Perhaps nothing better defines what I mean than what happened yesterday. We were out roaming in something or other, looking for fights and whatnots. On Comms we started talking about ships we'd never flown before and eventually the conversation got around to the Slicer. Specifically the Imperial Navy Slicer.
EDIT: Apologies for the quick writing. Sometimes writing fast gets me into trouble. What I meant to say was, until recently, the Slicer wasn't a serious consideration for me. I've been able to fly the ship for awhile, but didn't have the proper skills to fit it effectively until recently. As such, it was one of those that I'd forgotten about. Nothing against the ship itself. It is pretty awesome.
So what did we do? We went and bought some, fitted them up and went out to see what they could do. We got into a few scraps, and a few times we tried to get into fights, in the end we only managed to take care of this Rifter. It was that kind of day yesterday.
The point isn't the ship, which is a lot of fun to fly. The point is not having anyone else to answer to. Being able to base your decisions on what sounds like fun, instead of what someone else determines as "right". Granted, all this talk about having fun might seem like we approach Eve unprofessionally - but that isn't it at all. We still fight smart. We still maintain the proper tactical advantages, when possible. And we all take our performance extremely seriously... to a point. And that point is... well, the point.
I expect excellence in our pilots. That was and will remain the basic tenant of our Corporation. It is spelled out in the Corp Manifesto. Being excellent IS fun. Being a loser, not so much. Fight to fight, battle to battle, we all find ourselves jumping into 40 man gangs from time to time. Or landing on top of a cloaked Pilgrim. Or whatever unfortunate, unplanned thing might happen to you. It happens. But truth outs eventually. And the successful pilot will be successful. The point of Lucifer's Hammer is simple, you can be successful and have fun at the same time.
You might have noticed a significant shift in the tone of the comments lately. I have. This trend will continue I'm sure. I hope it doesn't turn off my more loyal readers, but it is part of the price of turning pirate I guess. Just know that the guy behind the character is the same guy he has always been. As I've said before, always assume my tongue is firmly in my cheek.
More later. Plans are underway. Recruitment is hot. And we're looking for like-minded corps. Keep the courage.