Reason: never felt any particular need to go there because for my purposes, Amarr is just as valid as a trade hub and is far more convenient given that I live in the Khanid Kingdom (the fastest route to Jita from Khanid is through Amarr, so why bother going the extra 20 light years?).
I selected Revolution for this trip, which I've optimised for speedy warp and fitted missile turrets (Magnates do not favour any particular weapon system so you can fit whatever you want) for the inevitable encounters with Guristas.
It's worth noting that the journey up here passed the notoriously heavily gate-camped systems of Ashab, Niarja and Madirmilire. Ashab in particular was on form. Anybody who leaves this sector to their autopilot systems is an idiot.
The Forge itself is far busier than our 'neck of the woods'; the sheer number of industrial facilities and orbitals is mind-boggling, even in the Jita system itself - as well as the trade hub there are 13 other stations there, which makes me wonder how that station in particular evolved into being the hub instead of one of the others, especially since its origin is military rather than commercial.
There are some celestials in the State with two or three stations in orbit around them. The Nonni system in Lonetrek has 22 stations in orbit around just six planets and is only 7 AU in diameter.
This is obviously the manifestation of the functioning of the Caldari State and it makes me feel like some sort of monosyllabic backwater hick who can't handle double-digit Locals.
The Forge is also full of incredibly vulnerable freighters all heading for Jita on 'roll-the-dice' suicide missions that the slathering hordes around the Jita undock are all looking to put their stamp on. Bowheads, Orcas, Charons, Obelisks, Providences etc. I saw them all. I safely avoided the slathering hordes of gankers too when I got to Jita, but that was probably only by dint of programming 'Instadocks' and 'Instawarps' into the navigation system and actively using them. There was double the number of capsuleers registered in the Local channel compared to Amarr.
The trade hub. The Capsuleer's Capital City Of New Eden:
Operating a Bowhead must be like steering an asteroid from the rear. All that space with just the small crew compartment aft. Imagine what it could do if you filled it with explosives?
By the time you read this I'll be back in Khanid. I wonder how long I've really been away, because now Darkness and TMA are 'blue' whereas before I left they were 'red'; the Khanid Coalition no longer exists and we are at war with Pandemic Horde. I'm not actually sure why though.
