There's Kestrels Everywhere!

These past few days I've (still) been flying through the warzone solo, looking for fights.  Fortunately, as TEST has deployed in the Caldari Militia, it seems like the Gallente have really brought their game forward.  With such a large group finally deployed with Caldari, fights must be easy to find.  The Gallente definitely like fighting.

I have a large stack of Kestrels I've been trying to burn through for two reasons:
1. I'm starting to get the hang of flying them and like learning the hull's strengths and weaknesses.
2. Kestrels are fucking fun to fly.

As evidenced by this blog thus far, I am nowhere near an elite pilot.  However, I did have one Kestrel engagement where I managed to perform above my norm.  I warped into a novice plex in Enaluri and waited for an engagement (as an aside, I notice that engagements come much quicker when you're a war target.  Less fear of trickery maybe, or perhaps just less fear, in general, of the Caldari militia).  Soon two Kestrels showed up on my short range scan.  I overheated my mods and mentally prepared for a Kestrel threesome.

My opponents didn't land on grid simultaneously, giving me about five seconds to lock, scram and web the first Kestrel and set up an orbit at my optimal range.  The second war target moved out to about 15 km from me and started peppering me with light missiles.  I kept my focus on the target I had locked, and managed to bring him down.  Unfortunately I was in low armour by the time I achieved this, and couldn't get back into rocket range of the remaining Kestrel.  I might have been able to try to break free of his point, but I was kind of elated for taking down the first one.  I figured I'd try for the other and the wost that could happen would be that I would die in a fire.  Fuck killboard efficiency, I just want things to explode.  It was a fun fight and I've made note of the fit as something I would like to try out.  Maybe when TESLA STARTS PLAYING AGAIN.  Stupid GTA V.

I brought out a Hookbill again, not long after losing another Kestrel to a Breacher (nothing really really sticks out to me in that fight, sorry).  I set up in a novice plex again, this time in Pynekastoh, and soon saw two Firetails coming in to join me.  Unfortunately, I didn't manage to take anyone down with me this time.  The combined dps of the Firetails quickly overcame my passive tank, and I couldn't manage the engagement distance very well due to the insane speed of Firetails.  Hookbill down.  I'm going shopping for some Firetails.

Last night, while Black Legion's Supercap fleet was facing down just about all other nullsec alliances in New Eden, I took a long jaunt through Black Rise and found a few engagements.  A couple of times my targets slipped out of range of my scram (shitfuck), and I eventually died to an Incursus.  Then my pod got popped by a smartbombing battleship on the way to reship.  Saved me some jumps.

Being back in the Warzone again seems like a good move.  Fights are easy to find and the way that plexes are set up you can somewhat manage the engagments you draw.  Mind-bogglelingly, with TEST in the State Protectorate, there is actual intel in the SPROT chat window now.  Last time I was in the militia, the only people who used that chat were Gallente spies who tried to get people to join their fleets for rapid awoxing.  Fun times.