Signal Cartel

Editor’s Note: Continuing our Signaleer Series and this is another one done in character which as a roleplayer I really enjoy. Well, I enjoy all of them!

Katherine Skysong

Orbiting above Zoohen III, I look out the view wall of one of the bars on Theology Counsel Tribunal station, wondering at the sight. It’s still all so very new. If someone were to look at me, I mean really look, they would see the boot just graduated from the Naval Academy and still not used to wearing a clone body. I self-consciously smooth out my jacket as I wait for Katia Sae. Why I volunteered for this interview I still don’t know. I guess it had more to do with meeting an explorer’s explorer than anything I might have to say about myself.

I see Katia enter from across the bar. At first I could hardly recognize her, dressed much more casual than she appears on the holovids and with her hair free from the ponytail she’s normally seen wearing. It wasn’t until she smiled and waved on seeing me that gave her away. After ordering some drinks and some polite conversation, Katia began the interview. “Why did you become a capsuleer?”

Why did I become a capsuleer? Simple answer: That was the only way to get into a position where I could explore. I don’t think I want to go too deep into all the reasons so let it suffice that I grew up in a family with two brothers and two sisters. Very early on the passions of my parents had been sown in my twin sisters and I. Oh, that’s right, you probably haven’t met my sisters. Autumn is my older sister by a few minutes and Kristine is my younger sister by a few minutes. All three of us became capsuleers about the same time. Fortunately for Signal Cartel, the corp only has to put up with me.

Katia smiled at my last remark then asked, “Tell me about your background as a pilot? Did you jump right into exploration?”

If you hand me a square of paper about two by two centimeters then I can give you my entire portfolio! Once I became a capsuleer and went through the intensive clone training, I went right into academy training and graduated. I worked with the Federal Naval Academy for seven days then found my first corporation. I lasted just four days with BSC before finding, and being accepted by, Signal Cartel. I’m proud to say that I’ve been with Signal Cartel for 181 days now and have no desire to go anywhere else. The opportunities here are boundless. The learning curve to survive deep space is immense and the crew here are ever helpful. I’ve been slowly making friends and gaining responsibilities beyond my wildest dreams.

“Do you have a goal, have you achieved it?”

Space has always been my goal. Having the freedom to explore space and its many wonders. My long term goal is to eventually find our birth place. It’s something my sisters and I share very deeply. I mean, who doesn’t want to know where they came from?! And no, we didn’t expect to find it in our first few months in space. We’re already of the mindset that this will be a lifelong endeavor.

As I’m forever reminded of by my sisters, I’m ankle deep, having dived in head first with Signal Cartel. I’m somewhat active with Search and Rescue as well as Rescue Cache Tending along with helping to get our internal Signal Cartel Academy up and running, and have joined the staff of our internal Fleet School. Some would accuse me of being spread too thin – I’m looking at you my older sis – but I say you rise up to the challenges set before you. But always first and foremost is my goal, our goal, of finally completing the family quest and that might be another story someday.

“I’ve got an older brother, I know just how you feel.” Katia chuckled. “You mentioned only being in your first corp for four days? That’s a little surprising, if I’m being honest. So tell me, what made you… jump ship, no pun intended, to Signal Cartel?”

Exploration and their Credo! Unequivocally. To quote from part of our Credo: “We embrace the attitude of a true explorer: we are friendly to others in our travels, neutral and never initiating aggression, and endeavoring at all times be perceived by the New Eden community as a non-threat. Although we never intentionally seek to harm, we may defend our friends and our ships. In suffering losses, we respond with good cheer and shed no tears. In this way, we aim to be recognized and respected by all across the cluster and left in peace to do our work.”

Having been on a few SARs to rescue lost pilots in J-Space I find the task supremely satisfying to the soul. Having stepped in to help mentor brand new capsuleers who join our ranks, I feel a sense of serving. Again, very satisfying. Stepping up to lead fleets leaves me feeling like I’m inspiring others to also step up. I have long embraced the philosophy of “All it takes for evil to conquer is enough good people to do nothing.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more, I immediately jumped ship when I read the Credo for the first time.” Katia winked at me then went on to explain her own experience, “It just resonated with my soul and it was how I always tried to fly throughout the cluster, but I had never put it into words. Seeing it in writing was liberating and I knew I had to join right away. So, speaking of flying and jumping ships, what ship do you enjoy flying the most while exploring?”

I love the Sisters of Eve ships! I can’t say that enough. I was flying a Stratios, ‘Sky Dreamer’, until it got shot out from under me. So, back to one of my Asteros, ‘Sky Seeker’, for more flying. I almost forgot how personal the Astero is, and how agile. Don’t get me wrong. I started in an Imicus and loved that little beauty. But nothing compares to the clean lines of a SoE ship.

I still fly several other ships. It takes quite a while to get to a point where you can sit in any particular ship larger than a Cruiser. In my collection I have a Badger, Omen, Harbinger, several Catalysts, a Heron, an Imicus, and a few others. I’m budgeting towards another Stratios and soon, a nice T3 Strategic Destroyer.

“Tengu best goo, I always say, but I do love my Astero. So, during your travels, what has been the most interesting fact, amazing sight, or other aspect of New Eden that has surprised you?”

Wormholes and J-Space. The corp I joined right out of the Academy cautioned strongly about going into wormholes. Until I joined Signal Cartel I had never been in one. In fact, I remember the first time I scanned down a wormhole. I warped to 100 kilometers to see it and stayed there hoping it would not suck me in. That’s when I found out from other corp members that they never go into them and they would not say anything further.

Now, I can’t wait to find a wormhole and dive into the splendor of J-Space. Yes, most of them have planetary systems. Some have nebula. Some are shattered by some long forgotten force. And all of them are worth parking for an hour or more, sitting back and just taking in the vistas.

“I love hearing that!”, Katia smiled. “I hope others find encouragement from your words. What other advice would you give to someone interested in exploring New Eden?”

It’s not about the ships. It’s not about the ISK. It certainly isn’t about the skills. It’s about the thirst to see what’s around the next bend. The drive to reset your budget with every setback. The will to keep going even when you don’t feel like you know what you’re doing. Enjoy the successes and learn from your mistakes.

“So true and thanks so much for doing this interview. One last thing, do you have a favorite image that you wouldn’t mind sharing?” Katia asked.

As far as a favorite picture? I guess I need to work on putting an album together. I did find this planet wonderful and mesmerizing, quite soothing actually to watch. Seeing storms like this from above just reminds me of the grandeur of some of the simpler things in life.

I also managed to snap this image in one of my last fleet actions in the DPS wing. We were on a mission to clean a J-Space system of those nasty Sleepers. How we ended up so close to a star was just one of the many serendipities I’ve experienced.

Editor’s Note: Another in our Signaleer Series! Hope folks are enjoying these. It’s my hope that seeing ship fits, learning experiences, good stories, and screen shots will encourage others to get out there and explore!

What attracted you to EVE Online and how long have you played?

I started playing EvE because I found an advertisement on Steam. After a little research, it looked like a fun game to try. I didn’t realize how big it actually is and on discovering there is no end game, made it even more interesting. It will take YEARS to get all the skills, and I’m slowly on my way.

What is your background as a pilot? Did you jump right into exploration, start in the military, hired by a corporation, or something else?

From day one, I was all about PvE combat. I joined a Null Sec corp early on, after discovering how mind numbingly missions are which taught me a lot about the sites, resistances, ships I could use, etc. That’s also where I started my love for fitting! I like tweaking my ships, seeing if I could just a little more DPS/Tank/Cap to make it more agreeable with my play style. It also gave me a huge wallet and I ended up getting my character (REDACTED) into carriers and super carriers, which started a whole different aspect of gameplay.

What attracted you to explore New Eden? What is your goal and have you achieved it?

As stated, I was mostly a combat pilot. I had ventured into wormholes, but was only really there to see how they worked. When I quit the Null Sec corp I decided to give my alt (Null Flare) a try as he wasn’t so focused on skills (I had made him for a Tengu to use as a cyno alt, so he had some of the requirements for covert ops and such).

What attracted you to Signal Cartel? Any corp related experiences you’d like to share and/or any Credo related stories that would be of interest?

First and foremost, it was the Credo. After reading it and finding out there were corps not interested in mass murder, but instead of helping fellow pilots and that they were banded together by a few words that effectively stopped them killing other players, I was in! It was only after joining I discovered how great a corp it actually was. Corp related experiences always has to be my first Rescue and my first Fleet! Unfortunately mine were not very much worth it for a story, but they were memorable to me. My real interest though is playing with ships (fittings). I spend a lot of time in station, with the fitting window open, doing random searches and seeing what I can make.

What is the name of your favorite ship that you enjoy flying the most while exploring?

Hmm, probably the Legion Tech 3 Amarr cruiser. I can fly all the cruisers (cruiser 5 for all factions) and out of all my experiences, the Legion has been the most fun. It’s setup nicely for both wormhole exploration and combat. The main fit I use is a little blingy (2.5 billion isk) on top of a clone with High-Grade Asklepians. I can easily swap between a laser or ham setup, but I prefer the lasers myself.

[Legion, Doom Eagle]
C3-X ‘Hivaa Saitsuo’ Ballistic Control System
C3-X ‘Hivaa Saitsuo’ Ballistic Control System
Centii A-Type Adaptive Nano Plating
Corpum A-Type Medium Armor Repairer
Centii A-Type Adaptive Nano Plating
Corpum A-Type Medium Armor Repairer

Republic Fleet 10MN Afterburner
Thukker Large Cap Battery
Zeugma Integrated Analyzer

Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Sisters Expanded Probe Launcher
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Auto Targeting System II

Medium Gravity Capacitor Upgrade II
Medium Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer I
Medium Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer I

Legion Core – Augmented Antimatter Reactor
Legion Defensive – Covert Reconfiguration
Legion Offensive – Assault Optimization
Legion Propulsion – Wake Limiter

Hornet EC-300 x10
Acolyte II x10
Infiltrator II x10

Sisters Core Scanner Probe x44
Caldari Navy Inferno Heavy Assault Missile x15396
Sisters Combat Scanner Probe x24
Medium Capacitor Control Circuit II x1
Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump II x1
Missile Guidance Computer II x1
Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump I x1

During your travels, what has been the most interesting fact, amazing sight, or other aspect of New Eden that has surprised you?

Hmm, again that’s a difficult one. I loved seeing the Titan fights in Null Sec. I got to witness a pipe bomb and a starburst happen. I find the general High Sec battles boring. When you have 100+ ships deep in Null and blowing bits out of each other’s hulls, sitting in a cloaked frigate and watching the action can be a lot of fun!

Possibly my most interesting time was when I was travelling through our Null Sec systems and found an abandoned super carrier. I pinged it on dscan and thought, hmm. ‘Not a lot of combat sites, what the heck’? So, I went to investigate. And lo and behold, an empty Hel with no pilot and nobody in local. I was in a cheap clone, in a cheap travel ship, so I thought why not? Jumped out of my ship and got into the Hel. Full ratting set up, estimated cost 22 billion isk with fighters. So, I aligned and jumped it to our local market and picked up the isk! This was long before Signal Cartel and the Credo, when making ISK was my main goal. 🙂

What have you learned or what advice would you give to someone interested in exploring New Eden?

Get out there and do it! You don’t need a 2 billion isk Legion and you don’t need a lot skills. Get into a cheap frigate and go to Molea, go to see the statue, get lost in a drifter wormhole and find the Sisters of EvE fleet. You will get blown up, you will get podded by other players, but you’ll quickly learn it’s a game and meant to be enjoyed. I’ve lost enough ships over my characters that ships are ammo, meant to be used and abused, lost and repaired. It always amuses me when folks get into chat and go ‘I lost my …’ It happens! Don’t be so surprised. Have a few million isk and go buy another one.

Do you have a favorite image from your explorations?

I’m not one for screenshots, I don’t usually take them, but there was one a few days ago with both my characters out in Zoohen doing some combat sites for the Skilling Sprees Event where I nabbed a nice picture. A Machariel and a Paladin. ‘The Beauty’ and ‘The Beast’ as I have them called.

See what I mean? Not a great photo, not great angles, but it works.

Null Flare (aka the fitting-master (in corp joke, I enjoy it really)).

Editor’s Note: Back to our Signaleer Series! Really enjoying these and hope more of our Signaleers will jump in.

What attracted you to EVE Online and how long have you played?

I’ve always had a long fascination with space and sci-fi. I lived in the shadow on the Lords Bridge Observatory in Cambridge for many years and spent a lot of time at the observatory open days whenever they happened. I’ve never really been much of a gamer but was drawn to EvE by the combination of stunning graphics and the immense backstory and lore. Everyone is familiar with the stories of massive battles and the intrigue that can go on within corporations and I would be lying if I said that didn’t play a part in piquing my interest but, in all honesty, it was the sheer vastness of space and the idea of traveling space in a way that I wanted without having to engage with any specific style of gameplay which really pulled me in.

I’ve been playing seriously for around eighteen months, so still a relatively new pilot by the standards of EvE but I had a trial account a few years ago before Alpha was a thing, I let that lapse due to other commitments but I enjoyed my time in the game so much I was always eager to revisit the game and give it a proper go. So, I signed up as an Alpha and played for a few months to see if it was what I remembered and eventually went Omega once I was sure it was for me. As I said, I’ve never really been a bigger gamer and I would say that I’m still not, the freedom to do what I want, when I want, how I want that EvE offers means it doesn’t feel like an achieve “x” to get “y” kind of game and I think this is what keeps me hooked.

What is your background as a pilot? Did you jump right into exploration, start in the military, hired by a corporation, or something else?

My character is Gallente as their story appeals to me. I have a fondness for a good time and the freedom to do what I want as much as the Gallente so they just feel like a natural fit for me (If I could I’d be spending a lot of my hard earned ISK at the pleasure hubs!). I actually have a fairly dull career path I’m afraid. I started off running missions in Federation space before joining a mission running corp (I don’t remember who) who didn’t really do anything. I floated around in that corp paying my taxes without really engaging with them before I decided that I would just go it alone. I left that corp and started running missions for the Brutor Tribe and was making some decent cash doing so.

After a while doing this I inevitably started to look for something else and exploration seemed like the natural progression, to be honest it was actually the main reason I came to New Eden in the first place, I just got waylaid in mission running (it is fun making explosions). I trained up the skills and got myself into an Astero and started diving wormholes and travelling around the cluster to see what was there. Once I got my first Stratios and was able to take on the unsecured Sleeper caches I was completely hooked on wormhole diving and exploration and have never looked back.

What attracted you to explore New Eden? What is your goal and have you achieved it?

The sheer vastness of New Eden was, for me, impossible to resist. I found the idea that I could spend years exploring systems and still not see everything it has to offer was just too much of a temptation. I love stumbling across sites to run and the remnants of EvE’s history there are to see are impressively numerous. Beyond the sensible measure of checking routes for gate camps, I tend not to seek out too much information about regions or constellations before I go for a roam. I’ll make sure I have all the important intel in hand (is it a Sov system and whose, who are the local NPCs) but other than that I like to just go in blind. If there’s a beacon I’ll warp to it, I’ll check out the local planets, find somewhere to make camp and start exploring.

At the moment I live in K-Space and just jump in and out of wormhole chains. I can easily see myself taking an extended camping trip in J-Space at some point. I am very attracted to the idea of a drifter, wherever takes my fancy and seeing what’s there. I have clones dotted throughout the cluster and jump between them as the mood takes me. It’s only a matter of time before I make a semi-permanent home in J-Space because why not. I have an obsession with the lore of New Eden, particularly the Triglavians. I’m currently spending a lot of time reading up and researching the Triglavians and Drifters and would love to build a resource which can be used by those interested in the history and how to combat them. I’m quite interested in the politics and history of the big blocks and would love to spend some time researching and documenting this too. That’s all a long way off though, I’m still finding my feet.

What attracted you to Signal Cartel? Any corp related experiences you’d like to share and/or any Credo related stories that would be of interest?

Once I realized that exploration was what I wanted to do, I started to look around for exploration corps to join in order to learn more and team up with like-minded people. I don’t really have an interest in PvP and ultimately just want to roam the cluster and see what is out there. I’d seen the rescue caches several times on my travels but assumed they must be a trap, some element that I just didn’t understand or some wormhole corp thing that was none of my business. I read something on the main EvE forum where Signal Cartel where mentioned as the best corp for my sort of exploration and decided to do some research. After reading up this definitely seemed like somewhere I would like to call home.

The Credo very much appealed to me, I loved the idea of actively opting out of the more aggressive and antagonistic side of New Eden while offering a useful service to the wider community. I haven’t regretted my decision to join at any point and hope to make Signal Cartel my home for a long time. My first experience with what the Credo means to the EvE community was only a few days into my time in the corp. I was hauling some gubbins in High-Sec and got a few waves and some very friendly messages from folks in local. That made me realize that I had definitely made the right choice. The most amazing Signal Cartel experience I have had was in real life; I have a Signal Cartel patch on my jacket and was at my local pub. Someone spotted the patch and made a point of coming over and talking to me in order to let me know they had been rescued by the corp. That was a very surreal experience.

What is the name of your favorite ship that you enjoy flying the most while exploring?

The ship I am most fond of is my Stratios, by a long way! The Stratios is a fantastic ship for exploration and is just beautiful to look at. The Stratios I fly is called “Ormar Inn Langi:, it took me a while to get the fit right for my purposes and lost a couple on route. One loss was to a Tengu but I was extremely proud of just how long it managed to hold its tank and it gave the Tengu a run for its money, that was my first fit. The only issue with that fit was that I had no way to break the lock so I just sat there taking a pounding forever before the ship finally popped. I definitely learned from that experience! The second I lost was while I was taking on some Sleepers. I hit one too many triggers and just got swamped by the incoming DPS, I learned a lot from that one as well! I’ve settled on a fit now and it’s serving me well for my purposes.

[Stratios, Ormar Inn Langi]

Medium Anti-Explosive Pump II
Medium Trimark Armor Pump II
Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump II

400mm Steel Plates II
Medium Armor Repairer II
Medium Ancillary Armor Repairer
Capacitor Power Relay II
Capacitor Power Relay II

10MN Afterburner II
Large Cap Battery II
Burst Jammer II
Ligature Integrated Analyzer

Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Sisters Core Probe Launcher
Drone Link Augmentor II
Quad Light Beam Laser II
Quad Light Beam Laser II

During your travels, what has been the most interesting fact, amazing sight, or other aspect of New Eden that has surprised you?

I love shattered wormholes, travelling to the epicentre is a must if you find yourself in one. There are a lot of amazing sights that I have yet to see and I intend on firing up my Astero and doing a bit of sightseeing at some point in the near future. The thing I have found most interesting is just how empty most of New Eden is, something that I very much enjoy. Once you get away from the main routes it is possible to find yourself in areas where you will see no one and then suddenly jump into a system in the middle of nowhere with a mining flotilla in action or a local hub and then, suddenly, another run of empty system with only the occasional traveler. I like this, many would see it as a bad thing but, personally, I see it as being an organic gathering of people. Naturally they tend to clump together for protection and support and I find it fascinating that this seems to be true even in New Eden. I’ve come to realize that the lone roamer seems to be quite rare.

What have you learned or what advice would you give to someone interested in exploring New Eden?

Just give it a go! It’s quite easy to get going with exploration and I honestly wish that I had started a lot earlier than I did. As long as you know what you want to achieve and train towards it you can be up and running and headed towards the best ships and skills quite quickly. Other than that I think it is important to remember that if you want to get the most out of exploration you will be operating in the most dangerous areas of New Edan and Anoikis, accept that fact, accept the inevitable losses and don’t be disheartened when they happen. Exploration is a dangerous business and you will lose ships. Every loss is a chance to learn and your skills and experience will be growing all the time. Exploration can be quite profitable so if you learn for the losses and don’t give up you can easily cover them quite quickly (I lost an Astero, two Helios, and two clones in less than a week recently, I made the cost back in the same amount of time). Also, don’t forget that the Credo doesn’t prevent us (Signal Cartel) from protecting ourselves, we just don’t shoot first!

Do you have a favorite image from your explorations?

As I mentioned, I’m a tad obsessed with the Triglavians. This is my favorite image I’ve got recently. This is a tactical overview of a major conduit in a world ark site. If you’re feeling brave I’d recommend having a look around some of these invasion sites, especially with the Triglavian Dreadnaught coming!

Editor’s Note: Another in character interview in our Signaleer Series!

Void Raven

Void Raven enters the small, and evidently popular, pub on the Perkone station in Saisio. She has intentionally arrived a little early for the interview, so as to find suitable seating and create a good first impression by not being late. She waits a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the low lighting and then looks around. There is no free seating at the bar counter, and there are only a few tables, most of which are occupied. Void finds an empty table in the far corner, sits down and confirms on her neuro-occular display that she is indeed early. Relieved that so far things are going as planned, she orders a drink and glances around the pub’s interior.

Tapestries, similar in style to the artwork in the Achur cultural center she visited enroute to the pub, line the walls. Dark wood paneling softly reflects the muted light from frosted-glass wall sconces. Planet VIII looms large in the window on the opposite side of the pub. By chance, today is also the peak of the Potan meteor shower in Saisio, and Planet VIII is putting on quite a show as hundreds of meteors plunge into its atmosphere, spawning the trails of light that betray the end of their long journey through space. Pleasantly fragrant, but unfamiliar, aromas drift around Void and her stomach rumbles in response.

When her drink arrives, she orders some Achur-style food, but immediately regrets doing so when the server walks off, as she realizes that eating during an interview at which she will be doing most of the talking is probably not a good idea. Void’s thoughts turn to the upcoming interview. She reaches out to her drink and endlessly rotates the glass with her fingers, her gaze fixed on her hand. The chatter and murmur of conversation among the other patrons dissolves into the background as doubts creep into her mind. What had she been thinking when she signed up for this? A young capsuleer with no experience to speak of and a troubled past – what could she possibly say that would be of interest to anyone? Her leg bounces up and down on the ball of her foot.

“Void Raven?”

Void gives a jolt as she hears her name spoken and her stomach tightens when she looks up to see Katia Sae standing in front of her. She takes a deep breath and stands up quickly to greet her, bumping the table and spilling half her drink.

“Katia! How… how long have you been standing there? Sorry, I was just…”

Void takes a few more breaths and continues, “What a pleasure and honor it is to finally meet you in person, Katia. And I also just want to say congratulations on your inspirational achievement. Thanks for suggesting this pub as the place to meet. It’s perfect. As I mentioned to you, I feel so much more at ease in casual settings. But, even so, I’m… uh… I’m so darn nervous right now. I mean, I’ve never been interviewed before. See, I decided on this white blouse in case I start sweating. It won’t show sweat as a darker top would. Did I just say that? Please tell me this isn’t already part of the interview. Okay, okay, I need to calm down. Umm… can I get you something from the bar?”

As they sit down, Void gestures at the food she ordered earlier and says, “I wasn’t thinking. Like I said – first interview. Help yourself if you would like any, Katia.”

Smiling in understanding, Katia waves off the offered selection, “I completely understand. Would you believe my nerves still get the best of me during interviews? You’d think it would get easier with experience, but I’d rather face down a Loki on gate than talk to a reporter.”

After some pleasant conversation that relaxed them both, Katia steered the conversation to the interview.

“Tell me why you became a capsuleer?”

Void’s face hardens upon hearing the question. She mops up the spill on the table from earlier with her napkin, as if hoping that a delay in answering would make the question go away. But it hangs in the air, waiting patiently.

“Now, this is going to unearth some difficult memories for me. So, let’s see how it goes. I became a capsuleer to escape from a troubled upbringing and avoid an adverse future. I grew up in Gallente lowsec. In an environment that was not really…uh…supportive of a great childhood. I was exposed to…to a way of life that, had I fallen into it, would have left me disillusioned and, sort of, drained of any goodness. Instead, I would have been filled with an unquenchable rage as I selfishly blamed the whole of New Eden and everyone in it for my situation. An outcome which would have, you know, been to the detriment of others as…as their paths crossed my own in that sinister future. You see, my mother Black Raven took some bad turns early in her life that she wasn’t able to recover from. I didn’t want a repeat of that, so I left home for capsuleer school and for what I hoped would be a fresh start.”

Void loses her composure a little. Shaking her head she looks down at the floor and continues, softer than before, “I’m sorry, Katia. I do want to share my past with Signal Cartel. I owe that to everyone; you…you have all been so welcoming. But I’m unable to go into more detail about it today. Maybe some other time. Umm… suffice it to say that a little over five years ago, I guess fate interceded on my behalf, and then in 03 this year I graduated from capsuleer school with a deep fondness for exploration, but no idea of where to go next.”

Void’s translucent grey-white eyes come alive as she continues, “But then, serendipitously, news broke of a new statue in Saisio, which, sort of, spoke to me with unusual clarity when I read the inscription on it. I mean, that star in your hand, Katia, it lit the way for me to find Signal Cartel. And today I’m…uh…so grateful to be here and to be able to contribute to New Eden in a positive way to counterbalance the…the darkness that surrounds us all.”

Void hesitates for a moment; reflective. One hand is wrapped around the fist of the other in front of her. She seems undecided about her next utterance, but then says, “Okay, the Credo demands that I be honest and forthcoming. Fine. I question whether I didn’t perhaps become a capsuleer for the sole purpose of gaining ‘immortality’ and so not grow old as just another invisible and miserable baseliner. So I could rise above the wretched masses. The reason I gave earlier is then no more than a rationalization to avoid confronting the unpleasant implications of that. I mean, do I harbor a veiled desire for superiority or supremacy over others? By the Sisters, I truly hope not. I’m left wondering what it says about me that I might unconsciously hunger for immortality.”

Void takes a sip of her drink.

Blushing slightly on hearing the Saisio monument reference, Katia still found herself embrassed by the attention, which she knew didn’t make sense. Prior to the interview, Katia had a feeling Void’s story would be an interesting one to hear. Not wanting to pressure her further she went on to the next question. “What is your background as a pilot? Did you jump right into exploration, start in the military, hired by a corporation, or something else?”

“So, I have no real piloting background to speak of, having only recently graduated. I mentioned my innate love of exploration earlier; I’m drawn to see what lies beyond the figurative horizon. And then the next one. I don’t know… maybe my desire to explore comes from an unconscious need to keep ahead of the shadows of my childhood.”

”What attracted you to explore New Eden? Do you have a goal, have you achieved it? If not, are you still working towards it?”

“I don’t have a particular goal. Well okay. I’m Gallente. So, maybe the pursuit of individual freedom? Umm…I love to get lost in the beauty of New Eden and simply let it wash over me. To admire the… the background tapestry of whatever system I’m in. There are many locations of historical significance to investigate and learn about and I’m only just starting to… uh… scratch the surface with this. The adrenaline rush of hacking ancient and long forgotten relic and data sites in Anoikis is, kind of, borderline addictive. I am the hunted in the natural order of things and, counterintuitively, I find that exhilarating and liberating, you know.“

Void suddenly laughs and says, “Oh, speaking of hacking reminds me of a story. Do we have time? Yes? Great! Once, when I was super focused on hacking a site and all was deathly quiet, Allison, probably because she was bored, simulated herself dropping some… umm… plates or glasses or something and they shattered in a sudden explosion of noise. I almost died of fright. I mean, I came close to having a heart attack, which is no joke. As you know, Katia, the clone retrainsplantation process is initialized upon detection of a pod breach. An in-pod coronary does not exactly meet that requirement. She apologized, sweet AI that she is, so we’re still friends.”

Void takes another sip of her drink and continues, “Tending and sowing rescue caches and Thera wormhole scanning are intrinsically rewarding activities. I also recently finished assisting ARC on an unidentified wormhole research project in Drifter Hive Systems. So, for me, there is no end goal or destination. It’s all about the journey into what the future may bring.”

Void takes a pause, then says, “Katia, am I rambling too much? I mean, it’s all sort of stream-of-consciousness at this point, isn’t it? I’m too serious, right? Maybe my goal should be: ‘Be less serious’. Or I could aim for off-beat.”

”You’re doing great, no worries at all. I really want these interviews to be as much as you are comfortable sharing. So, let’s continue with your favorite ship. Do you have a favorite and if so, why?

“Oh, that’s easy. My favorite ship is simply the one I’m in at the time. Out in the void, we’re… umm… at one with our ships and they protect us from the ravages of hostile space. It’s not a… a symbiotic relationship, since that would imply two separate entities interacting. No, we are truly one. In this way every ship earns favorite status from me.”

Void smiles and continues, “But I see you want more than that. Okay, just between you and me, my Astero and Helios occupy a special place in my heart. They both carry the name Raven’s Pride. You know, the elegant lines of the Astero and the… umm… graceful sweep of the curved semicircular structures toward the aft of the ship, holding within them that ethereal veil of light cast by the inset lights, captured and held my gaze from the first moment I saw one. The Helios has its own, different form of beauty. I recall another Signaleer say of the Helios, ‘If you can free your mind of symmetry, beauty will rush in to fill the gap.’”

”During your travels, what has been the most interesting fact, amazing sight, or other aspect of New Eden that has surprised you?”

• “The overwhelming extent of New Eden and Anoikis. 7,805 known systems. How many unknown to us?”
• “The catastrophically damaged Jove Observatories. Enigmatic and haunting.”
• “The 24/7 hustle and bustle of the ships of powerful commercial interests centered on Jita 4-4.”
• “The Sisters of Eve Flotillas in the Drifter Hive Systems. Although a beautiful sight and a reassuring presence, they leave a faint scent of mystery in their wake.”
• “The Shattered Wormhole systems. I shudder at the power that caused such devastation.”
• “The labored, deep breathing of end-of-life wormholes. Such a creepy sound can signal only impending death.”
• “The Katia Sae Monument in Saisio. Where would I be today without it?”

Katia continued despite her involuntary blush, ”What have you learned or what advice would you give to someone interested in exploring New Eden?

“Jump right in and go for it. Yet, patience is a virtue. In New Eden, you can see and do quite a lot with quite a little, really.”

”Do you have a favorite image that you wouldn’t mind me posting and sharing from your explorations?

“These photos of the SOE Flotilla in Vidette are currently among my favorites.”

“That’s it, you did great Void, thanks so much for taking time out from your explorations and I certainly wish you well on your journey.”

“Katia, thank-you for this opportunity to tell you and Signal Cartel a little bit more about myself. You know, as nervous as I was at the start of the interview, I enjoyed it. At times it was even cathartic. I hope you and your readers enjoy it too. But now I really do need to leave so I can put on a fresh blouse.”

Void finishes the last of her drink and she and Katia rise to leave the pub.