff and move back to the central scan.

I catch two rifters on scan almost immediately and narrow one of them down to a planet/belt system. I position my scanner behind my ship as I'm warping and narrow the scan to ninety degrees, as the belts move out of the scan range, I watch to see if the ship is still showing on my scanner. I notice as two belts fall behind my ship I lose the ship off scan. I turn and scan the right hand asteroid belt of the two. I get a hit and wait to come out of warp. As soon as I come to a stop I head back into warp.

I warp in thirteen clicks from him. I head in his direction with my afterburner on full blast. I learned a long time ago that it does no good to target someone before you're in scram range. Once I hit eight thousand meters I begin to target. It resolves and the scram and my guns go online. I kick on the webifier for good measure and pull into a close orbit. He cut through my shields long before his evaporated, but he couldn't touch my armor, and what little damage he did do, my repairer kept up with. He blew up as well. Then I nailed the pod down. I did a quick check on his age. Less than a week old. That means he probably won't pay a ransom. I downed the pod.

I'm such a Bastard.

I hope to see alot of fun times with my new corp in the future. So far I've killed a Thorax, Fleet Issue Stabber, Falcon, and Armageddon with them. There were more kills, but Concord didn't see fit to include me on the criminal report since I didn't actually shoot at some of them.

Yesterday we stole a Hulk, looted a PoS and ransomed a missioning Drake for 40 million.

Good days.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

EVE Blog Banter #1: Ambulation

I wonder if they'll ever understand
The trials of a freedom seeking man
So have a round on me my friend
What else can we do
You know I always love ya
But I think it's time that we flew
Lindsey Buckingham - Dancing Across the USA

From CrazyKinux's blog:
Welcome to the first installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed here. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

This month's topic comes to us from PsycheDiver: Ambulation: What are your hopes for your avatar and new functionality of stations?

The whole world went black.

Reloading.

Hallan Turrek felt the warm liquid draining around him. The neural shunt released and he let his head lean forward. He reached behind his head and rubbed the hole.

"Never gonna get used to that," he muttered to himself.

The capsule's top opened and he reached for the ladder in front of him. The station control had warned him the hangar he was docked in would have no gravity, due to a malfunction on that deck.

"That's alright," he'd said.

He propelled himself lightly towards the hole above him and grabbed the edge of his pod as he exited. His body jerked a moment, and his iron grip pulled him down along the side of the pod. He pushed away and floated against the wall. He grabbed a length of railing that ran along the entire wall. Using the railing, he worked his way through the ship to his shower.

The fine mist of water impacted on his skin and bounced off for a moment before it was sucked through the walls. The slime was always annoying to clean. It found it's way into your ears, nose, under your fingernails, and any place that would hold it. After what seemed like an hour, he went into the next room and changed into his station clothes. Like any pod-pilot who wanted to go unnoticed, he wore a hat, a wide brimmed "cowboy hat". His blue-jeans were well worn, and he donned a simple t-shirt emblazoned with the Quafe logo. He put a leather jacket on, one made from the hide of a particularly annoying Bruzen he'd met planet side in Nourvukaiken.

The Bruzen are stand about as tall as a human on four legs, and are primarily meat eaters. Before humans came to Nourvukaiken, they were the dominant species, and they've longed for that place again for a thousand years. He'd met one in a camping trip on leave from the navy. The thing decided he belonged in it's food chain, and tracked him for a few days before Hallan had to put a bullet in it. The meat was tender.

He picked up his holster and pistol and ran his hand down the smooth leather. He pulled the gun out and pointed it at the wall. He pulled the trigger, and the hammer refused to fall. Despite it's appearance as a standard six-shooter, it was a high tech piece of equipment, and it wouldn't work on a station. He put the belt on and put his gun back in it's holster. He turned to the door and made his way to the cargo ramp.

He laughed out loud as the workers fumbled around outside. He smiled as his shoes gripped the floor. He'd spent enough time in partially built stations to know, always have a pair of MagnaBoots™ on hand.

He knew where he was headed before he exited the ship. A Jovian he knew owned a little bar here, and he needed to be there. The Jovian's trade in information, and that was something he sorely needed right now. The drinks were good though, and the atmosphere was unbelievable. The Jovian's apparently had access to long forgotten music from the past, because Hallan could never place the songs, and the proprietor wouldn't say where they were from. It was among the finest pilot's lounges he'd visited.

He walked into the promenade with a bit of relief. A lot of pod pilots can be recognized on sight, Roc Wieler, Mynxee, Ka Jolo, Kane Rizzel, he pitied them sometimes. Sure, billions knew who Hallan was, but trillions knew who those pilots were, and it sometimes made it hard to walk around freely. Hallan was relatively fresh to the scene, and unknown in this neck of the woods, so he was enjoying his anonymity for now.

He walked past the flashing lights and the doorman of the "By Jove" without even looking at them. At least one person knew who he was, which wasn't a bad thing sometimes. The Jovian at the bar smiled in his direction and Hallan walked to the bar.

"My friend!" The bartender said over the music.

"Who sings this?" Hallan said, pointing upwards for no reason other than that it seemed like the thing to do.

"Procul Harum," The bartender answered, still smiling.

"Never heard of 'em," Hallan said with a chuckle.

"I know," The bartender said, matter of factly, "Are you here for business?"

"Yes I am,"

"What do you need?"

"The Caldari Navy's got a job for me, and while I'm loath to run it, they've told me if I do it, I'm off the hook with them, forever,"

"You know, my assistance comes with a cost," The bartender said, his grin widening.

"Of course, and they gave me this for you," Hallan passed him a datachip. The bartender slid it into the compstation he'd installed next to his register. It looked like it'd seen more use.

The bartender looked over the screen and stated quickly, "This will do," he typed something up on the station and switched the datachip for another. After a few short minutes he handed it back to Hallan, "A gift, from me,".

"So, about that information," Hallan began, taking the datachip from the bartender.

"Oh, the Gallente lady you're looking for is in that booth over there," He interrupted, while pointing, "She's waiting for her blind date with a Caldari Achura that roughly matches your description." The bartender, his grin fading, turned around and began pouring a couple of bottles into a glass.

"How'd you know that's what I was coming in here for?" Hallan asked, his eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"I'm Jovian, it's my job to know," He held two drinks as he turned around and spoke, "This one is for her," he said handing one to Hallan, "And this one is for you," he said, handing the other to Hallan as well.

"Thanks," Hallan said, as he made his way over to the booth.

The Gallente was extremely attractive by any measure, but her face was pale. It betrayed a lifetime spent on stations. Hallan sat down and handed her a drink. She smiled and put her hand out. Hallan shook it and smiled back.

"So, I heard you work for Combined Harvest," He said, sipping his drink.

____________

Hallan's eyes were open in the darkness. She'd fallen asleep an hour ago, but he hadn't wanted to risk waking her. He slowly removed himself from her embrace and slid to the floor. His clothes took a bit more time to put on than they took getting off, but he managed it fairly quickly. He walked over to her personal compstation and inserted a special datachip. The encryptions took several minutes to break, but eventually he was in. He downloaded all of the available information back onto the chip and put it into his pocket. The Caldari software, if he was correctly informed, had just erased any indication of the data breach. Unless someone went digging for it at this compstation, no one would know. He looked down and then up at the door. He walked over to the door and opened, it, and as the light shined through from the outside onto her nude form, he panicked.

He shut the door immediately and creeped back over to the bed. He reached out and grabbed his hat off her head as she smiled in her sleep. A minute later he was gone.

____________
OOC:

And so it was later,
As the miller told his tale,
That her face at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale.
Procul Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale

Until I started on this blog post I had no idea what the hell Ambulation was. I'd seen one video a month ago. It took a bit of digging to find out what it was about. Apparently we're gonna get to amble about. I enjoy roleplay, and anything to help my writing about this universe is going to be welcome. What would I like to see? I want boarding parties, I want person to person station combat, I want games to play, I want real interaction with agents, I want full immersion in a universe that is already a lot of fun to be in.

That is what it does come down to, it's already a lot of fun, so I hope whatever they do doesn't hurt that. It seems they have it in mind already not to force this change on anyone who doesn't want it. That is good to hear, but I definitely do want it. I want to see my character outfitted how I like, and bit more freedom with his portrait. I want, when I have time, the ability to walk into the repair bay, to haggle a price for the hull repairs on my rifter. I want to see the repairman's surprised face when I haul that baby in full of holes. I want to go to the pilot's lounge and play a game with some other pilots. I want to beat someone within an inch of his life, only to have him medivac'd at the last second and healed to full health.

I'm gonna have fun no matter what.

Good day.


Participants: