The Knight Before Christmas

It's easy to celebrate Thanksgiving when you're a member of the New Order. We have so much to be thankful for: Family and friends, fellow Agents, the Code, and, of course, me and everything I've done. It's hard to imagine what highsec would be like today if it weren't for me--it's probably better not to think about it too much.

Having been duly thankful, it's time to officially mark the beginning of the Christmas season. No one celebrates it quite like the New Order. We do something very special around this time of year; we enforce the Code, which is special no matter when you do it.

Recently, Kaely Tanniss was contemplating the nexus between Christmas and the Code. (This is a natural thing to do if you're an Agent of the New Order.) Inspired, Kaely wrote the following poem. Please enjoy.

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all throughout EVE,
A miner was harvesting, with a sense of reprieve.
He harvested his minerals and mined without care,
Not knowing CODE. Agents soon would be there.
With a quick glance at local, the system seemed dead,
"But high sec is safe," still stuck in his head.

With he in his Retriever, and CODE. on their way,
He settled into mining and was soon AFK.
Over his speakers arose such a clatter,
He raced back to his screen to see what was the matter.
Back to his keyboard he flew with a flash,
As a bumper sped toward him and hit with a crash.

He knew he was in trouble, with nowhere to go,
As a group of Catalysts approached from below.
He tried to align to make his escape,
But there was no avoiding the impending gang rape.
The Catalysts approached him so stealthy and slick,
He knew that his end soon would come quick.

When out of nowhere old James 315 came,
He whistled and shouted and called Agents by name.
"Now Loyal, now Lament, now DJ and John E,
On Borgia, on Sasha, on Wolf and AC.
Put an end to this violator and answer the call,
Now fire away, fire away, fire away all!"

As dry leaves before the hurricane fly,
Antimatter bursts soon lit up the sky.
Around the miner the CODE. Agents flew,
Unloading their blasters, James 315, too.
It didn't take long for the miner drop,
As he blew with a flash and a whimpering pop.

What's left of his Retriever was nothing but dust,
As he voiced his opinions of hate and disgust.
He responded with obscenities and insults abound,
As they explained in his bio a permit was not found.
He cried out in local with defiance and tears,
As the Agents responded with laughter and cheers.

The poor miner's mood was not at all merry,
After all, he was popped, like a young virgin's cherry.
He cried, he yelled, he responded with threats,
But the Agents just shrugged--there were no regrets.
They offered him a permit but were met with his jeers,
As their offers for a solution only fell on deaf ears.

He refused the CODE. Agents, still stuck in denial,
He made more excuses and threats with such guile.
With the miner still yelling and being so vocal,
Old James said with a smile, "Please stay clean in local."
He explained he could mine, with no sense of dread,
If he'd just get the concept of Code in his head.

The rants went on, condemning CODE.'s work,
He called James a bully, a noob, and a jerk.
Old James cracked a smile, Agents at his side,
"By the rules of the Code you'll learn to abide."

Forsake your botting and aspirant behavior,
And recognize James as your new highsec Saviour.
James said with a grin as they flew out of sight,
"The Code always wins, now have a good night!"

Thank you, Kaely Tanniss, that was lovely. This was based on a true story, by the way.