Back from the Brink...

Mission: To explore wormhole space for 10 days and return.
Outcome: Success.
Debriefing: B13 and I managed to stay in wormhole space for 10 days. I can't say it was easy or even packed with excitement, but we did get our share of loot and got the odd kill here n' there.

A very kind pod pilot left his ship in one of the asteroidless belts, a Vagabond, at 200km from the beacon. Obviously a pirate preying on the weak and the foolish, so we took his ship. Checking his hold we found he was full of loot. He must've left his ship to scout, and was killed by another pirate in the system. Or it was a trap, but we waited, cloaked for 10 minutes at the location to see if he'd return, but he didn't.

In addition to this and as expected we found loads of wrecks, both Sleepers and Pod pilots alike. It seems that wormhole space is crammed with eager pilots seeking adventure. Many succumbed to the firepower and/or the AI of the Sleepers and became smouldering wrecks. Not that we minded. They were salvaged and looted and added to our haul.

Supplies were a problem, as was cargo space. We had lost some of our drones, foolish I know, so we sent for an ally to bring us some more. It took 4 hours until we found an exit wormhole and set a destination for our back-up Hauler. The destination system was only 4 jumps from our original insertion point which made the whole process easier.

With an exit secured it was an opportunity to drop off our loot but we had to work fast, fearing other pilots scanning down our wormhole and looting our spoils. We quickly decided that the Hauler should fly into the wormhole and join us there to collect the spoils, instead of us exiting to drop them off. It was the right decision as we witnessed several other Battleships converging on the wormhole within minutes.

Eventually time was up. The 10 days were over and we had to leave, and our exit was found to be only 6 jumps from where we originally entered. This was a little dissappointing as we expected to travel further but this may have been a fluke, only repeated testing will confirm or deny that. We've estimated that the value of all the loot, the bounties from pod kills and the ships we destroyed came to a comfortable 110 million isk between us. We are still sifting through it all, but it was a very good haul. Not great for 10 days work but it was a unique experience, one which was more valuable as intel. We've decided to sit on all the Sleeper salvage until the prices become more realistic. The rarest items have been submitted to our Corporations Research and Development division to see if they can reverse engineer any of the parts.

For now we plan to remain here in Empire. To collate what we have learnt and put together a bigger fleet. I figure that with a larger group we can accomplish more, but may attract more attention. As a 2 man gank squad, not once did we get scanned down by a hostile fleet, but with a bigger team who knows.

There is something else too, a new problem and feelings of descent within our Corporation. It has been decided that this new realm requires a new approach. Many in our Corporation are hungry for the lawless 'unknown' and its opportunities, but a mandate is in place which forbids any acts of aggression towards Neutrals. Despite the lack of criminal flagging, our CEO does not want reprisals against the Corporation because of our actions. This leaves me in a difficult position and a decision has to be made about what my future holds within the Corporation.

I think the darkness in me is returning. After almost a year of running missions for the Sarum family to see my security slowly climb from -9.96 to a despicable -1.6, I feel the need to wreck my progress with a few acts of piracy once more. Wormhole space provides my ego with this satisfaction, but if it is outlawed within my Corporation surely I cannot remain within the ranks. It seems that what I need to do and what I want to do are rarely the same.

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