Newcomer / Intro Black Box recovery from Combat Aftermath

[Jaggid Edje]

I dropped into a "Combat Aftermath" signal while cruising through a system...first time I ever did this. There was a black box there and as I dropped in I got a comm message from "Unidentified Contact" asking for help retrieving "valuable intelligence". I scooped up the black box, and got a message that basically said it was a shame I was only interested in helping myself.

I don't understand...I recovered the black box thinking that is what they wanted me to do. What am I missing?

 

[Morbad]

Did you accept their mission before grabbing the box?

 

[Jaggid Edje]

Did you accept their mission before grabbing the box?

Doh! I didn't notice any accept mission option....

Where would that have shown up?

 

[Morbad]

Doh! I didn't notice any accept mission option....

Where would that have shown up?

Been a while since I've done one of these but it should show up in the same place you use to pick sides in a CZ, if I recall correctly.

 

[Jaggid Edje]

Thanks, I'll watch for it next time something like this occurs.

 

[aRJay]

On the plus side it is quite likely if you excepted the mission lots of pirates would have shown up just before you could grab the box.

 

[Norwin Palmer]

Accept the missions in the Comms Panel CHAT | MAIN window. FWIW all (or possibly most all) the request stuff that you get from dropping into a POI, repair, refuel, combat, etc appear in this way.

I have never had pirates show up for this but for sure it is possible. I have had ships drop in when doing repair missions in distress call POIs, I guess technicality they are labeled Combat Aftermath.

 

[Gaarp Kobayashi]

On the plus side it is quite likely if you excepted the mission lots of pirates would have shown up just before you could grab the box.

Shhhh!!! Don't spoil the OP's fun!!

 

[Commander William Diffin]

If thousands of people's lives really depended on those Black Boxes in the Combat Aftermath Zones, they would at least be worth the effort of sending pilots a mission invite text in the Comms Panel, and Mr. Guilt Trip in Chat would sound a lot less blasé and a lot more agitated about those people, when you supposedly doom them by failing to do the right thing with the Black Box. It's not like he tries to plead for them or anything.

There's no mission. There are no thousands of people depending for their lives on the information in that Black Box. It's bull. When I find Black Boxes in Combat Aftermath Zones, I just use them for target practice.

 

[CMDR Jago Kain]

The message probably had three buttons at the end. Back, accept (a tick) and decline (a cross).

 

[Esteban]

That's exactly how it went for me the first time I did one of those! Oh look, a black box. Maybe I'll pick it up...

I generally don't get visited by pirates unless I hang out for quite a lot longer than is necessary to accomplish this minor task. These are often threat 0.
You'll most often earn a huge reward - a minor increase in Rep with the faction that contacts you to pick up the black box, or someting like that. There are two variants of the combat aftermath.