Friday, October 31, 2014

Night of the Haunting - Part 3

Happy Halloween! The conclusion of the three part "Scream meets Eve" horror story that has been leading up to today! Escape pod here if fiction isn't your thing.

Part 1 here
Part 2 here


Night of the Haunting - Part 3

The six remaining students stood at a crossroads in the corridor. Setta glanced behind them. The corridor behind was pitch black but she knew the body of Ylamaa was back there, impaled on the metal beam. Torch beams flashed ahead of her, illuminating the three corridors that branched off ahead.


"So do we split up?" Jark asked peering down one of the corridors.

"You got a black-tie function you're late for?" Chigas asked peering down another corridor "Be safer to stick together."

"Tell that to Zarisri and Ylamaa" Jark said. "If we split up, whatever that thing is, it can only go after one couple."

"He's got a point." Matilhelm agreed. "Chances each of these corridors leads to an exit but if we split up we put some distance between us and... it, we might have a better chance. Come on Nerwolfur we're going this way." she said walking straight ahead.

"Wait...." Setta said but Matilhelm ignored her, purposely striding on. The group watched her suddenly drop as the deck plate under her feet gave way. The five rushed over and carefully looked over the edge. She was in some sort of pit around ten feet deep. She looked up from the bottom.

"Get me out of here!" she screamed, obviously unhurt.

The boys started to hunt around for something they could use to lower down and pull her out. Setta and Ariken were on their knees leaning over. Setta looked at the bottom of the pit and saw it wasn't a deck plate Matilhelm was stood on, but what looked like a hatch. The line in the middle indicated it opened in two halves. She glanced around for more clues and saw that near the top written in Caldanese were the words 'Fill line'.

"Guys, you need to hurry, seriously." she whispered.

"Whats the rush, we're getting some peace and quiet with her down there" Nerwolfur joked.

"I don't think this was an accident." Setta whispered back. Nerwolfur looked back suddenly concerned.

"What are you whispering about! Get me out of here!" Matilhelm shrieked from the bottom of the pit. A single metallic clunk followed by a second of silence made everyone freeze. A motor could be heard starting up a few seconds later. A high speed whine emerged from the bottom of the pit. The boys rushed back and looked down to see the floor below Matilhelm's feet start to open. Matilhelm screamed as the two sides of the hatch started to pull away in opposite directions. Jark and Nerwolfur shone their torches down. As the gap widened movement could be seen below the opening hatch. Two huge drums with sharp metal teeth could be seen rotating at speed through the narrow gap.

"Oh shit!" Jark uttered "A garbage shredder!".

Matilhelm was practically dancing as the floor below her started to vanish into the sides of the pit. Nerwolfur pulled off his belt and lowered it. Matilhelm desperately reaching up to try and grab it but it was just too high. Nerwolfur stretched deeper into the pit, Jark grabbing the waistband of his jeans to stop him falling in.

"Lower! Quickly!" Matilhelm screamed, there was only 30cm of hatch left supporting her. At the last moment, before the hatch vanished into the side wall, she jumped for the belt, but missed by a good foot. Matilhelm landed dead centre of the rollers. A sickening crunch resonated up from the bottom of the pit followed by a scream of agony and terror milliseconds later. Setta couldn't avert her eyes at the horrific scene below. Matilhelm's arms where still outstretched and shaking, raised in desperation at the faces peering down at her from above. He scream was inhuman as she was slowly pulled down, the teethed rollers making mulch of her feet, calves and then thighs. As the machine ground through her pelvic region and into her stomach, blood gushed through her wide-open mouth and she stopped screaming. Setta watched as eventually her hands vanished through the one inch gap. Ariken threw up as the two boys leaned against the corridor wall in shock. Setta couldn't move. She just lay there looking down the black pit.

-o0o-

They had stopped there for five minutes. Nobody able to move or say anything. Finally Jark had helped Setta from the floor and led the five survivors down the corridor. He had found a metal pole which he now used to probe the decking in front of them to ensure there were no other garbage shredders rigged as traps.

"If he's a ghost or a spirit or whatever, why is he using traps. Why not supernatural powers?" Chigas muttered.

"There are no such things as ghosts." Setta replied.

"You saw it!" Chigas snapped back.

"I don't know what I saw! The ghost of the Jita Ripper is not haunting this derelict ship. Its a sicko copycat or someone!"

"Oh thats OK then, a madman has burnt himself all over and is wiping us out one by one. That makes me feel so much better." Chigas moaned.

They walked on in silence eventually coming to a door that blocked their way. A 30cm circular hole had been blown out of the middle.

"What the frack happened here?" Jark asked as he looked at the door. "Someone attack the inside of a Drake with a cannonball?"

Chigas went up to the door and pulled the manual release.

"Locked from the other side. But I can reach through that hole....." he said as he put his head through the hole to see where the lock was. Setta was about to scream for him to stop but it was too late. There was a metallic clink and Chigas's headless corpse fell backwards into the corridor. The stump where his head was spurting bright red blood in a high arc as he fell.

"FRACK!" Nerwolfur screamed dodging back. "Nobody do anything! Assuming everything is a trap!"

He shone his torch in the hole in the door. A bright silver blade, coated in red blood, was slowly swinging backwards and forwards. Jark took his metal pole and shoved it through to block the blade before reaching around and releasing the lock on the otherside. The four stepped over Chigas's body as Jark led on, Ariken had to be held as she was in some sort of a daze.

-o0o-

As they went further, the condition of the ship deteriorated. The damage was heaviest on this section of the ship. They found the corridor ahead was blocked by collapsed deck plates but a hole had been punched in the floor by some large explosion. The four started to climbed down the debris to an identical corridor on the next deck down.

"Light! Its a way out!" Nerwolfur pointed down the corridor and ran.

"Wait!" shouted Jark and Setta together as they were helping Ariken down the last of the climb.

"Shit he's not thinking!" Setta swore as they took off after him. They advanced much slower with Jark taking the lead and the two girls behind him, sight of Nerwolfur had been lost a minute before. Their torches scanned ahead looking for any traps as Jark swept the metal pole not taking the chance if there were any Nerwolfur might not have set them off. Setta's torch beam swept across the floor and illuminated a shoe. They stopped suddenly. Nerwolfur's other foot was the other side of the corridor, too far apart to be still connected. For the second time in half and hour Ariken threw up. The touch light showed Nerwolfur had been carved in two. Jark carefully advanced swinging the metal pole. There was a clatter as a 10cm piece of the pole fell to the floor. Jark shone his torch and noticed a drop of blood seemingly hovering in the air.

"Nano-wire" he stated. Setta who was comforting the distraught Ariken looked up questioningly.

"The asshat strung a nano-wire in the middle of the corridor from ceiling to floor. Its like a wire but only one atom thick. It is extremely strong and obviously the sharpest thing in existence. Nerwolfur ran through it and it carved himself in two".

He help lift Ariken to her feet, she wasn't coping well now. "Don't look down and keep to the edge" he said as he guided her down the corridor past the two halves of Nerwolfur and the deadly wire. They continued down towards the light. As they neared they could see it was an airlock door. The bight lights of the hanger outside shining in through the plexiglass viewport set in the centre of the door. Jark tried the manual release handle.

"Locked, but there must be..." he stopped speaking as a loud hissing started.

Setta was about to say run when she, along with Jark and Ariken, collapsed unconscious.

-o0o-

Setta started to come around. She tried to sit up but she couldn't she was tied down, her head flipped from side to side. She was still in the wreckage of the Drake she was strapped to some sort of table. She could see Jark slumped over in the corner, his ankles bound and his wrists tied behind his back.

"Jark!" she hissed quietly, no response. She repeated it a bit louder trying to wake him but not to alert whoever, or whatever, was out there. She hissed at her boyfriend a third time, he stirred.

"Come on Jark. Wake up!" she pleaded quietly.

Jark's eyes snapped open and he looked confused for a second. He then came fully around.

"I cannot move." Setta whispered. Jark nodded and she saw him wriggle. After a minute of trying to move he started to move his hands up and down. She saw by the way his arms were moving moving that he must be rubbing his bonds against something. After a few seconds there was a snapping noise and he pulled his hands from behind his back. He quickly untied his feet and rushed over to Setta who was secured to a table top. She saw the jagged metal Jark had used to cut through his bonds. Their first bit of luck in a long time she thought. He unsnapped the clasps of the fasteners holding her down and lifted her to the floor. They quickly moved out to the next room. There they froze. Ariken was strapped to a table as Setta had been. Setta let out a sob as they neared. Ariken's naked body looked like she'd been through hell. Immediately Setta thought back to the news stories detailing the acts of the Jita Ripper. She saw Ariken's body had numerous fingers and toes missing, those few remaining were missing their nails. Her lips had been hacked off and one of her eyes was missing. The other looked blackened like it had a flame held against it. It was just like she'd read in the the more graphic news stories of the Rippers acts. Shallow cuts crossed her body, indisbursed with black lines where she had been burnt with a blow-torch or something similar. She noticed the small trolley next to the table, she'd been right about the blow-torch. Along with the small hand-held blow-torch there were various knives, scalpels, pliers, metal-snips and skewers laid out on top. All covered with blood, small bits of flesh and clumps of hair. Setta placed her hand over her mouth expecting to be sick. Jark pressed his fingers to her neck and shook his head slowly when he found no pulse.

"Come on." he whispered quietly.

They continued through the wrecked ship however they were much slower now. Without their torches they were reduced to feeling their way along the corridor. After a few minutes they saw a light at the end of the corridor. Remembering what happened the last time, they took their time, sticking to the edge of the corridor to try and avoid any other traps. The corridor opened into a large, well lit room. Racks of drones where stacked against the wall and hatches lined the back wall. One hatch was slightly open, not a lot, but the light from outside was visible.

"Stay here, it must be a trap." Jark whispered as he stayed close to the wall and slowly worked his way around the drone bay to the hatch. He kept an eye on the drones, fearing one might activate at any minute and attack them. Setta watched intently as he appeared to stop and read something on the side wall in the alcove of the partially open hatch. He suddenly pulled his sleeve up and intently looked at his arm left. She was utterly confused. He finally waved her over indicating it was safe. As she approached he turned his back on her and picked something off the lip of the hatch.

"What's happening....."

Jark span around and backhanded her hard across the face. She screamed in pain and shock, falling to the floor. Setta looked up as Jark stood over her, a large Matari style hunting knife in his hand. It glistened in the light as he waved it in her face. He looked up and she followed his gaze. High above them, on a grey metal catwalk, stood the figure. She could see him clearly now. The horrifically burnt skin covered his entire body. His head was almost featureless, the nose, lips and ears having burnt away. Only the cold blue eyes remained. She knew it was impossible for anyone to be still alive and look like that.

"Apparently he says I can go free if I make you make enough noise. He tried his old hobby on Ariken. I'm guessing having his dick burnt off means he couldn't do a proper job on her. He wants me to do a proper job on you. Sorry babes but given the choice between you and me, well, I choose me!" he snarled as he dropped on top of her and started ripping her clothes off. She fought back with all her strength as he tore her blouse open and pulled her skirt up.

"Come on bitch, scream! He wants he hear you scream!" he snarled as he slapped her hard across the face again.

Setta was doing her best to get him off her but he was far too strong. He took the knife and drove it into her shoulder, twisting it as he did. Her scream reverberated around the drone bay.

"That's more like it. A few more like that and we'll start with the fun stuff!" he sneered. "I cannot wait to..."

He never finished his sentence. Setta had worked her right leg free from under him and brought her knee up with all her strength between his legs. Jark somersaulted over her head and landed groaning in agony, his hands cradling his groin. With a scream Setta pulled the knife from her shoulder and rolled over, sinking the blade deep into his exposed leg which brought a scream from the prone man. She rose and quickly staggered over to the hatch that was slightly open clutching her wounded shoulder. Her blouse was ripped open and blood ran down her pale skin staining her white lace bra crimson. When she neared she saw the writing on the wall that Jark had been reading. It looked like someone had wrote it in blood with a finger.

"Look at your left forearm. See the needle mark? You have been injected with a pathogen and have less than an hour to live. There is a knife by the hatch. Take the girl and make her scream louder than that Caldari slut I spent the last few hours working on. If you put on a show worthy of me, if she suffers greatly before you kill her, if her screams are music to my ears, I will give you the antidote and your freedom. I am no longer able to make them enjoy the experience as much as I could before the fire. You must do it. Make it a good show, I am watching. Make her suffer and you will live. TJR."

"Come back here you bitch!" Jark growled. He was struggling to his feet, the Matari hunting knife still buried deep in his inner thigh.

Setta glanced at the hatch. She might be able to squeeze through, but it would be tight. It might also be set to snap shut when someone tried crawling through it, similar to the traps they had previously discovered. However if she didn't, she would need to face Jark. He was too strong and she'd not be able to take him by surprise again.

"I'm going make you scream so hard you'll snap your vocal chords!" he snarled as he pulled the knife from his leg bringing a hiss of pain through his clenched teeth. A bright red jet of blood shot out. He limped menacingly towards her, bloodied knife in hand. Setta bent down and started to squeeze through the waist-high tight gap in the hatch. Jark picked up the pace but was limping badly, a bright trail of thick, red blood marking his path. Setta breathed in as she tried to push herself through the narrow gap.

"Where you going? You aint going to fit through there you bitch!" Jark was nearing now but was also slowing. Setta watched as he dropped to his knees. He pulled himself towards her with his hands, the knife scraping across the deck plates. His face was deathly white now from the blood loss but her was still coming. Finally she managed to squeeze through and out onto the narrow ledge the other side. She was out of the Drake class battlecruiser now, but the ledge which she stood on was less than 50cm wide. It was only a drone launching platform and there was no way down. The hanger floor loomed up at her, some 20 metres below. She looked side to side but there was nowhere to go. She was trapped. Suddenly she felt a burning sensation and glanced down. The tip of the hunting knife protruded through her midriff. The bright silver tip bursting out of her pale skin.

"SCREAM! SCREAM YOU BITCH!" Jark yelled through the narrow hole, his arm poking through the narrow gap where he had reached through to stab her. "Scream!" He sobbed quietly before he collapsed down behind the hatch, blood still pumping out from the severed artary in his leg.

Setta refused to scream despite the pain and despite the fact her legs had given way and she was now falling through the air, the ground rushing up to meet her.

-o0o-

"Good morning Chief." the detective said unhappily as his uniformed superior stepped out of the unmarked police vehicle. Various police and emergency medical vehicles blocked the road. Men both in uniforms and bright white crime-scene overalls were milling about doing their duty.

"I'd hardly call it good. Deuverin. Frack me, the media is having a field-day. Eight teens murdered, on the Night of the Haunting, whilst camping out in the Jita Ripper wreck! The Scope has been onto the press department all morning. Other rags aren't either bothering to wait to get any official facts and are publishing every rumour that is leaking from here."

"Not that it makes a huge difference sir, but it is seven dead so far. One is critical and they are bring them out now. The medics needed nearly an hour to stabilize them before they could be moved."

The Chief rubbed his head.

"We got any idea what happened here?" he groaned.

"Looks like the interior of the ship was booby trapped. There is all sorts of high-tech shit installed all over the wreck. We've got bomb-disposal still working on a dozen traps that they didn't get triggered and those are just the ones we know about. Someone lured these kids her and then locked them inside a fracking house of horrors from what we can tell. Its got to be a lunatic sir, but one with a high IQ. Some were very simple traps like a container of acid in the suspended ceiling or a nano-wire stretched across the corridor. Others were very different needing portable power-systems wired into the Drake and all computer controlled. We've even got one vic that was knocked out with gas and then sliced and diced like the ripper did to his victims. Exactly same MO done on her as one of the original Ripper vics right down to which fingers and toes he cut off and the cut and burn mark patterns on their body. Whoever did this had access to, or hacked into, either the original police files or the medical reports."

"You sure about the perp being a man and hacking our systems? We got other theories floating about you know!" The Chief said with a sarcastic tone rolling his eyes. He produced his datapad and passed it the detective. Deuverin read the headline on the news site and groaned loudly.

"Seriously? We have real-life, serious news outlets running stories about, what was it?" he paused looked at the datapad again "The vengeful spirit of a dead serial killer re-enacting his murders? Thats balls, some sicko did this and we'll catch him sir."

A group of police came through the small door in the massive wall with a number of evidence bags they had filled from the scene. One pealed off the group and approached the two senior men.

"Detective. We found these in some kind of control room inside the Drake. They where a bit out of place so I thought I'd bring them to you direct." he stated holding up a pair of clear plastic bags. Deuverin took them and inspected the contents through the clear plastic.

"What in Divinities Edge are these? " he asked with a puzzled expression at the same moment the door swung out again. A medical gurney was pushed though. Setta lay on the gurney on her side with a oxygen mask over her face. The three men turned.

"She going to make it?" Deuverin asked the medic pushing the trolley.

"Touch and go. She was stabbed through the kidney and she'd shattered her spine, both legs and pelvis in the fall. She's stable for now. We think she's unconscious but with the massive damage to the spine we don't know."

The men fell silent.

"Her eyes are open. Can she see us?" the Chief asked bending down to look into Setta's face.

"We don't know. Her spine is pretty much wrecked, she'll need a new one. She could be just paralysed and can see you, she could also be higher-function brain-dead and its just the stem keeping the heart and lungs going. She's technically alive and thats as much as we know until we get her in for a scan." the medic replied pushing the trolley towards a waiting ambulance.

Setta just lay there on her side. She could indeed see them all and hear every word. Her wide open eyes were taking everything in. She just couldn't move anything, not even her eyes, but she was aware of everything around. She could see the street that they first arrived in where the limo had dropped them off. She could see that the small security booth next to the door had vanished, a light coloured square on the floor where it once stood. She could see the emblem on the door was not the large Federal Police crest that she saw when they came in but a company called "JP Ship Reclamation", but most of all she could see the one-piece 'burns victim' latex costume and the security guard uniform in the clear plastic evidence bags in Detective Deuverin's hands.

The end.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Betrayed

You are in the pub with your mates. There are a lot of you there so your not bothering with 'rounds' and instead have gone for the "Beer Kitty". Everyone has stuck £20 in a pint glass in the centre of the table and thats used to pay for the rounds of drinks. However when nobody is watching you hide the glass under your coat, make your excuses and leave. Yeah you just lost a gang of friends, but look, you have made £120!


Anyone think thats a good idea? Hopefully not. Now put that story in an Eve Online setting and suddenly some people see that behaviour as perfectly reasonable.

Last week a post appeared on my corporations directors forum. Entitled "Corp Theft", I groaned. We'd been hit. As I read it, reading how the "Apprentice" hangers had been cleared out which are the lowest level of access reserved for our noobies and junior members, I thought it must have been someone who recently joined. Then I saw the name of the accused.

I was already formulating my reply in my head. "Nope, you've got your facts wrong. There is no way that guy would steal from the us. I've been flying with him since 2008. We've got hammered together on corp meet ups. I introduced him to the wonder that are gentlemens clubs! We've been to Fanfest twice. I gave his girlfriend a ticket for FF 2014! I bought them enough drinks to float a battleship this year! Smeg, his GF moaned at fanfest that she created her toon in a rush and wasn't happy with her so I contracted over a spare PLEX I had so she could resculpt. No way he'd stab me in the back like that after I vouched for him and got him into this corp. No way."

Minimising Chrome, I booted up Eve and looked in the Apprentice Hanger. Everything, from ammo to frigate and destroyer hulls, were kept in containers so everything was logged. I looked at the logs, and unlike those ones that the GM's review when responding to your petitions, these logs did show something. They showed 'he' had emptied everything.


I checked the "Old Bro's" channel for ex-members of the corp we were both directors in back in the day. I asked if he was there. No answer. I sent a convo request. No answer. It was late and I was about to go to bed. I posted in the directors forum, asking them to wait until I had a chance to speak to him before taking action. There must be a logical answer why he did this.

Just before I closed everything down he responded. Yes he did it just as we left faction war to go full pirate. He wanted to stay in faction war and decided to take everything he could before he dropped and joined another FW corp.

Getting shafted like that really hurt. Getting shafted like that for a mere 500m ISK really, really hurt. They say never go to bed angry. I went to bed f******* fusrious.


The one question I keep asking is "Why?". Its probably a question many Eve Online players ask after they suffer a corp theft. If its a random guy especially new ones is because they were planning it or just an asshat, but why do so called friends do it?

1. There is no real come-back in Eve Online.
The asshat in the story at the start of this post could well end up 'paying' for his actions. His (now) ex-mates might report it to the police and he could be charged with theft and gain a criminal record. His mates might decide to take matters in their own hands and he could end up with a black eye and a swollen lip. There are many things that could happen to you in real life if you stole from friends. Online, nothing is probably going to happen to you. Some hate-mail. Some name-calling. Some bitter disappointment. A tip off of to your new CEO. However no real punative action will be taken from you. Its crime without the potential for time!


2. Online Friends are Different to RL Friends.
I suppose there is some truth here. Knowing someone online is never the same as knowning them in real life. They is the internet between you and them. Therefore do they think stabbing you in the back isn't really like stabbing a real life mate in the back in real life?

3. Your Online Character is not 'You'
Many people say that they play their character as a 'dick' or not a very nice person but thats only 'roleplay'. "Oh I play Chaotic-Evil in game however in real life I am an amazingballs person". Nope. I think its the other way around, like the movie 'The Mask'. Playing a video game is escapism however its a mask that allows the real you to come out. Dick in game? Well I hate to say it but.....

4. John Gabriels Greater Internet Dickwad Theory
Then again number three above does go against the GIDT. Is it all the internets fault?


5. Weldons Law
Or may be it is just Online Gamers - Don't be a dick.


I don't know. I really don't.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Glass Cannons..... FIRE!

At Eve Vegas a new weapon type was revealed. Glass-cannon weapons! These would have the highest DPS of all equivalent sized guns but reduce all your resistances to zero! They are aiming to have them priced the same as faction guns. They are now on SiSi so I logged on to see how they do. I compared a few ships, just swapping the guns. Obviously the drawbacks mean that if you are fitting these you'll need to re-think your entire fit. DCU's and resistance mods are out. Buffer tank and DPS mods are in!


Autocannon Thrasher

Ahhhh the good old Thrasher. Already a nice DPS boat but what about with the new weapons?

With T2 Auto Cannons and faction DPS ammo - 311 DPS and 6,440 EHP in Client
With Blighted Auto Cannons and faction DPS ammo - 388 DPS and 5,508 EHP in Client

So that is a 25% jump in DPS with 15% less hitpoints. Might be worth it? Then again the price these guns will be? So no, not really.


Stealth Bomber

Now this is where I see a possible use.

With T2 Torpedo Launchers and Rage Torps - 487 DPS and 2065 EHP in Client
With Blighted Torpedo Launchers and Rage Torps - 608 DPS and 1987 EHP in Client

Again a 25% jump in DPS but only a 4% drop in effective hit points. Mmmmm might need to check the maths there. It was a Manticore.


Naga

A useful ship to bring to a structure bash.

With T2 Neutron Blasters and Void - 1291 DPS and 15,610 EHP
With Blighted Neutron Blasters and Void - 1614 DPS and 13,279 EHP

So, guess what, its a 25% jump in DPS again. Plus a 15% slide on the EHP. After I'd done this I thought the drop in EHP will be actually higher in use. I did these numbers docked so the EHP of the normal ship didn't take into account the active shield hardeners.


Vindicator

My highest DPS subcap. Lets be silly! I wonder if anyone will risk a Vindi for the increased DPS. Realising my mistake with the Naga I undocked the Vindi to get the proper results.

With T2 Neutron Blasters and Void - 1318 DPS* and 184,404 EHP
With Blighted Neutron Blasters and Void - 1646 DPS* and 78,344 EHP

25% jump in DPS but a massive 60% reduction in tankage!

* Gun damage, excludes drones


However the numbers above are just swapping the weapons. They actually need to be refit as there is no use for a DCU or tank resistance mods now. Oh yes.... 2300 DPS with Drones and same tank as before! Thats a massive increase by removing armour hardeners and the DCU and swapping to more damage, tracking or eWar mods.

So the use of Blighted weapons? You get the 25% more damage and 3x ammo storage (240 vs 70 on large blasters) plus better tracking (0.0886rad/sec vs 0.077rad/sec on T2 large blasters), less capacitor use (nearly 9GJ vs 12 GJ on T2 large blasters) and of course the 25% damage increase but things to consider are on top of the above stats Glass Cannon weapons have:-
  • Shorter Optimals (5940m vs 7425m on T2 large blasters)
  • Shorter Falloff (6000m vs 7500m on T2 large blasters)
The small versions I don't see being used much. May be in Hi-Sec Burner missions but not so much in PvP. Their price tag will make them prohibitive.

Stealth Bombers? Yes, I see this being their most popular use. Anything that cuts the time of a Faction War bunker bust, a POCO, iHub or unarmed PoS bash by 25% is going to be popular.

The SPKATT Battlecruisers (ships previously known as tier 3 BC) with their 1600 DPS looks tasty, same DPS as my Vindicator with normal T2 guns, but they are the true glass cannons. With the right fitting, implants and links you can nearly get a Destroyer hull to have the same EHP as one of those with Blighted weapons. However the potential DPS output means they might be popular with structure grinds. Just watch for bombs!

Battleships? I don't see it. The tank nerf is so strong that in PvP the extra DPS isn't going to make up for the reduced survivability. Remember Blighted weapons only come in super-short-range flavours. Plus the price of these guns will make your top rack break a billion on a normal BS. For a capital gank, may be. For a fleet fight? Nope.

Expect to see carebears in high-sec with these weapons and structure-grinding stealth bombers and DPS battlecruisers in low and null. I just cannot see many PvP ships using them outside your usual ISK-buying, pinata-flying, clueless noob. These weapons are basically for structure grinding and I'm not seeing any other real use for them.


The forum thread for Blighted Weapons soon reached half a dozen pages before the modules even showed up on SiSi. Why? Blighted? BLIGHTED? The name wasn't entirely popular. Now we have Stigmatic. Still time for a name change TBH!

Friday, October 24, 2014

Night of the Haunting - Part 2

This is part two of Night of the Haunting. A horror/slasher piece centred around the New Eden equivalent of Halloween. Escape pod here if you're not into your Eve-O fiction.

The story reaches its climax next week, Friday 31st October, All Hallows Eve.......

In other SCASS fictional news, the latest novelette (or is it a novella I cannot remember?) is at a place I'm finally happy with, sort of, ish, may be. If anyone wants to give it a proof-read and check my Ingrish spelin I'll toss some ISK your way and give you a credit at the start. 22,000 words, action-adventure. Drop a mail in-game to Drackarn or the his name at Gmail dot com.



Night of the Haunting - Part 2


Ariken led the group into the pitch black hull of the wrecked Drake class Battlecruiser. The airlock looked like it had been blown open from the inside. The corridor walls were scorched and evidence of the fires and explosive decompression that enveloped the ship were all around. The group turned on the torches that Ariken had handed out as they had neared the airlock, the feint glow from the emergency lighting units which were still active at the entrance. The beams illuminated small areas on the devastated corridor walls, casting eerie shadows.


"Apparently this ship was finally caught in an asteroid belt in the system of Notoras in low-sec." Ariken explained as she ducked below a mass of wires that had fallen from the corridors ceiling. "The Capsuleer Kirith Darkblade disabled the ships warp drive with a warp disruptor beam and then destroyed the ship. Over eighty crew died on this ship when it blew, a mere 18 made it to the escape pods. However, nobody really knows how many the Jita Ripper slowly sliced and diced in his quarters here over the months leading up to that battle. The wreckage was towed back here to the heart of the Federation for forensic investigation as the Federation had jurisdiction in Notoras."

As they got further into thje ship the emergency lighting flickered and died. Now there was only torch light. Setta hugged in close to Jark. It was strange but Ariken's commentary was getting to her. She assumed that it was because this was not a made-up ghost story, it was all real. She had read about the murders in the news. A maniac who pretended to be a capsuleer to seduced women only to drug them and then slowly kill them once he'd had his way with them. Just as authorities were closing in on him, a real capsuleer with the same sick perversion rescued him and they together killed at least another dozen before being taken down in a dead-end solar system, deep in low-sec, where they were hiding.

"The problem is that the Rippers body was never actually found." Ariken continued "Some say he made it to an escape pod but the hero Capsuleer attacking the Drake scooped him up and sold him to the powerful father of one of his victims. They say the father had him tortured for days before killing him!" Ariken paused as she squeezed past part of a bulkhead that had collapsed, partially blocking the corridor. "Some say he was incinerated in the fire that engulfed these very corridors as he tried to escape, half burnt to death before being claimed by the cold vacuum of space. However, some say that he never truly died. That you cannot kill true evil. That his charred, undead body still walks these corridors, looking for his next victim!"

Suddenly the area in front of the group where Ariken stood was plunged into darkness. Ariken screamed. This caused everyone else to scream. Ariken's laughter could be heard as she turned the torch back on.

"Bitch" was muttered by several of the party under their breath.

Finally they reached their destination, light spilled from a door ahead into the dark corridor. The door itself was half open and the corridor side of it showed the burns and explosive damage like the rest of the corridor. However, it must have been sealed during the battle as the cabin itself had been protected from the fire. Inside small portable lights had been set up as well as a large selection of food and drink on one of the tables. Setta spotted various Matari ales and Gallente vodka as well as some Amarrian wines. A large datapad lay on the floor surrounded by cushions.

"Wow babes. You got this all set up." Ylamaa said checking out the cabin.

"Oh yes, I told my pet security guard exactly how I wanted it".

Nerwolfur shook his head. "Seriously, after all you put that guy through he still does this for you? You ruined his life but he's still under your spell so much he'll help organise a party for you, your boyfriend and your friends... but is not invited himself?"

"Of course! He doesn't see it that way. In fact it was he who invited me here originally for tonight, that's how I found this ship was here. I just convinced him to let me bring all my friends... oh and for him not to come. He'd do anything for me the poor boy. Come on, he did all my college work for three months and I never even let him touch me, just a simple peck on the lips until 'we got to know each other properly' which of course we never got there." she laughed "Getting him to do this was easy in comparison. Do you know why I chose this cabin specially."

"Why this one?" Setta asked already guessing the answer.

"This is where the Ripper took his victims to torture them to death!" she replied with glee.

-o0o-

Half an hour later they had their snacks and drink and had been instructed by Ariken to sit in a large circle around the large datapad on the floor. Ariken tapped it and it lit up showing a wheel. Several of the group groaned as they read the categories on the outside of the wheel. Truth, kiss, scary story, make out, dare, -1 clothing, +1 clothing, MO Contest and more.

"Spin the bottle? Seriously?" Matilhelm laughed.

"Oh yes, we're going old school." Ariken smiled. She tapped a button labeled 'start' and a small hologram appeared above the screen. It was a small Gallente man dressed like a game show host from a bad local network.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to The Spinner. I hope you will all take part in the spirit of the game! I'll be back to explain some of the more unusual tasks if anyone lands on one or where time-keeping or adjudication is needed. Good luck to one and all!" the little figure said before vanishing.

The big pointer on the screen started spinning and the categories on the outside of the wheel faded out to be replaced by their names. Ariken had obviously pre-programmed it. It stopped on Nerwolfur.

"OK Nerwolfur you're up first. Hit the spin button!" Ariken said with glee clapping her hands excitedly. Nerwolfur pressed the button that said 'spin' and the pointer started to rotate at speed as their names faded and the various categories reappeared. Slowly the pointer slowed and landed on 'kiss', immediately the pointer spun up again and their names reappeared.

"If it lands on Chigas or Jark I'm smashing this thing up!" he growled.

Ariken giggled. "I've set it so it cannot choose boy-on-boy, see the boys names are faded-out, so don't worry Nerwolfur your secret is safe, we won't all see you enjoying a smooch with Jark who you secretly love!".

The group roared with laugher as Nerwolfur glowered. The needle slowed and landed on Matilhelm. There was a collective groan from everyone else and complaints that it wasn't fun as they were boyfriend and girlfriend anyway. The two lovers smiled and leaned together for a quick kiss.

"Don't worry, plenty more spins to go!" Ariken said in a tone that worried Setta. "Anyway, it's Matilhelm's go now"

Matilhelm pressed the spin button and the pointer whizzed around again. The group watched intently as the needle slowed. It landed on '-1 clothing'. Matilhelm smiled and took off a shoe.

"Setta, your turn." Ariken stated with a grin.

Setta really didn't want to play this stupid game however she didn't want to be the only one to say it. She pressed the button and the needle span. Chigas kept glancing at Setta and the slowing needle. Setta wondered what he was hoping for. Probably for her to get 'make out' and then for him to be picked. Would she actually go through with something like that? Finally the needle landed on 'truth'. As the pointer started to spin up again and their names appeared the hologram of the man appeared.

"Looks like someone has to tell a truth. Be warned, we don't tolerate lies here on the Spinner. So grab the rod of truth before you answer!" the hologram stated with the flair that only cheesy game show hosts can.

Setta looked around confused as Ariken grabbed a small crate and handed her a small batton. It was silver and about 15cm long and 3cm wide. She looked questioningly at Ariken.

"Its a lie detector linked to the game, you have to hold it when answering a truth. Some of the categories have props you are supposed to use, we've got a selection in here. Oh goody!" Ariken stated as she pointed to the spinner. The pointer had landed on 'Ariken'. Setta heart sank realising the bitch would ask the question.

"Don't worry. I'll go easy on you for the first one." she paused and pulled a face pretending to think hard. "Are you a virgin?" Ariken asked all sweet and innocent. Chigas and Nerwolfur whooped as Setta turned scarlet.

"Come on babes. Its not a difficult one. You still got the V plates?" Ariken asked again.

Josh leaned into her.

"You don't have to answer" he whispered.

"Yes I am!" she snapped at Ariken. The hologram appeared above the spinner.

"And that is...." it paused for dramatic effect ".... the truth! Well done you. Now to the next contestant!"

Setta passed the baton back to Ariken who smiled sweetly as the little hologram man faded away. The rest of the round saw articles of clothing discarded, truths told, kisses traded and even a ghost story. Setta had been concerned that Ariken may have rigged the game but when it came to her own turn she lost an piece of clothing. However unlike the shoes that others had chosen to discard, she'd pulled her top off and was sat their in her tiny lace bra. Setta had seen all the boys catching a glimpse, even Jark. She couldn't blame them as the tiny bra left little to the imagination. It was strange that she's expose herself like that Setta thought. Nerwolfur had just lost a shoe and Matilhelm was watching the needle spin. It landed on 'make out'. Setta glanced at Nerwolfur who didn't look happy that his girlfriend was about to make out with someone and it was down to chance who it was. Setta wondered what the chances of a fight breaking out where. How would she feel if it fell on Jark? The categories faded away and the names appeared as the pointer began to spin.

"Why aren't the other girls names faded?" Matilhelm asked.

"Because girls making out is hot so I left that option on." Ariken stated. Setta noticed Nerwolfur perk up suddenly. She assumed his sudden change was that he'd gone from thinking he had a two in three chance of watching his girlfriend make out with one of his best friends to having a chance of watching his girlfriend make out with another girl. Slowly the pointer ticked around. It seemed to hover over Jark's name but finally ticked over one more. It stopped on Ylamaa's name. All the others cheered as the hologram of the host appeared.

"OK ladies and gentlemen, we have a make out! No cameras or holorecorders please, what happens in the Spinner stays in the Spinner. Contestants get ready, its a one minute challenge and I'm the official time keeper. On your marks.... get set....."

The two girls didn't wait for the word 'go' and started passionately kissing each other with hands roaming as their friends cheered. They were really putting on a show. Finally the small holographic host called a halt to the proceedings which drew a chorus of boos from the boys.

"If you're not too turned on, its your spin Setta" Ariken said. Setta leaned over and hit the spin button. She glanced at Ariken who had a smirk on her face. Everyone watched as the pointer landed on 'MO Contest'. There were glances around to see if anyone else knew what that was. The holographic host appeared.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a make-out contest! Could the contestant please select their boyfriend or girlfriend on the screen. If you don't have one here press the spin button to pick someone random."

Setta looked down and saw their names had appeared under the hologram. She reached through the hologram and pressed Jark. His name faded out and then so did the other boys names leaving just the girls. The pointer started to spin.

"Contestant, please fit the red bracelet to your loved one." the hologram said.

Ariken handed Setta a thick red bracelet that looked like a watch strap from the crate of props. She placed it around Jark's wrist. She noted the look on Ariken's face, she was up to something.

"The bracelet monitors heart rate, perspiration and six other signs of arousal." the holographic figure announced "It then gives the person a score out of 100 how turned on they are. The bracelet wearer will make-out for 30 seconds with the person we are about to pick. The bracelet wearer will then make out with the contestant for 30 seconds. We'll compare the scores to see who got the lover, loved up the most! The random choice or the lover!"

Setta glared at Ariken who was smiling smugly. She didn't need to look at the spinner to know where the pointer had landed, the look on Ariken's face said it all. It was a set up. The machine must have indeed been rigged and this was her end game. Not only would she get to make out with Setta's boyfriend as she was made to watch, she'd then show the group that she'd turned him on more than her. She was going to humiliate her in front of the group. That's why she had removed her top and sat there for an entire round in that tiny lace bra, to get pulses racing, especially Jark's. It was all a set up.

Ariken stood up and walked across the circle, an exaggerated sway in her hips. She settled in Jark's lap, wrapping her legs around his waist as the holographic host counted down. Jark kept his hands behind him, leaning back on them,. He looked at Setta in worry. In that moment it came to her, a potential way to beat the bitch. Setta smiled at Jark and nodded at him that it was OK to go along with it. She had a plan.

"Go!" the hologram announced.

Ariken wasted no time in devouring Jark. She kissed him deeply and dragged his hands up to her chest. When his hands just sat there she used her own hands on top of his to make him squeeze her chest. Sat in his lap, she ground herself into him giving it everything she could, squeezing her slender legs around him and and pulling him into her. The group swapped their attention between the couple making-out and the rising score on the screen as the bracelet on Jark relayed information. Various people called out the numbers as they climbed.

"14!"
"39!"
"56!"
"66!"

"Stop! Time is up!" the host announced. A score of 79! That'll be hard to beat! Contestant, get ready, your thirty seconds starts very soon."

Ariken climbed off Jark and wiped her wet lips with the back of her hand, looking down at Setta.

"Good luck beating that!" she sneered.

Setta climbed into Jark's lap in a similar position as the host gave a countdown. Everyone watched in expectation.

"Go!"

Setta took Jark's head in her hands and placed her lips by his ear. She whispered something quietly which nobody else could hear. She then climbed off him and took her seat. Everyone looked at her in amazement that she didn't even try.

"Decided there was no way you could compete with me?" Ariken laughed cruelly.

Setta smiled sweetly at her and pointed to the screen. There was a gasp just before the holographic host reappeared.

"91! The contestant wins! Well done!" he stated. There was a uncomfortable pause. Everyone held their breath knowing what was coming.

"She fracking cheated!" screamed Ariken "She must have hacked the game or something! She didn't do anything to him. Its impossible for her to beat me!"

Setta just leaned into Jark smiling as Ariken ranted on before storming out of the cabin. It was clear the games were over for the night.

-o0o-

Setta poured two drinks from one of the Gallente bottles. Matilhelm appeared at her side, reaching for a pair of plastic cups herself. Ariken and Chigas had not been seen for the last hour after Ariken stormed out with Chigas chasing after her like an obedient puppy. Ylamaa and Zarisri had slinked out together a few minutes later leaving Setta and Jark with Matilhelm and Nerwolfur. They had taken residency in separate darkened corners.

"So, how did you do it?" Matilhelm asked with a smile. "I've never seen anyone get one over on Ariken so well."

Setta smiled. "I simply whispered to Jark that I had taken pink pill earlier that you gave me and that he'd be getting lucky later tonight. I think I actually told him he could do anything he wanted to me."

Matilhelm burst out laughing. "Ariken worked on his little head but you worked on his big one. Thats classic!"

"Is she still around?" Setta asked.

"Yeah" replied Matilhelm "Nerwolfur went to check a bit ago and they are in the cabins two down. From the slapping sounds he heard I think Ariken is taking her frustrations out on Chigas by......"

Suddenly there was a massive crash and the entire room appeared to shake. The sound of grinding and screeching metal reverberated through the ship. Jark and Nerwolfur lept to their feet and rushed to the door. Everyone soon congregated in the corridor and shone their torches down to where the sound had come from. A section of the ship had caved in. The corridor where they had come from was completely blocked by thick, twisted metal. Setta noticed Ariken at the back of the group wearing next to nothing and holding her loose top against her bare chest. She glared at Setta when she saw her looking. Jark approached the cave-in and inspected it.

"Yeah, we're not getting back out that way! Its completely blocked."

There then followed a ten minute conversation which turned into a heated argument about what to do. Ylamaa and Zarisri wanted to call for help as their datapads were still connected to the net which was a surprise so deep inside the wrecked starship hull. Ariken had ruled out any contact as they were trespassing and tampering with police evidence. Nobody fancied a federal criminal conviction and had reluctantly agreed. It was finally decided that they should get dressed, clear up and find another way out. The couples returned to the cabins they had been occupying to get ready.

Within five minutes most were back in the corridor ready to leave.

"Where the frack are Ylamaa and Zarisri?" Ariken snapped.

"Coming!" Ylamaa said as she stepped out of the cabin down the hall. "Zarisri is just...."

A horrific scream came from inside the cabin behind her. Ylamaa turned and darted back inside, the group quickly running in after her. They burst in to find Ylamaa on the floor on her back holding her right hand in the air by the wrist, it was red and looked burnt. Zarisri was writhing on the floor in a puddle of liquid. His clothes were half dissolved and all of his exposed skin was bright red and blistered. It looked like steam was rising from him and the puddle that surrounded him. The group looked on, frozen in horror.

"Help him!" Ylamaa pleaded. Nobody moved. Nobody knew what to do. After a few seconds Zarisri shuddered and fell still.

"Shit, he's dead isn't he. Frack! What the frack happened?" Nerwolfur asked in disbelief as the girls wept.

Jark went over, not getting too near. He looked around and up at the ceiling which was dripping a light green liquid through a hole. The metal of the deck plate was bubbling.

"Must have been some corrosive liquid from a pipe up there. The collapse weakened the pipe and it happened to burst as he was under it? Man, we have got to call for help now!"

Ariken looked like she was about to object but didn't say anything. Jark pulled his datapad from his pocked. He looked at the screen puzzled.

"Chigas, you got a signal? Mines suddenly died."

Everyone took out their datapads and tried to get a signal. Nothing was getting through. Ylamaa staggered to her feet weeping and still cradling her badly burnt hand where she had touched Zarisri.

"Its the Jita Ripper. Its his ghost! He's using his powers to kill us!" she wailed.

"Get a grip there is no such thing!" Ariken snapped "The collapse must have put too much metal between us and the exit thats all. We need to move to get a signal thats all."

"I have to get out of here!" Ylamaa screamed and ran out of the cabin, vanishing down the pitch-black corridor.

"Shit! Someone get her!" Ariken shouted.

The group ran after her but she had too good a head-start, the bouncing torchlight from the chasing pack hitting her back every so often. They half saw her as she ran blind around a bend in the corridor. The group gave chase, skidding to a halt as they rounded the bend themselves. With their torches they could see it whereas Ylamaa could not. A metal support beam had smashed upwards through the deck plate. Its jagged, pointed end rising up to chest height like a spear set in the ground. Ylamaa had ran straight into it at full speed. The beam vanished into the front of her chest below her breasts and rose up out of the top of her back. She just hung there like a ragdoll, arms by her side and head leaning forward. Her body was twitching all over.

"Nobody touch her!" Matilhelm screamed as they approached.

Jark slipped past with his back pressed to the wall being careful not to knock her. He could see she was still alive as her body twitched and spasmed, impaled on the twisted metal. He saw a look of pure terror in her wide eyes which focused on him. She tried to speak but couldn't, a small trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth. She twitched twice more and was still. A sudden noise further down the corridor made the six remaining students spin around in fear. They quickly pointed their collective torches in the direction of the noise. There were gasps and murmurs of horror. The torch light dimly illuminated a naked figure far down the other corridor. Even from that distance they could see it was naked and horrifically burnt. There appeared to be no features on its head, just a pair of cold, dead eyes. It stood still for a few seconds staring at them and then vanished into a side corridor. Nobody in the group dared move.

"The Jita Ripper!" Ariken whispered in horror.

To be concluded........ Part 3

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Bored

I've come to the realisation that I'm bored with Eve! In fact I'm generally bored, pissed off and fed with a lot of things at the minute but Eve is getting to me currently. To be honest you'd be better off navigating away from this post right now and picking something more interesting off the side-bar to the right.

I enjoy writing about Eve. I enjoy the Eve community. However, the game itself is just pissing me off at the moment.

Whilst this month has not been great for game-time generally as its been a public holiday, my wedding anniversary weekend away and the wife's parents have been over to stay, I have only had two fights all month. In 22 days, I've fought twice... and lost both times. I am really bad at Eve.


Its hard enough to find a fight (I don't call a bait frigate sat in a FW plex with support hiding a few AU away. Smeg, if you want to kill my Kestrel with that Stabber Fleet Issue after tackling with your bait frigate then you must be more desperate than me for kills!) and its not fun when after 30 minutes of roaming you finally lose the 1v1 you've been looking for. I've been like this for most of 2014. Lacking Eve mojo to actually play the game. My kills has shown this very clearly:-


Stagnant faction war, lack of PvP'rs in the area/time zone and its all led to a lot of Titanfall, Stronghold Kingdoms, X-Com, a little Elite Dangerous (docking is a pain in the ass!) and a few other games. The release of Civilisation: Beyond Earth on Friday is going to be another game sucking away my Eve time.

Therefore I have decided I will stay up late Friday night. I will play Eve until the early hours until you damn Euro's get on and you unemployed Yanks drag yourself out of bed. I will play Saturday morning when the rest of America is on and pewing.

I WILL FIND MY EVE MOJO. I WILL!!!!!!!!!


Right, blog post done, time for some Titanfall.

Shit.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Making a Tug Even Better

At Eve Vegas CCP Fozzie revealed some new ship related news. The Blackbird model is being revamped. After the Moa and the Crow I think we can expect a less boxy, symmetrical model... unfortunatly. Will be sad if this is true to see the fairly unique ships of Eve turned into more generic sci-fi ships. There is no atmosphere in space, they don't need to be aerodynamic.


We also have T3 destroyers. Woot! These will be different to T3 Cruisers in there will be no sub-systems. Instead you'll have three modes you can swap between. Defensive, Agile and Sniper. Thinking about a T3 Cockbag that can be in sniper mode, try and run in Agile mode if you don't volley them and then can sit in defensive mode if they catch you hoping the cavalry turn up could be very interesting! These ships will be released one per expansion starting with Amarr and finishing with Gallente given the results in the recent "technology race".

We are also getting a new ship, currently in development, code-name "The Tug". This freighter sized ship will have a ship maintenance array to place fitted ships in. In fact Fozzie said it could fit "several" fitted battleships. However, like freighters it appears they are designed for high-sec. It was said they are basically "carriers" for hi-sec.


Carriers have several uses. The most common being:-

1. Repairing stuff (Triage).
2. Ratting.
3. Moving stuff (Suitcase).

They are currently very good at all three, however will be pretty poor at #3 after Phoebe and the jump drive/fatigue changes. Whilst force projection needs to be nerfed, the Phoebe changes also make it a massive PITA to move. Lets look at Drackarn. Say he gets bored of low-sec.... OK say he gets even more bored than he is now... and wants to move. How easy is that going to be? If I joined up with some Null-sec guys and wanted to take my stuff to my new home....

102 ships including 3 capitals, 8 battleships and 7 Battlecruiser making 52,387,700 cubic meters
400,000m3 of stuffz

Yeah, I'm staying in Nisuwa. Can you imagine me rebasing with all THAT after Phoebe and the long-distance travel changes? Smeg off!


What if we added a jump drive to the tug and gave it a bonus to fatigue like the jump freighter has? There needs to be care taken but imho the issue with current force projection is capital and super-capital. Keeping the ability to move battleships and down quickly shouldn't be an issue should it? Yeah, Eve players, right. Might not be a good idea.

So if a jump drive tug is not the answer to "How do we help people move without opening force project" what is? How can the individual player, corporations and smaller alliances move home?

On idea that popped into my head was Interbus contracts. They took a week to process but you could get stuff moved by NPC's. Yes, obviously my next thought was that goes against the sandbox and impacts on other things such as Black Frog etc.

Basically either you strip your ships, lose the rigs and jump freighter the ships to your new home and then re-fit, or you accept its going to take a dogs age to get there.

All I can hope is some start using the 'tugs' with escorts to move large quantities of ships across low-sec. Convoy raids could be a lot of fun!

Sunday, October 19, 2014

SCASSSS - Factional Jackets

A lot of important spaceship news over the weekend. New Blackbird model, T3 destroyers and a new industrial ship for moving fitted ships around (holds several fitted BS apparently).

However I'm in a rush today and stuck on a laptop so.... the new factional jackets from the NES. Show your colours, if you really want to that is.





Friday, October 17, 2014

Night of the Haunting - Part 1

Its two weeks to Halloween! I had an idea for a story to tie in with the time of year. Eve Online meets Scream? Its a 'three-parter' with the climax on the 31st. Escape pod here if you are not into your Eve-O fiction.


Night of the Haunting - Part 1

The loud bell broke the silence of the classroom which was immediately followed by the squeal of chairs being pushed back as the students rose.

"I want that piece on Admiral Yakia Tovil-Toba handed in before the end of the week. I'll be knocking off 10 marks for every day its late!" the lecturer shouted above the din.

Setta followed the throng of students leaving the classroom and out into the crowded hall. At 18 years old she was a senior and would be moving up to university in the next six months. That meant moving to a whole new space-station. Away from her family, away from her friends. She edged forward through the crowd and got to her locker, managing to open the door one-handed as she struggled with her pile of datapads. She slammed the door closed and headed towards the exit at the bottom of the corridor. She realised that her next educational establishment would be very different as various students of all creeds and colours jostled past her. The space-station at Luminaire VII was fairly unique in the Gallente Federation. The planet below had once been home to the Caldari race and still bore its name, Caldari Prime. After losing the war with the Gallente Federation, the Caldari State was a now distant empire. Most of its people had fled the star-system to their new home, New Caldari. However there were still many Caldari on the planet and station in orbit above who never left their homeworld. Along with the Matari immigrants and the odd Amarrian escaping their repression for one reason or the other, the Luminnaire VII station was perhaps the most racially diverse in the cluster.


Setta exited the door into the park. Of course on a space-station it was all artificial, but an important element for the well-being of the space-dwelling students. She glanced around. Groups of students were playing various sports, sat chatting or reading or just strolling around. Whilst the sun was not visibile through the massive window looking out into space, a huge high-intensity light high up on the roof gave the apperance of bright sunshine. Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed her from behind.

"Gotcha!" the voice snarled as she almost jumped out of her skin.

"You bastard!" she yelled as she realised it was Jark who was lifting her up and putting her over his shoulder!

"Put me down!" she screamed, half laughing.

"Nope. Got places to go!" he said and strode across the park carrying her on his shoulder to the amusement of other students.

Jark was the captain of the Lacrosse team. A six foot pillar of Gallente muscle topped with short blonde hair. Your standard jock however he was different to many of them, he was actually a nice guy as well. He and Setta had been dating for four months. He finally put her down as he reached a group of students sat under a tree.

"Oh look what the Jark dragged in!" Ariken laughed. Setta smiled at her knowing the comment wasn't as light-hearted as she made it sound. Ariken was a bitch. She was the head of the click of the rich and beautiful girls and she had always looked down on Setta. Normally Setta wouldn't give airheads like her a second look. Rich daddy's girls who use their looks and daddy's money to get through life whilst being mean and cruel to anyone they see as below them. Ariken begrudgingly accepted Setta into the group simply because of Jark. The hansom captain of the lacrosse team needed to be in her group simply for the status. Ariken was Caldari, her father was a successful businessman planet-side, and it didn't help that Setta was Gallente. It had been a long time since the Gallente kicked the Caldari out of Luminarre but there was still some animosity.

"Jark... MY MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!" the man sat with Ariken yelled and jumped to his feet. The two men ran at each other before jumping in the air and chest bumping. Chigas was Ariken's boyfriend. He was the centre-forward and all-star player of the college Zero-G Handball Team. Next to them were sat Matilhelm and Nerwolfur, both Matari. Second-generation immigrants. The Gallente federation had taken in a vast number of refugees from the Matari-Amarr war and their grandparents had settle in Luminairre after fleeing one of the Amarr Reclaimings. The last couple were Ylamaa and Zarisri. She was Caldari, born and raised on the station. She was only a couple of notches down from Ariken on the bitch scale. Her boyfriend was one of the few Amarrians living in the Federation. His parents fled political persecution and had settled here after being granted asylum in the Federation. In their little group of eight, all four empires of New Eden were represented.

"So its the Night of the Haunting at the weekend." Ariken started. As normal everyone fell quiet. Not that they really wanted to hear what she had to say, but the tantrum and fallout from disturbing her whilst she was saying her piece would be too much trouble. "This year I have something special planned! You girls all need to tell your parents you are staying around mine for a sleep-over."

The Night of the Haunting was an ancient tradition. Like the Valentines equivalent called Night of the Lovers, the Night of the Haunting evolved from the old Earth celebration of Halloween. Through the dark ages of New Eden all knowledge of the existence of Earth, the Sol system, the Milky Way, humanities origins and the massive wormhole that brought them to this cluster was long forgotten. However some of the old celebrations made it through the dark ages, from Christmas to Valentines day. Now twenty thousand years on they are very different to our 21st century versions, but still recognisable.

"A sleep-over?" Ylamaa asked raising an eyebrow.

"Duuurrrr! Thats what your parents need to think!" she said with a look of sarcasm. "I have a plan for a Night of the Haunted party that will beat all!"

Ariken continued with vague instructions to Ylamaa. Setta tuned out as she knew she'd not be involved in the planning as the relative outsider. Ariken wasn't giving any specific details just general information and the whole thing was going to be a massive surprise. Eventually the planning faded out and the various conversations started to run in different directions. Setta felt a hand on her shoulder which then pulled her back. Jark was laying behind her and rolled on top of her.

"I have you now" he whispered as he started to kiss her. She returned the kiss as they lay on the soft green grass of the park. One of his hands moved up her side, sliding under her top and onto her chest. She took the invading wrist and guided the hand back to her hip.

"Awwwwww" he complained, half jokingly.

"Not now with them here!" she replied.

"Get a room you two!" Ylamaa joked.

"Oh there'll be plenty of opportunity for that at the sleepover!" Ariken said in a tone that sent a chill over Setta.

-o0o-

Two nights later Setta was placing some clothes in her overnight bag. She'd hidden her main outfit for the party in the bottom of the bag and now was stuffing unflattering pyjama's on top in case her mother looked. As if on queue she heard a voice behind her.

"Got everything you need sweetie?" her mother asked as she poked her head through the half open door.

"Yes mom."

She paused as if she had something to say. After a few seconds of awkward silence she spoke up.

"There aren't going to be any boys there are there?"

"No mom."

"And no drink."

"No mom. Its just a few girls from school. We are going to be having a sleepover and be telling ghost stories for Night of the Haunting."

Her mother looked slightly happier.

"Oh good. Because you know there is plenty of time after university for boys and having a good time. You need to focus on your education and get the qualifications you need you know!"

"Yes mom! Look I'll be good." Setta said as she zipped up the bag. She passed her mom in the doorway and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry about me so much, I'm a big girl these days!" she said with a laugh before heading down the stairs.

"And thats what I'm afraid of." muttered her mother as she leant against the door frame watching her daughter disappeared down the stairs.

-o0o-

Setta wiggled into her skirt as Matilhelm was leaning into a mirror putting on her own make-up. The girls were all getting ready at Ariken's huge apartment. Her father was planet-side working and her mother was off station on a mini-vacation which she apparently took every month. Of the four girls Setta got on best with Matilhelm. Ariken clearly wasn't really happy about having her in the group and Ylamaa did whatever Ariken said. Matilhelm, whilst not the nicest girl in school, had accepted Setta more than the other two. When they divided the rooms up in the apartment to get ready it had been a simple decision who shared.

As Setta finished putting on her shoes Matilhelm came over and opened her palm in front of her.

"You need?" she asked with a smile. In her palm was a medicine box, the logo on the lid was well known throughout the Federation. It was a combination pill that acted as a contraceptive as well as defence against all known STDs.

"I don't know." Setta said hesitating.

"Come on, you and Jark have been going four months. What are you, an Amarrian nun?" she laughed.

"We'll I was just waiting. You know, until graduation."

"Honey, you need to loosen up. A hottie like Jark? He won't wait around if he gets a better offer. You know what these boys are like. Plenty of 'sallope' at the college who'll jump on him if you don't." Matilhelm laughed opening the box and picked out one of the small pink pills. "I'm planning to have a very good time tonight! Remind Nerwolfur how lucky he is!" and with that she swallowed the pill.

"I don't know. I wanted my first time with Jark to be special."

"Look, just take one. You don't have to do anything, but if you change your mind later you're protected! Who knows where we are going, damn, we could end up at a five star hotel on the capsuleer decks for all we know. Ariken's father has the cash and the connections. Hey, imagine if we partied with an Empyrean! Anyway, where ever we end up, you might or you might not. Best to be prepared right? Keep your options open?"

Setta shrugged. She could see Matilhelm's logic and picked one of the small pink pills and placed it in her mouth. She hesitated a second before swallowing it.

"Thata girl." Matilhelm winked "These jocks are like decking plates on an Interbus shuttle. Lay them right and you can walk all over them for years!" she laughed and went back to the mirror to finish her make-up.

Setta looked at herself in the full length mirror. She had to admit she looked good. If she could get away from Ariken and Ylamaa and get Jark on his own for a while this could be a very good night. She wasn't sure about how far she'd let him go. So far she'd stopped him from going beyond having his hand up her top but she knew Matilhelm had a point. She was probably one of a handful in her year that still had her 'V' plates. How long could she hope to hold onto Jark if she kept knocking him back?

Just then Ariken stuck her head around the door?

"Hey girls are you.... oh, you wearing that?" she asked Setta.

Setta glanced down at her outfit. The tight top showed enough cleavage to be not too obvious but enough get Jark smiling. The skirt was short and flared. Her shoes were kitten heels as she she didn't want to wear high-heels not knowing where they were going.

"Yes. Why?"

"Oh right.... its, erm, nice. Anyway, transport is here. We need to pick up the boys and head to our top secret destination! Chop, chop!" she clapped her hands.

With not a small feeling of dread, Setta ignored the dig and followed her out to the waiting limo.

-o0o-

The ride there was surprisingly fun. After picking the boys up Ariken had produced a couple of bottles of Gallente champagne and even Setta had partaken. Despite the veiled insult before they left, Ariken was actually being nice. It was about 30 minutes later that the limo pulled up and stopped. They all got out of the limo and looked around confused. They were on an industrial deck. All around them were dirty factories and silos.

"Urrrgghhhhh. What are we doing here?" Ylamaa moaned. "We'e not going to some abandoned factory are we? Gross!"

"You'll see." grinned Ariken "Its going to be epic!". She led on towards a small booth set against an immense featureless building some 50 metres away. A young man in a security uniform exited the booth and approached the group.

"Hey babes" Ariken addressed the guard. Setta noticed Chigas tense up.

"L, l, l , look you need to be o, o, o, o, out by 11am station time. If the new shift starts you'll be l, l, l, l, locked up!" he stammered as he approached a door set into the immense wall. He removed a key and opened a small panel which exposed a keypad. He keyed in a sequence of numbers and the door unlocked with a loud click. Setta noted the Federal Police Service badge on the door and swallowed hard.

"We'll be back way before then" Ariken purred and stood on her tiptoes to give the man a kiss on the cheek. Setta saw Chigas step forward but Jark held him back. They all entered the door and Setta jumped as a huge clang resonated as it was closed behind them.

"Who was that guy" Setta whispered to Jark.

"An old boyfriend of Ariken."

Setta looked at him in disbelief that Ariken would date the guy they just saw. Jark saw her face and continued.

"I know. Apparently he was a straight 'A' student. 99 point average. Ariken became his girlfriend when she was in danger of flunking two years ago so needed a sap she could use to get her grades up. They dated, he coached her, she acted like his girlfriend but she was just stringing him on. Once she was over a 75 point average she dumped him. Poor guy never got over her. Before she dug her claws in he was going to be some egg-head professor, after she ate him up and spat him out he dropped out of college and now he's a damned security guard" Jark whispered "He'll still do anything for her even after she ruined his life. Chicks, eh? They can really frack you up!"

Setta gave him a playful punch in the arm.

The eight of them walked along the corridor. Ahead they could see the walls and ceiling of the corridor disappeared and it turned into some sort of elevated walkway. As they emerged into the open they realised they were inside some sort of huge room which was pitch black. The light from the corridor behind them made a small puddle of light in which they all stood.

"Where in Divinities Edge are we Ari?" Jark moaned "This had better be good."

"Oh its very good!" she replied as she walked over to a small console set against the railing of the elevated walkway. "We're spending the night inside a little bit of history"

She pressed a few buttons and the hanger started to light up. Huge spotlights activated with a thunk, one by one. In the centre was an immense starship, it looked like it had been almost destroyed. It clearly had been in some massive battle and lost. The group fell silent as they took in the sight of the ruined starship. The walkway continuing to a hatch halfway up the broken hull.

"Boys and girls, I give you our home for tonight." Ariken announced "The Drake class starship which the infamous serial killer, the Jita Ripper operated from, slicing and dicing innocents, before dying horribly himself in a fireball as the Capsuleers dispensed true justice."

To be continued... Part 2

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

What Next for Null Sec? Wealth Redistribution?

Now if I was able to read CCP Greyscale's mind this is what I think I'd see. I'd see CCP shaking the ant-farm even more. In fact I see them continuing Greyscale's risk/effort vs reward balance. Now that force projection is severely limited, its time to get people fighting. Not right away though. Let the changes sink in. Let the maps and boarders be rewritten as renters flee and alliances space changes depending on the new jump ranges. Then once everything is settled then I think they will really shake the ant-farm.....


...and do this by redistributing the wealth of New Eden

We've already seen this risk vs reward balancing in the Cirius expansion. High Sec is now the worst place to mine, refine and manufacture in terms of ISK/hr, but it is far the safest and easiest. Null sec is now the best place to mine, refine and manufacture but generally carries more risk and a lot more effort. Will that soon be for everything? Not only that, will CCP look at null-sec and decide that too can scale? There is a difference between null-sec regions when it comes to risk and accessibility? No more will there be simply three areas in Eve; high-low-null (yes and wormhole, I thought you guys just wanted to be left alone other than better POS and clone facilities?) Will CCP look at scaling null sec depending on the risk vs reward aspects of the particular space?


Null Sec near high-sec border = Poor
Null Sec near low-sec border = Meh
Null Sec a distance away from Empire space = Not bad.
Null Sec in the arse end of nowhere = FREE MONEY FOR ALL!

Will rat bounties and combat sites scale depending how deep you are into null? The more jumps you are away from high-sec, the higher the bounties are, the better the combat sites that spawn and the better the mood of the loot fairy? Those alliances who have great ratting space and also easy access to high-sec suddenly may find their ISK/hr drops whilst those in worthless deep space suddenly turn into Scrooge McDuck swimming in a pool of ISK?


Could something major like a redistribution of moon goo lead to mass migration? We saw this with the T2 manufacturing moon goo and the Goons taking over the richest parts of null. Will CCP redistribute moon goo based on difficulty to get to? The most valuable goo moved to the arse end of the cluster whilst the easily accessible regions get the crap?

Or will CCP introduce something new and valuables in the depths of space? T3 modules* must be something CCP are thinking about. May be their introduction will require special moon goo or minerals. To make T3 modules you will need Sleeper parts from wormhole space and then some rare minerals/moon goo from normal space. This could take the form of planetary ring mining that has been hinted at before.

I think the wealth of null-sec now is not what it will be in a few months. Worthless, inaccessible space will suddenly become the new gold-rush when CCP make changes turning null-sec on its head.


Time will tell.....

Monday, October 13, 2014

Why Not Fire a Titan's Doomsday Weapon... Today!

I have no plans to put Drackarn in a Titan. No point for the style of game I play in Eve Online. I prefer small gang and solo PvP rather than TiDi heavy null-sec mash-F1 fests. However, I, like I am sure most people, would love to try flying a Titan and firing a doomsday device at some point just to try it.

Well currently you can!


Get yourself a Test Server install sorted. Its fairly easy. You need to copy your Eve-O directory to a folder called Test Server or something simliar so you know which is which and then make a new short cut with an extra command in it. All the official instructions are here:- https://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Singularity

Done that? Right!

Patch your test server client.
Log into Singularity.
Select Redeem Items in the bottom panel on the character selection screen.
Oh look, you have one of each Titan there! Drag and drop your chosen Titan to your character you wish to use.

"But Drackarn, I don't have the skills for a Titan and it would take me a year to train up just to be able to sit in it!"


No it won't! We have magic on the test server. It'll only take you as long as it takes you to do these few simple steps:-

Join the chat channel "moveme"
Type "capitalships"
A CCP bot will confirm your request and ask you to leave the channel. Do as it asks!
You know have all titan skills, capital weapon skills and doomsday skills to level V.

Now get fitting that Titan up! My GSM (giant space mushroom) aka Avatar had 18 million EHP, 5000 DPS (I stuck some smartbombs on there) and more importantly.... a THREE MILLION DAMAGE ZOMGDIEDIEDIE LASOOOOOR BEAM OF DEATH!

Now you have your Titan go and break the game and submit a bug report when you do! Remember, Titans can use stargates and fire their doomsday weapon in low-sec now!

I did a test logging in an alt and getting her into a titan too. I just had to fire that big gun at least once!


Oh yes, superweapons are awesome!

Sunday, October 12, 2014

SCASSSS - Titan Squeeze

Currently you can get you character into a titan on the test server. I'll post how to do this and my experience first time in a super-capital tomorrow.

For today's Sunday Short, I made this picture after jumping through a stargate in an Avatar class titan. Yeah, the size does make it look a bit silly (yes its all about wormholes and matter, but still, thats a sizeable difference!).