Lanceville, Ducatillon IX

Here's my storm planet colony Lanceville on Ducatillon IX in Zaniverse:

Currently running 6 extractors, 5 Basic Processors, 4 Storage Facilities, 1 Advanced Processor and a Spaceport. I might could do away with a storage facility and add a factory.

Zaniverse, Planet Ducatillon IX and What to do with a Drunken Sailor

The spirits are in the hole! That's right, the beer and liquor run was successful. I have a happy crew and the crew has a happy Captain. There will be libations and parties all around Zaniverse tonight and probably some crew members on window washing detail tomorrow. Being in a space suit, hungover, really sucks. The weightlessness messes with your stomach and when you hurl there is only one place for it to go. The crew members who know me, know when to stop and the ones who don't, will.

We're on mining duty at the moment with my sensor operator's nose buried in the directional scanner.I love mining, it gives me time to reflect and plan my colony and have a few drinks. Planet Ducatillon IX will be laying it's foundations tomorrow evening. It's a good sized storm planet with magnificent sunsets, assuming of course you are not in the middle of a continent sized hurricane. If you are in the middle of a hurricane the light show is fantastic.

POS fuel will be the name of the game, coolant the specialty. We will see how it goes. I will be planet side over the weekend so I will have to get the colony self sufficient until my return. It will be tough setting up a new colony and leaving it to itself for two days but it has to be done.

Spirits are High, and in Great Demand

The crew has really come together and spirits are high. The first profit run was pretty good and everyone's mood soared. It's been a pretty quiet op so far, although a small gank group managed to take out a couple of our miners. Pretty well organized and stealthy from the sounds of it. We've recovered from the loses and for once I was not involved in the losing of ships.

The crew has discovered that we have no alcohol on board. I of course have known this all along and was not a bit concerned since I had my private reserves. Had being the keyword on the private reserves. Now that we are completely out I have decided to side with crew and blame our old scapegoat the first officer. Poor bloke is outside cleaning the bridge windows now. I'm trying to think of a new punishment for him but the crew does get such a kick outta this game.

Our current wormhole exit is in its last stages and hopefully the next one will lead to some spirits close by.

Wormholin It

This is where we like it, wormhole space, nothing like it. Open skies, good size chunks of rocks and you never know what will happen. The crew is really coming together well, not just on my ship but in the whole operation. Did a nice run back to HQ and picked up a surprise for everyone. If it works out, more iskies all around.

Unfortunately, my first officer forgot to remind me to stop off for alcohol. I have him disinfecting the ship to make sure we don't come down with Space Herpes. I saw a case of those spring up on a ship once, it's not a pretty site. They were a bunch of Ice Pirates out of Minmatar space, found some princess and came down with space herpes, was not, as I said, pretty!

Wormhole Mining Ops

We're setup, established and in resource gathering mode. At the point of each laser is either a roid "the big things" or a mining barge, the little things! The size of the roids are just ginormous! (100,000 to 200,000 units average).

Out on the Rim

It feels good to be back in the sky and in unknown space. Looks like things are getting started rather well this time around, knock on wood. The opening stages have gone well.

I mined my first Bistot tonight, mostly just to say I have. I don't think I'm as efficient at it as I should be but I couldn't resist. The crew is in high spirits but, it's the excitement from getting started, from spreading your wings after a long pause.Once the monotony sits in, and they find out we have no booze, we'll see how it goes. The potential for large iskies are out here so that should keep them focused.

Itching to Get Moving

The past month or so has seen me planetside much more than I would like. I've had to put in some repair time on my ships and have been studying up for my Hulk qualifications at the Academy. I miss the open sky.

I got to spread my wings a bit yesterday and took out the retriever for a mining op. Made some good ISK and was a good exercise for the crew. All went well.

My plans are coming together. The moonlighting I've been doing as a hauler is paying off and my plans are in motion. It will take some time but I'm really seeing some progress. Getting the Hulk will help make it come together even faster!

I miss the open sky and Frontier territory. I will be going back, soon.

Vulcan Retriever

Section 8 Logo

Crackin The Krakken

I've got a new ship, The Krakken. It's a battlecruiser, Drake style and it's bad ass. Been using it to help the Caldari Navy out. Not making friends anytime soon with the Gallente but hey, you can be friends with everyone. I may have to get some help with the current mission. We barely made it out with the ship, 3 Mil in repairs and I'm not quite sure I'm ready to go back. Maybe after a few beers.

Taking a little R & R with the crew planet side. Beautiful day for cooking out and listening to some music. Should be interesting to say the least. More when we return.

Looking for a Section 8

We must be crazy, we joined the Section 8 alliance. A lot of them have chosen to move down and help us start taking control of low-sec. I've already met some really good pilots and we've seen how the politics really come into play. I'm glad there are pilots who like to delve into the politics but it's too bad you can't elect to stay the hell out of them. Always seems like we're stuck in the middle of something but hey, that's how we like it. Would be boring otherwise.

It's time to start organizing the intel side of the alliance and see who's got interest. I do miss the days of hanging out, exploring and living in Wormhole though, I have to make that work out better next time. To do that requires ISKies though and seeing how I have very little, I better find us a job.

Going Dark

Running dark and running silent, just the way I like it out here. We're really on a roll and it won't take us nearly as long to get this system finished up as it did for the last one. 51 moons overall and about 2 hours time after all will be said and done. That also assumes we don't run into any unforeseen circumstances.

Crew is doing well. Of course it's my cream of the crop exploration crew. I've been asked a lot lately about the size of the crews on the different types of ships I fly. Of course the exact number is classified but I generally see it as follows:

Frigates: 5 - 15 crew members
Cruisers/Battlecruisers: 20 - 50 crew members
Battleships: 800 - 1500 crew members
Carriers: 2,000 - 5,000 crew members

Of course it all depends on the mission and the ship. For instance the survey and intel mission I'm on now requires about 4 crew members to safely keep the ship going around the clock. If we were conducting deep strikes then I may have double or triple that many in case we take casualties in battle and to assist with battlestations.

Eve Gate Expedition - Part II, The Journey Home

We'll, I've been out to the edge and took a look at the Eve gate. Just looked like more space. It was strangely settling somehow, though in a way that I can't explain. It could have just as easily been the beer. We're on our way back to HQ now. We'll have to figure out what to get into once we get there.

Eve Gate Expedition - Part I, The Search for Enlightenment

We've set off for a trip to the Eve Gate. I've heard only rumors but there is something that is drawing me there. I'm being accompanied by my first mate, the mechanic and the cook. All volunteered to go and understand the risk, they are all Caldari and they are feeling compelled to go as well. We outfitted a Condor with a prototype cloak, micro warp drive, cap charger and warp stabilizer. We're set for speed and hiding.

The Eve Gate is where our forefathers from Earth first entered into New Eden. Something destroyed the gate and it is said that there are still strong magnetic fields surrounding the remains. We've been warned not to go and it's almost like the place has turned into the edge of the universe or something. There is only one way to find out.

The first mate at least remembered to stock the beer cooler for the trip.

The Name of the Game is Intel

Two systems, 71 moons surveyed in 4 days and that includes drawing up the detailed POS and mineral report. There was one snag in the second op which was 52 of the 71 moons. I was trying to break in a new recruit.

After scanning 15 moons, he loses the results and had to start all over. It took every bit of patience I had not to turn the Chappa loose on this guy. He kept saying how every POS he warped to had warp bubbles and he was taking fire. I had to explain to him that those were the shields and he shouldn't target anything. What can you say besides, noob. He had some potential and a little interest he was just hard to get along with. Anyway, that's why my first officer's primary job is keeping the beer cooler stocked. Which.....

He forgot to stock the cooler with beer before we left port. He spent the rest of the mission washing the windows, on the outside of the ship. Yes, I did give this one a spacesuit and he survived. The best thing was waiting til he just got out of his suit and saying, "You missed a spot.". The whole crew got in on that one. Someone even filed out an official safety concern report about the smudge that was blocking his pristine view of space from the enlisted crews head.

I bet I have cold gorram beer on the next trip.