I sometimes wonder

if I know what I'm doing.

On the other hand, she was an agent who'd promised me that all she did was offer cargo courier runs. So when she said someone had run off with some documents ... and her lunch ... and would I get them back, I didn't think it was going to involve more than a frigate and maybe a couple of pet drones. I mean, how big is a lunchbox ?

I get to the co-ordinates and there he is. And there are six Very Big Ships (prob'ly cruisers) with him. Does "Get Out of Dodge" mean anything ?
And I didn't. I stayed and fought and loosed drones, up to where I was 50% armour, which snuck up on me (one second I'm shield repping, the next I'm halfway to dead), and then warped out before the baling wire took damage (my ship lacks the convenient "wingy bit" on the top). So I armour repped, docked to pick up new drones (having, in my haste, left all mine behind when I did the exit sprint), and then went back.

This time they lined up, and I could take one on at a time, while tanking the dps from the others. And I have to say, the salvage was worth it, and I found my old drones were huddling together in a corner, keeping their little cyber heads down, so I rescued them too.


After that I had a stiff drink, and went out again, to see if I could get any real cargo runs. I'm on my way, carrying ciggies, I think, when I note that there's chat on the Corp channel (which, since I'm still in starter Corp., I usually ignore). So, for the company, I listen in, and it's a n00b asking if anyone can give him a hand.
And I'm thinking "How many friends do you have, just waiting for an idiot to warp in, and get blown away ?" and "Is this a Faction Warfare ploy ?" But, for the company, I answer him, and ask what he wants moving, how big it is, and from where to where (since if it's half the galaxy away, it's no real use me responding, and these are things a girl wants to know and so forth).

And he comms me off Corp channel (which worries me slghtly) and for the next ten minutes we fence round the subjects, with things coming out in dribs and drabs -- he's 3 jumps away, it's a one jump job, but he says his hold can't hold it all. And all the time I'm watching for the catch -- but there isn't one obvious: his bio says he's been flying for only 3 days, there's no lo-sec anywhere along the routes, and I'm in a ship that just went through 6 cruiser-type things (okay, NPCs, but ... )
Long and the short is, I refuse to help till I've seen him, he turns up in a Rifter; then we head for his base of operations because he then admits it's a mining mission, and he hasn't done the mining yet. And I can't help noticing the three pods that draft through system, one of them with a 1.5M bounty on him (but do I really want someone that hard having a grudge against me ?).

He docks and rigs with a laser (and I panic in case he comes out in an uber-pwn machine and blows me to hellandgone) and we set off in-fleet. At first, the fact we aren't heading for a belt worries me, and I'm "Oh, shit ! This is where the real Pyrates leap out and I'm a kill-board stat !", but then I twig that it's a mission deadspace. We get there -- and in seconds 2 rats pop up, which is sort of expectable -- it's a mission :: if there weren't rats, the agent would have flown it themself. So I drone them to death (losing the comm channel in and among). Then three more pop up.
So I do them in too, and collect a jet can (the poor lamb has to be told how to jettison), salvage them, get a 2nd can; then we says his hold can take the 3rd lump, so I reason that that will reassure him, because I can't nip off with all his ore.

We fleet to the delivery station, and I demonstrate the "trade" bit, in handing over the ore and some salvage, and then, as a farewell, I decide to drop him the cash for a proper mining ship, just in case he wants to do some more. It's what good friends did for me when I started out, and he didn't ask for anything.

And then I went and laid down and thought virtuous thoughts till I fell asleep.
My best wishes go out to him, in his Rifter in Metropolis, and I hope he finds good fortune Rifting the stars.

Tales of a Carebear Chapter whatever