Icy Work in Kandanda
15 Oct 2018Pnaepkin
“There will be killing till the score is paid.”
― Homer, The Odyssey
Out near Zhigang Point, an endless amount of fighting has been under way. As the Wanderers of Witch Space spread over to 1 more system, the People's Co-operative sends huge forces to stop them while the Gold Life Group funds both sides. While extrajudicial assassinations of deserters and generals on both sides have happened while fighting for what little interesting parts of the system there are, the Gold Life Group has finally had the pulling power of their home system. I went and observed Gold Life Group as an undercover agent for the Wanderers' local post, and here's what I found out.
The Gold Life Group of Kandanda
To the viewer on the outside, the Gold Life Group seems like a specialized society designed around self-advancement and personal growth. Their intranet is full of articles and studies done on the correct ways to maintain the society and its multiple-system reach. With over a million declared supporters across 5 systems, the Gold Life Group is a powerful, if modest and friendly bundle of folks. While only owning 2 stations (both of the ones in their home system of Kandanda), one would be hard pressed to find that the Gold Life Group isn't taking advantage of the regional problems. The Wanderers (a rapidly growing kin) made first contact with the Group in Acantha, where they took over with a lightly constitutionally controlled puppet dictator. During this hostile takeover, though, the Gold Life Group was selling services to combat pilots to both sides. Recently, the Wanderers have made the strategic hop to Kandanda, though, and while the Gold Life Group was enjoying giving ammunition and repairs to both sides like in Acantha, their influence has actually been decreasing. The Wanderers' sudden appearance has put pressure on the Gold Life Group, so much so to incite a foiled terrorist attack! As the last of the People's Co-operative are sent retreating, the Gold Life Group had sent undercover agents to sabotage Wanderer ammunition in the hopes to break their fighting force. It was simple, really. The 4 men had gone in while the pilots were lured away by complimentary snacks and drinks, and turned random rounds in the ammo links around backwards, which would jam the cannon or launcher. They were caught, though, when one of the rounds turned out to be faulty by way of a separate sabotage plot and went off while being handled! The heavy-gauge frag cannon shell ripped a non-threatening microscopic hole in the floor, locking the crooks inside the hangar. When Gold Life enforcers came by to check on the problem, they found sappers working for an unknown agent! They were eventually let off the hook, but citizens aboard the station caught wind of the truth and many have flipped their vote to support the Wanderers, who have been establishing a popular image through sheer dominance. I spoke with a random guy on the street who had something really insightful to say: "I'll say the guys who can make sure our little home doesn't get swallowed up by someone else ought to have control." If a little contradictory in his case, it seems the popular opinion around here is more focused on letting might rule, and the Gold Life Group's might is dwindling.