I'm afraid rallying random people that color themselves Zoners in the widest sense alone won't help our cause. That, sadly, has never been enough since 799 A.S., and I am afraid our reputation since then also has massively changed, for the worse. People used to respect us just enough to be willing to have us settle in places nobody else can settle without massive repercussions. Hell, the heaviest blow in these days was the loss of Freeport 7. Our parents and predecessors used to run the freeports in the most hostile places. They had less experience than most of us, and yet had the skills and materials to be up there with the toughest people of the Edge Worlds.

Today we have Livadia, Corfu and whatever the oddjobs in Baffin use to maintain the Persephone. Our focus shifted from reliable ships like the CTE-6000 over to expensive capital ships that have never really managed to shine in combat against the counterparts of other groups. Yes, we can be proud of the Fearless, and nobody is more surprised than I am about the Tarrafal still kicking after failing in Bering. Doesn't change the fact that the Zoner Community is neither united, nor has ever been. It is just not how we roll, because the only thing common among us is that, well, we operate freeports all over Sirius.

We are outgunned, outclassed and outskilled. The prowess of veteran Eagle pilots means nothing the moment our enemies deploy their capital ships like the Minorca and the Mallorca, and the few ships of comparable size and armaments the Zoners have are not on par with these threats. That has been proven with too many times already.


Listen, people. I might not be administrating Freeport 11 anymore, but I have gathered enough experience and know enough about our history to tell you that fire can't be fought with fire in our cases. Never worked. We need to play out our strengths instead. So, what are our strengths?

We are a fucking pain in the ass. Have always been. Bretonia gave up on Gran Canaria after a stressful occupation they just could not maintain. Resistance on Erie is still kicking, occasionally managing to cause enough irritation to make it hard for Liberty to keep control over everything. Somehow, Freeport 11 is still out there despite the system being contested by pretty much everything with an engine in the Edge Worlds. You, my good people, are annoying. You are stubborn idiots, some dumber than a slide of bread, or hell, even Bretonians! That is something that can be utilized as a strength, because right now, that strength is channeled down on Erie by people who would rather burn down government buildings and refineries than pay a single tax credit, and it fucking works.

To be more concrete: Don't even try to bother with fights against the invaders. Fight them where it hurts: On Freeport 9. On the supply routes, and at their digging sites. We are talking about Corsairs here. They have an impressive fleet, but are horrible at economics and logistics. Their main source of income isn't even piracy anymore, it is smuggling. That's not a secret. Hell, enough Zoners are in that business, too, and that, too, isn't a secret. So, look at transmissions like these.

Neural Net Link: Public Message in Omicron Delta

In case I have to spell it out: Barking dogs don't bite. Capital ships have a hard time entering the system they are talking about. No big guns there. Just fighters and freighters. And they don't want other people to mine there.


The other thing Zoners have been good at was acting as a buffer. You can try to call it diplomacy, but looking at how diplomacy has been done by pushovers like Med Force, Phoenix - and let's not even talk about TAZ, OSI, IRG and SLRC - I think it is more realistic to name things as they are.

We are a buffer. Our stations have been home to just enough people to make trading attractive, assault unattractive because of everyone getting involved, and large scale wars pointless. You want the big guns? Don't look for them among us. Look them among the people who benefit from us being a buffer. Omicron Theta is literally the crossroad connector of the Omicrons with the current alignment of jump holes. If Maltese want to go anywhere in the Omicrons, they go through Theta. If the Core wants to reach house space, they need to go through Theta. If the Order wants to reach anyone in the Omegas, they need to go through Theta.

Theta is the gateway. The key to the Omicrons is Freeport 9, and right now, the Corsairs have that key. And they want to lock the gate for everyone else. Don't look for help here among us, look for help among the people who are getting fucked over by the Corsairs here. Don't ask them to help us for the sake of us Zoners - that trope hasn't gotten us anywhere in the past few years. Ask them to help us re-establish Freeport 9 as neutral ground. Zoner ground. It is in their interest.

Don't rely on their sympathy for us. There isn't any. There used to be, but that is gone. Make them understand that it is good to have a bunch of chaotic dunces acting as buffer to keep their enemies at bay. Tell them what they want in Theta is cretins, not Cretans.