The Blood-Stained Stars/Chapter 3 - Shadow Puppets

Main article: The Blood-Stained Stars

Mission 16 - Passive Observation

Type	Encounter
Objective	Scout out the drone hive and report back on friendly vessels.
Faction	Rogue Drones
Best damage to deal	EM Th
Damage to resist	Ex Kin Th
Rewards	100,000 ISK + ~115,000-158,000 ISK (bonus)
Extra	Combat is optional

Mission briefing

We've been dealing with the same drone corruption described by Xarasier. We've managed to contain the contaminated ones inside a deadspace pocket, but that is only a temporary solution. I need you to scout out the situation personally. I've been trying to get updates from my colleague in the field, but apparently she is having trouble getting clearance for outside communication. Fly over there and make sure the drones are still adequately contained. If they aren't, report back to me. Do not enter into any confrontations with the security forces attempting to contain the drones. Am I clear?

Battle Scars

The Caldari are very protective of their way of life and tolerate only those foreigners that stick to the rules. Almost any time the Gallente seek to influence events inside the State, the Caldari are swift to label it as nothing less than a violation of their sovereignty. The Caldari paid a huge cost fighting the Federation, losing millions of people between the exodus from Caldari Prime and the war itself.

Objective
Scout out the drone hive and report back on friendly vessels - Location: Hatakani

Notes

Immuri Asaka

There's no danger here if you don't shoot at anything. You'll warp to an acceleration gate. Activate the gate, and you'll emerge into the deadspace room at 75 km from the massive Drone Hive. There are also eight rogue drone ships, but they will not attack if you leave them alone. Fly towards the Drone Hive - the mission objective will be fulfilled when you are about 10 km from it. Return to Asaka's station to complete the mission.

Update
Arriving out of warp it becomes immediately clear that whoever is handling security has little idea how to fight drones. Battleships patrol on the fringe of the swarm, seemingly oblivious to just how vulnerable they are without proper support from smaller vessels.

The Drone Hive

If you do decide to attack the Rogue Drones, this is what to expect:

Initial

		WD	EWAR	L
Friendly (32-70km in a line)
	6 x Friendly Battleship Caldari Navy Battleship
Hostile (8 ships, 18-120km)
	3-6 x Drone Belphegor/Mammon Apis
	2-5 x Frigate Infester Alvi

Reinforcements (4 ships)

		WD	EWAR	L
	1-3 x Drone Belphegor/Mammon Apis
	1-3 x Frigate Infester Alvi

Mission 17 - House of Records

Type	Courier
Objective	Deliver Hidden Data Sheets
Rewards	100,000 ISK + ~123,000-130,000 ISK (bonus)

Mission briefing

The situation has gotten complicated. That current security deployment won't last long against those drones. The local commander, Vitimala, seems happy just to contain the drones, but that only buys the little bastards more time to escape or supplement their numbers. I need to know more about the commander and why he doesn't seem to know what he's doing. I have a friend named Nachi Koruda working for the House of Records who should have those answers. Fly over to the archives facility where she works and return to me with anything that might offer some explanations. It isn't glamorous work, but it needs to be done if we want to make informed decisions about how to proceed.

Objectives
Pick up 1 x Hidden Data Sheets (1.0 m³) at Chainelant VIII - Moon 3 - Imperial Armaments Factory, then deliver them to Agent Asaka at 0.9 Hatakani VI - Moon 4 - Hyasyoda Corporation Refinery.

Notes
This is a simple courier mission. Set Chainelant as your destination - just three high sec jumps away - and travel there. Pick up the data sheets, and come back to Asaka's station. He'll inform you that Vitimala got his command because of family connections, which isn't good news.

Mission 18 - Mercenary Distractions

Type	Encounter
Objective	Kill the mercenaries protecting the Guristas facility, then report back to Immuri Asaka.
Faction	Guristas
Best damage to deal	Kin Th
Damage to resist	Kin Th
Rewards	~95,000-135,000 ISK + ~110,000-144,000 ISK (bonus)

Mission briefing

The situation we have is a delicate one. We can't go after Vitamala directly. Even though he doesn't really have a clue about what he's doing, he's too well-connected to displace without good reason. I'd expect this sort of thing from the Gallente, but not in the State. A man achieves rank because of his hard work and dedication, not because his father has friends in the bureaucracy. Someone else can help with this situation, a true warrior and dutiful servant of the State. The first difficulty is in freeing up his schedule. If you can handle that part, I can deal with the paperwork for his reassignment. He's currently on deployment in a nearby system, busy dealing with a mercenary force we believe to be funded by Guristas Pirates. If you can take out all of the Guristas ships, then I can arrange to have him reassigned to the drone problem.

The Guristas Pirates
The Guristas Pirates have been a thorn in the side of the Caldari State for many years, constantly threatening the security of outlying systems and poorly defended convoys. The Guristas tend to shy away from prolonged and overt assaults, preferring instead to take down weaker prey during opportunistic raids.

Objective
Kill the mercenaries protecting the Guristas facility, then report back to Immuri Asaka - Location: 0.9 Hatakani

Notes
This mission is about as simple as they get. You will warp in at 33km from some Guristas frigates. Kill them, then return to the Asaka's station to complete the mission.

Agent Asaka will then report to you: I’m pleased to inform you that everything went smoothly with the transfer. One of the first things our new commander did was to request frigate and cruiser backup for his fleet. They should be capable of defending themselves if the drones try to fight their way out.

Wave 1

		WD	EWAR	L
	3-4 x Frigate Pithi Infiltrator/Invader

Mission 19 - An Economy Under Threat

Type	Encounter
Objective	Deliver the farming supplies (150  m3) to the storage warehouse.
Rewards	100,000 ISK + ~105,000-157,000 ISK (bonus)
Extra	No combat required.

Mission briefing

Damn Vitamala! He wasn’t coordinating with the Navy’s emergency logistics division. There’s a colony nearby that missed a shipment of farming supplies thanks to the chaos caused by these drones. If we don’t make the delivery ourselves, then we risk their entire agricultural economy. Once you take these goods over to our fleet, they will deal with the rest; we can finally turn our focus towards the underlying cause of all these problems. You will need at least 150 m³ of cargo space to make the delivery. Keep that in mind.

The Caldari Mindset
Despite the existence of several popular political ideologies, financial concerns are the primary driving force among the Caldari people. Although the Federation often tries to paint the Caldari as soulless capitalists, most Caldari view any economic concerns as an extension of their pragmatic mindset, not as an inherent love for money.

Objective
Deliver 1 x Farming Supplies (150 m³) to the storage warehouse in Hatakani.

Notes
--You can complete this mission and accept the next one remotely.--

This is a simple transport mission. Check your cargo hold - the farming supplies require 150 cubic meters as warned by Agent Asaka. You'll warp to an acceleration gate. After activating the gate, you'll arrive in a deadspace area - the Storage Warehouse container will be 16km away.

You'll get a message from Asaka: The Caldari forces look far better prepared this time around. “Anti-support” Frigates and Cruisers flank their larger allies, standing ready and able to deal with any smaller hostiles that come their way. If these drones try to escape, the faster and more agile ones won’t slip past the amassed fleet so easily now.

The rogue drones won't bother you if you don't bother them. Simply travel to the warehouse and drop your cargo into it. Your mission objectives will then be fulfilled. You can complete the mission remotely - you'll then receive this message from Agent Asaka: Yes, I just received word from the colony. They should be able to stick to their production schedule, which is great news. Thank you, pilot, you’ve done the Caldari people a great service today. If you need any further help with your drone investigation, just say the word.

Structures

		WD	EWAR	L
	Storage warehouse

Initial

		WD	EWAR	L
Friendlies (30-75km)
	11 x Friendly Frigate Caldari navy Frigate
	4 x Friendly Cruiser Caldari Navy Cruiser
	6 x Friendly Battleship Caldari Navy Battleship
Hostiles (9 ships, 100-120km)
	4-7 x Drone Belphegor/Mammon Apis
	2-5 x Frigate Infester Alvi

Reinforcements

		WD	EWAR	L
	3 x Drone Belphegor/Mammon Apis
	1 x Frigate Infester Alvi

Mission 20 - Every Drone Inside

Type	Encounter
Objective	Neutralize every drone inside the quarantine area.
Faction	Rogue Drones
Best damage to deal	EM Th
Damage to resist	Ex Kin Th
Rewards	90,000 ISK + ~115,000-163,000 ISK (bonus)

Mission briefing

Normally, the local security forces would want to handle this drone threat themselves, but we're willing to contract the job out to a capsuleer. You'll have to go in alone while our fleet holds the line. I suggest you take some friends into the fight. The drones have been growing in number as more are corrupted and somehow find their way to the swarm. Once you neutralize the threat, you should search the wreckage for something that will help with your investigation.

Objective
Neutralize every drone inside the quarantine area - Location: Hatakani (0.9)

Notes
This is a straightforward kill mission. There are 15 (drone/frigate) Rogue Drones attacking you in this mission, however, and you can get overwhelmed if your combat skills are undeveloped. Fit an afterburner on your ship, and be ready to use a kiting strategy - that is, set your "keep at range" combat control to your optimal weapon range, then turn on your afterburner and use that to keep at your optimal distance from each target, starting with the closest targets first. That will maximize your damage while keeping the drones at a safer distance. Remember: if you start to get overwhelmed, warp out - you can always warp back in after some repairs.

You'll warp to an acceleration gate. Once in the deadspace area, you'll find yourself at about 100 km from 15 Rogue Drone ships. When you approach, they will all target you at 65 km, and close to attack.

Initial

		WD	EWAR	L
Friendlies (30-70km)
	11 x Friendly Frigate Caldari navy Frigate
	4 x Friendly Cruiser Caldari Navy Cruiser
	6 x Friendly Battleship Caldari Navy Battleship
Hostiles(15 ship, 105-120km)
	8-12 x Drone Belphegor/Mammon Apis
	3-7 x Frigate Infestor Alvi

After you destroy all the targets, Agent Asaka will say:
"Nice flying pilot. That’s the last of the drones taken care of. Feel free to inspect the wreckage if you like but I just received an official transmission for you from the Sisters of EVE. Looks like they’ve got a new lead for you to chase up anyways.

Mission 21 - A Sense of Dread

Type	Talk to Agent
Objective	Report to Sister Alitura
Rewards	200,000 ISK + ~130,000 ISK (bonus)

Mission briefing
I’ve just been contacted by Sister Alitura – she wants you to get back in touch with her right away. Here, take this transponder beacon with you when you leave; that way I can know you’ve arrived safely.

Sister Alitura

Objective
Report to Sister Alitura - Agent at Arnon IX - Moon 3 - Sisters of EVE Bureau.

Notes
Time to go back to Arnon again. Set your destination there and travel the 7 high sec jumps to report once again to Sister Alitura.

Next chapter: Chapter 4 - Queens And Drones