The Wolf's Bite (( This was my first post on EM's forum after several months of forum inactivity, and in-game development and testing of my new wolf fit. Yes, I am OCD about what I fly.))

Well, well. How a few months changes our perspective.

I have now been a member of the Tribal Liberation Force for about three months, and have managed to achieve the rank of Lance Commander. Teraa Matar is coming along as well I can dream, we have passed 10 members, and are giving the Amarr a thick ear at every turn.

I was in the TLF station in Abudban, my home until they order me elsewhere, when I was called to my CO's office. She gave me an intelligence report that contained information regarding a large number of "Room reservations" in Kourmonen for 21 October YC 113, and intelligence that confirmed the Amarr would be trying a raid "Deep into Minmatar territory".

I inform my wingmates, and the op is planned, scheduled, and set. Off we go, my flight of 6; 3 Wolves, 1 Jaguar, Rifter, Ishkur. Kalaratiri, who I would be helpless without, observes that any Amarrian infiltration of Minmatar space must pass through Hofjalgund. On the Hof/Dal gate, we lay in wait.

My scout in Dal, Kala, tells me PIE are inbound; 7 of them. They jump to us; Sacrilege, 2 Retributions, 2 Vengeances, 2 Slicers, and a Coercer. And... they blow past our camp. We catch the Sac, beat it into armor, and it retreats and jumps back to Dal. We decide to pursue the main body of the PIE gang. Not their smartest move, running by us, for as they jumped into Eszur, they landed in... another gatecamp.

Their Coercer dies, and the pilot awakens in a new clone, as we continue the chase, down the pipe, into Hadozeko. We play cat and mouse, both gangs avoiding a huge Battleship bridge gang, when one of the PIE members opens his mouth: Theyre flipping a Minmatar Complex.

In we go. 3 wolves, Rifter, Jag, Ishkur versus 5 PIE; the Retributions, Vengeance, and Slicers. Fairly even match. Good fight.

I call a Retri primary, and the next minute is a blur, as a fierce battle is fought. In the end, the last PIE slicer warps off, as we collect the loot from the wrecks of both of the Retris, the Vengeance, and one Slicer. Our losses? The Rifter.

My lance of relatively new pilots met an enemy force that was initially superior, and far more experienced... and fought fiercely. I am proud of them. The Spirits watched over us, and guided our guns, this day.

Now, on to the point... the Wolf. Yeah, I was flying one of those three wolves. Fit as follows:

[Wolf, Avawolf]
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Corpii A-Type Reactive Plating
Damage Control II
Corpii C-Type Small Armor Repairer

Gistii B-Type 1MN Afterburner
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
Small Nosferatu II
200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S

Small Projectile Collision Accelerator II
Small Projectile Metastasis Adjuster I

218 DPS with my implants and abilities, 1087 msec, 4.3 align, and runs all for 1m 35s. Plenty. Reps 80 dps, and resists, mm... 93.8 78.7 50.9 65.1 for me. Yep, no plate, no gyro. Active resist tank. And oh, how it tanks. I designed it to win a prolonged fight; the 400 plate wolf, with a DCU II and an ANP II, giving 37.5% resist, can absorb 3475 pure exp damage before its tank cracks. This absorbs 2582, is faster, and packs a nos and repper. Yep, 10 seconds into the fight, this has outtanked the 400 plate fit. And it packs 200s, tracking as 150s. I am loving it.

How much?

Well, well. The morning of 22 October, YC 113, I was sent on a mandatory patrol of the near warzone; Bosboger, Lulm, Gulmorogod. I am flying along, checking those in the systems, when I jump to Gulm, and see... a wartarget, one Farelle, of Imperial Fedyakin. Nothing on scan, but there is a mission beacon... oh!

Warp to the beacon, and when I drop from warp, I land ON TOP of her Drake, which was cloaked at the warpin. Immediately I scram and begin orbiting, running my nos, firing with RF Phased Plasma. She begins to fire back, and its on, with the Republic Fleet forces in the beacon assisting me. I switch to RF EMP ammo after a few shots, testing her tank, and see that I am doing MUCH better damage. I kill the drones, Warrior IIs, and settle into a rhythm; rep until my armor is full or I hit 40% cap, let my cap regen to 75% or so, rep some more. And repeat. And repeat.

I begin to get worried that I will need help, or that she will have backup, but I begin to see her shield go down... 60%. 50%. When she hits 40%, i heat my guns and shut my AB down, to burn past her max regen point. Her tank breaks. Mine is holding beautifully. I am being hit by CN Scourge heavies (( Hitting my WEAKEST resist! )) but no good for her; my Armor never dips below 80%.

And down she goes!

I snag the pod, teaching this pilot a lesson about infiltrating sovereign Minmatar space, scoop the loot, and bounce as a neutral Sentinel lands.

He talks some smack... I return to the mission... he runs.

Whatever. Didnt wanna fight a sentinel anyway.

The Wolf seems to want all 4 lows dedicated to an active repper/resist tank. The B-type AB and C-type Repairer are cheap, the A-type membrane is cheap as DIRT. I have another fit with better resists, using a C-type ANP and a C-type Energized Reactive Membrane, with 51 71 for kin and exp resists, and that tanks 99 DPS per second.

The hell with the gyro.  The wolf does enough damage. And she sure looks great while doing so. This particular wolf is now 5 and 0, with a PIE fleet and a Drake to its credit. Ill call it good, yeah?

PS. The nos.  Had the drake had a neut, I would have had troubles. The trick? C-type nos. 8.3 k range. You can nos beyond small neut range. Yeah, our wolf is getting expensive... but you gotta spend some isk to get the best out of a ship sometimes.

I think I will go debrief and spend the afternoon relaxing. Been a busy day.

Ava