The end is nigh, both for Shahoun and those who aided his escape from the mercenaries. What revenge will they enact as they capture their prey, and what amazing trap will he fall into?

"The Mercenaries, Part IV" is a new EVE Chronicle written by CCP Abraxas. Published every other Monday, Chronicles are intended to examine the various aspects of life in New Eden. The entire list is contained here, and a comment thread for this particular story may be found here.

The amorous folks at Battleclinic are getting into the swing of Valentine's Day early with a great contest. Let them know why you love EVE Online by using candy hearts. Head on over to Battleclinic and show them your sweet tooth for a chance win EVE Store coupons or two weeks of game time.

Continuing the effort to investigate lag sources, there will be a new round of mass testing on Thursday, February 4, at 16:00 UTC. All pilots and alliances are invited to join the Singularity server and help track down the lag associated with session changes. Read CCP Tanis’s announcement for more information.

Recently, Haiti was hit with a devastating earthquake, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless, and a tremendous number of casualties. Many of you, including CCP, have been troubled by events in Haiti. Read CCP Hellmar's newest dev blog to find out how you can use your PLEX to donate to the Red Cross. Be sure to check out our FAQ as well.

The latest issue of PC Gamer is landing in the mailboxes of their subscribers and includes a special disc that features the EVE Online game client. It's come to our attention that there is an issue with the disc that prevents a successful installation. The game client is available, along with a free 14-day trial, through our website at http://www.eveonline.com/future.

The MMO you are playing is good. Still good. Very good.

The best.

"And more than ever, the players of EVE Online earned this award with their usual shenanigans..." reads the concluding paragraph of PC Gamer's upcoming Game of the Year Awards section on EVE Online. Look for it (and some interesting cover copy) in the March 2010 issue that will be hitting stands and mailboxes very soon.

Sincere thanks to the EVE community and high fives to the CCP dev team.

Let's celebrate by blowing some ships up.

Crazy Kinux Musings is running a contest focused on why you love EVE Online. Winners will be awarded either EVE Store coupons or two weeks of game time. This special EVE Blog Banter contest ends on January 31, 2010.

EVE Online: Dominion 1.1.1 deployment has been completed and Tranquility is back in service. We encourage anyone experiencing game play issues to submit a bug report. A feedback thread and issues thread are also available for you to help make us aware of any problems or feedback in general.

EVE Online: Dominion 1.1.1 will be deployed this Thursday, January 28, 2010. The deployment process will begin at 10:00 UTC and is expected to be completed at 12:00 UTC. Patch notes are available for review and a discussion thread is available here.

When last we saw our intrepid band of mercenaries, they were daringly breaking out of jail. We return to our merry band of mercenaries as they prep to catch their prey.

"The Mercenaries, Part III" is a new EVE Chronicle written by CCP Abraxas. Published every other Monday, Chronicles are intended to examine the various aspects of life in New Eden. The entire list is contained here, and a comment thread for this particular story may be found here.