mikeazariah

Mike followed Scotties direction to a small alcove on the far side of the hanger. Standing before a holoprojector was a tall thin man in greying dreadlocks. He was yelling out at a few techs putting the finishing touches on the Ishtar hull. “If I be findin tha you be more than 3 microns out of align I will not be thinkin everytin is Irie. I be comin to your house an makin sure you know who be the one firin your sorry selves. You hear me, mon?” The workers waved and smiled but Mike could see they started double checking everything as the continued the last walkabout. The man turned soulfull eyes on the pod pilot and whistled. “Well lawdy, one o de big men come on down to the deck to talk to us, what the world be comin to?”

Mike grinned and put out his hand. “I am Mike Az . . ”

“I know who you be, mon. It not like you don make the news every now and again. But why you not sending down your prints and plans like de rest o dem? I and I be Everett but most folks, dey call me Ev, mon. Why you down here with us, hey?”

Mike shrugged. “Scotty said you are good man to talk to, and listen to. Dierdre agreed, when I asked her. I am always willing to listen to people, before I make important decisions.”

“You be a mon oo listens? Now I an I seen everytin. Nobody lissens to us deck-apes. We just be cheaper than havin a machine rig and fit a ship.”

“I listen. It is what I do. It usually doesn’t take that long and I am not yet blessed with the omniscience that some of my fellow pilots seem to possess.”

The rangy engineer threw his head back and laughed. “Oh you gonna be all right mon. I be seein why Diedre be still talkin to ya. Well den, wha we gonna talk about? Da weather?”

Mike grinned. “Tut tut, looks like rain. No I was thinking more along the lines of how you think I ought to be fitting out the Kry Baby.” He gestured back at the Ishtar floating above them. “I don’t want to be going out after the bigger targets and making a damn fool of myself.”

“Not gonna be sendin tha one ta join the Domi an the Raven you used ta own, eh, mon?”

“Damn straight. Now what do you think I ought to be outfitting this one with.”

“Well it all depends on what you can be handlin. You a shield boy or ya good with spinnin the armor plates?” Ev tapped the controls and then stepped back form Mike to log in and upload his certifications. “Oooo wee, yoou don know da meanin o da word focus, do you? You know a bit about ever lil ting.”

“Except how to get elected.” Mike rubbed the back of his head and grinned.

“Oh dat not be over yet, mon. You no be burning the barn till you sure the horses have run off.”

It took Mike a moment to figure that one out. He shrugged and pointed over to the holoprojector. “So, what do you recommend?”

“Same ting you do when folks ask how ta vote. Go wit what works for ya, mon. Lemme show you some choices. Most times dis would be easy street . . . da skills make da boat. But easy not for you, no how, mon. You gotta be good at dis and dat and some of dem ova dere. So we comes at it from the different side. What ships you been flying up till now?”

Mike reached over and tapped the controls calling up a pair of ships, the Drake and a Myrmidon. “I Gallente space I fly the Drake most often. It is the one I take exploring wormholes as well. If I am in Khanid space hunting pirates I prefer the Myrm with armor tanking and a booster.” Another tap of the controls vanished those two and brought up his Jaguar. “This I fly for fun.” The sleek lines of the upgraded rifter screamed speed and maneuverability.

Ev whistled and then started to laugh. “Well why you not say so in the first place, mon. I know just the fittin for you. But let me show you the another one just for comparison before I show you the one I tink you gonna like.”

Mike stepped back from the controls and looked up at the images and specs that began to flash above him.

Beta Reactor Control: Shield Power Relay I
Beta Reactor Control: Shield Power Relay I
Beta Reactor Control: Shield Power Relay I
Beta Reactor Control: Shield Power Relay I
Beta Reactor Control: Shield Power Relay I
Invulnerability Field II
Large F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Large F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Large F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Large F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Civilian laser
Salvager I
Drone Link Augmentor I
Small Tractor Beam I
Salvager I
Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I
Medium Core Defence Field Purger I

Now dis here be an example of what you call a passive tank. You go out dere in dis and dey can shoot at you for a long day and a good night. It be like your drake only more so. But I don ink that be what you are looking for.

Mike eyed the specs on the side and then looked back at the design. “Why the hell would I mount that flashlight that calls itself a weapon?”

“It be to get the bad guys attention. You be yelling ‘yoo hoo, looky at me!’ And when dey all locks you up and sends bad tings your way, DEN you opens the drone bays an sends your toys out ta play. Dat way da toys last longer. An did ya look at da size o dat bay you got?”

Mike hadn’t. Cruiser class vessels were lucky to have 50 m3 at the best of times so he did not expect . . . “Hels Belles, on a Cruiser? I can acrry a set of five of each size and still . . . ”

“If you work a bit more at it we can show you how to load that ting better than you did your old Dominix. And dat be saying somethin. Now let me show you something more your speed.” The hologram changed and the new design proposal made Mike blink as he tried to take it all in at once.

* 3x 200mm Railgun II, Spike M
* 1x Small ‘Solace’ I Remote Bulwark Reconstruction
* 1x Drone Link Augmentor I
* 1x 10MN Afterburner II
* 1x Drone Navigation Computer I
* 1x F-90 Positional Sensor Subroutines
* 2x Cap Recharger II
* 1x Medium Armor Repairer II
* 1x (adaptive or mission specific) Plating II
* 3x energized (mission specific, not adaptive for CPU limitations) membrane II
* 1x Capacitor Control Circuit I
* 1x Nano pump

“No salvage?”

“So we be takin the top guns out an give you the small popgun and some tractor and salvage tackle. Da ting dat makes me tink you be choosin this one is da speed. Dat first one had one speed, it not too bad but Dis one has da afterburner. You can choose your range and engagement and dat be meaning sometin.”

Mike nodded slowly. “Yer good, lets work a bit on setting this second one up to fit me and my wallet.”

“No worries, mon. Dat what I be here for. You always get good service wit Ev,Mon.”

********

Lessons

For those not getting the accent, ah well. I spend a lot of time with Evemon and wrote this as an indicator of how much I appreciate it and all the folks who contribute to battleclinic.

I also talk to a lot of friendly folks in game who give me builds to consider and debate.

I can not emphasize enough the chat channels have a multitude of value to them. Yes, sometimes you have to be in fleet or corp to see what is going on but you should also scout around for folks from other corps may hang, listen and learn about other aspects of the game.

mike

Mike pushed back from the comm panel and sighed.

“Rough?” A soft voice asked from behind. He nearly shot right out of his chair in surprise.

“What the . . how did you get in?”

Dierdre looked about the room before settling against a panel that had only standby status indicators lit. “The boys were bringing on new ammo, I wandered in then.”

Mike made a note to watch the loading crews a bit more closely. “Not that I mind . . . .just you scared a weeks growth outa me there.”

She made a moue. “I doubt that, a dangerous capsuleer such as yourself?” She pointed out the view-screen at a ship being assembled across the hanger floor. “They tell me you will be shifting ships.”

Mike grinned and leaned back. “I am just a peaceful man in a violent universe. That ship will help me endure the slings and arrows . . . ”

“And missiles and lasers . . . ” She smiled. “I know an Ishtar by reputation. But why are you changing over to that from your Drake?”

Mike grimaced. “More questions . . . ”

“Something wrong?”

‘Not wrong, just I feel like everybody is asking me things lately. This Campaign for the CSM is in its final week and the news media finally seems to have noticed me.”

“Well that is good, right?”

Mike smiled and nodded. “It is and I have enjoyed the interviews but in a way they drain me emotionally. The interviewers have been very professional and kind but they still ask questions for which I must answer on the spot with something that sounds reasonable.”

“Politicians do that all the time.”

“They have strategists and campaign folks and practice a platform till they can answer the questions in their sleep. I don’t so I answer with what I think and worry after as to whether what I said was the right thing to say, or not.”

“You say what you think? Honestly?”

He sighed. “I cannot keep track of anything other than what I think and feel. So I have to be honest. It’s all I have. But in a complex world where issues have many more than just two sides honesty only flies so far. Half way through the interviews I feel like I should have been studying or had someone standing by to whisper answers in my ear. Then there are the odd messages I been getting.”

“What sort of messages?”

“Some saying that they support my campaign. One telling me that he was voting for someone else, but still enjoyed hearing from me in the interviews.”

She laughed, throwing her head back. “I can see that.”

“You can?

She nodded. “I can. So who interviewed you?”

“Well I stated with the Planet risk interview a while back.” He leaned back and looked at the ceiling. “I thought that one went well enough. The questions were good and it let me take part in asking other candidates questions as well. Then came the one with the Tribune.”

She whistled softly. “They have quite the readership. Who did your interview?”

“Zarch AlDain. Seemed nice enough and he asked fair questions. Gave me a chance to say things he didn’t ask directly about and tried to cover a lot of territory in a little time. He and I agreed on one thing and that is that the CSM need to work on being a higher profile. If one of the CSM could summarize . .. not post the minutes of the meeting but something in a conversational tone, more folks might learn about the issues that are being discussed, might start to ‘care more’.” He looked her in the eyes. “But sometimes I worry promising honesty is a high risk maneuver when dealing in a world that has secrets. What is research and changes in the wind are forbidden to be given to the general populace.”

“That would be where you would have to decide what you could say and what could not be said.”

Mike grinned. ‘I am not well known for holding my tongue. I am the kid who yells that the Emporer is naked. But that interview went nicely. The other one was for internal news items among the capsuleers. A podpilot named Chainer interviewed me and then posted the q and a session for general consumption.”

“And how was that one? Is he a journalist?”

“No, but he could be. He managed to do about the same length interview and yet we hardly repeated any material other than the ‘who am I’. I had a lot more fun joking around with him and it was slightly more relaxed. With him I wasn’t as stressed . . . but I still worry about how many people will change their votes based on something I said or didn’t say.”

“The point is you said something. You are out there and leaving a mark. Those who are paying attention will notice you.”

“I know, That is why I am getting a bigger tank.” Mike grinned and gestured out at the Ishtar.

“Named it yet?”

“Kry Baby. A corp mate of mine helped me find the funds to buy this one so I thought I should do somethig to say thank you.” Mike chuckled.

“I am not sure that naming the ship that will be considered a ‘thank you’.”

“I’ll consider changing it, after I see her face when she finds out what it is called.”

“Her?” The tone did not seem to change in any audible way but Mike could swear the room got colder for a moment.

“Kry and Sab are good friends in the corp. They have been together a long time and they both are always willing to send me a message or lend a hand when times are hard.” Inside Mikes mind was going a mile a minute as he tried to figure out how to rescue himself form the conversation trap he had wandered into. “Seldom see one of them without the other around.”

“So she is just a friend?” The voice had warmed a bit.

Mike realized that every time he opened his damned mouth it was an interview. He had just not noticed it before. He settled for nodding slowly. The the warmth of the smile she gave him confirmed that, for once, he had given the right answer without saying a thing, but he was not quite sure what the real question had been . . . just like all the other interviews.

****

Lessons

Interviews drain you, best rule is tell the truth, easier to keep track of than lies.

A good interviewer does not cover the same ground others have.

There is BLOODY LOT of eve material to read and keep up with, i doubt anybody reads all of it.

mike

Mike sat back and switched on the news feed on his comm, ticking the box for commentary. “Holy . . . ” The waves of commentary washed across the screen in a flood containing passion, confusion, common sense and often a complete lack of common sense. People said the same thing over and over and over. He spent an hour trying to read all of it before he gave up and started skimming. Another hour and he was searching elsewhere for summaries and trying to make sense of it all.

“There has got to be some simple way to find out what is being said.” He opened channels up that he normally didn’t monitor and started to talk to people. Some had come to the same conclusions he had, others were totally oblivious that there was anything wrong at all. They were up to their usual day to day activities and not sweating what tomorrow might hold.

His favorite response was from A. Nonny Moose who said “I am reading everything there, not to understand or to form an opinion. I am collecting pirate tears. I am collecting the tears and savoring the whines of people who so often have done the same to us Carebears. Nothing is going to come of this . . . the prices quoted will change. The methodology of claiming Sovereignty is a vanity thing for the most part. A flag is a bit of cloth, a holdover from battle standards in ancient times. You can mark what is your and what is not with the blood of you enemies or any who fly into the zone you claim as your own. That costs only the sweat and ammunition to hold what you think is yours.”

Mike looked at the prospective numbers and skimmed to comments that actually seemed to do the math. They changed as estimates of costs and benefits changed. “Just as they should. People keep forgetting that an economy is a living thing. It moves to suit the environment and adapts, molds itself to what its own market can bear. If thing is not functional, then nobody will use it. If it is, then the whiners will leave and the workers will make a go of it. Simple.” He nodded to himself with the satisfaction of knowing not enough to really worry about anything.

His comm pinged as an incoming alliance message appeared, Mike roared with laughter. It was a proposal that alliance members begin to prepare for a move to take advantage of the upcoming changes. The mining strikes and the cascade failure of moon operations in zero sec were beginning to have repercussions that a savvy and fast acting alliance might be able to capitalize on. Big alliances would be falling back under massive new costs of restructuring and holes would be opening up. There was a call going out for scouting trips into the dangerous territories and maps were being poured over. Contacts with other alliances were being opened.

For better or worse, in spite of all the 0.0 tears one thing was about to happen. CHANGE. Chance was a chance for some to win and some to lose.

But that is the way the universe works.

*******

Lessons

The point is, we shouldn’t whine about the negatives but try to find the positives. Do the math. If the numbers really don’t work out I am sure they will be altered. CCP has shown that already. But if you think whining will make veerything free and ponies for every girl and boy . . . no

They shifted the directional scan down from 2 seconds. But they did not take the timer away

They will make sov affordable. But they WILL be making it live in Dec.

Tears is not going to change that.

But trust me, a lot of Carebears are laughing.

mike

OOC

Not mandatory but this incident follows the Planet Risk Podcast episode 9

*******

He closed down the communication channels and leaned back. It took a moment for the pounding on the hatch to get through to him. “Knocking? Nobody ever knocks.” He tapped a control that allowed entry into the ship and turned to hear someone in heels marching up the corridor.

“Not bad but you screwed up some of it, you big goof!” Kry exclaimed as she stormed into the control room. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“We didn’t get the questions in advance. That was all off the cuff.” Mike popped open a quafe and downed it, feeling very dry after the session with LA and QP.

“I know that, and for the most part it was fine EXCEPT for the question you messed up! And it was the most important one!” She wasn’t quite yelling but it was close.

“Which question was that, oh Mining Queen?” Mike started to relax a bit and smiled into the fury of her frustration.

“The one where TeaCozy . . ”

“Um, Teadaze?” Mike softly corrected.

“Whatever, when he asked how you felt being the least experienced of the Candidates on the show. You went for the underdog status.”

“Well? To a certain extent, that is what I am.”

“Wrong. You should have taken it as if they were making you the cruiser to their battleships. You are faster, sleeker, the choice of the new generation of capsuleers.” She waved her hands about while she spoke. “You are NOT less than them, you are different. So you are not on your fiftieth incarnation of clone. What you are is what a lot of people out here are. New, not jaded. Scraping out the isk for the next ship and the next fitting. There are still things you haven’t seen, haven’t done and that means the universe still excites you.” She spun and pointed right at his face as though accusing him. “You called yourself the Average Joe. Good. Do you want the people you represent to think they are lesser beings? That they don’t measure up?”

Mike sat up, a frown forming on his face. “Of course not I . . . ”

“Well then? What are you going to do about it? Take the fight back to those other three who were on the show with you? Especially that . . .” Her voice dripped scorn. “Goon.”

“No. That is not what I am about and not what I am going to do. The CSM is an election of a board. The folks on that board are going to have to get along or NOTHING will get done. I will not throw mud, will not start fights. Hells, I thought the others did fairly well and we all agreed on a lot of things. If all four of us got elected I would count that a win not to mention a real BIG feather in the cap for the Planet Risk folks.”

She sighed. Then laughed. “You are so damn nice sometimes. You’d be polite to the pilot podding you.”

“I am serious . . . Each of those guys said stuff I agreed with, and some stuff I didn’t. They all came from different backgrounds and had areas of expertise. But they cared enough to take the time to be there, to talk to each other and to the population that listen.”

“I am serious as well. If you keep speaking of them in such glowing terms you might convince me to vote for one of them instead of you. Especially with that crack you made about mining. ‘Mr. I don’t mine excessively’” She wagged a finger at him.

“Caught that, did you?”

She nodded. “But other than that, you did well. You showed you could think big and think small. That you knew where your boundaries were and that you appreciated the boundaries of the others. I suppose the fact that there were no attacks does show that you four would get along and maybe the CSM would be more . . . open. You know most folks still don’t know what exactly the CSM is. So a lot of the votes are going to be blind ‘Her name sounds good’.”

Mike sighed and rubbed his face. “That is why I thought the Planet Risk folks were doing a good thing here. Trying to let a few more folks know what was going on.”

Kry shook her head. “But you know for all that they try, most of the people listening to a show like Planet Risk are experienced capsuleers. I mean after all, they focus a lot on wormholes. You would have done better to do an appearance on ‘Missions Collide’.”

“One little detail to that. Song Li is the host of that show and I doubt he wants to give his competition that much of a platform. I mean he is a great guy and all that but nobody should be expected to be THAT impartial. By the same regard I am glad the alliance tournament wasn’t closer so Teadaze wasn’t tempted to blow his own horn while he had a very large and captive audience.”

“I notice you didn’t mention Helen the goon.” She almost spit the name out.

“No, I didn’t. That one has me a bit . . . confused. The Goons have two official candidates and Helen is not either one of them. I don’t know if the Alliance will rearrange to vote as a block for three candidates or whether Helen is counting on an outside set of votes to make it to the finish line. Unlike the other goons Helen is actively campaigning.”

“Once a goon always a goon.” Her condemnation was final.

“Look Kry, I did what I did and now I move on. Whatr else can I do to convince people I am the right candidate.”

“Earn your decoration. Be the Cat. Get out there and get noticed. Talk to people in local, in the places you hang out. Let them know that if they vote for you they are votong for the person who is where they are, someone from their own neighborhood. That is what you do.”

“And what do I say?”

She sighed and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Answer their questions, talk to them. Be yourself. I know you won’t kiss babies and shake hands . . . but let them meet you.”

“That. I can do.”

‘Then GET STARTED!”

***************

Lesson. People don’t know what the CSM is

People don’t know who I am

Underdog is pretty much defined in the above two statements.