Prep before the chainer

“OK, remember what I’ve taught you.”  She brushed a bit of lint from one shoulder and smiled encouragingly at him.  “You offer her what you are willing to give, not what she wants to get.”

“Willing, not want.”  The tech said numbly.

“You can promise to deliver the target but you need to know why she hasn’t killed him when she had the chance.  What is it that they want?”

The tech looked at her again.  “How do we know they want something more?”

“Dead is easy.  If an organization this big just wanted Mike dead it would have been done long ago.  There is a secondary agenda in operation and we need to know what it is before we . . “

“When you say we you mean me”

“Before we process our objective.  Intel is everything.  So you have to be willing to give a little to get a little.  If things start to look like she is suspicious then spin.”

“Spin.  Turn their offensive back against them?”

“Exactly, never look defenseless.  Last resort is you walk away taking what they want.  Make sure they know that you have their objective so they know what happens when you walk away.”

He sighed and nodded.

“What is wrong?”

“Why can’t I just go in and cap the chainer?  All this maneuvering and lies makes me feel dirty.”

“Because we are not fighting a battle, we are fighting a war.  One loss or one win does not define us.  Each day, each encounter makes a difference but if we don’t take the long view we may win more battles here and now but in the end they will win.  I won’t let that happen.  A sacrifice now means the next generation won’t have to ask these questions, won’t have to face this sort of morality.”  Free looked at him and smiled sadly.  “You know what I do to get close to my targets.  Are you under the impression that I enjoy or prefer that?  I don’t.  I do what needs to be done, end of story.”

“And I have to do what needs to be done, now, right?”

“Right.  Intel then the kill.  Oh we will finish this, but in our own time, on our own terms, and when we have the intel.”

He smiled and straightened up.  “I notice how you are not mentioning that by taking this contract we are helping your . . . what the hell is Azariah anyways?”

“My friend.  You are lucky you are about to go see the target or you would be curled up on the floor right now.  He is my friend.”

“Yes ma’am”  With a slight grin he exited while he could still walk upright.

***************************************************************

Lessons

Some one complained that Free hadn’t been mentioned, of late.

Infer vs, imply, always a slippery slope, eh?

Fly it like you won it

m

 

 

Be the guy selling matches

. . . so most of the gang is all arguing about it but I figure that the politics of the pilots is so far above my pay grade that it barely touches me.  Except then I got to thinking.  Boss gave me some isk to work with and he expects me to be a good steward of that cash.  If I just leave it in the bank then it is not doing a damn thing.

I look about and start to pay attention to what is going on and maybe all of this politico stuff will be a chance to make some isk.  Lot of reading to catch up on, though and most of it is the usual dross.  As one person put it, the usual suspects are rehashing the usual attacks on each other.  Accusations of sexual deviancy, ad hominem attacks, each claiming someone else is throwing somoene under the bus (what bus?)

Stuff I have found out.  The Mittani tried to control his fall by stepping down from chair but keeping on the CSM.  The powers that be said no, off you go.  Needless to say he is also leader of the Goons and they are not happy with how their fearless leader has been treated.  This is where the isk comes in.

Word is that the Goons are gonna come out in force to make first Tenal and the Jita itself burn.  I went with the boss to Jita one time and all I can say is . . .great!  The place is a cesspool.  But if they plan on making Jita burn they are gonna need a lot of kindling and that is where the isk is to be made.  Ships and ammo, guns and basic mods.  Even gank ships have needs.  If I can make and deliver enough in the month till Jita ignition then maybe I can make the boss proud of me.

I know . . . it is all about being proud of myself but the man has trusted me, given me a position and let me spread my wings and take chances.  That sort of thing build loyalty.  Maybe that is what the Mittani did and why he has these rabid followers.  From the outside they look like fanatics but maybe he has earned that trust and loyalty, internally.  I dunno.

So my job right now I following the news and trying to make heads or tales about what is going on.  Damn I wish someone did a basic news show without having to take one side or the other.  Always hard to find the nuggets of truth in the mounds of bullshit.

I am sending some isk home because the boss gave me a raise and I really don’t need more stuff here.  He is all happy because he has been out flying again.  Still hasn’t lost a crew and the killboard says he has 16 to his name now.  Some of the other crews are giving us a hard time saying he must be a coward to not take the chances that would get him more kills and more losses.

Personally and I know a lot of the team he brought with him agree.  we can live with the ribbing because we know he actually does fly to fight and it is just a combination of dumb luck and good shooting.

I’ll write soon, time to go prep for the trading because like they say ‘In the time of riots, the winner is the guy selling the matches’

******************************************************************

Lessons

Seriously, how detailed do you want my take on the latest of the CSM stuff?

Oh and congratulations to Pirate John who won a ship to be contracted soon as I have a chat with him.

fly it like you won it

m

Hopes for the CSM7 (BB34)

Blog Banter 34: The Rise of the Spaceship Politicians

The polls have just opened for the election of candidates to occupy the 14 seats on the 7th Council of Stellar Management. To kick-start a topical CSM-themed banter, CCP Xhagen – fierce champion of freedom of speech and in his words, “the guy that gets yelled at when the CSM dudes do booboos” - has offered this question:

“How would you like to see the CSM grow, both in terms of player interaction and CCP interaction?

“Results are in.”

Mike sighed.  “I saw them.  Impressive win for Mittens.”

“How you doing?”  The POS manager pulled up a chair slowly then watched it for a few minutes to make sure it would stay where it was put.

“hmm?  A shade disappointed, me.  More in myself than in anybody else.  I had such hopes this time, still do.”

“Hopes?  You lost . . . most folks kinda lose hope at that point.  Or have the common sense to drop it.”

“Common sense ain’t big in my family.  No, I mean hopes for the CSM and what I would like to see of them.”

“Aside from the forlorn hope of you being a part of them?”

“Yeah.  I STILL want to see them use a common media to communicate with the electorate.  Either a common channel, comms, print, whatever.  Searching through forums of different organizations is not a valid method of information dissemination.  Saying in one breath that they are ‘talking to the people whop voted for them’ and in the next breath claiming a ‘mandate from a group far larger than their own alliance’ is bullshit, plain and simple.”

“Yer thinking of one person there, aren’t you?”

“If you mean the Mittani, yes and no.  A lot of stuff ascribed to him is actually more from his own personal echo chamber of loyal henchlings.  Though he can open his mouth wide enough to accommodate both feet when he puts his mind to it.”

“You been following the news, have you?”

“Hard not to.  Half the universe seems to be baying for his blood and the other half are defending him to the death.”

‘Where do you fall in that division?”

Mike paused.  “He screwed up and prepared the information to be able to do the screwup right proper.  You do not remember the name and exact spelling of a person you got an comm from months earlier unless you have reminded yourself of that name.  You do not accidentally prep an image for the same story.  He may have been drunk when he made the faux pas but I have trouble thinking that he was also drunk while making the preparations to do so.”

“So you are baying for his head, eh?”

“Let me finish.  That being said he has acknowledged his error publicly and in more than one forum.  It is said he has sent reparations to the person he targeted.  He has stepped up and shouldered the blame.”

“So you think it should just be dropped and is all water under the bridge?”

“Man, you are as bad as a troll, you know that?  Jump on an idea and then gnaw its bones for some marrow of the truth you want to hear.  I think a middle ground is called for, in a few ways and for a few reasons.  Sadly, I don’t think he can stay on as chair of the CSM.  I do NOT think that they should pull his pilots license.  The thing is hard to judge because of all the outside factors involved.  He is a celebrity and so what he says carries more weight and more responsibility.  He has, in the past traded on that status, even scamming folks with fake sales, trading on his rep as a CSM Chair.”

Mike looked down at his coffee.  “That was . . . questionable but hey, let the buyer beware, eh?  But he knows that he has a pack ready to leap to do his bidding.  It is like carrying  a loaded gun with a hair trigger.  If you point it and it fires but doesn’t hit the target does that mean ‘no harm no foul’?”

“The gun still went off.”  The POS manager nodded.

“Exactly.  Look, you asked me what I hope for CSM7 and this is it.  I hope that we can get the hell past this and move on.  That there are better lines of communication both up and down and that they are FASTER.  Minutes should not take months.  Some good folks got elected and I hope to be in communication with a lot of them.”

“Why?”

“To keep in touch, to help them talk to the players, even if it is through me.  I don’t have the ear of the people higher up but after all this time I do know that most of the ‘Eve Celebrities’ are just folks.  Same goes for Mittani.  He is a guy, not a demi-god.  He made a mistake.  We need to deal with it and move on.”  Mike sipped his now cool coffee and grimaced.  “When stuff gets old and cold it gets more bitter.”

**************************************************************

Lessons

My eyes are bleeding from following the threadnaughts.

I had this partially written and then the Alliance Council fiasco blew up.

I went back to the CSM White paper, the original document that outlines the whys and whats of the CSM

any behavior or actions considered being a material breach of the eula or tos by a CSM representative is grounds for immediate dismissal and permanent exclusion from all pending and future participation in the council. there are no
exceptions, regardless of the infraction. representatives are not only expected to uphold the social contract that all society members are held accountable to, but should also set a behavior standard for everyone else to follow.

We all make mistakes but, as I tell my daughters, sometimes ‘sorry’ is needed but it is not the end of it.

I’ll draw a command ship for someone later today. (seems appropriate)

fly it like you won it

m

Eight is not enough

. . . and so no folks have been lost yet but the captain still says he wants to avoid losing any of us who have been with us a long time.  It ain’t that he isn’t getting out there yet.  He took out a Rifter and managed to get in on four kills then he did the same in a Thrasher, today.

Don’t tell nobody but I saw him getting out of the pod and, who boy, his hands were shaking. He tried to hide it but I saw him spill a bit of the celebratory drink one of his gantry guys handed him.

We ain’t making any isk at this but so far he also hasn’t managed to lose a ship.  I don’t know if that is dumb luck or what.  He has some lady hauling stuff over for him but she don’t talk much, just drops things of and has us sign for everything . . . with a real pen.  Wierd.

I decided I am gonna try to run his logistics and trade rather than fly things myself.  Jiorj just nodded at me like he knew all along I would go that way and then he handed me a credit line of 60 million.  Me . . . signing authority for 60 million isk. And, get this, he said if it runs low I am to let him know and he will arrange for more to be moved over to the account.  Going to try real hard not to let him down but man oh man, 60,000,000 isk is  . . .well its just wow.  For someone who ain’t a pilot it is more isk than I could ever imagine having, sheesh, even thinking about and MY hands are shaking.

*****************************************

Lessons

Adrenaline, the rush is addictive but I could barely type after getting into a fight.

The so you may see a bit of a sideline of market pvp also happening courtesy of the dock guy.

 

 

 

 

fly it like you won it

m

End game

“So, heard the results yet?”

Mike was damn tired of that question but he smiled and shook his head.  “Last ta know, me.  Comes with being out here in a hole and probably not being one of the winners.”

“Know that for sure?”

“Oh odd things can happen but I ain’t holding my breath.  I know a few folks here and there voted for me but I know a few good people who voted for others with a damn good reason to do so.”

The POS manager nodded.  “Not trying to make things difficult for you or anything.  Just asking.”

“You are in charge of my POS, everything you do makes things difficult for me.  Comes with the job description, no doubt.”

The manage nodded and smiled.  “Probably does.  So what do you expect to happen next?”

“Well, they will announce the winners.  Mittani will take a bow along with the rest of the re-electees and the two or three new faces.”

‘That’s all you expect?”

“Yup, they were elected last time for a good reason and not much has changed.  Oh one or two might be replaced, Darius, for example, but for the most part it is gonne be ‘meet the new boss‘”

“So if you don’t think you could win why did you try?”

“Buncha reasons.  Ta let people know that it was okay ta be yourself and play your own way.  To meet some new folks and try to convince them to vote and maybe even vote for me.  To spotlight one of the really big myths.”

“That you are monogamous?”

Mike laughed.  “No, the myth that there is an endgame.  Folks always think that there is a finale to flying . . .maybe a Titan or running a corp or alliance in Null.  I say that just ain’t so.  There are lots of people for whom that is the goal but I betcha that for every one of them there are a dozen who think that that sort of finish would be a punishment.”

“Flying a Titan is a punishment?  Being the boss?”

“Ayup.  Being the boss in an untrusting universe is scary.  You always wonder if you should trust and delegate or keep it all to your fool self and try to do everything.  I know for a fact that pilots like Mar would rather fly an assualt frig than a Titan any day of the week.  For a lot of folks ‘end game’ is when the universe finally messes things up once to often and they quit piloting in disgust”

“What will your endgame be?”

“Dunno.  It is quiet here in the hole and I think I have a lot to learn about this part of space before I feel like movin on.  There be so much ta do and so many folks still to meet.  And then there is the CSM.”

“I thought you have resigned yourself to having lost.”

“Lost ain’t the endgame, it is the changing of the rules and roles.  If I cannot play on the inside then damn if I ain’t gonna be fairly noisy on the outside.  The last CSM ticked me off with their silent treatment and so I plan on making a racket for them, with them, or at them.  Anybody who thinks that people outside of the CSM cannot make a difference ought ta meet folks like Ripard Teg, Seismic Stan, Arydanika.  Now I don’t figure I am gonna be like them in fame or skill but I will do what I can . . . “

“Just like you were saying you would try for if elected.”

“Ayup, ‘cept I won’t have to sign no papers that might force me to keep secrets.”

“Do you even know the meaning of the phrase ‘give up’?”

“Yup, every time I try to rush something you are in charge of . . . “

**************************************************************************************

Lessons

Of course, things may Gang aft agley, I may die, the king may die, the horse might learn to sing.

I have not given out a prize in some time.  Comments for some ship or other.

fly it like you won it

m

Returning to see red

. . . so we had to haul the damn thing out into space and vent it to get rid of the infestation.  I have no idea how all those bugs got on the ship while it was mothballed but there ya go.

The Captain seems in fine spirits but he is making it very clear that he will be going outside the home sources for crews for the next little while.  He is going to sign on with the Red federation if they will take him for what he calls “advanced training of a practical kind”.  I think that means he intends to lose a lot more ships.  Before joining he has been spending a lot of isk moving  ships into position and setting things up for the losses.  Mainly frigates right now but I think he is also planning on a set of dessies and some cruisers to boot.  

Get this . . . he is talking about maybe letting me train in industrials so I can help out in the supply lines.  He has given me the choice of that or working on station building the basic supply.  He told me to sleep on it and run some cost projections for what would be better in the long run.

Well, I have to go run some projections and decide what to do next.  All my love to the family . . . 
*****************************************************

Lessons

Sometimes you just want to go shoot things that shoot back.

Nothing  about the election here, move along.

fly it like you expect it to blow up

m

Labels

CSM:  People been asking who I am.  This is part of the answer to that.

“So I got a few endorsements and a few near misses.”  Mike sighed and leaned back, looking at the comm screen with half closed eyes.

“Why dat matta to you, you be sure ta win dis time.”

Mike laughed at his aunt and shook his head.  “Part of the problem is the concept of ‘wasted votes’.  A few candidates are trying to spread the myth that unless you vote for someone who is sure to win then you are wasting the vote as it will count for nothing.”

“Dat not be a new idea, nor a good one.  Only vote wasted is the one not cast.”

“Or the one cast at random.  Funny thing is I really respected the guy who put this idea up until recently.  I have spoken highly of him and then he starts talking about tactical voting and making a ‘Voting guide’”

“Sa man be running in da ‘lection and writes up a guide, oh no, there be no bias there.”

Mike nodded.  “Trebor has earned a lot of respect, over the years, and it almost seems like he is trying to get rid of some of it.  His guide is biased and driving more voters away then towards him.  The thing that stung me personally was the labels he attached.”

“And what did he decide you label be?”

Mike grimaced.  “Newbie, which he defined as . . . “

These are candidates running for the first time, often because they are concerned about a specific issue or set of issues and want to use the election to air their views. Because they don’t have broad support, they are unlikely to make it onto the CSM.

Mike sighed.  “Been a long time since I considered myself new at this game.”

“He not even take the time to check his facts?”

“Busy guy, I guess.  Just hope he checks facts better when he is in office.”

“Anybody else hanging labels on you?”

“A few . . . a well respected writer called said  . . .

Mike Azariah, even though he’s probably the strongest role-playing candidate and the strongest Incursion candidate

that he would not recommend me but that . . .

Still, I hope he gets an alternate seat this year.  I think it’s about the right time.

so there is that.”

“OK den, him I still like”

“A few others whom I respect have sent me words of support.  Podcasters and writers who I have chatted with in the past but the worst thing, for me, is the labels.”

“You worried about what others think?  I thought I raised you betta than dat.”

“Tanta . . . “  Mike wiped his hand across his face.  “They see me chattin and bein what I am and they figure they have juuuust the box to set me in.  I write about incursions so I must be all that.  Then I write some fiction so I be wearin a wizard hat.  I write about what the CSM does and does not do and I maybe have that wizard hat made outa tinfoil.  They don’t see the whole ting just the part they want ta box.”

“Dat be their problem then.”

“Not when it comes to the vote.  Then it become my problem.  I gotta figure out a way ta make them see what I am.”

“No.  You be who you are and what you are and show them.  Iffen they follow what you do they will know you ain’t one to think or live in one little box.  If they don’t know that by now then nothing you gonna do is gonna change their minds.  Politics is sometimes about the preconceived notions of what is right.  Or what is, period.  There be people you could talk at till you was blue in the face and not budge them an inch.”

“Be who I is?”

“And if they don’t want that then it be their loss.  Iffen I could vote ya know I’d vote for you.”

“Ah, Tanta, if only I had about 3000 more of you.”

***********************************************************************

Lessons

Newbie hurt. Seriously Trebor . . .

Ripard Teg was much nicer . . . and I appreciate that.

Who the high profile non candidates like will sway some of the folks who listen, read, play the meta game.  The forums . . . um, no.  That is less a campaign platform and more troll.

I have started dropping secure containers in appropriate systems with My name on the and CSM . . .the space equivalent of yard signage.

For those who wonder, yes I am a serious candidate.  I just like to write in character.  Ask anybody who has flown with me in a fleet and they will tell you I know what I am doing and I do not wear a wizard hat while flying logi or DPS

m

 

Peace Dec

CSM:  Read it to the end and see if you manage to get part of the point.  But no, this is NOT a serious proposal, just a different way of looking at things.

The number of empties was growing at a slower rate, now that one of them had passed out.  The others were exchanging embarrassing tales of fails . . . as pilots do when together and under the influence.

“So Flash decides that if there are no guns in the local stations we can strip them from some local rats in the belts.  Here we are the big bad roam trying to scavenge ammo and guns.”

“Wait wait wait . . . for a Bestower?”  Mar asked in disbelief.

“Well yeah.”  Mike took another pull from a bottle.  “I had to be able to defend myself didn’t I?  Anyways, we warp to a belt and sure enough some rats start shooting at us.  The funny thing is, Flash cannot see them.”

“Why not?”

“He had set his overview to only indicate enemy podders.  It did not occur to him that he might want to shoot at simple fleet pirates.”

“So they are shooting him . . . “

“And he cannot shoot back . . . it was very surreal.  Me, being the carebear mission type guy had them all set and targetted, but then, I did not have any guns to shoot them with.”

“So why the hell did you warp to the field with them?”

“Fleet stays together.  But that incid . . .  incad. . ..  time, it gave me a weird idea . . . a peace dec.”

“Peace Dec.”  Mar looked at him and muttered.  “I am afraid to ask”

“No, see, it is like a wardec only completely different.”  Mike drank again and nodded vigorously until he almost lost his balance.  “Wardec, you do and the other guy has to fight or button up for the duration, right?”

“Yeeeaah.”  Mar was looking at him as though he had drawn a weapon.

“So a Peace Dec forces you to do peaceful things or button up as well.  Unable to  initiate combat until x amount of ore is mined or y amount of basic rats are eliminated.”

“That.”  Zzzleepyhead said from where he lay, eyes not opening, “is pure evil.”

“I imagine some pilots would go into forced retirement out of protest for being made to ‘play’ a different game than they wanted.  The concept that one corp could demand another play to a style or pattern that they did not want to would be so wrong that they would leave the corp/alliance/ or space all together because of Peace Decs”  Mike looked blearily at the now empty bottle.  “Right, that is all of that, Hey Mar, slide some of that ‘hot chocolate’ over here.”

*********************************************************************

Lessons

NO this is not a proposal, not even a joking one

If you miss the irony of the above . . . tough.

Just talking about how wardec currently worked and how my mind tries to see things ‘from the other side’ this thought came and I had to write it down or live with it bouncing around in my skull for days on end

Oh, winner . . . . 8 entries for the tier 3.  The winner is Ferritos

m

Incursion discussion (CSM)

Yes, this is what I think for the record and CSM elections

 

“So, before this you were running incursions?”

“Yup.”  Mike was adjusting the POS defenses and chatting with other alliance members.  “Lot of fun with the right folks, just like this is.”

“I hear they are thinking about petitioning Concord to alter the pay outs . . . nerf them”

“Idiots.  Probably been listening to Darius and the other SGF’s”

“What’s an SGF?”

“Sour Grape Fox, somoene who decides that something is not good based on the fact that they cannot have it themselves.  For all that we proclaim you can be whatever you want to be, in space . . . well the truth is a bit more flexible.  There are folks who think you can be anything you want to be as long as THEY approve of that activity.  Heaven forbid that you have fun without being a participant in THEIR career of choice.  So they look at carebears forming fleets, having fun, flying the bling ships and making isk and they decide that this is a wrong that must be righted.”

“Is it?”

“Well, yes and no.  There is some balance in payouts that needs work and I look forward to Kuvey-bear expanding his playbook a little to make the fleets more skill and less by rote.`But complaints that the payouts are two high are a combination of fear mongering and ignorance of facts.  You hear complaints of isk vs risk as though that were the Holy Grail of flying is to balance on a knife edge of win or lose.  This from people who prefer battles where they outnumber/gun their opponent each and everytime.  Where is the risk of running sanctums deep in your own territory?  Hell you could program automation to do it for you, bypassing the pilot completely.”  Mike snorted.

“But back to incursions.  Everybody brags about isk per hour ignoring organizational time, waiting between sites and competition.  Oh sure, get a quiet time and you can fly a good group but ask some pilots how long they wait to get into one of the non exclusive fleets and start making that mythic isk.  Every year we have an issue like this and I am sorry to say I screwed up a year or two back and took the ‘take-away’ side of one of those issues.”

“What issue was that?”

“Tech 2 BPO’s.  There are a few out there and others were complaining that if they cannot have one then neither should anybody else.  If you step back and listen to the tone instead of the words it sounds like five year olds fighting.  Just plain immature.”  Mike paused.  “Same here and now, I suppose.  The folks asking for nerfing of the sites were the ones turned down for showing up with active tanks or refused because of wardecs or the actions of their corp members.  They cannot have and are unwilling to do what is needed to get it so they decide that is is a ‘bad thing’ and ‘a faucet that needs to be stopped’.”

“Yeah I have heard that.  Isn’t it true in a way?”

“First they came . .  . these people want their game to be the only one in town.  If they succeeded in closing down incursions how long do you think it would be before their eyes turned to the wormholes.  After all, we manage to make isk and hardly have to worry at all . . . “

Laughter answered him but he plowed on.  “From their point of view, not from ours.  The Foxes do not taste the grapes but judge them from a distance.  They will do the same for wormholes, in time.  I am supposed to be out there doing the election thing and I soon will be.  But mush as I want ta get elected I am not gonna let certain myths and lies perpetuate.”

“Unwillling to lie?  You are NEVER gonna get elected.”  and the laughter doubled as they waited for the next wave of battleships in the escalation.

Mike brought his Tornado about and grinned, whispering to himself.  “I fly for the fun of it, not for someone elses concept of how I should do things.”

**************************************

Lessons

Some good incursion pilots and FC’s have great ideas about how incursions could be tweaked.  Dairy-us is not on that list though he would like to milk the concept.

Voices from the Void,  Episode 37.  Myself and Karrde.  We had a blast making it and the raw recording ran over 3 hours.  Looking forward to hearing the final cut, myself.

Next post I hand out a tier 3 from the comments list a few posts ago . . .I didn’t forget, just been busy

fly it like you will win another

m

Right in the middle

“Well . . . the list is almost complete, eh?”

“Except for a few people going through the nomination hoop, I think so.  38, last time I counted and I am right in the middle.”

“Hopefully you can stand out better than that.” Scotty leaned back and smiled.  “You know what you gotta do, dontcha.”

“Ayep.  Shake the babies and kiss the hands.  Smile for the camera and hide the women of ill repute for a week or three.  Talk talk talk without saying much and then see if I can avoid being cornered on anything specific.  Promise the moons and whatever else the little voters hope for and then rely on the fact that they all have the collective memories of goldfish.”  Mike laughed

“Oh Lords, you’re not gonna do any of that, are you?”

Mike straightened up and looked Scotty in the eye.  “I am a man who takes a skiff in a race against interceptors.  I fly a glass cannon against sleepers.  Do you honestly think I am going to go into politics and play by THEIR rules?”  He chuckled low.  “If, that is, there ARE any rules to space politics.”

“Are you doing any of the normal things you are supposed to do?”

“Well, I is doing an interview or two.  Gonna be on a ‘cast with Alekseyev Karrde.”

“Well, that is a start.  Open debate?”

“Yeah, right, because everybody knows how often our paths cross and we compete for the same sort of isk or voters. “  Mike kicked back and set his feet on an extra chair at the table.  “He is probably asking questions right now like ‘who the hell is Mike Azariah?’”

“For that matter, who the hell are all the other folks you are running against?”

Mike activated his comm and started at the top of the list.  “First up is Akirei Scytale.  From what I have read, I would love to party with this girl, but I would probably catch something.  While rumors abound that a lot of Biz gets done after hours and over drinks I do not think she would really be the best one for the job.”

Scotty laughed and asked.  “Next?”

“Well, I’ll skip Aleks, seeing as I will get ta chat directly with him tomorrow.  So that brings us to Blake Armitage.  Now here is a serious candidate.  Guy wrote a lot of the book about settling in wormholes and works the industry side of the street.  He has a well rounded resume and is someone I think would bring new blood and a broad prospective to the CSM.”

Scotty grinned as Mike was hit on the back of the head. “Did I forget to mention I invited Kry over for this chat?”

Mike rubbed his noggin and turned.  “Heyas Kry.”

“You are not to be advertising the good people who could steal votes from you.  You should be focusing on what makes you better or unique.  Or at LEAST identify why they might not be a better choice for the job than you.”  She glowered at him as she pulled a chair up.

Mike looked to Scotty and mouthed the word ‘hormones’ only to get smacked again.  “OK, OK, let’s toss out all the joke candidates . . . Darius III for example.”

“He is a returning CSM, not a joke candidate.”

“The two are not mutually exclusive.  Trust me . . . clown.  Then there is Mintolio, though to do him justice I should shout his name and anything he has as an opinion.  That guy cracks me up.  PsychoBitch, on the otherhand . . . not as funny.  Riverini, you get back to classic political satire.”

Scotty frowned.  “I thought Riverini was a serious candidate.”

Sadly Mike had been drinking his coffee when Scotty said this so he was now mopping the drink off of his shirt and the table. “Bwah ha haaaaa.  Oh Gods I hope not.  I mean I love his stuff but if he was actually thinking that attacking the Goons made for a solid platform he would make a great running mate for Poetic.  Now Sollana may not be a joke but running a campaign based on wanting to make just ONE major change is a bit off of the beaten path.  Xenuria . . . “

Kry shuddered.  “Yeah, read a bit about that one.  Is it male or female?”

“Coming from you, Kry, that means something.  I don’t exactly know but I am fairly sure there has been a lot of optional surgery involved.  Not that there is anything wrong with that but making it the basis of the platform and totally ignoring the starships and fact you are trying to represent pilots . . . wow.”

“Not a huge list of jokers.”  Scotty observed.  “Doesn’t do much to narrow the field down.”

“Oh a few others may also be joking about running, or there to dilute the field, I just named off the obvious.  Thing is . . .”  Mike scooted his seat a bit further from Kry’s.  “there are some damn good people running.  I am honestly looking forward to seeing what changes this election will bring.”

*************************************************************************

Lessons

Little known fact:  Voting gives you the right to bitch about who got elected or what they are doing.  If you plan on boycotting the election the STFU afterwards.

Mintolio is my favorite joke candidate . . .by far.

Yes I have a sense of humor.  Yes I am running, no I am not another one of the joke candidates.

fly it like you won it

m