The Orcas of Nakugard, Part 10

Previously, on MinerBumping... Orca bots were once the bane of the Nakugard system. But after Agent Alt 00's "gank and awe" campaign, Orcas became a rare sight. Alt 00 seized on every opportunity to gank Orcas, never knowing if it might be her last.

Agent Alt 00 strode into Nakugard as a conqueror each day. Once again, there were no Orcas to be seen. Indeed, there were almost no miners at all.

By this point, Alt 00 scarcely needed to use her gank fleets. For the most part, all she had to do was speak--and the miners saw little choice but to obey.

Haze Tveskoeg, who owned a mining permit, sat by himself in the ice anomaly. Alt 00 pointed to the licensed miner as an example to others. Though it embarrassed him, he didn't see any alternative to being a collaborator.

Zoi Tovio owned a Skiff. She could've tanked it up and taken her chances, like the rebels would have her do.

...But why bother? Mining without a permit in Nakugard was for suckers.

Haze obeyed the law, but reluctantly. Alt 00 could sense that he wasn't happy to be following the Code, which was weird.

In addition to quoting MinerBumping posts, Alt 00 frequently shares New Order artwork in local. There's an extensive library of such art on our Links page. I'm not sure which piece Alt 00 linked here, but maybe someone will produce it in the comments.

Another day passed, and then another. Alt 00 visited nearby systems and found them devoid of Orcas, too. She returned to Nakugard, which was still at peace.

Haze playfully teased a fellow miner, only to be reminded of the time he lost a Skiff to Agents Alt 00 and Viirilithizu Ward. It was months ago, but still a sore subject.

The miner was perfectly aware that he was beginning to tread on dangerous ground. Alt 00 could kill Haze at the slightest provocation. She had absolute power and the authority to use it against mouthy miners.

Regardless of Haze's personal issues and the reasons for his bad mood, Alt 00 could punish the miner for his careless talk. Or she might show mercy. It was entirely up to our Agent and what she felt like doing at the time. Everyone who chose to mine in Nakugard accepted this.

On this occasion, Alt 00 stayed her hand. But next time, the miner might not be so lucky.

Weeks went by. Nakugard remained quiet. But then, one day--chaos.

To be continued...

The Orcas of Nakugard, Part 9

Previously, on MinerBumping... Agent Alt 00 rode into Nakugard on a chariot drawn by Taloses. At first the many Orca bots resisted, but eventually they had no choice but to retreat. Alt 00 didn't simply declare victory and go away. She targeted all of the remaining non-compliant miners for destruction.

In time, even the mining barges and exhumers left the system. Alt 00 had to dig deep to find targets. She spotted a blingy Garmur AFK on a stargate and wasted him.

The gank only cost our heroine two Catalysts, anyway. Not bad for a 440 million isk kill.

The Nakugard locals didn't share in Alt 00's joy. They had stood by when our Agent was killing Orcas and Procurers, but now she was killing everything without a permit. They accused her of overreach.

Alt 00 was the law in Nakugard. The locals knew it was pointless to try to out-PvP her. So they argued the law--that is, the Code.

Alt 00 felt sympathy for the locals. For some reason, they were so gloomy and depressed. She offered them an alternative.

More of the Nakugard residents spoke up. They peppered Alt 00 with questions. After all, she was the only one in the system with answers.

In fact, Alt 00 was basically the host of the show. If CCP's community team isn't exactly robust these days, who cares? The Agents of the New Order are the ones who really run things in highsec. And they always engage with the public.

Some of the carebears were getting restless. Luckily, Agent Lewak dropped by to help with crowd control.

For five long days, Nakugard was Orca-free. Word had gotten out about those Talos fleets, it seemed. Alt 00 began to wonder if she'd ever taste another Orca killmail.

Liten kiwi quietly slipped into one of Nakugard's asteroid belts and began mining. She was obviously aware of the possibility that gankers could be on the prowl, so she tanked up. Then Alt 00 dropped eleven Taloses on her head.

Elated, Alt 0 went to the Anti-Ganking channel and reported the good news. Our Agent wondered where Anti-Ganking had been all this time. They hadn't even tried to stop her from ganking, so maybe they needed an invitation. Better yet, they might join in on the fun of ganking. What if they gave up their silly anti-Code heresies and enjoyed EVE for once?

Alas, all they did was ban Alt 0 from the channel.

The anti-Code resistance--like Liten kiwi's Orca--had been broken.

To be continued...

Fire and Fury, Part 2

Previously, on MinerBumping... Javar Miromme's attempts at Anti-Ganking produced nothing but failure. When Javar idled by a Uedama stargate in his prized Ashimmu, he was ganked himself. One of the gankers, Agent Trump The King, became the target of Javar's fury.

Javar returned to Uedama in a gank Catalyst. Apparently he intended to counter-gank our heroes. Instead, he was killed again, this time by Agent Harletta Quinn. You might say Javar was counter-counter-ganked.

It was interesting that Javar had shown up in a gank Catalyst. It was as if he thought to himself, "Those gents from the mighty CODE. alliance make it look so easy. I must learn from them."

...On the other hand, Javar hadn't learned very much so far. He cursed the Code enforcers for having so many friends.

Agent Trump reminded Javar about the round of elite PvP they'd enjoyed earlier that day. It didn't cheer him up.

Javar openly confessed his treason in Uedama local chat. He really thought he could defeat the New Order with a Catalyst.

Unable to win at EVE, the rebel concluded that EVE must be broken. EVE certainly has its flaws, but allowing people like Trump The King to display their elite PvP prowess is not one of them. It is the Anti-Gankers who are broken.

The rebel claimed that he was offended by the unethical acts of griefing committed by our Agents. And yet, earlier, Javar had made comments hinting at the envy he felt toward these same Code enforcers. "I could be as successful as those New Order people," says the rebel, "...if only I were not so righteous."

Over the next few weeks, a curious thing happened. Javar's killboard underwent some changes. He was losing Catalysts and rookie ships, and...

...assisting on freighter ganks?

Eventually, Javar also began solo ganking highsec miners. As a result, his security status plummeted. What was going on here?

Actually, what happened here is easy to understand. Javar Miromme experienced a moment of genuine honesty and introspection. He didn't hate the gankers like he'd thought he did--like the rebels had always encouraged him to. No, watching the gankers win victories every day made him realize that he wasn't happy as a carebear and a Code violator (people never are).

By contrast, the Agents of the New Order always seemed to enjoy themselves. With these things in mind, there was only one rational course of action for Javar: He bought a permit, picked up a Catalyst, and enforced the Code.

A timely lesson for all the remaining rebels out there.

Fire and Fury, Part 1

It was a tough day to be Javar Miromme.

Javar's Ashimmu was ambushed by a group of Catalysts from the mighty CODE. alliance. Javar should've known that something like this would happen. After all, he was loitering at a stargate in Uedama, and he had a history of engaging in Anti-Ganking activities.

One of the Catalyst pilots, Trump The King, sent Javar a private convo request. Agent Trump wanted to make sure that there wasn't any confusion about the gank. Too late.

Trump chastened the carebear in the gentlest terms he could think of on such short notice.

Trump offered some constructive criticism of Javar's gameplay in the form of an "after action report". However, it appeared that Javar was the type who doesn't handle criticism very well.

The (former) Ashimmu pilot got off a parting shot and terminated the convo--without purchasing a mining permit. Now what?

It occurred to our Agent that maybe Javar's finger slipped and he closed the convo by accident. He extended the carebear another opportunity to explain himself.

As is usually the case in situations like these, the carebear ended up revealing more about himself than he intended. Javar's comment about our Agents made one thing crystal clear: He was motivated by envy. This revelation would prove to be very important later on.

(Side note: We of the New Order do not think we can do whatever we want without consequences; indeed, consequences are what we're all about. We strive to do nothing less than fundamentally transform highsec. The New Order is the most consequential force in EVE history.)

For some reason, Javar thought the battle would've gone better for him in lowsec or nullsec, where our Agents wouldn't have needed to deal with faction police or CONCORD.

Trump offered another critique of Javar's battle tactics, free of charge: Why didn't he activate some modules or something?

Many of our most prominent elite PvP'ers get accused of cheating. These hackusations are actually a compliment in disguise. Ordinary EVE players can't imagine anyone being this good at the game.

It wasn't obvious what Javar was trying to accomplish with all of his bluster. He didn't ask for reimbursement or anything.

The carebear exhibited a strange mixture of hostility, jealousy, and admiration. This made him unpredictable, which, in turn, made him dangerous. For Agent Trump had no idea that Javar Miromme was about to return to Uedama to seek his revenge--and that revenge would be sweet.

To be continued...

Code Ready Gelhan, Part 35

Previously, on MinerBumping... Gelhan was buzzing with the latest news about the ongoing siege. Mission Ready Mining's top analysts had determined that The Marmite Collective was colluding with the mighty CODE. alliance. Before long, Gelhan received a visit from Gai Heiyuu himself--the CEO of Mission Ready Mining.

MRM, one of the top ten biggest corporations in EVE, had thousands of members. Its CEO was engaged in a debate about mining permits.

Gai once again attempted to persuade Agent Georgia B Dixie to give up on her campaign and lift the siege of Gelhan. (Trying to talk an Agent out of enforcing the Code is usually a last resort.)

So far, Georgia had prevailed against everything that the thousands of MRM members were capable of throwing at her. She was confident that she was on the winning side.

Gai wasn't getting anywhere, so one of his subordinates stepped up to offer assistance. Slypher Hekki repeated the charges of collusion that had been leveled against CODE. and The Marmite Collective. Georgia brushed them off.

Suddenly, the MRM CEO dropped a bombshell: The New Order had a mole, and it was this individual who had leaked the details about the Marmite/CODE. collusion. But who could the spy be?

I have my suspicions.

The next day, Agent Georgia was back on the Gelhan beat. Though Gelhan itself remained her highest priority, she wasn't afraid to bump refugees who had fled into neighboring systems.

Despite weeks of demonstrations that the New Order had absolute control over the miners' destinies, they remained stubborn, sullen, and insolent.

A particularly grumpy miner was given a free trip: She was sent sailing out of the asteroid belt by Agent TheInternet TweepsOnline TheInternet.

The unanticipated excursion didn't cheer the miner up, but it did make her confess her crimes.

The miners were so bitter and cynical--a tragedy. They didn't realize what a wonderful future they could have, if only they followed the law. Instead, they joined gangs and uttered threats of violence against the New Order. Actual violence was beyond their capabilities, for now.

Rather than falling in love with the Code over time, some miners became hardened in their opposition. Their fate was to sit docked up all day, unable to mine. And they seemed to accept it. They were getting used to failure and helplessness.

What Agent Georgia witnessed shocked her: The minds of these miners were wasting away, right in front of her eyes.

To be continued...