omg R.I.P.

What's in a name? Well sometimes quite a lot. When a rifter is new I'm happy to change it's name and often do - for example to masquerade as some random noob who happens to be in system. But once it gets a few victories under its belt that all changes and the name becomes like a talisman bringing luck and changed at peril. So it was with 'omg'. A random choice a first but it became essential to success for this particular rifter and impossible to change. But in the end all my rifters die a fiery death and 'omg' was to be no exception...

You never quite know what you're going to find when you undock in Amamake but this time the intial scan showed a number of frigate class ships. Warping to a safespot I quickly identify one particular rifter which seems to be moving between belts. Warp drive active...

Scanning as I warp in he's gone before I come out of warp but I quickly narrow him to another belt. Warp drive active... This time I arrive just as he's warping out, Drek Grapper, someone I'd fought before. Again he's gone to another belt. Warp drive active...

I come out of warp, my lock resolves, and the fight is on! He's pretty close and I quickly start to lose my shield - damm EMP. With guns and ab overloaded I stretch out the range as best I can but it's clear it's going to be close and I seem to be making slow progress through his armour while my shields continue to melt away. My cap is dropping too - that damm neut of his. My shields give out and my armour goes quickly while the last remains of his armour are still in place. I start to align to get my pod out but break through to his structure as he reaches mine. And a second or two later he explodes. As close as it gets... 31% structure left and the flames are long and bright. Good discussion afterwards and he even asked if I was rigged...

No gcc so I immediately dock, dump the loot and repair. There's no need to wait out the station guns so I immediately undock only to find an Amarr war target in a rifter about 50 km away. He warps to the Auga gate and even though I'm still carrying shield damage I follow. Warp drive active...

He's on the gate as I arrive and I try to lock but he jumps through. But then another war target rifter arrives. Now this has all the hallmarks of death by blob - multiple ships, almost certainly in a fleet - but the Red Mist has descended and it's time for YARR. Lock, engage. Things go well at first and I'm doing great damage on Glach Duwat but then the first rifter jumps back through the gate and a Tristan and a Punisher also join the party. I'm soon taking serious damage and it's clear my ship is doomed but I'm nearly through the armour of Glach Duwat as I overload everything in the last desperate moments. I get him well into structure but then my beloved rifter explodes... I'm spamming warp to get the pod out but things seem to freeze up for a bit and by the time it comes back the pod is dying and Brutus come's to in a clone vat. First pod I'd lost in ages...

The kill mail was interesting because it shows all the damge from the previous fight as well - even though I'd repaired the hull and armour. I was carrying shield damage though.

And so came to the end the best run I've ever had with a single rifter - 18 ship kills and 9 pods, with some great fights along the way.

omg R.I.P.