Settling In

So my gear is staged, my clones relocated, and my desire for blood and war ready to be satiated. Now I just need to find willing combatants...

So far with this new bunch, I've seen quite a large share of operations take place. Unfortunately, most of em I observed while working to get my gear moved to the proper staging locations. However, in the two days since my gear has been relocated to these stations, I've been able to get in on two fleets. Both fleets were really quite entertaining to fly with. Unfortunately, I have not been able to get in on any real kills other than a couple of SBUs (Sovereignty Blockade Units) that were dropped in ally space but I've gotten a chance to see how their fleets operate and am impressed. Fleet comms at times did get a bit messy from time to time, but when work needed to be done, the level of professionalism by the fleet commander and the fleet members themselves seemed top notch. Only once did I observe a single individual out of the 500 in the first fleet and about 250 in the second get out of line (apparently went afk while holding on the frontlines...). There was also a moment where some fleet members took a slightly different route than the main contingent, but was due to instructions to reach destination at best pace and their autopilot navigation differed for one reason or other.

We did see one fleet engagement. I was not able to get in on any of the kills given a disagreement my ship had with a POS shield and thus arrived on the battlefield too late to get in on the action before the enemy disengaged and warped off. However, it gave me a chance to observe their handling of target calling and such and again, I was impressed.

So although my own desire for blood has not be fulfilled, I am certainly looking forward to the many days to come flying with these new brethren of mine.

Back in the Saddle

Yep. That's right. I'm back. As of about 2 weeks ago, I decided to renew my pilot's license and am once again cruising the stars and it's been quite an entertaining ride already. (and that's my tl;dr)

When I had last gazed upon my hanger, already the map was becoming distorted, unfamiliar. Upon returning, as I expected, I was no longer allied to anyone. My previous corp had, as was also expected, booted me from their ranks. The map as I had once known will never be the same. New faces, new tactics, new...well...nearly everything seemed new to me! I feel like a shopaholic at the mall with a brand new credit card and a recent release of all the newest fashions!

So of course first things first. Given my lack of status within the region, I popped open my asset window and took note of where all my belongings were. Fortunately, before shit really hit the fan, I'd been able to get MOST of my assets out. However, I hadn't been able to get a couple larger ships out as well as some minor ships and gear dabbled about here and there. I then double checked to see where some of my old corp mates from years past had gone off to. They as well seemed to have dispersed to the stars. So now the choice came. Attempt to sell off my goods stuck in various stations around the area or attempt to join one of the local corporations. Only thing I was sure of is that I did not want to return to high sec empire. So I looked into two options before making the decision to sell. Did I want to try out wormhole life (something I admit to always being curious about) or did I want to just stay in nullsec?

Although wormholes certainly seem intriguing, I pretty much knew the obvious answer. Getting into an already established, and decent wormhole corp, is difficult at best. It takes a LOT of trust in your corp mates to successfully live in a wormhole. It is something that would take a lot of time to build before they even let you into their system, time I wasn't sure I wanted to invest.

Nullsec, on the other hand, is already home to me. Its had its hooks in my heart since before I even stepped foot in my first nullsec alliance. The political confrontations have always intrigued me.

Thus, the choice became obvious.

HOWEVER, given my lack of knowledge for the current political structure, as in who's allied with who and who isn't, choosing where to settle was a difficult choice and I admit I got a bit...rushed, to get things moving. I talked with a few corp recruiters and one did an excellent job of wooing me into complacency and quick trust. (yeah, my eve mentality was a bit rusty) He managed to talk me into contracting a couple of my fitted ships to be courier'd to their home system prior to being accepted into corp. I know, I know. Dumb move by me and well played on his part as I'm now out two ships. Ahh well. Chalk it up to a lesson learned.

Anyways, during my wait, I met with another recruiter representing 1st Steps Academy, a member corporation of the Fidelas Constans alliance. Talked with him for a fair bit of time and after some deliberation, decided to join up. And so far I've been very happy with the decision. They all seem to be a great group of people and I'm looking forward to flying with them in the days to come.

So that's where I stand now. Most of my gear has been moved and in place and I'm ready to wreak havoc across the vast expanse of the Eve universe once again.