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02 Archive: SPOCS 900

Asset purchase falters
Miso

An attempt by the Praetorian Curiate Assembly to purchase assets from the SPOCS 900 Partners has fallen through, according to sources involved in the deal.

Reports suggest that negotiations were completed and that Duke Alden Rowe himself had signed the transfer contract before the Partners withdrew at the last minute.

While the Partners have not responded to requests for comment, a PCA source indicated that "Rowe is absolutely furious and views this as more than a strategic issue. He views it as a direct personal insult by a company he has a long history of working with."

SPOCS spat escalates into civil war
Miso

The Praetorian Curiate Assembly and SPOCS 900 Partners moved to war footing the day after negotiations over the sale of Partners' assets collapsed.

In her statement to the press, Patrician Kiera Bishop commented:

"Over the past several months, we have supported Partners to bolster their position as the leading independent corporation in SPOCS 900, allowing them to focus directly on their banking interests and less on station management. This has required a significant investment from PCA that we believed would be to the benefit of Partners' shareholders and the security of the system.

Unfortunately, our party, including Duke Rowe, was waiting for the Partners delegation's arrival to sign the final contracts when we received word that they were withdrawing. Partners' duplicity represents a considerable breach of trust and, we believe, a significant threat to system security. We did not help to build Partners' business simply so they could challenge us for control."

PCA victorious, Partners defiant
Miso

The two most influential factions in SPOCS 900 remain at odds even after the seizure of Murdoch Enterprise to the Praetorian Curiate Assembly in a conflict caused, according to PCA Patrician Kiera Bishop, by a last-minute withdrawal from purchase negotiations.

Appearing in public immediately after the defeat of her Partners, CEO Margred Minelli staked her claim, turning her family's banking corporation into a symbol of resistance:

"'Duke' Alden Rowe believes that his 'Praetorian Curiate Assembly' has a divine right to this system. But God did not give it to them: Senator Patreus did. It is true that we negotiated and considered the sale of our assets, but our company was serving this great system when Rowe was still a mercenary. The Federation failed us, but we will not accept the Empire. SPOCS 900 will be independent, and it will be ours."

Reached for response, Duke Alden Rowe offered only the following:

"We shall see."

Curii defect in political victory for Partners
Miso

The Praetorian Curiate Assembly was stunned this morning by news that several high-ranking Curii had shifted their assets out of Rowe Corp, reinvesting in Partners assets.

Despite a failed attempt to challenge Duke Alden Rowe's control of SPOCS 900 in May, CEO Margred Minelli colonies at Whitelaw Prospect and Banach Legacy have rivaled the Assembly's orbital assets for traffic and development.

Speaking to reporters before boarding her Beluga, the SPI Eostre, CEO Minelli thanked "the independent pilots and colonists of SPOCS 900" and promised "further growth for all, free from oaths of fealty and autocracy."

Further Assembly defections rock Imperial control
Miso

Support across SPOCS 900 shifted precipitously in favor of Margred Minelli's Partners today, following reports of further defections from Duke Alden Rowe's Praetorian Curiate Assembly.

A press conference hosted by Jean Selene Savére of Savére Holdings this morning confirmed rumors that she had abandoned her position as an Assembly Curii, and that she had redirected his Barnyard Corporation to shift deliveries from PCA-controlled stations to Partners colonies on SPOCS 900 4.

Hours later, Mark Lucius Harris announced that he had ended his contract with PCA and would be regarrisoning his private military force, Harris Security Corp, at Banach Legacy.

Harris, a former agitator for independence repeatedly censured by the Federal Democrats of SPOCS 900, was one of the earliest supporters of Duke Alden Rowe. His Harris Security Corp, formerly Rowe Escort Group, notably provided considerable protective services to PCA vessels upon their initial arrival in SPOCS 900 back in 3301.

Speaking to reporters in an impromptu announcement, Harris quipped that "Rowe is a driven man: driven mad! It is time for Harris Security to find a new driver!"

His defection represents a significant political and personal defeat for Rowe, who has so far refused to comment.

Rowe declares war on Minelli interests
Miso

Partners representatives declined repeated requests for comment this morning, after a significant first strike by the Praetorian Curiate Assembly preceded a formal declaration of war.

While reports that Advanced Tactical Response unit Omega Company was ordered to stand down are not confirmed, leaked traffic control reports from Whitelaw Prospect indicated that multiple vessels flagged to The Barnyard Corporation had arrived without their scheduled Harris Security Corp escorts.

When pressed for a justification for this conflict, Patrician Kiera Bishop replied that "breached contracts and broken oaths require no further justification. Our honor demands satisfaction, and dishonor carries a high price."

In a separate release providing rules of engagement to independent pilots, PCA liaison Esquire Taliya Duffy indicated that agricultural shipments to Banach Legacy and Whitelaw Prospect had been deemed off-limits.

Imperial Avengers deployed as Rowe takes Banach Legacy
Miso

A surprise ground assault against Banach Legacy has forced the SPOCS 900 Partners into disarray.

The assault, which is reported to have included four rare Imperial Avenger front line battletanks, resulted in a rapid defense and minimal casualties, with Praetorian Curiate Assembly forces detaining all Partners personnel before instituting an occupation of the colony.

Since the Partners' loss of Banach Legacy, fighting between the PCA and Partners navies around Celsius Market has shifted to focus on the trade lanes between population centers on SPOCS 900 6 and SPOCS 900 4, home to Whitelaw Prospect, the remaining stronghold of Minelli and associates.

Multiple Harris Security and Barnyard Corporation formations have been seen running PCA blockades. With the Assembly now controlling all commodities markets in system, available traffic control statistics have shown a marked increase in docked vessels utilizing anonymous access protocols.

Head of Celsius Market security Lorena Sanford has requested that all suspicious activities be reported to her office at once.

SPOCS 900 war ends with a second defeat for Partners
Miso

High profile defections from the Praetorian Curiate Assembly were unable to prevent defeat for Margred Minelli and her Partners, with pitched battles dispersing throughout the system. Yet despite PCA's space superiority, Harris Security Corp actions late Tuesday allowed considerable Partners forces to retreat to Whitelaw Prospect, the final spaceport in SPOCS 900 not controlled by the Assembly.

While rumors are spreading that Partners CEO Margred Minelli has fled the system, Harris Security and Barnyard Corporation have confirmed their continued support for Partners and the colony.

Former client Jean Selene Savére of Savére Holdings spoke to reporters and colonists this morning, offering guarantees that Rowe "will never starve us out" as Barnyard employees  began offering food aid to colonists.

In response to questions raised about the Assembly's intent toward the colonists of Whitelaw Prospect, shipping magnate and recent PCA squire Jack Cernig-Dix remarked that "Savére's theater is unnecessary and unconvincing. As Esquire Duffy noted at the outbreak of hostilities, we treated a blockade of food shipments to the Prospect and Banach Legacy as off-limits. Indeed, my own corporation worked to ensure that famine would not be a risk, regardless of the war's outcome."

Trouble with Turncoats?
incizhi0n

Despite a solar-flare-like reach for the ascendancy, few would argue a more definitive and resounding defeat of the SPOCS 900 Partners at the capable hands of Praetorian Curiate Assembly combat pilots. Yet, as the victors clinked Hutton Mugs and sloshed celebratory Indi Bourbon, whispers of turncoats and murder brought a hush upon boastful recounts of military might and feats of feverish battle.

Though currently unsubstantiated, investigations into the source and validity of the rumors seem to be focused upon ongoing conflict and anonymous dock access near Celsius Market. Yet, officials have been quick to dismiss fifth column activity or seditious sentiment among fatigued soldiers. Wreyn Kaira, Baronet and aide to Duke Alden Rowe, assures system citizens, "Hostilities against PCA, beyond those sanctioned under terms of war with SPOCS 900 Partners, are more likely attributable to the poorly timed actions of misguided mercenaries or opportunistic assassins. There is no reason to suspect political motivations at this time."

Scandal and subterfuge rock SPOCS 900
Miso

Despite assurances from Baronet Wreyn Kaira, turncoats have thrown public confidence in the Praetorian Curiate Assembly into disarray, with politicos questioning Duke Alden Rowe's control of his forces. Kaira, who as recently as last week insisted that sedition and fifth column activities were out of the question, himself briefly appeared on the system's most wanted list.

Esquire Taliyah Duffy responded that the Baronet's appearance was "a glitch caused by miscommunication" and that the issue had been fully resolved.

Pressed for a response while exiting his Anaconda, Kaira was cryptic, giving a brief statement to the press.

"It is unfortunate that a Knight might hide his loyalty, but trust that I will provide all oath-breakers with the same outcome. We will be revisiting our force structure and operational policies to prevent this issue from reoccurring."

Comments from other PCA sources were not forthcoming.

Praetorian Curiate Assembly declares war again in SPOCS 900
Miso

A week of simmering tensions boiled over into a fresh conflict this morning, as Duke Alden Rowe formally declared war on the SPOCS 900 Partners. Partners, which failed an attempt to seize the system in early May, were struck last month by the Praetorian Curiate Assembly after a series of high-profile defections marked CEO Margred Minelli's banking corporation as ascendant.

CEO Minelli and the former Curii supporting her have not made any public comment since their defeat and, according to reports from within PCA, have continued to push for independence through infiltration of the PCA military. While Assembly sources suggest that The Barnyard Corporation and Harris Security Corp are continuing to run logistics and security alongside Partners forces, CEO Minelli herself has not been seen in system since the departure of her SPI Eostre in Late July.

While a defeat for Partners will leave the corporation with numerous planetary installations, it is likely to see PCA holding all of the system's ports.

Public contracts and internal memos suggested that the capture of Jean Selene Savére and Mark Lucius Harris were of critical importance to Duke Rowe, who has appeared in the media alongside numerous Curii and Knights, emphasizing one message above all else:

Justice for oathbreakers.

Tables turned as defector releases Partners financials
Miso

Partners representatives once again declined to comment on new reports released in the wake of a high-level defection, laying the corporations financials out in the open.

While the trove of released documents are still being examined, analysis so far has implicated CEO Magred Minelli and her supporters in a complex scheme that, if successful, would have won Partners the system while leaving its citizens heavily indebted to the Bank of Zaonce.

In a complex arrangement with the Bank of Zaonce, a multi-generational supporter of the SPOCS 900 Partners, Minelli offered all Partners-held assets as collateral, securing the financial resources needed to push for control while risking the permanence of that control.

Had Minelli's attempt to declare independence in April succeeded, her corporation would have held Celsius Market, Whitelaw Prospect, Banach Legacy, and Murdoch Enterprise. A subsequent default would have transferred ownership of all assets — and, accordingly, governance of the system — to the Bank of Zaonce. At this point, per the defecting financial officer who is yet to be named, the Bank would have governed the system through the SPOCS 900 Partners as a shell corporation.

The Praetorian Curiate Assembly has yet to comment officially, but an internal source noted that "the value of the deal, minus Celsius Market and its status as the governing station in the system, is remarkably close to the arrangement that Minelli backed out of in April. Rather than sell to PCA, she effectively sold the system to the Bank of Zaonce — Partners would not have been able to afford payments while maintaining a stable administration without also taking Parsons and Ricardo."

Whitelaw Prospect seized by PCA loyalists
Miso

Civil unrest at Whitelaw Prospect turned into violent riots today, pitting the station's colonists against Harris Security Corp forces in the wake of reports that Ceo Margred Minelli's independence movement may have sold the colony and the system to the Bank of Zaonce.

Praetorian Curiate Assembly ground forces, arriving hours after riots began, were able to storm the station's secure outposts, trapping and capturing multiple Partners officers, including Harris Corp CEO Mark Lucius Harris, who remains in PCA custody. Reports continue to suggest that Minelli has not returned to SPOCS 900. However, further examination of leaked financial agreements between Partners and the Bank of Zaonce suggested that even with the loss of Whitelaw Prospect, Partners may continue to receive external funding for their independence efforts.

Still, in a brief announcement after the seizure of Whitelaw Prospect, Patrician Kiera Bishop expressed a view that "Minelli's time is over" and that PCA was "confident that the Assembly would be able to settle this matter with the Bank of Zaonce amicably." Despite a clear and likely final defeat for Partners, fighting in SPOCS 900 continues across the system, with standing contracts offering considerable rewards to any pilots able to return Jean Selene Savére and Margred Minelli to SPOCS 900 for justice.

Peace restored in SPOCS 900
Miso

In an announcement this morning, Patrician Kiera Bishop of the Praetorian Curiate Assembly declared peace in SPOCS 900. The text of her announcement follows.

"Duke Alden Rowe's glorious Praetorian Curiate Assembly is pleased to announce that peace has returned to our people. The final forces still loyal to the coward Margred Minelli have been destroyed, with their defeat marking a unity for SPOCS 900 that it has not seen before. Our governance now extends to every station in the system, and we welcome the colonists of Whitelaw Prospect and Banach Legacy into the Empire.

It is our intention to return Partners to a time before dishonor, back to when it was integral to the financial stability of our system, rather than a threat to our security. Accordingly, Duke Rowe would like to announce that he has come to a satisfactory arrangement with the Bank of Zaonce which will ensure that if Margred Minelli or her ilk ever return to the system, it will be in fetters."