Issue #6
Monday, February 28th, 2005TEST YOUR LUCK
Members of the Federation and the Neutral Zone now have an outlet for that gambling twitch. Tsereve has put together a lottery. While the first one was a bit shaky while details were being put together, following lotteries will likely be much more ogranized. Dave Lister (owner and general manager of Free Trade 3 in Begreze) has opened his starbase to lottery drawings in the Neutral Zone. Players go to the starbase and purchase embroys at 1000 each. Each embryos constitues 10 tickets. Dave will PM an acknowledgement and you’re good to go for the next drawing. Current winners?
Floater Medic: 594450
This reporter will be getting in on the action just to see how well it goes. You can’t win if you don’t play! Good luck to Tsereve and Dave on this undertaking.
PARLIAMENT OF CROOKS?
The leader of the Parliament of Rooks (PoR), recently went on a piracy rampage that brought all kinds of negative attention to the PoR. In an attempt to keep a name for his (previous) alliance, Hardonshire rescinded the leader’s position where Power Crisis too the reigns. Power Crisis denounced Hardonshire’s actions and looked to be working though some of the negative publicity. Shortly thereafter, the PoR blockaded the Beethi sector much to the dismay of several alliances, especially the Free Trade Syndicate. The reasons that have been given so far are rather sketchy, but it looks like the blockade was put into effect in order to protect Hardonshire before he left his position as leader of PoR. This leaves Power Crisis with quite a well…..power crisis. He has an unpopular blockade in effect, he has a known pirate amongst his midst (which hasn’t been voted out as of this writing), and he has a previous ally canceling NAP’s. How he handles this situation will be interesting to watch.
DID YOU KNOW?
Recently I came across a Pardusian who was upgrading his med lab and was talking about making a run for 4 metal to complete the upgrade. WHAT??? You’re going to spend 100’s of turns there and back for FOUR metal when your building is two squares away from the planet? The scarcest resource in Pardus is turns. Not money, turns. To spend 100’s of turns for something like this is (IMO) a serious offense. So what is the alternative? The Black Market!
Although the black market does sell illegal items, it also sells normal commodities that are not readily available. Sure they are more expensive, but not as expensive as spending 100’s of turns traveling to find them someplace else. Think of it this way. You could use those 100’s of turns trading which would make up for the difference you would pay for a ‘better’ deal. I use the black market all the time when I need those last few of a commodity. If you don’t, you need to consider it. When you realize the difference it makes, you’ll be glad you did.
SPORTS - “Shark Bait”
Well, it’s been a solid month since we last saw defending Shark Bait Champion Grock make an easy win. (See Issue #2) A lot has happened in a month. Tiacken I has tripled in population and put in a somewhat standard judicial system. However, because of the ratings of the initial “Shark Bait” viewing (and corresponding revenue), Tiacken I has decided to continue the ‘tradition’. Anyway, on to the match.
This week’s match was between six-time champion Grock (murder/rape) and his toughest competition yet, Yvest “Pickaxe” Johnson. (murder) Yvest was shipped in from Tiacken II after he ‘accidentally’ dropped a 50 pound boulder 20 feet onto his supervisor below after a disagreement as to work assignments. This should be an intersting match. And off we go.
Both combatants entered the water and the horn blasted signaling the start. The sharks looked a bit friskier this month. Rumor has it that the sharks used for today’s match were intentionally starved. The two grappled each other underwater for a bit before releasing each other for air. Both took blows at one another and THERE IT IS!! BLOOD IN THE WATER!!
As the two go back to it in the arena the sharks come in. Uh oh. Someone’s been bit! Bood in the water, blood in the water!! There’s red everywhere. The cameras can’t see a thing.
Well folks, it looks like the only winner in this week’s contest was justice. Oh, and the sharks look quite content as well. Tune in next month to see what happens on SHARK BAIT!!
GALACTIC RADIATION STRIKES PLANETS
Around the universe, rays of ultraviolet light have radiated small portions of food producing planets. The resulting radiation has made parts of certain food producing worlds unusable and thus, reduced the surplus food supply on those worlds. The results around the galaxy have been devastating. For example, Keldon I had been the cornerstone for food for several planets and starbases in the area including Keldon II, Eta Cassiopeia base, and The Glass Prison. The resulting shift in agriculture has devastated the food supply for this combination, with prices rising as high as 185 late this week.
Interviewing one Keldon II patron: “They are charging 10 credits for a bag of CRICKETS over here. CRICKETS? Who charges for CRICKETS?? Crickets are bugs!!!”
Needless to say, citizens are leaving at an alarming rate and real estate is going for pennies on the dollar. If you’re looking on a good deal, load your ship up with tons of food, and go buy yourself a nice little place on Keldon II for a ton or two of food. It will be the best investment you ever make.
TIACKEN PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
The Tiacken II Center for Drug Control would like to remind residents of the Tiacken sector to use caution when using the new street drug “ROX”. “ROX” is purely refined dust of the Class xi4 rock. Noted side effects of using the drug include (but are not limited to): headaches, backaches, vomiting, feeling loss in hands, feet, and nose, blood clots, blindness, heart attacks, bleeding of the eyes and ears, and implosion of internal organs. Thank you.
ADVERTISEMENT
Get a ticket, find a ticket, steal a ticket, take a ticket, grab a ticket, nab a ticket, snag a ticket, buy a ticket, gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta have a ticket!!
Get obsessed over the Pardusian lottery! Buy a ticket today! For more information PM Tsereve or Dave Lister or stop by Free Trade 3 in Begreeze for more details.
TIAKCEN NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
Neighbors around Tiacken have reported many incidents last week.
Eastlake: Building vandalism in northern Tiackem and telerobbery.
Trazio Trevise: Two accounts of murder in southern Tiackem.
As always, information regarding pirate activity is vital. Please talk to your friends and neighbors about any suspected pirate activity.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Kora – Ruby Legion Alliance
This week, we are talking to Kora of the Ruby Legion. Ruby Legion and PACK have just recently called a cease-fire over an incident that happened several weeks ago. Peace treaty negotiations are currently underway.
Tribune: Ok Kora, why don’t you introduce yourself and the Ruby Legion: (goals, mission, etc, etc)
Kora: Well, people here know me as Legat Kora of Ruby Legion or Imperial Baron Kora. I coordinate one of the Imperial alliances known as the “Ruby Legion” (well, it was actually supposed to be called “Rubin Legionis”, but after several heated discussions between co-founders of the allaince, we’ve decided to keep it’s present name). Goals - well, most of all I want to see a strong united Empire. My mission is to assist all my legionaires in their efforts to make Empire a better place to live. what about the rest? well, some people do tell me, that I’m quite a good singer and artist as well.
Seeing as the PACK/RL is still center stage, let’s talk about the war a bit:
Tribune: Most of our readers have not been in a ‘real’ war such as yours with PACK (this one lasted several weeks). What transitions does an alliance go through to get into war mode?
Kora: First of all, you need to choose combat pilots (a lot of PM’s and a lot of time spent to read through skills and choose best fighters amongst the whole alliance). Second - and most worthy part - is an equipment of the combatants - when this war started, fully-equipped combat-balanced SSC price was over 3.000.000 creds. Now - with new weaponry and so on - it might worth more than 5.000.000 creds. Third part is locating your opponent - which s not that easy as well, since every pilot tends not to hang out in an outer space like a sitting duck. Last and most important part is a combat coordination of all your pilots. Since our main targets were PACK’s MO’s, it was useless to commit singled attack runs on a hard-defended buildings - its owner would repair it faster than it is posible to damage it. Only a massed coordnated strike (and great combat ability) could give a possibility of MO’s removal. (I hope elder players still remember Ook conflict? 3 days of non-stop attacks, more than 60 pilots involved… Current wars are much shorter - due to greater skills and overall combat expertize). Our war was not much of a war you’ve been reading at history books - 95% of it was nothing but mutual raids and hit-and-run strikes.
Tribune: How much would you estimate this war cost the Ruby Alliance? (not only in lost ships, but also buildings, defenses, and lost potential trade). Was it worth it?
Kora: Wars always bring you no profit. Since cloning technology removes any possibility of killing your opponent, the only possible way to win the war is to exhaust him and make him spend all his hard-earned credits to repairs. According to my calculations, we caused PACK about 15M damage and suffered 7M. Yes, I do consider this operation succesful. Besides, making credits is not the only thing necessary at Pardus.
Tribune: What was the one most important aspect that made a difference in the war (for good or ill)?
Kora: A little something called “military training”. I don’t like this gap between old and newer players, and ability of elder pilots to shoot every youngster they want without a fear of an adequate reply, so we equipped with gatlings and started shooting each other to boost up our skills. it worked out just fine - we were able to train most fighters to an average combat level, and had some high-skilled pilots, thus creating a biggest and toughest single-alliance strike force.
Tribune: Rumor has it that RL/PACK were ready to continue this as long as necessary. What finally brought the sides together?
Kora: Rumors are true. We were really ready to keep this warfare going as long as necessary - but TSO and SG leaders, shadow mistress Tiava Sheer and Anubis, both acting as a neutral mediators, had enough tolerance and temper to calm things down, stopping both of our alliances, when new combats took place.
Tribune: I hate to ask, but now that it’s just about over and done with, what do you think of PACK?
Kora: I, personally, fought not against PACK, but for my alliance and all legionaires who suffered from attacks of TNT and Dumbo. So, I don’t have much trust towards them left (except some members - like Hattory Hanzo or Cora). Still, I don’t have that much hard feelings about PACK as well. We had a good fight, and now (sorry, I do not guarantee absolute quotation)…
There are times to gather stones and to throw them away;
There are times of war and times of peace;
There are times of love and times of hatred,
and nothing lasts forever.
Tribune: What is the RL doing now that the war’s over?
Kora: Back to trading routes and NPC hunt. That’s terrible, but Lianla’s population reduced from 90k to just 20k… Yet we’ve already restored it to 35 during this cease-fire.
Let’s move on to another subject:
Tribune: What are RL’s mid-long term goals? (outside of what’s on the alliance page)
Kora: Strengthening of the Empire. IDF still exists, and Empire might need a lot of strong piots in case of an outer conflict.
Tribune: Give a reason why someone would want to join the RL?
Kora: Well, why not? We offer a pilot his first building for free (providing all resourses necessary to upgrade it to lvl5). There are no strict rules within a legion, as I do not want to command slaves. All my pilots are given almost full liberties (except piracy) in their activities. The only demand is to always remember about the honor of the legion, and help other legionaires in their troubles. I personally ready to protect all my pilots or provide any assistance necessary at my best.
Tribune: And anything else you’d like to say about anything at all?
Kora: let’s just say, that during my last deep-space flight, I’ve encountered several objects of interest… After a complete examination by Ska’arian Science guild, I’ll transfer all Tiexen Tribune readers some information to think over… So, keep reading Tiexen tribune and learn most interesting events first.
This has been another EXCLUSIVE interview from the Tiacken Tribune!
ABOUT HOME
The Tiacken team has created a solid foundation between Tiacken I, Tiacken II, and the three surrounding starbases. We are currently in a position to exapand with more medium and high level buildings. If you are looking for a place to plant your flag, or are in need of a change in scenery, come on by or send a Pardus PM to Brackard for more information.
The Tiacken Tribune would like to welcome…wait a second. We didn’t have any new people build in Tiackem this week? I enjoy welcoming people. Get on out here! What are you waiting for? Huh? Yes, I’m talking to you, I said get over here!!