Of Victory and Defeat

"Glory is not obtained with the sacrifice of your brothers...it is only harnessed by their collective will and achievement. One who believes in 'Glory for the One', has no understanding of the world or himself." - Zor Fermathus, Kor-Azor Court Librarian

Some say that blood is the price of victory…but for me, it is the price of glory. Victory and Glory do not always go hand in hand…but often share the same road in life’s travels. I am reminded by the Amarr ‘victory’ of San Dumas against that awful Matari uprising 142 years ago. Although the field of battle was owned by the 52nd Royal Regiment…the cost in blood was incredibly high.

The Space Fyad control tower that we had sieged finally used up its strontium core, and OEC forces decided to press the attack…even though we had no Dreadnought support of our own. Folly most would assume…and in some sense they would be right. The fight raged in sector for quite awhile, with the OEC pinning a CONIN carrier within the seiged station. We were killing the cyno generating ships as fast as we could, but ultimately the MC cavalry did arrive and we found ourselves vastly outgunned once again. The OEC lost quite a few warships with no real tactical goals achieved. The end of the battle culminated with a carrier vs. carrier action near the SF station. Although we believe we destroyed well over 400m worth of CONIN fighters, we ultimately lost our own carrier in the action.

OEC took it on the chin. But from that we secured our own victory of showing we would not be idly pushed around…no matter the size of the fight. At the very least I got my answer to the question of CONIN hiring themselves to attack our station. I had expected more from a professional mercenary group…they had no reason to state they were on official contract. I would rather them just simply show up and start shooting while saying “we want your station”. Maybe they wanted to keep up appearances since technically we share the same intelligence channels, and a lot of the same friends.

Our ships will be replaced, along with the carrier. Such is the commitment of the OEC command to its members.

With the battle in Aridia resolved with neither station being destroyed, we believed we had secured the field of battle for the time being. CONIN is obviously very busy up north on a large (real) contract so we moved back to our Beke garrison operation as we had reports that large amounts of Pirate forces were entering the sector. Our client was not happy with this at all, and notified us that something had to be done (we are still on retainer for Beke Garrison Duty). I sent Gamma Command up as a forward force as we moved our freighter full of ships and supplies back up to Genesis. By the end of our 48 hour action we had regained control of the sector and neutral shipping was restored.

And then there was the NosDomi fight that I simply must write about. As people may well know my utter distain for Nosferatu spec’d Dominix class battleships, I feel like I must share my simple combat story.

We got reports that NIE pirates had been using NosDomi’s to attack local neutral shipping in asteroid belts. I ordered the station dock workers to refit the Amarr Apocalypse class OEC Westwall for specific anti-Dominix warfare: 6 heavy NOS with 2 Large Smartbomb modules. The rest of the ship construction is classified for obvious reasons, but most analysts could probably figure out the fitting and role. Then I got an interesting comment from a newer OEC member:

“Sir, that NosDomi won’t engage you unless you are in a cruiser…it just runs away from a fair fight,” He opined over voice communications.

“Well, that maybe all that you saw recently…but from my experience, a Pirate NosDomi simply cannot resist an un-escorted battleship sitting in a belt,” I replied wryly. I noted we had a few Battlecruiser losses in the area, so I understood where he was coming from.

With that I set the ship from dock and proceeded to the first belt in the ship’s overview. I had my battlecruiser escort wait at station or outside the sector waiting to jump in on my mark…making sure they did not break cover until I notified them. Positioning myself near the center of the belt…I told the crew we were “fishing” and for them to get comfortable. It did not take very long when the target NosDomi pilot warped into 3,000m range off port…the trap had been sprung.

I let her lock my ship down and begin her energy capacitor assault. Soon the expensive T2 drones were let loose upon my ever decreasing shields. Finally, I told the crew to “sink the hook”. With my own NOS batteries now fully hitting the large Gallente hull broadside, I scrambled and webified the ship in place. A deadly locking of horns had taken place…one of our ships were going to die that day no matter what.

My large smartbombs cleared the enemy drones off my hull after two pulses. At that moment my prey knew it was a trap…an Apocalypse Battleship set up specifically to kill a NosDomi. My Battlecrusier escort was ordered into the fray, but a sudden rash of technical difficulties ensued to where only one showed up. This was getting interesting…as I had no way to kill the Dominix myself.

Sensing this, the pirate ship quickly changed its focus to the sole OEC Drake class Battlecruiser that had started to pound its hull with heavy missile. Additionally, she called in support of its own, with a new enemy Ferox class Battlecruiser warping in 5,000m from my ship. Now the fight was getting extremely dicey. My escort screen had fixed its problems and started to warp in, locking down the Ferox as well. We switched focus fire on the Ferox as I had the Dominix in submission, but while doing so I made the mistake of letting some of its drones get through to the Drake. A new enemy Caracal showed up at long range and started to hit the Drake as well…it was only a matter of time I knew.

The OEC Drake finally had hull failure, but in turn the Ferox and ultimately the Dominix were dispatched with one pod kill between them. While I now think we could have come away with no loss, that is the price of an ever changing battle. NIE Corp quickly left the sector to lick its wounds and we once again controlled Beke for the time being.

We 'fished' for another few hours…and destroyed two more Drakes from a passing anti-pirate operation that mistook us for pirates. After the end of the day's operations some wondered why the 'fishing' tactic is so successful. I simply replied "That's one of the oldest pirate tricks in the book...but these days, the new pirates just don't recognize it." Beers were had all around.

All in all, an interesting 72 hours of operations…proving once again the resilience of the OEC cadre. They are true professionals of their field, and I am honored to fly with them.

High Stakes Poker

While I normally do not comment about ongoing events here, I feel that I must put some ‘pen to paper’ on recent happenings. We have been playing a game of poker CONIN it seems, and their unaligned sister corporation Space Fyad (SF). After reinforcing our own moon with a large POS, and capital sized weapon arrays (the large projectile station is larger than my Maller), we decided to wait a week and see what would happen. As I predicted, the MC are extremely busy up north on a very large contract, so CONIN did not show up to re-engage our POS operations. Not wanting to stand idly by and move into a garrison stance, we decided to attack the Space Fyad POS in the same system.

We arrived to a large Minmatar station with no active weaponry or defensive structures…just the shield. While 45 million hp rating shields are extremely difficult to bring down with no dreadnaughts, the OEC completed this task. As of this writing the POS has come out of reinforced mode, and a CONIN carrier has jumped into system and positioned itself at the enemy POS.

This confirms the bogus contract status in my eyes…but again I hope to be proven wrong in the future.

I have never disputed the fact that the OEC cannot possibly ‘win’ against a full CONIN attack in the system. We simply do not have the manpower, experience, and equipment to make an effective defense (this blog is named 'fighting broke' for a reason). That stated however, I think it would be extremely unwise for this situation to get out of hand…seeing as we still view the entirety of MC as friendly. I have given orders to the OEC membership not to engage MC outside of our operations in Aridia.

What will happen over the next 72 hours no one fully knows…but our plans are in place. My hope is that the OEC is calling a bluff and not an ace high flush.

Unforeseen Circumstances

Our campaign in Fountain has raged for a good full 3 weeks now. The membership is glad to be home, as well as having access to our old hunting grounds. Serpendis has beefed up their pirate patrols, and CONCORD has responded in kind with larger bounties.

We have been fighting alongside Coreli and Aftermath for the most part. Xelas typically stays up north in their stronghold of PNQY. Fountain Core is a complete warzone, but the ‘friendlies’ seem to control the tempo and traffic at most times during a 24 hour cycle. Last night we trapped an enemy Vindicator in a nearby system…but he was able to elude probes with the help of his escort pilot flying a Falcon.

And I suppose I should address the attack on our POS operation in Aridia by the Mercenary Coalition.

A week and a half ago, our only POS in Aridia was put in reinforced mode by 6 dreadnoughts from the Mercenary Coalition. MC forces stated it was just business, and a valid contract…and we took them at their (CONIN) word. We decided to take down the POS and was given an extension to do so. In the meantime as we were waiting for the Strontium core to run out…we did our usual intelligence gathering.

What we found was in a word…disappointing. OEC High Command now believes that CONIN (MC) just hired ‘itself’ through a shell corporation as an excuse to attack our station. While this maybe common in the Eve Cluster…I had held the MC corporations to a higher regard as this is also my profession. I suppose that is what I am most disappointed about…the lack of professionalism. If CONIN wanted our station, they should have just stated outright they were taking it….not giving the appearance they weren’t hired by their alt corporation (verified via employment histories, forum postings, etc).

I am sure they will disagree with our conclusions, which is fine. We do not have solid 100% proof…but none is needed in my book if the gut says one thing, and the eyes back it up. So in turn, we simply reinforced the station with a larger tower, large guns, and more shield resistance arrays you could shake a Matari whore at. Disrespect begets disrespect…and even though this is a side issue for us and the MC, I doubt it will wash away any time soon.

The time has been kept us away from defending Fountain Core, but we are slowly back in business there. While I fully expect the MC to come back and finish their job, they have since held off doing so. My only hope is they rethink their plans for our station…as we surely cannot defend it against a full MC attack being such a small organization that we are.

Fountain Core

Fountain is a warzone…plain and simple. While the BoB alliance claims control over this region, the core constellation of Phoenix is heavily contested. There are many corps and alliances per side, and my men are being tested under fire. Some of the newer recruits I may have to send back up to our bases in Aridia until they learn more situational awareness…but we also have a need to patrol our space up that way as well. Overall, the OEC has performed admirably…especially since we have skirmished heavily outnumbered most times (but not all).

Aftermath Alliance and Coreli have been the utmost of professionals…especially Coreli. It has been a pleasure sharing fleets and operations with such dedicated pod pilots. Joshua Foiritain runs a very tight ship with very experienced pilots. Aftermath is a new alliance formed from various Fountain corporations in the area from what I can tell.

Our known enemies in the area are fighting uphill now I believe. Still….Celestial Apocalypse proves a more than worthy adversary. We would not win the area of battle if it were simply a dual between our corps. Our efficiency in the campaign is hovering around 60%, with more battleship kills but also more battlecruiser losses.

Overall, this has been the right move for the OEC. We needed to get back to our original base of operations…and start gearing up for larger things. I have suspended my training of leadership curriculum to instead train from some more CEO functions….most notably Empire Control. In the future when we form the alliance planned, I will have this ready to go. Already a very strong and powerful industrial corporation has expressed interest in partnering in an alliance. If so, they would form the required industrial backbone of such an enterprise.

With the OEC securing some 0.0 space, this has a hint of destiny…but I suppose it is a pity I believe in self determination.

Operation Phoenix Nest

“Behold the flame of the Phoenix…and fear its wrath of sadness. Go forth my brothers, for you are the wings of the Phoenix…burn the heretics, and cleanse the soul of this Empire!” – Joma Yurk, Prophet and Historian (Kor-Azor).

Operation Phoenix Nest is now upon the OEC. While we have prepared dutifully during the previous off time…no plan really survives ‘first contact’ with the enemy. Our move into the Fountain Core region has not gone unnoticed by the local corporations and alliances that lay claim here. Celestial Apocalypse and Foundation have been the main targets. While we are not looking for any sovereignty, we are looking to enforce the peace for those that actually lay claim to the region. Evolution Corporation has been a long time friend of the OEC since before CONCORD authorized pod pilots to the heavens. In fact, we have many former OEC pilots in the ranks of Evolution this very day.

Band of Brothers alliance has laid claim to this area of the Cluster, and by our opinion…we shall help them enforce this claim in return for us being allowed to re-base in the area. Almost 4 years ago, Evolution, Xanadu, and OEC started the first military operations in the area that eventually formed the Fountain Alliance. While we went our separate ways afterwards, the friendship was always there…even when we traded laser fire across the Eve Cluster due to area of operations and contracts.

We hope to rebuild our once powerful industrial base to eventually support a decent Capital Ship fleet. We cannot do this anywhere other than the safety of zero security space. Being a Mercenary Corporation does not mean total neutrality, unlike some would like to believe…it deals with way more than just combat. We must put ourselves in position to grow stronger to obtain larger contracts. With the Eve Cluster moving rapidly towards capital fleet warfare, our small tactic focus must also change.

We are actively engaging a NBSI policy in the Region at this time….and will not be doing any Mercenary work until Q2 of this year.

The fighting is only going to intensify…and if the storm growing in the North decides to blow this way…we shall be in the fight for our lives.

Preparations Complete

“Concerning military matters, the commanders best prepared are not always the victors. They only are able to react to the fast changing pace of battle. Those with innate tactical abilities often pass for being prepared…only to flunk the mid-term as the first Tachyon beams hit their hulls…” – Instructor Ralsa Dumas, Imperial Navy

It has been a ‘tough’ month for me personally. I never much liked the logistics part of running a corporation…and thank god I have a competent quartermaster that handles most of the load. However, it still is my responsibility to prepare the OEC for the coming months. Whether or not I ‘flunk’ the mid-term we shall see in short order. As I write this, I take a break from outlining our operational orders and watching OEC crews prep our ships for combat in the dry docks.

We have had a good run as of late. While I consider ourselves still “fighting broke”, we have had an excellent retainer contract to keep gas in the tank. Our operations in Beke shall continue, but at a much lower frequency now. Several members have installed jump clones to the system to do patrols a few times a week. Speaking of patrols, we bagged a few more brigands in the system this week…including a Megathron class battleship. I have also learned that CONCORD has arrested a well known pirate in the system finally (read: permaban). Not sure why they finally decided to act…probably something about illegal isk wire transfers. To be honest, the best pirates are the smart ones…the ones you don’t hear about often. They just ply their trade in the shadows. Pirates out to make a name for themselves usually end up broken in the end. Overall, Beke is looking far more secure than it was 3 months ago…and I am glad we helped to that end.

Still, a mercenary corporation cannot sit still for long. Boredom is the enemy of all professional mercs everywhere…and we shall have a great deal on our plate. More on that in future communiqués that I will save for later…as I cannot discuss pending operations.

The OEC has welcomed some new recruits recently. I am sure they are about to experience a baptism by fire. We have some excellent raw talent, and my hope is that they latch onto what the OEC is about, our professionalism, and our goals. My corp members do not have to be the most skilled, but they have to be dedicated to the team and our accomplishments.

On another note, the fitting of the OEC Blackguard is still progressing. I must say, the Khanid paint covering a prophecy hull fills the soul with much imagination. While my aim is not to get too close in combat with the ship…it will definitely inspire fear among our enemies when viewed up close. We are still running capacitor simulations trying to figure out what a good fit will be with full Armored Warfare capabilities…good thing I am a patient man.

Looking across the drydock at the OEC ships, I wonder how many will make it into next year...much less next month.

Musings of the Epic

In this "off month", I have been constantly watching the cluster Gal-Net trying to catch up on all the political and military debates going on. When you are so focused on the contract or mission at hand, you sometimes lose sight of the bigger picture around you. As a leader of a corporation, you simply must not allow this to happen or you lose out many opportunities that pass your way.

The level and scale of warfare currently in the cluster has never been bigger to my memory. Capsuleer alliances and corporations are almost fighting wars as large as any Empire war in recent memory…certainly larger than the Caldari / Gallente war. Right now in the south there are huge capital fleets of the Mercenary Coalition and its retainers against the Red Alliance supported by the Goonfleet armada. The recon intel HUD captures are amazing…reminding me of my old service upon the AMN Octavian when I was a fighter pilot near the Matar boarder. ISS alliance seems to be funding the current conflict against primarily IAC alliance…and all the neighbors are getting involved. BoB finally destroyed ASCN's Titan in combat...a feat that is historic and will prove to be very rare. Things are really shaking down in a big way in the South.

As grand an adventure that may be…the logistics, command and control, operations, and conquest of such ambitious plans I can not comprehend. The sheer size of the MC is something of an achievement considering most mercenary chartered corporations dissolve within a year. As a professional in the field I salute them and hope they do well in the coming months. I have no doubt they will be successful.

While contemplating what epic wars must be happening in the South regions of the cluster, my thoughts turn inevitably to the OEC. While our long term strategic plan calls for the OEC to join or create a new mercenary alliance in the same vein as the MC, do we really have the commitment it takes to achieve such greatness? I know the guys hearts are motivated and ambitious…maybe I doubt my own abilities on something that grand of scale.

I was approached in the last 48 hours about forming such an alliance, but with our plans of operation over the course of the next few months locked in, I highly doubt we can join. Still, I told the contact I was interested in advising the creation and hammering out a charter. It may take well over 3 months to come to a solid foundation of policy for such an enterprise. It is something that will eventually have to be done for the OEC to remain competitive and increase our contract sizes; at least we will not be getting bored any time soon.

ASCN is melting finally under BoB pressure in the south. I like to think we had a small part in that…and maybe we did. We definitely harassed ASCN shipping in the trade hubs. I suspect it will take BoB another 2 months before they can fully ‘cleanse’ the regions of ASCN military assets.

Nothing much to report as far as daily OEC operations go. We continue to have successful escort missions for our retainer client…and earning some fat bonuses in the process. Everything is still set to kick off after the new year…and we happily march towards that date getting our logistic goals completed. We also brought in some new recruits that should give us some new blood in the ranks.

Overall a very successful, if uneventful, month.

Of Logistics and the Coming Storm

Our ‘off contract’ duties have now picked up the pace, and we are completing a few tasks that have been in the works for quite a long time. Moving corporate gear…the process of logistics…is never a fun thing for a group that has a military bent. But my guys know that the backbone of any successful military venture is its supply. More wars have been won and lost due solely to supply issues. Hopefully this month we can ‘reload’ after fighting for months on end to take on our biggest challenge yet, even more challenging than hunting ASCN supply lines.

Hoshoun office has been stripped clean finally; it was like a savings account plan. Some good ship equipment was located there, but we never got around to moving it back to HQ sector. I was reunited with my old supply moving ship, a Coercer class destroyer named OEC Commitment. With the DED changes, it has become vastly more useful…but in need of a good refit. I know the ship crew has gotten lax is my absence. With the gear moved out, we will keep an office there for the short term. We are still on friendly terms with CVA…but I do not know how long that will last.

While we are off an active duty war contract, we still have a retainer contract. Our guys performed some much needed guard duty for a mining operation last night. We hope to plan more this month as the guard duty bonuses are actually quite good, and worthwhile. I remember back when pod pilots first started in the cluster…a true mercenary charter was never successful. Now it seems the fruits of all that dedication are paying off.

Still, it’s fairly easy to get ‘soft’ in this off time. But the guys need this break for what is about to come.

Over the course of the next year, the OEC will finally get tested to the breaking point. All the wars have led up to this point in our history. We will be fighting among the heaviest of combat against fleets that will outnumber our size at least 2:1…sometimes 3:1. Our focus and discipline will be severely put to test…and it could well break us. I have no illusions of destiny…we either win or lose in the coming months. Overall, the OEC is ready I believe…and our guys will be baptized under fire for a new kind of warfare they have not tasted in a very long time. We will have friends and allies, but our success is solely determined by us and our ability to impact the theater of war we will be entering.

While musing about future, it is often hard to think what might happen. But regardless of what does…I will be among brothers. Contego OEC!

Hurry up and Wait

Some days are like glide-riding on sandpaper…its suppose to be fun, if it wasn’t for all the mess it creates.

With the CONCORD and DED approved ship changes fully implemented (but being tweaked by the hour it seems) by OEC fleet command…I must say, that the ugly CTD firmware bug has reared its head yet again. As of this writing I am unable to undock with any reasonable chance to perform military duties. The changes are exciting to any professional military pod pilot. The amount of armor and new classes of ships are great on paper…and it should be exciting to see how they perform in real world combat. I am still working with engineers to see if I can get my pod HUD to stop crashing mid-routine…but it may be awhile before I am back in the think of the action.

The OEC Blackguard is continually being worked on. I imagine its about halfway finished with all the fittings. Right now I have mainly retainer gear where other expensive equipment will be in the future, but its going to be awhile before its in full war mode.

Promotions and command assignments were handed out last week. We are finally getting some membership to fill out the ranks some. All the guys deserve a great credit for the success we have been having lately in our ASCN contract. It has been our longest to date, and most profitable in terms of actual reward. While I cannot discuss payment specifics, we should be well on our way to getting back to what we do best (historically)…and that is operate in 0.0. It is the last piece of the puzzle, but there are some bumps in the road that will need to be overcome.

Our next contract is already lined up. But we will wait until the beginning of the new year to start its prosecution. It is often hard to reign in the wild stallion in pursuit of glory and money…but it is my job to do such a thing. My guys need some R&R this month, and I am determined to give it to them.

Of course, that does not mean we will not be hard at work with logistics. Ah…the life of a mercenary.

How mighty those winds of change...

As I write this, I must admit to sipping on the sweetest of Matari Rum. While pod pilots do get to experience the whole of the Eve cluster…my Amarrian friends would not like to hear how good a slave culture can make a sugar based liquor. Maybe that is the inspiration for this communiqué…The only constant in the galaxy is change.

While good Rum and Amarrian Folk music pour over my quarters…we live in a dramatic time of change for all pod pilots in the cluster. DED and CONCORD have forced all empires to more stringent ship specifications that should boost the defensive capabilities on most ships upward of 50%. On capital class ships…try 400%. This has a profound impact upon small combat corporations like the OEC…which will only become fully known once we begin operations again. We have chosen to comply with the directives, and have hired a small firm named Prime-Armor Inc, to carry out the modifications on our fleet ships. We should be complete in 24 hours time. It is amazing how nano-production methods have advanced taking a job that was once a 3 year process and made it into 3 months. The OEC was simply rotating ships that survived combat back into the dry docks for their armor upgrades.

But the changes do not stop there. Interbus has released its proprietary contract system for all pod pilot corporations to use. DED has declassified its system scanning technology, which allows CONCORD to react so quickly in secure sectors. The Amarr Empire has de-criminalized combat booster drugs for pod pilots (other empires will follow suit), and a breakthrough in combat logistical retrieval (slang of ‘salvaging’ comes to mind). It really is too much to write about…but the consequences should become fully known soon.

The OEC has been reviewing a lot of its combat tactical doctrine in light of the coming changes. Overall, we should be in fine shape…but we will need to make a few big changes on how we operate in fleets and the roles each member is assigned. Capital ships will become almost invulnerable to us. But we will continue to fight for our niche in Eve. Preparations for our move home have begun…but that will be a long journey both militarily and physically.

ASCN contract is nearing completion. I must say they drop a lot of good cargo from their Empire fleet assets. A Raven was stocked full of BPC and BPO of assorted Tech 1 ships and modules, and we finally hit an industrial carrying POS fuel outbound to ASCN space. Finishing strong would not even be a phrase I could use…finishing like true professionals is.

Contract Update

We march to the final weeks operations with measured success…something I am proud of not only for the OEC, but for the individuals leading the charge in destroying ASCN shipping. Last week, we located an ASCN transport hauling two ships within its cavernous shipping bay: A Hulk which exploded during the attack and a Phantasm…which survived. Since we did not have a pilot on hand to fly the Sansha ship…we elected to destroy it as well so it would be unrecoverable. Add to that the number of Local Hull cargo expanders fitted, it was in excess of 800m Isk loss to our target. Within the next 48 hours, we destroyed an ASCN Damnation that seemed to be fitted by a rookie straight out of the Academy. Not sure what standards ASCN high command are using to let in member corporations, but it is clear they are lacking combat skills in Empire space (although I am sure they run competent fleets down in ASCN space). Domain region in Empire space has been totally ravaged by our combat patrols. It is a wonder we still see any targets...I can only surmise they lack effective communication between their member corporations in their alliance.

Still, all work and no rest will get to anyone. I believe the guys need a break after this contract. We plan on retaining our Beke policing duty contract…as well as finishing our first strategic plan initiative goal. Once that is completed it is a time for us to return home…and I do not mean where our current HQ is located.

The Phoenix constellation is calling us…rife with war, blood, and of course untold riches...it is a place where we have longed to return. We were born in the ashes of the phoenix’s fire…and we shall return to that nest by year’s end.

The Coming Fall

“As the summer sets…so does life of this land. Replaced with the dark and mysterious death…that at times acts out a life of its own.” - Olarg Vyxian, 4th Circuit Sage

True to form, the OEC has ‘bounced back’ in the second phase of our contract. Although we are never kill heavy due to our lower numbers and small gang tactics, we are building quite an impressive ratio. I am proud of the guys for their hard work, and hope our fortune continues. Additionally, I have extended the contract as a bonus to our client. While this was not in the original contract, I felt it necessary due to the poor performance of the first half. Overall, my guys are getting more and more experience…which is something that isk cannot buy.

Our highest quality kill thus far was an ASCN transport ship with its pilot sporting 100+ million isk of implants jacked into his clone. Needless to say, he was quite unhappy about the situation in Empire space. I wonder if our clients have issued other mercenary contracts against them for the Empire trade lanes.

In other news, I have finally finished my learning regimen of logistics training, and have pre-ordered a Damnation class heavy command ship. This was step one in making our gang warfare more effective, especially with the upcoming fleet control changes that CONCORD is issuing soon. The new fleet doctrine will be vastly different than the current mass gang system, and I think everyone here is looking forward to it. But gang effects only are applied from the FC of the fleet (or relative of the FC in the command structure). The Damnation is in preparations for that.

And the quote above? It is from the “Prophecies of Barmai”…in a passage where they describe a coming fall and winter campaign with the old empire of Rytia. The Amarr elite warriors at the time were labeled “Blackguards” for their black armor meant to intimidate their foes. As the Damnation leaves drydock…I believe I will christen it the OEC Blackguard as a tribute. May it live long...or die in a furious fire.

ASCN Thoughts

It has been a full week now at war with ASCN…and the results are mixed at best. While we have more numbers of kills…we have lost some quality ships in the process running into huge fleets of ASCN. Obviously, when a small skirmish patrol of 3 ships runs into 12…bad things are bound to happen. We will continue to prosecute our contract however, and the target knows that their transports are not safe in the major trade-lanes.

War in Eve is always evolving…and from my perspective, is moving towards larger and larger fleet operations. While the OEC has always specialized in small roaming kill fleets…those days maybe numbered. Group tactics have focused increasingly on numbers rather than tactics…much like the Asarihi did against Amarr Prime back during the bloodwars of 5 generations ago. Amarr adopted those tactics all the way up to the disaster against the Jove Empire…now they are rethinking strategy.

CONCORD has alerted the Empires to this…and all Empires are now refitting their fleets with higher grade armor and shields. This increase should be well over 50% in defensive capability…which adds to the frustration of small skirmish fleet tactics. Still…war, as in life, always forces you to adapt to your environment. The OEC will hopefully be no different.

We are still not fully rolling in my eyes…we have a lot of room for improvement. At this point, I honestly am at a loss in how to improve our situational awareness. Some of the new guys will just have to learn as they are baptized by enemy fire as I cannot restate common tactical advice for the 20th time.

If current operational results last for the duration of this contract…our client will be receiving a payback of 25% to 50% of the contract cost. How many ‘Merc’ corporations would do that?

Blood in the Water

“The business of war is often unpredictable…but the risk vs. reward is pretty constant.” – Anonymous Caldari weapons trader.

Unpredictable events set in motion are probably the specialty of any true Mercenary organization, but the ability to leverage political gain out of such events is the real value to clients. Large scale conflict is like blood in the water…many corporations are drawn to the scent of destruction and mayhem…something I think most large alliances are finding out this year.

Acendancy Frontier (ASCN) completed its first Titan class warship a few weeks ago…in fact, probably the first privately held Titan outside the major governmental navies of Eve. A huge accomplishment sure…but the lack of foresight in having one of the most aggressive alliances next door, the Band of Brothers (BoB) and what their response would be is a colossal failure. Less than 72 hours later the two alliances were in full war footing…and those of us in Empire space started reading of massive battles on a scale not seen since the Minmatar uprising.

Little did I know, the OEC would be pulled into the conflict…an event both fortunate and foreboding.

A new client buzzed me in regards to the situation in the south. He wanted to leverage this, which happens to be our specialty…but he was also looking for quality without the huge “MC” price tag. Since we are a small outfit, our prices are small. Looks like the sharks are in the water now...and I confirmed with a few other small mercenary commanders that they too are getting offers for one side or the other. After negotiations…the OEC stands to gain a lot from a contract in this war, but I would be dishonest to say it will be a walk in the park. We will fight hard and with honor.

And so the dice are sometimes thrown at fate’s grinning bust…Good luck to the Hunters…and Glory to the Bold.

The OEC war declares ASCN in contractual agreement with one unnamed client.

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.

New Contract...Same Client

The OEC has moved into its first ever "Retainer" contract. This comes from our former client during the Beke job, and we happily accepted the generous offer. With the dramatic drop in pirate activity in the sector, it made more sense to end the war upon CVTEC and go after any -5 pirate in the area. Even gate campers with better than average security rating can still be locked...letting them know they cannot tank both the sentries and OEC ships at the same time. Already a handful just simply moved on...leaving the gates clear for trade ships.

The contract against CVTEC was a good one. My guys learned quite a few things...including the superiority of the Dominix in small scale battles. We adapted well, and always pushed the fight when even numbers were on.

We have now the resources to concentrate on our rapid deployment strategic plan. Already the logistics are coming into our main area of operations in preparations for some industry we are setting up. Once this is done, I think we will work on acquiring a capital fleet. There is a lot of isk to be made in POS removal.

Living Bravely

“It is courage, courage, courage, that raises the blood of life to crimson splendor. Live bravely and present a brave front to adversity.” – Rear Adm. Gersia Bormallin, Cadet Graduation Speech, Amarr Prime

As the fighting rages in Beke, it is with great amusement that I see our enemy commenting here how unfortunate tactics have left them with concerned hearts. While the OEC (and any true professional military corporation) has taken its losses as part of the job…and continues pursuing it’s contract target, that target seems to just want to banter and throw bravado to any that will listen. Amusing, but in the end does not change any outcome militarily.

As most people know of myself, I strictly forbid the tradition of “trash talk” in local communication channels and elsewhere within my ranks. While the targets of our contracts banter…we pursue. While they give insult…we pursue. And in the end, they will eventually get the point that our will and mission cannot be broken. However, the “trash talk” is highly amusing for sure.

This is not to say I will not give credit where it is due to my adversaries, probably a character flaw of mine that no one else shares. CVTEC has had an excellent 48 hours against us, and we are moving in more logistics to deal with a ramp up of activity. We have also ran into our share of CONCORD noted firmware bugs in our ship systems…particularly cloaking and an effect known as CTD. We have isolated a workaround for the corporation using CPU affinity set to 1 processor instead of 2. We hope this will fix some of our operational issues.

Our client seems to be satisfied with our progress so far. This contract is getting lengthy however, so I foresee a termination on the horizon. It has been a great contract thus far however…as courage is always levied by experience.

The Clearing of Beke

Our contract against Crest Tech (now Pirate Coalition proper) has reached its 3rd week now. Overall I am very pleased by the performance of the OEC and its active members. We are finally losing some ships in combat due to taking more risks, but our adversaries refuse to fight anywhere but hugged to a station or Jumpgate. I guess I really cannot blame them as it affords the safety blanket of escape. We have improved our tactics to combat this, but in the process lost far more ships than expected (and one to a CONCORD cloaking firmware bug). The contract client is extremely pleased by the performance. The jumpgates are clear when we go on patrol, and none of the client’s members has lost a ship since entering into the contract. We hope to keep it that way.

As for combat bonuses…we are doing very well in that department. Hopefully we can continue to perform well to increase our contract payouts…but the guys know that tough times will be ahead of us if Crest Tech actually wants a straight up fight. I do find it odd however that they refuse to engage us in fleet to fleet combat…instead just hitting us here and there. Maybe they are not as coordinated as I planned? They seem to use a lot of retainer pilots (read: alts) in the systems we operate in, and we have done the same in return.

As I am about to post this, a OEC report comes across stating another Crest Tech battleship loss. Another Raven goes down…finally warp scrammed into submission. While no "big deal" to larger corporations, getting battleship kills is a great accomplishment to smaller merc corps going up against well known pirates. Nice work guys.

Beke

While I doubt anyone reads this communique, I do try to build into my writing generalities on our location or contract target. However, anyone that is spying on us will surely know that we are in Beke, Genesis and have war declared Crest Tech corp. Our client seems to be very happy with our performance thus far, and while we are on, the gates are clear for any industrial traffic.

Crest Tech sounds like a familiar name...I wonder if they were part of the Fountain Alliance like us? Not sure on that one, but must try to find out at a later date. Regardless, the fighting has been sporadic, but overall fun...mainly because we are shooting ships down, but also being hired to fight someone that will roll the dice and fight back once in awhile. The first night of the contract nothing happened as we were just probing each other to see what sort of ships were in the area. However, over the next 48 to 72 hours we have engaged and destroyed over 5 warships, and even a few pods. Crest Tech seems mainly Caldari...and while I generally fear their combat technology, nothing is better than good old fashion Amarr Armor.

Beke itself is a very interesting system. Only 2 stations, 2 gates, and countless corp station installations around every moon. The general rule in Beke is, if you warp to a Moon you die. We plan to scout it regardless just to see what is going on here...but my bet is that Beke is a large T2 component manufacturing area. It is flanked by high security space...sort of a POS oasis in "green" area. I am sure the local pirates here are very rich due to the traffic that comes through the sector.

Crest Tech joined the Pirate Coalition Alliance after we had war declared them. I am sure we did not cause this...it was probably already in the works. Regardless, our client has very deep pockets as he is paying the upgraded war declaration fees .

Sometimes its good to be a Merc..."fighting broke" seems to have taken on new meaning.

Domino Jobs

With our successful conclusion of our last contract, we quickly got another offer for mercenary services in a different region. These "Domino Jobs" are sometimes unavoidable, as you really cannot refuse good isk and a chance to further build your reputation. Luckly, the guys seem up for another challenge...and it looks like our next targets will be challenging. Maybe we will lose some ships in fleet fights this go around.

We still need to do some rebuilding, and get back on our strategic plan. I dont think anyone is in a huge rush though as it deals with the mining and production side of the business. Still, everyone knows its over the horizon.

Our target region is one I haven't been to a very long time. I might get some sightseeing in while on this job, lord knows I need some more screen captures for the database.