Of ISK and Experience

When I started this Blog, I named it “Fighting Broke”. The reason I did was that it always seemed like I was fighting against pirates and contract targets while my wallet icon was always blinking away signifying my last expensive purchase. While the experience and skill I have gained can never truly be measured by Isk…pure credits are often a benchmark of success in many Mercenary corporations. Still…to this day, I am fighting broke. Whether or not this makes me a bad mercenary commander is for others to decide when writing history…but I personally do not believe so.

I have been involved in the trade lanes of Eve for well over 5 years now…in fact one of the first commissioned pod pilots. Our class of pod captain charters was labeled “Alpha Test” for some odd reason…and we could only warp back and forth between two Caldari stations. While I have taken my share of time off from commanding duties, I generally have been very active in my corporation and the world of Eve. But, even to this day, there are things I learn…proving that no one can master this epic adventure that lay before us.

I also make ghastly mistakes…hence again, the title of this blog.

My last mistake was quite a large one. While patrolling in Beke for belt pod pirates (there were two in sector), I happened upon a fairly in-experienced pirate that had already shot some prey in the area. While concord flagged his ship as “weapons free” for 15 minutes, I proceeded to hunt him…finally locking him down just outside of webifier range in asteroid belt Beke II – 1. His Thorax class cruiser was no match for my Sacrilege HAC, and I soon stripped him of shields and armor. However, he did use his superior speed to finally break my warp disruptor system past 20km.

He warped away to the Amarr Logistics compound station…and I smirked, knowing he would instantly be destroyed by the sentries for his criminal flag. My smirk quickly faded as I realized I was not warping to said station…but the moon it orbited.

One rookie mistake….and one veteran mistake. Rookies make inexpensive mistakes…while veterans loose vast chunks of Isk for theirs. Needless to say, my incredible tank setup of my Sacrilege only lasted 3 salvos from the POS deployed on the moon. One slip of a control mistake…and you are left with a shiny pod.

The pirate had no idea what happened….I gritted my teeth and politely explained to him why he had died to the sentries as I opened the market and proceeded to acquire a new Sacrilege. Maybe it is my destiny to always fight broke…but I look forward to the day I can rename this Blog to “Fighting Strapped with Credits”.

Beke remains fairly clear of pirate activity...and the corp is making a pretty penny in the process (say that 3 times fast). In the end, the mission is paramount...not the losses or kills.