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For a great picture of just how involved things can get in the massively multiplayer space opera EVE Online, read this epic forum post, which narrates a three-week long campaign on the part of one of the game’s better known mercenary corporations. Hired to take down a corp called Interstellar Alcohol Conglomerate, the mercs lay their plans under cover of nearby hostilities, spend almost two weeks gathering their forces, and finally launch an assault that takes the enemy by complete surprise. I won’t ruin the ending, I’ll just say it’s well worth a read, chock full of links to screenshots, other forum posts and even some video. A great look at some of the game’s best (and worst) moments, which also really makes you understand just how important the human element is here. Nice writing by Seleene (pictured above), CEO of the Body Count Inc. corporation, a member of the Mercenary Coalition alliance.

[UPDATE: As Celebrity points out below, a lot of this may be indecipherable to non-EVE players. So without further ado, a short glossary covering many of the terms found in Sereene’s post, in roughly the order in which they appear:]

MC = Mercenary Coalition, the alliance of corporations of which Sereene is a member
ISK = EVE’s currency
POS = player-operated station
FIX, ASCN, AXE, BoB = other corporations and alliances, BoB being the most powerful in the game
Titan = unthinkably large and powerful ship
cyno fields = necessary for jumping a Titan and other nearly as large ships into a system; where there’s a cyno field, there’s usually a lot of muscle not far behind (or maybe just a freighter)
0.0 = unpoliced space, open PvP
standings, positive, +10, -10, blue, red = positive standings mean friends, they appear blue on your overview and you don’t shoot them. Negative standings appear red: shoot it.
outpost = a player-operated station much larger and more elaborate than a POS
NBSI = “not blue, shoot it,” a standing order to shoot anyone who’s not at positive standings
dreadnoughts, carriers = very large and powerful ships, larger than a BS (= battleship)
towers, reinforced mode, strontium = towers are the anchor unit of a POS, they go into reinforced mode under certain circumstances, strontium is the fuel they use. The vagaries of POS managment could fill a small book.

I think that’s most of it. Make any further inquiries in the comments thread. Enjoy!