GBC - Bacon<3

[Bacon<3]

For those who don’t know me, which is most of the galaxy, my name is Bacon. I’m a reporter with the GBC, Galactic Broadcasting Corporation; we’re an independent news company who vow to let everyone know what is going on in the galaxy we live in. So if you have a story that you think the community should know then send me a message either through here or via discord. No story is too big or too small for me; just grant me the time to ask you questions and I will tell others of the truth.

Your friendly neighbourhood reporter, Bacon o7.

 

[missmartian]

At PalCon we've got events coming up if you cover that?

 

[Bacon<3]

The Code and TLC.

Teamsters Logistics and their asset The Cabin, it filled a void in the market by providing engineering commodities. Myself had used it on several occasions and this reporter has the upmost respect for the pilots providing their time to get hold of goods that are difficult to get

Both company and asset have been marked by recent events and this reporter was first on the scene. Only a few days ago, what was to be an innocent exchange turned into something much deeper…

The Code, a band of pirates went to go pirate the Cabin ships but what happened next shocked the community to the core. The Cabin and its parent company TLC who have always been known as an honest company did something no one could ever have expected. During the pirating, several ships belonging to TLC vanished. As many of you know vanishing ships are those infected during Thargoid hyperdiction and have always had a kill on sight, not all ships are infected during the but sadly some are. There is currently no known cure to fix this but maybe one day there will be.

What followed the incident was a whirlwind of PR and advertising hell; the Code blockaded the system, SDC vowed to protect TLC and it was several days before an official comment was released. To some this was the end but to others the beginning of this mess. As of writing the head of TLC has agreed to meet the demands of the Code to end the blockade however the Cabin itself will cease to exist.

I am one of only a few reporters who have had the privilege of getting in touch with Pollycough himself, I approached him to get a statement and ask him a few questions:

We have fundamentally disagreed between us as to which course of action we should adopt. We voted last night without all present on majority vote gets the go ahead. This did not sit well with some, and as such the board of directors has split. The future of the company is in doubt, It may not ever recover. Sorry but we are all a bit beat up.

The cabin was such a big part of TLC so what lies ahead for your future?

Pretty dead TBH. A community is just that a community. When there is fundamental disagreement over a point of principle, you have lost the community.

Any comment in the rumour the ship, The Hook, was stolen from an ex TLC member? According to my source he was unaware it had been used and when he went to pilot it he found that the keys missing and locks changed?

No comment.

There are several other companies that would like to follow in your footsteps eg the EIC, what words of wisdom would you offer?

Many a company has fallen foul with a full order book. Don't over reach your capabilities.

Vanishing ships are hyperdicted by Thargoids and some remain infected. Is TLC going to distance themselves from the infected ships?

The infected ships have done the decent thing and distanced themselves from us.

And in regards to using the exploit of sorts?

We would all like to think that in the heat of the moment, we would do the right and honourable thing. Before this particular split second, I would probably had said "I would never use it".

In regards to your previous comment about what happened in the heat of the moment, what was going through the pilot’s minds?

They were being remotely operated in the field with an experimental (secret) technology.

The director sends over a photo.

The illusive man but it's how my lot visualise me, did.

Did? All companies have their ups and falls, I'm sure within time all will be well.

Most have gone.

If you could say something to all of them right now, past and present members what would you say?

I wish I could be in that position, in that time again and make a different decision and all the fallout would just go away. But what’s done is done and how individuals feel has been felt and can't be changed. there is no going back. I am sorry that this has happened but that will not undo it.

Is it true that you are leaving TLC? What will you go from here? Is there another group that you have your eye on joining? Any final words?

You should not believe everything you read. It is possible that Teamsters will take a hit in membership, but I am still there. I believe I answered something about why the cabin is closing? And I answered by saying I did not have the heart or something along those lines. The cabin propelled us into the limelight, we always joked that if we got attention from the likes of CODE, then we truly have made it.

*************************************

This is first instalment I can offer you, I am thankful enough to have managed to get hold of another two directors, a member and two code members also. Stay tuned for the full story.

Your friendly neighbourhood reporter, Bacon.

 

[Bacon<3]

The Code and TLC - An interview with Dan.

Polish Dan, an honourable pilot who mines and mines and mines and mines. The man who was mined before there were limpits and one of the founding members of the company.

You have been here from the start. One of the last members of the original group that came here to Kehperi, how does it feel to see TLC members leaving and The Cabin closing?

It is a great shame but I'm positive that given time we can regroup and eventually put this behind us one way or another. Nobody could've seen it coming. Almost as much as we didn't see The Cabin becoming so popular. My focus now will move onto what we do next rather than dwelling on the past and ensure we have what we need to continue in the galaxy, together as one.

Do you really feel that you can rally the company and bring everyone all home?

Teamsters, in comparison to other factions galaxy wide, are a small band of miners, traders and explorers. I think if a handful of commanders can provide the galaxy with tens of thousands of commodities, then we can find a way to pull through this unfortunate time. As you know, one or two members have felt the need to take time away, but the door will be forever open and welcoming should they wish to enter the fray.

Any comments on other original members that have left your fold? Demetrious, Ouberos, Miss Martian, Nelson and Jacko? It seems quite odd that those members left despite being founding members.

These departures, the odd one less savoury than the others, were mostly commanders seeking pastures new around the galaxy. Take Demetrios or Miss Martian for example, who found within them that Teamsters couldn't provide the combat prowess that they sought. Or Ouberos, whom itched to chase the alien rumours as well as sample the black market trade. Our community is an open one and it would be selfish of us to even attempt to make them stay when we can't provide what they seek.

Do you condone what happened during the heist?

Everybody has their own reaction. I will not sit here and throw my members under the bus. Our members earned my respect over time, so to let one decision, no matter how big or small, would be very harsh. The problem here is that there were genuine issues with communication between assailants and victims. I have no problem and in fact I encourage genuine piracy, but without communication the heist that ensued would have looked very much like a player killing, rather than a pirating attempt, and real pirating we all know is a rarity these days.

Asking me in this relaxed state, I'd go down with my ship, as I always have done. The dust from my cargo usually ends up in the assailant’s thrusters which is quite amusing to watch in the last seconds of consciousness in an escape pod. In the heat of the moment, I can't answer honestly because it didn't happen to me. I'd like to think I'd take the hit. If Polly left... I would follow.

 

[Bacon<3]

An interview with Adam Jay

The past few days has been a crazy one in Kehperi, Pollycough the head of the TLC is in two minds of leaving altogether. In my previous article we explored the events that led up to the moment of Polly telling everyone “It can't continue in it's current form without me”.

Today however leads us to the actions of Adam Jay, a director of TLC who called for a 1v1 against a member of The Code. I managed to get a few moments with Adam to ask him a few questions about the challenge he requested:

@Capn Murica

 I would ask you as the ambassador of the CODE to deliver following message to your leader: Gluttony Fang, I hereby accuse you in front of @everyone @here of using our failure as a leverage to get what you want and what would not have been given to you. Video that your men shot during the attempted robbery of Teamsters Logistics Corporation business property clearly shows that the only thing you were cheated of by the dishonourable act of the commanding officer of the operation in question is few more explosions and rebuys on our side. For that, I offer you proper compensation as is customary among pilot hunters who seek to redeem themselves or their organisation of the shame of combat logging - my own ship I invested billion credits into, with standard 5% rebuy totalling larger amount than rebuys of all our ships on the battlefield with price of the cargo on board combined, which you can have shot by execution squad, destroy in battle or order me to self-destruct as you prefer. I had confirmed by our ambassador from Adler's Armada that this is the way how to do it, not by buying the honour back with cargo and your own men informed me that self-destruction is RP acceptable reaction to pirate ambush. Show that you are man of honour you claim to be and not the manipulative thief I have you for and meet me at the time and place of your choosing for the proper RP you asked for, as your greed is already causing our group to fall apart and vultures are coming for the carrion.[/I]

[B]After everything that has happened between TLC and the AA, especially the fallout at the Naunin CG is it really wise to follow their advise in this?[/B]

No matter my personal opinion on AA that I share with many, they are still considered a capacity when it comes to pilot hunting and are respected by the community in that regard. Besides, my fallout back then was with some members, wise men never judge group on actions of some individuals. I was contacted by one of the AA leaders later and offered an apology for things I was complaining about. I know good people there, one of them I call a friend. 

[B]What was going through your head when you decided to send this challenge across?[/B]

Shame of what my peers announced, especialy the part when we are supposedly "delighted" by being assaulted and setting policy for not using infected ships, which make us look like we have a serious problem with that despite it never happening before.  Besides policing group members disgusts me, it is each own's responsibility to act honourably, not to pretend honour under threat of punishment. 

[B]
Are you aware that the CODE are pirates and not pilot hunters? Are you an accomplished pilot hunter yourself? If so are you ready? If not then who will you coached by?[/B]

Combat is something I do out of neccessity and I don't have much experience against other pilots, I generally consider pilot hunting a waste of time, with no disrespect to the commanders that specialize in it. If the challenge is accepted and the battle is chosen, I don't expect to win and it is not the point anyway. The point is that I pay for what was done as customary.

[B]What ship are you referring too?[/B]

Imperial Cutter; experimental defensive build I was playing with lately. Even when it is highly engineered, it does not stand a chance against experienced commander in combat specialized ship of similar class in my opinion. As I said, if battle would be chosen, it would be symbolic and the point is that the ship is expensive. If I'd be asked to selfdestruct, I would do it without commenting on the choice among the options I offered.

[B]Do you feel that this could make the situation worse?[/B]

I only feel the need to set things right. The corporate policy is as far as I know not to negotiate with pirates and only provide for paying customers, giving them the cargo is an insult to our terms and conditions as well as to all the customers who paid for it before. It shows we are group that can't stand behind our own beliefs and cowardly use of the banned technology involved or not. Therefore I am looking for options how to redeem us without doing so, it is bad enough it was decided to accept the conditions only after been threatened. Of course it could make things worse, but the southern way does not lead that much farther anyway I believe.

[B]I've already Polly's view but what is your view on using infected ships to vanish?[/B]

We all know how easy is to have such technology installed in your ships and how much are people scared of death or losing all they have. Not everyone is born hero and Pilot Federation laws do not prevent little childern from becoming a commanders. As I've said, it is each own's responsibility to act honourably and who am I and who are you to judge anyone? It is of course different when a renown warrior or member of a group does it, as it is considered failure of what the person represents by the community. I know that the officer that did that on our side is a good guy; only not too experienced in combat and simply panicked under the pressure plus his reaction was not to save himself, but to save the cargo for the customers. He is deeply ashamed of his choice and if he could go back, he would never repeat the mistake.

[B]Is it true that Polly is leaving TLC?[/B]

Only he can comment, many of us are leaving or considering it now.

[B]Could the reins not be passed to you and give the company a refresh?[/B]

That is too wild of a speculation to release anything on it at this particular time.

[B]Members are leaving or have left as you mentioned but is it just because of the vanishing ships? Some would ask if it's attributed to the way that TLC lays down its polices. For example, your group has always been advertised as one of pure heart but with the recent killing of another pilot and the fact that one of your own pilots used to say that she wanted to "gank" but couldn't because of TLC policy. Could actions like these also have damaged your reputation throughout the galaxy?[/B]

The commander who we found out killed another person for fun, actually admitted it himself to us and was oblivious to the fact that we are strictly no-ganking group. It is not like we have a codex chiselled in stone and we always thought this is obvious and that our group is attracting only like-minded individuals. After we criticised his action, he found concern about it and stated clearly, he intends to repeat such actions in the future. We had no other choice then to say goodbye to him, even when in many ways he'd been instrumental to the group.

The other pilot you speak of likes to talk a lot and go wild, but to my knowledge, she never killed any other member of the Pilot Federation. She left us yesterday. Of course, all this could and probably had affected our reputation in the galaxy, but it's not like the reputation is paramount for what we do.

[B]Is there anything else you feel that is important to share?[/B]

I would like to thank members of the community for overwhelming support our business received. It kept us running even when the numbers of commanders on trade duty were stretched thin and the trade profit was not among the best; as making people happy really is the best reward.

 

[Bacon<3]

An interview with Miss Rarity, Sniper Fish and Bone Daddy.

Miss Rarity, we all know and love her attitude and she graciously gave me the time of day to ask her a few questions:

I am sad to see that you're leaving the group. What are your plans now Miss? Is there another group you'll be going to?

I'm not sure yet.

Looking at the Cabin you've made a lot of friends all over the galaxy in various groups. You could always just keep TLC going?

I don't have the patience to manage those trades.

But what of just handling the group on its own? You've got leadership potential and right now TLC needs someone to look up to.

I'd make a good leader, I think. But I've made too many enemies in the leadership already.

Could I ask why you think that? The company as a whole has its ups and down but no company is without controversy.

Because people let the dumb high school type drama get in the way.

When communicating on both the cabin and TLC channels you commented several times at wanting to "gank" other pilots. Do you think comments like this could have affected the way the company was perceived by the wider public as it was in direct conflict to the innocent and helpful company that we all love and know?

Maybe, maybe not. I'm just a 22-year-old kid. I like to meme a lot and a whole lot of what I say really should never be taken seriously. I think it’s fun to joke about. But would I ever really go off and become a gank lord? Probably not.

What is your view on using infected ships to vanish from time and space as we know it?

I do not personally condone it but I will not be playing god and trying to enforce it. The most I (and anyone in The Cabin) could ever do is report it as we see it and suspend them from Cabin activities.

You mentioned about making enemies in the leadership? Could you expand on the pleases? From what I have seen you are incredibly well respected within TLC so I find it hard to believe that you could have made enemies.

Out of respect for the leadership there and in an interest not to promote gossip, I feel it would be inappropriate to remark on the actions of any person(s) involved.

################### An interview with Sniper Fish

First of all what is your role in TLC ?

A manager, Technically I'm head of bounty hunting , but I also turn my hand to other tasks as required.


What is your view on using infected ships to vanish from time and space as we know it?

That it is clearly an unacceptable practice, also as to the thargoid virus, it is every cmdr responsibility to make sure their ship is clean.

################### An interview with Bone Daddy.

How long have you been a member?

I joined the group sometime in the spring of last year.

With what's happening at the cabin what do you think your next move will be?

I’ve explained in more detail below. I think operations will continue in the Cabin, though in smaller volumes. The group will continue though.

If you had been the one who was pirated what would you have done?

This wasn’t just a case of pirating - per below. I have been pirated; I’ve played along and I’ve escaped.

Do you think that TLC has been judged fairly by the community?

No.. but I think it’s difficult to get past the community's initial reaction to explain the details. It’ll blow over. The Code made a better case.

Any comments that the ship, The Hook, was stolen by TLC? Rumour has it belonged to an ex-TLC member?


No comment.

Only a handful of the founding members are left, Polly and Dan. Any idea on why the others left?

People come and people go. The membership is bigger than you suggest though. Ranks have closed rather than departed. The Cabin is not TLC.


This is an unusually complex situation to fully characterise. Part of the trouble that TLC have had in responding to the unfolding drama has been that as a group of players, our interests are diverse, and the Cabin is a unique proposition in the galaxy. It’s difficult to agree on a cohesive response, let alone present it and back that up.

A little while ago EIC ran a series of events where players were able to buy the engineer entry commodities, and security was organised - and the pirate factions were effectively taunted into making an appearance.. A big splashy deal, it was all done in a week or so. The Cabin is nothing like that - it’s been going since June; seeks to do nothing more than provide a useful service in a professional manner, and aims to offer this service to all players. There is a fair amount of effort involved in keeping this going, and it’s clear that we don’t have the numbers of pilot hunters to offer full security - more than that we just don’t have numbers of players who are particularly interested in pilot hunting at all.

So - one of the things I think we’ve failed in doing; is stressing properly that when people engage with us.. There has to be a certain amount of shared trust involved for the trade to work. We wrap that up in a set of terms and conditions but it really has to be there and followed for any of the inter-player marketplace that the Cabin is; to make sense.
In the absence of any meaningful Crime and Punishment system.

The second major point that we failed to really press home, was that Polly was operating many ships simultaneously - it was often the only way to efficiently handle the trade. We had clearly become complacent - so that when the deal turned bad, Polly panicked. Clear and simple.. We all hate using exploits. But this was a scenario we hadn’t honestly thought through, and we didn’t press the point that multiple ships were being controlled simultaneously because we just didn’t agree on how it would be seen.

Thirdly - the video that was posted, showing all the demands. Those demands just didn’t get through. Local messages were blocked in the wing that the Code member had just left.
In the end - the consensus in the group - and it was a consensus - Polly as leader drew wide counsel, and in the end put it to a vote.. We backed down, The shocking thing is that despite the stress.. Nobody has badly fallen out with anyone else.. People are upset.. But not with each other.

So - there you go. More broadly - you have to realise that the Cabin is just one of the TLC’s activities.. We have members that contribute to the Formidine mystery, we have miners, and we have combat focussed players. The thing that brings us all together is the ongoing BGS struggle to escape from the oppression of the hated dictator and invader; Yuri Grom.


I'd like to thank all TLC members that were able to show their side of the story. In the upcoming article I show you the other side and maybe even the darker side of TLC. I have two members of the Code who were able to meet with me and after much tracking down I found an elusive ex member. The ex member had much to say about TLC and much of it was quite shocking.

There are some things however that puzzle me; evidently they knew that one day they would be pirated but as said above there is no security. Even a reporter like me I'm always going around with security at all times, after all you can only leave your cookies unattended for so long before someone takes a few. Maybe there was a good reason in why all the ships were being piloted by one person with no security or maybe there is another? Security doesn't come cheap and maybe that's why there are no pilot hunters in the comapny, after all traders and miners are much cheaper on the payroll. In either case don't make your minds on the matter just yet as there is more to come.

Your friendly neighbour reporter, Bacon. o7

 

[Bacon<3]

An interview with The Code and FA Nelson.

My next interviews are The Code themselves, the biggest known pirate group in the galaxy. Their name strikes fear in the heart of traders and most who see their ships run at first sight. We all know what happened so I’m not going to repeat myself again, I was lucky enough to steal a few moments from two from two of their members to as a few questions.

Capn Murica.

How much planning went into the heist?

Several weeks of planning went into the heist. The biggest issues were scheduling and ship assignments. We used spreadsheets to put together a good target date and time, as well as a game plan and backup plans in case TLC brought backup.

Was there a particular reason why you chose TLC?

We chose TLC because they were a popular company that prided themselves on trading. We thought pulling a successful heist would be a good advertisement for both groups.

What was going through your mind when the ships vanished?

As soon as the ships stopped taking damage we knew the user(s) had used the exploit. It later turned out that all four TLC ships present were being controlled by one human.

TLC are sadly breaking apart as several of their members have already left or are planning to, was this what you had imagined?

We did not imagine that TLC would be so fragmented after the events of the heist. Our intention wasn't to break up a popular and helpful company but rather enjoy emergent gameplay in the our galaxy. We imagine the split was due to disagreements among TLC leadership on the "morality" of using infected ships.

Gluttony Fang.

What was going through your mind when you received a challenge from Adam Jay? Are you likely to meet him on the battlefield? How do you think you would fair? Do you feel that because TLC have closed the cabin that the code will be blamed for it but the inhabitants of the galaxy?

As for Adam Jay, there has been quite a lot of administrative dispute between The Code and TLC. If anything, I am willing to assert that Adam Jay's attitude when we approached him as an administrator of TLC has caused a more hard-line approach from us as a group.

The reason why we decided not to deal with the likes of Adam Jay is that he passively promotes using infected ships and that to us is utterly unacceptable. As for the challenge, which never came to my ears until you brought it up to me. I will never agree to a duel with someone who passively advocates for the use of vanishing ships.

We want to see TLC to be a united organization and consolidates on its principles. If it continues to advocate itself as a Trading Organization, then we expect to hold it to scrutiny that of which will not permit what transpired during the heist will not repeat.

###############################


Now I did try to get hold of ex-members but only the only I managed to get hold of at print was Nelson. He who was one of the original members and one of the handful that came from the Elysium of old.

Thank you again for taking your time to speak to me I do appreciate you giving me a few moments. Let me grab a bit of background please, what did you do in TLC and why did you leave?

My initial job in the TLC was the lead trainer in the TLC academy and undisclosed chief operative of their intelligence division.
I left TLC due to an environment which did not breed teamwork.

Can you expand on that please?

Sadly, due to the way the TLC run their operation and the makeup of their policies. It made for an unsafe work environment. They did not provide themselves with any means of defence and left themselves continually open to attack.

What polices are you referring to?

Their policy of not dealing with threats to their company for example pilot hunters. There was one person that they were fixated on but I will refrain from naming him due to respect of a mutual past friend.

What are your thoughts on what happened?

It’s a shameful display, they continually claimed to be law abiding citizens of the galaxy yet breached this in the most reprehensible way.

There are only two of the original members left, care to shed light on what happened to the others?

I dare say that some of the original members saw where TLC were heading that it was becoming nothing like what we had expected. It was initially based of friendship and respect but I felt that during the summer it changed course entirely. It became more of a dictatorship, it felt as though the only way to progress within the company was to be another number.

If one of your members used the exploit what would be your response to the individual?

There would be a thorough investigation and both he the ship and pilot would be removed.

If you were in that position what would you do?

I would have fought back and had my ship destroyed with honour instead of cheating like a coward.

TLC has always been advertised ad pure of heart and the good guys, what effect do you think this could have on their reputation?

I feel that this would have outed them for what they have become which are slimy snakes. People no longer have regards for their friends and I do think they deserved this. Especially for the friendships they burned, for the people they have hurt and most importantly for relationships they have destroyed. I never followed in their practices of how they treated people, it left me a slight outcast. Therefore, when people left I lost friends.

I’m unsure if you know this but rumour has it that the ship, The Hook, belonged to another ex-TLC member but the ship was stolen. Do you think that TLC would go this far?

I’ve seen the evidence first hand that 6 members of TLC had access to the keys to the ship and that the locks had been changed. Thankfully The Hook has been returned to the rightful owner.

Are you still friends with TLC members?

I’m not sure but I would still regard them as such but after this interview is published they probably won’t want to be friends.

If they could read this what would you say to them?

I would only hope that they might think back to the first days of TLC and remember what we originally stood for and not what they are now.

Is there anything else you feel is important to mention?

One thing I do want to mentions and this is unrelated but I have a friend that always reads the news. And I’m pretty sure that if she remembers she’ll know what I speak of. Martian, the home of friendship has once more been rebuilt and has returned to its former glory. The door is open.


So there we have it, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Pollycough is still head of TLC and will remain so, he is still part of The Cabin and as of writing it will be opening the doors. What happens from here on is up the consumer; will you associate yourself with cheaters and thieves or not?

Again I'd like to thank everyone who helped write this article, I could not have done it without you all so thank you again.

Signing off; your friendly neighborhood reporter, Bacon. o7



EDIT:

I've just had word from Silk, the head of the AA.....


Do you think your reputation could be damaged by association to a group that combat logs and has a disdain towards pilot hunters ?

Our liaison with the teamsters was a member of their original group Elysium Corp out of Yembo of so he has a history with them. Normally AA doesn't allow dual citizenship with other groups, but our member was highly trustable and I allowed for it. Once the teamsters were caught vanishing and then defended it, my member questioned the teamsters leader about it and get an extremely critical reply about how all Pilot Hunter groups are negative and how vanishing is fine, etc. My member immediately cut ties and left their discord. AA will ban from our discord and remove any member from our inara roster that engages in cheating.

Adam Jay's reply to above comment.

The large groups often appoint themselves in the role of authorities when it comes to judging others for their actions, reflecting in doing so actions of many majorities oppressing minorities during history. It is their choice to understand the refusal to submit to such self-appointed authority as making a point in regard of using exploits. No member of TLC ever condoned combat-logging in any way, it was said clearly several times that it is not the case and those who claim otherwise are liars and frankly what else than lies is to be expected from hypocritic communities that claims to be just while they harbor griefers.

 

[Bacon<3]

A day with NaCl

So here we have a terrorist group with a rather peculiar joining process procedure. To join their ranks, you have to destroy a fuel rat. The group itself have had recent publicity when one of their recruits recently destroyed a fuel rat’s anaconda; I will not post the video as some readers may find it distressing. But in the video the recruit calls for assistance and a fuel rat comes to rescue him only to be destroyed in the process, the pilot was safely rescued and his pod was taken home but the fact that he was shot at the first place has divided the community in half.

Fuel rats have been targeted for years and a spokesperson has said that they will still rescue the recruit if asked and hold no grudge against them. I’ve managed to locate commander Nitek who runs NaCl and after much travelling he agreed to meet me for an interview.

You ask for the head of a fuel rat to join your faction, why a fuel rat specifically?

I’m looking for commanders who do not take this galaxy seriously, we have one life to live so we may as well enjoy ourselves. There are too many who take everything too serious, they are the ones that will spend their entire lives grinding for no reason and when they go home to their families they resent them because there is no fun. I look for pilots that do not care who they shoot; whether it be a high-ranking member of the federation or a fuel rat. Fuel rats are held in high regard by those that call themselves “forum dads”, so if my pilots kills a rat then I know I do not have one of those serious pilots in my midst.

When SDC infiltrated Mobius, they had their system taken from them but pilots all over the galaxy; are you worried some may band together to do the same if you own a system?

My pilots are nomads, we have no specific home and some are even fuel rats themselves. We live in the moment and for the moment.

There is never a thing called bad publicity but do you think acts like these harm your group's reputation?

Good publicity or bad publicity, who actually cares? Lower tier pilots in the galaxy still struggle in the starter systems and these engineers made it easier for them to survive. Survival used to be about skill. There is barely any threat in this galaxy anymore, so we became the threat, we make it alive. We want Salt. The salt must flow. Whoever controls the salt, controls the universe.

Do you have anything else you'd like to add?

He gestures a profanity to Commander Mobius.
And here’s my channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTxUoVpnyEnyG2aNyM4O5BA/videos


I managed to get hold of the recruit and he had this to say…

I just want to have fun, too many people take things seriously. With all the war, famine and hate going on in today’s governments you’d think people would care more about that than one insurance claim. I didn’t want to join any other pilot hunter groups, NaCl is well known amongst pilot hunters and I’m glad I had the opportunity to prove myself. I was a little worried that the fuel rat would run but thankfully everything went the way I needed it to. My video has garnered a lot of hate but that’s the point.



So, there we have it, NaCl and their leader Nitek. Love them or hate them, they’re a part of our galaxy and they’re here to stay. But is he right about there not being a threat in our galaxy anymore? Life was certainly dangerous in the past, but is it truly any different now? Have we become complacent? I encourage you all to think on that.

Your friendly neighbourhood reporter, Bacon. o7

 

[Bacon<3]

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Protocol

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3) At this point your spot will be secured and you will be notified when you can meet the Merchant
4) When notified, please respond promptly or you will lose your spot in line
5) Follow all instructions very carefully throughout the transfer process

Current Pricing
Painite: 10 Palladium
Modular Terminals: 5 Palladium
Bromelitte: 2 Palladium

For other goods including meta alloys and unknown artifacts, please contact your local EIC agent

You must be able to run at least two collector limpets for trades.

So, come on down to the EIC discord and put your order in; why go anywhere else? Here your safety come first.

https://discord.gg/4UYz4nr

 

[Bacon<3]

SDC helping Salome

So, Ryan of SDC, everyone knows the SDC to be the bad guys that are not necessarily bad guys. So, why be the good guy?

First off, I think that there is a lot of misinformation about our group that I would like to correct. We aren’t bad guys, but occasionally, we do “bad” things in the eyes of other pilots. It’s all a matter of perspective, though, isn’t it? We’re a group that does what we want to do in the way that we want to do it, and we don’t let “laws” and “social norms” get in the way of achieving our goals. Because of this treatment, we have a bit of a soft spot for people that are wrongly accused of crimes they did not commit, just as Salome was.


SDC don’t have the best reputation out there and on many news outlets, your pilots are usually condemned for what you do. How can the pilots protecting Salome really trust you?

Until recently, we were going to abstain from the entire event, but we discovered some information that motivated us to throw our hats in the ring. SDC obviously has some enemies in this game, and the ancient saying is that the enemy of your enemy is your friend, and that’s essentially the situation we’re in right now. We don’t expect everyone involved with protecting Salome and the other VIPs to trust us fully, we have no delusions. All we ask is that we be put in a position by the Admirals to do what we do best: blow up ships faster than anyone else can do it.



Some pilots are dubious on your intentions about this. What would you say to them to calm their nerves?

Calm their nerves? A lot of these guys are seasoned fighters who know us very well and understand how we work. The other players will just have trust that the higher-ups understand the specific set of skills that we can provide. On top of that, we’re VERY interested in the information Salome is bringing back.


Salome and the other VIPs are not pilot hunters in any shape or form, nor do they have the engineering knowledge that SDC and other pilot hunter groups have; how much support have you been giving them and/or their contacts?

Knowledge is a wonderful thing, and I think most would agree that on the combat side of things, we understand the anatomy of a gank, which is what we’re trying to defend against. There is a very specific strategy that you have to employ, and we are VERY familiar with how to avoid ganks.

1 or 2 members were pinged with requests for advice on ship builds and overall strategy, so we all pretty much piled in and gave advice when asked. I was made a lieutenant in the fleet as a representative for SDC because of the level of help we were consistently providing. We gave specific builds and discussed winning tactics with the higher ups so that they could disseminate within their own groups, so anyone that has spent time in that chat can see us helping regularly.


Some say that if you pull this off, SDC will be immortalized as heroes forever. On the other hand, if it fails, you could be condemned for an eternity and accused of feeding information to the hunters that are after her. Does this put extra pressure on your pilots?

3 weeks ago, when we were holding internal discussions on the matter, this was brought up. All I can say is that our pilots are used to being distrusted and acting both independently and with a group in a high-pressure environment. Every battle we enter has a chance for death, though we nearly always come out on top.

The fact that this has far-reaching consequences doesn’t intimidate us, either. We have participated in many of the big events in this game on various sides depending on the specifics of the event. During the initial barnacle discovery, we were running security. Turns out, a lot of inexperienced pilots wanted to run out there and shoot at some unknown life form without having any information about it, and we thought that was incredibly short-sighted, so we gave warnings and destroyed any ships that did not turn around and leave immediately. You can never be too careful, you know?


What parting advice would you give pilots that want to participate in the event that may not be part of an organized group?

Having a specific group affiliation isn’t required at all. What is required is a fast ship and a willingness to throw yourself at what might essentially be an unwinnable battle in order to delay the attackers so Salome and the other VIPs can get out alive. Many pilots will die, but the end game is what really matters.

 

[Bacon<3]

SDC and Salome, after the event

When people read my article they had some hope that what you had said true, that the group wanted to help Salome. We'll get to the why shortly but first thing is first. The fall out from the event has been beyond compare; there have numerous threats to the admirals of PAC blaming them for the actions of one individual. Any comment on this?

I think that a lot of the blame is misplaced, personally. The PAC Admirals had a very good plan, and they safely got 3 VIPs to their final location, which is not bad at all, considering the number of people that were out to kill them. Yeah, they could have been a little better organized, but a lot of them were not seasoned PvPers with great comms discipline and direction.

The strategy they used regarding SDC was also not really bad on their end. Despite the end result, we gave a TON of legitimate advice to the people that were coming and passed on good intel to the leaders about planned friend/foe groups that turned out to be correct. We were getting fed a ton of info from CoR and other groups from some well-placed spies, so we didn’t gain much intel directly from PAC.


I've been speaking to a lot of pilot hunters (pvpers) and a few of them are rather saddened by what happened. It's no secret that these pilots are ostracised by many pilots and factions within the galaxy. In fact, one pilot hunter had this to say: "We had one chance to show those carebears that we're not monsters. They liken us to rapists for living our life differently. Many of us hoped that if we could save her then they might hate us a little less. You only have to go to some websites out there and see the hate towards us, after this fiasco, they'll never let us have a say in anything."

How would you respond to your fellow pilot hunters that are worried about their reputation against them?

I think that only SDC’s reputation has really taken a hit here. If you’re a PvPer, most of the community doesn’t really care as long as you don’t shoot at them.


A lot of people felt that the official comms for PAC was elitest and many were turned away. Do you feel that this was the case?

I don’t, at all. A lot of people came to the PAC Discord wanting to get involved and help where they were needed, and they were given a specific set of builds and specific tasks suited to their skills. Unfortunately, many players think they are more skilled than they actually are, and wanted to bring fully fit combat ships so they could get kills and die in glorious battle. The fact is that 99% of those that wanted to bring combat ships had little-to-no PvP experience, making them worse than useless.

The main issue PAC had to face was the lack of a viable IFF system. How do you determine who is a threat if there are hundreds of players, all with weapons? You make sure that the people you don’t want fighting don’t have weapons so you can ignore them. Instead, we got a bunch of try-hards showing up in their NPC slayers that were dying left and right and occupying resources that couldn’t be spared.

What it really came down to was this: do you want to help the mission, or do you want to hurt it? Some players were put off by the idea that they weren’t going to be this pivotal person in the narrative because they were having delusions of grandeur. Sad to see, really.


And now to the big one...... Why help at all if the plan was to kill her anyway? There are conspiracies that your group were ordered to kill her regardless from someone very high up and that is why you only went for her?


We helped because we needed to build trust within PAC so we could hopefully gain some inside knowledge. Turned out that we didn’t really need it because of our spies, so instead we began to sow doubt and confusion. We needed the defense of Salome to be competent but not TOO competent because we still needed a window to get the kill. Worked out flawlessly on our end.

As for the conspiracy theories, they’re all rubbish. No one ordered us to do anything. We weren’t given inside info by Drew or FDev. We simply had a shot presented to us, and we took the shot. Other player groups had similar opportunities (Code and 13th), but they’re nowhere near as good as us, which is why we got the kill instead of them.


Will Harry Potter keep the reward or donate it? There was 5 million placed by the Empire and another 1 billion credits by one individual pilot.

Harry will be donating a significant portion of his reward to some newbies in a yet-to-be-announced event. Can’t give any more details on it.

 

[Bacon<3]

Exodus of PvPers from PalCon

As some of you may or may not be aware PalCon has for several months spilt their group into houses, each house was dedicated to a different tyoe of life within the galaxy. Each house has a senator, social secretary and various house officials. One of their houses, Nemet was made up of predominantly pvpers/pilot hunters. The house was the first line of defence in PalCon space but no more. There was a mass exodus of their pvpers just last week where almost a dozen of their pilots left...


Hello Jammy and thank you for giving me the chance to interview you. As ex-senator of Nemet, you managed one hell of a term that lasted a little over 24 hours. Do you think that compared to other senators that you made a bit of a mess?

The mess was going to happen anyway regardless of who was senator.

Were the other PvPers that left okay with this? Did they feel any peer pressure to do this?

Yes they were, it was not just my decision and it was a group choice. We talked about it prior and the social secretary wanted to give PalCon one last go before cutting ties. You’d have to ask the pilots themselves but the secretary always had their interests at heart, she made it very clear that no one had to do this if they didn’t want. If there were issues they knew they could speak to her.

What were the reasons of them leaving?

A clashing of ideals. We wanted the combat proficiency to increase, whether people want to believe it or not something is coming that has the potential to wipe us out. Our own governments hid generation ships and have planned for a future outside the bubble, I wanted to make sure that PalCon pilots had the know how to not be forced from their home. Sadly some believe that this is not the case, I don’t want to lead my friends to slaughter and wanted to make sure they’d be safe no matter where they were.

PalCon have lost almost a dozen of their best PvPers, do you think it fair that you left the area unprotected?

For the most part they have some left but not enough to hold back a full-scale war. Saying that, the ones that have left including myself would still offer assistance should they need us, we’re pvpers not monsters.

Rumour has it that the Nemetians have left and joined TIIQ/ The Soverignty, can you confirm this? What makes this move a good option for you all?

We have temporarily joined them yes and are still in discussion about our future. One thing that is certain, we all wish to stay together regardless of where we go or who we fight for.

Various pilots that have left have been given offers with other groups, do you think that you will all stay together?

Yes. We’re not just friends but family. We look after our own.

Is there any other vital information you think should be provided? Do you have any messages for the pilots in Palcon?

None as of yet but don’t hold me on that.

=========================================================

Thank you Niatra for taking out the time out of your busy schedule to answer a few questions.

Firstly, let me offer my condolences to losing such fine pvp pilots, I know they will be sorely missed. Are you still in touch with them all and especially your sister Miss Martian?

Yes, I am regularly talking to each and every one of them.

The exodus occurred on your watch, the execs were away on holiday and as the highest-ranking officer at the time some would say that you could have done more to keep them, how do you respond to such cut-throat comments?

That they should stop whining, try to form their own group and then finally be able to experience what a person in a position like mine went through, let me give you a hint…it was not easy.

With almost a dozen pilots gone how do you now intend to keep PalCon space safe from murdering pilots and pirates?

Although pretty much all pvpers left that day, it was not all of them. We still have a force that may repel possible invaders and attackers in our space, and people are being trained constantly.

Will you be training up new pvpers to take their place?

As already mentioned, yes, new people that show interest in pvp will be taking that up.

Jammy has given his opinion into why they left, in your words please describe the situation?

The situation was desperate. People were unsure on how to proceed and although many attempts were made, finally both fronts had to realise that they simply don’t fit into the same group anymore. Therefore, I made the decision to divide them, to grant both the full experience of their flying without having the feeling or being able to complain about the other person’s doing in regards to the group.

Do you feel that PalCon as a whole bullied the pvpers out of the group?

No, PalCon as a whole does not bully. There are always individuals that will not appreciate what you are doing, no matter how good you are at it. There were clashes, but that happens everywhere.

How have the senate responded? Is there a sense of panic knowing that their first line of defence has gone and may never come back?

Knowing that PalCon is not without defences, the senate responded with a teared eye, quickly turning the other cheek to face new issues arising as it seems specific groups have found pleasure in ruining PalCon’s stations.

The group of pilots have left seem to have joined the sovereignty, do you feel that they stole your pilots?

No, I personally am on good terms with the leader of the sovereignty and to be very honest with you, it may have been the plan all along to head there should the unification plans of PalCon with their, now ex-, pvpers fail.

Do you think they will fit into their new home or do you think that they will move on to a different place?

I am pretty sure that they will fit quite well with the sovereignty and find what they lacked in PalCon.

As a pvper yourself do you feel persecuted by other pilots in PalCon?

No persecution has happened in PalCon as far as I am aware, but it may be the fact that I can boot the people if they get annoying that stopped them from persecuting me.

Are you thinking of joining them and your sister?

I have many times, being in PalCon without her feels weird. But only time knows what the future will bring…

If you were sat in a room with them right now, what would you say?

I’d tell them that I miss them and that I’ll soon be flying with them again. Additionally, I would like to apologise to Missy (Miss Martian) herself for giving her a hard time sometimes.

Do you think that the situation could have been handled differently? And if so then how?

The situation was handled to the degree the situation left the operators, including me, in. The way the world is, many things could have been handled better, but dreaming and having fantasies about such a future or rather such a present is nothing I allow myself to do.


So there we have it, the protectors of PalCon have offfered their assistance to another. Maybe Jammy is right and whatever is coming in our direction has the power to wipe us out, I for one am happy that there are pilots in my group that can fight against this.