The Glass Edge: An Introduction And Gladiators - Breathing Space

"Nakugard is the entry system into the Ani constellation, ancestral home of the Nefantar tribe.  The constellation enjoyed great prominence while the Minmatars suffered under the Amarrian yoke.  The Glass Edge served once as a surveillance outpost for the Nefantars, but today it serves as a reminder of what the Nefantars stood for.  The tribe used its privileged position to gather great wealth here, sometimes by force, but more often through guile and veiled threats.  That is the glass edge, it may not be hard or obvious, but it will make you bleed all the same."

Having decided that dealing with Caldari isn't what I wanted to do, I decided to move to the next site in Nakugard, The Glass Edge.  The Glass Edge is home to four COSMOS agents: Dalkar Kersos, Kraimir Mork, Penda Rakken and Them Burkur.  The highest level agent is Dalkar Kersos at level 3.  I am fortunate in that both Wandering Rose and Rosewalker have the standings to do all level 3 missions with any Minmatar corporation, with Roswalker having the standings to do level 4 missions. 

I've discovered that doing a little research on the agents gives me some background that makes doing the missions a little more enjoyable.  But in true Eve Online fashion, a player really needs to dig into the background material to get the full enjoyment.  I guess the devs figure that most players don't read the quest text.  Well, I guess that's why they invented the Evelopedia.  For those who are interested in the lore, I'll run down the agents as I do them, especially since I am finding the Evelopedia entries to be either incomplete or a bit inaccurate.

First, I approached the level 1 agent, Kraimir Mork with The Leisure Group.  Not only does it make sense to do the only level 1 agent first, but The Leisure Group is a partner of the corporation Wandering Rose is closest to, Eifyr & Co.  The description of The Leisure Group might also give some insight into Wandering Rose's background.

"The enigmatic Kolvil Eifyr is a large shareholder in the Leisure Group and this ties the company in with the criminal elements so strong in the shady world of Minmatar power politics. The Leisure Group is an entertainment company that is known for its barbaric, yet stirring, pleasure nodes."

Ms. Mork gives the storyline mission Gladiators - Breathing Space.  The first part is a mission to deliver 150 units (not m3) of oxygen for a very basic business reason.

"I own and operate a portable arena of cyboerians, cybernetically augmented gladiators who fight each other for show, demonstrating a wide range of Matari martial arts. I was having problems generating revenue in my old home, so I relocated to Nakugard.

"Shortly after I got here, though, a problem reared its head. Obviously I'd underestimated the extent of influence wielded by the criminal element in this area. Within weeks, most of my fighters were strung out on various illicit drugs, and I've since had to close up shop. Can't have a show if you don't have performers. And to make matters worse, my contract with the Leisure Group is still in full effect; if I'm not generating my revenue they're not going to be happy, and we most definitely do not want the Leisure Group unhappy.

"There are a few things I need to be able to get my arena up and running again. Among these is oxygen; I can't very well run the place if no one can breathe, you understand. If you can go out and find me 150 units of oxygen, I'd be much obliged. "

She offered me 32,000 isk to pick up the oxygen and another 35,000 isk if I did it inside of 58 minutes.  Hmm ... with Hek only one jump away and Wandering Rose in a Prowler, what could go wrong?  This is Eve, but counting the ways would take too much time.  But in this case, nothing went wrong.  I picked up 150 units from a buy order for 100 isk/unit and went back to the agent.  Spending 15,000 isk to make 67,000 isk?  That was nice.  Even nicer was a second mission offer.

"I have three fighters on hand right now, but I need more to be able to run my show. I just received word that one of my best, Grace Tarsis, is being held by a group of Cartel thugs in a deadspace location here in Nakugard, on account of some unsettled debts. If you can find her and bring her back to me in one piece, I'll be a step closer to re-opening my arena and evading the Leisure Group's wrath. They're keeping her in a brothel in their lair, one that's not really that heavily guarded. If you kill the guards and blow up the brothel, you should be able to get her out and bring her back. If you can do that, you will have my most heartfelt thanks."

The offer for this mission was 23,000 isk, with a bonus of 21,000 isk if completed within 30 minutes. 
With news of the Cartel in the area, I called Rosewalker into the fleet, loaded up the Ruptures and made quick work of the 3 frigates guarding Grace.  I didn't bother to salvage, but did pick up 100 Seeker F.O.F Light Missiles and 1 Punk ID Slice, which might come in handy.  And the bounties for the three guards came out to another 22,000 isk.

My total haul for the two-mission storyline Gladiators - Breathing Space was:

ISK (mission awards + bounties - purchase of oxygen): 123,000.
Loot: 100 FOF missiles, 1 Punk ID Slice.

My faction standings changes were:

Minmatar Standings Gain (unmodified): from 1.70 to 1.74
Gallente Federation Standings Gain (unmodified): from 1.63 to 1.66
The Servant Sisters of EVE Standings Gain (unmodified): from 1.49 to 1.51
Caldari State Standings Loss (unmodified): from -0.49 to -0.50
Ammatar Mandate Standings Loss (unmodified): from -0.94 to -0.97
Amarr Empire Standings Loss (unmodified): from -1.12 to -1.14