The Tiacken Tribune

Faction War

I was seated in a bar in Lahola, knocking down a few rounds when I heard a lot of commotion coming from one of the side rooms. Being inquisitive, I went to take a peek. The old debate was raging between two small groups of pilots…is war imminent. I listened to the arguments on both sides and was planning on grabbing a few pilots to interview when I noticed something – very few of the pilots were wearing faction epaulets, and the few that were were only ranked as high as private. I rolled my eyes. Once again the pilots in the Wasp and Ficon were tying to instigate something they didn’t understand.

The conversation, however, had roused my curiosity, and I was determined to seek out some of the best pilots in Pardus to get their views on war between the Empire and the Federation. I chose Atrellium, Third Admiral of the Federation and Leader of the Triad, and Imperius Blackheart, famed leader of the Imperial Guard. I hoped I could win an audience with them…

I decided to begin by contacting the representative from the Federation to see if he had the time too talk to me. It turns out that Atrellium is a hard man to contact…at least for a junior reporter. All was not going well when there was no answer to the door of his office. I waited. Several people entered and exited a broom closet just to my left. Curious…the Triad had not been so obsessed with cleanliness while I was a member. After just over an hour, I cracked the door and peered inside. Brooms lined the walls. I had been had! Tricked by the old switch the plaques routine. I moved to the correct door and was ushered inside.

ManualRage: How do you do Atrellium?

Atrellium: I’m fine thank you. So, just fire away with your questions.

ManualRage: Do you believe it is only the rookies that want a war?

Atrellium: While I do think rookies make up a greater percentage of the warmongers, there are at least some scattered veterans and mid-level players who are pushing for it as well.

ManualRage: What do you think are the possibilities of a Faction War?

Atrellium: I would say that that the possibility of war is growing with every day. There are too many pilots who look back and see the pain their enemy caused them. Others look back and see their glory days. They hope they can some how jump back in time and regain their fame.

ManualRage: Would you like a Faction war? If so, why?

Atrellium: Does anyone really want war? War means killing, on both sides. Friends will die, you’ll be stuck going without sleep for days at a time waiting for that ambush. I admit that there are some positives to war, primarily in the industrial machine. War means supplies are needed, and somebody has to make and sell those supplies. War also means destruction of economies as well. It’s really a complicated matter. While I’m sure the Federation would triumph if a war were to occur I don’t really want to see it come to that.

ManualRage: If there was a Faction War, would you take part or stay away and not cause any Empire pilots any bother.

Atrellium: If a war were to occur, I’m almost certain the Empire would be the aggressor. There are far more anti-Federation alliances in existence, and anti-Federation sentiment flying around. As such I would feel inclined to strike back at them, however my priority would be to defend my home. If necessary though I would fly to the very heart of the Empire to stop the war.

I had no more questions…this was only my first interview after all! As such, I was ushered out of Atrellium’s offices. I left, hoping to contact another pilot from another place with another view on this topic. Many snubbed me. Many let me in willingly….but then chucked me out. (I swear it wasn’t me. It was the chair.)

So I searched high and low, wide and narrow, and eventually came across a pilot named “Imperius Blackheart.” He decided to let me chat with him in a local bar, so long as I bought the drinks. Sounded fine by me…the way Eldritch keeps the Tribune books, I have a virtually unlimited expense account. So we sat down ordered some neb-beers and started to talk.

ManualRage: Would you like a Faction War? If so, why?

Imperius: Yes of course I would, perhaps not today, and perhaps not tomorrow but I would, it’s needed.

Why? Well I saw billions slaughtered by the federation during the rebellion, which is now called the Great War. My friends, family, and so many innocents were lost, I would love to strike back at the force that did that. Who wouldn’t?

However don’t get me wrong, I am not a warmonger, I am an obedient servant of the Emperor. He is all I have left and all my love and life is dedicated to protecting him and his imperial citizens. Ironically, it’s the federation that made me what I am today.

There is a new threat in the galaxy, as well as old enemies. We need to be wary of the abomination which calls itself “the union,” and pain me as it would I would happily fight against them along side the rebels. And right now the galaxy is ravaged by disasters and pirates, which have to take a high priority. I expect that is why the Emperor, in his eternal wisdom, has not decided to claim back the sectors we lost in the great war yet.

Yes I want a faction war…when the time is right, and that is my personal view. Some within The Imperial Guard, generally younger, less war-ravaged members, who haven’t seen what I have, wouldn’t want one. But we are but obedient servants and will do as ordered. And one faction at a time, in my view the abomination (union) poses a greater unknown threat to both the feds and the empire.

ManualRage: Do you believe Empire pilots are more aggressive that Feds?

Imperius: Slander! I think we imperials are more peaceful and law abiding than the rebels to be honest. They seem to have some strange view of the empire, yet I wonder how many have travelled down here, we have strong secure economies. Less illegals in the faction, alliances dedicated to the security of the empire as a whole. IP (Imperial Paladins) & IG (Imperial Guard) for example as well as others work together to protect each other and innocents and recruits fresh out of the academy. It doesn’t happen in fed space… they say people are more “free” but they are more free” to commit crimes and hurt each other I guess its true… here there are consequences to your actions, and people you know you need to look out for.

ManualRage: In war would you stand back or fight for your faction?

Imperius: I won’t go into too much detail but IG always works on plans for every eventuality and we already have several detailed potential plans in the pipeline for just such an occurrence.

ManualRage: Explain how you would feel if a war occurred.

Imperius: In war I am in my element. However I would be saddened by the losses on both sides of any war, and worried for the innocents caught up in it.

Over time I have come to realize just how many rebels are not educated in their history and don’t know how the galaxy came to be what it is, they are also generally rather inward looking scared of the outside and see threats where there are none. And many of them are innocents just born in the wrong place… the same applies to imperials…. but you need to take a step back and depersonalize things in a war… or your die…. there is a reason I was renamed “Blackheart” I learned long ago to shut out all feelings of loss and pity or I wouldn’t have been able to cope with the things I have seen.

Generally I would hope that the Empire’s victory would be swift to make things as painless as possible on whoever we were fighting.

Ghost Town

Ghost Town, former Triad base, was destroyed early this week after coming under the control of imperial citizen “The Enigma.” The assault on Ghost Town was led by Blade Star, Rear Admiral of the Free Trade Syndicate. His reasons: he was unhappy about the presence of an imperial base in Federation space. As far as the Tribune can find, this is the first time a base has been destroyed simply because of its affiliation. The Enigma purported to be a peaceful trader, and, indeed, seemed to be. In response to this, supporters of the Ghost Town destruction cite the fact that The Enigma was somehow aligned with The Imperial Guard. This is patently untrue. The Enigma did receive the base from Squire Jack, known guardsman, but that was as far as the relationship extended. How the Empire will react to this aggression is unclear, but the Tribune will be waiting.

Who’s got those drugs?

Everyone (well…almost everyone…) understands the need for an occasional extra turn or two every now and then. Scientists from around the universe have developed drugs, sometimes colloquially called “candy” for just that purpose. The Tribune has spent months researching some of the major producers of candy in the game, and will be endeavoring to bring you a list of the major players soon. Let’s face it – too many pilots turn to the Black Market to fulfill their needs. Why pay 30,000 credits per unit of drugs when you could pay as low as 11,000!? The Tribune wants to help. As is, this is what we know:

Flying in the Fed Core? Stop by Blade Star’s drug emporium in Sol. These reasonably priced drugs can keep you wired for a long time.

Maybe Sol isn’t the cluster for you. Maybe you fly up north in Rashkir. If so, nothing is easier than swinging by Capella and grabbing a few tons of drugs from tightwad’s Trade Outpost. This reporter can personally attest to the potency of their wares.

Let’s keep heading East…into Lane. The Lane drug trade is relatively young, and nobody has really emerged as the leader over there. Still, if you’re in serious need of a few turns, I recommend heading to Solaqu and haggling for price while watching a few slaves dance for your amusement.

Moving on, to the North Pardus Rim. It is rumored that after the fall of Daaya (see previous issues), Red Cell has expanded their operations into that sector. If these rumors are true, tightwad is probably the man to contact.

The South Pardus Rim is a veritable cornucopia of drug producers. Who you buy from here is determined entirely by what you’re looking for in a drug. PACK definitely leads the charge in the South Pardus Rim when it comes to sheer bulk production. They are closely followed, however, by the ostensibly all-natural production of the Tiacken Slave Traders. A new player in the game, the Brotherhood of Genesis, does not permit access to their sectors, so this reporter is unable to ascertain how big their operation is.

Producing drugs in Empire space take guts. The Chaos Order claims to have those in spades. They have set up their operations in Quator, and their prices are certainly reasonable.

Finding drugs in Ska is hard. The only production point known to this reporter lies deep within Ruby Legion space. As I have never ventured into Ruby Legion space, I cannot confirm the existence of this production site.

So there you have it! The Tribune sincerely hopes that this listing of production areas will help you in your mission runs and in your struggles against the universe’s nasties.

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