I ran into Melay Asuka. in Onga earlier as I was looking around the asteroid belts. She was in a Hulk mining, a nifty ship really. The design is from ORE and they know how to tear asteroids apart.
At first I wasn't sure if I was going to chat with her...I've been a little cagey just randomly speaking out of the blue. It is a bit different than talking to a person face to face. But I've resolved to get out there, as people won't be coming to me begging to chat, so I sent a query to chat and got a response.
Melay Asuka > Hya
Miko Stargazer > Awesome ship. I've heard about hulks and how awesome they're supposed to be.
Melay Asuka > Best solo mining ship there is , even better in a fleet with an Orca as Backup
Miko Stargazer > Wow...that thing is huge...it's over a kilometer across.
Melay Asuka > Yes , its just a shame its only a mining support ship so its no use directly mining
Miko Stargazer > Too bad.
Miko Stargazer > How goes mining these days? I've not really tried it myself.
Melay Asuka > Depends , Only mining here for a manufacturing job , in the More remote systems I normally mine in I can make 7 of 8 Mil per Hour, Low Sec 10 to 12 mil per hour.
It was a bit crazy talking about such sums of money. A guy I spoke with very early on had sent me some isk to welcome me to space, but it's still hard to get used to such massive amounts of money being tossed around in space so casually. Melay was obviously experienced and quite knowledgeable. She told me a bit about other ores and where I could find plagiosite, omber, and kernite. She also told me about some ores I could only find in pirate space, but she seemed unafraid herself as long as she had escorts.
She also got me very interested in some things.
Miko Stargazer > Guess I'll have to head into pirate space eventualy then. Idea of being blown up is a bit scary still
Melay Asuka > No problem as long are you are carful
Melay Asuka > Fit a cloak , and use a small fast ship
Miko Stargazer > I have been thinking about that ^^
Melay Asuka > Covert Ops ship & Covert ops cloak , and you can go anyware in almost total safety
Miko Stargazer > thanks for the advice
Miko Stargazer > I really enjoy exploring around. But there's still lots of high sec to explore before it comes to that ^^
Melay Asuka > There is a lot of high sec thats hidden as well , if you learn how to use probes and scanners , the 90% of high sec that is hidden will open up as well
Miko Stargazer > ah. I've been wanting to be able to find some of the stuff I see on directional scanners too. There's a lot of stuff to do out there. Who knows...I might even find a way to make isk while I do it :P
Melay Asuka > Codebreaker and Analyzer
Melay Asuka > When you find hidden sites they can open up the finds , and there can be a lot of ISK to be had
Really....I have never thought there would be isk to be had just flying around exploring. But I suppose when there are gems of the heart to look at and admire, there are often real gems around too. There's still a lot out there to explore, so I'm in no hurry, but I definitely want to look into analysis and code breaking to take advantage of my exploration. It fits in perfectly with my plans right now and just lets me explore even more. Though ....the skill input nodes are still damaged on my pod system and some sort of overhaul will need to be done. Not many stations repair things like this. Usually if your learning chip systems are damaged it's because your pod was just opened up to vacuum.
the other thing we talked about was the area that gave me the most thought.
Melay Asuka > This is my 'Scout' ship Slitherine
She sent me a database-link to a covert ops vessel, but I was surprised because it was Amarran.
Miko Stargazer > A Minmatar girl using Amarran ships. Scandalous :P
Melay Asuka > Well the former owners did not need it anymore :)
Miko Stargazer > hehe
Melay Asuka > and anyway me and the amarr have a agreement with each other
Miko Stargazer > oh?
Melay Asuka > as soon as we spot each other we open fire
Miko Stargazer > So I see^_^
There are public postings of empire security rankings. Agents often use these listings as a way to decide who to hire and they also can tend to define people on the death list of an empire. And Melay's security standing with the Amarr was low enough she wasn't exaggerating at all. She'd get attacked the moment she entered Amarr territory.
Really Melay was the first person I'd spoken to who was very involved in the Minmatar Amarr conflict. Even if she wasn't in a militia in her own way she was fighting for the cause. If you remember I mentioned I don't hate the Amarr. I'd be considered weak willed by some people but I can't let myself go down that route of blind hatred.
Still, I am a bit of a minority. My younger sister Tara even could be considered a true patriot. She's young still and not a militant at all. However I've seen the ruminations in her eyes...a sort of faraway look when the Amarr or the Republic Navy is mentioned. We all draw different lessons from the past but I worry that some lessons lead us down a circular path forcing us to repeat yesterday's tragedies. I wonder if my sister will one day become like Melay, a fighter for the cause. I wonder if I'll become that one day if I find an atrocity of some sort in my journeys.
It seems like there is so much pain out in the universe with so many people believing in so little. And it feels like the universe is truly bent away from justice and leans to the strong. That's the lesson some of the Minmatar have taken, wanting to be able to grind the Amarr to ash if they can. It's perhaps the lesson both the Gallente and Caldari have learned in their fights with each other. I met someone bordering on Nihlism as she was passing through.
Another woman in onga caught my eye, as I saw her warping towards a gate in a Caldari battleship. I was interested and tried to talk to her a bit too, but she seemed preoccupied.
Miko Stargazer > Hey ^^
Windy Rockbell > Um, hello
Miko Stargazer > Sorry if I'm being a bother. I was just curious what you were doing all the way out here.
Windy Rockbell > Getting discounts. Got this Raven down here cheaper than I could in The Forge
Miko Stargazer > Ahhh...weird finding Caldari stuff at a better price here
WindyRockbell > Eh, you find everything everywhere. The corp I was in a lil while ago had lots of Minmatar flying Minmatar stuff. Equipment isn't empire specific much these days
Miko Stargazer > I see.
Miko Stargazer > Huh...but you just left recently. Did something happen?
WindyRockbell > Lot's of things happened.
WindyRockbell > The whole system is broken so I decided to take some time off
Miko Stargazer > aww. Sounds like a bad time.
WindyRockbell > Well, I worked in the corp for a while, but in the last few weeks become really familiar with the corruption and bullshit that can go on.
WindyRockbell > High Sec isn't much better than low sec, instead of pirates you have to deal with extortionists.
Miko Stargazer > How does that work?
WindyRockbell >
WindyRockbell > CONCORD is useless. What kind of protective force has corruption built into it so anyone can pay them off to look the other way?
WindyRockbell > Anyway, going afk for now. Have a good night.
And it was over with my short talk with Windy. She seemed to be burning with anger and I don't really know the details but it was enough to make her lose faith even in CONCORD. It was strange for me. I'd always seen CONCORD and the DED forces as the saviors in case someone tried to take a shot at me. I've heard about them flying in seconds after an attack and blowing the offenders out of the sky. The idea they were fallable....corrupt even was strange.
But she was right in a way. CONCORD has established rules for corporations to fight each other in high security space. I'm trying to find the history for these rules but it probably had to do with so many corporations causing trouble they decided to let them duke it out together. I can see how that could be abused...it's not like both corporations have to agree to the fight.
The most interesting thing to me was the attitude she had considering she's Caldari. She didn't seem like it was just a matter of falling profit margins. She was angry...hurting that corporation hurt her. I wonder if you could pull that into my theory about the Caldari losing their home planet...a corporation becomes a sort of home surrogate. They have each other, and the attachment to rocks or land becomes weakened, leaving just money to be made.
I checked with public records and Windy actually joined another corporation. Hopefully she's finding some more joy there. The universe is too beautiful and vast to become saddened by humanity's failures. We just have to move forward the best we can. I felt like I understand Eden a little better, having talked with Melay and Windy. Hopefully I'll learn even more as time goes by.
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