Menacing Mechanics

Site Details

Menacing Mechanics
Type	Expedition
Rating	Unrated
Found in	Low, Null
Max ship size	Unknown
Faction	Rogue Drones
Best damage to deal	EM Th
Damage to resist	Ex Kin Th
Sig. strength	Escalates from Ruins

Walkthrough

Unlike many escalations, rats from different pirate factions are present here.

Escalation start

This drone operation was so small that it could hardly be called a "hive", there were no substantial assembly plants or other major factories here. It looked more like a maintenance station, something that does not rhyme with what you have heard about drones and how they operate, as they usually are confined to self sufficient hives and perhaps operating small resource gathering satellite ops. But a drone maintenance station, servicing several other hives or passersby is almost unheard of. After scanning through the remaining debris, your instruments gather some service logs, further supporting the idea this was an open maintenance station. Most of the serviced ships seem to have been standard drone vessels, but you can also see some entries naming ships used by humans, even though it does not say anything about who was flying them. Some of the log entries contain extra notes on these customers and among them you find something that looks like coordinates in a system not too far away.

First Location

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Single pocket containing drone and Guristas ships.

Initial defenders

		WD	EWAR	L
	1 x Elite Frigate Dire Pith Infilitrator
	1 x Commander Battlecruiser Sentient Defeater Alvatis
	1 x Battleship Pith Eliminator
	6 x Sentry Tower Sentry Drone III

Second wave is triggered without killing anything. Either timed spawn or after agressing.

Wave 2

		WD	EWAR	L
	1 x Elite Frigate Strain Barracuda Alvi
	6 x Frigate Silverfish/... Alvi

Wave 3 is triggeres by killing the commander battlecruiser.

Wave 3

		WD	EWAR	L
	3 x Elite Frigate Strain Raider Alvi
	3 x Battleship Spearhead/Domination Alvus

Escalation message:

This was probably the smallest Gurista hideout you ever saw and no wonder they were forced from time to time to get their ships serviced elsewhere, even though it was by rogue drones. The mystery is how they managed to get in there and out again in one piece. Usually rogue drones have only one standard response to the sighting of a carbon based life form and that is to run the "murderous rampage" script, or whatever it is that makes them go bonkers in a company where not all members are not purely held together by nuts and bolts. While this has been happening, your instruments have been analyzing the drone logs and the next location which shows any promise is already flashing on one of the panels.

Second Location

---

Single pocket.

Initial defenders

		WD	EWAR	L
	3 x Battlecruiser Striker/... Alvatis
	1 x Commander Battlecruiser Sentient striker Alvatis
	2 x Battleship Domination/Spearhead Alvus

Additional defenders (very short timer)

		WD	EWAR	L
	2 x Frigate Hunter/... Alvi
	2 x Elite Frigate Strain Render Alvi

Second wave

		WD	EWAR	L
	3 x Elite Frigate Strain Devilfish/... Alvi
	2 x Elite Cruiser Strain Devastator Alvatis
	3 x Battlecruiser Siege/... Alvatis

Escalation message:
Another small pirate camp, this time the Sansha. The next location is lined up, who knows what you will find there...

Third Location

---

Single pocket.

Warpin message:
Heuristic analysis of this location indicates that destroying the Bunker would greatly improve your odds of uncovering further illicit activity.

Structures

		WD	EWAR	L
	3 x Drone Bunker

Initial defenders

		WD	EWAR	L
	3 x Destroyer Gistior Seizer/Trasher
	2 x Battleship Gist Cherubim/Seraphim
	5 x Sentry Drone Light Missile Battery

Mesage on local once bunkers are destroyed.
Drone Signal to Hive: Location #5423 destroyed

Wave 2 is triggered by killing all ships from initial defenders.

Wave 2

		WD	EWAR	L
	3 x Frigate Barracuda/Devilfish Alvi
	3 x Elite Frigate Strain Infester/... Alvi

Wave 3 (commander)

		WD	EWAR	L
	4-7 x Elite Frigate Strain Splinter/Render/Decimator/Infester/...Alvi
	3 x Destroyer Marauder/Dismantler Alvior
	0-1 x Commander Battlecruiser Sentient Siege Alvatis
	3-4 x Battleship Alvus Ruler/Supreme Alvus Parasite

Escalation message:
Again pirates and this time Angels. It looks like the drones little operation has allowed evil doers from several different factions to reach further away from home than usual. There is one more location available from the drone logs...

Fourth Location

---

Single pocket with drone and mercenary ships. None of the destructible structures seem to trigger or drop anything.

Initial defender information incomplete

Initial defenders

		WD	EWAR	L
	2 x Frigate Rogue Defender
	1 x Frigate Barracuda Alvi
	5 x Frigate Mercenary Wingman
	1 x Elite Frigate Strain Sunder Alvi
	1 x Destroyer Rogue Defender
	2 x Battleship Mercenary Overlord
	6 x Sentry Drone Light Missile Battery

Wave 2

		WD	EWAR	L
	1 x Overseer Battleship Liasons Commander

Escalation end message:
Off all the evident customers, a rogue mercenary band was perhaps the least surprising consumers of the drone's services, but still, it is troubling to see any outlaw group being able to cooperate like this with a rogue drone colony.