Siren Song

"Are you my family?
Can I stay with you a while?"

                                                         -- (Siren Song, Bat For Lashes) 

        It appears that the Tusker name and image is ensnaring more and more to wish to fly under our banner. Through our exploits as a corporation, the proto-celebrity status I am in the belief we contain within New Eden, we've become a siren's song to many existing pirates, pilots looking to delve into piracy and all manner of other characters. 

        More members is generally a great thing in my eyes; more pilots means a stronger core which gives us more active players and spreads the Tusker influence further out across New Eden. It's obvious that something is special within the corporation as we have so many member that all have stayed well over a year, some two. Our public channel (usually) is quite a good place to meet new potential applicants and get to know them better, sometimes even setting up some ad-hoc roams with them providing they are in the area. I like to engage with a lot of the new applicants personally as I know that they'll likely become a co-pilot and friend down the line; it's always good to cultivate that early on as to create a comfortable atmosphere for new members. 

        I was just reading up on Taurean Eltanin's latest blog post as I enjoy his journalistic method to his piracy career and decided to explore a little further back, only to find that he has his mind set on joining the Tuskers. In full, I'm here to plug this great blog and wish Taurean the best in getting those 5 solo kills. If you are reading this Tau (as that'll totally be your vent nickname) drop by Hevrice sometime if you feel like heading out on a roam soon. 

P.S. In other news, the second instalment of the Journals should hit in the first week of May. This will be the first monthly report and should be an interesting one! You only have to look at my killboard stats to figure that out. 

Don't Change

        So today marks a new era in the world of the Baroque Pilot; I'm out of style, my music taste is stuck back in the 60's and I live the way most abhor; I swear to God I'm never going to change. Piracy is so much fun and despite my occasional sulk I generally have an absolute blast living in New Eden as I do. Due to this I've decided to put together something to back up the statements made.

        The Journals of a Baroque Pilot sister-blog to Journeys is now officially open for business... Or reading pleasure, whichever takes your fancy. This is going to be the place where I document everything that happens to me during my piracy lifestyle as it is seen in financial terms. You get a completely honest and un-edited representation of how much isk I make from actions of piracy; loot splits and ransoms. This will currently stand as a monthly installment (as to not bog myself or my partner Bonni3 down too much, she does the awesome graphs and banners!) in which each installment will address my performance for the month. I would run through it all but there is a handy little page on Journals itself to give the inaugural speech to you. Technology right? It's like a mixtape or something.

        I hope you all really enjoy the new blog and keep in mind that journeys is still running strong! You will still be bombarded with music you probably don't like, whilst being told adventures of random piracy; Journals compliments Journeys with the hard data. I'm aware there are some statistical limitations (such as lack of salvage involved in the isk amount) and I'm open to criticism/suggestion on how you feel Journals would be improved; what data would you be most interested in? Any aesthetically alterations? Keep me posted with comments over there and I'll see what I can do.

        Also in commemoration of the new age of the Baroque Pilot, Bonni3 made me a new SUPER AWESOME banner for my blogs. I like to think it gets across the notion of ransoms personally, I am a pirate after all!

Here's to Eve and to being true to yourself. Don't change.

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

"Our work is never over"
                                               -- (Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger; Daft Punk)


        Okay, so it was admittedly pretty difficult to find a particularly meaningful quote from this rather (lyrically at least) repetitive song. I think I managed just fine though; our work is never over. 


        I bought a second Hurricane, specifically fit for artillery purposes, to take part in Suleiman's ever more famous artillery fleets and it didn't die unfortunately. I now had two insured and fully fitted battlecruisers sat in Hevrice V that needed to be used and once more Suleiman came through for me as he announced an impromptu roam down to some pvp hubs nearby. Excellent. After the fleet was ready we headed on out and I begged that today was going to be a better day for me. I used my autocannon cane for this roam as it was more in keeping with the gang's composition.


        At first things went slowly, managing only to best a cyno Kestrel in combat. We all have to get our kicks somehow right? The fleet consisted of a Drake, two Harbingers and two Hurricanes all shield and nano fitted. Unfortunately we lost a Harbinger on the way due to significant other aggro and we were down to four pilots; myself, Suleiman, Robert Mason and Sa'haira. As we cruised further away from home we came across a Tengu acting rather suspiciously in a Faction Warfare hub system. We set ourselves up 200km off the station and he thought himself smart to come directly to us... This obviously was a foolish move on his behalf. We kicked everything into high gear and leapt right on top of him, though he was incredibly fast and even a web couldn't keep him properly contained. He was also tanking us like a champion, with both myself and Suleiman throwing a duo of medium neuts on him each the entire time. As his tank began to fail the response fleet landed not 40km away, of which I saw a Curse and Hurricane before I decided to not even bother looking and just focus on this blasted Tengu that was only 25km off the station by now. Fortunately he could not hold on and he exploded in a wonderful isk bomb. We scooped and bugged out. 


        After some attempting to get a second engagement proving futile, we moved on and ganked a Vagabond that was safed in Tama. Always a pleasure. We continued on our merry way and found a gang consisting of a Dominix, two Drakes and Myrmidon camping the high-sec gate in Akidagi. We sent our new friend, who boosted the fleet by another Drake, Rajere (who is not flashy) to the gate and he was aggressed by the Myrm. We engaged and took him down along with a nosey Helios, though we couldn't get either of the Drakes down before they jumped into high-sec. Still with no losses we soldiered back to Tama to head on our way home. 


        By this time Sulei was fed up with my constant talking about pointless things and felt it only right to send me in as bait (fun stuff!) and I was warped to 0km on a Moa, instantly getting webbed and scrammed for good measure. The rest of the gang warped in as an enemy Drake, Hookbill and Tengu joined the fray. My shields were buckling as I tried to neut the Moa off me, burning away and hoping to get an microwarpdrive cycle off to give me some range. The guy sniped the Moa off me and I proceeded to burn for range with around 10% shields left. The Tengu bugged out and the Hookbill escaped in structure, though the Drake was not so fortunate. Feeling pretty good with our pristine efficiency we decided to head on home. 


        On the way, however, we spotted a Scorpion wanting to fight us. Sulei informed me that this particular fellow had produced a pvp video in regards to this specific Scorpion (though googling did not reveal such a thing for me) and we pulled him into a belt. He wasn't, however, alone. An Abaddon landed and Sulei called primary on it as the Scorpion was tanking our fleet. The Abaddon was gank fit and died in a fire when we put our battlecruiser might upon him! The Scorpion was ours for the taking now and succumbed to our fleet. High-fives went around and we zoomed on home, ganking an ex-corpie on a gate and finally finishing in Hevrice with another glorious cyno kill. 


        All in all it was a really fun roam and I got to grips with the Hurricane a lot more. I also burned through about 2000 rounds of Barrage M in total, to my dismay. I'm enjoying battlecruisers a lot and hopefully I have more lucrative endeavours to embark on in the near future in them. 


Until next time, fly safe. Oh and if you've never seen Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5secret 5star 5ystem and you like Daft Punk, then totally go find it and have a watch. Fun stuff. o7

Karma Police

Before I even start this blog post, I ask you all listen to this.



"Karma police
I've given all I can
It's not enough
I've given all I can
But we're still on the payroll

This is what you get
This is what you get
This is what you get when you mess with us

And for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself
Phew, for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself"


        Warning; the following post is a self-loathing rant built of spur of the moment emotions that may or may not last the hour. The fail-cascade of losses I'm currently putting myself through is infuriating. The continual loss of ships due to either ridiculous sized blobs or my own huge vat of stupidity is beginning to wear me down. I feel like what luck I've had in the past is wearing thin and the lessons I should be learning still won't stick!


I should be happy considering I've managed to simultaneously break the top 1000 on BattleClinic and hitting over 1 billion isk in ransoms, making me the highest grossing ransomer in the Tuskers. These are great achievements and I am truly happy, I just wish I actually had the current performance record to back up such statements. So many dumb losses and few quality kills to my name leave me really wanting to straighten up. 


This is made only more stressful under the growing concept that I am a 'true pirate', which is detailed in the blog post prior to this. Wanting to buy a Dramiel or Vagabond is a serious decision and when it comes up short on me, I'm left slapping myself on the wrist for being so careless (though I've never actually flown a Vagabond, too shiny). I want to sustain myself from piracy but I'm falling behind in the game, not having adequate means to track and kill my prey (through such things as probing alts to catch mission runners, a quick injection of ransom goodness). Here's to hoping that I can get my head put back on straight, I need to find myself again. 

House Of Wolves

"Tell me I'm an angel,
Take this to my grave.
Tell me I'm a bad man,
Kick me like a stray."
                                                  -- (House Of Wolves, My chemical Romance)


        I'm fast approaching a few milestones in my life in New Eden. Firstly, I'm about to enter the top 1000 pilots in New Eden according to popular killboard Battleclinic. In a year with the Tuskers I've grown into a competent pilot, whether I'll ever come to the point of being one of the best will be a matter of time and dedication. 


        Secondly (and more importantly) I am on the verge of breaking 1 billion isk ransomed since my time with the Tuskers. Whilst most can churn 1 billion out from other methods in no time flat, I'm rather proud to have a testament to my time as a pirate and the way in which I've come to product myself throughout daily life in New Eden. 


        As some of you may be aware, I've supplemented my piracy with my profession; piracy. I'd like to elaborate on what I do to make isk on a regular basis...

1. Taking the loot from the wrecks of my victims, selling on useless/unnecessary loot and retaining anything that could be useful in the future. I'm a hoarder.
2. Salvaging any Tech 2 wreck I may come across, should I happen to have a salvager nearby. The possibility of a quick and easy isk injection from an intact armour plate is just too good to miss. 
3. Seeking to always arrange a ransom with my target should it provide a profitable endeavour, whether through the ransom of a ship, pod or other means. 

        The important one here to look at, the aspect which makes me a pirate and not a pvper; ransoming. It boggles my mind why people generally act so negatively to the prospect of being ransomed. I personally conduct myself in such a manner as to let everybody win; the ransom will likely give me more isk than any potential loot drop (along with being readily available in liquid form removing need for logistical support), whilst being less than the cost of actually losing their ship and thus saving them time having to re-fit or travel home and by also saving them a modest sum of isk. I win, they win. Unfortunately though, they always want both parties to lose. Understandably many can be wary of being ransomed due to horror stories of being podded after parting with hard-earned isk.

        Many believe it's impossible to live through such means, though after a year I find myself still swinging. I lack the luxuries that others may of a prober, hauler (at least a competent one) and, as is the latest craze, boosting T3. Whilst I've contemplated going in and dedicating the time to set it all up and thus probably make myself a good bit of isk, after some conversations with other pilots about such manners I am often told that I'm a 'true' pirate and that such a thing is quite rare. I feel quite proud that some might think such things of me and I do wonder whether my way of life qualifies as true piracy and if so are there others out there that live the same life?


        I'm seeking to add a second parallel to the current blog, one solely built around documenting the facts on how I live; the expenses of each day, the profits. There'll be a good bit of room to cross between the two and I'm quite excited of showing that (hopefully) it's not so tough after all. 


Thoughts? Comments? I'd appreciate some initial criticism on the concept. 





P.S. We were all young once, I still get moving to this song.