What? Who? Me?

Plus one.

Sunday morning. I’m up early, considering how late I went to sleep the night before. There’s a few students online but they all seem to be new and in high sec. I strap on a frigate and head next door.

To solo?

Well, I do solo at times. Just not well.

Local is clear. There’s a Gorgon Empire drag bubble on the gate and it’s 50k away. That’s way too close for a solo frigate. Too easy for something that you don’t want to fight to jump in and grab you.

I burn back to the gate and jump. Dock up. Get into a destroyer. Undock and head back. Jump in, warp to a tactical (for tactical bookmark: a tac, ping or perch) and then warp to the bubble. At point blank range, the small mobile warp disruptor doesn’t stand a chance against my Cormorant. Bubble down.

You’re a bad man.

Yep, Bren the Bubble Slayer.

Angel pirates land on the gate. Since CCP changed how the NPC pirate AI works, the rats have been more aggressive. They lock my ship almost instantly and start shooting. That’s going to make soloing this gate a little harder, so I try to pick off the frigate and destroyer rats. They don’t have the decency to close up and let me take them out: They start kiting me.

How cute.

Local spikes, plus three. Gorgon Empire. Rupture, Stabber Fleet Issue and Jaguar on D-Scan. I’m over 100K off the gate, so I continue to try to make a move on the Angel pirates. The GE gang lands on a tactical, takes a look and then warps to the gate. The Ruppie and the SFI jump. The Jag sits there, giving me the eye. Maybe he thinks I’m going to come down and engage him with his friends next door. I keep playing with the Angels.

The Jag burns up from the gate and launches a bubble, same place as the last one.

Really, buddy?

I warp away from my Angels and they dutifully lock up the Jag and start moving toward him. The Jag burns back to the gate and jumps out. You know, I’m not feeling the whole Gorgon-Empire-Camping-In-Our-Spot thing.

Warp. Lock. Rip. Pop. Warp. Bubble down.

Gate flash: the Jaguar’s back. He decloaks. I align. He sits. I watch. He warps to the out gate.

Corp chat flashes. There seems to be a problem with Teamspeak. I warp to a safe and try to fix it. When I come back to a tac, there are two Angel wrecks on the field and the Jag is kiting the rest of them.

There is a drag bubble on the gate.

You have to admire their persistence.

I maneuver and watch the Jag. He’s playing with the rats, in that no man’s land inside of 150k from the gate. I’m on the other side of the gate and moving slowly around. He maneuvers out, then in, warps to the gate, and jumps out.

Warp. Lock. Rip. Pop. Warp. Bubble down.

The Jag jumps in. He decloaks. I align. He sits. I watch. He approaches the gate. He says something in Russian and jumps out.

I wait a minute or so, and jump out behind him. He’s not in Local, neither are his friends.

Well, look at that.

There’s a GE drag bubble on the gate and you know the drill: Warp. Lock. Rip. Pop. Warp. Bubble down. Once I’m docked up safely in the station, I open up Google Translate: Russian to English.