EVE General Discussion

How I came to be jumping gate to gate in the depths of null-sec in an attack battlecruiser with snake clone, no escort, and nodding off while in warp.

“Web/scrammed a bit offgate by Svipill, Sveepull, the fracking new Minmatar destroyer!”

A few nights ago I got tired of cepter flying and crept into an oracle for some late night small gang roaming. A corpmate had probed a direct wormhole into Curse and I was torn.

I’m a family man and have to wake up early to get my son to school. I’d already put in a few hours of eve that night and could respectfully bow out to get in a solid bit of sleep. Then I saw the target system, GE-8JV in Catch, and I heard the siren’s call. My mind envisioned beams cooking Brave Newbie after Brave Newbie with some Test to flavor. My battlecruiser was hungry, its dark slaver’s heart needed to be fed, and my killboard needed some top damage death dealing.

That I was the last to warp in to the ball of instant transportation was a sign of things to come. A fleet of five pilots and six ships, one masterful dual boxer was flying two pvp ships. Maulus, hyena, two maledictions, an eagle, and finally my mighty tachyon beast the oracle jumped through the wormhole. Looking back over the killboard we must have had a caracal pilot for a bit too, but my tired mind can’t remember what happened to him.

I love the pulse oracle, but a beam oracle gives me the safety of range that I may need when I’m the main target tackle will focus on in such a small fleet. We also had a few target painters fitted to help mitigate.

We got there and started our harvest. Nearly a hundred fifty in system deep in null sec as the Russians are starting to wake up. We stayed too long. We always stay too long.

I think it was when we were working on killing our second orthrus and my overview filled with frigates that I realized just how spoiled I gotten with the speed and maneuverability of my malediction, not to mention being interdiction nullified. Veteran habits saved me. I was aligned to a safe spot, and I warped before they could target me. I imagine if I had gone towards any celestial the fast warping horde would have been waiting for me at varying ranges. The podding express would have ended my night in time for sleep at the expensive of depression and mockery.

Combat probes hunting me from safe spot to safe spot, I listened to my fleetmates lament that we’d only gotten a half dozen kills before being blobbed away. Only the eagle pilot felt my anxiety to some degree, and he still warped much faster than me.

Going directly to the wormhole home was out of the question. The pipe was clogged with hordes. Our plotted escape was a long string of red and then a bit of green at a halfway point. Jump after jump I slipped further and further behind, while I imagined jumping my -10 self into highsec.

I don’t have a good answer for why I was off gate, but as I slowboated the five k to escape I quietly thanked the pilot’s mistake in tackling me on the wrong side. I jumped and warped before his support arrived, but as my eyes drooped and drool ran down my chin, I considered the cost of surviving in zombie hours. I also thought about the recently purchased Rome II Total War that’s been sitting unplayed in my steam account.

But I can’t escape. I am a zombeve player. I don’t even know if I’m awake right now.

Gate after gate jump after jump into the angry dark my oracle travels, when a voice in my ear says, “Hey now that we’ve gone this completely different route let’s see how far it is from here to the wormhole.”

Ironically because I was so behind I was closer than anyone else. We all started burning, me with rekindled hope and life. I still arrived last, but that final jump was a scouted one.

Sitting in station, spinning my beaming beast a part of me whispers lies of invincibility. I haven’t died in two months. The stupidity siren is calling me out again. Sleep is for the weak, it whispers. Sleep is for the dead.

Love some of the phrasing you use. Great story!

Dull-sec.

Lies. He is the hand of death, and his reach is long.

Well written Isben

(We didn't stay long enough)

in my mind the sweet barritones of Isben Vaught'Triumph's voice was reading me this as a bedtime story

but it's bedtime for MacGunner and not me

Great read, I could see all the action in my minds eye.

Thank you all for the positive comments.

Last night I intended to make some new glorious eve content, but fell asleep putting my son to bed. After a ridiculous 9 hours I feel unnaturally refreshed and will try to remedy this tonight with some late night gaming.