Captan’s Log: First entry
Space — It’s either eerily empty or overly crowded. Strange how that works.
The crowds have made ransom attempts a bit difficult and I’ve been trying to find a balance to when I need to focus on my own profits versus damaging the machine that is the manufacturers of the high security war engine.
The crowds of low sec always seem to rise and fall and right now we seem to be in a decline of targets. That, combined with the fact that I just started my summer internship this last week and the slow remodel of the kitchen has meant a little bit less content and a bit more musings.
But fear not! For piracy remains alive and well and no matter the trials it puts me through I will continue to strive to keep it a respectable profession and to maintain low security space as it should be — free from rules and alliance sovereignty.
Concerning the crowds, it’s been too risky at times to enter into negotiations when there is a passing fleet just a star-gate or two over, particularly in Bosena and other high to low security border systems as of late.
Additionally, the few stray souls I have been lucky enough to have a minute or two alone with have also been hesitant to negotiate the release of their cargo or funds with the exception of one very recent Gila pilot, Walther Glockandsig. This one was rather embarrassing as I believe I was too quick to lower the price but I think I still made out in the end.
Also, they did decide to bring the fight to me after warping out the once I landed. Probably to kill more Angel Cartel members, High security capsuleers sure do like the destruction of non clone-reincarnating pilots…
Regardless, I orbited the Angel Cartel staging point they were attacking as defense when they returned and drove off the Gila menace.
*Side note, I must remind myself to send a bill to the Angel Cartel for protection services rendered.
Regardless, I’ve had strange interactions with quite a few capsuleers that can be summed up in a message I received during negotiations with Dred Trump.
I offered to let their Procurer class mining vessel continue to roam free for 24 hours for a lowly 12 million isk and they told me to instead kill them because, well, I’d earned it.
Now listen here, if I wanted to kill you, I would not have asked for money in the first place. Is it not better for both of us that this exchange takes place? They keep their ship for a cost less than if I destroyed it and they don’t have to spend the time to get a new one and I get a bit more money than what I could salvage from those metal scraps that used to be a ship.
And I get it, in this case they may not have cared about their ship. The fitted it for the bare bones of it’s task but there are some that actually have something to lose and I feel I gave everyone a real bargain these last two weeks and most continue to decline!
Perhaps I’m losing my flare. Take Dred Trump for example.
There I am, merrily poking holes in their ship with 280 mm howitzer rounds and engaging in polite negotiations when I get carried away and make a huge blunder on the stage of destruction
saiu1wig > Hi there
saiu1wig > my Name is Sai, Sai the pirate
Dred Trump > hey
Dred Trump > you got me
saiu1wig > I did, but here is the good part, you can mine free from my guns for some isk
Dred Trump > i was about 5 sec from leaving .. 🙂
saiu1wig > 20 million isk and I won’t shoot you for 24 hours
Dred Trump > nah – you can go ahead
saiu1wig > are you sure? we can negotiate if you like
saiu1wig > I’d be willing to go to 15 mil even!
Dred Trump > nah – your a pirate
saiu1wig > That is why I am ransoming
Dred Trump > but i appreciate your win
saiu1wig > it is very piratey thing to do
saiu1wig > piraty*
saiu1wig > i think…
saiu1wig > top of my class in pirate school
Dred Trump > i bet
saiu1wig > just to be clear, you are still sure you’d rather go through the hassel of getting a new ship?
Dred Trump > i’ll watch for you next time
saiu1wig > special deal, for hull damaged ships only! 12 mil!
saiu1wig > a real bargain!
saiu1wig > going once!
saiu1wig > going twice!
saiu1wig > oh crap…
saiu1wig > i need to reload…
saiu1wig > hold on
saiu1wig > awkward…..
Dred Trump > dragging it out – really
saiu1wig > sold to the pod!
saiu1wig > i really did actually
saiu1wig > lol
saiu1wig > couldn’t plan that
Dred Trump > later – good job
saiu1wig > fly safe, perhaps look into buying a pass for the future please!
How embarrassing. I made a fool of myself and didn’t even get good loot and my rotten luck doesn’t stop there. I offered Aleks Krava 10 million isk to let their Heron go free while out in my Nemesis which I fit with a cargo scanner for just this purpose. Exploration ships may be a cheap hull but they often have many times their worth in their cargo holds. They at first seemed keen to pay but as time lapsed and they got several warnings in the both the form of messages and rockets exploding into their side, they still had not transferred funds so I took the risk and managed to salvage something this time.
Perhaps exploration ships are also ones that capsuleers don’t seem to care about. This is why those that live in high security space should be feared and an assault should be launched upon them. Their fortunes run so vast that they are willing to just let ships explode out of spite rather then walk away with something saved.
It is so bad that they won’t even pay 20% of their ships value to save it.
I noticed this pilot mining in various systems over the last hour while I was flying around but I missed them by only seconds the first time I attempted to protect my systems.
Fortunately, I was given another chance as I passed back through at the end of my patrol and it was quite enough to enter into negotiations. Aurana Hunnuras however, did not seem to think so. They had lots of time but never once paid the demanded sum even as I pummeled the last of their shields and started ripping through the armor.
How nice it must be to be able to make those kinds of financial decisions. To think so little of 80 million isk. Why, I could buy a rather nice ship for that.
Also strange then that I should receive this message when I tried to establish communications with them again to warn them of the dangers of low security space. To tell them, and all those that take shelter in high sec, we may be few but we will not be intimidated by their wealth!
But sadly it was not meant to be this time although if their blocking of my transmissions is any kind of indication, perhaps the message got through after all.
Regardless, it has been hard to get a good ransom in lately and most people have been taking to it with quite a bit hostility. It’s exhausting, and quite frankly, insulting. I may have to switch gears for a bit and stop letting these capsuleers off so easily. Death first for a while perhaps.
Pirate's Pass 