Defined by the Decisions We Make

Highsec is all about choices.

Agent Ernst Steinitz was engaged in honourable Code enforcement activities in the asteroid belts of highsec when he was presented with a choice: Which of these ships should he gank?

Ernst made the decision to attack the hauler first; the mining vessels fled. As a result, an unlicensed 324 million isk Impel was destroyed, along with a pod containing 374 million isk worth of implants. How did he know which ship to target? Instinct.

Now let's look at another example. This time, Agent Ernst came across an Orca piloted by Rezka Stalker.

Some of you may remember Rezka as the "Russian poet" featured in a MinerBumping post from several months ago. Back then, Rezka was a mere Venture pilot. Now he has graduated to mining in an Orca with blingy drones. The lesson? Today's Venture is tomorrow's Orca. Gank them all.

When faced with Rezka's Orca, Ernst called in back-up from Agent Lawrence Lawton. Together, they arranged to separate the miner from his mining drones.

The result was an overwhelming victory. Ernst graciously shared some of the confiscated drones with Agent Lawrence.

Now let's look at a trickier decision point. Our Agent recovered an 'Aoede' Mining Laser Upgrade from the wreck of a miner he killed. Upon selling the module in Jita, he identified the buyer, one Covey Deninard.

If Covey's name sounds familiar, it's because he was also a repeat offender whose ignominy was reported by MinerBumping. Here's a sample to refresh your memory:

your pride will be your undoing...your ego is going to be you weak spot....I'm going you hurt you in EVE......make all the threats you want.....I'm an old disabled vet...I fight.....I bleed.......but I take you with me....swallow your pride and return what you took now........that is your only chance.......I do not keep my wealth in isk for you to look up...you have no idea what is coming......but you can stop it....You preyed upon my simpathy....my geneerosity.....these things too make a real man.......you simply do not seem to have learned that.......but I am always willing to teach a small man like you....the train is coming.......the 1st wave will not seem small compaired to the second.......and I can count very high........

Two years later, Covey was back in action. However, when Agent Ernst located Covey, he was not piloting a mining ship--nor was he carrying the offending module. Ernst had a decision to make: Gank the miner now, or wait until later.

As a general principle, the best time to gank a miner is now. Though Covey was in a Nemesis at the time, Ernst was able to delete Covey's 1.2 billion isk pod, as well.

The pod kill made our Agent feel pretty good about his decision. But Covey saw a silver lining in his defeat.

Now it was time for the hunter to become the hunted.

...Or not. Covey pretended that the destruction of his stealth bomber and pod was part of an elaborate ruse to acquire a kill right on Ernst, a Catalyst-flying suicide ganker. Why was Covey still a Goofus after all these years? Because when faced with a decision point of his own, he failed: He chose not to follow the Code.