After jumping over to Orvolle to outfit another Rifter, the Restock One, I wandered around Placid and Verge Vendor again, itching to get back into the fray. Finding myself in Ouelletta yet again - it was the only system around with active pilots in it - I started looking for prey again. As it turned out, most of the pilots around were off fighting at hidden Serpentis outposts, and I didn't have the probing equipment to find them. I did track down a young pilot, only several months out of the academy, who was patrolling the asteroid belts in a Vexor-class cruiser. I decided to test him, given his young age.
I warped in about 10 klicks out from him, and instantly had his engines scrambled and was tearing through his shields. His guns couldn't even hit me as I orbited, and I began to get confident. Then, as if he had forgotten for a few seconds, his drone bay opened up and five Hobgoblin II drones swarmed out at me. I was caught off guard that a pilot so young would have the skill to control such high-tech drones, but the proof was right in front of me.. and it was chewing through my armor. I tried to warp away when I realized my error, but only escaped with my capsule. I acknowledged to the pilot that he had bested me, and went to hide in a local station to plan out how to proceed from there.
The night was turning out to be a night of expensive lessons...
