Mission: Anomalous17th September 2014 – 5.54 pm
We have more anomalies than I almost know what to do with. There are a handful of good ones too, but what can I do with them? I've finished my review of Oblivion, unless I want to mention the bombastic score too, but I think I've done enough. I suppose it depends on what these other two signatures are that have popped up overnight. I launch probes and scan, resolving gas and more gas to go with the rest of the gas accumulating in our system. I should probably generate some ISK for our operations.
To the tower, in to the Golem marauder, and out to the first anomaly of the evening. Rewatching Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol the other day, I couldn't help but wonder why it was revealed that Hendriks went to the meeting in the Burj Khalifa with a mask on. It was established that Wistrom, his right-hand man and choice for the disguise, hadn't met their contact, Moreau, otherwise the duped meeting with the M:I squad wouldn't have worked. Surely Hendriks knew that, so why disguise himself as Wistrom?
I can understand Hendriks perhaps not wanting to wander around without a disguise, because of his high profile status. I can almost understand him not wanting to send Wistrom to the meeting unsupervised, because of the high stakes in what was involved, although you'd think he'd trust his right-hand man more. But if you are Hendriks wanting to make sure you got the right materials, weren't double-crossed, and weren't recognised, why disguise yourself as your known accomplice? Wistrom essentially attracted just as much attention as Hendriks.
It would have made more sense for Hendriks to turn up wearing a completely neutral disguise, because he wouldn't have been tracked and Moreau wouldn't have noticed. Or wear a neutral disguise and pretend to be Wistrom's right-hand man for the deal, to be there, be represented, and still go unnoticed. It seems that the reveal of the mask was there solely to have one used in a manner that didn't spoil the plot by being entirely overused, as in M:I 2, and tucked away at the end of an action sequence in the hopes of its not making any sense going unnoticed. Maybe I'm missing something.
Two anomalies are cleared of Sleepers, and their wrecks are looted and salvaged to bring back a fair 170 Miskies of plunder. That's not bad. The first anomaly even had my Golem not sitting in a blinding fog bank, letting me enjoy the view. It was almost a pleasant experience. Now to poke our neighbouring class 3 w-space system in my Proteus strategic cruiser, see what's happening in today's local constellation.
Jumping to C3a has my directional scanner showing me nothing, although opening the system map and seeing just how much space there is between the planets makes the negative result less surprising. One planet is in range, and the system is 125 AU across. There doesn't look to be much too see overall, which there isn't, but the eight anomalies and six signatures are spread over so much volume that it feels like less. I launch probes and perform a blanket scan to see if I can add any ships to the signatures, and I can't. There aren't even any structures, none at all, so the system is unoccupied.
I scan. Gas, wormhole, wormhole, relics, and a wormhole. There's a lot of space between our K162 and the wormholes, and as there's no occupation to watch I am in warp to each connection as soon as it is resolved. A K162 from class 4 w-space could be interesting, the static exit to low-sec obviously leads to Domain, and a K162 from class 2 w-space would be much more attractive if it weren't at the end of its life. Never mind, I pop out to Domain to bookmark the K162 in low-sec, duly noting the three extra signatures should I need more to scan, then back to C3a and across to see what's waiting for me in C4a.
My goodness, it's the nexus of w-space: J100001. Naturally, there is a tower lacking ships visible on d-scan, and although a big cluster of green highlights fourteen anomalies there are only two signatures present. Maybe the other one is a K162. I warp away from the wormhole and tower, launch probes, and blanket the system. Nope, the other signature is weak, clearly not a K162. Curious, and because it's just one, I identify the signature as gas. There's nothing else to do in this system, and I head back to low-sec to see what the signatures are there. Back through a now-dying C247 to C3a, a clear indication that I'm hours late to whatever activity there might have been.
Three extra signatures in low-sec, three wormholes resolved. I warp to the first, wondering how many will be a result of the explosion of empire-empire connections tonight, and drop out of warp next to, huh, another K162 from deadly class 6 w-space. These seem more frequent too. The second wormhole is an N944 to more low-sec, leading to Essence from the colours, and relatively useless. The last is a K162 from class 5 w-space. Not great options, but I work with what I've got.
In to C5a and d-scan is clear, a blanket scan revealing seventeen anomalies and ten signatures. Again there are no ships and no structures. I've done enough here. Back to low-sec, across to the other K162, and in to C6a. D-scan is clear, and I have to page my way through fifty-six anomalies to see the fourteen signatures, lack of ships, and sole structure somewhere in the system. That ain't no on-line tower. I'm not finding anything tonight, it seems. Not with this attitude, at least, the attitude of going home to get some sleep.
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