Pastures new but nothing changes ... the WP roll on
16 May 2016Jim Beaumont
The Communist WP had secured the Temple, and after doing some courier missions they had a nice rise in the political stakes, gearing up for the next move out just as I hoped. Get ready Duta, the WP are coming.I arrived back in Odu a little late. The WP hierarchy had got together a new branch of representatives and moved them out already. I managed to track them down, another extraction system, two outposts. Slowly they are grabbing at small systems, easy to make influence changes on the populations and show them a better way of living. When a system is run by anarchists, why wouldn't you prefer some stability and security and the chance to come and go trading your goods with a reduced threat of some pirate attacking you. A Federation aligned faction was in this system, although they didn't control any of the outposts, and were caught up in a war with a local faction, the Marquis. This was an opportunity for the WP to really make some waves, garner some support and make advances to the second most popular political group who controlled one of the outposts. So I managed to get some fast courier work for them, dispatch bags and encrypted data and the like while the lobbyists did there thing for the locals. The WP really knows how to work it now, and quickly they had gained enough support to find themselves into direct opposition, the Federal Solutions party declaring War. I’m hoping this could go a similar way as happened with the Rats, but I doubt it. The WP’s reputation must be getting ahead of them by now surely.
Back in Odu, prosperity is definitely making things look rosy. The promenade has been revamped, a huge effort of construction to brighten things and show the people they are working for them to increase the outlook for people. As they do this, travellers will put the word out, and the next system to take on will be much the easier. It is a great plan, and it is working. The money is obviously moving, another economic boom projected by the financiers. Even with a war on the horizon, the benefits seem to be recognised in the long term. The WP has built themselves a new HQ area with Odu, where the cogs turn and the plans unfold. Meanwhile the Commodities office tills ring, and local manufacturing of Power Generators and Water Purifiers keeps on turning out goods, and the haulers keep them moving. With the numerous extraction systems they run, the metals keeping on coming in, supplying the manufacturers and everyone wins. So much so that the WP are now building a new accommodation district, to upgrade the living standards of the people and give them more reasons to stay, work hard and everyone benefits.
I put the Clipper in for a refit, I had plans to use her as a pirating ship. It’s not a career choice I have made before, and not one I really relish but it could be useful in the future to help the WP gain control of the new system. So I put her in (yet to name her too so I must get into thinking about that), to get a Cargo scanner, Wake scanner and a FSDI fitted. I’d already had her Thrusters and FSD upgraded when I bought her, and on the journey back to Odu managed to stop off for a day and have her bulkheads upgraded too, so she was all but ready for her new life. Just a question of would I be. It’s about undermining the ruling faction, and if this will help then so be it. I’m pretty sure it will make a reasonable Bounty Hunter too, so I’ll justify it that way.
And with war only a matter of days away, I made sure once again that the Almeida was good and ready.