Ironfleet Towing And Salvage

So, I was getting bored with the hunting around my usual hangouts. And I saw some assets down in Dodixie that needed my attention. So I packed a few trade goods into my fighting Crane, and set off on a combination hunt and trading expedition.

Part way there, I stopped by the system of Kamio. And cruising belt to belt, I found that there was an active mining corp in system — Rare Earth Elements, LLC [REELC]. Six or eight guys in local at any time — which makes engaging them tricky! — and at least half of those in mining barges. (But remember, I’ve been burned in the past by guys in Retrievers helping my primary target.)

So when I found a Retriever with a mostly-full jet-can out, naturally I flipped it, keeping only what would fit in my Crane. (Long way from home, no backup hauler handy.) But the guy was flying a full rack of mining drones, and he wouldn’t take from my can, so no joy there. I blew the Ironfleet can and moved on.

Actually, I docked; it was time to watch some TV with the girlfriend.

Then a bit later, her phone rang and it was a call she wanted to take. So I sat back down at my computer, and started checking the belts again.

And what’s this? Another REELC Retriever with a chock-full jet can out. How many friends does he have in local? Six? Careful…

Flipped can, loaded up what ore I could fit. This guy is flying combat drones. Started flying away — the urge to pounce is always strongest when the “prey” is seen to be fleeing. And sure enough, he’s locking me!

Truth to tell, I messed up the combat. I had my Ironfleet jetcan locked also, so once his drones started shooting me, I shot back at the barge … but I warp disrupted my own jetcan. If he’d wanted to flee, he might have had time.

But no … I caught him on the next cycle. This might be because my missles were just pecking him. It was the toughest Retriever I’ve ever seen — it seemed to take forever to beat him into rubble. At least three times as many missiles as I usually need for a Retriever. WTF? He actually had time to try to run away from my point, but of course he didn’t have the speed.

And of course, all the while I’m expecting his vengeful buddies to come skidding out of warp, intent on violencing my boat. But finally, he popped. And what’s this in his wreck? Modulated Strip Miner IIs? Tasty!

2011.04.15 03:40:00

Victim: Darrium Sinclairium
Corp: Rare Earth Elements LLC
Alliance: Unknown
Faction: Unknown
Destroyed: Retriever
System: Kamio
Security: 0.7
Damage Taken: 1872

Involved parties:

Name: Marlenus (laid the final blow)
Security: 1.3
Corp: Ironfleet Towing And Salvage
Alliance: NONE
Faction: NONE
Ship: Crane
Weapon: Thunderbolt Precision Heavy Missile
Damage Done: 1858

Name: Guristas Arrogator / Guristas
Damage Done: 14

Destroyed items:

Small Armor Repairer I
Mining Drone I, Qty: 2 (Drone Bay)
Expanded Cargohold I
Plagioclase Mining Crystal I

Dropped items:

Plagioclase, Qty: 6714 (Cargo)
Survey Scanner I
Plagioclase Mining Crystal I
Modulated Strip Miner II, Qty: 2

Scoop, align, blow Ironfleet can full of ore, dock safe. And then it was time to place a stern phone call to the missile compartment. “What were you idiots shooting at him? Spitwads?”

There was an uncomfortable pause. Then “Uh, Captain…”

My mistake. Damn. I’d been stalking a Hulk earlier, and he had TII drones up. That can be dicy, and I often start a fight like that by taking out a drone or three with Precision missiles. Which — you guessed it — were still up the spout for this whole combat. Doh!

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 14th, 2011 at 10:08 pm and is filed under Salvage Notes, Today In Ironfleet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.