Discovery Gaming Community

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Buonasera!,
as part of my initial activities and fledgling activities as a fledgling Lane Hacker I am reporting my first excursions in appropriating funds to further our aims.

On my first outing I ended up with LH~Cochrane.Traverser and LH~Stefan.Pomerov at the Kepler:Shikoku jump gate engaged in a conversation with [*US*]Springfield[E] and [*US*]Stokton[M].

[*USI*] vessels

They had the foresight to provide a modest $500 000 donation.

Monetary Donation

and then graciously filled up my cargo hold and that of the Traverser with Holosculptures, that eventually turned a tidy profit.

Cargo Donation

My second foray was a solo mission again in Kepler, this time with an Interspace Commerce Advanced Train titled Junie_Blaze. Sadly this was empty and as the system was experiencing heavy traffic I suggested that a modest 500 000 cash deposit would be of use, a sum they seemed happy to part with.

Junie Blaze Donation

The final foray reported in this communication was again a joint mission. This effort was acting upon information gleaned by LH~Leiden.Repossesser. This information suggested a small convoy moving towards Liberty space from Shikoku. To intercept this potentially lucrative convoy I positioned myself at the Shikoku:Kepler Jump Gate whilst LH~Leiden.Repossesser maintained station at the Shikoku:Gallileo gate. As chance would have it this was the gate they chose to use and while being detained by LH~Leiden.Repossesser I quickly joined the scene. The prize this time were two transports zerro* and T&T/.Tinkers.Pride. After a little persuasion we managed to secure 6 000 000 in funds before they moved on.

T&T Transfer

All in all an interesting set of encounters with a useful swelling of LH coffers.

Arrivederci
Maria Freudenstein

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Buonasera!,
ongoing operations have resulted in a number of craft encountered and have been able to secure 124 pilots for questioning. These pilots have now been successfully transferred to LH~Scorpius , hopefully they will add to our knowledge store.

Prisoner Transfer

Arrivederci
Maria Freudenstein

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Ms. Freudenstein,

As promised, I will be making few observations on your commanded Lockdown operation which took place in Shikoku.

First of all, Shikoku system is very favorable to be locked down as it has very few entry or exits points. On top of this, Kusari lawfuls are rarely patrolling this system, making our positioning much more solid. In spite of it, you have failed to take full advantage out of these circumstances. Blocking Kepler and Galileo Jumpgates was a sound and logical choice. Commanding me to patrol lane from Deshima to Junyo was not. Due to the fact I was ordered to be on the move, I failed to intercept two commercial transports which moored with Planet and Deshima. And when I have intercepted a transport, you ordered everyone else to converge on my location, even though captain was cooperative in being departed with his profits. This was a waste of our resources as leaving Gates open can allow others to slip by.

Despite all this, you showed remarkable fast reaction to our reports, which is one of the requirement feature to become great Lane Hacker. I hope you will take my harsh feedback as opportunity to improve your operations-to-come.

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Buonasera!,
thank you for your considered feedback Vladimir'Scorpius, I can unpack the thinking behind the approach in order to possibly aid your debriefing further.

Although southern Shikoku has three exits and we had three hips I was mindful of the fact that they were two Bactrain and a Waran. As both Bactrain pilots are recent members of the group and noting the fact Bactrains can be relatively easily compromised if meeting more than one transport I opted to employ a slightly modified approach rather than the static positioning I believe is more normal.

The Bactrains were placed one between Ames and Deschima and one between Deschima and Raiden Bend. The Waran was placed centrally around Deshima. In this configuration the all ships could call for assistance and be rapidly supported by each other, with the heavier armed Waran being best placed to support either Bactrain.

The main downside of this approach is that we were readily visible and some ships managed to dock at Deshima when Lane Hacker craft were spotted whilst others probably slipped through. However some success was achieved, we lost no vessels and :

a DSE vessel was relieved of the Boron cargo it was carrying, subsequently supplied to Golden Crysenthemums at Morioka
a Kusari Battlecruiser, StarLost, engaged Vladimir'Scorpius, but was eventually forced to dock due to well placed nova's
a freelance Mammoth, LT.Klepto, was also intercepted with a donation swelling the coffers of LH~Kananga.

The system then filled with Outcast and Junkers giving Vladimir'Scorpius, a good rationale for ending the lockdown.

Ships participating, Vladimir'Scorpius, LH~Maria.Freudenstein and LH~Kananga.

Arrivederci
Maria Freudenstein

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Buonasera,
as part of my orientation I have now fully explored Activity Zone: Liberty

and upon close comparison with

it appears that Liberty Forces have constructed another jump connection between their Eastern systems.

Arrivederci
Maria Freudenstein

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Guten Tag.

I finally found some time to record my latest activities. Firstly, I would like to report that all the deliveries to Dawson Base have been completed along with the invaluable help of Infiltrator Trigger. The Rogues down there should be good for several months now.

Furthermore, for record purposes I am also submitting the operation against the VWA in the Independent Worlds. These corporate boot lickers were attempting to move the fertilizers to Los Angeles. Their transport was annihilated with the help of Mr Scorpius and the cargo came under my possession. The cargo of course made it to Los Angeles but we gained the profits, not the single-minded Bundschuh. [1 | 2]

Finally as I was instructed, I informed a rekrut of the BDM of our latest offensive operations against the Bundschuh. With a bit of luck their Oberkommando should reply back giving us valuable intel for any weakness that the Bundschuh might have and we are unaware of. Of course I kept extensive evidence of our transaction which took place near their research facility, in case it is ever needed in the long future. [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8]

Conversation log

Now I am off for holidays gentlemen. I know it's late but I have prepared a small present for myself which is currently waiting at Kreuzberg. Hard work should be rewarded, right?

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I've truly been enjoying my time in Alberta, I can say that for certain. Not only do I find the sight of moving asteroids and blue gas compelling, but I've come upon a sincerely delightful pastime: observing the species Rattus Universalus in its natural habitat. These rodents dwell in the oligarchical power-structure of Universal Shipping Incorporated, and in their starships they skim to and fro across the inky blackness without a care in their pitiful little minds. Naturally that makes it my job to antagonize them in whatever ways I find most amusing.

In the audio recordings below we find a prime specimen of Universalus who believes he's harrying me on a merry chase. As is the custom, I toyed with his feeble mind as I evaded his ship, later arriving at Airdrie with not even a minute of delay in my busy smuggling schedule.

Spoiler

As you can see in the following long-range scanning record I did not obey his silly requests, and instead proceeded along my route as normal.

And now, for today's episode, we explore the minutiae of contact with the enemy and once again engage in a tête-à-tête with the subhuman species known as the corporate ship-captain.

It's become a habit of mine to skim within a few thousand clicks of the the shipping platform at Camrose during high-traffic times using a broadcast-spoofer and a gimbal-mounted target-painter to fool the sardines within. While I could go on about the particular joys of convincing a coffee-addled radar operator that an Outcast battleship is lighting up his station with a ranging laser, it was on this occasion that I discovered a surfeit of mining ships huddled within the gnarled branches of Camrose's docking arms.

I cannot say these were sincere conversationalists, seeing as Rattus Universalus and his distant cousin Myocastor Deepspacicus are of feeble cognitive abilities, but I was intrigued with how readily they divulged information about their destination and dealings. The following is a snippet of recorded conversation highlighting their interest in the mining base known as Platinum Inc.

Spoiler

I felt as if that name rang a bell, so I followed up on the lead in the hopes of finding the source for the sudden increase in thugs and rock-smashers loitering on our doorstep. I found the station in the orbit of Planet Edmonton as records indicated, and traveled from there to the ore field in order to confront these would-be vandals with their figurative trousers down.

As I thought, there was an increased level of mining activity in the area. However, I was unable to collect a donation with the vessel as I was caught in the act by an agent of the illegitimate Libertonian oligarchy. Though his guns should have made my smuggling ship into scrap metal, I was able to evade him and escape the field unharmed. The amount of firepower allotted to the defense of a single mining vessel has me suspicious of the potential motives for the increase in Platinum mining I have seen over these past months. Is Liberty gearing up for a significant increase in shipbuilding due to the conflict with Gallia? Are they manufacturing Platinum-based stealth technologies? Does the Grand Poobah of Deep Space Engineering want a platinum-lined swimming pool? All these questions were swimming through my head after the experience. I am sure to follow up in the future, and hopefully with some more success as to the motives involved (not to mention the destruction of the offending ships).

Furthermore, it is my opinion that this drastic increase in mining traffic should not go unchallenged. I alone am not enough to stall the efforts of this veritable army of corporate stooges, and a great deal of profit can be made by interdicting a calculated number of these mining vessels on their return journey to the processing facility. We need not attempt to destroy the station, an act that would be beneath our intellect, but we can exploit the efforts of our foes and profit tenfold from the sweat of their brows if we so wish.

All in all it was a night of frustrated efforts on my part, but I feel that I can learn from my failure in this regard. Next time these miners will not be so lucky, and I am eagerly plotting the humiliation that they will come to experience at my hands.

Regards,
Maxwell Tarn

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The following audiovisual message consists of eye-witness footage of the defection of a Liberty Navy vessel, and the ensuing skirmish between the Liberty Navy and a collection of ships with which we may already quite familiar. I will attempt to add as little commentary as possible before you view the data, as I do not wish to bias your interpretation, but I will first provide a complete list of the surroundings of said incident and the vessels involved.

Date: 2/7/823
Location: Cortez, Sector C6
Identified Participants: NCV.Eidolon.Wraith, The.Sovereign, The.Artemis, The.Cincinnati, 5th|LNS.Odyssey

This is the unabridged audio data I recorded from my position in the Corcovado Ice Field.

Spoiler

All recorded visual information from the incident is appended here, in chronological order: 1 2 3 4 5 6

My vessel was initially recognized, as I stumbled upon the group within their scanner range. However, I retreated to the safety of the nearby ice field in order to record their interactions. I was amused at the pettiness involved. I had thought the Liberty Navy to be more disciplined, but every day my former country surprises me with the absolute idiocy of its attack-dogs. However, the brazen use of firepower is becoming an element of concern to me. Not only are significant naval resources passing into the purview of unknown private groups, but these elements of brutish violence are bringing their conflicts closer and closer to our doorstep. Case in point, after they dispensed with the Naval dreadnaught and their ally's cruiser was lost, the flotilla passed within dangerous proximity of our Montezuma Base in their retreat towards Magellan and sighted me on scanners once again as they passed. Hostile forces traveling within seven kilometers of an active listening-post is uncomfortable, to say the least.

Due to the sensitive and unknown nature of this situation, I will attempt to further keep track of these elements if I am able.

On a further note, due to the hasty escape the flotilla made from the site of the battle I was able to collect material samples and low-priority escape pods from the wreckage before additional naval personnel could arrive. I doubt the Liberty Navy has much technology that could outpace ours, but perhaps the captured ratings can enlighten us on the nature of this particular mutiny.

Regards,
Maxwell Tarn

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For authorized eyes only.

I would like to report that the authorized operation on the Oracle hideout in Planet Los Angeles was completed. No issues encountered while entering the planet via a civilian shuttle and employing the plasma burst shielding. Then we headed to the weapons cache where we armed ourselves before arriving on schedule to our target.

Unknown to us, the apartment contained customized sensors on its perimeter so when we surrounded it the Oracle agent going by the fake name Hans Campbell learned about it. This gave him a few precious seconds to activate an automatic deletion program on his computer and commit suicide. When we heard the gunshot, we rushed in and searched the entire apartment upside down. Except random map locations in various Libertonian planets and the recording of a particularly large number of political speeches, there was nothing out of the ordinary. When we located the computer I did not have enough time to hack into the systems and stop the deletion process so instead I tried to salvage as much data as I could.

Then we quickly left the apartment since we were unaware if more countermeasures had been planted or someone heard the gunshot and called the local police. We concealed the weapons in a pre-arranged location for our sympathizers to pick them up and move them back to the weapons stash while myself and the rest of the team quickly departed Los Angeles and returned to Cochrane Depot much to the displeasure of a few members of the team who wanted to spend more time on the planet.

Even though I initially feared that the retrieved data might be too much destroyed or contain nothing meaningful, I was wrong. After a careful and detailed analysis with a Cochrane team, I can say with certainty that this Oracle agent was receiving his orders and directives from his superior called Isabelle Engler who goes by the title of "Witch of Malta". She is an Exarch in the Cult, the second highest rank and based on those messages it is obvious that this Exarch directs all the Oracle operatives in Liberty. What is extremely interesting is an excerpt of Campbell's diary in which he recounts his first meeting with Isabelle and he claims that she was speaking to him telepathically and her body could produce the "Blue Dream". I believe Isabelle Engler is a hybrid the way Jim McKenna described the species in our interrogation. Subsequently I believe it is extremely important to capture the creature in order to study it and also extract as much info as we can. Simulanteously this will also aid us in exterminating the Oracle's network in Liberty. Finally, a small number of communications were recovered from the computer, all of them directed to the Oracles. The first one was by the former leader of Golden Chrysanthemums, Hana Ken and the second by the opportunist Geoff Enfield, high-ranked agent of the Büro. Obviously extreme caution is advised if we ever deal again with those two individuals.

Since the Oracles have realized by now that someone is on their tracks, the rest of their Libertonian operatives will definitely disappear. Subsequently I have studied all possible courses of action and I believe that the most efficient way to do this is by attacking this high-ranked hybrid where the Cult is not expecting. To their Omicrons home. In order to increase the chances of success, I would like to use the Crimson Cross in order to obtain the intel about the hybrid's location. According to the interrogation of Jim McKenna, the two "holy Orders" are not in good terms so I believe they'd be willing to part this information provided we offer them the right incentives. Furthermore, we should contact the Order in order to learn any information that they might have about the hybrids. I would rather avoid initiating combat before learning the powers and abilities of that creature. Once everything is arranged, I need to have a team of operatives ready for combat and also I would like to nominate Maxwell Tarn as my assistant in this whole diplomatic iniative.

Once green light is given to the processed course of action, we shall begin.

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Today is a day for celebration, my friends. With the gracious help of the talented Mr. Yoshida I was able to participate in a slew of cargo interdictions over the past few days. After little success on the first day we were finally able to make good on our schemes. Three transports were caught, two extorted and one destroyed. If you wish to hear the thrilling tale, read on!

We set up our initial position in Manchester, hoping to catch two corporate flunkies Mr. Yoshida had noticed on the Spyglass network scanner. I set up my position on one side of the system while Mr. Yoshida set up on the other, hoping to catch any of the pilots if they chose to travel via the jump hole instead of through my blockade. However, in a surprising turn of events, both ships attempted to enter the lane near my position.

The ship Harpia, a Deep Space Engineering Mastodon, was the first out of the lane and as such I disabled their drives first and swooped in to extort them. it was shortly followed by the BMM ship BMF|Homeros, which I allowed to head towards Mr. Yoshida's trap on the other side of the system while I kept my priority target locked down. Unfortunately the pilot of the Harpia refused to pay the cost for his filled cargo hold and so I was forced to destroy the vessel.

Thus the more interesting aspect of our hunt began. The BMF|Homeros sought shelter near Birmingham Station, but that was hardly the end of things. Instead of docking or attempting to follow another route, perhaps due to my ploy of appearing to enter the opposite trade lane, he attempted to remain in the area an wait us out. However, in a great stoke of luck, we encountered a Gateway Shipping pilot at Mr. Yoshida's blockade location. There, Yoshida spun a fantastic story of betrayal for the poor corporate stooge. He laid out a scenario in which the BMF pilot had sold Gateway out, leading the Gateway pilot to order a bounty on BMF|Homeros and graciously donate funds before the bounty was even filled. What a marvelous deception.

Filled with a renewed sense of mischief and emboldened by our success, I took Mr. Yoshida up on the offer of a small fishing expedition. Utilizing a spoofed bank account balance and posing as a Junker collector, I convinced a Republican Shipping pilot to deliver a cargo hold full of Junyo Fire Pearls right into Yoshida's trap. Indeed the story was spun so well that even after he encountered Yoshida he still proceeded to the rendezvous point! I'm still not even sure his small cargo-pilot mind could comprehend the magnitude of his folly.

The most amusing aspect of the chase was that we underestimated the transport's armor and escape mechanisms and were briefly worried that he would be able to make a successful run to the station, but I was able to convince him to surrender without a fight.

Here is the full interaction between myself and the cargo pilot. Enjoy!

Spoiler

And as an additional piece of entertainment, here is some of the recorded footage from Mr. Yoshida's perspective.

Scanning Cargo

Identification and Armor

Advanced Thrusters

The Sweet Reward!

What a merry chase, and an enjoyable way to fulfill my promotional criteria. I would like to once again thank the talented Mr. Yoshida for helping me reach the requirements for the rank of Interruptor, and for mentoring me in the necessary skills to outwit my opponents.

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Maria Freudenstein

Maria Freudenstein

Vladimir Scorpius

Maria Freudenstein

Maria Freudenstein

Wolfgang Weisen

Maxwell Tarn

Maxwell Tarn

Yoshida

Maxwell Tarn