The Tiacken Tribune

The Way it really was….a response to the article on the “Daaya curse” (Tightwad)

Daaya has always been a much contested sector. The curse that is attribute to it really exists. The ghosts of previous tenants are known to have been spotted lurking near the might gates which guard this sector. Many stories have come down about recent events, and how they happened. What you will learn here is the real truth.

Dishonor and Deception. Those are bywords Daaya has been plagued with since the first residents made it their home. Overcoming this perception is hard, especially when former tenants and neighbors wish to continue following in those footsteps. Red Cell has done much to alleviate this problem, but those efforts had not trickled down to everyone they did business with.

On that fateful day, when fleets of ships gathered, they had timed it well. They knew that much of Red Cell’s defense forces were engaged in carrying out the orders of the Federation, and that others were on much deserved leaves to visit husbands, wives, and children. This time had been chosen as acceptable for leave because Red Cell had been assured by Ruby Legion leaders that peace was on the horizon, and that the agreements reached were being ratified in Ruby Legion voting. Red Cell was honoring the cease fire…..alone as it turned out.

It is important to interject that the Supreme Council, as well as all Faction Leadership, does not sanction the use of Clones before death. This is also a problem that had been seen in Daaya. One former resident was rumored to have been using over 15 clones of himself when he was caught and prosecuted for his crimes. No one knows the actual penalty because all pilots who are caught doing this disappear. It is said however that their DNA and memories are removed from all Databases, and that any recurrence of them are swiftly dealt with in a similar manner.

As the attacks started, the Red Cell crew was horribly undermanned. Pixx is a mighty fighter, but the vast number of pilots and ships involved was too much, even for him. Mighty Empire missiles, wielded by some of the highest rank Empire Pilots, were a major force in removing the Military Outpost which guarded the peaceful settlement of Daaya. With no one available to help, Pixx was forced into action that went against his plan, and his ship was destroyed. The Military Outpost soon followed. The second Outpost, built just days before, and with only rudimentary defences, soon followed.

Imagine the looks on the raiders faces when they realized that everything of value had been been taken out of Daaya…..even in their misplaced trust of Ruby Legion, recent sightings of high-skilled mercenaries was enough warning to building owners to move as much stock as they could. Not much of value was left to the raiding parties.

The came the news……many of those involved in the attack were found to members of an illegal cloning ring!! The whole attack had been one of not just deceit and dishonor, but also the mightiest of rules had been broken. Huba, the “brave” pilot acclaimed in other accounts, was one of these clones. Many of the support staff on hand were found to be clones, and justice was swift. Their very lives were forfeit…all they owned disappeared.

Red Cell was still stuck. They had lost a very expensive MO, and were ill-equipped to replace it. There was also a replacement MO, which stood in their path. They knew they could build behind it, and obstruct the Mutant Enemies from gaining access, but it would still gall them to see this beacon of deceit on a daily basis.

The Fates struck again. Not only had many of the Ruby Legion and MERC pilots been violating universal law, but, as it turned out, so had Mutant Enemy. Their illegal MO disappeared, and Red Cell was free to re-build.

As a point of interest, the known attackers numbered just about 30, this includes Trader Support and suicidal victims. Of this total, 15 were illegal clones. Among these were 6 of the top pilots involved.

And that is how things truly were.

The First Droplets (Walkingrazor, Tribune Staff Writer)

The Wasat Citizen Coalition delegation approached my ship in their ceremonial robes, shuffling in their wooden sandals across the hard-pack of the shipyard floor. I swung down from the cockpit and leaned against the hull of the Requiem for a Dream and waited as they made their stately approach. As they formed the traditional Wasatan greeting line I bowed slightly.

“Thank you for your service in ridding our sector of pirates,” the Chieftain began. We always appreciate the assistance of the Scorpion Guard in keeping our traders safe from harm.”

“You’re welcome,” I said.

“However, I have called you there because you are a representative of the Tiacken Tribune, he continued. There is something I think you should see… …for the people of Pardus. Please follow me.”

At his signal, a hover-transport broke from a hanger in the corner of the shipyard and approached. The door hissed open and we sat on the benches, the members of the delegation humming traditional songs to themselves and fingering their prayer beads as we glided from the shipyard and down a highway to the shore. The transport glided to a halt and their soft chanted stopped. We stood on the long empty shore in front of a low dome.

“We found him on the beach a few days ago. Some kind of ship that looked strangely eaten sank in the deep trench in front of the island. He was sick with something we’ve never seen before and raving madness about a world we’d never seen. At first we thought it was a common case of madness with some typical disease, but his body emitted energy like we’ve never monitored before and he’s changed. There are things about him we can’t explain.”

I nodded. “Any reason you think this might be the case?”

He motioned toward the building as the waves washed against the shore and bowed. I would see for myself…

The dome parted like magic as we approached, and we stepped through into a state of the art medical complex. I followed the flowing line of robed men and women into the central building to a door at the end of the hall. They parted in pairs, stepping to either side and I passed through the center and beyond the door.

The man in the bed on the other side of the room thrummed with a strange vibration. His eyes danced behind his closed lids until he heard my approach and they flicked open into a wide, horrible stare.

“Luicidi, he whispered. You can trick them, yes. But they come for you, the blockades, the virus, the clouds. The terrible clouds! We tried to avoid them to finish the mission and get the samples, but they found us, they found us…”

He choked a bit and his eyes rolled back into his head.

“The first ship was eaten by this horrible Manta, I watched the Keldon navigator I had oriented with at PEAC disintegrate on the holo feed. The locks, the locks! It closed on us and they died, it moved… …back into that dark. You must let them all know. The report was lost, we lost it all, all our data, it’s dead and dark now. My ship in the deep water, I tried. Oh, how I tried. He trailed off and stared at the ceiling, not speaking.

I waited for a while, compiling notes, and waiting to see if he came out of it, but he remained comatose in a delirium of fear.

I stepped out of the door and addressed the delegation, “Thank you for your time, Council. I appreciate that you brought this to my attention. Can you please arrange transport back to my ship?”

The Requiem went into hard start and I rang the Tiacken Tribune office. Eldritch appeared on screen chewing on a pencil and looking worried. “Sending the feed now, Boss.” He nodded.

“I was able to pull some data from local reports and from the information recovered by the Council on Wasat. Looks like the blockades are still in place in the entrance sectors, deep scans of the wrecks found there have yielded no information, but have pulled in some advance ore and electronics, which are subject for testing. I have reports of new monsters patrolling and attacking people in the space lanes. Any official word from PEAC?”

“We got a transmission from the Galactic Council earlier. Information is still a bit spotty, but there are some details that are amazing. We’ve got our researchers working on substantiating these claims as quickly as possible.” Eldritch barked an order at a junior staffer for some coffee and the new holo report and slammed his fist on the desk.

“I saw the synopsis and dropped them a line already. When the admission rules are finalized, I’ll put in an application and get things arranged. The Pardus cluster is going to be huge, boss…. …and the Tiacken Tribune will be there.”

“Keep me posted,” Eldritch said. “Full reports on every issue, stay on top of this. Now get back to work!” The holo feed closed to a pinpoint of light.

TO BE CONTINUED

Urlafa barroom brawl showcases unknown Pirate talent

“The tranquility of a scenic bar was broken today as a barfight broke out between a notable Empire-bashing Keldon member of Yarr Inc. and several Empire Loyalists. ‘The havoc was brutal,’ quots the barkeep, ‘with drugs and liquor being thrown back and forth- a frightened human slavegirl was even tossed through the air by Nong Pu. I’ll never forget that Ska’ari’s name…’

It seems the fight started as Vashniir, one of the newest members of the new pirate group, picked a fight with a group of Imperials in a drunken, drug-induced haze. As the fight escalated chairs and tables became weapons and several pilots- most notably Nong Pu and Pink Flamingo- defended their allies against the pirate. Another Yarr member, Aurum Oculus, instigated the battle by buying rounds of beer for all.

The Fracas would’ve resulted in fatalities and mass property damage if not for Rift Tlosam’s good shooting, which caught the attention of all the brawlers and calmed the fight down. Vashniir was seen escaping with the Slave girl in tow, and Aurum grumpily settled back into surveying the carnage.”

Border Skirmish!

The Soul Reapers go “Croc hunting” (Spider Jerusalem, Tribune Staff Writer)

Ackexa - The normally docile Southwestern region of the Federation Rashkan Core has recently exploded into a maelstrom of violence and mayhem, with bounties and biospores flying about like solar wind particles. The reason? The galactically renowned bounty collecting machine Soul Reapers has declared open season on the local trading alliance The Fearsome Crocostimpies, over their disputed claim over the sector BQ9-327, just south of the Federation Frontier.
It appears the conflict started when the longstanding Starbase, Titan, in said sector downgraded due to gross neglect; leaving the strategically important region up for grabs. Both alliances rushed to set up Trade Outposts with the Soul Reapers beating the Fearsome Crocs to it by a wide margin, which did not deter them from setting up their own as a backup plan. The Crocs foresight was to be rewarded however, when in a twist of fate, the Ruby Legion Ambassador Lexico blew away the undefended Soul Reaper Outpost in an unrelated act concerning a longstanding grudge between RL and former member (and current Reaper) Reno Ryno, the outpost’s manager. This gave the Crocs the opportunity to finish construction of their own Starbase, Castle Anthrax, much to the dismay of the Soul Reapers. With Negotiations practically stillborn from the start, and the Fearsome Crocs aggravating the situation by publicly hurling abuse of an unprecedented level at the opposing alliance, the Reapers, now seeing their dignity on the line as well, quickly went over to what they arguably do best: search and destroy.

The campaign has thus far been predictably one-sided, although the Crocs did manage to score a minor victory by dismantling another SR Trade Outpost. Meanwhile, the Reapers have undoubtedly proven that despite their posturing, the emperor has no clothes, and they have fallen short of their goal of shooting the Crocs to a solution.
The Crocs, on the other hand have surprised almost everyone by keeping a stiff upper lip, and refusing to back down even in the face of large scale disruption and annihilation. And while one could argue it’s their victory by cheeking one of the most dangerous alliances in Pardus and getting away with it, even Crocosympathizers are hard-pressed to deny that fighting Soul Reapers has thus far proven to be an exercise in futility.

Will the issue be resolved in the near future? In an official statement to the Tribune, the Crocostimpie-in-chief, Abnernitwit, confirmed that peace negotiations are ongoing, and that his alliance is willing to give up the SB and sector in return for a cessation of hostilities, a removal of bounties (on both sides), and monetary compensation to cover construction costs. The Soul Reapers have denied comment on the issue until the matter has been resolved.
Also, the emergence of yet another disputed Starbase claim has led to some pundits to call for a Pardus-wide protocol on sector claiming, to be ratified by every alliance. The chances of such an endeavor being successful, however, remain slim.

While the re-cloning count continues to rise, the possibility of other alliances getting dragged into the fray cannot be ruled out at this time, with several isolated pilots already spotted participating in hostile acts on both sides in the area; all in all, tensions and emotions remain high on the NPR- Fed Rashkan Core border.

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