“I can’t breathe Abby! I can’t breathe!”
“Karen you don’t have to breathe you are in a pod.”
Karen was twisting and turning in her pod. The ships crew stood and watched helplessly as the ships instruments went crazy.
“She needs to catch herself before we are all killed.” The flying officer remarked as he watched the instrument panel.
“Karen you can do this.” Abby’s voice was calm and steady.
They were running the gauntlet into 1DQ from Efa. This involved, as always a scout, in this instance Abby running ahead in a shuttle. It required timing. The shuttle jumps through each system staying within one jump of the Deep Space Transport. Abby had done this many times for Ekloke whose precision and timing was flawless. But unfortunately Ekloke was not around and they needed to move the low security space ore to the production line in PS-94K. Karen was fine in a blockade runner, the risk was minimal, but ever since the ‘incident’ in Alakgur with Gay Pride Booooom she had not been right. She had only lost four pods in her career but each time she had come back she was more reserved, more introverted.
“Just take your time. It is easy when you do it, hit align, then cloak and microwarpdrive then as the microwarpdrive cycle ends uncloak and hit warp. Align, Cloak, MWD, Cloak and Warp.” Abby was on the out gate in Efa waiting to jump into 3-FKCZ. Anyone could come through the gate at any moment, the pause stretched out into the void. Then a crackle.
“I am warping, I did it! I did it!”
Abby jumped through to 3-FKCZ and checked local. “It’s clear, I am warping to the out gate jump in when you arrive.” She hit warp, the shuttle aligned and was gone. Meanwhile Karen and her crew where heading to the 3-FKCZ gate in Efa. Karen was shaking, the adrenalin rush making her extremely agitated. She watched the distance close as the Gommorra shuddered its way through warp. It landed on the gate she took a deep breath as it jumped into Null. Abby meanwhile jumped through the Ansiplex into 8BO-IH. Local was clear.
“OK Karen come to me. Align, Cloak, MWD, Cloak and Warp.”
Silence.
More silence.
“Kar….”
“On my way.”
Abby breathed a sigh of relief and hit warp. Time to get rolling. The jumps started to take on a rhythm of their own, Abby running ahead carefully checking local and Karen getting into warp, starting to ease into the Journey. It was when Abby hit YQX that everything changed.
Abby Talia > YQX-7U “CN hanxs” “M2018M” sabre interceptor
MKD-O8 G Munkee
Eddie Achasse > GOP-GE PsyBlade
stargank > Martin Conrad V-LEKM
Kooter Farmer > GOP-GE clr
Abby Talia > YQX-7U “CN hanxs” “M2018M”
“Whaaaat.” Karen’s voice was shaking.
“It’s okay you have an interdiction nullifier.”
“I don’t, I don’t Abby what am I going to do? I can’t do this I caaaa…..”
“Shut up Karen and listen. Look around you. Do you see the outgate?”
“Yes.” Karen responded quietly.
“OK there is a station nearby isn’t there?”
“Yes.”
“Dock up. I will keep eyes on these guys. You get safe.”
Adam Yule > MKD-O8 PsyBlade
Mailly Gaterau > 1M4-FK G Munkee
Mailly Gaterau > Stiletto
Deresh Dovid Elkhavar > L-6BE1 PsyBlade
Abby Talia > YQX-7U CN hanxs M2018M retribution flycatcher and interdiction probe
Mailly Gaterau > 1M4-FK clr
Deresh Dovid Elkhavar > L-6BE1 G Munkee PsyBlade stiletto loki
Zeri Hamu > Anyone know the status of Ashmarir from Arzanni?
Deresh Dovid Elkhavar > L-6BE1 clr
Adam Yule > MKD-O8 G Munkee PsyBlade
Kooter Farmer > G Munkee GOP-GE
Eddie Achasse > GOP-GE G Munkee
stargank > Martin Conrad K7D-II
Abby Talia > YQX-7U CN hanxs M2018M Retri, Flycatcher
Olakin Rethman > Martin Conrad normally flys a kiki
Abby Talia > YQX-7U CN hanxs M2018M looks like they moved to a gate – be careful
Abby Talia > YQX-7U clr
“Okay Karen, Undock and get into YQX before these asshats come back.”
Silence. Abby warped to 8-YNBE. “Karen…….”
“I am in warp, fuuuck Abby how could I have forgotten the nullifier? I am so sorrrry.”
“It’s okay.” It wasn’t.
“I am approaching the gate.”
“YQX is clear jump in.” Abby jumped through into 8-Y. It was clear.
“Karen you are good to go.” Come through.
They completed the next five jumps to PS-9 and delivered the isogen, nocxium, tritanium, pyerite and cadmium for the next corporation project. After a short break Abby persuaded Karen to take the three jumps to 1DQ to get that nullifier. Once it was fitted they flew back to Efa in a very uneventful journey. Karen’s confidence had improved to the point where not even a neutral in local stopped her warping to the station. The plan was to resume mining once more to secure the remaining Isogen and nocxium. But Mr Gillis wasn’t moving.
Clearly a scout. Never left the starter corporations for pod pilots. Karen looked up zkill to see what, if anything he had been involved. What she saw worried her.
https://zkillboard.com/kill/112775644/
Even more worrying was that his MO was big kills against Brave Collective. Brave had recently evacuated the north after years of pressure from PANFAM the biggest coalition in the game. PANFAM had wanted more space to rent, or so it seemed. Whatever the case there would be no mining this evening. Karen, Abby, and little Uldizo would be hanging out here for the time being, just to keep an eye on Mr Gillis.
It was several hours before local expanded. Many of these characters with red tickers.
Einherjar Khamsi
Eutectic Reaction
Floki Khamsi
Handsome Jacob
John Vaille
katalysator Tadaruwa
Miko Li
Obi-Twan Kenobi
Peter Gillis
Siliun Vaille
Twan to
Undercovernuke
All working for various corporations in Solyaris Chtonium hunting the simple minded with bling to take.
Karen had no idea where the Netherlands was nor had she heard of the ‘Dutch Legions’ before, they looked dangerous enough. Certainly capable of parting a pod pilot from their expensive modules. She showed Abby her findings, boarded her DST and Undocked. The plan was to sit on the undock and see if she could catch a DSCAN of the ships in local. Before long she was rewarded with this:
She pinged this to Abby who opened up the Querious intel channel.
Abby Talia > Efa https://dscan.info/v/fd9aac47870c Einherjar Khamsi Floki Khamsi Handsome Jacob John Vaille ++
Valkhir > Badivefi Twan II Neechi HollanderDanny
Hans-Gustav Mayerling > K-YI1L Keraka <- Heron
Adirim > A-ELE2 +7
Lucuis Castus > Atraxy KEJY-U*
Lucuis Castus > Hidden Rorshach KEJY-U*
Yalla-Habibi > Atraxy , Hidden Rorshach (Gnosis) – KEJY-U
Yalla-Habibi > srry, not gnosis, Drake Navy
Yalla-Habibi > KEJY-U ESS linked
Ray Stelar > Efa that fleet is blops probably
Abby Talia > yeah be warned
Yalla-Habibi > Atraxy bifrost
Karen Sokarad > Efa Arthe Babaganoush III Einherjar Khamsi Floki Khamsi Handsome Jacob John Vaille +6
Valkhir > Badivefi Twan II Neechi HollanderDanny two more blobs
Karen Sokarad > +2 more in Bav
Karen Sokarad > Yeah
Valkhir > Peter Gillis was their dropper have not seen him yet though
Eutectic Reaction > Peter Gillis is in Efa
Eutectic Reaction > will likely be a buzzard^
Karen Sokarad > Peter Gillis yes spotted him earlier he is still in Efa
Abby Talia > Efa https://dscan.info/v/fd9aac47870c Blops fleet still here
Blavish > 14 neuts in Efa , droppers with cyno Peter Gillis
Alexandru Groner > H-4R6Z Peter Gillis
Eutectic Reaction > Peter Gillis left efa
Eutectic Reaction > Efa clear
Jackson Tokila > 3-FKCZ clr
Karen Sokarad > Peter Gillis on zkill : https://zkillboard.com/character/2120923742/
Kremner > Yea they dropped me 😦
Karen Sokarad > Efa clr
Lady Siftt > H-4R6Z +20 blops/T3C
Lady Siftt > Obi-Twan Kenobi
Saints Sasen > YF-6L1 ecarus
There was not much more they could do. Uldizo was keen to go out again but they just could not persuade Karen to leave the station. She clone jumped out to join the Corp operation that evening. Efa was quiet once more. Later Abby was browsing Peter Gillis zkillboard feed and realised that they had already had their kill:
https://zkillboard.com/kill/114163465/
The kill was inexplicable to Abby especially with all of the intel they had been providing. Just how?
Everyday Eve 