The Battle for Aridia, Part 2

Previously, on MinerBumping... Agent Alt 00 made an expedition to Aridia, a region with some "islands"--small pockets of highsec entirely surrounded by lowsec. Alt 00 and her alts ferried Catalysts across lowsec and made their way to the islands. As feared, the miners there were failing to completely comply with the Code. Many of them needed an attitude adjustment, as well.

Our Agent made another successful crossing and ganked an untanked Retriever. The miner apparently assumed he was totally safe with CONCORD and the lowsec moats to protect him. He was wrong.

The local rebels renewed their clownish antics.

Instead of being impressed by the deaths of their fellow miners, the carebears buried their heads in the sand and denied the power of the Code.

The miners vowed revenge. Alt 00 took pity on them. Would their ignorance doom Aridia to a miserable fate?

zluq zabaa, a lowsec PvP'er, popped her head into the system. It appeared zluq shared Alt 00's feeling of pity for the miners.

It's no accident that our Agents always seem to know everything that's going on around them. They constantly receive information from Code supporters. Was zluq one of them?

A small gang of pilots gathered around where Alt 00 was docked, apparently intending to camp her within the station. Several of them were members of U.S.A. - University corporation--the same corp that one of the ganked Retrievers belonged to.

zluq scolded her fellow Aridians for their poor manners. Then she left the system. Not long afterward, Alt 00 slipped through the blockade and headed back to her staging system.

Alt 00 was reunited with zluq along the way.

Rebels are often surprised--and terrified--when they see evidence of how much support there is for the New Order. Anyone they encounter could secretly be a Code sympathizer. No wonder the Anti-Gankers are always so paranoid.

Even in distant Aridia, there are many who recognize the value of the Code. Though they don't see our Agents as frequently, they're ready to lend their assistance at a moment's notice.

...But until everyone joins, we cannot call it a paradise.

To be continued...

The Battle for Aridia, Part 1

As highsec continues to fall more and more under the influence of the Code, our Agents sometimes have difficulty finding any Code violators in the areas they regularly patrol. This could inspire us to recline into a posture of self-congratulation, but that's not the New Order way. Instead, our Agents are only inspired to make the Code penetrate more deeply into highsec.

As Agent Alt 00 studied some compliance maps prepared by Agent Jack Van Impe, her attention was drawn to the Aridia region. Alt 00 recorded her thoughts in her journal:

Were the Aridian systems populated with Code compliant miners, as one would naturally assume? Or had they lapsed into bot-aspirancy, hosting broken and wayward populations in desperate need of our help? I could not have this weighing on my conscience. The die was cast; a fleet of Catalysts was commissioned. But little could I have anticipated the wickedness, the depravity, and the violence that lay in wait at the heart of this desolate, cruel wasteland, that was poised to push my skills as an Agent to their absolute limits.

The fleet arrived via freighter at the designated staging outpost, Zinkon, on the edge of the Kor-Azor region. My backup pilot Alt Proxy and covert ops scout Alt 100 unloaded the Catalysts into the only available station. Zinkon is a typically lifeless highsec system of little note. Aridia lays ahead; comprised almost entirely of lowsec systems and narrow bottlenecks. Three distinct "islands" of highsec are to be investigated.

Click for lovely full-size version

Most highsec miners will happily spend their entire EVE life without ever setting foot outside of highsec. But some occasionally traverse a lowsec system or two in order to find highsec islands and mine under the protection of CONCORD there. They consider themselves adventurers, but they don't fool anyone but themselves.

I cover the eight jumps through lowsec without incident and arrive at the Mayonhen constellation. No sooner do I land than my worst fears become immediately confirmed: An illegal Hulk was detected on d-scan, mining in the Bazadod system! I intercepted the wrongdoer and removed his Hulk, preventing him from committing any further crimes.

Our heroine left Aridia, having made her point. Still, something called to her back to the region.

I found myself back in Mayonhen. Perhaps the Hulk was the black sheep of the area, a known outlaw in an otherwise obedient constellation? Sadly, it was not to be: I quickly discovered a new threat. A worrying pattern had already started to emerge.

Alt 00's triumph in PvP against a Code-violating Retriever was met with jeers instead of cheers. What was going on here?

I've often warned of the unearned arrogance and bravado of the highsec island dwellers. They think a life of highsec carebearing is an accomplishment so long as it's occasionally punctuated by trips across lowsec.

They also tend to be xenophobic.

Alt 00's heart was overflowing with compassion. Look at that rainbow of Code links!

Kazor Seventh was confused. The Retriever pilot belonged to his corporation. But rather than correcting his corpmate's behavior or buying him a permit, he acted like Alt 00 was the one who'd done something wrong.

Though the Aridian locals were familiar with the Code, they had a lot to learn.

Alt 00 soaked it all in and planned her next move.

Perhaps this remote corner of highsec was simply ignorant of the benefits of the Code?

The locals tried to change the subject, deflect blame, and throw their fellow carebears under the bus. Typical miner behavior.

Alt 00 had accomplished a lot during her short visits there, but she knew the Battle for Aridia had only just begun.

To be continued...

Autopiloting to Nowhere

Nothing and no one intimidates the Agents of the New Order. No matter how formidable their opponents may appear on the surface, they're no match for the Code.

Auctavean, a 7½ year veteran of EVE, engaged in a fierce round of PvP with Agent Aaaarrgg. Auctavean's bio offered a warning of how dangerous he was, but Aaaarrgg didn't give it a second thought--he jumped right into combat. The two warriors did battle.

The CODE always wins. Always!

Over the course of the last few years, the New Order has managed to cut the population of autopiloting shuttles by 95%. That sort of thing doesn't happen overnight. It requires the steady culling of carebears over a long period. And it necessitates not only the destruction of PLEX-carrying shuttles and shuttles containing pods with billions worth of implants, but also empty shuttles like Auctavean's.

Our Agents are more than happy to gank empty shuttles if it means bringing my vision of highsec that much closer to reality.

Why people like Auctavean can't understand and appreciate that vision, who knows? Perhaps they're too self-absorbed to see things from someone else's point of view.

Though Auctavean claimed not to care about the loss of his shuttle, it was still a touchy subject for him. He spoke in a careless and insensitive manner.

Auctavean confessed that he had been autopiloting, but he denied that he was AFK. Another mystery: Why sit at your keyboard and watch your shuttle warp to each gate at 15km, when you can warp directly to the gate? Aaaarrgg could only assume that Auctavean aspired to become a bot.

The carebear insisted that CCP created shuttles for the sole purpose of autopiloting--an absurd theory with no evidence to support it. CCP may allow autopiloting in highsec, but I do not.

Auctavean, disgusted, prepared to end the conversation by leaving the system. Neutral parties in local concluded that our Agent had won the day.

Scandal! Just as Auctavean was about to leave, Aaaarrgg uncovered the carebear's personal killboard stats. Despite a bio boasting of "countless encounters with enemies" and touting himself as "one of the most reclaimed [sic] percision [sic] fighters on his planet," Auctavean only managed to kill 10 ships during seven and a half years of EVE.

Auctavean's wounded pride wouldn't allow him to leave the system without responding to the charge. Aaaarrgg judged it to be a good time to offer Auctavean a mining permit. Again the carebear refused him.

Auctavean exploded. He admitted that he had already known about the Code's permit requirement. He even confessed to reading enemy propaganda.

Aaaarrgg urged common sense, but Auctavean wasn't having it. He left the system in a hurry--partly out of anger, but partly, I think, out of shame. When people are ashamed of doing bad things, that's progress. Agent Aaaarrgg could count it a productive evening.

EVE Online Review

There's a pretty decent chance you saw the EVE Online Review by Mandalore Gaming posted on YouTube few months ago. Well-produced and weighing in at 30 minutes, it covers a surprisingly broad scope of EVE topics--an impressive feat.

Saying the EVE review was a hit on Reddit would be an understatement. It was massively upvoted and gifted two Reddit golds.

The comment section was full of praise. Carebears and genuine EVE players alike were mightily impressed. There wasn't any obvious reason to downvote-brigade or bury the video. There was nothing objectionable about the video or its producer, Lord Mandelor.

...Nothing that the carebears on Reddit knew of, anyway.

Faithful readers of MinerBumping knew what others didn't--that Lord Mandelor is actually Agent Lord Mandelor, one of the very first to join the New Order. True to his beliefs, Lord Mandelor filled the video with positive, Code-affirming messages. For example, it offered good advice on how best to mine in highsec:

And the very most important aspects of the EVE community were touched upon:

The video was a smashing success, accumulating nearly 60,000 hits so far. The viewers, not realizing the New Order connection, lowered their defenses and took it all in.

Nevertheless, the anti-bot-aspirant sentiments expressed in the video couldn't escape notice forever.

Commenters expressed some qualms about the anti-miner tone.

And some carebears showed their true colors.

Before long, the outrageous (and debunked) claims of self-important miners began to fill the YouTube comments.

Miners have never been afraid to pat themselves on the back. Nor have they ever shied away from shedding tears outside the EVE client.

The miners, however, only represent a fraction of our fair galaxy. Their baffling and self-important perspective was challenged by those with a more enlightened attitude.

Lord Mandelor brought hundreds of new players into the game and educated tens of thousands more. Another classic example of the CODE always winning, always!

Kills of the Week

If we're being honest, carebears tend to be disappointments. They struggle to embrace the values of EVE, just as they struggle to master the mechanics of the game itself. Their saving grace is the Code and the Agents who help them follow it. Still, I have concerns about the carebears. I have real concerns about them.

If we needed any more reasons to be anxious about the carebears' futures, consider these kills from the week of July 31st @ 00:00 EVEtime through August 6th @ 00:00 EVEtime. Study them closely.

KILLMAIL

I don't know what Destroyer of Freckles has against freckles, but I do know what our Agents have against ORE Strip Miners: They're decadent modules, and using them is a flagrant violation of the Code. Agent Aaaarrgg, the Destroyer of Hulks, made good on his vendetta and removed another three ORE Strip Miners from circulation.

KILLMAIL

Weapons and various other modules can be temporarily overloaded (or "overheated") to boost their efficacy. Freighters, too, can be overloaded. A freighter is considered overloaded when it carries more cargo than our Agents deem appropriate. As with modules, if you leave them overloaded long enough, freighters explode. That happened to Mirona Seldon, whose 14 billion isk freighter met its fate--in a 0.9 security system no less--at the hands of Agents Shazna Solta, Ikolo, Another ShadeOf Whyte, Ledalin, Lawrence Lawton, SynthiaGreey, Benchab Mas, eC Cade, Urziel TheGunner, Warr Akini, BAE B PEW, Asha Vantthellere, Victoria Valentines, Austrene Jakuard, Dungar's Sister, James Poddington, Mack Poddington, Ayatola Whoami, Hulk Poddington, and T1 Catalyst.

KILLMAIL

If you look up the word "vindicated" in a good, scholarly dictionary, you'll see a picture of my face. Each time a fully armed faction battleship is destroyed, it demonstrates the falsehood of the carebear taunt, "You won't shoot a ship that can shoot back back." And when a 3.3 billion isk Vindicator like Amantaro Carnische's is ganked, our Agents are vindicated all the more. Perhaps your dictionary also includes portraits of Agents Votre Dieu, Agent Serine, Esdruxulo, Yumla Cos, Lawrence Lawton, Empire Raider, Narl' Amhar, Mack Poddington, James Poddington, and Hulk Poddington.

KILLMAIL

To follow up on the previous point, take a close look at Burmtime Vryl's Venture killmail. She was ganked by Agent Snigie Audanie, who was flying a Retriever. Impressively, there were no wardecs or aggression games in play here--Snigie used a Retriever to suicide gank Burmtime. Maybe it wasn't cost-effective, but the message Snigie sent to the miners of highsec was priceless: Yes, even a Retriever is a ship that can shoot back.

KILLMAIL

Mira Dahl was AFK autopiloting in a rookie ship, looking to all the world like a newbie, the kind that carebears say shouldn't be ganked. Agent Pod-Goo RepoWoman was not fooled. She ganked Mira and destroyed a 2.4 billion isk pod stuffed with Ascendancy implants. As for the rookie ship, it was carrying an additional 165 million isk in implants. So much for Mira's newbie status. If carebears were able, they'd surround their bling boats with newbies and use them like human shields. Talk about hypocrisy!

KILLMAIL

Tavari Minrathos's pod was even worse than Mira's. She managed to lose a staggering 4.2 billion isk worth of implants when Agent Eva Mavas spotted her AFK autopiloting in a flimsy little shuttle.

Those Ascendancy implants will get you every time. Carebears, if you wish to ascend, rise above your bot-aspirancy and carebearism. The Code beckons.