A New Face in an Old Place

 After spending a bit of time in Kamio, one of the capitol systems of the New Order, I felt like returning to my home system of Brapelille. It felt like a return to home for the holidays, and a few faces from my early bumping days presented themselves once I had started permit enforcement in the ice belts.

I had no idea who cuddles was, but I'd like to meet them some day!

 Jason Tanaka is a miner I remember fairly well. After bumping his large Mackinaws, he moved over to Skiffs for his mining income. His permits are still not in line, so I kept a close eye on him. Others came to greet me too, but I was too focused on my mission: bumping bot-aspirants. My first target was Gigi Acoma.

 Prior to my declaration in Local of Gigi's violation, I attempted to start a private conversation with him but was ignored! However, the saying "let no good deed go unpunished" was playing true this night. I attempted to reach out to Gigi in good faith, and Gigi's silence was consequently punished by having his Mackinaw bumped 50km away from the belt. It always seems that after the offender's ship is moved that they now have have a reason to talk to me, and this was no different! The private conversation window popped up, and I introduced myself.

As it turns out...

 ...Gigi did know of the New Order! He had been paid a visit by the Knights of the New Order two days prior to my visit, and his Mackinaw and Capsule were both confiscated to the tune of 758 million ISK. Ouch. You can see the killmails below, provided for your viewing pleasure.

 I asked why Gigi didn't purchase a permit right after this incursion. His main argument was that we were picking on "low players."

 As anyone in EVE would well know, mining is something that new players absolutely abhor. Someone like Gigi is far from new, merely an older player looking to make some easy, boring, AFK ISK. It's a good thing the New Halaima Code of Conduct is around to put a stop to this behavior!

 In my spare time away from the set and the ice fields, I am a scholarly man. While pointing out that his recently lost mass of wealth is a clear sign of a player that should know better (First Rule of EVE: Don't fly what you can't afford to lose), a thought popped into my head. Maybe losing these implants did make him a "noob" again. Did the Agents reverse time with their simple action?

 I like to have a wide, varied discussion. Turning to the Brapelille locals, I sought an answer to this quandary. Another old face, Corrin Javalle, stepped into the intellectual fray to help me find a solution.

This is how you flex your star power.

 I immediately posed my question to him.

Disclaimer: I mistook my 'n' key for my 'm' key a few times. Pressing 'n' harder does not make it another letter.

 Corrin's thoughts on the matter cut right through any doubts I had. Gigi should have known better than to not purchase a permit. The loss of a Mackinaw, expensive implants, and every ice cycle he tried to mine were an obvious message: purchase a New Order Mining Permit ASAP. It's only 10 million ISK, and it'll save you a lot of hassle and hard thinking.

I Warp My Miner Back and Forth

 A common occurrence when bumping in belts are miners that will try to evade the enforcement of an Agent. Hugging asteroids and orbiting are common tactics used by AFK miners, but they immediately fall short when an Agent knocks them away. If a Code Violator is sitting at the keyboard, they'll attempt a more active form of bump avoidance: warping to the other end of the belt. I had a run in today with one of these miners in Kamio. peltar the1 warped his Mackinaw into the ice belt just as I had finished dispensing justice to an AFK miner.

 

 As soon as he had warped in, he was already asking for Orca boosts. I did a quick check of his profile and saw, to my surprise, that he was not a supporter of the New Order! Surely he would not have entered without a permit just after I had finished punishing another miner.

 It's understandable for people to give a chuckle upon meeting me. I'm a funny guy. I make funny movies. This was neither here nor there, and I asked him to clarify. Of course, he gave me the usual miner sarcasm. No respect for Agents, I tells ya'.

 Fu. Fu?

I felt that Fu was not going to help him out here. This Fu guy wasn't even in local, what could he do to me? I proceeded to bump peltar away from the ice he so coveted, only to find him warping off to the other end of the ice belt. I've included below a picture of the Kamio ice belt, which is approximately 310km across. This distance means that miners can warp their ships to another location away from Agents with relative ease.

 My Invincible Stabber, however, can cover that distance much faster. I immediately gave chase!

 peltar was once again knocked away from the ice he warped to with a few skillful bumps. I'd like to give an extra hearty shout out to the Kamio locals for correcting peltar's terrible spelling. Bumping takes much concentration to perform!

 Still, the second ice cycle denial was not enough to deter peltar from purchasing a permit. He once again warped, this time to the beginning of the ice belt near the warp in point. For all you aspiring Agents out there, never let up on your target no matter how far away or how often they warp. Keeping them warping prevents them from mining and even fills a few squares of your Miner Bingo board!

 I caught up to peltar yet again and swiftly bumped him away from his third mining attempt. After he was 20km away from the asteroid he initiated warp, even though his mining lasers were still active. I let him know that this warp would kill his ice cycle, denying him of the ice he so wished to collect. He had none of it, and warped off to the far end of the ice belt.

 What potty language! I caught up to him and found that he had squeezed up against an asteroid in a last-ditch effort to keep me from knocking him away. Well, it's a good thing the Stabber is shaped like a futuristic crowbar, because I was able to pry him away and send him flying one more time.

 My persistence with peltar the1 had paid off. After his fourth ice cycle was denied, he gave up and warped back to the station. I reminded him as his Mackinaw sped off, multiple dents pounded into his hull, to return next time with a Mining Permit. As soon as I said this, a request for a private conversation from him popped up. Was he finally ready to pay?

 

What a very silly question.

Fly by Knight

 Today was a special day in Kamio. Shortly after warping into the ice belt, I noticed someone trying to contact an Agent of the New Order. Were they looking for a permit?

 

 On the contrary, they were looking to become a Knight! The locals pointed out my mighty presence, and test Achasse immediately started a private conversation with me.

 

 There are many who wish to join the Knights of the New Order, their eyes full of fiery antimatter ammo. Of course, anyone who wishes to be a Knight must perform a Baptism by CONCORD. test knew of the process, having read the steps to becoming a Knight on MinerBumping.com. I set to work finding a target right away.

 

 A lone Procurer sat in the ice belt by the name of krystal foxx. They were a known Code violator, which would make a great target for a Knight in training.

  I moved my Invincible Stabber, Team Zissou, right next to the unsuspecting target. Once I was in place, I let test know I was ready.

 As soon as I had found a target, test was already warping to my position. The tension in the air could only be cut with the sharpest of knives. The birth of a Knight is an exciting event, and I was glad to be a part of it!

 

 As soon as she landed, krystal foxx was locked up and fired upon! I've included below a wonderful snapshot of the attack in action.

  

  Of course a lone T1 Catalyst would not make too much of a dent on any ship, but the tenacity of a willing Knight is stronger than any Blaster. I immediately congratulated test Achasse on her efforts.

 

 With the destruction of her Catalyst, the Baptism by CONCORD was complete. test Achasse was brought into the New Order with open arms. I announced to local the successful initiation of our newest Knight. krystal foxxx was upset that she had been targeted, but she should count her lucky stars that this was not the full force of the Knights of the New Order.

 Meanwhile in the New Order channel, fellow Agents and Knights congratulated test on her Baptism.

 What a welcome reception!

 Almost immediately, she was asked to help with ongoing operations against a rebel miner located on the Red Pen list.

 
 She had heard of brony2893 from the MinerBumping blog. A true devotee! I wish her well in the Knights of the New Order, and hope to see many rebel miners taken down by her Neutron cannons!

Cultural Outreach in Kamio

 For as long as I have been miner bumping, I've had my fair share of miners that don't speak English. Google Translate tries its best to help me understand them, but most results end up nonsensical. You could imagine my delight when during a routine permit patrol in the Kamio ice belt, I met miner Mirar Zian, a speaker of Spanish! I've taken a few courses myself, but this would be a true test of my "vocabulario." That's Spanish for "library of words."

 I noticed that Mirar didn't have a permit on him, and decided to start a private conversation. An Agent needs to be personal with the miners in his area to truly get a feel for the community.

 Well, so much for copping a feel. I hadn't even noticed that his "hola" was truly a Spanish greeting! My Spanish is a little rusty, but I felt that I could take on this cultural boundary without resorting to Google's wonky translation efforts. For all I knew, a result from Google could end up saying "I want to sell your sister like a secondhand bike." I started slow by reintroducing myself.

 "What?" Well, you can't say I didn't try. On to Plan B: Copious amounts of bumping.

 I immediately rammed Mirar out of the ice belt with a few swift bumps, hitting him so hard he left the conversation. Let it be known that if you can't get your point across with words, then a few bumps will do. You don't need a translator to understand the lack of a New Order Mining Permit. After his ice cycle had ended some 50km away from the asteroid, Mirar warped off.

 As it turned out from a quick chat in Local, Mirar was a fellow speaker of English. Quite the smartass, too! While the little amount of Spanish I knew helped me see past his flimsy lingüísticas, I'll probably just resort to a quick Google Translate followed by a rousing bumping session in the future. After all, actions speak much louder than Spanish words. Or any words, really.

An Introduction

I am Agent BillMurray with the New Order of Highsec. I started assisting the Order last August in the Gallente highsec system of Brapelille, and have been with them since. If you would like to see some of my past exploits, check out the articles below on the MinerBumping blog:

Our Man in Gallente Highsec

- This was my first appearance on MinerBumping, back when I had started bumping in Brapelille.

Agent Murray Meets the Space Therapist

- A concerned miner asked the one and only Space Therapist to talk to me out of concern for my well-being.

The Brapelille Crusade 

 - The New Order's first concentrated excursion into Brapelille and the surrounding areas. It had been a while since I left Brapelille, and I was glad to be back!

Welcome!

After almost a year of bumping miners with the New Order of Highsec, I've finally created a site to catalog my own adventures and thoughts in EVE Online. If you have any thoughts, comments, or concerns, feel free to let your mind flow in the comments section of each post!