Any given Sunday
I was navigating my way back to the central Federation systems after a relatively profitable excursion around 40-50 LY away, at the area nearby Ori and 10 Canis Venaticorum, when I decided to try out the brand new interdiction module I had just managed to squeeze in my ships power plant capacity.
With my trading focus I had barely had a chance to actually engage in any meaningful combat. Well, maybe that NPC pirate here and there unawares that my Asp, albeit slow and ponderous, has 4 Classs 1 and 2 Class 2 mounts with gimballed lasers and fixed cannons installed respectively... in adition to my improved shields.
So, while at LP 98 132 I started looking for "test subjects" and could only find one at start. A human player in an Eagle plodding along the system. Ok. Let´s do it. If it turns out he wants an actual fight we can oblige, otherwise his superior speed will allow him to fly out anyways.
I maneouver so to position my Asp behind him in SuperCruise and activate the interdiction module. I get ready for thre maneuvering struggle but after a couple seconds I see the Eagle pilot has just submitted to the interdiction. Hmmm.
Once at subluminal speeds and out of SC I try to let my non agressive intention clear by keeping my weapons retracted and I get ready for frame shift when I notice the Eagle has started firing on me. Oh well, fair enough, no one likes to be interdicted so I decide to defend myself
The Eagle pilot starts making good use of its better maneuverability and I cant seem to find a way to line up my weapons so I decide to turn flight assist off to open up some space with my attacker. I finally get a firing solution and after 2 or 3 laser salvos the Eagle shields have been obliterated. Its pilot gets the message and starts turning around and accelarates to jump into Super Cruise. My Asp cant follow so the encounter pretty much finishes there... or does it?
I almost had it, so I went a bit greedy and decide to interdict again so to finish what was started. Again the Eagle submitts with no resistence and we enter combat again.
But this time somehting is different... after a few moments I see more contacts in my scanner. Focused as I was in combat my mind first dismissed those contacts as a bug (in a couple occasions when in Unidentified Signals I have seen ghost scanner contacts a few Ls away). But then I see how those contacts are hollow, two to be exact, and they have just gone from square to triangle, which unequivocably defines them as human players with deployed weapons.
The new contacts turn red! They are firing at me! Panic starts to get hold and without even having a quick look at those new contact details or their weapon loadout my survival instinct kicks in and in a swift motion of my hand I retract weapons, place 4 pips in ENG, 2 in SYS, apply booster and initiate a frame shift sequence, arf, arf.
3 v 1 ! And those 2 last ships appearing out of nowhere in no man´s land somewhere in LP?! It seems clear these 3 ships are probably a friends squadron that are coordinating their moves with TeamSpeak or similar and were in the same area.
The Eagle pilot I interdicted most likely had called his friends for reinforcements who must have identified the exact space location via low intensity frame shift wakes with the corresponding scanner.
Wow. It is probably the first time that I see organized parties coordinating their moves in SuperCruise and dropping out tactically like this. Wow.
After the initial scare and now in SC I decide that the best course of action is to do a Brave Sir Robin. LP 98 132 is not precisely the safest of systems so I browse quickly my reachable destination list and my eyes lock on Assellus Primus. An Alliance system where my reputation has increased significantly recently and where I know the security patrols will probably offer me "sanctuary" if needed... I select the destination right away and initiate the frame shift drive sequence. 4, 3, 2, 1... Engage!
After the jump of around 11 LY my Asp shakes off the warp dust and Asellus maginificent primary star comes into view, approaching at wondrous speeds. I then veer away so to avoid the mass lock and select my final destination within the system: Beagle Landing. Asellus main station, where I can hopefully recover from my encounter having a good beer.
After a while in SC and now approaching Beagle Landing my FSD starts decelerating automatically and then it is when I hear Betty anouncing that I am being interdicted!
My fingers wont coordinate efficiently this time and without noticing it I submitt to the interdiction. I quickly eye my scanner and see a lone human player in a Cobra that starts firing at me right away. I decide to oblige and quickly manage to eliminate his shields and hurt his hull down to 85%. The Cobra pilot does not look as experienced as the Eagle one and probably didnt have more than 2 pips in shields at the start of the encounter. The lower maneuverability of the Cobra also helps me in the confrontation and I now prepare to come around for the final salvo... when I suddenly see 2 new contacts in my scanner.
Shit.
There was now no doubt. That 3 ship human player squadrom was definitely formed by friends coordinating damned well probably thanks to the help of frame shift wake scanners, that in addition to identifying and dropping on my interdiction location in LP, had also red my jump to Assellus Primus and followed me all the way here.
It does not take long for me to decide to perform a new Brave Sir Robin. But this time I am quite close to Beagle Landing so I manage to drop out of SC soon enough to see the station and the authority vessels all in green. Good boys.
- "Beagle Landing control? Cmdr Viajero requesting landing authorisation. I need repairs... and a good paint of beer."
- "This is Beagle Landing control. Greetings Comdr, welcome home"
(note: And this gameplay happened without alliance/wing mechanics implemented yet! Cant wait to see what this beauty of a game can do when we have those...)