The Tiacken Tribune

The Scout

Sigh. Another day, another dollar spent. Such had life become for Eldritch, Editor-in-chief of the Tiacken Tribune, Overseer of the Tiacken Slave Traders, generally cool guy. Eldritch sat, bored out of his mind, in Nusakan, home to many of the wretched Z-machines. He had been tasked by the Federal government to seek and destroy as many as possible, and hunting had been good to begin with. As more and more would-be fighters flocked the Nusakan, however, the pickings were getting slim. Eldritch looked up, a Z-15 Fighter had appeared on his radar. He left, followed by a Night Hawk Deluxe and a Phantom Advanced Stealth Craft. Two minutes later, the empty wreck of the Z-mod drifted away through space…

Sigh.

Eldritch looked out of his cockpit, which was still docked in alert mode on the Dojo. It was often easy to dismiss the beauty of space…it had become such a mundane thing. Eldritch sighed again…a message blinked through from some of the traders stocking the system’s farms and mines. Apparently another Z-Mod, a Z Fighter Scout, was causing trouble nearby. Eldritch sent a remote order through for a quick supply of bots and undocked again, ready to engage the beast. The cybernetic lines from his ship fell limp behind him and he grabbed on and jammed it hastily into the socket that had been implanted near the top of his spine. A sense of preternatural agility shot through his limbs as he readied the controls on Farbauti.

The Scout came into view and Eldritch launched a volley of laser fire. It was wounded and attempted to fire back, but Eldritch’s agility was too much. He retreated and chose to stop briefly for repairs before re-engaging when something entirely unexpected happened. A Behemoth undocked and ran full-throttle at the Scout. Eldritch cursed the fool and ran a scanner program to determine the pilot’s identity. Perhaps a message could be scrambled in time to save him. The pilot ID came back: Evil Squire Jack, Alliance: TST. Eldritch cursed again and rolled his eyes. There was no stopping that ship. ESJ seemed determined to destroy himself in as many ways possible lately. Eldritch set his ship to orbit and waited for the fireworks. If he was lucky, ESJ would be carrying a cache of explosives aboard. That should make for a nice show.

A few minutes later, a brilliant explosion rocked the night sky. Eldritch was forced to shield his eyes momentarily. He blinked and checked the agility cable…it wouldn’t do to have it fall out during combat…Eldritch had heard stories of that happening to other pilots, usually with disastrous results. Everything was secure. Time to finish the Scout off. Eldritch raced in to the Scouts location and was surprised to find that it was no longer there. No problem, he thought, these things move. After scouring the nearby regions of space, Eldritch returned to the Dojo, puzzled. Sitting there, a bit scorched, but still in one piece, was Evil Squire Jack’s Behemoth. Eldritch blinked again and checked his radar.

Sigh….

The Tribune would like to congratulate Evil Squire Jack on his accomplishment. There is a very fine line between bravery and stupidity. We aren’t entirely sure yet which side you’re on, but to take down a Z-Scout in a BBB is certainly something noteworthy! Keep up the good work!

The Richest

Ever wonder what it was like to have 20 million credits? How about 50 million? Still petty cash to you? What about the 100 million credit mark? Very few pilots have ever reached that level of opulent wealth. Still, there is at least 1 pilot in the game who considers 100,000,000 credits to be relatively petty cash. It would, after all, be under 2/3 of his account. That pilot is Arkridge. Recently, Arkridge realized a life-long goal of becoming the richest person in the Universe. The Tribune contacted Arkridge in an attempt to secure an interview. He readily acquiesced and told us to meet him at his new home, which was conveniently located near Aya II. Really, Arkridge didn’t like the idea of sharing space on a planet or Starbase with people, so he bought Aya II’s moon, which he has yet to name. His manor sprawls obscenely across its surface and is decorated in a sort of milieu of galactic art.

When this reporter (and his staff) arrived at the Arkridge’s palatial dwelling, we were greeted as honored guests. Scantily clad slaves from around the universe met us at the door and ushered us inside. I thought that I spotted a slave wearing the purple sash of the Imperial family, but don’t think that even Arkridge would go that far. Fruits and wines from the Imperial Gardens on Ska were placed before us, and every amenity was offered. After a brief repast, the Tribune staff chose to retire to their rooms while this reporter wandered the hallways. The architecture was beautiful beyond words. I wandered through rooms of solid gold and bright platinum. Ancient mahogany wood was used for details. I swam in a pool that was made entirely of crushed Ska-ari shell. A slave who waited to towel me off as I emerged from the water told me that those shells were recycled from one of his alliance operations exclusively for this purpose. It was clear that no expense was spared in the construction of this mansion.

Days passed and I began to wonder about Arkridge’s absence. The house staff was truly professional and attended to our every whim, but something didn’t feel right. Harems of slave girls (and a few boys as well) were placed strategically throughout the manor. After one night of being entertained, I managed to catch a whispered conversation about bizarre rituals that the Baron partook in periodically. The details of these orgiastic services are too graphic to publish, but involved each of the 4 races that inhabit the known universe. There was speculation that Arkridge had gone on a buying trip into the Pardus core in an attempt to negotiate the purchase of a Lucidi slave.

Before long, the trip was over. We never saw Arkridge, but his home and his slaves are lovely. The Tribune hopes that we are invited back again soon. Maybe next time we’ll discover the secret to his glorious success. Until then, we bid you skaviar wishes and champagne dreams.

Lane Sanctuary

There is a new group making small apearences called Lane Sanctuary. It is led by two people (Andover of Conglomo, and Emperor Trevor of The Ablution) and is devoted to a sector called BL 6-511.

Lane Sanctuary has a Star Base project there, in the pirate den, where Andover is building a Star Base.

The group Lane Sanctuary is devoted to providing a nurturing environment for new players, while still providing a good hunting and trading ground for more experienced players.

The group was formed when Andover, who broke off from Triad, came to Emperor Trevor talking about colonizing a sector in the Neutral Zone, or in the Pardus Cluster. From there I directed him to Lane cluster, and there to BL 6-511.

We then tried to extend our reach to Solaqu, but where met by resistance from Ye Olde Candy Lords. We respectfully agreed to leave Solaqu, and devoted ourselves to BL 6-511 from there out.

Lane Sanctuary is actively recruiting, and needs funding for its starbase project. We also accept recruits from alliances as an extension of that alliance’s influence.