Knowing when to fold em

As you have been noticing lately I've been pushing hard to get plexes done and have been doing a little exploration on the side in order to help fund my activities. It all came together yesterday. I started off by logging in and running some scans. Noted that there were some FW plexes in Asghed. Then scanned some more and got a Mag and an unknown hit from the exploration side of things. I decide (since the system is un-contested - all that hard work over the weekend for naught) to do the exploration stuff first. So I track down the sites and manage to get both a Mag site and a combat site nailed down.

I switch to my wolf and tear off to the mag site with the rocket launcher switched for a salvager and the point switched for an Analyzer. As I'm working on the plex some fellow militia come in system and pop a plex and run it. Which is cool. So I finish off the mag site and salvage up the wrecks in my now contested system.

Then it's off to the combat plex - a Provisional Sancha Outpost. For this I had re-fitted my wolf back to full on combat spec. This is a PvP fit wolf which means buffer instead of active tanked. But I figure I'll be fine. Sure enough I manage to get thru all the mobs with about 40% armor left. Not only that but I get an escallation! At this point I figure - finish the salvage and I'll be romping around low sec for the rest of the evening.

Well I get salvaging and as I'm half way thru the second room, who should come in system but D'Arth. This is the Amarr pilot I had solo killed in the past. Checking the scanner he's in a Sentinel. I think to myself [Ok, he should see me in system. He'll be leaving soon]. But no he sticks arround and soon he pops open an unrestricted plex and obviously goes in to start running it. [Ye're kidding me]. So I dump intel into corp chat: "Got a solo plexer running an un-restricted in Asghed - he will be decontesting the system if he finishes it off. 20min till he does so. I will engage in a minute or two". I finish off the last two wrecks from the plex and gun my little Probe for the station and switch to Killit, my T2 armed Thrasher (not to mention the specific ship that has killed this guy once before).

Warp to the plex. Still no NPCs since it's an un-restricted and sure enough he's on the button. Not wasting any time I charge in MWD blazing and open fire as soon as my targeting is in range. Strangelly he looks like he's not backing down as he launches drones. But sure enough after getting a little too close I manage to open up the range and kill him. Then manage to get his pod in to structure. By this point I'm sure that as my guns cycle he'll get out but no! he sticks arround! [he must be suiciding] I think. Sure enough as my guns cycle arround he gets erased from existence as seven 250mm Tremor rounds shred his smoking pod. Just as this happens an entire matari fleet arrives in system in answer to my intel. We all settle in to run the plex and the boys proceed to kill all the NPCs who come in.

After running plex timer down and pushing the system more into contested I switch back to my salvaging Probe with once again plenty of juicy wrecks to work with. It's getting to the point where I may rig this little Probe for salvaging. Seriously. This ship is the Matari Jeep. Half way thru the salvage op, I get the call to ship up to a cruiser and join the fleet. Knowing my CEO if he's calling for that, there's a reason, I bookmark the next wreck (which happend to be D'Arth's Sentinel) and tear for my Rupture. Just as I undock I hear the FC give the orders to charge into Tararan and go for the war targets running a medium plex there.

As I order my crew to pour on the warp, I charge straight thru the gate and go for the plex. I get in there and imediately put points tackle and guns on the nearest (and at that point only remaining) war target at the warp in point and get in on another kill. Once again we run down the timer and once that's done I split back to Asghed to go and finish off my salvaging of the previous fight (forgot to bookmark one of the wrecks in Tararan).

To ad the final insult to injury I manage to salvage some T2 salvage from D'Arth's Sentinel wreck. Before hitting the sack I do a final scan of Asghed and confirm that indeed there are no FW plexes left to find there. Busy night - got 34 armor plates out of it amongst other stuff including the T2 modules and salvage from D'Arth's kill.

The interesting thing is that most people would have figured D'Arth would have had a prety good chance against me with his fit. The problem with his logic is that a) the Thrasher does not depend on cap for survival and b) I fly a tracking fit thrasher, not a gank fit Thrasher. Look, I'm getting autocannon level tracking out of artillery. Tracking disruptors realy realy don't scare me. I don't expect to get ANY kills flying solo in this boat. If I am it's because you're not running away when you see me start tearing your ship appart. It's purpose in life is to run offensive minor plexes solo and be good enough to chase off any 1-3 Amarr pilots that may interfeer with that job. It's fit for that and it does a REALY good job of it. Bigger gangs I'll be running away from or teaming up with other Matari pilots. But if you're solo up against it you better have a plan to deal with it's advantages, cuz dude I shouldn't have gotten that kill, you should have run. Twice.