Diary of a Pod Pilot

“Ghost Festival is currently in stasis mode. Operations will be resumed in the future.” That’s what reads in all our channels at the moment. In this post I will elaborate on how it got that far and where we go from here.

When we first came to Goinard it was a paradise. The location is ideal in the middle of the lowsec map, it connects directly to highsec with a market hub nearby allowing for easy supply runs, and our old stomping grounds The Bleak Lands were still within reach. And we had mutual blue standings with Veto, who occupy the same home system, allowing us to have the numbers to organize larger and heavier fleets, while we could pass on our small fleet expertise. Win-win.

So where did it go wrong? There isn’t one thing or anything specific for that matter that can really be given the blame here. It is rather a combination of some members leaving the game, others moving on, real life and financial issues forcing a few to take an unwanted break coupled with some of those that did remain not seeing eye to eye or simply clashing because everyone got frustrated and demotivated by this downpour of bad luck. I had some nice plans for Operation Longshot being our first steps into nulsec roaming, but for inty swarms and other light setups you need a certain number of people, which we simple didn’t have anymore. We tried to make the best of our stay in Eugales but other than probing down mission runners in two local hubs the area was simply unfriendly for the type of combat we’re used to.

It’s been really difficult to accept the decline, and for a while I didn’t even want to consider that an option, working left and right to keep everyone’s chin up, a smile on their face and help them with finding something to do. But that takes its toll eventually. I wasn’t leaving station anymore, and that is a major nono in a small corporation, because you do have to lead by example. I could preach proactivity all I wanted, but I wasn’t doing it myself.

Enter Saturday, where I got on vent after being asked by Kimochi, Morwen and Plumb if we could have a chat. My gut feeling immediately screamed trouble, and it proved to be accurate as usual. Kimochi was moving out to Veto. The other two said I didn’t let them help enough, but in all honesty I knew they meant to say this was it for them too. I tried to explain that I can’t delegate work before I’ve done my part, and that with everything happening I hardly got to do my part, which I realize is because I too had trouble staying motivated. And then I called it.

Some time before that I had gotten the offer that if I wanted to take a break from leadership Veto would take on all Ghosts willing to stick together so I could relax and do my own thing, but while also receiving the chance to take a look at their inner workings as a learning opportunity. Tempting offer, surely, but I kindly declined it. It felt like quitting, taking the easy way out and leaving the roleplaying community down by taking away the only (?) dedicated corporation and alliance for Angel Cartel loyalists. I figured if I just stayed optimistic, left the paperwork for later and got back into my yarring seat all would end up well. And it seemed to do so, certainly with the interest of new people in membership. But in truth I know now those three Ghosts were just retreating in the back trying to figure out how to bring me the bad news without upsetting me too much. Not that there is such a way, really, because I still shed a tear when it all came out.

It is still sinking in, and I’m keeping clear from the game a bit, but I feel I made a good decision. Everyone gets to stick together — if they make it through the application process, which shouldn’t be a problem — and new doors are opened which would have taken us months to provide. If we didn’t entirely die down, which seems to have been the more likely case. The fourth habit of Highly Successful People says win-win or no deal. Carrying on would have been win-lose for me in relation to the members, or even lose-lose. While not my preferred solution the merge with Veto is win-win for all involved parties. They too like many pirate corporations have been hit by the recent wave of inactivity, and even if we all join they don’t make up for the numbers they’ve lost.

Those looking me up ingame today will see that I now fly under the Veto banner. I personally want to hammer our the in character details before I get back into the saddle, a post of that will also follow soon. It is my intention and desire to remain an Angel loyalist, and while Veto might be Guristas aligned I’ve been told there is the freedom for that, so we’ll make it work one way or another. I know there is a bunch of naysayers out there, or those fearful I will “cave in” over time, but in all honesty they can kiss my behind. Or go read The Burning Life, and pay particular attention to a character in there to a character who is an Angel as well.

To end this post, one question I am sure some will have is if I feel that Veto has stolen my members, or had that intention all along. My answer to that is that I do not feel that way. They’ve been hesitant in the past with taking on people that came from us because they too felt Angel Cartel roleplay is underrepresented and that regarding a larger corporation as an utopia without problems is a pretty dumb thing to do. I’ve received all the help I could ever want, and in the end it is up to each individual to decide where to go and what to do. I actually consider myself lucky, because many a crumbling corporation could only dream of an offer like this and is stuck with watching people drift apart, or having to start from scratch with looking for a group to merge with. And it is certainly not common to receive the offer to become a shadow CEO within a well-known and long time running corporation. Receiving that kind of trust in a game like EVE is a risky move and makes me feel flattered. Put the ideas of bribing me out of your heads though, they ain’t going to work. In fact I’m enough of a bitch to make them backfire on you. Consider yourself warned.

PS: PRELI’s fate is under discussion with their membership. I’ve told Marcus they can stay within the alliance, as I am keeping it open, and he can do as he pleases with the corporation, be it to take it solo, or reform it, or find a home for its members too. It’s pretty damn ironic that while we were doing so bad they really have been thriving. I hope that success will continue to last them.

Decided to remain in Goinard a little longer after Sunday’s interceptor operation. Earlier I had made my way to the cloning facilities to jump there and overheard a conversation between two Cartel raiders about a large shipment of Absinthe that had been intercepted. Couldn’t help but to think of Vincent, and how I had utterly failed to stay in contact. So yesterday, after meeting some of the Ghosts at The Skyhook I headed down to The Last Gate and surely there he was sitting at the bar, a glass of the green drink at his side, waving me over as soon as he saw me.

Two months since he left Ghost Festival, yet he hugged me as fondly as if it had been yesterday and offered me a drink. Decided a traditional glass of Absinthe was fitting for this reunion. I was glad to hear his soul-searching has been going well and his life is less of the chaos it used to be. He also told me — or well, I actually overheard it slightly before that — that the Guristas have invested in Veto Corp. Interesting. I’ll have to ask Ethan for some more details.

Kimochi walked in a little later and joined us. Had been a good while I had spoken to her outside of corporate channels. I am pretty sure that despite her affliction part of the fault lies with me there as well. Gods and spirits, I’m really a poor friend. She liked my compliment about her eye-patch though. After what happened to her she’s still one of the most graceful and charismatic women I know. Yes, there’s some envy there.

We spoke on the topic of the Scavenger Hunt that Jude is currently running. The concept is simple: If you have one of the modules or items from the list on your kill record you can claim it and receive a point. The prize of the contest is made up of what loot is recovered and additional donations, and the one with the most points wins it all. Everyone agreed it is an excellent motivator to go out and take a little more risk than usual to get into an engagement and learn from it. I’ve grown used to Jude’s “reckless” style of flying by now, but Kimochi still felt a little bad still about the loss of her Harbinger on Tuesday. Since I am actually doing rather well on the Scavenger Hunt I plan to stay in Goinard some more now I have the time and reason to roam through the void. Hope the Dominations won’t mind.

Do I have any complaints? Well, they are far more ruthless than we’re used to, which showed when one of their fleet commanders asked one of my pilots to simply hang back when a corporation we had good standings was a valid target for the Veto pilots. And I’m slightly disappointed to hear that my name is not present on the Gate’s VIP list, while Vincent’s and Kimochi’s are. Will have to ask what is up with that considering I am a regular there.

I absolutely love the Pilgrim now I finally got to fly him. Rabisu – his name derived from an ancient demon that stalks the dark corners and porches of houses waiting to ambush humans and tear them apart – really lives up to his reputation.

After spending a few days stationside and only having returned to my duties this morning I found Yishal and Kimochi already out in their pilgrims. We did a lot of quiet observing to get used to these new platforms and the special tactics that come with them. Waiting cloaked in an asteroid belt as we watched a target move around from one celestial to another I finally snatched the Harpy as it landed close enough to me. Poor thing tried to fight me as well. Sadly there was not one but three pilgrims eager to pick him apart. Flying one myself at times I know just how devastating neutralizers and nosferatus can be. Not to mention a swarm of drones. Shame on me though for labeling my drones incorrectly and sending out the wrong group! Although the damage reports show I was only a little short of the damage Kimochi did. That should prove well for when I further finish up specializing in the operation of Gallente and Minmatar drones.

Recon ships also prove to make excellent spectators for other engagements. Looking around for more targets we stumbled upon a friendly corporation laying siege on a POS tower while being under fire by defenders. What a massive fleet they had. Yet for unknown reasons they disengaged after a good while despite holding the advantage in both numbers and firepower. Yishal believes they must have grown tired of it and decided to seek opportunity elsewhere.

And then there is the usage of recons to set up cleverly formed traps. It’s no secret that we sometimes await militia fleets at military beacons to ruin their plans. But it works even better when you’re not actually visible at the location through the directional scanner. Not that a simple glance at the local neocom channel does not betray our presence. But not all pilots bother to do so while blinded by the desire to fight.

I feel a milestone was reached today after so many months and I don’t think all pilots fully understood the significance of this. Or perhaps I am appointing too much value to something as simple as flying a new ship class for the first time. Every day comes after all, sooner or later. But one thing is sure however. Recons are something I want to make an important part of our operations in the near future. As much as I enjoy frigate hulls – and I truly hope they will always continue to be a solid option – I also enjoy further finesse and greater firepower in order to take on targets of more value, more skill and more capability in order to perfect our skills and fill our wallets.

War. We saw opportunity. Opportunity to gain skill, experience, ISK, new allies, new enemies, and a chance to make a name for ourselves. Yishal dubbed it ‘Bold Harvest’. I quite like the name.

It’s been a week since Aria announced our newest operation on the IGS. We’ve rented an office and secured apartments for all Ghosts and relocated everything we will need to make it a success. Handling the paperwork and other administrative business involved in this move has left me with little time inside the pod, a trend which is possible to continue for a few more weeks.
I hope to fly with Yishal again soon and receive some more training. I’ve already had to learn the hard way that Warrior II’s make quick work of a Punisher when commanded by an Ishkur, even if you have backup. This is not Derelik where we would harass pilots who where unprepared to fight us. This is war and everyone’s prepared to fight for their side.

Aside of little flight time I have also had little leisure time. Though staying away from the Last Gate for a little while seems smart, after the little incident that took place last weekend. For those who are in the loop, Kimochi is doing well. She just needs her rest. I’m not so happy however about Ethan using it as an argument on the IGS. I mean sure, we owe him, especially for letting us stay over in the guest rooms, but discretion even to the competition is desirable. It’s not as if we didn’t show how thankful we were or refused to follow security protocols.

((And for some more shameless self promoting, I submitted my profile to Alexia Morgan’s blog ‘Punishment’, which you can now read should you be interested in knowing more about the player and blogger behind Myrhial.))