Day 689

Entry: six hundred eighty-nine.
 
Today is day two of trying to flip the W-IX station to Cascade control. Black Legion have come back yet again to mess with us while we handle our business in subcapitals. We know better than to light a cyno and take the easy way out with Dreads: we do that, and Raiden or Pandemic Legion or anyone else itching for capital kills will come knocking down the house to save the couch.
 
As Black Legion attacked the TCU, the main FC, who was overly tired, asked for bombers. I took command as no one else was going about organizing any sort of bombing run. His fatigue and frustration are egging me on.
 
I ask bombers to "x up" with bomb types. Four scorches with mine, one shrapnel, one concussion. I create a group chat with the scorch bombers and a prober, simultaneously setting up a pounce at the TCU while Black Legion takes a brief break in K7D-. Just as I make my pounce, Black Legion warps in on the TCU and starts attacking it. Bubbles go up at zero on the TCU: I hoped I wasn't wrong in my next judgement.
 
I ordered the scorch bombers only to warp to me at ten and to "x up" when they landed. No one is being vocal and the fleet FC is getting frustrated in part because his fatigue is so intense. The only bombers talking are the ones I don't want around for the bombing run.
 
Finally, my scorch bombers "x up". Warpin is fifty behind them towards the P4- gate. I order a warp up to the warpin at ten, we end up twenty from the nearest. FC is infringing on me, and I make a bad call to get thirty from the nearest, turn around, bomb, warpout. 
 
First scorch bomber decloaks and launches, and I call a stop because I read shrapnel. I see it as scorch a moment later and call the resume action. Too late, first bomber down, second going down, random shrapnel bomb from the damn shrapnel bomber, my bomb goes out. I lag, try to warp out, but I'm not in my bombing fit because I was shooting the station, and I die.
 
No bombs hit. Not a single one was set up for a proper bombing run, mostly because of alignment, partially because of fit, and partially for the mixed bomb that blew up bombs immediately behind it. What a cluster****.
 
"Computer: playback forum post."
 
Computer: "Confirmed."
 

*****

While working on the W-IX station BL came in with Gilas and started knocking on the TCU. I asked for bombers to x up with types. 5 scorch including me, 1 shrap, 1 concussion.

I had a pounce on the TCU and had the scorch bombers warp to me at 10. None of them decloaked. We got a warp in behind them and began bombing. Our target was the drones, but 5 bombs should have done a substantial amount of damage to them as well.

Problems:
1) Bombers that died lagged out or got insta locked and killed.
2) Mixed bomb types were launched despite only scorch bombers only being told to make the run.
3) Our warp in position had no aligned warp-out. We did have time to do it, but I felt rushed and made a bad call
4) Main fleet chatter was pretty active despite our setting up to bomb. It's very hard to coordinate when non combatants are talking about anything.
5) Squad members did not speak on comms. Do not know why.

How I'll be looking to fix this:
1) I will not execute any bombing run when "lone bombers" with bombs not part of the main group are present. They get impatient and disobey orders because no one can see them. If a TCU falls, so be it.
2) Bombing runs will be aligned with a warp out if time permits. Ambushes will be set up ahead of time, defensive bombs have a short time before the enemy target is destroyed.
3) Even though I lagged, I still took a few hits before dying due to the Invuln I had active. If I had had an MSE fitted and online, I could have survived long enough to warp out despite the damage. Instead, my bomb never hit because I died. Will bring an offline MSE from now on. Cannot use this bomber on thorn fleets period since I can't switch between the MWD and AB. Can still fit torps for structure shoots by toggling off the MSE and MWD as necessary.
4) Will use separate comms channel instead of staying in main fleet channel.
5) Will tell squad members in this separate comms channel to reply over voice comms instead of holding silence.

Are there any suggestions on other improvements that could be made? Any bomber FC can learn from this, so I encourage constructive criticism.

*****

 
Computer: "Playback terminated."
 
Such a humbling experience.
 
Computer: terminate recording.