“So this is a done deal?” CB sprawled across my couch, watching an animated children’s show on the main display screen, the sound either muted or piped directly through his Aura VI interface.
“Pretty much,” I sat at the desk, tapping my way through a briefing document that I should have sent out several days ago.
To help us through the move to the Gallente/Caldari front (hereafter the Caliente Zone), I’ve put together a basic guide with what little I know or have picked up about the war zone, both in terms of population and —
“Did everyone vote in favor?”
“Yeah.” I stopped, thought about that for a second, then shrugged. “Or voted ‘I don’t care.’ Same difference really.”
CB scratched at the collar of the formal jacket he insisted on wearing whenever he wasn’t in his pod. “Rather be shooting Caldari anyway.”
“Good,” I replied. “Then you can start figuring out how we’re going to deal with all the frakking Condors these bastards fly.”
People We’re Likely to Find Ourselves Shooting At
I frowned, trying to remember the rules of grammar I’d gotten drilled into me several lifetimes ago.
People at Whom We’re Likely to Find Oursel —
“Well that’s terrible,” I muttered.
“Didn’t you and the guys kill something like ten Condors in ten minutes last night?”
“Five,” I corrected. “In five minutes.” I couldn’t quite keep from grinning. “Pretty good start to the night.”
“The Rupture was more fun.”
My grin stretched. “Yes it was.”
CB, his back to me, raised his glass, mostly empty. “Welcome to the warzone.”
“Welcome to the Warzone,” I repeated.
Our Opponents
In addition to the Caldari and Amarr, there are quite a few solo/small gang/pirate groups active in the area. The two best known are probably The Tuskers and Black Rebel Rifter Club — both groups we’ve studied in the past. I’ve flagged these corps so everyone can easily recognize them in local, not as a warning, but to point out an opportunity for a fight. They generally embrace solo and small gang combat, and scorn the same practices we dislike. I’m excited to see them in the area.
The Landscape
Placid Region makes up the majority of Gallente half of the warzone. It connects to three different null-sec regions (Syndicate, Pure Blind, and Cloud Ring), which we’ll be making use of, and to Stacmon and Orvolle, minor high-sec trade hubs.
Black Rise is the Caldari’s largest —
“Where we heading tonight?”
“Everywhere?” I shrugged. “I’m just going to point us toward systems where stuff’s exploding.”
“Nice plan.”
“Whatever. I haven’t memorized the map.”
“Yet.”
“Yet,” I agreed, since it was probably inevitable.
I looked around my new quarters, not missing the rust-chic of our mothballed Auga office nearly as much as I’d expected. The room shouted “Gallente” from every contoured chrome corner, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it felt good to be back under familiar stars.
I suspected we’d be here awhile.
Gambit Roulette is now flying under the auspices of the Federal Defense Union, the Gallente version of Matar’s Tribal Liberation Force. Some stuff we moved, but most of our pilots fly light enough it was easier to simply duplicate supplies and hangars in our second home in Essence, and leave jump clones and supplies in Auga.
Basically, this isn’t so much changing sides as it is moving to the other front in the same war. Some new faces to shoot at (and some old), different tactics from our opponents, new stars overhead — that’s the short term benefit. The long-term: by duplicating rather than moving our office, we’ve basically doubled (or more) our arena of operation.
Feels good.