Lost in a Wormhole

The blackness of space ravages my mind.

It has been almost a year since that fateful day. I had found new wealth in shipping goods between regions -- my small contribution to serving the people of the Empire. I finally had the resources to buy the finer ships of the galaxy, including the largest freighters to support my trading federation. But I wasn't content. Null space was a mess, overrun by savages lacking any code of conduct. High security space was a bore. And with pirates as active as ever in high security shipping lanes, my freighters were locked up in space port with most of my shipments still using the sexy but limited deep space transports.

That is when I saw the shimmer. It drew me in a first glance. It drew me in with a dance of colors that ebbed and flowed that seemed somehow both random and orderly at the same time. It was like no wormhole I had encountered before. On any other day I might have turned away to avoid the unseen dangers, but this was no ordinary day. Dissatisfied with known space and mesmerized by the wormhole to worlds unknown, I charged forth with all the bluster of a drunk sailor on a mission.

That was almost a year ago. I've seen amazing worlds and unbelievable stellar phenomena, but I am lost among the stars. I yearn to go home without any idea how to get there. At my wits end, coasting on the fumes of a starving fusion reactor, I suddely saw something familiar. A glimmer of light. And a glimmer of hope. First, a moment of disbelief. Then, of heighened excitement, as I burst from my chair and spilt my drink. The way home! That's it! Then, finally, a feeling of dread. What husk of a shell of what was already a decaying Empire would I find when I get back? Would anything be the same? Would anything be left worth returning home for?

My sudden dread came about so suddenly as to leave me in shock. At that moment, I remembered the Mystic who spoke to me many years ago. Such an odd encounter at the time. "Heart and mind", she told me. Alone, the heart can leave you in chaos, and the mind can make you cold. Only together can they find balance, and lead you out of the dark. "You will find yourself in the dark one day", she said. "Let your heart be the Captain, and your mind the Navigator."

I think I understand now. My heart yearns to reconnect with my people. To try to make things right. My mind can help me get there, and keep me steady on the journey. It's time. I'm going home.

Finding Redemption

A pilot sits alone.  He ponders the chain of events leading to his current situation.  His ship is surrounded by his fleet, but an uneasy feeling is growing inside him.  His fleet, under the boot of his organization, is preparing to destroy another defenseless freighter in violation of Empire law.  And for what purpose?  The lies are so many he is drowning in them. 

All of the Empire stand against him.  His only friends, the ones who are with him in his fleet, scurry about like dingos over a lost baby deer that calls out helplessly for it's mother.  Friends who relish in lies, deception, greed, and an empty feeling of power over the defenseless.  Of what quality are such friends?  Is he ready to give away his integrity and honor -- perhaps his very soul -- for the brief membership in a pack of wild dogs that will only lead to inevitable betrayal and abandonment?  It is their nature.

He just wanted a friend.  He just wanted to be a part of something.  Now a cold dark leash tightens around his neck.  The devil is at his door with welcoming arms. 

What if there was a way out?  Could he reclaim his soul?  Could he reclaim his honor?  Could he find redemption?  A voice whispers out from the cosmic dark:  "I believe in you.  You still have a choice."  So long, grasped by darkness, suddenly the pilot dares to hope. 

The fleet moves in for the kill.  One ship turns back.  One pilot, who spares his own soul.  He knows the road to redemption will be long and challenging, but real friendship awaits him at the end.  Real friends look forward to welcoming him one day, in time, when that trust has been earned.  One brave soul who turned his back on the devil and found hope waiting on the other side.  A tear runs down his cheek.  The fleet is gone in a flash of hatred.  His ship sits alone.  But he no longer need be.  The pilot is surrounded by hope for a brighter future.  He sets his course for redemption.  A long road.  But worth the trip.

The hands of darkness will never cease trying to pull him back.  But the pilot need only remember The Great Dictator's Speech, and the hands of darkness will never again be able to grasp him.  It's powerful words echo in his head.  "Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty!"

Why Autopilot Drops Warp 15km From Stargate

If you hang around rookie chat for long, you'll undoubtedly hear the following common question come up from a new pilot:  How do you make Autopilot drop warp closer to the stargate?  The answer of course is:  You can't.  The obvious follow up question is:  Why not?  A fair answer is:  That is the price to be paid, and rightfully so, for the convenience of Autopilot.  Some pilots might find this answer unsatisfying, but most veteran pilots agree with it.  However, for those who want more to the answer, let me provide a bit of lore, straight from my own imagination, as to why this Autopilot handicap exists.  You'll have to forgive me if my lore conflicts with any existing lore, as I am not an expert on Eve lore.

It all started long ago, before Autopilot even existed.  The Gallente ship manufacturers were looking for a way to give their ships an edge in pilot favor over the rival factions.  Many Gallente mining ship captains  were making long treks into Caldari and Amarr space to mine Pyroxeres which was in high demand at the time.  Gallente ship manufacturers saw this as their opportunity to garner favor from tired captains making long journeys by introducing Autopilot.  Autopilot was rushed into service and quickly became a favorite feature among freighter and mining ship captains.  For a time, this gave the Gallente ship manufactures the edge they wanted, but the rival factions were quick to introduce their own versions of Autopilot to even the playing field.  Soon it seemed almost everyone was taking advantage the new Autopilot capability, either on new ships or retrofitted onto older ships.  It was the golden age of Autopilot.  Until the heiress Itania Ferlord of Itamo VI decided to take a voyage to see the Impro ruins on Inaya IX.

The heiress and her companions boarded the family luxury Cruiser which had recently been retrofit with Autopilot.  They left port from Itamo VI and set Autopilot for Inaya IX before heading to the Cruiser lounge to relax.  Everything went fine until they reached the stargate in New Caldari, which was just called Caldari at the time, to jump to Josameto.  This gate link was a key route and bottleneck between vast regions on either side.  Traffic was always heavy at this stargate, but was unusually heavy that day due to a massive trade event in Jita drawing in travelers from far corners of the galaxy. 

As the heiress' Cruiser was coming out of warp at the stargate to Josameto, something went wrong.  The retrofitted Autopilot on the Cruiser was unable to determine a safe drop out of warp.  Some blame the hasty adoption of insufficiently tested Autopilot systems, other blame it on sloppy work of the retrofitters, while still others blame the excessively high traffic all trying to jump into basically the same place at the same time.  Some say it was a combination of all of these factors.  Whatever the cause, the end result was horrific.  The heiress' Cruiser dropped out of warp slightly off the mark and right into the side of the stargate's main power core while the stargate was active with a Trade Delegation Freighter passing from Josameto to Caldari.  The stargate exploded in a massive burst resulting in an uncontrolled subspace surge.  Millions of miles around the area were exposed to the effects of subspace after the subspace corridor containment was lost.  An estimated 37 ships were destroyed in the initial stargate explosion, but that was just the beginning.  The effects of subspace had such great effect on nearby Caldari VI that it fell into a decaying orbit.  Just three days later, Caldari VI was consumed by the Caldari sun.  In addition to the horrors of the immediate losses, economic depression persisted for decades due to the destruction of such a significant stargate corridor. 

Afterwards, Autopilot systems were for a time banned.  Later it was agreed that Autopilot systems would only be allowed if they dropped out of warp at least 15km from stargates.  In more modern times, some say Autopilot is so mature that it would now be safer than manned warps to stargates, but the 15km limit endures nonetheless.  Caldari had been so dramatically affected that it was renamed to New Caldari.  Caldari VI, home to roughly two million settlers, was no more.  Stories survive to this day of horror stories told by survivors who escaped Caldari VI, but official records say that Caldari VI had no survivors.  It took two years for a new stargate to be opened restoring travel between systems, but economics of the region were forever changed.  No one knows what happened to the Trade Delegation Freighter that was in the subspace corridor at the time of the incident, but legend says it dropped out of subspace inside of Caldari V.  Some surveyors and explorers still hunt to this day for this lost ship beneath the crust of New Caldari V.