Logbook entry

You all know what I'm talking about.



The galaxy-wide tactic we've seen pirates, criminals, infiltrators, and psychopaths use all the time: drop a beacon into the middle of a pile of abandoned gold, and wait. Someone sees the signal, drops in, sees the floating canisters, and thanks their fortunes.



Then the attackers drop in, heavily armed and numerous. Seven Vultures, or maybe three Anacondas, Fer de Lances, Clippers, etc. that you have little chance against. The hapless scooper has no choice but to run.



Most of the time, the people that drop on these are fellow commanders, hunting for salvage, running a mission, or simply trying to lend a helping hand. We've all done it at least once. I've been lucky, but most people's first encounter with the 'gold trap' ends with a conversation with the insurance agent. Any time I've dropped on a signal source and seen something too good to be true, I've turned and left.



Until yesterday.



Myself and Cmdr Ven Mkoll were running missions for the locals when we stumbled across one of these traps. Eight canisters of gold, floating alone in the void.



"What is it?" Ven asked.



"Gold ambush," I said as I turned my ship away.



"Alright, so we're out?"



I thought about it for a moment. First rule of a gun fight is to bring guns, lots of guns, and all your friends with guns. Caoineadh is armed to the teeth and has the best thrusters to put those guns on target. Ven's ship, Monitor, is of the same class and he's easily kept up with me in other fights. Both ships have the top-rated shields for the platform.



I knew that what ever they threw at us would be strong and well-armed. The gangs that set up these ambushes were all about overwhelming the hapless victim with devastating firepower. It's a lot easier to steal when the victim is dead or stuck in a low-stasis escape pod. But...we were well-armed as well, and we had the advantage of many hours of combat experience both individually and working together.



So I replied, "Nah, let's fight it out," and turned back around, weapons deploying.



A pause, then a nervous, "Okay..." over the comms.



Just then, three Anacondas dropped in at less than a kilometer. They engaged immediately, spouting threats and taunts as they did. I don't think they quite knew what was going to happen. The first ship was struck by a flurry of photons from six lasers between us, and the shield collapsed with a pop on the impact of a plasma bolt. All three enemies engaged Ven as I flanked the first Annie. As this one exploded under the wrath of three cannons, two more jumped in! They also began engaging Ven, knocking out his shields before the cell could recharge them. He turned tail and with a 30m/s speed advantage, gradually outran the pursuers.



I, of course, pursued them as well. In A-Combat during flight school, they harped on about target fixation and how not to get tunnel vision when you have a juicy target. I don't think these guys passed A-Combat. I chose one Annie that was being particularly unhelpful and simply let my lasers do the work. Once the shields dropped, I targeted his drives and unleashed the cannons. Moments later, he was dead in the water, but I'd attracted the attention of the other ships.



They broke off the chase and turned back to me, but Annies are ponderous beasts and require a lot of pre-planning to maneuver most effectively. I had enough time to disable the ship before they were in range. My shields bore an incredible amount of fire, even with dual chaff launchers firing continuously. With some hard maneuvering, I managed to stay alive and return a whole lot of pain long enough for Ven to return, shields nearly charged. He eliminated the disabled ship in a single pass.



Now it was back to the original odds, three Anaconda pirate cruisers versus our two Python destroyers. We came about, picked a target, and charged. Ven and I each tanked a ship while we wailed on the third vessel, and it was a short battle. Our third victim blew apart from its own failing power plant losing containment. The other two ships must have decided that they didn't like the odds anymore and immediately high-waked.



Ven had taken very little hull damage, but consumed half of his SCBs and accelerator ammunition. I was sitting on two empty banks and fifteen cannon rounds between the three guns. It was a hard fight but we'd pulled off what I once thought was impossible. Good ships, honed skills, and superb coordination had changed everything.



I had always feared and respected the gold trap, all the way back to my days in my rattling little Sidewinder. But not today. Never again.