What’s going on in Leesti?
* Please note, this is a fictional report based on real in-game events. All the quotes are fictional (adding this because some people thought they were real...Yes, I know!) *
Our correspondent, Adrienne Peters, reports from George Lucas Coriolis Starport on the growing crisis in Leesti.
In mid-July 3306, with dwindling support and influence, a little known faction called ‘Crimson State Limited’ packed up their bags and called it a day in Leesti.
Who could have imagined that this seemingly insignificant move could lead to the growing crisis we see in Leesti today?
Crimson State Limited’s withdrawal resulted in a new Federation supporting faction: Terra-Ex Astro Corp (TEAC) entering the system. This passed unnoticed to most; however, since first stepping foot in the system, they rapidly gained influence and took control over the huge population of the Kolmogorov Hub outpost which orbits the rocky body, Leesti 4A. This eventually and inevitably drew the attention of the controlling Alliance backed democratic faction, Independent Leesti for Equality (ILfE).
“Who was watching Leesti?”
Arguments about rightful ownership abound; however, it seems clear that most of the strategic errors up to this point have been from the Alliance side. Why did no Alliance officials notice that the non-native Crimson State Limited faction was about to retreat from the system and initiate actions to prevent it? These are serious questions for Alliance officials to answer.
I spoke to a long serving supporter of the Alliance, who, for obvious reasons, requested to remain anonymous: “Who was watching Leesti?” they ask. “It seems unthinkable that an organisation with the resources and support of the Alliance wouldn’t notice that a minor faction was about to retreat from one of its core systems and do nothing about it. Either no-one noticed what was happening – in which case who was watching Leesti? Or they noticed and either didn’t care or actively chose to let it happen - if so, what on Turners World were they thinking? The Alliance are now embroiled in a conflict we can do without and shouldn’t have been allowed to start in the first place.”
The delay in responding to the rise in TEAC’s influence also troubles many Alliance citizens. It seems that not only was the corporation given the opportunity to establish a foothold in the system but they were allowed to amass an influence of nearly 25% before anyone in the Alliance even appeared to notice. One lady, working as an one of the many administrators at Universal Cartographics on George Lucas told me she was “incandescent with rage” that the situation was only now being addressed. Whilst confident that the situation would be resolved favourably for the Alliance backed ILfE, she appeared visibly distressed by her perceived delay in their response. “The invading corporation will be crushed eventually, I’m confident they will be forced to retreat from the system in due course – but at what cost? What value Alliance lives? How did it come to this?”
“All we got were demands”
The Diplomatic situation currently appears bleak. This correspondent understands that whilst negotiations were initially entered into by both parties, they quickly broke down. It is not clear whether or not they continue behind closed doors, but there are no indications from either side that this is the case. Not unsurprisingly, the rhetoric being issued from both sides is contradictory and confusing. In a controversial televised broadcast, the Chief Executive of the Terra-Ex Astro Corporation, “Astro”, made a ‘call to arms’ to independent pilots and stated that, from the corporations perspective, the Alliance had not entered the negotiations with compromise in mind and had merely issued continued demands for the Corporation to retreat from the System. Based on public statements, TEAC were willing to accept ILfE’s control over Leesti, in return for the Corporation being allowed to remain in the system with sufficient influence to keep them in a secure second place. This initial offer appears to have been rejected by Alliance officials whose reaction indicates that such a compromise is not acceptable in what many in the Alliance see as one of their core systems. They clearly see TEAC as an invading force, and, given Leesti’s recent history, it’s not surprising that this view is shared by many of Leesti’s 5 billion population.
“It looks like war”
Whether the Alliance will eventually accept some form of presence for the Corporation in Leesti very much depends on how the conflict progresses over the coming days. If the TEAC influence starts to dwindle, then the Alliance are likely to be confident of having the upper hand and may push for the complete retreat of the Corporation from the system. However, Background Simulation (BGS) Experts seem to think that this will become increasingly difficult as the TEAC’s influence reduces. One anonymous source informed me that “the lower the influence of a faction, the easier it is for them to either maintain or even to increase their influence in a system. To force an actively managed faction into retreat, by reducing their influence to less than 2.5% and then keeping it at that level for the number of days necessary to force a retreat would seem nigh on impossible. It’s only likely that a retreat would come about via a negotiated settlement – for example, a ‘we’ll give you this other system if you get out of this one’ type scenario. But, it’s very hard to see how they’ll end up with an agreement like that from where both sides seem to be right now.”
Alternatively, if the influence of the TEAC continues to creep up, with the consequent fall in the influence of ILfE, then an armed conflict becomes likely. The BGS expert told me that “if the influences of these two factions approaches equalisation, then there’s going to be trouble and, being from different social groups, it looks like war”.
Whilst TEAC professes allegiance to the Federation, it seems that support for the Corporation within the Federation will not be forthcoming. Anders Hufflebaum, a federation diplomat and former ambassador to Leesti told me that the Federation had not been given any indication that the Corporation had intended to establish a presence in the system. “We were completely unsighted on this, it caused a few raised eyebrows at Mars High when news first broke, but generally speaking no one is talking about it now. The higher levels of the Federation are simply uninterested in this conflict at the present time – but, let me be quite clear: these actions were not endorsed by the Federation. There will be no federal support for the Corporation and nor will we cause further escalation of the situation by involving ourselves in what we consider to be a local issue – the Corporation made this move unilaterally, and they can resolve it unilaterally. If they choose, or are forced, to withdraw from the system, then relocation support will be provided to any Federation resident that may be displaced as a result. If the Corporation thinks that the Federation cavalry are charging over Olympus Mons to assist them, then they are much mistaken. We hope though, for a peaceful resolution to the kerfuffle”.
Stalemate
The situation remains in stalemate. ILfE currently account for about 34% of system influence, having fallen from as high as 71% back in June. TEAC on the other hand have gained about 22% influence since taking their first foothold in mid-July. However, the influence of both factions remains largely unchanged for the past few days suggesting that we could be entering a period of long-term attrition. “It could be a ‘who gets bored first’ situation” said Alexander Bitterhof, an independent conflict resolution expert based out at Bolden’s Enterprise, Tir, in the Colonia region. “TEAC were a relatively small faction, who, although they seem to have some very committed core supporters, also appear to have enlisted help from a ‘merry-band’ of privateers and largely independent pilots assembled by the controversial call to arms from the Corporation’s leader – will these former independent pilots hang around for the long-haul, or will the lure of an undiscovered ringed Earth like world in the Sanguineous Rim or black hole in the Scutum–Centaurus Arm draw them away? What if they have the sudden urge to unlock the Thargoid Bobblehead? The Alliance backed ILfE, on the other hand, have significant resources and more historic support to draw from – but will their relatively larger sphere of influence result in them being distracted and pulled away by other things going on in their controlled systems? Who is going to get bored or distracted first when stalemate sets in? That’s what will likely decide the outcome of this conflict in my opinion.”
Wherever the conflict is heading, it’s already having a negative effect on some Leesti inhabitants. A spokesperson for Didi Vatermann, the well respected Engineer, based at Vatermann LLC surface port on Leesti 1A told me that orders for Grade 3 shield generators had fallen through the floor. She was keen to point out that Vatermann LLC was still open for business, saying: “I hope people won’t be discouraged from making minor improvements to their Shield generator devices which they can still have for just 50 units of Lavian Brandy and a few material odds and ends that they likely already have lying around. Oh, and some ship scan data – they‘ll need some of that too. But do still come, our automated flight control is starting to get bored and bad things happen when it gets bored. I hope there won’t be a war.”
The concept of a new war does not go down well with George Lucas residents either: “You’re joking - not another one!” said one elderly lady I asked about the prospect.
“Good luck to the lot of them”
And, as for the Crimson State Limited? I caught up with Vice President Gerard Herman at Duckworth Dock, Ngoma, where they appear to be thriving. “Thank goodness we are out of Leesti given what’s going on now. I hope no one blames us for this crisis. I mean it was a nice enough place, but they didn’t really seem to warm to our particular ethos. If Independent Leesti for Equality had offered us some assistance to keep at least 2.5% of influence we’d probably have taken it, but we don’t particularly bear them any ill-will. Terra-Ex Astro corporation didn’t do anything to expedite our departure, but come to think of it we did get a rather large consignment of Leestian Evil Juice from an anonymous source a few days before we departed – that left most of the few supporters we did have in a stupor for most of the Retreat’s Pending period, so getting back above 2.5% wasn’t ever going to happen. If Terra-Ex Astro Crop withdraw from the system, we won’t be clamouring to be back – we are done with Leesti. Good luck to the lot of them”.
Leesti has a complicated and turbulent recent history. It looks like we might be entering another Chapter – or, just perhaps, it might be over as quickly as it started and end up as a minor subscripted foot note that virtually no-one reads. Time will tell.
Adrienne Peters, Tuesday 1st September 3306
* Please note, this is a fictional report based on real in-game events. All the quotes are fictional (adding this because some people thought they were real...Yes, I know!) *
Our correspondent, Adrienne Peters, reports from George Lucas Coriolis Starport on the growing crisis in Leesti.
In mid-July 3306, with dwindling support and influence, a little known faction called ‘Crimson State Limited’ packed up their bags and called it a day in Leesti.
Who could have imagined that this seemingly insignificant move could lead to the growing crisis we see in Leesti today?
Crimson State Limited’s withdrawal resulted in a new Federation supporting faction: Terra-Ex Astro Corp (TEAC) entering the system. This passed unnoticed to most; however, since first stepping foot in the system, they rapidly gained influence and took control over the huge population of the Kolmogorov Hub outpost which orbits the rocky body, Leesti 4A. This eventually and inevitably drew the attention of the controlling Alliance backed democratic faction, Independent Leesti for Equality (ILfE).
“Who was watching Leesti?”
Arguments about rightful ownership abound; however, it seems clear that most of the strategic errors up to this point have been from the Alliance side. Why did no Alliance officials notice that the non-native Crimson State Limited faction was about to retreat from the system and initiate actions to prevent it? These are serious questions for Alliance officials to answer.
I spoke to a long serving supporter of the Alliance, who, for obvious reasons, requested to remain anonymous: “Who was watching Leesti?” they ask. “It seems unthinkable that an organisation with the resources and support of the Alliance wouldn’t notice that a minor faction was about to retreat from one of its core systems and do nothing about it. Either no-one noticed what was happening – in which case who was watching Leesti? Or they noticed and either didn’t care or actively chose to let it happen - if so, what on Turners World were they thinking? The Alliance are now embroiled in a conflict we can do without and shouldn’t have been allowed to start in the first place.”
The delay in responding to the rise in TEAC’s influence also troubles many Alliance citizens. It seems that not only was the corporation given the opportunity to establish a foothold in the system but they were allowed to amass an influence of nearly 25% before anyone in the Alliance even appeared to notice. One lady, working as an one of the many administrators at Universal Cartographics on George Lucas told me she was “incandescent with rage” that the situation was only now being addressed. Whilst confident that the situation would be resolved favourably for the Alliance backed ILfE, she appeared visibly distressed by her perceived delay in their response. “The invading corporation will be crushed eventually, I’m confident they will be forced to retreat from the system in due course – but at what cost? What value Alliance lives? How did it come to this?”
“All we got were demands”
The Diplomatic situation currently appears bleak. This correspondent understands that whilst negotiations were initially entered into by both parties, they quickly broke down. It is not clear whether or not they continue behind closed doors, but there are no indications from either side that this is the case. Not unsurprisingly, the rhetoric being issued from both sides is contradictory and confusing. In a controversial televised broadcast, the Chief Executive of the Terra-Ex Astro Corporation, “Astro”, made a ‘call to arms’ to independent pilots and stated that, from the corporations perspective, the Alliance had not entered the negotiations with compromise in mind and had merely issued continued demands for the Corporation to retreat from the System. Based on public statements, TEAC were willing to accept ILfE’s control over Leesti, in return for the Corporation being allowed to remain in the system with sufficient influence to keep them in a secure second place. This initial offer appears to have been rejected by Alliance officials whose reaction indicates that such a compromise is not acceptable in what many in the Alliance see as one of their core systems. They clearly see TEAC as an invading force, and, given Leesti’s recent history, it’s not surprising that this view is shared by many of Leesti’s 5 billion population.
“It looks like war”
Whether the Alliance will eventually accept some form of presence for the Corporation in Leesti very much depends on how the conflict progresses over the coming days. If the TEAC influence starts to dwindle, then the Alliance are likely to be confident of having the upper hand and may push for the complete retreat of the Corporation from the system. However, Background Simulation (BGS) Experts seem to think that this will become increasingly difficult as the TEAC’s influence reduces. One anonymous source informed me that “the lower the influence of a faction, the easier it is for them to either maintain or even to increase their influence in a system. To force an actively managed faction into retreat, by reducing their influence to less than 2.5% and then keeping it at that level for the number of days necessary to force a retreat would seem nigh on impossible. It’s only likely that a retreat would come about via a negotiated settlement – for example, a ‘we’ll give you this other system if you get out of this one’ type scenario. But, it’s very hard to see how they’ll end up with an agreement like that from where both sides seem to be right now.”
Alternatively, if the influence of the TEAC continues to creep up, with the consequent fall in the influence of ILfE, then an armed conflict becomes likely. The BGS expert told me that “if the influences of these two factions approaches equalisation, then there’s going to be trouble and, being from different social groups, it looks like war”.
Whilst TEAC professes allegiance to the Federation, it seems that support for the Corporation within the Federation will not be forthcoming. Anders Hufflebaum, a federation diplomat and former ambassador to Leesti told me that the Federation had not been given any indication that the Corporation had intended to establish a presence in the system. “We were completely unsighted on this, it caused a few raised eyebrows at Mars High when news first broke, but generally speaking no one is talking about it now. The higher levels of the Federation are simply uninterested in this conflict at the present time – but, let me be quite clear: these actions were not endorsed by the Federation. There will be no federal support for the Corporation and nor will we cause further escalation of the situation by involving ourselves in what we consider to be a local issue – the Corporation made this move unilaterally, and they can resolve it unilaterally. If they choose, or are forced, to withdraw from the system, then relocation support will be provided to any Federation resident that may be displaced as a result. If the Corporation thinks that the Federation cavalry are charging over Olympus Mons to assist them, then they are much mistaken. We hope though, for a peaceful resolution to the kerfuffle”.
Stalemate
The situation remains in stalemate. ILfE currently account for about 34% of system influence, having fallen from as high as 71% back in June. TEAC on the other hand have gained about 22% influence since taking their first foothold in mid-July. However, the influence of both factions remains largely unchanged for the past few days suggesting that we could be entering a period of long-term attrition. “It could be a ‘who gets bored first’ situation” said Alexander Bitterhof, an independent conflict resolution expert based out at Bolden’s Enterprise, Tir, in the Colonia region. “TEAC were a relatively small faction, who, although they seem to have some very committed core supporters, also appear to have enlisted help from a ‘merry-band’ of privateers and largely independent pilots assembled by the controversial call to arms from the Corporation’s leader – will these former independent pilots hang around for the long-haul, or will the lure of an undiscovered ringed Earth like world in the Sanguineous Rim or black hole in the Scutum–Centaurus Arm draw them away? What if they have the sudden urge to unlock the Thargoid Bobblehead? The Alliance backed ILfE, on the other hand, have significant resources and more historic support to draw from – but will their relatively larger sphere of influence result in them being distracted and pulled away by other things going on in their controlled systems? Who is going to get bored or distracted first when stalemate sets in? That’s what will likely decide the outcome of this conflict in my opinion.”
Wherever the conflict is heading, it’s already having a negative effect on some Leesti inhabitants. A spokesperson for Didi Vatermann, the well respected Engineer, based at Vatermann LLC surface port on Leesti 1A told me that orders for Grade 3 shield generators had fallen through the floor. She was keen to point out that Vatermann LLC was still open for business, saying: “I hope people won’t be discouraged from making minor improvements to their Shield generator devices which they can still have for just 50 units of Lavian Brandy and a few material odds and ends that they likely already have lying around. Oh, and some ship scan data – they‘ll need some of that too. But do still come, our automated flight control is starting to get bored and bad things happen when it gets bored. I hope there won’t be a war.”
The concept of a new war does not go down well with George Lucas residents either: “You’re joking - not another one!” said one elderly lady I asked about the prospect.
“Good luck to the lot of them”
And, as for the Crimson State Limited? I caught up with Vice President Gerard Herman at Duckworth Dock, Ngoma, where they appear to be thriving. “Thank goodness we are out of Leesti given what’s going on now. I hope no one blames us for this crisis. I mean it was a nice enough place, but they didn’t really seem to warm to our particular ethos. If Independent Leesti for Equality had offered us some assistance to keep at least 2.5% of influence we’d probably have taken it, but we don’t particularly bear them any ill-will. Terra-Ex Astro corporation didn’t do anything to expedite our departure, but come to think of it we did get a rather large consignment of Leestian Evil Juice from an anonymous source a few days before we departed – that left most of the few supporters we did have in a stupor for most of the Retreat’s Pending period, so getting back above 2.5% wasn’t ever going to happen. If Terra-Ex Astro Crop withdraw from the system, we won’t be clamouring to be back – we are done with Leesti. Good luck to the lot of them”.
Leesti has a complicated and turbulent recent history. It looks like we might be entering another Chapter – or, just perhaps, it might be over as quickly as it started and end up as a minor subscripted foot note that virtually no-one reads. Time will tell.
Adrienne Peters, Tuesday 1st September 3306
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