Strategic Posturing Amidst the Storm
27 Jan 2016Brenner Soriah
Stardate 2701-3302, 0830Commander Brenner Soriah, logging in. I know that I'm late on my supposed 'weekly' update again, but I like to have plenty of content to speak about in my logs, and each time I started to talk it down, more came up. So long as I can keep the information fresh in my mind, it shouldn't matter much. I did say that the entirety of the nine rings of hell were going to break loose with the new year. I'd say it already has. The holidays were quite the hustle and bustle of travel all over the galaxy, but now things have settled back into the common systems. And most particularly, it's settled into war. With the spring of the new year, there was a lack of appeals to the Pilot Federation for any aid, so our community lacked any goals together. This left all of the pilot factions to tend to their own devices. The Hutton Truckers made the first move with an expansion into a system in the WISE sector. I've kept my ear tight to the wall on the goings on of other major factions, so this hit all of the alarms for me. With no real steps to take on the home front, I organized several wings of our pilots to head out there and give them a helping hand. Things were quiet and easy at first, but that war lit a real firecracker when the Federation pilots caught wind of an expansion attempt so close to Sol. I know the Hutton Truckers have no intent of desecrating the sacred lands of our birth. No confirmed kills during the operation from our end, but we did get in more than a single scuffle.
Just as the war in WISE was nearing its final stages, the Paladin Consortium declared war back in LFT 37 on one of the lesser parties. We had lost a lot of power since the election against the Independents. With our strength coiled together, the Paladin's lashed out to give the Blue Coalition of LFT 37 a sting from our viper bite. It's not very often that the Paladin's get together en masse to do something, but by gosh, there were a lot of us those days. I lent my strength to the Truckers just a wee bit longer before making my own way down to the home of the Paladin's. For four days and five nights, we worked tireless hours launching sorties against the Blue forces, often times returning to dock to nap for fifteen minutes, only to launch straight again once weapons were restocked. It made for a busy week, but we managed to handle ourselves quite well. With minimal noise, we took the Blues under and finally got a base of operations set up in Padalka Prospect. The Councilor took his political team there and has shored up in security while we make our next moves.
Barnacles! Everyone's talking about them. The feeds, images, news reports, selfies, theories, conspiracies; it's all overflowing the GalNet. I haven't been able to make the rather short trip out to take a look at the alien bio structures, but it's not like I would be anything more than a tourist out there anyway. I'm just a gun for the universe. I'll leave the sciencing to the sciency lads. Even though I'm just a soldier, I know that the popular harvesting of metalloids from these structures isn't going to bode well. Without fully understanding just what it is, humanity has taken an alien meta-alloy and used it to fix a technical problem caused by aliens? This sounds like a very obvious carrot on a stick, and I'd like to stay far far away from any sort of station implementing anything with xeno-tech. When- not even if- When we finally find what's behind both the UA's and the barnacles, I know that those closest are going to be hit the hardest. Until then though... this is what we have to do in order to keep hundreds of thousands of people going in those malfunctioning stations, sadly. Just keep me away from it.
Sliding into the next highlight, the organized Dark Echo convoy exercise turned out to be a grand success. Not only did it provide some sporting trade hauls and small ship PVP, it also allowed me some very good insight into some of the common tactics of the pirate factions. Intelligence stated that CODE was supposed to show up as OPFOR, and while they did, their numbers were rather underwhelming considering our response to the call. While they sent maybe two wings of pirates, I'd say that between the Truckers, Dark Echo, and the Paladins, we had a minimum of 10 wings, if not 15. I personally scored a kill against one of the CODE pirates while flying the RES Roaring Thunder. I knew she'd pack a punch, but it was almost frightening just how effective she was. We were three escorts to a trade ship, and as we jumped along our route, the Type 6 was interdicted. Prepared, we called out nav-locks and dropped into space together. A hail from the pirate, who was still awaiting his wing, requested us to drop cargo for guaranteed safety. Denying him an easy steal, I replied with a hearty laugh and a dismissal. The cobra, enraged by my shrug-off, thrusted and rammed himself into the trader. Immediately deploying hardpoints, the thrum of charging electromagnets was followed by the zap of the twin rail guns. Between the ram and the anvil of my attack, his shields dissipated away. An evil smile courted my face when I clicked to fire group two and launched the first torpedo from 500 meters. A direct impact dropped him to 66%. His momentum carried him to me while I launched the other tube and his hull breached again down to 17%. I could tell by the haste with which he boosted that he was panicking. And rightly so. I didn't want to let him get away, angled my ship around to track his fleeing, and fired twice more. His friend dropped in to watch the ruined cobra drift and explode...
This scene became rather common to me in the days to come. For all of my work over the past three months, Big Pappa recognized me as a cornerstone to the organization, and promoted me to third in command. The hierarchy of the Paladin Consortium isn't really so top down treebranch style. More rather, the leadership are like a ring together, taking on different pieces of duties in order to come together as a whole, with all the remaining pilots connecting into that ring for clarity and direction. I've just continued doing what I've always done; advanced foreign relations, organized with allies, and established the Paladin Consortium's stratagem. Our pilots took their short rest, again garnering strength while setting out to sap the Purple Comms Party of theirs. The polls were telling us that we were growing even in power, and the Purples didn't like that one bit. Word began to spread of military forces being rallied together. I leaned back in my pilot's seat with a smirk on my face, tuned in to the various broadcasts. "So they're taking the bait..." I looked over my shoulder to portside of the cockpit glass, watching the already prepared Paladin ships practicing with the allies we had been aiding for so long. The Purples didn't know that the pending civil war was something they weren't ready for... it was just a matter of time.
And just in time too, as my ranks finally reached their way through the Federation, and I'd received my clearance to order ships through any of the navy docks. As is typical of me, I was already prepared to make my purchase. Using what funds I had, the Federal Corvette glided slowly into dock at WW Piscis Austriana. I had chartered a cobra to fly me there, and was duly waiting in one of the habitat squares. My head was definitely not the only one to turn up and watch the spectacle, but it was the only one to wear a grin. I stood and strode to the large docks, running my hand over its landing gear and the rails as I boarded. She was much flatter than the Anaconda, and her cockpit was positioned a lot better. I knew that she was going to be a close second favorite... For the cleansing fires which have been raging, I have dubbed her the RES Brisingr. I can't afford a full combat outfit yet, but I can get her able to smack away anything besides the most prepared ships.
Our boys were tugging at their chains with anticipation when the day came that the Purples engaged small decoy units of fighters. Following the plan I drew up months ago, Operation Midas Touch, I had spread our forces out a bit over multiple planets, putting the main force into combat over the nearby station of Roentgen. Being less than a light second away from Onnes, it served as a magnet with which to draw their nearby forces. The first day of fighting was the most intense to probe out the Purple Comm's forces, to understand their capabilities and their equipment. I committed many of our pilots to overwhelming the main conflict closest to the Independent's station, whilst a brave few split their attention and forces to other planets in the system. If there is anything that the Paladins are the best at, it's war. With the aid of the Diamond Frogs, Dark Echo, the DaVinci Corp, The Forgotten, and the Light Cavalry Brigade, we took the initiative on all fronts. Day two saw A_Honcho and friends move to attacking our wounded as they fled battlezones, as well as other unknown commanders making visits to our war-torn system. Confident that the Purple Comms were cleanly subdued and could be finished off with less than a third of our strength, we diverted commanders into supercruise for retribution. The response was threefold:one, to protect those pilots who could not fight and chase off those who killed indiscriminately. Two, to earn our own commanders some valuable lessons and experience in fighting veteran pilots. And three, to test new SOP's in IFF, concerning the use of codes and an identification database, as well as response procedures for multinational (Inter player group) coordination.
Day three saw the Purple Comms backed into a corner. Have you ever seen a wild beast backed into a corner? With no option to run, they fight with the spirit of a devil possessing them. I knew it to be nothing more than the death throes of the war, and pushed pilots back into the fray to hold the momentum. Day four had the Purples weakened so desperately that they couldn't afford to split forces anymore. All according to plan. I delivered the coup de grace by sending a special task force to subvert the undefended Onnes station and finally institute our command there. The cheering that erupted out amidst my comrades was the culmination of dozens upon hundreds of commanders putting in blood and oil and bullets for the last three months. The Paladin Consortium finally has a place to call home. The Purple Comms Party is already starting to withdraw their remaining forces, and I've requested our pilots to allow any crippled ships still fighting the chance to fly un-assaulted back home. There is no need for any more bloodshed. All of this fighting has been for a peace; one which we will soon be able to share with everyone.
Operation Midas Touch has come to a close, but there is still the matter of removing the Independents from power. They're fairly firmly rooted, and the last time we tried, we couldn't quite sway the people of LFT 37. This time is different. This time, we have a testament to our will and our strength. The Coalition of player alliances I have personally organized has been fire-forged and tempered, and is going to show this galaxy a new era in human history. I've already liaisoned with the rather rowdy Hutton Orbital Truckers, my closest ally and ace in the hole. Operation Checkerboard should be starting any minute. One thing is for sure. LFT 37 won't ever be the same.
I'd best get out there. To you commander, who have found these logs. May your swords stay sharp and may you soar on dragon's wings.
Commander Brenner Soriah, signing off.
...checkmate.