Chapter Two Gamma

Oil and Water

ISK Balance: 156,018,018.32

While forging south through Fountain's reverse-Italy-esque structure, I noticed at one point I was caught between two cleverly named systems; one looked an awful lot like "Kevin," while the other reminded me of "OGOD" (Goonswarm's favorite, I'm sure). There are a lot of these throughout EVE: "I ate dog," "yay sex," and just plain old "woot" and "leet." I began thinking about my own avatar's name, the heavy, cast iron "Hello, My Name Is" placard I've dragged along behind me throughout my tenure as an EVE player. I am proud in my own minor way that this is my only character, transparent and honest. I have no duplicitous second, third, or fourth accounts, and my only alt is the aptly-named "PriceCheckAisle3." The name I chose for myself is unoriginal, but it has a story behind it nonetheless. In Dungeons and Dragons there is a fearsome creature called a Mindflayer, which does just that. It is very unpleasant, as you might assume. I liked the name, but figured it would have a nice ring to it if the terribly overused prefix "cyber" were slapped onto it. Now, I find a small amount of humor in its classic unoriginality, as well as the fact I have played DnD but once, and never came close to encountering a Mindflayer in those brief travels.

These ponderings carried me to my destination, the westernmost point in EVE. I know I said before it was Y-2ANO, but further inspection of the map show it is in fact the system right before, LBGI-2. The much more crowded system of Y-2ANO would have provided a much more dangerous and thrilling adventure, but we can't go sacrificing accuracy for such things. Besides, I'd had my fill of crowded Fountain systems and their efficient defenses.

I looked into the abyss beyond the EVE galaxy, and then back at the hanging mobile of stars behind me. I felt as though I was at the edge of time and space itself, and it was a happy feeling to have pierced the fortress that is Fountain and come so far just for this simple screenshot.

I turned Apocrypha about for what I assumed would be a relatively smooth ride back home. It wasn't until a few jumps later I realized I was surrounded by Czechs. At first it was just one, but it turned out he was leading four others in a chase, and their quarry was me. At each gate I made a narrow escape until I gained enough of a lead to lose them by hiding in a safespot and praying no one had probes. Heart thumping from my first real chase in Fountain, I smiled broadly and victorious as I saw local slowly tick down as my pursuers gave up and went home. Pleased with my blockade running skills, I warped to the next gate, on my way north.

I then realized all five of them were waiting on the other side.

Later, in my pod a few systems worth of hasty jumps away from the bright blue flash of Apocrypha's demise, I cursed my foolishness. Not wanting to head back through PNQY-Y, I plotted a course that wheeled north and led me back into low security, where I might procure a new ship and the applicable modules. After a few jumps into Pegasus, I tired of my pod's incessant flashing and logged in a safespot, pondering over what ship could possibly replace Apocrypha.

A sidenote: Those dastardly Jovians have been redesigning some of our constellations in their image, I just knew it!