[This is the copy of a report I posted on my alliance forum]
When Marcel calls, we answer.
Fleet was to be composed of kiting tier 2 battlecruisers. I went ahead in a Helios to scout the systems we'd be roaming while the fleet was forming.
Entry point was Ouelletta. There had already been some kills in local with two corpses in space. One was identified as a Black Frog pilot who had lost his cyno alt. We didn't bother with the Anshar. Instead I looked for the Tornado that did the killing, but he soon logged after I got David's Drake got in system. With local down to four I moved on.
I found Dirty Worm belt ratting in Melmaniel, presumably fielding an active tanked Deimos based on his recorded losses. By now the fleet was up and moving. The BC gang was holding at the Melmaniel gate in Ouelletta awaiting my signal. However, Dirty Worm logoffskied when David started chasing him around. Moments later Dax Jr sighted equincu ocha, a Tusker pilot, in his Brutix heading to either Costolle or Murethand. David went on to pursue him.
Meanwhile Gunther Lutgens in a Legion had jumped to Ouelletta and came in contact with the crew. He quickly cloaked and got away. We didn't know then that Lutgens was equincu's armor boosting alt.
David made his way to Hevrice and docked at the Tusker's base station to find IK Thel, Thomas Castle(boosting Loki alt) and another pirate docked. Marcel positioned the main fleet in Muetralle. This is when he noticed equincu following. He had up-shipped to a Megathron at either Murethand or Melmaniel.
Marcel decided to seize the opportunity to engage a battleship at the gate. I requested everyone in fleet to kite the blaster ship at 15km. My biggest concern was, of course, his warp scrambler and web. It was quickly revealed that the Megathron was active tanked. David made his way back from Hevrice to Muetralle to provide additional fire to the gang. equincu was bent on killing Shrike's Harbinger. With good reasons, too. a) Shrike was fielding the slowest ship, b) he had the least SP, suggesting it could have the weakest tank, and c) the Megathron's defense was weak against EM and Thermal damage in comparative terms.
I ordered everyone to overheat guns until modules took 50% damage. As we feared, Shrike had been caught up by the Megathron and had already lost a portion of his armor. Another Tusker in a Tengu came through the gate. Luckily for us, he cloaked and went his way.
The Megathron's blasters was steadily shaving off Shrike's armor tank and he went into structure. Our fleet began overheating our guns for the second time. Shrike was given instructions to align to a celestial farthest from the Megathron and spam warp. Just when we though the Harbinger would die, a bright flash of light flickered on our screens. equincu's battleship had been destroyed.
Megathron kill: http://eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=12481202
Since there were no stations in Muetralle, we got to a safe spot to gather our senses. Back in Costolle, Dax Jr witnessed a sudden local spike. A Tusker BC fleet comprised of three Hurricanes, a Drake and Onyx were on our tail. This gang was led by Suleiman, their main FC. I called for an immediate evacuation to our high sec exit, Raneilles.
David lingered behind in Hevrice to chat with the locals. equincu was asking for a rematch.
[02:13:04] equincu ocha > round 2 ?
[02:13:19] David Vendetta > With Suleiman on our asses?
[02:13:25] equincu ocha > ?
[02:13:35] David Vendetta > He's heading back home
[02:13:39] David Vendetta > With Konig in an Onyx. :)
[02:15:16] equincu ocha > timing is horribly, wanted a remach, someother time then
[02:15:44] David Vendetta > Of course.
Soon enough Suleiman and equincu brought an Abaddon and Rokh to the gate I was orbiting in hopes of getting me to fire. I watched the sentry guns strip away their tank and did nothing. The Drake jumped out to safety at 70% shields. This isn't the end of it, though.
I was chatting on TeamSpeak with Marcel for a couple minutes when a pirate pod came into high sec. To my surprise, he got pointed by me. Nice token pod kill to end the roam.
Pod kill: http://eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=12481309
Lessons learned:
1. Kiting in a Harbinger isn't as easy as it sounds. A single webifier will allow one to escape scram range.
2. Overheating makes a huge impact - train Thermodynamics to at least IV.
3. Keep scouts in pipes so the fleet doesn't get ambushed from behind.
4. When you see a pirate pod, point it!
I love flying with you guys. :)
