Who do you think we are?

Lately, i have been losing more ships than i would have liked - something every capsuleer would have experienced no doubt. I don't think much of it either, except for the only problem it poses for me. The lack of available ships. Currently at this very moment, my hangar consists only of; a shuttle, Megathron, 2 Dominix', a salvaging Cormorant and an Ibis. Not the most... magnificent collection of ships, nor is it particularly useful in the average situation.

Losing ships lately means my isk flow is poor and my budget is running low. My 'efficiency' still stands to be decent, and my intake of value in loot and ransom exceeds my losses significantly, but i'm just too goddamn lazy to do anything with it. My hangar fills over time with items which i would never have a need for using myself, yet i continue to do nothing with it. Myself to blame, and i reap the consequences. Hence, i have resorted to parting with my beloved Taranis' and made do with the Incursus hull.

There was a greater energy amongst the Tuskers than usual today. Many excellent pilots have joined our ranks as of late, including the new arival of Leon vanUber in the afternoon. A large number of Tuskers and friends promptly formed up a fleet (consisting of a general assortment of frigates) and set out for a roam in the neighbourhood.

Leo Solunar was hunting potential targets for the fleet and was taken aback at the chance of landing on a Hyperion battleship on a planet whilst believing to be in pursuit of a Caracal. He called 'point' and summoned the fleet to his location instantly. I was first to land on grid beside him in my Incursus and began a tight orbit of the tracking-disrupted battleship. A Thorax had appeared almost an instant later and was made the primary target. A Harbinger had also come in aid of his friends by this time and being the first (tech 1) frigate to land there, i was primaried and almost instantly disposed of. I was out of the fight, and so early into it too. I got my Capsule out safely just as our fleet began to land. The Thorax was shortly eradicated from the skirmish and i had warped back into the action at a distance to spectate the outcome of the confrontation.

Our frigate force flew in close-orbit of the Hyperion in order to stay under its tracking. I watched helplessly at the frenzy of drones - belonging to both parties - whirling frantically amongst the enfolding chaos. Our Merlin and Rifter were destroyed quickly, leaving the immense task in the hands of the 2 remaining Ishkurs (Leo and Leon). I watched with awe as they fought ruthlessly without retreat. Leo had begun taking heavy damage from the opposing light drones and the Neuting Hyperion was not making things easier. He continued hugging the battleship while focusing all dps upon the Harbinger. His nosferatu was being overloaded in an attempt to mitigate the cap-draining battleship. Leon had broken free of the enemy's neut range and had begun aiding Leo by picking off the hive of drones. When the last opposing drone had been disposed of, Leo was sitting at 7% structure. The 2 enemy ships were still there and he continued orbitting closely. He was still at 7% structure when the Harbinger finally fell.

The Thorax pilot had returned in a Dominix sometime before this, and its Ogre II hit the jackpot in striking Leo's Ishkur down. Grohal of the Tuskers had also streaked into the fray upon hearing the action and was supporting Leon in taking out the drones. He was unfortunately taken out too, in a truely heroic fashion.

Amazingly, Leon held the field as the opposition warped to safety. He began approaching the resulting wrecks of the engagement to loot just as i had decided to head off home - I had witnessed it all. It was a fight worthy of the most highest praise.

***

I stayed up late into the night on Eve (because i'm just too cool) to chat with the lads. They were out testing ship fittings and generally enjoying themselves in Hevrice while i was stuck in station without a frigate or cruiser to play in, having lost my Incursus earlier.

A Rough Neck (a local pirate alliance) was reported in an Ishkur and as Leo began chasing it around, it seemed intent on staying safe. Being the stupid oaf i am, i undocked my Dominix for a peek. The Ishkur obviously noted this new found battleship on his scanner and despite my fear of scaring it off, we unknowingly triggered a silent reaction and an inevitable chain of events.

As i docked up once more there was a spike in Local soon afterwards. An Armageddon, Drake, Ishkur and Wolf were seen towards a nearby planet. Leo had initially caught the Ishkur before the others had arrived and had called for support. My Dominix made another appearance and set warp towards Leo. I was lucky the planet was directly in front of the station undock and i entered warp almost instantly.

I was unfortunate enough to notice my lack of Cap Boosters a little too late in mid-warp and prepared for the worst in the upcoming engagement. Leo was in trouble as i landed and i assigned both my Heavy Neutraliser and Warrior light drones upon the enemy Ishkur. Leo's Enyo went down as the Ishkur fell into structure and my target lock dropped. I moved onto the Wolf, believing the Ishkur to be destroyed (it had actually managed to escape and i had my point on the Armageddon).

My armour was falling considerably and my Dual-rep's were barely holding in the absence of Cap boosters. My ship was surely going to be lost on the onslaught of both the laser and missile boats but Toady11 had come to my aid at this point in his own Dominix and saved my ship with his remote-repair system. The Wolf posed little threat and was eliminated from the equation in little to no-time at all.

My armour was holding nicely at this point, despite my lack of cap and the combined force of both the Dominix' drones overwhelmed the Armageddon. Leo had also returned to the battle in a Myrmidon as our attention was placed on the Drake. A Rapier had also appeared at some distance from us in the midst of this fight and it was revealed that the pilot we believed to have been idle was actually observing us. It disappeared quickly once more and we put the Drake out of its misery. Despite losing his Rifter early on in this engagement, Jeneral Jane had returned and did a super job of capturing the pilots capsule, and we invited him into our ransom channel.

I requested 50 million for the safety of his pod. He offered 20. I asked for 25 million, nothing lower. He began stalling for time and questioned the guarentee of his safety. He was being cheeky and we knew it. We didn't care, we wanted him to bring some more guys in. We were not yet satisfied. We held his pod securely in place, despite his refusal to pay up. We waited.

Local soon spiked up and several Battleships and support types were reported. We disposed of the misbehaving capsule and left the field to a more safe location.

The new arrivals began 'unpleasantries' in local at our 'cowardice' but we ignored this. They wanted some, so we would give them some. I made myself comfortable in my other Dominix - the RemoteRepping Neutralising Dominix - to compliment Toady's.

Our fleet rendezvoused in space and once the green light had been given by Jane, we warped simultaneously into the waiting arms of the enemy. Leo's system had crashed upon landing but despite this was able to provide us with automatic drone support. Leon's Vexor was primaried and began taking heavy hits and i tried boosting his armour in reaction to this. However, he was out of range and moving away, not realising we had RR on the field. He did remarkable nonetheless as he navigated away and survived all on his own accord.

The Harbinger was our primary, and i unleashed my set of Neutralisers and Ogre II's upon it. It went down quickly in a flare of indigo light and we turned out attention quickly to the Megathron. A Rook and Rapier uncloaked at this point some 80km away from us and i abandonned my heavy drones without hesitation and deployed Hammerheads to counter the new guests. I was instantly Jammed however, and my medium drones had automatically began defending me from the first aggressor - the Megathron.

Leon vanUber had MWD'd toward the Rapier at first sight to keep it in place, and both his Vexor and Leo's Myrmidon took care of that complication. The Megathron did not last long afterwards and upon its death the Rook wasted no time in disappearing. It was later realised that the Megathron pilot was actually the one in the Ishkur who had initially started this fiasco.

We had held the field with no losses. The loot was scooped and we dispersed from the scene.

It was an excellent engagement for us. The event had escalated twice and we responded each time in a solid manner. As a team, we worked well together and rallied in aid of our comrades without a moments hesitation. We fought alongside one another with complete confidence in the guy to our right, left and back. This was proven over and over again today.

It had been a slow week for all so far which made it uplifting to profit from this last engagement and I was glad to have been given the chance to make use of the ships I had left. We endured smack-talk and taunts and in turn, swiftly silenced them.

Who the hell do you think we are? We are the goddamn Tuskers.