Issue #92
Back by popular demand, it’s the one and only Tiacken Tribune.
As Editor-in-Chief of this formerly fine publication, I’d like to personally thank those interviewers, writers, and well-wishers that made this possible. And Sylos. Sylos donated his hard-earned credits to our cause, and for that I am eternally grateful. I’ve already donated every cent I’ve received for the Tribune to various worthy causes around the universe. If you’d like to help out the Tribune I am taking donations. No, this is not a scam. I have more than enough credits to last the rest of my career and some very profitable buildings. I’ll be using the donations to pay our staff and hopefully keep this rag running for one more run around the block. Fly Safe, Pardus.
Eldritch
Editor-in-Chief, Tiacken Tribune
The Scorpion Speaks: An Interview With Lord Steel (Spider Jerusalem Jr)
The funny thing about the WPR is that while it is still the home of some of the oldest and most venerable independent media outlets in Pardus, the region is so ravaged by partisan skirmishes, not-so-secret cabals, and intercluster strife that you can actually tell a pilot’s home sector and paramilitary loyalties simply from where he gets his news and entertainment…
For instance, the “Federal Settler’s Network,” with it’s measured mix of classic Andexan sitcoms and comforting reassurances from Sol Command, has remained a family favorite in the Northwestern Part of the territory for generations. Further East however, pilots tend to favor “Canal Quinto” and their extensive business reporting; the more southeasterly reaches subscribe heavily to “Skaldananet,” the Ska-Keldana Network, broadcasting the latest intrigues from the Palace of Thorns to imperial ex-pats throughout the neutral zone, and even the pirate satellite network of “MoonTV” has defied the doomsayers and remained in business long after it’s offices in Beethi were blown away, even upping it’s ratings when it’s arch rival the Pirate Channel went out of business…
The Gentleman sitting across from me however, had his eyes glued to “Usube Independent Broadcasting,” which despite it’s innocent name, had relocated all of their studios to Urhoho after the famous incident concerning their home planet, leaving no doubt whatsoever as to whose interests they serve. Said Gentleman had went on air and on record for the station many times in the past, and, to his credit, his appearance in person lacked nothing compared to his media appearances: tall, muscular and with an air of competence, slightly grizzled despite impeccable grooming, Lord Steel, Made Man and Scorpion Master, certainly cut an imposing figure. I must admit though, that the impression was slightly belabored due to his slouching in a recliner chair with a beer, wearing a “University of Ook Ook: We Go Ape Over Nebulaball” T- Shirt.
He had contacted me a few days earlier; he had just come back from some urgent personal business on his Home Planet and already notched up a decisive victory for the Scorpion Guard by storming the Stronghold of Edbeeth and wished to talk about the endeavor; we were supposed to start a while ago, but were delayed by the fact that his home team the Ook Ook Primates were caught in overtime against their cross cluster rivals the Olexti Space Crystals, and the playoffs were hanging in the balance. He graciously let me in his office though to watch the end of the game and even tossed me a Bedahoweiser…
Once the game was over (Primates won on penalties), he turned off his monitor, faced me in an upright position, got out two more Bedahos and indicated that he was ready for the interview to commence.
TT: Greetings Lord Steel, it’s good to see you back from your sabbatical; I trust the R & R was much needed?
LS: Its good to be back in the thick of things.
TT: Undoubtedly; you certainly haven’t wasted any time reasserting yourself. Your Scorpion Guard and allies have just come off a major military victory in the WPR; tell us, what were the events that led up to the Edbeeth invasion?
LS: I really don’t like getting ambushed in my backyard, so when MERC started ambushing in Olphize I took notice, as we had thought we had reached a understanding with TAP (The Apathetic Pardusians, now disbanded). Sadly a Time Bomb later on showed that maybe that understanding was not as good as we thought, and needless to say, we were not happy.
We felt tricked and very grumpy about that. Lucky for us it was not hard for Palldon to find a lot more like minded people very fast.
Sadly things came up and it had to be put off for a bit.
After things got reworked a bit in the SG, we came back to looking over our plans for Olphize and a call for allies went back out. Due to some com problems however, many people did not get that call to arms until very close to our attack time, but as many people had a bone to pick with MERC or even just TAP, no shortage of people showed up to take part.
TT: It has been rumored that the assault was an answer to the MERC Urlafa strike against SG, or possibly even a follow-up of the SG Paan expedition; any truth to those allegations? What happened anyway in Paan? Not much has been said in public…
LS: Yes this was very much a follow-up to Paan and was in fact meant to happen around the same time but as I said, things came up.
As for Paan itself, negotiations with some people that owned part of the nook and did not care for a blanket SG attack on the sector got us a pass from there MO’s to get at our real targets in Paan. MERC claims they knew about the attack and let us in unopposed and in truth, I don’t really doubt that much. But seeing as they felt the need to attack a TO and spam the comm channels about it as a great counter to us burning Paan, I do get the feeling we hit a nerve there anyway and thats all I need to sleep well at night.
TT: Hm, you have a point there; Paan security isn’t what it used to be back when MERC proper had control…
So how much planning went into the Edbeeth assault? You already said you hit some snares on the way, but overall, was it hard to find allies, get the logistics right? I noticed that aside from STS, pretty much the entire neighborhood showed up along with the usual suspects…
LS: Finding allies was very easy. As you said, pretty much the entire neighborhood showed to remove MERC/TAP from our backyard.
As for planning, truth be told on such short notice there was little time or need. Most of our allies knew how we run the two wave tactic.
Sadly. those that had their first time might have gotten a little lost and my understanding was some of the fleet leaders might have had a hang up with their traders and logistics. I blame the short notice and myself for that but overall it went very smooth.
The only real big glitch I saw was Red Cell, who got the attack date screwed up thinking it was monday ; and when they did show they got a little trigger happy and there was some friendly fire. But on a whole, noone was really hurt.
TT: Hmm, I guess a certain amount of SNAFUs can be expected in an operation that large…were there any outright casualties? Who exactly were the allied forces? How fierce was the resistance?
LS: For any Op that’s 50+ people you can count on a few things each time. Someone is going to leak intel or spy for the people you are attacking and we got word; this time was no different. I was expecting MERC to show in force but hacks as we got closer to go time revealed that their big hitters were staying well out of harm’s way. I think they might have been a little gun shy as they don’t have a good track record with fights like this. That or they just knew they lost before it started and were trying to make it look like it was not their fault.
As for SG losses, we lost a ficon and a BBB to enemy fighters as well as a Hawk to the MO itself. I am not sure about non-SG losses, but they were few. Still all things taken into account, I think they gave us a good fight for what they had. They even launched 500 bombers and 100 fighters from a close by SB to try and take out a SG SB but it was countered with a small string of fighters denying them access to their target.
Was there resistance? Yes. Was it fierce? I felt more like it was token as the real guns never showed…
TT: Yes; according to GNN, most of the casualties seemed to be known traders from TAP and…GUA. Not many big names showed up. Nevertheless, it did take you several days to get through; it was a triple MO wall, no?
How did the actual battle take place?
LS: The MO line was 4 strong; The GUA line was kind of a fly in the ointment as we were not expecting it.
The attack was a standard MO attack plan with a leadership comlink that had one or two Representatives from each ally in it from which they would pass on orders to their own divisions.
The attack started with lambs moving first to look for ambushes and then right after that, the 2nd wave moved in to make sure we owned the MO. After we were sure the MO was safe 1st wave and traders moved in to strip off some of the Avenger’s on the MO. It is at this time that resistance will usually show and we were not let down. However 2nd wave did make short work of them with few losses.
After the MO is weakened, 1st wave and 2nd trade jobs until there are no more Avengers and then the MO is demolished. After the first MO dropped we moved right on to MO #2 with lambs and the two strike fleets. That MO fell in short order, so we moved on and found wall #3 unstocked, so we pressed the advance and had a look at wall #4. We checked for combat fatigue and looked at our bot supply and briefly considered hitting MO #4, but knowing MO #3 would be back online later anyway we thought it was better to do it right then do it flashy so we pulled back and held positions till day two. The next day we saw few enemies as the fight was really over already and this was just cleanup. When we made it into the sector, Scorpion Guards were cut loose to raid and burn for about a hour and then were told to pull out.
After that, the SG’s work was really done but others still had a bone to pick and took over the SB as well, along with MOing off the sector.
TT: So you had no part in the SB takeover or say over the aftermath? I hear Penumbra and the Dustmen have gotten control over Edbeeth now…
LS: SG did have some small requests in who got the nook but those were met very fast and overall we really had no say nor wanted any say in what would happen after the rout. All I care about is that we are not getting attacked there anymore.
As for the Starbase, that bit was not a SG matter but it was fun to watch (laughs)
TT: I can imagine; you mentioned GUA before, and that I came as quite a shock to see them settled within Edbeeth and defending it even… did it surprise you to see them in such close proximity with MERC and TAP?
Also, just recently you came out of a major alliance war with them; is a continuation of that conflict on the horizon? What is your view on GUA today?
LS: It was a shock to see their MO; I thought they already owned 90% of the nooks out there and the last thing I would think they would be looking for would be another. But outside that, GUA’s friends and allies are well known (but very hard to understand) so it was no shock to see them working hand in hand as they have in the past.
Continuation? I am still waiting for the rangers (an ancient, original enemy of the Scorpion Guard; most public intel regarding them is classified by the Galactic Council- ed.) to show up and attack us at any given time… I am a very jumpy man and am always on the lookout for danger, but no, I don’t think anyone (other than MERC who needs allies) really wants another fight like that any time soon.
TT: I can see how that would be bad for business…
A considerable number of political cognoscenti are muttering about the entire operation really being a sequel to the Fall of Beethi roughly a year ago; to be fair, there are considerable parallels: both had Staging points in Olphize, both attacks were provoked by ambushing and retreating behind multiple MO lines; the attack roster was mostly unchanged- as you said, most of the allied forces knew the drill quite well; in both cases, MERC accused the attackers of tactically weakening the Empire in the WPR.
In addition, I recall that you accused TAP’s predecessor, NZI, of being Moonie Stooges and economic Peons on several occasions right after the Fall of Beethi, in one case threatening that they were next…
This has led some to speak of a “witch hunt” for moonies and crimes committed ages ago… what say you to such allegations?
LS: An excellent Question…
TAP’s predecessor NZI (sighs) …wow I thought they were the same people…And yes, I would say it’s fair to call this a sequel. But it’s not for crimes of the past but actions in the here and now. People of the WPR tend to not like people screwing with their cluster and tend to be willing to fight if a unwanted group moves in.
TT: Thanks for clearing that up; so would you say the moonie threat is still real? Or would the popular saying “Once a moonie, always a moonie” be more accuate?
LS: The moonies are dead and gone. The people of Pardus have shown that they will only stand for so much of that kinda crap.
However we still see the doubletalk and obfuscation from some of their old allies and that more than anything tends to get people very worked up and is a large part of why people draw lines from that kind of behavior to the moonies.
Things like Ad Hominem or Post Hoc are very hard to stand up to in the forums and were a much used tool of MERC and the Moonies but 80% of people see them for what they are and it really just makes people frustrated. When that hits critical mass, the “I will just let my guns do the talking” mindset tends to step in.
When people talk about the moonies, I tend to think they are talking more about old moonie allies still using that kind of argument to get away with things and time has shown that often the only way to deal with that is to just attack.
TT: I see; well, no matter what your opinion is, the fact remains that this successful operation kicked up some considerable controversy in certain circles (like all operations in the WPR); would you consider the Scorpion Guard a political force, or merely a force to be reckoned with?
LS: Any true force to be reckoned with has to some extent be a political power. As much as it angers people that mercs (not MERC) tend to take on lots of friends and NAP’s the fact is if you don’t, you really won’t last long in this line of work and the few friends you do have will get burned out of you very fast.
You have to know when to fight and when to back down. You have to know who you are fighting, who their allies are, who will help them, and who will help you. When you know that you know how to take away others’ power as well. To better understand that just look at the SR/GUA war: When we feared ambush scouts we started just killing everyone who might scout. Our foes jumped at that, hoping to get some support on their side from the people of Pardus. But this had the effect of letting US use scouts like that as now if they killed them they would look very bad. That gave us an edge that saved quite a few lives and was all just politics.
As sad as it might sound, if you want to win fights then politics will be your greatest weapon and not combat skills (but those help).
TT: Good point. In closing: The SG-MERC rivalry is one of the most highly publicized in the history of Pardus, reaching legendary (no pun intended) proportions; and while SG has certainly hit MERC where it hurts, most expect it to be only a matter of time ’till they retaliate… After all, observers have been declaring MERC past it’s prime for well over a year now, but they have still somehow prevailed and remained in business.
Do you have anything to say to your famous antagonist, or any enemies of the SG, for that matter?
LS: MERC is not what it was back in the day and as such has lost some of its shine and I think that’s why SG and MERC fight so much.
At the start of the first faction war, after much fighting, MERC and SG signed a NAP just for the war but after the war we stayed NAPed with them and when they lost an MO we even came and helped or offered to help not once but twice in Paan! Yes, the same Paan we offered to help defend would later be the one we burned down.
Around here that rivalry started showing up from MERC; I am not sure why, but maybe the leader of the time still had a bone to pick with us from long ago. Or maybe… and this is what I really think it was: SG and MERC were two swordsmen and it was time to see who was the best.
It started with threats and demands from MERC telling us where we could and could not ambush and for who. Stuff like “if you ambush in Nari or for this man, that ends our NAP.” Then they took in people they knew we were hunting to keep us from making the kill. But the last straw was right after we got a job to take down a TAP SB in Mebsuta.
Right after the contract negotiation we got a PM saying attacking the TAP nook would end our NAP. Well having about all of that as we could take, we hit that nook…
Then MERC lost their nook to the Feds in Nari… I showed up to try and help them get their nook back, but after two lambs were sent to their deaths with no follow-up from the person leading the attack, I was asked to take over the Op; we even managed to take the nook back after that. So you think things would be fine now, right?
Why we are fighting now I really don’t know. All I can think of is MERC will just not be happy until they have shown they are stronger or at least as strong as the SG. I really think the MERC/SG fighting is just about pride. So MERC will no doubt counter-attack us down the road and we will hit them back for it and the story will go forward. I have gotten used to it after so long…we are ready.
TT: Well, that was very insightful, thank you for this rare interview.
The Tiacken Tribune Top 100
Unfortunately, denizens of Pardus, this feature will not be included in this week’s Tribune. Suffice to say that a scandal involving a large sum of credits, a waffle, and some cupcake frosting has recently been uncovered by Tribune Oversight Officials. How this will effect the overall outcome of the top 100, we cannot say, but we solemnly pledge that we will bring you the next 10 entries on the list next week!
Also Coming Soon…
Next week, we have an interview with Zeris, of Penumbra. He’ll explain what, exactly, they’re all about. Stay tuned! As news happens, we’ll be there to spin it!