Issue #43
Monday, November 14th, 2005A Friendly Visit
The Trade Exchange Corporation (TXC) was paid a visit this week by members of the Circle of the Enlightened (CoE) and TPI. Now a visit by these two generally means there are problems at hand and such was the case as the pair of alliances destroyed a slave camp deep in Federation space. Reactions to the destruction have been mixed: TXC claimed that the pair had destroyed a Federation penal colony, while the freedom fighters claimed they had freed 300 innocent youths from a grisly death. Where the truth lies may never be known.
While the destruction of an illegal is generally of no real news except to the parties involved, TXC decided to take the fight back to CoE. However, the damage inflicted on the system of Sodaack was by CoE themselves. A series of buildings were destroyed by CoE themselves saving TXC much of the trouble of retaliation. With their work almost completed for them when arriving in Sodaack, TXC fighters shot at a few remaining CoE buildings before returning home.
The citizens of Sodaack and several surrounding sectors were confused by the reactions of CoE. Without CoE, the planet of Sodaack is sure to degrade to a high potential wasteland. Several surrounding sectors counting on Sadaack are having to scramble trying to find alternative sources of food and water.
Was this a one time attack by CoE, or will there be more to come? It will be interesting to watch.
MERC Strikes Back
Two of the galaxy’s most persistent bounty hunters, Eldrioth and Demi Ducas went to work collecting bounties in one of MERC’s protectorate states last week. After collecting the first bounty, the pair were asked to quit collecting bounties in their territory. The two continued collecting bounties, destroying another two buildings within the MERC protectorate. MERC were irritated at the ignoring of the warning, and hunted one of the hunters down.
Feeling that the retribution was too light, MERC forces moved into FHA space in the Vewaa area and began knocking on doors to see if anyone was home. Reports indicate that MERC had their way in FHA space, raiding buildings, closing down trade, knocking out defenses, and even killing a pilot or two.
It will be interesting to see if Ducas and Eld change their ways in the future. Knowing the pair of them, a death or two is part of the price of bounty hunting. But is the building destruction in the home sectors worth it? It’ll be interesting to see how the alliance adapts.
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Grooming Members
As the galaxy evolves, so do alliances. In the beginning of time there were a limited of number of alliances. The alliances, for the most part, were simply people banding together to improve the quality of different sectors around the universe. There were a few exceptions of course, but for the most part, everyone was out to gain more credits, experience, and rank.
As time passed, pilots have increased in skills, credits, and experience. The standard alliance became stale for many pilots who began starting more specialized alliances. Alliances began focusing more on particular objectives and becoming a bit more stringent on new members. Expectations were such that when you joined the alliance, you were immediately ready to go.
However, there’s a cost to this type of organization. Many people join an alliance and the connections they make there, and are very resistant to leave even if the venture sounds like fun. The personal connection among alliance members is difficult to leave behind. This puts these more specialized alliances at a loss. So what’s the result?
Much like the caniddate for a political party, or CEO of a company, alliances resort to grooming. I’ve heard it more than once here in just the last few days – that members (or potential members) were being groomed for this or that. These specialized alliances look for potential members and begin helping them along the path to what it would take to be a full active member of these specialized alliances. This gives these alliances time to really feel out potential recruits. Some alliances truly are not for everyone – and it takes a particular attitude to really enjoy being part of certain alliances. Those that finally end up passing the test find what they are looking for and the alliance gains a solid member.
To all the new players out there (that find this article anyway) – there are lots of different alliances out there. There are many different ways to play. Don’t join alliances on a whim, and if you find yourself in an alliance you don’t enjoy, try another one. You’ll urely find what you’re looking for eventually. An alliance you truly feel a part of is worth its weight in gold.
Tidbits:
The planet of Olbea reached the 300k milestone last week. Congrats to TSO and all other pilots associated with these achievement. And for those interested – yes, a 300k planet still only consumes 3 droids/tick…