Posted April 17, 2016
Day Four
This has been a day of making significant progress in some areas, and very little in others.
I start by going back to work for the Strong Arms and soon capture a Nova Raider while defending a station. This is shortly afterwards joined by an Enhanced Jaguar as I reach rank four with the corporation. However, I then run into a missile gathering mission which causes my progress to grind to a halt, with the Firestorm Torpedoes proving particularly difficult to locate. Delegating the task of gathering the missiles to one of my ships, I take the opportunity to resume exploration.
I continue to capture ships, with a Falcon and Buzzard Vanguard soon added to my fleet, and a second hand Discoverer for 3,200 Cr proves irresistible. I agree to return a lost Mercury as I am still trying to build up relations with the Paranid. After getting distracted by a firefight I reach and claim the ship, only to realise that at its current pathetic speed it cannot get back in time, so I fully repair it with my repair laser, doubling its speed – still not enough, so I send it to a dock and maximise the engine tuning. As this is also not enough I abort the mission and figure I might as well keep the ship if I cannot return it. Shortly afterwards I capture a Demeter Super Freighter from Dukes Dangerous Goods Transporters (DDGT), and while I am examining my new prize Paranid police swoop on the Mercury and destroy it.
Combat missions grow more dangerous with corvettes joining my enemies, and I kill my first M6 defending a station. Fortunately it seemed more interested in the station than me, but then I go after my largest bounty yet – 3,042,335 Cr for taking out Ho t'Sht in a Centaur, and he is only focussed on me. After picking off his escorts I strafe him repeatedly and eventually emerge triumphant.
Having got a taste of speed with the Enhanced Jaguar I start to think about using a fast scout ship for getting around, but the Jaguar is out as it cannot use a jump drive – however the Kestrel is even faster and can use jump drives, and the pirate version is faster still. I recall seeing a Kestrel in Void of Opportunity, and send my Jaguar there to use in the hunt, but after running some simulations I conclude that will not end well. Next I check Bluish Snout as there was a Kestrel there before, but no sign of it this time so I head to the pirate den of Maelstrom. Here, and in the preceding sector of Merchant's Haven I have considerable luck with capturing ships – a Buzzard, two Hermes DDGTs, a Nova Raider (one of two ships that bailed in the same fight, but the other had disappeared when I finished patching up my ship – most annoying), a Demeter Super Freighter XL DDGT (at 0% health, I had to give it my jump drive to get it out of the system in less than an hour and repairs were over a million credits), an Elite, and a Kea. This particularly pleased me as Keas are native to New Zealand and I have an affection for that country for some reason, perhaps because Kyle Brennan, the Terran X-Shuttle test pilot was a Kiwi – or maybe some other reason? A pity the Kea is too slow to consider using.
Despite my luck I still have no Kestrel and I decide to move on and keep exploring, managing to add another Demeter Super Freighter DDGT to the fleet in the process. I start to use my Fujin Sentinel as a fast, jump-capable personal ship, although it lacks any real firepower. While visiting a Pirate Base I add System Override Software to my ship to make claiming future prizes easier, but since it is expensive (and illegal) I only install it on one ship, and when I need it it is inevitably installed in the ship I am not using.
Eventually my missile collecting is done and I can accept and complete the mission. I then alternate working for the Strong Arms with more exploration. Mindful of my illegal software I visit the Pirate Duke, and despite my actions his station is happy to sell me a Software Signature Scrambler (even more expensive than the SOS was). I also accept an offer for a second hand Caiman Tanker at 69,500 Cr, but turn down the next offer to sell me a freighter as none of my new acquisitions are earning their keep yet. A mission gains me a Falcon Vanguard, but what I found exploring an unknown sector far outweighs that – a Kha'ak Corvette, well equipped with guns but lacking shields, which will have to be remedied before I try it out.
Renewing my efforts to capture a Pirate Kestrel I try the pirate sector Vestibule of Creation, and spot what I have been seeking. After equipping my fighter to capture rather than kill I make my move, pinging the ship with a light missile to get its attention and then drawing it away from its friends before turning my guns on it. In seconds the Teladi pilot is offering it to me and floating back to the nearest station. I claim my prize and head back to the nearest friendly dock to kit it out and end the day.
Over the course of the day I have advanced from trade rank 15 to 18, and from combat rank 16 to 17. My faction ranks are:
Argon 7
Boron 6
Split 9
Paranid 4
Teladi 9
Goner 3
Terran -1
Strong Arms 4
I have taken on 11 missions and completed 10 of them, visited 47 new sectors and destroyed 109 ships, and my bank account has grown modestly from 8.1 million to 9.3 million credits (less than I expected).
This has been a day of making significant progress in some areas, and very little in others.
I start by going back to work for the Strong Arms and soon capture a Nova Raider while defending a station. This is shortly afterwards joined by an Enhanced Jaguar as I reach rank four with the corporation. However, I then run into a missile gathering mission which causes my progress to grind to a halt, with the Firestorm Torpedoes proving particularly difficult to locate. Delegating the task of gathering the missiles to one of my ships, I take the opportunity to resume exploration.
I continue to capture ships, with a Falcon and Buzzard Vanguard soon added to my fleet, and a second hand Discoverer for 3,200 Cr proves irresistible. I agree to return a lost Mercury as I am still trying to build up relations with the Paranid. After getting distracted by a firefight I reach and claim the ship, only to realise that at its current pathetic speed it cannot get back in time, so I fully repair it with my repair laser, doubling its speed – still not enough, so I send it to a dock and maximise the engine tuning. As this is also not enough I abort the mission and figure I might as well keep the ship if I cannot return it. Shortly afterwards I capture a Demeter Super Freighter from Dukes Dangerous Goods Transporters (DDGT), and while I am examining my new prize Paranid police swoop on the Mercury and destroy it.
Combat missions grow more dangerous with corvettes joining my enemies, and I kill my first M6 defending a station. Fortunately it seemed more interested in the station than me, but then I go after my largest bounty yet – 3,042,335 Cr for taking out Ho t'Sht in a Centaur, and he is only focussed on me. After picking off his escorts I strafe him repeatedly and eventually emerge triumphant.
Having got a taste of speed with the Enhanced Jaguar I start to think about using a fast scout ship for getting around, but the Jaguar is out as it cannot use a jump drive – however the Kestrel is even faster and can use jump drives, and the pirate version is faster still. I recall seeing a Kestrel in Void of Opportunity, and send my Jaguar there to use in the hunt, but after running some simulations I conclude that will not end well. Next I check Bluish Snout as there was a Kestrel there before, but no sign of it this time so I head to the pirate den of Maelstrom. Here, and in the preceding sector of Merchant's Haven I have considerable luck with capturing ships – a Buzzard, two Hermes DDGTs, a Nova Raider (one of two ships that bailed in the same fight, but the other had disappeared when I finished patching up my ship – most annoying), a Demeter Super Freighter XL DDGT (at 0% health, I had to give it my jump drive to get it out of the system in less than an hour and repairs were over a million credits), an Elite, and a Kea. This particularly pleased me as Keas are native to New Zealand and I have an affection for that country for some reason, perhaps because Kyle Brennan, the Terran X-Shuttle test pilot was a Kiwi – or maybe some other reason? A pity the Kea is too slow to consider using.
Despite my luck I still have no Kestrel and I decide to move on and keep exploring, managing to add another Demeter Super Freighter DDGT to the fleet in the process. I start to use my Fujin Sentinel as a fast, jump-capable personal ship, although it lacks any real firepower. While visiting a Pirate Base I add System Override Software to my ship to make claiming future prizes easier, but since it is expensive (and illegal) I only install it on one ship, and when I need it it is inevitably installed in the ship I am not using.
Eventually my missile collecting is done and I can accept and complete the mission. I then alternate working for the Strong Arms with more exploration. Mindful of my illegal software I visit the Pirate Duke, and despite my actions his station is happy to sell me a Software Signature Scrambler (even more expensive than the SOS was). I also accept an offer for a second hand Caiman Tanker at 69,500 Cr, but turn down the next offer to sell me a freighter as none of my new acquisitions are earning their keep yet. A mission gains me a Falcon Vanguard, but what I found exploring an unknown sector far outweighs that – a Kha'ak Corvette, well equipped with guns but lacking shields, which will have to be remedied before I try it out.
Renewing my efforts to capture a Pirate Kestrel I try the pirate sector Vestibule of Creation, and spot what I have been seeking. After equipping my fighter to capture rather than kill I make my move, pinging the ship with a light missile to get its attention and then drawing it away from its friends before turning my guns on it. In seconds the Teladi pilot is offering it to me and floating back to the nearest station. I claim my prize and head back to the nearest friendly dock to kit it out and end the day.
Over the course of the day I have advanced from trade rank 15 to 18, and from combat rank 16 to 17. My faction ranks are:
Argon 7
Boron 6
Split 9
Paranid 4
Teladi 9
Goner 3
Terran -1
Strong Arms 4
I have taken on 11 missions and completed 10 of them, visited 47 new sectors and destroyed 109 ships, and my bank account has grown modestly from 8.1 million to 9.3 million credits (less than I expected).
