Lonetrek region – Okela constellation
Tsuguwa system – Planet VI
Caldari Navy Assembly Plant Station
26 November YC 126
I was catching up with my favourite security agent, Purkkoken Honuken, over a lunch and we were discussing the recent missions when a thought occurred to me.
“Listen, Purkkoken,” said I, “so far I have fought Blood Raiders, Gallenteans, Serpentis, Rogue Drones and even Sansha’s Nation, but there was not a single mission against Guristas. One would have thought that, being the resident scoundrels in Caldari space, they would be the main target of security enforcers.”
“Ah, we have all sorts here,” replied he, “Being just two jumps away from low-sec makes for an interesting life – you never know who will crawl out of Tama gate. But funny you should mention Guristas today. I’ve just got a mission suitable for a pilot of your calibre which does require kicking a Guristas’ ass or two.”
“‘A pilot of my calibre’,” I repeated sarcastically, “You make it sound like a compliment but what it actually means is that that mission is suitable for any greenhorn with a frigate and a railgun.”
“Hey,” exclaimed Purkkoken with mock indignation, “you were not supposed to notice that!”
I tapped my finger on the side of my head, “Social skill, level V. Not only I can play similar tricks on others but I can also recognise when they are played on me.”
“Whew,” whistled the agent, “and here I am, with Social level II, trying to pull one over on you. On the other hand, have you done any Level 2 security missions?”
“Um, no…” admitted I.
“So my point stands until you prove that the calibre of your calibre is of a higher calibre. Anyway, are you interested or not?”
“Well, my 125 calibre railguns definitely are. So what’s the problem?”
“There are many. The first problem is that we have idiots in the security department who let Guristas infiltrate one of our outposts. The second problem is that the pirates got their hands on the classified information about our operations in this area and managed to escape with it. And this is only the beginning of all our future problems if they deliver that information to their base.”
“Haven’t they already transmitted all that info to the base through FTL comms?”
“No, the data storage device has a unique interface which requires specialised equipment. They need to deliver it by ship.”
“And you want me to deal with that ship?”
“Not just deal with it, but blow it to smithereens, loot the remains and bring the loot to me.”
“You want to claim the loot? Happy to surrender it at a market price.”
“All I need is the storage device; you can keep everything else.”
“Alright. And where can I find that smithereens-ready ship?”
“Luckily, we still have some competent staff. One of the officers in the outpost managed to attach a tracking device to the spy ship, so we have the coordinates,” said Purkkoken and tapped something on his datapad, “and now you have them too.”
“And how urgent is it?”
“If you don’t undock in half an hour, I’ll start looking for another taker.”
“Damn you, man,” I grumbled, rising from the table, “now I have to finish this chilli chicken wrap while I walk to the dock. I’ll send you a bill for indigestion pills.”
“Just get yourself a fresh clone, courtesy of Caldari State,” retorted Purkkoken, turning to his meal.
Lonetrek region – Okela constellation
Ekura system – Mission location
The pirates were hiding in a deadspace pocket in the neighbouring Ekura system. It was obviously not a random hiding place, as they had managed to build a cosy outpost there, complete with a bunker, a landing pad and a cargo rig. The scene was enlivened by a bunch of Pithi Arrogators and one Pithi Invader.
“Which one do you think has the storage device?” I asked Aura.
“I think it’s the Invader. It is the only one of its type and attracts a higher bounty than Arrogators,” she replied.
“And what if it isn’t?”
“Look, they are targeting you! Let’s kill’em all and sort them later.”
“Good idea,” I agreed and started moving.
The Invader took three hits before exploding; each Arrogator was dispatched by one volley. The fight was over in less than a minute. Only three wrecks contained some kind of loot and mostly it was metal scraps. The storage device was nowhere to be found.
“Well,” said Aura brightly, “I guess it was destroyed in the explosion. Let’s go back and claim the mission reward.”
“Wait,” I replied, “what if it was transferred to one of the structures?”
“And what if it was? You need a squad of Space Marines to capture them.”
“Or enough firepower to destroy them,” said I, and targeted the bunker.
The first shot showed that the bunker was indeed susceptible to hybrid charges.
“Captain,” exclaimed Aura, “please don’t tell me you are going to use Tech II ammo on a piece of concrete! It’s not like it’s shooting back.”
“Erm…” I said, abashed, “you are right, let’s use iron charges.”
The destruction of the bunker took as much time as annihilation of the whole Guristas fleet, but eventually it exploded expulsing a cargo container. It contained 100 large antimatter charges.
“Hmm… Not much, not useful, and not what we are looking for,” was Aura’s summary of the find.
I then switched to the landing pad which produced only pieces of the landing pad.
Finally, I targeted the cargo rig. That one took a while to disassemble. I even ran out of charges and had to reload the railguns!
With infinite patience (I had to wait the whole three minutes!) I managed to separate the cargo from the rig. It contained a curious assemblage of ammunitions:
-
- Inferno Heavy Assault Missiles
- Medium Tungsten Charges
- Small Uranium Charges
- Small Nuclear Charges
- Large Proton Projectiles
- Nova Rockets
No sign of the storage device. Having exhausted all the options I returned to the Assembly Plant station in Tsuguwa.
Lonetrek region – Okela constellation
Tsuguwa system – Planet VI
Caldari Navy Assembly Plant Station
Purkkoken sifted through my cargo hold and eventually conceded that there was no storage device and I could keep all the loot.
“What do you make of the large projectiles and hybrid charges?” I asked curiously, “Could they be using that outpost as a supply depot for their battleships?”
“Nah,” said Purkkoken, “Rattlesnakes are designed to maximise missile and drone damage. It would be stupid to equip them with cannons and railguns. My guess is that they stole the ammo and planned to sell it to capsuleers on the black market.”
I raised my eyebrows with interest, “Is there a black market?”
Purkkoken slapped me on a shoulder, “You don’t need to worry about it, Vlad. You’ve got that ammo for free.”