Goodbye Farthest Shore

Farthest Shore is still on my mind today. I wonder why the pirates wanted to get rid of it soo much that they accepted great losses at the hands of our pilots.

The station did not have a flourishing market, being in a dead end system of an out-of the way constellation. It's significance as a reasearch outpost for the Gate has dried up since the coming of a brand new Kor-Azor research outpost. The scientists making observations of the gate prefer the new and state-of-the-art equipment at the new outpost.

Farthest shore did not have a military strategic significance. At least, not as long as Eve Gate doesn't miraculously re-opens, but only the Equilibrium of Mankind death cultists believe that, not the roadside brigands of White Sky.

Being highwaymen, they make a living of robbing and murdering pilgrims and visitors that travel the lonely path through Eve constellation towards New Eden. There are no public stations around for several systems around, so their victims can't dock up... unless they find Farthest Shore. It has a reputation of welcoming visitors. Of course, there are also some murderous psychopaths among the pirate capsuleers, who just wanted to murder for fun. 

But in the end I think that the station thwarted too many of their highway robbery attempts. And, I guess they had to strike now or never, before the Paladin fleet gets integrated in the alliance fleet... 

Anyhow, enough theorizing: I have to go get a litter box and cat litter. Farthest Cat chose a 300k ISK sister's core scanner probe as its favorite toilet substitute.

 

Battle at the Gate

What we feared has happened. Farthest Shore has been destroyed by the enemy, the brigands of White Sky and the pirates of No Forks Given.

Last night's evacuation went well, so the relics and the station clergy and personnel are safe and sound in highsec Empire space. Thank God, there are no civilian victims.

Lumen light brigade squadrons, helped by friends from Brave, stayed behind to face the enemy. And face them fiercely they did. Outnumbered and undershipped, our valiant fleet of assault frigates and harbingers nevertheless tore through the initial waves of attackers, forcing them to reship and bring ever larger vessels into the fray.

A dreadnought! They brought an Eater of Fleets. But Farthest Shore did not surrender. Its fighter pilots and station gunners pounded the dreadnought. The missile tubes of the station glowed red from the constant firing. Assisted by this barrage, the light brigade managed to destroy the dreadnought - making sure that any enemy victory would be pyrrhic at best.

At this point our enemies were out of their doctrine vessels, and were bringing in whatever kitchen sink ship they still had on hand at their barracks in Central Point. Another dreadnought and an Apostle capital ship were brought in. Ah, how close did the station gunners get to destroy it too! Alas, our fleet was getting whittled down from wave after wave of attack, and could achieve no additional miracle.

At 5:39, Farthest Shore's hull collapsed and the station exploded. 

Most of the light brigade fleet succeeded in retreating, using deep safe points that were made during all these years of observation in New Eden.

The last service at Farthest Light

All those that stayed on their post till the last evacuation vessel were gathered in Farthest Light chapel. The clergy and monastics of the Little Sisters of the Most Holy Sword were present. Also some station personnel that did a last sweep through the station attended. The burly barkeep of Farthest Star was still here, eyes wet now that the capsuleer bar has been dismantled and parts shipped off. Some pilots who fight in the battle in a few hours time were also here. I've only seen the pews soo full on one occasion, Luna and Franco's wedding...

The service was sober, and yet intense. There are three relics that sanctify the chapel: a book from Scripture, an artifact dating back from around the time the Gate must have closed, and a relic from saint Junip.They were all transfered to travel reliquaries, according to the prescripted rite of Translation of Relics. 

They were brought in procession to the blockade runner vessel that will fly them to safety, along with the clergy and the last station personnel. I followed in the Ratakh Hubrau.

Now only the pilots and their volunteer crews -knowing very well the risk- remain in the station. Maybe all in all a few hundred souls will spend a short tense night in this vast station, made to easily house tens of thousands.

I felt anguish as I closed the doors of the chapel, maybe for the last time. I will not sleep tonight, rather I will keep a vigil and pray for our soldiers.

Taking in a refugee

I docked up at Farthest Shore. The station looks battered and bruised, but at the same time there is a buildup of energy, nanites ready to repair it.

I don't have a lot of stuff here, mostly artifacts I gathered while exploring the system. I've loaded it all up in the Ratakh Hubrau, double checking that its cloaking modules and warp core are in perfect working order.

Luna has asked me to hold a service at Farthest Shore's chapel and perform a rite of Translation of Relics. The relics that sanctify the chapel will be moved to safety. They will be evacuated along with the clergy that is still around and the last of the station personnel evacuees. As these logs that you read are public, I will not write more about it today, but report on it tomorrow, after hopefully everyone is safe and sound in highsec Empire space.

I've taken on a refugee too, and she will accompany me home in the Ratakh Hubrau.

I found her in a part of the station that was already evacuated, or rather, she found me. 

As Brother Sarachem did not answer my call, I went to check if he is not meditating in his hermit's cell and missed the evac. He chose to live in a part of the station that is rather derelict even in normal times. But now, with the evac, it is downright ghostly there. There's no-one around, and many parts are already in low-power mode. Expensive enough stuff that can be moved has been removed, even from the walls, so some parts look as if they were ransacked.

The doors to Sarachem's cell were powered off, so I had to pry them open. He wasn't there. I couldn't decice what to do with his stuff, but in the end I decided to leave it there. There wasn't much in his ascetic cell anyway. 

I met her when I walked back through the abandoned passageways, not far from the hermit's cell. A scrawny cat, most probably a feral thing that hid in unused spaces. She came up to me and lept up, jumping on me and meowing. Purring when I picked her up, bumping her head against me. 

Animals feel when things are wrong, I am sure this kittycat feels the danger now. Maybe on a normal day she'd shred me if I tried to pet her, but now she treated me as if I was Gheinok himself. 

The other thing is, cats and kittens are my soft spot. They sense that as well. So I could not leave her behind... I brought her on board and fed her. I still have to find a name for her. I lean towards Gates, or maybe Farthest Cat, or maybe I'll ask for suggestions at the next callsign ceremony.

Evacuation notice

Now that Farthest Shore is reinforced to hull, evacuations are taking place of all personnel and equipment that is not strictly necessary for its hull defense.

So, I have sent word to warn my friends in New Eden of the precarious state of Farthest Shore. 

Professor Moriarty, an expert on ultra-high-velocity experimental ships, was in New Eden several months ago. We met and had very pleasant discussions. He taught me the stellar bounce manoeuver. Maybe he still has assets there? He is a bit distracted, almost stereotypical for a professor. I'm afraid any automated message about the hull reinforcement may have been snowed under by urgent messages from his students or his team members. Anyway, I sent him a message.

Then there's Brother Sarachem. He and Father Sartorius belong to the Goner sect that believes in a "Mother Earth" beyond the Gate. The sect is heterodox but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try to reach them. They fly to the Gate using corvettes. In between the long flights by which they slowly inch their bookmarks ever closer to the Gate, they rest up in the station, I can see them in the guest manifest. They can be quite... deeply meditating, and may not heed the evacuation notices. I sent a message, but I'm afraid it won't reach them in time.

They stay in parts of the station that are otherwise unused (Farthest Shore is far too big for a system that has as little traffic as New Eden). It helps them find peace and meditate. I'm afraid they will be overlooked. I plan to go over to Farthest Shore to get out some personal stuff I have there, and while I'm there I will check that brother Sarachem is safe.

Battle in New Eden

Moments of joy and moments of sorrow follow each other in quick succession in this universe that we inhabit. A few days ago, my heart was lifted by the news that the holy Paladins of PIE will join us in closer alliance. But today I feel anguished and worried, as I got the news that Farthest Shore, our Astrahus "house among the stars" in New Eden, is under attack by pirate scum. 

I have a personal connection with that station. When I started my quest as a capsuleer, one of the first theories I investigated is that the Ametat and Avetat are on a lost expedition between the New Eden star and Eve Gate. I spent quite some time in the system. 

Lunarisse was a stranger to me then, but she offered me access to Farthest Shore, and allowed me to use it as a base of operations, and showed me a bookmark closer to the Gate than I'd ever been before. Up till that moment, I had not trusted her, because I had read on the forums of her attack on an archeological expedition. Now I know that expedition was led by the heretic Nauplius, but back then I didn't know him yet.

It was that small token of trust that convinced me of her good intentions, and that made me think of joining SFRIM, and that in the end led to me finding a place in this corporation, the best that Amarr can offer for a friar-capsuleer. 

I've been back many times to Farthest Shore. For contemplative retreats. To continue a personal study of the Gate. To meet up with other explorers. To visit the new Kor-Azor research station. To join Lunarisse and Franco in marriage. To simply gaze at the whisps of plasma emanating from the Mouth of God while sitting on a pew in the Farthest Light chapel. 

These New Eden visits have helped my quest, through contacts and talks with the people in system. Through a gift of God, an encouragement in the form of an abandoned vessel that He put on my path.

I feel an acute sense of powerlessness. I am not a soldier and so I am unable to meaningfully assist in the military actions against the pirate scum that target Farthest Shore. In stead, I will do what I must do: pray to God and all the Saints for the defeat of the pirates.

Renewed doubt

Goner Sarachem was in the New Eden system today, and I set out to locate him with so-called combat probes. I warped to the location shown to me by Lunarisse Aspenstar, hoping that this would bring me closer to him. I thought it would already indicate a direction in which to look, extrapolating the location in a line away from the star. As I arrived, I almost immediately received the following message on local:

"This is a distress call to anyone listening in the vicinity! We are a Guristas research and trading facility that's under heavy attack! Please come to our aid before lives are lost!"

Almost instantly after that message, I received again a message, directly on-screen this time:

"Stay out, capsuleers! This is a private matter and your interference is not welcome. If you engage our forces, interfere with our task, or do anything else except leave immediately, we will have no choice but to attack you."

Though I did not engage, I was scrambled and subsequently attacked, and my humble frigate was destroyed. I barely managed to warp my capsule back to Farthest Shore. I weep and pray for the lost lives of the crew.

I met shortly after with professor Moriarty. We had a wonderful discussion on quantum physics and on the ways to warp without having to set an end point to the warp. I always thought I could only warp to a destination that is in the overview, but apparently, warp velocity can be reached by other means, and in the direction of one's own choice without any anchoring point at the end. I will exercise his technique when I get a new ship.

However, there was a more worrisome discussion point. Professor Moriarty told me that I was most likely lured into a so-called “combat site”. Whomever warped me there fully intended me to die. But, the thing is, I warped to the exact location shown to me by Lunarisse Aspenstar on our previous meeting in New Eden.

 

I came to trust Aspenstar quite completely. Who would not, after all the help and kindness she showed me? The docking rights at Farthest Shore? And the other archeologists she buried, were they not heretics? Was she not righteous to take law in her own hands? 

 

But then, why would she bring me to the stage of my own death? As she showed me the place, she fatefully mentioned "This is the place where we bury capsuleers." I made nothing of it at the time. 

 

I was wrong.

Eve Gate

I flew out in a shuttle to New Eden, my heart racing as I had to make a long trek trough lawless regions of space.

The shuttle was small and fast to achieve warp, so I could hope to avoid pirates at the gates. Yet, it was far from careless travel. I followed the advice given to me not too long ago by a Minmatar trader who scoured the lowsec and nullsec regions for relics and remnants of data sites. He told me never to jump directly from one gate to the other, in systems with only two gates (so called "pipe" systems). Rather, make a detour via a celestial body, so when you next jump to your destination gate, you arrive from an unexpected direction. The man was clearly drunk when he told me this. On top of that, he was Minmatar. When drunk, the Minmatar will make outrageous claims with the greatest of certainty and then punch you in the face if you show even the slightest sign of doubt. Anyway, this time I did see some tactical merit in this idea and I even could leave without a bruised face.

Whether it was just a quiet day or whether the tactic helped, I do not know, but I reached New Eden safely. Ah, one is immediately greeted by the most wondrous sight the galaxy offers: Eve Gate! Its dancing whisps of plasma are mesmerizing like the flames in the hearth. The vastness of the phenomenon humbles the onlooker, and testifies to the presence of God in our universe.

 

Luck was indeed with me, as Goner Sarachem was still in the system. However, he did not grant me an audience, nor reply to my calls in local. He must be medating... I sent him a missive, not wanting to disturb him while he prays, and hope he will answer me.

I met a most remarkable scientist, professor Moriarty. He is investigating the system, but he did not tell much about that, as his "investigation is sensitive". However, as often the case with scientists, their pride in their achievements overcomes their discretion. He showed off some of his very fast craft - he must be an expert in speeding up vessels. His punisher, the "Paragate" reaches 13000 m/s, and he proudly whooshed it past the Farthest Shore station. He has developed another craft, a modified F-1A Pacifier, the "Blink", that can cross a good fraction of a light year in less than a second. Indeed, he warped out of d-scan range almost immediately. 

Lunarisse Aspenstar also happend to be at the Farthest Shore station, for upwell core maintenance. She must have jump cloned there. She confirmed that my eyes were not deceiving me when witnessing Moriarty's record-breaking spacecrafts. And she kindly showed me a location in deep space, a good way along the path that the Goners have followed.

 

Now I must be patient and gain the Goner's trust.

Good advice and help

Yesterday, I saw Lord Garion Avarr passing through the library. He is consiliarius of the corporation, and has an office next to the library. 

 

He’s the first male SFRIM capsuleer I saw in the library, and he seemed not interested in books, just passing through. If one would not know better and only had library attendance to judge from, one would conclude that SFRIM is a warrior nun corporation. Well, the nun part of the analogy doesn’t apply, not with the way some are dressed, but I trust the reader will understand what I mean.

 

I see why Lord Garion Avarr was chosen as consiliar. He is a good listener, and a wise man. He looks somewhat stern at first but puts you at ease quickly. I liked his office, with the framed scripture quotes on the wall. I think he may have been a chaplain in the army. 

 

He gave me good advice on how to keep my soul safe when I must talk to heretics often. Not only by prayer, but also by ‘surrounding myself with faithful’, as in Book of Missions. I think I may align myself with SFRIM when my neutrality is no longer needed for my quest. Their goals and approach seem quite compatible with mine. 

 

Another good piece of advice was to train for logistics. Although my vows forbid me from hurting other capsuleers directly, nothing stands in the way of repairing and protecting ships of the fleet I serve in.

 

After our meeting, I found Ishta Maleto in the library, and soon after Lunarisse Aspenstar came in as well. I discussed my intention to find Goner Sarachem in the New Eden system. I was immediately offered help, invaluable help. They have a station in that system that does not show up on regular scan, and I can use it as a staging ground for my explorations. I had heard baseliners talk about this “farthest shore” but as it was hidden, I though it was something from the past.

 

And a received another good piece of advice: to train covert operations. This should allow me to avoid unpleasant encounters with the likes of CODE. The local hoodlums in the EVE constellation are called White Sky.