| Jennings: | Approaching Vitrauze gate, captain. |
| Jaxley: | Roger, jump on contact. Zerrah, make sure the gunners are on battle stations. |
| Zerrah: | Roger. Lockslay, come in. |
| *Sounds of | a stack of autocannon shells being knocked over* |
| Lockslay: | Aaaw F**K! Watch it, will ya?! Goddamn bloody... Right, what's happenin', Zerrah? |
| Zerrah: | Prepare your boys to mess up a ship other than ours for a change. Load cannons with Barrage, no heat, stand by for target calls. |
| Lockslay: | Aye. You heard the lady, get crackin'! |
| Jennings: | Approaching stargate, captain. Jumping in ten. |
| Jaxley: | Acknowledged - transfer all sub-warp navigation systems to pod after the jump. |
| Jennings: | Aye aye, jumping. |
| Zerrah: | Target's still in system. Three more on local coms, no affiliation, threat level low. |
| Jaxley: | Warp to bookmark at XI cluster. Scan range at maximum, 360°. |
| Jennings: | Course set. Dropping cloak and aligning - warp drive active. |
| Zerrah: | Cluster in scan range in three, two, one - Myrmidon on scan, narrowing it down. |
| Jennings: | Warp bubble collapse in three seconds. |
| Zerrah: | Got him at IX belt 2 on 5°. Nothing new on 360. |
| Jaxley: | Warp to IX belt 2 at 10. Cycle and overheat warp disruptor. Lock target asap. |
| Jennings: | Warp drive active. |
| Zerrah: | Ready to point, standing by. |
| Lockslay: | YAARRRRRRR!! |
| Jaxley: | Thank you, Lockslay. |
| Jennings: | Five seconds til warp bubble collapse. |
| Zerrah: | Target on overview, landing... 25 off, locking. Point. |
| Jaxley: | Stop heating point, establishing orbit at 17. Pulsing micro warp in intervals of 13. |
| Zerrah: | Myrm's guns keep missing, Hammerheads are locking us. |
| Jaxley: | Locking drones, deploy Hobgoblin. Let's take 'em out one by one. |
| Jennings: | Shields are taking some hits, down in about 40 seconds at current damage. |
| Zerrah: | Local spike plus four! No corp affiliation! |
| Jaxley: | Maintaining orbit. Zerrah, keep an eye on the scanner. Jennings, determine quickest celestial out at any moment. Lockslay, keep shooting those drones. And keep those fingers crossed, everyone. |
| Zerrah: | Cane, Astarte, Scorpion on scan - looks like they're heading this way! |
| Jaxley: | Blast - wonder where the fourth guy... |
| Zerrah: | Arazu decloaking 20 off! |
| Jaxley: | Jennings, celestial, now! |
| Jennings: | XII! Planet XII! |
| Jaxley: | Right behind the Razu of course! Dammit! Performing evasive maneuver! |
| Zerrah: | Recon's got a lock, enemy fleet landing! |
| Jennings: | Warp and micro warp are out! Increasing incoming damage! |
| Jaxley: | Oh, well played, real bloody well played... (sigh) ... All decks, captain speaking. We're yet again left with nothing but speechless awe for our commendable foes' sheer otherworldly piloting and exemplary courage in battle. Abandon ship, Jaxley out. |
And thus our Stabber was no more, finding defeat at the hands of said fleet, ever so slightly outnumbered. It was an anticlimactic tale, but there's New Eden for you. Any fleet with recon support was pretty much the worst of all possible scenarios - can't run if your micro warp drive is being disabled from half across the galaxy.
I've been out with a second Stabber and have stocked up to two Thoraxes, but so far these investments don't seem too viable; the usual ratting cruiser or even battle-cruiser is rare and can easily be taken out with assault frigates as well. Capable lone cruiser pilots who would require a cruiser of your own are even rarer.
Gate camps on the other hand can show up any time and don't have much trouble catching cruisers.
At the same time, Stabber and Thorax aren't really fleet boats, either dishing out too little damage or taking too long to bring the hurt.
It's a real shame, because fighting in a cruiser is damn near as much fun as fighting in an interceptor.
