A Devoted Career Path.

By the numbers we called them...
Belt VIII-3 clear, warping to the next. "Belt III-1 clear."
"Not another boring night belt hoppi-," I get cut off, "2 Hulks, Retriever, Bestower with a can in belt VI-1. I'm heading to the can, going to flip them." Giggling, I roger then begin aligning to the belt, "warping to the belt."

I drop out of warp, a grin on my face as I see Bella's Arbitrator class Cruiser, swiftly kicking in my Microwarpdrive and approaching in my Vexor class Cruiser. I stop and sit, waiting for them to agress.
Waiting...
The Bestower starts to move, it's cumbersome mass shuddering as it turns, the bloated dance of an overfed slaver hound. Readying my weapons to fire incase he was foolish enough to engage. Sensors picking up the velocity as he warps away. Off scan.
That was disappointing...
Several low-ranking Guristas appear on scan, two immediately targetting the weaker Retriever class Mining Barge. They engage and start tearing up the shield systems, the other two ganging up on one of the Hulks.

Outmatched, the other Despoiler rank Guristas Frigates get destroyed swiftly by the Hulk's Warrior II Light Combat Drones. I sigh and begin scanning the Retriever. 50% shields. Speaking to Bella over comms, giggling about the plight of the evidently oblivious Mining Barge.
Bella scans the ship, signs of life detected, capsule... had the pilot fallen asleep? Why weren't the Hulk's drones coming to their Corp mate's aid?
The shields finally crumble, armor melting rapidly as we watch, now into structure...
The hapless beast ruptures, the warp coil exploding under the strain. Quickly seizing the oppertunity, Bella checks the wreckage. Struck gold. One Erin Mining Laser Upgrade in the mangled structure, as well as some of the ore and other ship modules.
The capsule warps away. We wait again.

As I was about to give the order to leave, a Devoter class Heavy Interdictor appears, her war tunnel collapsing.
A dirty yellow canister icon appearing on the overview instead of our nice clean white icon. His ship aggressed.
Targetting him, we open fire, and engage our warp disruptors. Bella's Arbitrator primaried. I let loose my drones on the enemy ship, swiftly engaging my targetting matrixes to repair Bella's armor.
Cap running dry, booster popped. That's more healthy.
The Devoter's shield dying quickly. The damage on Bella slowing, he's switching target. Bella calling out, her drones gaining the agression. She recalls them and sends out Valkyrie class Medium Attack Drones in their place. Grinding away on the armor, cursing the Amarr for making such resilient armor. Bella's Energy Neutraliser systems stopping as I assume her capacitor couldn't take the strain, her Vampires still merrily sucking away on our target's power core.
His armor begins to melt under our onslaught, adrenaline coursing through my body.
Into structure, he fights back with valor as his once noble ship begins to be torn apart. Hyper velocity rounds peppering rents into his ship.

A moment of silence as the vessel begins to explode - the reason I became a capsuleer.
My heart beating as I look out, the capsule floating for a moment. A good fight.

Karma to Burn

The end of a chapter. One of my favourite ships destroyed.
I'll miss her, and know I'll be hard pressed to replace her - but all good things must come to an end.

A new local, Jack Carnifex. Hopefully not another of those mindless automated mining drones most intelligent people dislike.
His Hulk class Exhumer sat, surrounded by five canisters. I fly over and give his ship a gentle 440m/s nudge and begin the targetting protocols. "What? Are you calling me a macro miner?" He asks. "I was concidering doing a little asset redistribution, I'd blow up Jenna Talls, but it's a macro and most likely still has a wardec on." I sit there beside his canisters as he warps off, "Can you fit all of that in your giant rusty penis?" Giggling as I watch his Bustard Transport ship engulf the ore from the cans. "It has 5 low slots, 33356 m3."
"So, do you have a combat ship, or are you a complete carebear?" I enquire. "Yes. But not in usi." He sighs.
"I has a combat ship!" Pipes up an Achura by the name of Prozacxx. I look at the newcomer's information, "Cruiser?" "I has cruiser, where is pew?" She replies, giggling like a slaver hound with a new toy. "Bottom belt"
A Rupture class Cruiser warps in and I take a moment to look at it. Should I engage or not I ask myself. I shrug and smile, switching on my warp disruptor. It's a good day to die.
I approach at my maximum velocity and release my Hammerhead IIs, her Micro Warpdrive always nudging her out of range for my guns. From the moment I engage, I regret the decision.
One minute passes, she's into armor, no visible or noticeable tank, my shields long gone and armor repair units struggling to keep up with the incoming damage.
The end of my karma.
Good fight we agree, "I'm gonna miss that ship," chuckling as I dock my capsule.
"Hehe, put a mwd next time though. Afterburner makes ship sad."
I sigh and work out how much time it'll take to replace her, slugging out missions with my agent. Well, a lesson to learn. Always fit a Micro Warpdrive and ensure you're 100% certain as you engage.