This is Part 3 of a series. Part 1 is here, with Part 2 here.
Throughout the day our fleet and the mercenary played cat and mouse games. No more engagements took place because neither side ever had the advantage they sought. We did, however, begin to notice some peculiar behavior that added yet another twist to the conflict.
One of our pilots noticed the mercenary had signed off, so he boarded his Raven battleship and entered the region to begin running missions for a local agent. Almost immediately after the Raven entered space, the mercenary logged back on and was on the heels of the Raven.
This could not be a coincidence of good luck for the mercenary.
The Raven retreated to a gate while the fleet mobilized to rescue it. Fortunately, the mercenary was once again scared away without casualties.
Our suspicion was that the mercenary was using alternate aliases as spies to observe us. Whenever we showed weakness or presented a big enough target, he would emerge like clockwork.
We began observing the local system while going about “business as usual.” In the evening, we inspected each of the 24 pilots in system. All but three of the pilots belonged to corporations, which made them far less likely as the mercenary seemed to prefer to operate solo. Plus, there’s only so much one player can accomplish.
The three pilots not in corporations were all suspicious, but one stood out: Jim Tu. The pilot had been flying for over 9 months, yet he had practically no standing with factions and a 0.0 security status. It is highly unlikely a pilot could exist for almost a year with no standings to speak of!
The case grew stronger when, upon undocking from the station, Jim Tu was parked just outside. Again, odd behavior for a pilot and an all too convenient coincidence! He was also flying a Drake battlecruiser. For a pilot who has done so few agent missions, such an expensive ship is unlikely. It seemed more likely he was funded by another pilot.
Finally Jim Tu was never logged in, nor has he ever in days since, at the same time as the mercenary.
We’ve since identified a second potential spy who possesses many of the same qualities and behavioral anomalies as Jim Tu.
The three pilots (mercenary and two spies) have never logged in at the same time.
Sturm Wellington
Evening of the First Day of Hostilities
Haajinen System, Lonetrek
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