Cynical Rise

My ship exited from the stargate, dropping the protective gate cloak as it began to align. It’s destination was the Ministry of War Archives. There I had made contact with a agent willing to offer me work. It took the large vessel a moment to reach proper alignment. When it did the warp core activated and I was on my way.

Dropping out of warp a few hundred meters from the station I had realized it was a smart move coming here. The competition with fellow capsuleers seeking missions would be minimal. There was only one other ship on radar, a Bestower-class hauler was docking just ahead of me. I soon requested permission to dock. Once cleared I was being guided inside the station, and to my new assigned hanger.

Once all the cargo was unloaded, and the hanger fee was paid, it was time to meet my agent. She was a Ni-Kunni a race assimilated into the Amarr empire over a thousand years ago. Once the formalities were out of the way we could get down to business. It seemed she had already had a mission waiting for me. She told me that the Blood Raiders had set up a blockade of a local trade stargate. These stargates were owned and operated by private corporations, and often the target of pirate ransoms and attacks.

I was in luck however, seemed this stargate was in system. Sparing me the annoyance of traversing through anymore star systems. After agreeing to the mission I headed back to oversee the fitting of my ship. Once everything was installed, I entered my capsule again. Assimilating with the systems of the Navy Apocalypse. I quickly requested permission to undock, and was guided safely out of the station. Once free I fed the data into the navigation systems, the massive warship began to align, then soon warped.

Within seconds of dropping out of warp, I found myself under attack. I was fired upon by four Apocalypse-class pirate ships. They were sitting at vary locations near the merchant gate. The targeting systems finished locking and I returned fire. The eight lasers on my ship opened fire for the first time. It was a frenzy of light, as volley after volley of laser beams impacted upon my armor. However with the correct hardeners running, I was taking virtually no damage. The same could not be said about the pirates.

Pirate ships were not as strictly maintained or even fitted as a capsuleers ship. Engagements were often short lived and one sided. As the first battleship fell, some smaller ships began to emerge from the shadow of the merchants gate. Coercer-class destroyers, five of them. These ships were of little concern. My lasers were focused upon the last battleship on the field. So I sent the command to let loose the drones. The drone bay doors opened, and five Infiltrator-class drones emerged. As soon as the target orders were sent to them. They rocketed towards the hapless destroyers. Tearing them apart, one by one with their twin lasers.

As the last battleship on the field fell, the reinforcment waves dropped out of warp. There was four Armageddon-class battleships, and a single Apocalypse-class battleship. Behind them was a group of three Punisher-class frigates. I immediatly began to target the frigates. They were small, but they often carried warp jammers. While my ship was more than a match for anything the Blood Raiders could field, when there was enough of them it could turn the tide of battle fast. At last they were targeted, however they were now within close range.

When smaller ships got within close range of large guns, they were almost untouchable. The transversal speed was more than my targetting systems could handle. My drones would have to take care of them. I quickly recalled my drones in favour of the smaller more nimble Acolyte-class drones. Once they emerged from the drone bay, it was only a matter of minutes before the frigates were nothing more than floating wreckage.

It seemed like anything the Blood Raiders threw onto the field made no difference, at times my repair unit would struggle to deal with all the incoming damage. However as my lasers tore through battleships and supporting cruisers the damage was never long lived. Finally after a slew of reinforcments it was down to one final ship. A single Apocalypse-class warship. The hull of the ship was splattered with what I could only immagine to be blood.

The pirate fired volley after volley upon my ship. In the end it didn’t matter, once he was in range I opened fire. The battle was short lived, between the pulse lasers I was unleashing, and the drones I had fielded. With the destruction of the final ship, my mission was complete. The gate was once again pirate free. The wreckage of fallen pirates sorrounded the area. All in all the Blood Raiders had fielded fifty-nine ships, and faild to take down one capsuleer.

I bookmarked the closest wreck into my navigation comptuer. I would be back to salvage the slew of wrecks. For now It was time to head back to station. I began to align the large vessel, and soon entered warp. It didn’t take long to confirm the mission with my agent, and the ISK was sent directly to my account. All that remained was to salvage the mess I had made around the merchant gate.

Market information was strewn across the table, I was going over the avalible modules to upgrade Indignation. I had already placed the orders for the armor repair unit, and armor hardeners. They were all expensive Navy Issued versions of the standard models. I felt as though a Navy Issued ship should be fitted with Navy Issued modules.

However I could not fully outfit my ship as such, both in terms of availability and cost. I had a good amount of funds in my wallet, but not enough to purchase a full load of Navy Issued Mega Beams. Honestly It wasn’t just the money. I lacked the skills in Advanced Weapon Upgrades, a skill which helped in modifying weapons to use less power grid. This was a skill I am looking forward to learning.

For now I placed the orders for the best standard Mega Pulse lasers money could buy. All that remained now was to wait for them to be delivered and installed. This never took long, and within minutes they had arrived. It took only a short time before they were mounted and installed. The cargo was soon loaded into the cargo bay.

I was currently at the Emperor Family Academy in the Amarr system. This was the home system of the Amarr. The stations here acted as major trade hubs for the empire. The empress herself was usually within the very station I was about to depart. Once my capsule was assimilated into the battleships subsystems. I requested permission to undock, and was soon being lead out of the station.

Undocking from any station in Amarr you’d soon find yourself in the midst of heavy traffic. My massive battleship dwarfed almost every ship that was on radar. There however was a few other battleships and cruisers in view. Capsuleers often used trade hubs as dueling grounds. Sharpening skill against one another in a secure area.

They had to be careful though, if they attacked a bystanding vessel by mistake they would end up loosing their ship to the hands of CONCORD the police force of New Eden. They did not ask questions, and were not understanding. They simply target the aggressor and eliminate their ship.

Once clear from all the traffic I activated route plan I had laid in prior to undocking. The large battleship began to align to the first stargate in route, the process took a few momments due to the sheer mass of the vessel. Once aligned, the warp drive activated and I was on my way.

I’m a capsuleer, of Khanid blood. I’ve spent most of my entire life within the confines of the Amarr empire. The only times I had actually left the empire was during combat operations inside wormhole space. I’ve been working for agents in the Imperial Navy and Ministry of War for some time now. My standings with both corporations are exemplary.

I’ve not gone it all alone, I have made a small group of friends throughout my time in the Imperial Academy. Enabling me to reach farther and accomplish more than I could alone. Traversing low-security systems, braving into the unknown sections of wormhole space. I owe a lot of experience as well as earnings to those operations.

I’ve commanded a slew of ships, ranging from the Punisher-class frigate up to the Apocalypse-class battleship. I’ve run some of the most mundane courier missions, to heart pounding combat missions. Building up reputation within the Amarr empire. All that hard work has not been for nothing. It has earned me my current ship Indignation, a Navy Issued Apocalypse-class battleship. Far more impressive than the standard version.

It has now been four months since my graduation from the Imperial Academy. I still remain within the Academy, not yet ready to join another corporation. For now I will abide my time, earning and learning as I go along. There will be plenty of opportunities to advance in the future. I’m sure one of them will appeal to me.