This topic follows adventures of Vladimir Korff, a capsuleer who has recently returned to active duty.
Violent Expulsion
Lonetrek region – Okela constellation
Tsuguwa system – Planet VI
Caldari Navy Assembly Plant Station
19 November YC 126
One day, in November YC 126, I arranged a catch-up with a guy from my capsuleer test group. After failing the second capsuleer test he enlisted in the Caldari Navy and was working his way up the military career ladder. His current posting was at Caldari Navy Assembly Plant in Tsuguwa system, and I was waiting for the end of his shift at one of the station pubs where we agreed to meet. I was standing at the bar waiting for the bartender to finish fixing a drink for a pretty redhead who was in front of me in the queue. To pass the time, I watched a holovid on the bar screen where valiant Captain Yamamoto was flying his Hawk frigate toward Astarte battlecruiser helmed by his arch-enemy Admiral Moreau. Blaster charges from the battlecruiser were swishing by while Yamamoto was rapidly closing the distance. At the sight of this profanity I couldn’t help exclaiming “What an idiot!”
The remark attracted attention of the redhead who was also watching the holovid. She turned to me, looked me up and down and asked coldly, “Who?”
“That stupid Yamamoto, of course,” replied I, failing to notice her disapproving gaze. “Who, in their own mind, approaches a battlecruiser on a frigate in a straight line? You are supposed to fly in a spiral so that those medium turrets can’t track you.”
“And how do you know that, Captain… what’s-your-name?”
I shrugged, “Every capsuleer knows that, it’s in the textbook.”
“Oh,” purred the redhead derisively, “so you are one of those empyreans, eh? Nice try, cowboy.”
She snorted, picked up her cocktail and wandered off. It was at that point that I realised that she was Captain Yamamoto’s fan, and did not appreciate my critical assessment of his tactical genius. It was probably better to comment on the unrealistic number of volleys that Astarte managed to shoot between reloads. In fact, there were no reloads at all.
“Excuse me,” said someone, interrupting my musings, “are you really a capsuleer?”
Purkkoken Honuken
Turning around, I saw a blond guy in a military uniform.
“And what if I am?” I replied grudgingly. I didn’t really intend to advertise that fact since a reaction could be unpredictable, as was evident from my previous encounter.
“I need to know for sure. No offense meant but, you know, for every real capsuleer there are a hundred guys with slots who didn’t actually make it.”
I knew. My friend, whom I was waiting for, was one of those guys.
“Well, I am a capsuleer but I am on a kind of a hiatus at the moment. Why are you asking?”
“Oh, you see, I am a security agent, and I desperately need a capsuleer for an urgent mission. By the way, my name is Purkkoken Honuken,” said he extending his hand.
“Korff. Vladimir Korff,” I replied, reluctantly accepting the handshake. “But why do you need me? You are right, capsuleers are rare but there is always a bunch of them in every system. As of now, there are…” I consulted my datapad, “22 capsuleers in Tsuguwa, including me. Some will surely be interested in what you have to offer.”
“You are right, there was always someone who was keen to take a mission. I didn’t have a problem finding pilots until two weeks ago. Then, suddenly, there was zero interest. Now, they are all busy hunting something called Atavum.”
“Never heard of it,” said I. “Anyway, I have a bit of time now so tell me about your mission.”
Despite myself, I felt strangely interested in the world which I left two years ago and was happy to talk to a man who was connected to it. We grabbed our drinks from the bar and went to my table.
“You see,” started Purkkoken, “there is a small group of Serpentis pirates who took up residence in a deadspace pocket in our system.”
“Serpentis?” interrupted I, “What are they doing in Caldari space?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s a splinter faction or maybe Gallente space became too hot for them. Whatever the reason, they stayed here for a while without causing much trouble until recently, when those assholes tried to hold up a Rorqual.”
“Whoa,” cried I, raising my arms, “if those guys are capable of popping a Rorqual, they are above my paygrade.”
“No, no, they aren’t,” Purkkoken hastily waved his hands. “All they’ve got is a handful of Coreli Initiate frigates.”
“What?” I asked in astonishment, “they tried to take down a capital ship with a wing of frigates? They must have been expelled from Serpentis for stupidity!”
“That’s right!” laughed the agent, “and now the Navy wants to expel them too, with extreme prejudice.”
“But why all the fuss? I bet those dumbasses didn’t even manage to scratch the paint on the Rorqual.”
“I don’t know, but someone higher up is jumping up and down, demanding to ‘rid Caldari space of the Serpentis menace before they turn us all into drug addicts’.”
“Aha, ‘using Rorquals to ship the dope’,” added I and we burst out laughing. “Alright, I think I can help you with your little problem. I am a bit rusty but I have a Cormorant destroyer nearby. You reckon it will be enough?”
“Plenty!” Purkkoken exclaimed elatedly, “it’s actually a frigate-sized mission suitable for beginner pilots. You shouldn’t have any problems with those hoodlums.”
Next day I officially accepted the mission and went to another system to retrieve my Merimetso from storage. It was a strange sensation when my capsule boarded the destroyer. In the last two years I only flew shuttles and pods. Connecting with Cormorant’s eight high slots, seven of which were filled with 125 mm railguns, felt… empowering, and dangerous. I don’t mean that I was in danger, but that I was the danger. I smiled and woke Aura.
“Time to rock-n-roll, darling!”
“Whew!” whistled Aura realising that we were in a destroyer. “What’s going on? Have you pissed somebody off in the Navy and they challenged you to a duel?”
“Hey, it wasn’t me, it was pirates! I am just helping my friend to piss the Navy on, if this is the phrase I am looking for. If someone is pissed off, then the reverse of that will be ‘pissed on’, right?”
Aura rolled her eyes and read the mission brief.
“It says, we need kinetic damage ammo.”
“Yes, I have Spike loaded in the railguns.”
Aura shook her head, “Using Tech II ammo will cost you more than the mission reward.”
“Oh, come on,” drawled I, “surely, it won’t take more than 90 volleys to pop those frigates. Besides, I am not doing it for money.”
At this point Aura made round eyes.
“It’s pretty much a community service,” I continued with a smirk, “Can’t allow any delinquent to draw graffiti on our Rorquals.”
Serpentis Base
The main feature of the deadspace pocket to which we arrived was a small station which looked abandoned. But soon enough I was disabused of this misconception as a small fleet emerged from it. Nothing too menacing, just frigates, so I automatically fell into a routine which I thought I had already forgotten – orbit the station at 50 clicks, target the enemy ships and shoot them out of the sky one by one with my railguns. The familiar procedure left enough brainpower to take a more detailed look at the tactical situation.
First thing I noticed was that not all the ships were Coreli Initiates – there were also two Coreli Spies. I knew that it was a generic name which may or may not have reflected their current mission, but still it was worth noting as a potential explanation of Serpentis’s presence here. The second thing that caught my eye was that not all the ships belonged to Serpentis; there was also a Centii Servant from Sansha’s Nation. What were Sansha’s Nation and Serpentis doing together in Caldari space?
While I pondered over these questions the fight was finished, with all the pirates dead and my shield totally intact. I noticed that one of the wrecks, the late Centii Servant, contained some salvageable cargo. Wondering if the contents could provide a clue to its strange appearance in Serpentis fleet, I approached the remains and looted them. I was rewarded with a magnificent pile of metal scraps. Smiling wryly, I remembered my first experience with Seeker drones when I tried to sell their scraps as a relic of huge scientific significance.
Upon my return to Caldari Navy Assembly Station I discussed my observations with Purkkoken.
“You see,” said I, “they didn’t even manage to make a dent in my defences. With the kind of firepower they had, there was absolutely no hope they could do any damage to that Rorqual. And I don’t believe there is a pilot stupid enough to try. Whatever their goal was, it had to be something different.”
The agent’s eyes lit up, “Do you think there is something deeper going on here?”
“Think yourself,” I started counting on my fingers, “firstly, there is that silly attack on the capital ship. Secondly, there are Coreli Spies which were not part of that attack. And thirdly, what was Sansha’s Nation’s ship doing in the Serpentis gang?”
“You are right, it’s definitely worth investigating further. If I can dig out some Serpentis plot I may even get a promotion to Level 2!” said Purkkoken enthusiastically.
“Just be careful,” I warned him, “someone in the hierarchy above you clearly overreacted to this rather mundane episode…”
Purkkoken’s eyes grew wide, “Do you think that?..”
I put a finger to my lips, “Shh. Just be careful.”
