A Loki intentional

I’ve very rarely engaged a target that I was certain knew I was there. Back when I was camping RSE, I had come across a mining operation including two coveters and a hauler. I’m pretty sure that one of them saw my bomber on scan when I came through the WH becasue all but one of them went back to the tower. I was watching their tower where two of them had gotten into interceptors while a third was in a cov ops. The only remaining miner continued in his Coveter. I saw the cov ops cloak at the mining site where my bomber was working into position on the Coveter. One of the interceptors stayed at the tower while the second one came out to the mining site. He warped around between a few different places, occasionally coming back to the mining site.

All this behavior was telling that they knew I was there, and that they knew I was in a bomber. What they had failed to indentify is that I knew more about them than they did about me. I saw where the cov ops cloaked so I got well away from that spot to prevent it from warp disrupting me, although I would have the sensor recalibration and lock time as a barrier if he had moved. I knew they had an inty at the tower, but I would know when it warped off. The only threat was the inty that was roaming. I waited for him to warp in and then as soon as he warped out, I uncloaked and engaged, knowing that the inty would have to wait through two warps to get back. I collected the KM and recloaked before anyone returned, although the inty did come screaming back not long after. Once he left again I uncloaked and popped the wreck before I gtfo. It was a great kill, they were trying to bait me, but I managed to out wit them and get the kill right under their noses. Even though my recent kill, by KM standards, is far more impressive, I am far prouder of that Coveter kill. I will elaborate later.

I was roaming back into the holes I had probed out earlier in the day and found a Loki on scan. It was in the hole with the reinforced tower. I knew I couldn’t solo it in my bomber so Ellemshaye was my only hope of getting the kill. He was the only other person on in the corp. I have flown with Ellemshaye off and on since we started the game together years ago and I couldn’t have been happier when he said that he was around our home base and that he still had his Sleipnir fitted up. I quickly got my PVP Hurricane and we met at the hole entrance. At about the same time the Loki finished the site he was in and warped to 60km off the hole we were coming through. Ellemshaye jumped first and reported to me that the Loki was 60km off and asked if he should engage or hold his cloak. At this point I figured our little operation was over.

I figured what the hell, try and burn to him and tackle him. I jumped my Hurricane through and told him to engage. He immediately came back that the Loki had just warped off. We thought he had seen the Sleipnir uncloak. I almost threw in the towel, figuring he would just head home and not risk the possible fight. I decided for a T3 kill I mine as well see if I can track him down. To my surprise he seemed stationary someplace near the inner planets. By this time both the Sleipnir and Hurricane were decloaked and we sloppily left them at the hole (we assumed the fight was over anyways). After a few minutes of trying to figure out what was going on I combat probed him and warped to 100km on his sig. To my utter surprise an anomaly description popped up as I initiated warp. Was he actually running a site with two battlecruisers uncloaked and on his scan?

When I came out of warp I got my answer… yes. Admiral Ackbar was screaming in my ears… “It’s a TRAP.” Ellemshaye and I both agreed we were willing to lose our ships to find out and possibly get a T3 kill. We warped in and absolutely annihilated him. I nueted him into the Stone Age and the Sleip made short work of him DPS wise. The sleepers got me to about 30% armor when he popped and I warped out, but no one ever came to avenge him. Ellemshaye grabbed the loot and warped off. It just so happens that both the Loki pilot and I chose the closest planet to warp to, and I podded him. Matt reported the loot, we celebrated and exited.

We were ecstatic about the kill, but where was the challenge. Despite being on scan for what we estimated to be more than 3 minutes this guy was completely oblivious to our presence. He fought back, but the sleepers worried me more than he did. Honestly it was like curb stomping an infant and then taking his designer pacifier.