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Sturmer's avatar
Sturmer

Liberty- it’s a complex topic. Sometimes, mental liberation reveals something far bigger than we initially realise. That’s why I admire the Gallente, with their diversity and rich history. Yet, even within the vast Federation, there are darker corners—places like the lawless regions of Placid, where today’s story unfolds, reflecting on the lives of those who inhabit such spaces.

Alsavoinon Story

My brother never missed a chance to mock me for joining the Federal Safeguard Reserve (FSR). But honestly, sitting in a shiny CONCORD ship, staring at gates, feels about as useful as waiting for paint to dry. You float in the vacuum in circles for hours, then race off at the sound of a gunshot, only to find the victim already blown to pieces—or worse, it’s some poor pilot who made an accidental aggressive move, and now you’ve vaporised him for nothing. Hell of a job, right?

We grew up on the fringes of Gallente space, in Placid region. Lost our parents early to a pirate raid, a story as old as time for those of us stuck in low sec. That’s what drove us both to join CONCORD, to fight the “bad guys.” Has it really been three decades? Feels longer.

A call from Alicia, my boss, snapped me out of my thoughts. I answered the call, and there she was on my screen—looking as sleek and sharp as ever. Always official, always polished, but that smile of hers, those eyes… they turned me into putty every time.

“Greetings, are you still parked at Stacmon’s local office?” she asked, all business.
“Yeah, I had a rough mission. Landing on a lava planet to pick up those refugees did a number on Betty.” That’s what I call my Oneiros, a ship I’d modified for FRS operations. “I talked to the techs. They fixed the maneuvering engines and are about to give her a fresh coat of paint. Right now, she looks like a charred sausage.”
“Sorry, Mel, no time for a beauty makeover. We’ve got a critical mission, and there’s no room for delays.”
“Like the others weren’t life-or-death,” I muttered under my breath.
“I said this is important, and you need to undock NOW.” Her eyes sharpened like blades, though her smile remained.
“Yes, ma’am!” I saluted like a fresh recruit. “I’m on it!” I jumped off the couch and headed for the docks without a second thought.

How does she do this to me? I wondered as I sped through the corridor. Luckily, it was a short trip, with the FRS docks nearby. As the station’s massive doors opened, I saw Betty gleaming in the dock. Well, maybe “gleaming” was a stretch. She was still battle-scarred from our last mission, but she was mine.

The regional FRS base was set up on Stacmon X, Moon 1, in a Federal Administration Bureau Station. Clean, efficient, but boring as hell. It was all bureaucratic offices and smelled like a paperwork. But we were just a stone’s throw from low-sec space, where the real action—thanks to the Serpentis—kept things lively offering all kind of kinks. No complaints here.

I boarded the ship and didn’t waste any time—undocking sequence initiated.
“Betty, you get the mission data from Alicia?” I asked, as the engines hummed to life.
“Transmission received, Captain.”
“Where are we headed?”
“Alsavoinon. Alsavoinon III, to be exact.”
I groaned. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“As your ship’s AI, I don’t kid. Would you like me to generate a joke?”
“Yeah, no thanks.”

Alsavoinon. Of course, it had to be Alsavoinon. For the last few months, the place had turned into a madhouse. Ever since they cracked open that damn Jovian gate to the Zarzakh system, it had been a free-for-all. Angel Cartel, Guristas, and their wannabes flooded in like cockroaches to serve that Deathless prick. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, the Caldari and Gallente governments started playing their little tug-of-war over the system, leaving civilians and planet-dwellers to pick up the pieces.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, we got a new plague—Vanguards. Killing machines, tearing up planets, leaving destruction in their wake. Like Alsavoinon needed more chaos.

The FRS? We’re stuck in the middle, trying to keep things from completely falling apart. You can usually talk your way out of trouble with diplomatic skills, balance, sort of. But then the Drifters showed up. Those bastards don’t negotiate. Do they even talk? They’re just after one thing: bodies.

“So, Betty, we’re diving straight straight into hell, huh?”
“No. Current destination: Alsavoinon III. Barren planet. Radius: 5,060 kilometres. Gravity: 4.7 m/s². Population: 193. Major resources are…”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it. Run a full diagnostic. I don’t want any surprises from Smithy’s repairs.”
“Understood. Diagnosis initiated.”

As the ship began to undock, I noticed the traffic around the station was heavier than usual. Ships packed with refugees and victims of the brewing conflict, all desperate for a safe harbour.

The docking beam released, and I had a moment to check the mission log.
Alsavoinon III, like Betty said, was barren, but that never stopped the opportunists. The resources under the surface were enough to attract all kinds of trouble. My job? Get the hell in there and evacuate 53 people from a settlement called “Serenity Venture & Friends.” Cute name. Not so cute situation—they were surrounded by fire and running out of time. Fifty-three was nearly Betty’s max capacity, but we’d make it work.

Alicia was right. This mission was urgent. A gigantic Guristas Bowhead had crash-landed near the settlement, turning the area into a disaster zone. Debris everywhere, wildfires raging—the landing pad and main road completely wiped out. The settlers were trapped, surrounded by smoke and flames, and running out of time. No way I could plan a landing through all that mess. I’d have to wing it—manual landing all the way.

“Looks like we’re in for a bumpy ride, Betty. How’s the diagnostic looking? We good to go?”
“Scan complete. All systems operational, except for the Nanocoating Resequencer. 27.3% unresponsive elements.”
“Yeah, the paint job… Sorry, Beth, but a new coat’s gonna have to wait.”
“Understood. Error ignored. Any new commands, Captain?”
“Set course for Alsavoinon III.”
“Would you prefer the safer route—17 jumps—or the shorter, 8-jump route?”
“Shorter, obviously. People are counting on us. And activate the emergency protocol on the transponder. I don’t want any faction militias causing trouble—we’re flying straight into a warzone.”
“Affirmative, Captain. Next system: Ostingele.”

The trip went smoother than I expected, considering the destination. Ran into a Gallente militia gatecamp—they’d set up a blockade to catch Caldari and pirate insurgents. Luckily, they waved me through with no fuss, just a few smart comments and jokes from their colonel. Typical navy crap.

As soon as we hit Alsavoinon, my scanner lit up with an emergency broadcast from the Gallente beacon—Roaming Drifter fleets were swarming the system. Sure, I could hide in Gallentian faction structures if I wanted to roll the dice, but the situation was too volatile to bet on anything staying safe for long.

“Alright, Beth, let’s get ourselves a safe spot. We’ve got to secure the civilians here.

1147 words.

As I finished my flash fiction, inspiration struck, leading me to explore another chapter of New Eden’s history. I hope stories like this will bridge EVE Vanguard and EVE Online, allowing events like Zarzakh siege in one to resonate with the other. You can find the full story on my site:

https://kekbur.net/eve-online/high-risk-rescue-alsavoinon/#part2

PandoraRupture's avatar
PandoraRupture

There he stood, the last person I knew personally who could still help me and all of Gallente, Mentas Blaque. A fist, covered in blood, was reaching out of his back, from what looked like a simple sexdroid at first glance.

Without waiting for the android to react, I turned and started sprinting. To my capsule, to my capsule. Nothing else mattered now. If I died here, no one would know what was coming for them, and without my capsule, it would be a true death. No new body waiting safely in another station.

As I sprinted through the hallways, I could hear the android chasing me, but I wasn’t just anyone. I am a capsuleer. One of the few who made it, one who has crossed the final Rubicon and abandoned being fully human. A perfect body, a near-perfect mind, and more knowledge and training than anyone should have without living multiple lifetimes.

While an android could easily outrun a human with its top speed of 45 km/h (28 mph), I was hitting 55 km/h (34 mph). I was constantly analyzing everything around me, making sure to maintain the optimal speed to reach my destination. It was relaxing compared to the usual information overload I was accustomed to. I had already planned the exact route I would take as soon as I was in my pod. I briefly considered using the nanotoxin with the burning scanner to send my consciousness to my home station but decided against it.

The Leopard I had parked here in the station, with a full High-grade Ascendancy implant set in this body, would get me to my goal fast enough. 32.4 AU/s and a sub-2-second align time, something only a few capsuleers get to experience.

I was already getting a little excited about the speed I would reach as soon as I departed. Without giving it more thought than necessary, I dropped to the ground face-first just as new holes appeared in the far end of the corridor.

Sliding across the floor with my momentum, I pulled out the Minmatar shotgun I’d acquired on one of my adventures, shifted onto my back, and fired twice, taking out two androids that had just emerged from opposing rooms with weapons drawn.

Lovely, every android was already infected. Let’s hope it's still limited to this station; otherwise, things would look very grim for the Gallente Federation and, before long, for everyone else.

It wasn’t far to my capsule from here, and while disturbing more and more dock workers as I closed in on my exit, only minor resistance from androids required some attention from my shotgun.

As I settled into my pod, I felt safe. Nothing could kill me now; I would just wake up in my home station, which was near the 4th moon of Luminaire 7 in the Federal Administration Bureau Offices.

Without waiting for the usual procedures and undock clearance, I flew my Leopard under an Obelisk so the automatic defense systems wouldn’t even register my exit from the station.

Once out, I jumped straight to the wormhole exit to get back to known space as soon as possible. The defensive fleet stationed outside the Citadel tried to lock onto me and my ship, but I was too fast. I hit faster-than-light speed before they could even get a lock.

All the secrecy and paranoia from Mentas Blaque and his Black Eagles didn’t help in the end. They trusted no one from the outside, and everyone on the Fortizar was one of them—well, except for the massive numbers of androids. Those androids would make quick work of the Black Eagles, I assumed. A quick calculation told me each person would face at least 30 androids if it came to an all-out fight.

There was no logical way they could survive the onslaught that would surely ensue shortly. As I exited the wormhole, my information feed confirmed I was in Rens. I already knew I would end up here, but the pod loved to give you all the information it could, all the time.

One of the major reasons capsuleers were so rare.

Now I just had to make it to Egghelende and enter the Sinq Laison region before I could use a secure network station hidden in an asteroid field. I jumped gate after gate, taking the shortest route possible.

Rens → Abudban → Osoggur → Amamake → Siseide. Just one more jump and I’d reach my goal. Every second counted, so I jumped straight to the next gate toward Egghelende—only to feel the nanotoxin being injected into my body.

A pirate with smartbombs had turned my Leopard into fireworks, followed by my capsule. My mind connected to the clone in my home station, but something felt off. The transmission was usually instantaneous, but this one felt long, strange, and uncomfortable.

I couldn’t be bothered with it though. I needed to inform the remaining Black Eagle cells to take countermeasures as quickly as possible before their enemies could reach their goal. I boarded my Ares, and as I undocked, I was bombarded by various newsfeeds.

Normally, they would’ve been filtered out, but these were different. They bore the official signature of the Gallente Federation, making them high priority and guaranteeing their authenticity.

It was bad, very bad. Luminaire, also known as Caldari Prime, was gone. Not completely destroyed, but not a single soul was alive on the planet. Everything was burned to ashes.

Then it dawned on me, three days. Three whole days had passed since my pod exploded, and my consciousness should have been transferred nearly instantaneously to my current location. But it hadn’t. It took three whole days.

And now, I have to make sure they pay for it.

I'm not a native english speaker and I like AI to make my text more readable and fluent, the content is still mine though. And I got no money to pay someone to fix my spelling and the like :D

AI text prompt: "Stay as close as possible to the original fix grammar, spelling and the like. Keep in mind that this is a text related to the game EvE Online:"
Original text without AI:

A
AlexGoesTheWorld

I was waiting for this! But let the words speak for themselves now...


The place was crowded. People danced under the neon lights. The music thrummed and blared from the speakers, sweeping everyone away to another plane.

The crowd parted, oblivious, so taken with the music and the moment. The waiter, human and well built, clean shaven and bare chested, showing the perfection of human musculature, walked silently. His glossy black pants reflected the neon lights, winking as he knelt beside the couch, black, with green highlights. He held a tray up, with a single glass on top.

She was lounging on the couch. Her platform heels hung from the edge. Her dress, reaching to the mid of her thigh, was black, shiny, and like a second skin for her sinuous body. A small eagle in green broke the darkness on her left breast. She took the glass the waiter had just brought her. Her hand was refined, her nails long and polished black, with a small eagle head as a dot of green on her index.

The glass was nearly invisible, so clear that the green drink seemed to float in the open. It was cool to the touch of those glossy black lips. Ahhh… She leaned back, enjoying the moment. Her lips pulled into a smile, revealing pointed teeth. Her eyes twinkled, two pools of black, as she put the glass back on the trail held by the kneeling waiter.

“We are Gallente,” she whispered with allure, a whisper that should have been lost in the music and yet was perfectly audible.

A whisper that pushed us back, away from her, away from the crowd and into the darkness…

… a darkness that suddenly opened back up, but this time, the neon lights weren’t there anymore, but a stark light was, the one of a laboratory.

Tools, boxes, and experiments crowded the tables and the shelves all around her. She stood in front of a white panel, where marker thin formulas were crammed in between diagrams and annotations: the language of science, of innovation and of progress.

She turned with a dazzling white smile, the smile of those who believed in their work, in their research, in their call. She pushed a strand of unruly dark hair behind her ear. Her almond eyes were green, bright pools of life, held away from the world by a pair of transparent glasses. She was dressed in a white laboratory coat, hiding the clothes below, only letting them peek out as the white moved with her. Blouse and trousers, they were the fashionable clothes of a young person in the prime of her life.

She glanced away. Something in her invisible overview must have distracted her, but her attention was soon back, as was her smile. “We are Gallente,” she said in a crystalline voice, full of pride.

The laboratory started receding, and she disappeared as the darkness came back…

… only to open back up on a hellish world: dust on the floor, sparks in the air, the bright searing color of molten metal turning everything else darker. Beams and metal constructs crowded the floor, cranes moved above, and people were tiny ants in the massive space.

The frames of prefab buildings filled the space. They were still bare and there was a lot to be done before someone could call them home. Inside one of them, she was sitting across a metal beam, as sparks flew all around her. She was welding two other beams-part of the larger structure. Her clothes were hardened and plain, the clothes of heavy duty workers, made to resist the wear and tear of work.

Her welding flame died, and she huffed, raising her protective faceplate. She grinned, her dark skin crossed by a few drops of sweat. Her eyes were the dark of sweet chocolate, bursting with life and hope: they were building on the frontier, they were reaching to where none had reached before. Her full lips pulled into a smile as she breathed “We are Gallente,” her words, her rich voice, were lost in the grinding of metals and construction.

She pulled her face plate down, and the flame flickered and steadied just as darkness took us in again…

… only to open back up to the blinding light of ice. Ice everywhere, as far as the eye could see. Tiny snowflakes carried by the wind reflected the sun above, but it was a cold sun, too feeble to bring any warmth to the crouched soldiers. They were hiding behind a ledge made of snow and stone, dressed in white and greys, camouflaging with their surroundings. While most were hiding below the edge, one was peering into the scope of a rifle, toward a distant target.

She glanced to the side, wide dark goggles over a white and grey mask, protecting her face from freezing temperatures and biting winds. She reached out to pull down the mask and raise her goggles. Her lips were thin, her features chiseled, carrying a feeling of cold and hardness, the hardness of a military life, but in those light blue eyes, there was a warmth, the warmth of a defender.

“We are Gallente,” she said plainly, only a hint of a smile tugging at the edge of her lips. She was a defender, focused on fighting the enemy, and the focus called for no emotion. She pulled her googles down and mask up as she turned to peer back into the scope.

The huddled squad receded, so small in the sea of snow and ice, the white blinding landscape being encroached by the swallowing darkness taking us in…

… but this time, there was only endless darkness.

At least until small dots of green light started appearing, lines started connecting them: those were the systems of the Gallente Federation, those were the lives of all the people who lived in the Federation, who made it what it was.

The Gallente Federation logo appeared superimposed to the star map graph, proud in all its beauty. A chorus of voices spoke out with the same pride:

“We are Gallente!”

OOC Commentary

This piece came as a video, I saw this as an advertisement like video, in a very cinematic way, as I was brainstorming for another piece. It felt too good to forget about it. I tried to touch different types of Gallente, the modification and party lover, the scientist, the hard working colonist and the soldier, and through them different styles, cultures and ways of the Gallente Federation.

LukaZaharin's avatar
LukaZaharin

Writing some Gallente Fanfiction... Not exactly an easy task for an ex-Caldari pilot xD

Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod
LukaZaharin

Hey, no one specified who needs to be the heroes. Maybe that's your angle :D

LukaZaharin's avatar
LukaZaharin
Alex Sinclair

Ha, that's a word! Good to know.

Rixx Javix's avatar
Rixx Javix

Hell's Vacation

Day One

I am trying to enjoy a much needed vacation on New Caldari Prime with my beautiful wife Ana and our two pod rats.  It isn’t easy being back planet-side after so many years in low security space, but my wife wanted to spend time with her extended family and I can deny her nothing.

It has been very strange to feel the dirt of a planet below your feet and the vault of unprotected sky above you.  Not to mention the wind and sun on your skin.  And the smells. It has taken some time to orient to the expansive sky and not constantly worry about being exposed without shield or armor to protect us.  I’m not certain that I will ever get used to it again, or that it will ever feel normal.  My home is in space now.  If it weren’t for her family, I think Ana would’ve agreed to a more comfortable zero gravity vacation.

I have to admit that I am a little concerned today.  I saw several Shuttles racing across the sky with markings that made my stomach churn.  I’m probably over-reacting and letting my pirate instincts run wild.  I have to keep telling myself I’m in civilized space now. Under-cover of course. Our new identities were not cheap to come by.

Day Two

Unfortunately my instincts have once more proven to be correct.  This morning Ana and I awoke to find both of our children missing from the apartment.  At first we believed they may have gone downstairs to be with her parents, but that was quickly pushed aside when we saw the state of their quarters.  They have been kidnapped. Of this I am certain.

Ana and I both agreed to keep the local Planetary Enforcement out of this for now and handle the situation ourselves.  The last thing we need is local interference and challenging questions. Her parents weren’t as easy to convince, but Ana talked them into going along with us for now.  If what I saw yesterday has anything to do with this, heads are going to roll.

It wasn’t difficult to throw some bribes around and locate the two shuttles from the day before. Those distinctive markings stood out like a sore thumb. But locating the shuttles gained us nothing, they were abandoned and it quickly became obvious the markings were nothing more than a distraction. A ploy.

The ringing comm notice came sooner than I expected.  They want money of course, but I can’t shake the feeling that there is more to this than simple ransom.  I have so many enemies. If they know who we are, then the list of potential culprits is rather large. They want the drop to happen tomorrow morning.  That’s fine for them, but I want my children back now.  Even if I was willing to wait, Ana would not be.

Unknown to them however, I had already hacked a sisters combat probe earlier in anticipation of their contact.  If you know what you’re doing those can make for a great signal tracker. Even though they take up half the damn room!  So Ana and I rented our own atmo-shuttle and are headed cross-planet now.  We’ll see what happens tonight when we get to our destination.  Wish us luck.

Day Three

A quick note while we have a break in the action.  Ana and I have been up all night and it has been a harrowing journey. Our shuttle was immediately targeted and shot down before we could even reach our destination late last night. We’re both fine, but the kidnappers must have known we were coming somehow.  We managed to salvage enough from the wreck to fully arm ourselves.  But the trek to the nearest village took longer than we expected and we arrived slightly before dawn.

I say “village” in the broadest sense, it’s really nothing more than a single building surrounded by a few scattered and seemingly empty homes.  According to the local new feed, this area was recently condemned due to a rogue extractor incident and no one has been allowed to return to their homes.  It made it one of the few rare places on Caldari Prime that would be empty enough to hide without being detected.  But it also made it extremely difficult for us to determine where the kidnappers might be holding the children.

We shouldn’t have worried, they found us soon enough.  Twelve of them came for us, they must be using infrared sensors, our shields were lost in the crash, and they could see us just fine in the low light of dawn.  I have to give it to Ana, she is much better at fighting under gravity than I am.  Without her at my side I don’t think I could’ve handled twelve of them.  We wanted to keep at least one alive and we managed to make that happen.  They work for Noir.  That’s who they are.  But who is paying them?  Guy was good, I’ll give him that much. He died without giving up much.

But at least now we know what we’re up against.  The rumble of shuttle engines shook the ground as it made a rapid retreat, they got away right in front of us. So they are once again moving the children. I was grateful it was just another atmo-shuttle, at least for now they are not trying to get them off planet. Not yet.

Now where in Hell are they taking them?  And who is behind this?  I’m determined to find the answers or die trying.

Day Four

The news you’re probably hearing about a thermonuclear explosion on Caldari Prime is a lie, a smokescreen to cover up the truth.  That’s because we found out who was behind the Noir contract and it wasn’t any of the usual suspects or enemies... but I’m getting ahead of myself.

We managed to find the shuttle thanks to some help from a former corp mate of mine who works in the Planetary Control Center now, used to be a great capsuleer but couldn’t hack the pod noise after ten years of it.  It happens to the best of them.  But he gave us the location and we went in hard and fast.  The Caldari Navy is missing a planetary interceptor but I didn’t care, we needed some firepower.  Noir didn’t put up much of a fight, but to their credit I think this was getting to be more than what they were paid for.  Or else something more than mere reward was involved.

We found the children and they are both fine.  Turns out my son had already managed to strangle one of the guards earlier.  The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree I am pleased to tell you.

This was all too easy. I should have heeded my instincts. But once we were all together, that’s when they gassed us.

When we came around we were all bound.  And it looked like we were surrounded by Gallente?  The old man who stood before us was sure dressed the part, but he was born Caldari.  The scars and the wear and tear of age couldn’t hide it, that much I could see with my own eyes.  I could also see that he had a gun pointed at my daughters head.

What happened next dear reader is one for the history books.  The man threatening my children and now my wife, the man behind the Noir contract, the turn-coat Caldari in Gallente garb, was none other than my own Father.  I knew it as soon as he spoke, words I hadn’t heard since I was four years old.  The day the Gallente had taken our backwater world and killed my entire family.  Or at least I thought they had killed my entire family.  Turns out they had captured my Father and used him ever since, holding the fate of my Mother over his head like a sword.

But what could he possibly want from me?  That’s going to have to wait until I have time to write again.  They’re coming for us now, I can hear the footsteps in the hall.  This should be interesting.

Day Five

We’re all dead.  Officially we died in the “thermonuclear” explosion you’ve heard about in the news.  It turns out my Father is dead after all and the Gallente were using a Sansha doppleganger.  We’re still not sure why, or why they were after me and my family.  But the important thing is we’re all right.

That makes it all sound nice and tidy, but it isn’t.  Hundreds of thousands of innocent Caldari citizens lost their lives in that explosion and those are the hard facts.  And it is something that weighs heavily on all our souls, even though we had nothing to do with it.  Honestly I’m as confused as you are at this point.  My “Father” didn’t recognize me or anything about our family history, and that was my first clue that something was amiss.  The second was when he started demanding access to my leadership passwords and the “Titan”.  I had no idea what the hell he was talking about.  First of all I don’t have a Titan, second of all I don’t use leadership level passwords.  Not any more... and then it slowly hit me.  It all started to make some sense.  At least a little.

The rest fell into place when the other Sansha came running when he started shooting up the room we were in.  They weren’t happy and it was easy to see why.  We were being held in the containment room directly underneath one of Caldari Prime’s fusion power stations.  His errant blasts were not working well with the machinery and already several indicators were running into the red.  He lost the “Father” face then and that’s when he lost his entire face from the Neutron Blaster I had hidden in my boot.

We managed to free ourselves and get out just in time.  The Caldari Militia had arrived and escorted us out of the blast zone just before all Hell broke lose.

The important thing is we’re all fine.  But this entire vacation has left me wondering many things about my life among the stars and the implications that life has on so many other lives.  After everything, it was the fake identities that caused all the trouble. I hadn’t paid much attention to them until now. The Militia was understandably confused as well. But I learned a long time ago how easily a few billion isk can make any problem vanish in the more “civilized” parts of New Eden.

Maybe taking the name of the leader of the Gallente Factional Warfare corporation as my vacation cover wasn’t the smartest idea after all? I’m going to have some choice words with my contact when I get back to Ouelletta.

Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod
Rixx Javix

Hey Rixx Javix - this was highly enjoyable. I just wanted to give a reminder to check the word counts for these fanfiction bounties. Your entry was ~600 words above our guidelines, so we thought it would have been unfair to award it over other entries that kept within them. o7

Rixx Javix's avatar
Rixx Javix
Alex Sinclair

Teach me to read the entry guidelines more carefully. Although I'm not sure I could cut 600 words from it. Possibly, if I...

Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod
Rixx Javix

As someone who writes for a living and has a tendency towards wordiness, trust me when I say that I sympathise...

Sturmer's avatar
Sturmer

Just realized, that's a Polaris ;) Can we have a bounty to win one? =) Stats do not matter, let it be rookie ship tier.

Amoni P's avatar
Amoni P

"This is it" Inanna said out loud. Sealed inside the capsule, the fluid that was both nutrient and barrier making the sound inaudible, there was no one who would hear it.

The alarms were blaring now as the hull of her Hecate was dipping below eighty-percent. There were too many ships to count on the gate. It was doubtless their guns were heated. Warp disruptors from multiple ships were locking her down. She caught glimpse of the ship list to see who it was that had caught her. She could feel the heat rising in her face as her overview displayed the names, ships, and corporations...

Of all the people to camp this gate at this time, she thought.

The majority of the thrashers pelting her ship were none other than her alma mater, EVE University. A camp of new pilots, some of whom had no doubt joined this gate camp as their very first of the kind. She was embarrassed, but she had to hand it to them. They had gotten her. She closed her eyes and relaxed the muscles in her body. In a moment her pod would be violently ejected into space and she would have to make a dash for the nearest station.

It was the automated insurance mail telling her that a payout had been credited to her account that she noticed first. She had once again forgotten to buy the platinum insurance before undocking. None of that mattered; it was time to go and go fast.

JHenckes's avatar
JHenckes

In this vast universe, in the Villore system, Gallentean space, there is a people who hold a lot of power, coming from various historical conquests. They are a wealthy and traditional people, focused on themselves no matter what. It is in this environment that Elise Thelier finds herself, a pilot of a small mining vessel, the Incursus. She comes from an important family with high political influence, but Elise prefers to stay in the shadows rather than get involved in her family's politics. Her uncle, Vezir Thelier, passed away two years ago, but he had a lot of political influence when he was alive, being a strong reference point for family members who are growing up in this field, for example, Kaliu Thelier, Vanir's brother and Elise's father, who has grown up in politics and is currently the strongest name in the family, but our heroine doesn't care about any of that... On another ordinary day, Elise takes her vessel out to explore, just so she doesn't have to be with the Thelier's, but that's when things start to go wrong!

During her exploration, not far from Villore, Elise is suddenly attacked. What had been a relaxing stroll turned desperate after she noticed the Incursus' shield being damaged by gunfire from an unidentified ship. Elise didn't think twice and ran away as fast as she could, she had never been through this before, she couldn't understand what was happening. During her escape, desperate at the situation, she tried to communicate with the enemy ship

“Cambio cambio, come in, please stop!!!”

Elise got no response, the gunfire didn't stop, she kept running away as fast as she could

“I can give you my merchandise, everything and more important things from the ship, BUT ANSWER, CAMBIO!!!”

Elise spots asteroids nearby and decides to enter this region in order to escape. The enemy ship doesn't retreat, but ends up losing sight of our heroine, who flees on her way to a station after losing sight of the other ship. Still in a state of shock, Elise repairs her ship, which hasn't suffered much damage due to the shield, while she remains lost in her thoughts trying to understand what has happened...

After calming down a bit, Elise returns to the ship and notices that she has received a suspicious message - she wasn't able to notice it in her desperation - which read:

“Run, hide, they're finishing what they started 2 years ago, Hokilan wants the end of Kaliu Thelier”

You realize that perhaps your uncle's death wasn't an accident after all, as it always seemed, or rather, as they always made it seem... The Hokilan are the rival house in Galletean politics, known for their corruption, they compete directly for influence with the Thelier, but no one imagined that they would go this far...

“Now they want my father, wasn't my uncle enough? - she said, starting to cry uncontrollably - BUT WHY THAT? WHAT DID MY FAMILY DO? MY UNCLE AND MY FATHER WOULD NEVER HURT ANYONE!”

Elise was screaming in despair inside the Incursus, when unexpectedly a new message arrived:

“RUN AWAY NOW, YOUR FAMILY KNEW TOO MUCH ABOUT THE CORRUPTIONS OF THE HOKILANS”

Before she could even decide on her next move, an explosion occurred near her hangar! Afraid that they're looking for you, you decide to flee back to an asteroid region, where it's difficult for them to find you.

After arriving on the scene, cruel hours of worry and fear begin, without knowing what to do or when it would be safe to leave. After a few hours you notice that the enemy ship that attacked you the first time has reappeared. It was an Algos, similar in size to the Incursos, but undoubtedly stronger. A look of fear overwhelms you as you face the enemy, but relief returns as the enemy hasn't spotted our heroine. A little further on, you see an asteroid with a huge crack in it. It was about five times bigger than Algos. This scenario gave her an idea of what she could do. Elise cautiously makes her way to the cracked asteroid, trying not to attract attention. When she arrived, she calmly waited for the perfect moment (what was she planning?). When the Algos passes close to the asteroid you activate your unique mining laser to the center of the crack with all the energy your weapon can muster! The inside of the asteroid heats up so much that it explodes - Elise had never seen such an explosion - the Algos noticed you, but didn't have enough time to attack you, let alone dodge or run away. Several shards of this asteroid hit the enemy ship, causing severe damage. Their ship is extremely damaged and apparently without power. Luckily for our heroine, she was further away from the explosion, and the blast and the shrapnel that hit her were held back by the shield. It's the perfect moment, time to run!

Elise is lost in her thoughts, trying to understand the details and also how to solve this situation

Apparently, no matter how hard you tried, it was impossible to get away from your family's political affairs, a long journey was about to begin, of survival and searching for answers, and for your family, if they were still alive...

LukaZaharin's avatar
LukaZaharin

I was told the frogs do not have to be the heroes, so I would like to share a story that I made up for my Char over a year ago. It was sneaking around in my head for quite a while now and I decided to write it down for this bounty.

I was running through the plated corridors of the station, trying to reach my hangars. The noise of the warning signals rang in my ears, they were coming!

Only a few weeks before, my CEO had told us to prepare for evacuation. My best ships were already in safe systems, but I had returned to the station to secure some last terminals and storage bays. Now it was time to leave though, time to retreat and prepare the counter attack.

I tried to contact my corp mates and hear what was going on, but I was alone in system. Three more decks to go! Why had I chosen to go up to the upper ring right now? The speakers cracked and a firm voice spoke up: "Station command to everyone, The Gallente have broken through the defences of the Infrastructure Hub, prepare for takeover" I stumbled and looked up as if I could see them. I had not expected it to happen this fast. I had to hurry to undock my ship and get out of the system before they locked the station down. I could feel the vibrations of a massive fleet docking, only one more deck to go until I would reach my trusty Slasher.

I turned around the corner that led to the large docking gates when I saw a silhouette in the dim light of the emergency systems. I could not see if it was a civilian trying to get to safety or an enemy capsuleer who had arrived early. I had no weapons to defend myself but whoever was sneaking around in the open space of the station entry blocked the way to the private docks. I tried to remember the time before I became a capsuleer, to remember how I used to brawl with my friends. It occurred to me that I did not know if my consciousness could be transferred correctly to a new clone if I was out of my capsule and I hesitated. Then my Minmatarian heart started beating again. This was my station! The Caldari had accepted me as one of their own and taught me about fighting and living in space. They were not only my corp, they were my family and this was my home!

I took cover behind some spare parts and tried to sneak up on him from behind. When I heard the satisfied laughter I knew the pilot in the dark was a target. He had not seen me yet and I quietly ran the last few steps up to him. I grabbed him from behind and tried to wrestle him down. He was slightly taller than me and very strong, but I had the element of surprise. He stumbled and we fell to the hard floor. I grabbed his hands and tried to immobilise him but then I saw the knife in his fist. He was not as unprepared as I was!

I jumped back when he tried to stab me and could avoid the first strike. I felt the spare parts at my back and grappled blindly for some sort of weapon. Looking down at my hand, I saw it held a reload tube for small ammo. That would do! I targeted his hand holding the knife and hoped to keep him at some distance from me, but he was fast. He leaped up with the knife raised above his head. He reached for me, but I hit him over the chest with the heavy tube. His blade cut my face and I felt the blood before I felt the pain. With all my force I swung my own weapon against him and managed to throw him back to the steel plates of the deck. He was stunned by the massive blow, but I felt my concentration weaken with the blood dripping from my forehead. I lowered the heavy metal pipe. He tried to get up again and reached for my feet. Suddenly I heard the noise of several pilots leaving their pods. We were no longer alone! I dropped the tube and jumped over his body to reach the hangars. One hand over the right eye to keep my sight clear, I ran towards the familiar airlock leading to my ships. If I did not leave now, I would not leave at all.

My enemy called his allies for help and the noise of their boots drowned out the alarm of the station. I reached the heavy hangar gates and I could already see my frigate hovering in the force fields of the hangar. I crossed the hallway to my waiting pod. When I turned around to see if they were still after me, I saw the titanium plated doors glow orange from their hand lasers and I wished the Empires had not shared weapons technology. I was fast enough though and reached my capsule. The transfer took painfully long so I connected to the Slasher’s camera drones to keep sight of the situation. They broke through the doors when I felt the comforting draw of my pod connecting to the ship. I had known this Slasher since the day I became a capsuleer, her reactions were as familiar as my own body’s. I fired the thrusters and pushed the ship out of the docking bay, then I cleared the station. Dozens of ships were entering the docking perimeter, one hull next to the other, but I was one with my ship. I accelerated...

FirestormGamingTeam's avatar
FirestormGamingTeam

My head snapped back, and another blow landed, I felt the blood running down my face, days and days of this, dragged into a room, Beaten, taken out and returned to my cell, my injuries treated, good food given to me to return my strength, rinse and repeat. It's how the Amarr interrogators work, psychological torture designed to confuse and coerce what they want.

Our entire operation had been a simple one, get in, get the information posing as Amarr citizens, each of us chosen from the core for our pale skin, once our heads were shaved, we looked just like the very scum we had infiltrated. Our targets were high-level military commanders, responsible for bombs, attacks, and sabotage, believed to be the leaders of cells.

But something went wrong, as soon as we landed on Amarr Prime, we knew something was wrong, our training took over and we identified several tails, and noticed cameras turning our way when we were out in the open, yet we completed our minor tasks, killing several minor functionaries, returning to our lodgings, we would look through the windows and see skulkers, the Amarr secret service, hiding in alleyways, they knew we were here.

As they dragged me back to my cell, I was hardly there, so much pain, they put me down gently on my cot and again, several, barely dressed women came and began to pamper me, using tech to heal my wounds, stroking my skin, smiling at me, another tactic, make you feel comfortable, make you feel at ease, relax you, several times they would burst minutes after you were healed and drag you back and the beatings would begin again.

Food was wheeled in, steaks, potatoes and gravy, and wine, I stayed away from that, being drunk at this point would be too easy. But then I noticed something. This was a new guy wheeling the food in, his gaze very intense, my mind went blank, just like our training, give nothing, show nothing and die for the Federation. We do not submit and we do not betray.

As he put the food in front of me, he was careful to block everyone's view, his sleeve rode up and a message appeared on his skin in holo letters "Be over soon, we are coming" and then flashed away, I kept my breathing shallow and nodded my thanks for the food, he backed away and went to leave, everyone was looking at me, he looked back, nodded once and left. I shook my head, just another trick, just another dirty trick to make me let my guard down.

Night fell and I laid back, as I closed my eyes I heard the unmistakable sound of an EMP go off, and the prison went black, I heard shouting, the running of feet and alarms blaring, quickly sitting up I went to the cell window and hauled myself up, another thing with Amarr cells, if you want to look outside, you need to use what valuable energy you have to do so, nothing, apart from guards running, it was the same as before.

Suddenly my door burst inwards and two men rushed in and grabbed me, slammed a hood over my head and dragged me out, screaming at people "Move, get out of the way" and I was suddenly thrown onto a cold floor, the bag removed and I was staring at two men who I didn't know, one of them produced an Amarr military uniform "put this on, say nothing" I sat there. I didn't move "No, this is just another trick" he surged forward and slammed his fist into my face, enough to make me see stars "I do not have the time or the patience to convince you, the council has spoken, you either put it on or we kill you now" and with that, he pointed a pistol at my face. Getting to my feet I slowly got dressed and placed the helmet on.

"Now what," I asked, they both gestured to the door and the same man spoke "Be silent, follow, stay behind us" We exited the cell and walked quickly, they seemed to know exactly where they were going, we came to a security desk and strolled through and out into the street, transport awaited us, climbing inside, he said "remove your helmet, where is the rest of your team" running my hand through my hair I sighed "dead, all killed in front of me to make me talk, they knew why we were here, they knew I was senior" he shook his head and produced an ID, Gallentean Elite Security services, these men were ghosts, the ID was real.

He handed me a bottle of water "When no contact was made, they waited another week and we were sent in, we hit every spot you had been, every place you stayed, every target you eliminated, but no trace of you, not unusual, but not normal either, we kept looking, until we found some footage of the raid on your lodgings by Amarr Services, then we knew, we contacted back and were given orders to extract all of you, no one broke as far as we can tell, so now, my squad is under your command, our next move is your orders..."

Looking him straight in the face I replied in cold, dead tones "We will find out who gave us up, we will complete my mission, we will find her and we will bring her home" Looking out the vehicle window I said, "We are far from done here".

Shovel's avatar
Shovel

The stars flickered outside of the cockpit of the Verite. A sleek Gallente built Asteroid frigate valley login enough for the lone pilot inside. Amelia Vaurenta fingers down across the console running diagnostics as a mind replay the events that had led her hair to the fringes of Federation face the brink of her own limits.

The nebula beyond stretched and indifferent, their radiance casting hues of green and gold over the hull. Her mind drifted back to Luminaire, to the towering skyscrapers that led the capital planet of Gallente Prime and the ideals of freedom that seems so distant now.

She was deep in syndicate space the lawless region where the Gallenteon Outkast known as the Intaki Syndicate ruled. The mission had been so simple on paper: intercept a Serpendis convoy, confirm the cargo, and eliminate any potential resistance. But out here far from the Federation oversight things rarely went as planned…

Sensors buzzed and a familiar voice crackle through the comms.

“Pilot Vaurent,” the cold clipped voice of agent LaRoux from her Federation Navy contract liaison “ do you understand your mission?”

Amelia’s jaw clenched. The question was insulting a reminder of her role as little little more than a pawn. “ perfectly,” she replied suppressing the bitterness that rose in her throat. She was Galentean through and through and the ideals of liberty and democracy had one driven her. But here they felt like a distant dream lost among the stars.

“ I need you to confirm it, Pilot” LaRoux pressed. His voice sharp. “ I expect compliance.”

She sighed and said. “ I am here to intercept the convoy. Confirm the cargo and terminate any interference.”

“ that’s correct and remember the syndicate and the serpentis have deep ties. Whatever the transporting could destabilise the region.”

Amelia Forster self debrief slowly. It wasn’t the syndicate or the serpentis that troubled her. The real gnawing at her was why this convoy now. Gallentean politics were murky at the best of times but something about this felt wrong, to secretive, too urgent. The Federation motives were no longer clear.

Her display flickered as a sensors picked up the convoy just a few thousand kilometres ahead coasting through the shadows of a distant astroid belt. Six ships. Three. Serpentis escort frigates and three unmarked transports. Amelia zoomed in on the transports, her heart sinking. They weren’t military vessels these were civilian haulers lightly armoured and vulnerable.

LaRouxs voice cuts through her thoughts “targets confirmed?”

“Confirmed” she replied through gritted teeth.

“Good,” LaRoux said, satisfaction seeping in his voice “process”

The Verites weapons hummed to life as she powered up her drones, her ship surging towards the convoy. The serpentis patrol frigate detected her approach breaking formation to intercept. Its warped disruptor locked onto her, but Amelia remained calm. Her sisters of eve tech could handle it cloaking stabs and advanced tracking disruptors. She deployed a flight of drones to deal with the frigate knowing it wouldn’t last long against the ships superior fire power. She targeted the next vessel her senses flared. A rogue transmission cuts through the comms static, a voice she hadn’t heard in years.

“ Amelia…”

Had her hand froze over the trigger. The voice was soft, familiar, impossible.

“ Amelia don’t do this”

It couldn’t be. But The Voice. The tone. It was unmistakable. Valen. Her former wing man presumed dead after defecting to the calderi several years ago. They had flown countless missions together for the Federation Navy before things went wrong. Before Valen had disappeared into empty space labelled as a traitor to Gallente ideals.

She swallowed hard. “Valen?” She whispered.

The Voice came again clearer this time. “ Amelia stop that convoy isn’t what you think. They lied to you.”

Her stomach twisted. The Federation had told her it was serpentis cargo, contraband weapons, illegal boosters. But Valens tone was urgent, pleading. He wouldn’t risk contacting her like this unless something was wrong.

“ I don’t have time for this,” she muttered, heart racing.

“ you have to listen. The Federation is using you like they used me.” Valen said, his voice sharp now. “ that convoy is full of political refugees. Civilian, she spoke out against the Senates secret policies. They trying to escape into syndicate space where the Federation can’t reach them.”

“ refugees?” Amelia hand trembled. That wasn’t possible. Halle the was the beacon of freedom, of democracy. They didn’t silence dissenters… did they?

“They’ve been targeting anyone who questions the government.” Valen continues. “ journalist activist…. people like us you think you’re stopping criminals but your silencing voices!”

Amelia’s mind spun. LaRoux had been unusually tight lipped about the mission. And the unmarked transports - civilian vessels not military suddenly made sense. Was she really here to kill innocents?

Her sensors flared again. The other serpentis ships had locked onto her. And her display lit up with warning signs. Weapons systems active. They were preparing to fire.

“I don’t have time for this Valen!” She barked. Feeling adrenaline flood her system. “ You expect me to believe the Federation would do something like this?”

“ you’ve seen it,” valen shot back. “ you know it’s not the Federation you signed up for.”

Before she could respond, the convoy altered course trying to break away. The escorts opened fire forcing her to defend herself. She deployed her drones to engage, but her mind was elsewhere conflicted.

Her Ship jolted as it took a glancing hit. She cursed under her breath rerouting power to her shields. Valens voice returned.

“ you need to choose Amelia. Stand by your orders or stand for something real. Help these people escape. Or hand them over to the Federation. Either way, they’re dead if you finish the job.”

Her heart pounded in a chest. She knew he was right but defying the federation meant becoming a fugitive and outcast. If she sided with him, she would be hunted for the rest of her life. If she didn’t, the civilians would die and she would be complicit in the slaughter.

The frigates closed in on her position. Their turrets glowing as they charged another volley. She had seconds to make her decision.

“ Amelia…” Valens voice softened “ you’ve always known what was right. Do it”

Her hand hovered over the weapons control. One volley would end this. Wipe out their transports complete her mission. But that wasn’t who she was anymore. She couldn’t be.

Amelia powered down her weapons.

She open a direct line to the convoy. “ This is Amelia Vaurent of the Gallente Federation Navy. I’m clearing a path. Get out of here while you can”

The pilot responded instantly, his voice shaky. “thank you pilot we won’t forget this.”

The transport shifted course speeding into the safety of syndicate space disappearing from her sensors one by one.

As a ship drifted into the silent aftermath. LaRouxs voice screamed through the comms, furious. “Vaurent! What the hell are you doing? You just committed treason!”

Amelia exhaled slowly, strange sense of calm washing over her. “ I’m doing what I should’ve done a long time ago. I’m done with your lies.”

She cut the transmission before he could respond and sat back in her seat watching as the stars drifted past.

There was no going back now.

Thank you for reading my fanfiction, I am not all too familiar with Eve online, but I tried my best to educate myself on as much as possible to be able to complete this bounty.

I drew a lot of similarities with what is going on today in the world, so there are undertones of real life scenarios that are happening in the world, I thought it was really important that I include a parallel to what’s happening and every single day life so thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to do so.

Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod
Shovel

Hey Shovel - I just wanted to add a quick note to say that we really enjoyed this, and that you've done a great job understanding EVE lore as a non-player. This could well have grabbed a prize with one more round of editing. There were some confusing sentences in there that I don't think are meant to be in there, and I suspect they've come from using a voice-to-text tool. It's always worth giving things an extra read through if you've used one of those tools.

Shovel's avatar
Shovel
Alex Sinclair

Thanks Alex! I did proof read it one too many times so I reckon it’s stuff I’ve just missed! Sorry about it that!

Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod
Shovel

No need to apologise :) I just wanted to let you know that it was great and give a helpful pointer for next time

Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod

AlexGoesTheWorld JHenckes Rixx Javix Sturmer PandoraRupture FirestormGamingTeam LukaZaharin Shovel Amoni P - you may have noticed that we took a couple of extra days to award this bounty; that's because both the quality and submissions to this bounty were the highest we've had for fanfiction bounties, and we needed to get half the JA team in to help us decide the winners. In the end, we decided on Pandora for first place, Miyoshi for second, and Sturmer for third. So congratulations to our winners and further congratulations to everyone who wrote a great story for us here. They're always a pleasure to read!

FirestormGamingTeam's avatar
FirestormGamingTeam
Alex Sinclair

Always next time :) Disappointed NGL i put a lot of effort into that one but, there is always next one, I do hope when you have done the 4 main factions you start o the other factions and keep this kind of topic alive

Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod
FirestormGamingTeam

It really showed. I think you should be proud; this was your best fanfiction bounty entry to date. Unfortunately, you had plenty of very high-quality competition. We were planning on mixing up the fanfiction bounties after this one, but that's a cool idea! I'm going to make a reminder to myself to launch another fanfiction bounty series for the minor factions.

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