Strange Brew
03 May 2020DrPillman
I figured, I could as well have a look how the Workers of Gateway were doing in my absence, and do my "voluntary" contribution to Alliance administration, to keep my comfortable 20% dividend flowing.Needless to say, things were a mess. Not in LHS 2948 or Gateway, though. There, they have recovered and seem to be on a stable and comfortable ground, but Farack...oh my, oh my.... Whats going on there?
This star systems seems to have fallen into some kind of subscription-trap for the "Full-365 Desaster Premium"-Package...
At least, the famine seems to be worked out,retreat narrowly averted, and the Workers are reported as the "Happiest" faction...at both a Bust and Lockdown....like, what the hell....
Ok, I mean, this could have been due to Ms Martinez famous brand of diplomatically mishandling urgent situations (she has that habit of pissing people off when she needs them the most, which is bad enough in personal affairs, but devastating if you are responsible for a multi-million-people democracy....), but at a closer look, there seems to be more to the story.
The controlling factions seem to do pretty fine, yet the security is only "moderate" which is akin to waving a flag that reads "don´t come here, this is a rathole". And while securing contracts with neighboring factions to help with the security situation, I also encountered a surprising number of mission offers of totally unrelated Alliance-factions, as far as 20ly away, to deal with the pirate gangs currently operating from Farack and Gateway.
Makes you wonder....For example, where did they suddenly appaear from? And why? Why would a pirate gang decide to trash a famine-ridden system? Where is the profit in this?
But then again....there were some aggressive moves by federate corporations, just before I left. And I encountered (or rather, was attacked by) agents of Yuri Grom, the Federation (noteably Felicia Winters), and Zamina Thorval. At the time, I thought it was mainly due to the diplomatic records I was carrying, and a sign of our competitors growing desperation at the strength of the Alliance....But now, with sudden pockets of chaos and mayhem emerging at the very heart of the Alliance, I wonder if this is something bigger. I wonder who is having a mutual interest in seeing the Alliance weak, occupied with public order and petty crime, and portayed as rotten in its very core?
And then I hear the corridor-drums tell tales of how the Federation, and Winters in particular, is pulling out of systems, only to retake them later at increased interest rates, and independent pilots are taking this as a sign that the Federation is milking its funds for something big. And are considering defecting to...the Empire.....
So what if the Empire is putting the Federation under enough pressure too...hm...or they both hire thughs to go, trash the place, just like otherwise hostile Mob families would do, if a newcomer cartel opens shop right between their respective territories (I´ve seen that small scale in the shadier levels of my home station, quite a lot. It tends to go nasty pretty quick, and leave the levels insuch an ugly state, even the rats leave them).
Anyway, this is strange and worrying. I try to keep myself off conspiracy theories, but ... overhearing that pilot´s gossip about Winters, that just fit too well for comfort.
I´ll carefully watch this development.
For the moment, I have to say, I am rather pleased with how Modesty Blaise performs, and I seem to get the hang of that gargantuan cannon I fixed to it. Working as intended: have the lasers strip the shields, let the rails trash the furniture, so to speak, and then deliver the coup-de-grace with a decent Boom...
So I leave the place for a while, see what happens. if these were just random thugs trying an opportunity, they should be licking wounds for some time. If they are up in strength when I am back, it means someone is funding them, and something needs to be done. Do I prepare a Memo to Mahon and Martinez ahead? Naah, I´ll see to that at the time, rather than make a fool of myself before neccessary.