Who are these capsule-bound demigods that rule our skies?

Some say they are superstars to be applauded, others claim they are heroes to be adored, a few might claim they are indeed gods to be worshipped. Yet their detractors claim they are morally-devoid warmongering criminals hungry for power. This Capsuleer Focus series aims to lift the lid on the secrets of the “podders” lives and discover the truth.

Read on to learn about the private life, habits and hates of one of New Eden’s elite.

Name: Darth Skorpius/Jaron Hearn
 Age: 23
Race/Bloodline: Caldari/Achura
Home Planet: Kisogo IX
Describe yourself in three words: Completely %@&#ing insane.
Capsuleer Role: Diplomatic Liaison for 352 Industries.
Signature Ship: Drake
Claim to Fame: Author of the GALNET site The Skorpius Chronicles.
Typical Quote: Wait, when did I become famous?
Trivia: Refers to the native day/night cycle on his home planet as “Moon Time”.
Strangest/most noteworthy thing in your hangar: A device
Describe your bank balance: Too low
If you weren’t a capsuleer?: Probably dead, or crewing a Capsuleer’s ship.

About Darth Skorpius: Darth Skorpius is former CEO and Co-Founder of 352 Industries. He is currently serving as Diplomatic Liaison to Order of the Void.

The following interview was conducted by Mila, a freelance journalist hired by Darth Skorpius.

Keeping Crew Morale High

- A study on how a Capsuleer looks after his crew by Mila

Depending on who you ask, you will get a range of opinions on Capsuleers. The general consensus however, is that they are a bunch of selfish bastards who only care about themselves and ISK. Most Capsuleers I have talked to are arrogant, and could not care less about their fellow Capsuleers, let alone anyone else.

But not all of them are like that. I recently met a very nice Capsuleer by the name of Darth Skorpius. He has some very interesting views on a number of topics, but the ones I am focusing on here are his views on ships’ crews. His opinion is that ship crews should be well looked after and highly paid. He has gone to great expense to make sure that in the event a crew member dies, all funeral costs are paid for and their families well looked after. Following is a short interview he gave me.

Mila: Why do you pay your crews so much?

Darth Skorpius: Why not? I mean, there’s no shortage of people volunteering to crew a Capsuleer’s ship, as even the shittiest among us still pay their crews even if they don’t know it and the ISK doesn’t come out of their wallets, the crews are still being paid. I honestly have no idea where the ISK is coming from, and nor do most Capsuleers, but one theory is that CONCORD pays them. I decided to take a more active role, as a result, turn-over rates have dropped dramatically, even when the ship is docked and not doing anything, the crews are still being paid, so there is no desire for them to find other income sources.

M: What do you mean by other income sources?

DS: [Laughs] Well, there’s no point in them sitting around in station not earning anything is there? So some of them might turn to illegal activities, drug smuggling and dealing, that sort of thing. But most of them just go and find another ship to crew, so then you have to replace those crew members who have jumped ship. By paying them they way I do, they are more than happy to it around in station twiddling their thumbs.

M: What sort of things do your crews do to keep themselves from going stir crazy while in station?

DS: Most of them are actually studying so they can be better at their jobs, or so they can move up the ladder to another position. Others just play Holo-vid games. One is actually writing a book. I have no idea what the book is about, but I have been promised a copy once its been published. Oh and there’s a rumor that some of my Raven’s crew’s members are putting together a movie that will be based entirely within the confines of my Raven, with a cameo by yours-truly!

M: Sounds like you let them have a lot of freedom.

DS: Yeah, when we undock, everyone has a job to do, until I give the stand down order. After that, they have a bit of freedom, as long as they drop what they are doing when the alarms sound. In station, after they have carried out their assigned duties, they are free to do what they want, as long as they return to the ship when required.

M: Why go to such lengths? Is it really worth the cost?

DS: Yes it is worth the costs. I have an almost zero percent turn-over rate, it’s less than 1%. And I only have a turn-over rate because losing ships is inevitable. If I could fit all my crew members with cloning tech I would, but that’s not possible. Yet.

M: Yet? care to elaborate on that?

DS: [Laughs] There’s not a whole lot I can say really, just that there is some new tech in development for ground based combat, “Drop-suits” with some pretty basic cloning tech in them, there aren’t a whole lot of details available at the moment as those involved with the development of the tech are keeping tight-lipped. Hopefully more details will become available in the next six months.

M: So the Empires are about to get some new toys to kill each other with?

DS: As far as I’m aware, some of them already have these new toys, but not at a level where they are willing to talk about it yet. Capsuleers will be getting these new toys to help them fight their wars at some point I would imagine, it would be hard to keep Capsuleers from taking advantage of the new tech, although I’m sure CONCORD and the Empires will do everything they can to keep us from getting our hands on it.

M: Talking to some of your family and friends from when you were a child, you were a bit of a dick when you were younger, what changed?

DS: Honestly, I got bored. Somewhere during my second year as a Capsuleer I realised that my attitude and acting like a dick wasn’t achieving anything and that even though I fit right in as a Capsuleer, it just didn’t feel right to me, so I made the decision to change. I started taking a more active role in the welfare of my crews and noticed a big improvement in ship performance. Before, my crew were a bit sluggish to respond, nothing major, but sometimes the warp drives would take a second longer to kick in than they should and the guns a second longer to reload. Little things like that. After the change in my attitude towards the crew, those little things went away. I also noticed that the crew were a lot happier, I used to avoid them as much as possible when in station, often just staying my pod, but after the change in my attitude I started to interact with them more, which made the crew even happier.

M: Wow, it really made a difference?

DS: It really does. I got to know the guys guys running the crew, the crew chiefs I call them. They are the ones that actually keep everyone in-line, as I can’t just step out of my pod and pimp slap someone who isn’t doing their job now, can I? If it wasn’t for the crew chiefs, I don’t know what I would do. And one in particular I owe my life to, as when my pod malfunctioned back in YC 110, he made sure the Sisters of EVE got to me in time.

M: I’m guessing he’s retired now.

DS: Sort of. He still works for me, but he doesn’t work on any ship’s anymore. He is the head of Human Resources for 352 Industries, overseeing all of their personnel. He’s a real people person, so when he came to me in November YC 112 and said he was, and this is a direct quote, “getting too old for this shit”, [laughter], I asked if he was still interested in working for me and offered him a desk job with 352 Industries, which thankfully he accepted.

M: Your sister used to work for the Sisters of EVE, did that create any tension between the two of you?

DS: Not really. If it wasn’t for the accident back in YC 110, I don’t think we would have ever got back in touch with each other. I was only vaguely aware that I even had a sister until the accident and she had no clue what my Capsuleer name was. While I was waiting for CONCORD to give me my Capsuleers Licence we kept in touch, but once I got my licence I was so busy being an immortal that I kinda forgot about her. After the accident, I was so messed up that I didn’t know who I was, let alone who anyone else was and it took a while before I truly remembered I had a sister. Now that we have reconnected, I’m hoping that we can get to know each other.

M: Thank your for taking the time to sit down with me and answer my questions. Is there anything else you would like to add?

DS: Not a problem. For anyone interested in following my adventures, please visit my personal Galnet site, The Skorpius Chronicles.

Tech4 would like to thank Darth Skorpius and his staff for providing this article. If you have information about a capsuleer or can provide material for a future Capsuleer Focus feature, please contact CapsuleerFocus@tech4news.org.