The Way of the Tackler, Redux

I got on EVE a bit later than usual yesterday, which is alright because I definitely needed a gaming (and working, as I was home) break and spent most of my day surfing Youtube for music stuff and just plain doing the computer version of watching TV. Things were pretty quiet when my toons woke up in Curse, apart from a short visit by a BoB fleet. But as more and more Bozos were waking up things started to get interesting as the BoB guys were starting to make there way back home.

Queb took over control of our fleet and called for a long-range/tanky BC gang with ECM and tackle support. As I don't have the fully fit Myrmidon required (rigs missing) and my other BC is my ratting ship, and Recons are literally years ahead of me, I decided to fly what I bloody wanted and stuck to my trusty Stiletto, aptly named Still Fast. Much hilarity ensued with comments like "You don't have anything better?", "Wanna buy rigs off me?", "Coz, you fly Ruptures right?", but despite all this I stuck to my dinky, over-engined, nanofiber Formula One spaceship. The point I'm trying to make is I believe in flying cheap as I am not as ISK-independant as most of my more advanced comrades, and me being me I'm into going as fast as bloody well possible, especially when I know my targets will be much slower than me and even if they succeed in shutting off my MWD my size and base speed will give a hard time to the enemy's tracking.

So as we hear about the BoB fleet's location we get underway to try and stop it cold in the VOL-MI system, a major travelling hub in Curse even though it has no stations. We get set up at combat optimals around the contested 8G gate, and in a bizarre FC decision the BoB fleet sends in its Interdictor alone as scout; note that BoB had two Onyxes so they had no shortage of bubblers, but they also had three Rapiers... I would've sent one of those in. Anyway, the Sabre dies a horrible death but it's pod gets away and probably gives intel on us because after much Local smacking, the BoB fleet decided to leave by the other way possible, logging off. I hate this technique.

But our evening was far from over. Soon after this a lone Out of Order Malediction makes his way thru the gate, and I'm informed I have to catch him. And I do, but again I miss the pod as the Malediction had made his way out of our bubble and his pod warped away instantly after the ship died. I get back on the gate just in time to get on a Hound that's coming thru. When he came out of the jump cloak I powered towards him at full speed and then he turned on his cloak. But my momentum was so much that I decloaked him easily and was able to lock him up. Boom goes the bomber. We then get word of a B.L.A.C.K. gang on the other side of the ARG gate in VOL. Q sends me there to investigate and sure enough, an Hyena of theirs is there with me, away from the gate. We throw down the gloves and go at it. I quickly put a point on him (warp disruptor for those not used to the term) but as he's only slightly slower than me it takes some fancy flying to be able to web him. I do succeed but he gets out of web range a few times, so what we have is a good old fashioned dog fight. All the while we're shooting at each other of course and my two 250mm light artillery guns are hurting him a lot more than his light missiles are hurting me. I would have been able to kill him on my own but when our gang got to the gate, which was already 200km behind me, our Falcons were ordered to put jams on him. When I finally kill the Hyena I find myself over 300km away from the gate. What a ride !!! But it's not over yet...

We never engaged the B.L.A.C.K. gang except for that Hyena, but we get word of a Tenth Legion gang coming to us, so we move again to the 8G gate and wait for their arrival. Somewhere in between fights I did manage to catch and pod a shuttle pilot twice; he must really like me now! When the 10th jump in the first ship to make it through is a Crow so guess who's job it is to get him. By now though I have some nice help because a few Bozos assign drones to me as they noticed my proficiency at tackling targets As soon as I lock up that Crow he literally melts under my guns and my assigned drones' firepower. I then get back to the middle of the battle and start following primaries, but Q orders me to pick off pods. I had already gotten one and got two others, and slowly the 10th disengaged.

We then get word of a much bigger B.L.A.C.K. fleet coming so it's then decided that we setup on the VOL gate in 8G. Before they got to us we did get a few more kills, an OWN Taranis, and a 10th Legion Cerberus that we scanned down to one of his safespots. By then we heard the composition of the enemy fleet and Q decides to dock us up in CL-85V (after a another kill or two) and figure out our options, but mine are clear as by then it is 1AM in Montreal and my body screams for sleep. I have yet to read the report from the ensueing battle but reading the killboard we apparently got a slight spanking.

All in all though we had a very good night, and I think I've proven that even interceptors can play a very important role in the midst of much bigger ships that are too busy killing each other. And that battle with the Hyena... damn, I haven't felt that good since the good ol' days of X-Wing vs TIE Fighter! I guess I'll find out what happened after my departure today but for the part that I've been in, it's been awesome !!!

Fly hard, and dance on fire...

o7