I had just bought my Type 10 and took it for its first mining run around the water world in Hyades Sector DB-X d1-112. Within a half hour I had amassed 50 tons of Painite, and I was looking forward to a good reward. I had engineered the lasers and the multi cannons, so I felt safe, but I had not really upgraded the shields and armor. I figured my initial profits would pay for that.

As soon as I hit super cruise I was interdicted by a Mamba. He didn’t even begin his monologue about my “big haul”; he just immediately opened fire. Before I could spin my giant space cow, my shields were gone. It took a second for my turreted weapons to get a bead on him, but eventually I started to deal back the damage. The FSD timer was taking forever. I kept taking hit after hit. Suddenly my thrusters went dead, and I started a slow spin. He was coming around for the kill while my multi cannons were reloading. It looked like the end, when suddenly my weapons went full bore on him, and his ship split in two.

While his debris floated away I was still stuck in a spin. The thrusters were totally gone. Turning them back on and off again only made an empty click. I didn’t have room for an AMD unit, so I thought it was the end. My finger hovered on the self-destruct button when I remembered the reboot-repair option. With hope I toggled the switch. The cabin went completely dark. The only sound was my panicked breathing the emergency oxygen. After about a minute the zooming sounds indicated that my ship was starting back up. I desperately looked at my modules to find that my thrusters managed to gain two percent. I carefully pushed the throttle forward and finally made it out of that spin. I managed to jump three systems to a station where I made thankful repairs. Before I left I bought a very expensive upgraded shield, and I engineered the crap out of my hull.

Haven’t had a problem since then! Fifteen pirates have been dispatched without a scratch on my paint job. Lesson learned: defense wins.

At long last I’ve hit Triple Elite. After splatting over 1500 Thargoid Scouts, I passed the mark. I celebrated back at Jameson with new decals all around. I’m now in the Robigo system grinding up my credits. I fancy that I might just get a Type 10 for mining.

I'm currently in Asterope killing as many Thargoid Scouts as I can. I'm up over 700, and I'm almost at 50% Elite. That will give me the triple that I've been working for. After all of this I need to try out some mining. I've decided that it's time to transform that Python.

It took me two and a half weeks, but I've returned from the black on a trip that took me 27,000 light years from Sol. Along the way I found a total of 19 ELWs, including two gorgeous ringed worlds. That puts my total at 22. I was paid a handsome half a billion in credits for my hard work. My Anaconda is now jumping at 66 light years a pop. I think I'll keep that configuration since I would drain my fuel tank too fast if I attempt to go beyond. As it stand now I'm able to refill while passing a star. I've changed over to my Corvette for the final grind to Elite Combat. I calculate that I can advance by one percent a day by hanging out at the compromised navigation beacons.