About halfway

to my Dramiel, if prices stay low.

One quick mission, in between seeing to my ponie factory (and listening to Dr.U going on about how poor the rewards were for manufacturing Construction Blocks) -- Angels (or Ark-Angels) camped out in deadspace, spying on the Utterly Trustworthy Government's strategems.

So I went 20th century on their asses -- salvage was poor and I barely got 1 million out oft he fees -- I think I need a new agent -- either a richer one or a more stupid one.

Hope he never reads this.
J

Confused.dot.whatever

I'm conflicted.

My carebear soul (which likes the peaceful life) likes the fact that courier missions are pretty safe. Take A from B to C; get paid (with a bonus if you don't *rse around); possibly pick up a mission part of the way back; fly home; dock. My avaricious brain, always looking out for the possibility of getting blown away, dislikes the fact that they pay peanuts, and that there are rarely mirror-image missions at the other end to make the return trip worthwhile.

On the other hand combat missions pay a lot, but take a long time, and kill yer shipz. (And people are supposed to like nipping in and stealing the objective, but so far, praise the Cosmic All, I haven't had that). My brain likes the reward, my carebear soul whimpers and hides under the blanket till it's all over.

What I need is the sort of agent who's willing to pay combat rates to have their holoreels and tobacco delivered, and whose combat missions pay medium well, and are always against one rat in a noob ship that just happens to be rigged with Faction moduels and tons of salvage.


And I know what people will say :: Come to 0.0 -- everywhere's like that !!.

So -- been quiet

Meh -- I haz ponie-farm, and it takez up time. I have to go and reset the extractors every few days, and then I have to find homez for the poniez. Still, I got a couple of missions done. The Serpentis don't like me a lot more because of their transport ship that had a terminal experience and I gather that I may find my name on a few cigarette cartons up in Mordus space as a "People we'd like to see lost"

Dem Rocks, dem rocks, dem dry-y rocks

Doing a mission I noticed one or two roids in the last room.

SO I eve-mailed Dr.U and got him to come over in his Hulk, and when I'd finished the rats (Amari scum) I told my agent I'd left some salvage behind, and ducked into my Orca and he and I had an hour popping roids without having to worry about pirates.

And in the end it wasn't really worth it -- veld seems to have gone down in price since my day. So I gave him some ISK and a hold full of veld and we parted company. but it was nice to have someoen to fly with, after all this solo PI.

I *hate* days like these

Just a simple little job -- that's what the agent said.

Flew out and found some Serpentis harrassing traffic. Blew them away, and more turned up. And more. Ran out of ammo, and had to fly off, in the middle of the mission no less, to buy more (and then couldn't get the stuff that I wanted).

Finally the Journal said I'd hit my target ship and blown it up, and I got the **** out of there. Left all the wrecks. offered them in local, only to be topld that some guy had been watching me all along. He offered to ctiricise my technique and I but my tongue and didn't tell him where to stick it.

The only consolation was that I reckon I made nearly 5 mill out of it all -- my most ever.

Back in the thick of it

Ran my 1st formal "mission" in months -- all part of the "buy me a Dramiel" routine (and because the new "factory fresh" poniez aren't, and they don't wash often enough, and I needed the break).

Shooting some Angel rats. Which tended to die out when my heavy guns spiked them around the 35K mark, and even more so when the drones and missiles got in. So, my apologies to their chaplain (assuming that they have one) for all the extra work, and another 500K into each of the wallets (regular and Dramiel fund).

After an RL down-time

I'm back and I've decided to try to replace the Dramiel I lost ratting and salvaging (when I got mixed up between the two). So last night I clearned 2 PI sites, and tried to sell the product.

Took almost 45 jumps (including 2 unscheduled diversions), but avoided getting Hulkagedded, and made 2 million towards my goal.

So, outward and onward !!

Poniez

Sold my poniez (almost all of them at the factory) for 400K -- not bad for 2 weeks' production. Now I just have to pay the man for the grazing they did till I sold them, and the lad who cleaned out the hold of my indy -- apparently one or two of them had "minor accidents" during the journey.

In and Out and Back Again

Don't like jump clones.

Convenient, but the "new" body never fits right.

Still, it was worth it -- Carnation got her mission done and I got a bundle of loot. Those BSs were vicious, but the Ogres chewed them, and the smaller stuff seemd to melt once I got my ranges right.

Amarr slavers -- we hates 'em.


Next job is to redesign my ponie factory -- Babylon Bear wants hamstas !!

Back and Still Frustrated

The "new" ship looks like something a man tried to sell me once, as a substitute for a Rifter.

“It does everything almost as well,” he said. “You get one less weapon hardpoint, and you can't fit an AFB ... oh, and the hull plating's a bit ... well, insecure ... but -- ”

This one has zero weapons hardpoints, zero shields, and doesn't seem to have any ‘win’ modules at all.


And White Carnation has mailed to say she has a mission she needs help on.

So I'm clone-jumping to one of Mal's BSs, to go Do My Bit.


The poniez will just have to look after theirselves

J

Razza-Frazzing Downtime !!!

Hates Downtime !!!

Can't even Walk in Station because the Arcanists can't get their Act Together.

Poniez on planet may be starving -- I may be losing ISK !!


By teh way, "Dev" stands for Don't Ever Volunteer.

With regret

I've had to sell some poniez

The factory has been doing well and I had too many for my field, so I sold some to a nice man who promised me he had nothing to do with stealthhoundfood factories.

That went quite well, but on the way I noticed someone wanted "transmitters" and was offering 10 times what anyone else was. And as I had one or two lying around ...

I hope his wallet survives paying out 9x too much.

And now I have fewer I can start giving my poniez namez.

Getting Some Back

It took around 16 jumps, but I sold some stuff to buy orders, and made around 170K back from what it's cost me.

And I didn't have to sell a ponie !! So I have around 15 of them now, all frisking about, and making messes on my launch pad. I'm just hoping the Genetically Enchanced ones have the capability to mess in bricks that I can use for construction or something

Later
J

And now

someone says I can make Genetically Enhanced Poniez (!!)

Don't knoiw what the improvemenbt is but, hey, Genetic Enhancement -- got to be good for something.

Just need the ISK to afford another Command Centre , and the planet with the Right Stuff

I don't Think ...

... that I mean to say it in quite those words.

Certainly people appear to have got the *wrong* idea.


But
"PONIEZ!! HOT PONIEZ !! GET THEM WHILE THEY'RE FRESH !!"
-- -- I mean, it's not as though it's that offensive.

Is it ?

The Machine

ate yesterday's entry, which was about finding a planet and starting the production process. But I have rescued it.

And, when I went to look this morning, my foreman said we have 17 poniez in stock, with more on the way. Of course, it's the Wrong Season -- all this ought to have been done for Xmas, so I could give poniez as presentz.

But I haz poniez !!!

[Leet smile]

And we're off

I pulled one of Mal's pre-packaged Mammoths off the shelf and flew it back, and last night I took it to market, bought a fat pig command centre, and raced back to install it. Then I paid good ISK to set down some extractors and according to my foreman (a nice chap who used to be a slave in an Amarri "colony") there ought to be some processed "stuff" later today. Which I can then, once he and The Lads have finished building an Advanced Facility, use to build my poniez !!! I have also put in a claim on a Lava planet. Officially I'm building something to do with T2 projects, but actually I'm having someone make me big glass tubes, which i can then fill with lava and oil and sell as mood relaxers.

So, PI

I'm excited (for the first time in a long time).

It looks like the Central Co-Ordinating Patrimony has listened to what I've been saying, because they've announced that, as part of the Land Grab, we'll be allowed to build Ponie Factories.

So I have my eye on a couple of planets, and I've been learning the skills, and I've had some of the refugees in my hangar training, and the idea is to buy the right Command Center, set it up, extract some ... whatever it is (I need to write these things down somewhere) ... and then send it to the bigger factory to Make Poniez.

Which I will then sell, so that every capsuleer can hav their Own Ponie !!!!

Liking the Drones

The rogue ones only come out to play a few at a time -- you can shoot some, and then get into prime position for the next lot, without worrying about sniping.

Not like that d*mn repair station and its s*dd*ng stasis tower. Fortunately my own drones can eat tower, and I just have to tank the incoming. And that seems to be possible in a BS.

Overdoing It

Okay -- I ought to have known, when the agent offers me about twice what he had been for a mission.

Mind you :: I've *learned* -- I looked it up first, before I accepted it. Four waves, it said -- frigates, cruisers, up to BCs, some with webby things and so forth. And a stasis tower.

But on my side I have Mal's legacy -- in this case a Nevy Issue with 12 drones in the bay, some modules that boost the drones, and four hybrid turrets. And a shield booster (which, being Mal, is an X-large and drinks cap like a dockside wrangler).

So I get there (no gates) and get stasis-towered. Launch the heavy drones and send them to deal with that, while I try to tank the frigates and get some range with my AFB. Then open up on the tower myself, and tank tank tank, till it's gone. that's better -- I can move now -- call back the heavies, loose a flight of lights, and watch as the frigates go down. There's one cruiser here, which I leave till last 'cause the cheat-sheet says that one's the trigger for the next wave.

It goes and they arrive -- at something like 120 km. So I call in the drones for some shield repair, run my own shields back up, and have a wait. Here's where I'd have chatted to poniez but there aren't any (and the man with the kittiez said they were too small to let me have :: they might get in the working of my bigger ships, and never been seen again).

Eeventually they arrive, and I target some at extreme range, fire off a volley or two, and, once I've got their attention, loose some drones. This lot, thankfully, come in 2 squads and neither seems exactly to love the other -- I blow one lot away and then start on the other. Once again, I'm lucky, and keep the drones off the trigger ship till I've cleared the others. Somewhere round the end of here, is where I decide that I can do to have a break, and get my cap back, so I collect the drones (see -- I *can* remember to, once in a while), warp to a station, repower, releoad, and get out there again.

The next lot also arrive at long range and once again prove to be two squads. Unfortunately, somehow, after clearing the first lot, the second ones send for reinforcements -- suddenly I'm overloaded with targets, coming in from three directions, and all angry. Fortunately they all target me, so I can leave the drones out unhindered. This one needs a warp-out partway through (for re-cap) but I go back at 70K range, which means I'm not where they expect mne, and I pick off the two b*tards with target painters quick (actually I'm quite proud, not once did the webby-type ones get within their range, and though there were targetting disrupters advertised on the cheat-sheet, I never noticed any on my HUD overwiew). I was just getting ready fort he foruth wave, when the "Mission Accomplished" flag goes up.

So I warped for home base, and switched ships to one of Mal's salvagers -- an ex-BC I think -- anyway it holds three tractors and 2 suites of double salvagers. Then back to hoover everything up (which took 2 runs and would have been more but there weren't as many Metal Scraps as sometime).

And when I added it all up, the bounties alove were over 3 mill.
So I'm going to lie low for a while, just in case the cartel have my registry number.

Apologies to

- - - the wonk who tried to can-thief 3D and I.

I know that you thought you were very clever, switching our stuff into your can and waiting for us to take it back. And when you decided to tow it away, I know my Orca wasn't fast enough to keep up with you. But you oughtn't to have kept taking a hold-load out of the can, because it kept you red, and you ought to have noticed the drones my Orca had -- I did roll them out twice to emphasise the point.

Warp-scramming me was good ... -ish. If I knew how the gang-aggression system worked, I'd have had 3D kill you with the Kestrel. As it was, the drones took you out, and then I could warp off.

And, yes, we did ravish your wreck. Next time, please leave better fittings in it. All in all, I reckon you got 2 frigate's-worth of pye, and lost your semi-pimped shiplet. We got the ore we wanted and a killmail to boot.

Oh, and how does your corp CO (who advertises his corp as honest and up for fair fights) feel about you spending time flipping jet cans and losing your ship ?

Best wishes, Jenni and the DrDrDr

Sad Farewell (with shiny side)

I have decided to let the Poniez go.

In a manner of speaking.

Where I am currently, there is a colony world, with a temperate climate. They don't actually have poniez there, but they have children, and vegetation suitabler as ponie-food. So, in their own best interests, I have decided to donate the poniez to a childrens' centre near one of the cities. They will get fed and watered and played with,. and I can shuttle down and visit them from time to time.

Means I shall be lonely. Except that there's a man on my station who says he has kittenz ...

Feels Odd

Finally took the plunge (as I had the ISK) and flew home and got myself jump-cloned.

There are now 3 of me -- 2 in cryo. And it feels odd -- will the poniez recognise my "Other Me"s ? Time will tell.

Got some scavenging done on the way back to work -- my thanks to the kind people who're blue-flagging their excess wrecks. Makes it far less tempting when you find a yellow can with something in.

Maybe NotAScam

Got a million back from Ragnar the Gallente. Posting this in (part-apology) for mentioning I'd lent him ISK.

Apparently, according to the mail he sent me, he's been out ratting and salvaging. Met up with some solid-red merchant who was stealing his loot, but didn't engage, so bad luck to the "oh look, it's a noob -- I can get him to let me blow him away" brigadier.

Poniez well. Napping lots. I seem to be in intermittent hibearnation.

Mine, mine -- it's *all* mine (all right, ours)

A day mining with Ursus -- we hit the belts before anyone else, as far as I know (certainly before the AKFT Bar was open), and gouged out kernite and scordite and other stuff.

Also managed to find a market for some ore only 5 jumps away. So we mined it, and I orca'd it to market to marker (tho' not to buy a fat ponie -- I already have enough of them).

All in all, when we split it up, we'd each made around 4 million. Plus bounties on around 10 rats that dropped in and never dropped out again. fewer than I'd expected, given it was an 0.5 system.


Have a new protegee -- a Gallente who wants to learn Assualt Ships and buy an Ishkur. Except he's no cash. So I may delve into Mal's legacy (what's left of it) and lend him some. Hope it's not a scam.

Hulkageddon note

My Hulk's staying docked, but that doesn't mean that me and the poniez are recreation-less.

Spent a week helping Carnation on a Level 3 "significant standings" mission; and yesterday I took out Mal's old salvaging ship to run the belts.

And noticed that, as soon as a ship enters a belt that just has one miner in it, the miner packs up and leaves. Which I'm putting down to the Hulk-gankers. I'm not one, but if I were flying a Hulk, I'd not even be letting a Rifter near -- a Reaper, maybe, but even that gives a "warp to" for the gank fleet.

So, lo-profile and salvaging for the present