Word has come across the net that there are changes happening. Rules regarding Sovereignty are changing and Alliances are contracting their area of influence to a more manageable and defendable size. Because of this, our Corporation had moved and switched Alliances to FCON, a member of the CFC, hold on, The Imperium I believe they are calling themselves now. This now means we are no longer a renter corporation and a member of a sov holding Alliance.
That means defending our space.
I joined this corporation for the reason that they do not have any CTA's or make you do anything. This has changed as they now expect you to join defense fleets and fight. I have little experience with PVP, low skill points and less time to undock than before, so it's something I can't really help with. I wish I could but other things have come up (OOC: we adopted a baby).
I sent a message to our CEO explaining my situation and he said that the sort of CTA wasn't really for everyone, but he encouraged people to participate to get our participation level above a certain quota to remain in the alliance. These are new rules we seemed to have adopted from the new Coalition, not something I particularly care for, but I will adapt.
I really need to get a pvp ship fitted. Maybe a few. I've been ratting recently and had to dock up several times to passing hostile gangs, only to hear that someone on Comms has been caught and asking for help. With only PvE ships in my hangar, I wouldn't be much help no matter how much I wanted to fly out and help.
I've debated leaving Null sec to head back to High sec again, pick up where I left off. But now that the money is coming in, it really is peanuts back in empire. The trade off is a weaker market and rules, among other things. I thought of coming back and running missions for a bit, but it takes a while again to get the standings to get good payouts. I'm going to stick it out here though. The people I fly with are great people, there are more opportunities here and I'm committed at this point regardless.
Plus, I've been away from mining for a bit and I hear my fellow miners are reporting changes in the Ores out here as well...
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"What in the name of Molok are you doing here?" The agent asked. Chadrick shifted uneasily as he stood on the golden deck plates of the Mabnen IV - Moon 1 - Emperor Family Bureau in the small office of a level 2 combat agent, Marmed Odadi. His thick brow twitched in annoyance.
"Looking for work." Chadrick mumbled, "I'm trying to get back in da good graces of da Empire."
"And you come to me?" he asked, skeptical, "Why?"
"Look, I just picked a Corperation in the Empire dat would give good standin's for Amarr." He snapped, "It didn' 'ave ta be you."
"So you're saying I should be honored to be able to employ a mighty Empreyan to do my menial tasks. Am I not worthy of your services?" he asked in a snobbish tone. Marmed sat back in his chair and sneered in a way that just irked Chad in the wrong way. He sighed and spun on his heel towards the door when he was stopped by the agent again, "Oh, how the mighty have fallen? I read that you used to be a big shot in the military, became a Capsuleer and then did a few bad things. Where have you been for the last few months, Chadrick?"
"Inna wormhole." he grunted.
"Off grid I see." the Agent sneered, "Trying to make a comeback then?"
"I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. Tryin' to slow down a bit." Chad said, rubbing his brow, "I'm just sick of getting shot at by Sleepers for the moment. And I know somethin big is happening with them now that all these Drifter ships are popping up. I just want to get out of the way and do my own thing."
"Sleepers? You fought them?" he asked, "Did you fight a Drifter?"
"No, not the Drifters." he said, "But I've take a few Nanoribbons from the normal ones farting around in the hole."
"I see."
"Anyway, I'm not going to waste anymore of your time." Chad grunted. Marmed raised his hand.
"I may have something for you." he said, "Although, you aren't in good standing with the Empire for killing ships for the Caldari and Minmatar around Metropolis."
"I just work where there's money." Chadrick said with a shrug, not really concerned what the Empire thought of him. His social skills were high enough for most Agents to overlook the lowered standings.
"I have a mission. I need a shipment of Silicate Glass delivered to this station as soon as
possible. It's currently stored in one of our warehouses; I'll give you the coordinates, of course. Just warp to our
outpost, navigate to the warehouse, and pick up the shipment, and then
return it here. Simple, ain't it?
Just make sure you keep a lookout for any suspicious activity. You can't be too careful these days."
"You want me ta be a delivery boy?" Chad asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm expecting this mission to be somewhat complicated. You may need a fast ship, or maybe a cruiser. What are you flying?" Marmed said. Chadrick hesitated before answering.
"Battlecruiser. I'm flying a Prophecy." he replied. Marmed's eyes widened for a moment then he smiled.
"You'll do fine."
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Warping to the supplied coordinates, Chadrick spotted the warehouse he was supposed to pick up the Silicate Glass from and started approaching the location. Halfway there, he got impatient with the speed of his ship and activated a micro warp drive to go faster. Just as he entered transfer range, he quickly scooped the cargo and turned around.
Space quickly filled with red crosses and Blood Raider frigates, destroyers and cruisers barreled towards him, the space around him lighting up with red and white beams of light.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" he muttered to himself, "I figured the bastard wasn't telling me everything."
He suspected the idea was to just grab the loot and run away, but he was so pissed at this point that he decided to mow down everything that was coming his way. Missiles sprayed from his ship and his best drones buzzed around dropping them one by one. Ships exploded so often that every pop gave a little satisfaction to Chadrick, almost enjoying this opportunity to let loose and 'express himself'.
He managed to get down to around five ships when a second wave warped in. A little shot of adrenaline went through his body as he eyed his shield, which was now nearly gone, and the damage started coming off his armor instead. Activating a hardener, he went back to focusing on killing stuff and when the dust settled, they had stripped off half his armor and his salvage drones were off stripping the wrecks of anything useful.
After the attack, Chadrick had a chance to once again think about the bastard Agent who sent him to an expected ambush and didn't tell him. Warping back to the station, he made sure the station crew unloaded the cargo and he paid his repair bill, bringing the data pad with him to Marmed's office.
"I'm here to pass in the goods. Mission complete." Chad snapped as he entered the meager office.
"Splendid! I have already transferred the ninety four thousand ISK to your account." He said taking the Data Pad, "What's this?"
"My repair bill for ma ship." Chadrick stated, his voice thick with hate, "It cost me 'bout a million and a half to fix. I don't think ninety four thousand will cut it."
"I-I'm sorry, sir. But you understand that under the circumstances, any normal person would have just warped away with the cargo and not even get a scratch on their shields." he stammered, "Wait, did you stay and fight them?"
"They pissed me off." Chad said, "Or rather, you pissed me off for sendin' me into a trap."
"You killed them all?" he asked again in disbelief.
"Battlecruiser, remember?" Chad said, "Regardless, you sent me there knowing those pirates would show up. I don't take kindly to misinformation."
"I do apologize, but I had to be sure you would take the mission."
"Be sure I won't be taking any more from you." Chad said, his fists balling at his sides. Chadrick's anger began to boil up and he knew he would get in trouble if he just clocked the guy and stormed out. He had a pistol on him, but even threatening him with it would be useless as everyone knows about the station security system disabling any live firearms on board. He should have worn his Parapistol as Sain kept telling him to do, but he hated knowing that he only had a glorified stun gun as his only weapon. Still, his only option was to just leave and cut his ties to this agent. Maybe find another somewhere else.
Or try something new entirely....
Later that day, Chadrick stood in the Amarr trade hub station, holding his Neocom showing his now maxed trade orders. He waited until his wallet flashed and his available order counter would show one available to use. He would then select another random module from his asset list and sell it off for a little cheaper than the lowest price in the station.
A fire sale if you will. A contract for the Prophecy was up for grabs as well. Odd, He had always wanted to fly one of them as he found the ship design to be esthetically pleasing, however, once he was in one, he found the ship rather bulky and thick. He clearly saw why some capsuleers call it the "Fat Turkey".
A plan was in the works, yet it may take a while to implement.
