Searching Signal......
Signal Acquired....
Begin Transmission....
Sergeant Seymore Justice reporting on recent patrol.
O.M.G. It wasn't five full minutes after I pulled my ship out of the equipment dealer's shop at McNeil Island, when I received a distress signal. A ship named Shaft_Tackapple requested backup to address a problem at Manhattan in New York System. I responded in the affirmative and began my first patrol in an all out battle with Lane Hackers and other baddies I have no knowledge of yet.
When I arrived, the battle was already hot and heavy. There must have been several ships on both sides, with more jumping in while others were blowing themselves to bits. I picked one Hacker and targeted him for most of the battle. His shields were taken care of fairly quickly, but I soon realized my ship had no hull damaging weapons. Not that it would've done much good. I could barely keep the enemy in front of me. I was flying my Roc bomber in amidst a bunch of VHF's. I felt like I was running a race with 20lb weights hanging on my legs. Turns were slow, aim was bad and although I got a few shots out, I knew I was a sitting duck.
Our group took out a few ships, but more seemed to arrive each minute. Soon, some of our group began to succumb to enemy fire. It wasn't long before I began to be the target of some particularly vicious Lane Hackers. I knew I was no match for their fighting skill. All I had was my experience as a veteran LPI officer to lean on. I immediately took cover behind a couple of Liberty Capital ships, but that only gave me a brief respite. My shields were shot and I was starting to run out of bots, so I took stock of my surroundings and dodged purple and blue rays of death, all the while seeking an escape that would enable me to fight another day.
With a quick glance at my nav map, I realized I was only about 8 clicks outside of Newark station. Newark Station!!! I never loved that place so much. I always thought that it was just a piece of garbage blocking my view of Planet Manhattan. Now, it was a warm and safe haven from the three Lane Hackers blazing ever closer to my tail. I dodged. I strafed. I performed every evasive maneuver I knew. Although it seemed an eternity, it was only a matter of minutes before the guns on Newark station began to fire back on those Lane Hackers and they quickly turned tail to find other prey.
What a relief. Although I didn't register any kills myself, I didn't perish in the fight either. I live to fight another day.
Pics of the battle:
Needless to say, there was a lot of action tonight. LPI life is never boring, that's for sure.