Watching a Vexor Blob

It's midday, the weekend.  I am wrapping up a ghostbusting expedition to lowsec.  The expedition started in wspace, a routine patrol in my Manticore looking for anything interesting.  I'd hopped down my chain, looking for anyone in C4b, then C2a, and C4c.  Nobody home.  But C4c had a ghost site.

I ran home, got my ghostbusting Tengu, and returned.  I got a nice 'Magpie' mobile tractor unit blueprint from it.  Then I went out to lowsec, since I was already in the thing.  Out in lowsec I found one ghost site, but did not get much from it.  I also saw a bunch of the new Mordus legion sites, the besieged covert research facility.  These evidently have tough enough rats that one cannot easily do them in the sort of ship people generally have out in lowsec.  I found a lot of them, and in clumps.  Two systems had three of them each, along with several capsuleers in local.  My guess is some of those guys wanted to run the sites but they wanted the system to be empty.  Interesting sites.  My ghostbusting Tengu has very little offense, so I was not tempted to try.

My time in EVE is running short -- things IRL -- so I turn to home.  I warp through a few lowsec systems I have already visited -- no new ghost sites, no surprise.  Then I warp to the C2 static exit to low. I jump, and dscan according to habit.  Nothing has changed.  So I warp to the wormhole to C4b, and jump.  Again, I dscan as normal.  This time, however, something has changed.  There are a great many Naxy Vexors on scan, as well as two Augurors, two Ishtars, an EOS, etc.  Also, there are sleeper wrecks, and a battlecruiser wreck.  (Oops!)  The battlecruiser, by its naming scheme, appears to have been one of theirs.  (I did see a pod much earlier in C2a.  Hmm.)

There are two anoms left that I can see.  I bookmark them both ASAP.  Then I move off the wormhole and cloak.  Dscan shows the enemy seems to be in the nearer one.  I think about flying over to have a look, but what would I do in my 500m Tengu with loot worth 300m?  Nothing.  I might as well fly home now and get my Manticore.  I am not attacking a Vexor blob in any ship.  But sleepers require salvaging, and there is the possibility here that these guys will leave a salvager out where I can get at it.

I warp across the system, then jump to my home system.  I hope they did not see me.  Then I go home and change into my Manticore, and fritter away my polarization for five minutes in a safespot cloaked.  Then I warp back to my static and jump back into C4b.  There's nobody there to greet me at the wormhole.  Dscan shows the blob is still there, although the two anomalies are not.  (This is why you bookmark them.)  Using dscan I figure out which ex-anom they are in, and I warp to it at 100km.  Interestingly, I get the anom pop-up even though the site itself is not on my probe scanner.

Vexor Blob

BC wreck has loot!

Once on grid, I can see they are not using mobile tractor units.  I look more closely and yes, there is a Noctis there in the middle of the blob.  This is unfortunate for my hunting plans.  If I was really hot, I might be able to catch it just as they fleet-warp, if they do that.  But that will be a while; they've barely touched the wreck field.  I don't have the time to wait today.  I have to be gone real soon.  In fact I should be gone now, but I am pushing things because targets.  You know how it is.

What can I do?  Well, let me have a look at the other anom.  I can see on dscan that there are wrecks out there, and I expect they are in it.  Rather than mess with narrow dscan, I go.

Spot the expensive item

I warp over, and sure enough.  Wrecks.  I figure I might loot a few, just to let the enemy know I've been around.  I'll start with the battlecruiser wreck.  It is surprisingly unlooted, so who knows what might be on it.  Probably more than the 10m of blue loot I can expect on a large sleeper wreck.

I bookmark the wreck, then bounce off a CO about 2AU, warping back right to the wreck.  I end up 2100m from it -- not uncloaked, even.  So I uncloak and grab.  This fills my hold, so I grab the stack of missiles that did not fit, and then decide it's enough.  I have said my hello to the Vexor fleet, and now I really do have to go.  So I warp home.

On the way home I check out the loot.  The window says 38m, but I can't see what costs so much.  I have to mouse over each individual item to check its price.  Can you spot it?  It's the "Basic EM Ward", which evidently is a rare item.  (I have looked for this kill on killboards, but nothing is there I can find.  The system is J145129 if you want to look.)

I dump off my stuff in my tower's "out" folder, then warp to my safespot and disconnect en route.  Gotta go.