Conoban

It's a bit of a weird vessel, the Sunesis. Looks like a fly impaled on a tiara that was made for electroshock therapy. But all in all the fly flies well, and is very agile. It aligns and warps out almost immediately. So, after the test ride, I decided I'll take the vessel. It will be my third ship (apart from shuttles or corvettes), and I'll baptise her the "Vectrix" or transporter.

With a bit of fitting she has a cargo hold of over 1000 cubic metres, and still allows for probes, and drones as defense against prossible pirates attacking me. 

The next piece of advice I got to bring up my standing quickly, is to ... go to career agents. It's again a bit humiliating, I already have a career. But I guess this is a lesson in letting go of my pride and so I will go to the Conoban system to learn how to be a hauler for Empress and Empire.

Sunesis

I got lots of good but often contradictory advice from friends, as I told them my plans to increase my standings through delivery missions. I'm grateful they also allowed me to vent vented my anger and disbelief at having to start at such low standings.

For the hauling and delivery missions, the Bestower and Sigil obviously received good reviews, but surprisingly I was also recommended the Sunesis. It's a vessel that was designed by the Society of Conscious Thought, so Jove influence. Casting aside my initial worries, it seems a decent vessel, with a fairly big hold. Enough for simple hauling missions, at least. It's agile, with a very fast align time. And what convinced me is that it is bonuses for scan probes. So - if I do find some interesting signature, and can still to a little bit of exploration with it. 

I've got an appointment with a salesperson at the Empire Family Academy to go for a test run...

Space trucker

Back in Nasreri, with the crew this time. I'll be doing the occasional wormhole exploration in the future, with them if it is for a longer expedition, without them if it is for a short probe.

So, contemplating the strategy for my quest - it seems like I do need to improve my standings. That would allow me to visit the Museum Arcana and the Labyrinth. These are well known Takmahl sites, but they are guarded by the Empire and only accessible to those with high standings. 

I've complained about this before, I am a loyal subject but still I must somehow grind missions to gain standings. Moreover, my vow of non-agression pushes me towards pacifism. Although the vow only forbids violence ("DPS") against other capsuleers, I try to extend it to non-capsuleers as well. This kind of restricts me to delivery missions.

I'm going to be a (part-time) space trucker.

Return home

Time to bring the crew back home and end the expedition in Anoikis. We've been out here nearly a month, and I can feel the crew aching to return home. They are getting a bit grumpy about me jumping back and forth to Nasreri several times while they waited in Seclusion.

And, to be honest, we did not find Takmahl relics during this month. Nor Talocan ones for that matter. There was a very nice find of an ancient space cathedral at the onset of our expedition, but nothing as enthralling came up later.

Still, I believe it is worthwhile to organise further expeditions here. We've barely gotten acquainted with this strange new part of our universe and its network of unnatural wormholes. I am sure here many more secrets are hidden.

Jason's manucision

I was back in Nasreri late yesterday evening, for the ceremonial manucision of Heir-Lord Jason Moradian. Jason only recently found out about his Ardishapur heritage, and wanted to impress friends and enemies by following the Ardishapur Decree to the letter. This law states that the male members of the Ardishapur family must have their right hand removed. 

It is not a very pleasant ceremony. Lots of blood and pain, accompanied by scripture passages about sacrifice. Bill Cypher was the surgeon at hand (no pun intended), and he wielded the ceremonial catlin knife with great skill. He fitted Jason's new bionic arm as well.

Many noble houses close to the Ardishapur court also follow the Ardishapur Decree. Indeed, most of these houses are intermarried in complicated ways over the millennia to House Ardishapur, and consider themselves linked to the extended family. House Moradian is part of this inner circle. Seeking acceptance from his peers, Jason underwent the rite...

Meanwhile, my impression is that the Ardishapur family is holding off any judgement as to when exactly Jason can claim his Holdership and regain control from the lord-regent. It was telling that they did not send a family member to attend the manucision, as they usually do. Lord knows they have enough family members. But they did send a representative, a clerk from the Ardishapur Family Bureau, which is sign that they do not reject his claim either. I think they're keeping their options open. And, it will probably remain difficult for Jason, given his Gallentean upbringing, to ever fully fit it. Then again, he doesn't have to.

Where next?

The engine tests came out fine. Personally, I had preferred it if they'd found something so they were able to fix it.

We've continued exploration, and the ever changing network of links reminds me of the vastness of Anoikis. It's unlikely to get linked to the same place twice. Our expedition just scratches the surface... Perhaps I should do a 'deep dive', without the crew. Just keep on jumping from wormhole system to wormhole system for a long period of time, to see, as they say, how deep this rabbit hole goes. 

However, duties for the moment prevent a long absence. Jason is having his hand cut off in the Ardishapur ceremonial rite, back home...

Fire rekindled

News of worrisome developments reached us in Seclusion. I heard it while taking some time off in Pilgrim's rest, awaiting the results of the stress tests of the engines of the Indagatrix III. 

The Empire and the Republic seem to have rekindled the battle for Floseswin and the Eugidi constellation in the war zone. Messages to the respective militia call for immediate action. Yet, for the moment, the constellation appears well secured in the hands of the Empire.

But, this comes on the heels of a conflict between the militia and LUMEN, less than a month ago. The Empress calls on the militia to defend and fortify the constellation and while this does not involve LUMEN I think some of our capsuleers will feel the urge to heed the call. Especially our friends in PIE may feel some honor-bound obligation. And, our foes may use this call to beat their chest and push others to join the warzone.

I would advocate leaving the warzone for the militia, we are not welcome there anyway. In stead, let us keep our focus on Arshat and the stellar transmuter device. It is quiet now there, but I don't think we should keep our eyes away from it. In fact, Societas, PIE and KHPER have been diligently patrolling it, and seeing from time to time some scouting from the Triglavians and other reds.

From lines to circles

The scanning tip that I mentioned before for lines also works for circles. If the results of your scan yields a circle - meaning just two probes picked up the signal - then swivel around to find the point on the circle that lies farthest from your probes.

Once you found it (from the first to the second frame in the figure above, I just rotated to get a better view) move the probes to this farthest point and you can zoom in at least two levels. It will yield a much better pinpointed source and save you additional scans.

A stone in the shoe

A new ship is always a bit like new shoes - doesn't quite fit as comfortably yet as the old vessel. I have to get used to it a bit before I can fully merge myself with the ship. I don't know quite how to express this differently, capsuleers will know what I mean. Explaining to baseliners what it means to become one with the ship... well it's like explaining what the color red is to a blind person.

But the Indigatrix III turns out to be a shoe that has a little stone in it, and I can't get it out. 

The engine doesn't feel quite right. Crew has remarked it too, the sound of the engine is different and there is a periodic hum that intensifies and ebbs. Techies can't find anything wrong with it, it attains nominal speed without problems. 

Perhaps I should bring it back to the manufacturer? We're going to run some tests while overheating the engine first - in close orbit to Seclusion station in case things go wrong.

Scan probe line result

Another tip. 

This happens regularly: the anomaly is only picked up by three of your scanner probes, and you get a line, the intersection of the three signals. Where to scan on the line? Many capsuleers will reposition the probes in the middle of the line, not gaining any resolution, and scan again.

But there is a faster way. Find out which of the ends of the line, as in the figure above, is farthest away from your current probe scan location. Sometimes you'll have to swivel the view around and turn it to see. The view in the left panel shows that the lower right end of the scan line is farthest from the probe location. The stuff you're looking for is there.

So, in that case, don't hesitate! Put your probes on the farthest end of the line and narrow it down. Close in on it, two zoom levels even, as shown in the middle panel. You'll get a ping close up on its location every time - as in the right panel.

Minmatar clothing

The crew quickly adapted to the new hull. Most things are the same, but there are some tiny differences. The visuals are sharper, better. A new generation of video probes circling the craft, I guess.

There appeared some Minmatar data sites. Probably some lost exploration, rust buckets must have buckled and failed in the end. 

We retrieved capsuleer clothing from them, and the crew seems to be intent on selling it, they claim it will get a decent amount of isk. I checked the market and I am aghast as how much a piece of fabric is worth. It must be absolutely revolting to baseliners, at least when they can't make a profit from it themselves. I advise the crew to wait with the sale - probably the Minmatar rebellion celebrations are not a good time to sell this kind of apparel, as the market gets flooded...

Maiden flight of the Indigatrix III

It was pretty quiet on the Indigatrix III today, as the crew took hold of this new yet familiar hull. We scanned down some standard anomalies, and investigated a relic site that did not offer much new insights. But I could still feel a tense atmosphere from my crew. Trigger fingers on the cloak and the warpout, and d-scan spamming even during hacking. 

I do feel safer when they're around, but I'm not sure that is reciprocated...

Help line

I've had a bit of explaining to do to the crew, for showing up with a brand new hull. They reacted with a mix of relief - that they hadn't been aboard the lost ship - and dismay - that they could have been aboard. There was general disbelief that this wouldn't have happened with them on board and that my wits were the only thing to blame. And a general worry about what they should do should they find themselves in an escape pod. In Seclusion their emergency beacon will be picked up by the station. But if they are in another wormhole, perhaps one without stations? 

Actually, not all hope is lost. The Signal Cartel provides rescue caches in most systems - a little refuge and a little help in the form of scanner probes. If that's of no help to you, then it is possible to contact the scout rescue team, who will send a search and rescue party. No wonder LUMEN has set the Signal Cartel blue and supports them with docking rights. The technicians have been making sure that also the baseliner rescue pods can contact this wormhole search and rescue folk.

The price of hubris

Bad news: I got podded.

Mitigating circumstance: nothing of value was lost.

I got greedy, and reckless. Yesterday evening, I saw a relic site on d-scan that I hadn't seen before. I decided to go at it alone, the crew was already off for the day. I was tired, but I felt I didn't need the additional split seconds that their interventions grant me. I was wrong. 

An Astero was laying cloaked, waiting. When I warped in and approached the first relic can, it grabbed me, and as I do not carry any DPS and did not have the split second reflex that my crew grants me, I stood no chance. 

I'll have to explain it to them tomorrow. The usual chain of events was set in motion: I recloned, and my agent used my funds to purchase and fit the Indagatrix III. At first, the crew will think I just went off to Nasreri again, to do some personal stuff like feeding Mittens. But I'll have to tell them eventually and I am worried about their reaction. Truth is, I got too complacent, too blasé and relaxed about doing those sites, while in reality danger is always lurking in Anoikis.

Pathfinder

A good galnet tool for wormhole explorations is pathfinder. It allows you to map the wormhole connections, yielding a chart that can be used by all in the alliance, 

Here, you see seclusion, and how it links to several other systems. There are two wormholes, and one link (our static) to highsec. I've been exploring and found that the Ursus, the C1 hole connected to home, is a dead end, leading to a nullsec and a highsec system. The additional wormhole lead to further exploration, and I haven't finished to complete that branch. Every jump is registered. You can even see where I am, the C4 hole. I tend to log anomalies, and pathfinder shows you an overview like this

but only after someone uploads it. But, the most useful part of it is the list of killmails from the wormhole system you are in. If you warp in, check it. It will reveal active hunters will kills on their name. In that case, just warp back out. But if the system has been dormant, you know you can stick around.

The Antiquarian

The Antiquarian has been spotted in Tanoo!

This is so exciting - many believe him to have disappeared, retired! And yet, there is now visual confirmation that he is spaceborne, flying through Tanoo towards Sashta. I have received footage and d-scan of his shuttle from staff I befriended in Tebu Amkhiman, I'm glad I shared these stories about the legendary capsuleer with them.

The Antiquarian is one of the oldest capsuleers, and a famous collector of rare and precious items. His collection is the stuff of wonder and myth, unmatched by any in the cluster. From the earliest days on, any special item would draw his attention and he would be the first one to grab them. He is reclusive, a hermit, nowadays.

Now that I know he is still active, I do want to speak to him, and learn about the relics he has collected over the years! If anyone can help me substantially in my quest after a single meeting, it is him! Oh, if only I could convince him to be the guest of honor in a convention for rare items I would plan... it would draw out every collector in the cluster, I am sure! 

Perhaps items obtained from more recent activities could raise his interest, as he's been less active? But perhaps this is a mistake, and he has stayed active all along to collect also newer items from events and activities. 

Could this be linked to what it going on in Athounon or Arshat? Is this why he woke from his slumber and did he get caught on camera flying towards Athounon from wherever he is stationed, passing Tanoo?

I must find him.

Earthers

The explorations have thusfar not turned up any evidence of Takmahl -or Talocan- presence in Anoikis. This is not a surprise: Anoikis is immense, and we have only scratched the surface of it, a few systems. Finding any remnant of these ancient civilizations here is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

But it also allows for the fantasy to run wild. What if the Takmahl established a colony here, and it got cut off? Could it have endured undetected? Or would it have collapsed, as its parent civilization did?

The "Earthers" believe that we are in a similar situation; that humanity has a common ancestor coming from a single system of origin, and that we essentially got cut off from them. In that scenario, at least us, the colonists, survived. Who knows what happened to the home system, "Earth" ?

In fact, after Anoikis got connected to our cluster, many Earthers through that we had reconnected with the "home cluster", and that our planet of origin lay within Anoikis rather than behind the Eve Gate. They started expeditions, and searches to locate our ancestors - or rather, their descendents, our far-removed nieces and nephews. It did not prove succesful. They did encounter the Sleepers - an offshoot of the Jove, to all likelihood. I don't wish to encounter them - they do not look kindly on explorers as many folk from our cluster plunder their sites, for lucrative loot.

Anomaly scanning tip

Signature Anomalies are strange things.

You scan them down and find all sorts of things hidden behind them. Wormholes, but also relic and data sites. One wonders how it can be that there is a steady daily stream of these anomalies in every system, every day.

Hasn't there been a very thorough search yet of the home worlds? How come these things keep popping up? For the temporary wormholes, it is not hard to understand, but sites that remained hidded for many centuries or even milennia? Why do they pop up? Is it because their cloaking finally failed? Or because the many baseliner vessels that we don't see on our scans came accross them?

No, it's got to do with the fickle nature of solar winds and how they interact with celestials. These reveal disturbances, in a random and ever changing way, leading to this constant stream of anomalies we find. This leads to an interesting tip for scanning. Say, you see anomalies around a celestial like this:

The red spheres are 8 AU wide, and so you think you might need to set your scanners to 8 AU. But in fact, anomalies are never located further than 4 AU from a celestial! So, the best first step to scan down the above situation is to center your probes on the planet or celestial in the middle, and set range to 4 AU. This saves you time and effort in the scan, and will give good pinpointing results for all anomalies close to the celestial.

Deeper into the holes

Today, we decided to push deeper into the wormhole network and explore beyond Seclusion by jumping through the Ursus wormhole. First, we checked that it had not reached end of lifetime, and that it did not have its stability degraded by the amount ships going through it. The information that we called up on the hole showed it was still nice and stable, at least for another day.

After jumping through, there follows a choreography that I trained the crew to handle. First and most importantly, without breaking cloak, the wormhole entrance leading back to Seclusion is bookmarked (I usually just label it "-> home"). 

Then, a "new bookmark" window (ctrl-B) is opened and I select a celestial to warp to at 100km. In close sequence, I then 1) initiate the warp, 2) launch the scanner probes, 3) cloak my ship, and 4) bookmark a safe spot between the entrance hole and the celestial. After arrival at the celestial, I warp back to my safe spot, cloaked all the time.

Only then I relax a bit, and evaluate the system. If there's other probes or ships on d-scan, or a history of recent kills, I would bail out. Luckily, there was no activity in J102734.

Unluckily, there were also no relic signatures...

Celebration

I have been tempted by feelings of vanity once more: it appears I won a prize in the New Eden Writing Competition. I submitted a poem about the demise of our astrahus station, Farthest Shore, located at Eve Gate. My vow or poverty prohibits accepting the large monetary prize so I will distribute it to LUMEN members who want to buy a skill book with it. As librarian, I feel the need to give books, even if they are of the injectable kind.

Crew members felt the need to celebrate, and threw a party in my honor, during which they also exercised their poetic talents by reciting rhymes of dubious content, mostly involving large chested Amarrian ladies, goats and cheese. After some libations, they decided I should sell the rubble that we collected in relic sites rather that throw it back into space. After some more libations, they argued that I should upgrade to a Stratios exploration cruiser, assuring me that they'd crew it most excellently and not many additional hands should be hired, and that they would take care of the hiring process.

It appears that not much exploration will be done after these celebrations.