Zoner whale needs weapons

[Jinx]

the point i was trying to make is that many trader ( me included btw. ) are a bit lazy to really "care" for their diplomatic ties.

lets think of one specific example...

a zoner carries plutonium from the okinawa GMG base to Lancarote and deuterium from Gran Canaria back to amaori station in Honshu... a real classic.

on his way he will come across some hogosha ( okinawa and maybe honshu - but not really a heavy resistance ), corsairs ( sigmas and omegas ) and maybe hessians ( but not really in practice ).

so such a trader should start making friends with and agreements with the factions on his route. - no, that doesn t mean he s gonne rub shoulders and become drinking buddies. - it just means that he s going to become a "known encounter".

the corsairs are the greatest threat on the route, cause they cover most of the space he s going to fly across ( although the route is tightly covered with friendly stations to dock with in case he is ambushed )

so such a trader would do regular and publicized food deliveried to crete maybe. - they won t pay THAT great - but they ll give him a much needed popularity - maybe even enough to protect him from the hessians in 47. when you are known for making food deliveries, you can threaten with cancelling them. ( yes, i know - the casual pirate that is only interested in a blue message or a quick cash will still pirate him - but it is ONE argument against being pirated ... or can at least work to lower the demand )

but in order to have such an argument, you need to work outside your trading. - you need to "build up a reputation". - which isn t too hard on our server, cause every trader that attempts to build up a reputation is an oddity anyway and easy to remember. ( would be harder if every trader was RPing that way )

you can also deliver regular weaponry to the hessians and ask them to protect you in the systems most likely populated by the corsairs. - thats also a fair zoner deal. - if a corsair shows up and hessians are around, he would not waste his time pirating a zoner transport but instead get into close contact with the arch enemy.



does that make you "invulnerable"? of course not - and its not meant to do it. - it requires both sides not only to know about the factions lore but also both sides to be more than willing to RP an encounter outside the profitmaking piracy incident. - if you run into a pirate that only wants your money, you can RP all you want.

the whale is meant to pronounce these "virtues". you do not have a weapon, so you don t even consider fighting back with weapons.

i have pirated adv. trains ... that in all honesty have no chance against a bomber ... fighting back with their puny 5 turrets - just to be blown out of the sky. - all the 5 turrets do is to allow mining or firing at wrecks. had these ships have no weapons at all - maybe the pilots would have tried to talk their way out .... or maybe they would have remained silent and tried to cruise away - who knows.


on a more practical note - if a zoner wishes to fly a 5k transport with guns - he s free to buy basicly every other transport he wishes to buy. flying a zoner whale is a choice you make - and the choice includes no weapons.

its like moving into the vicinity of an airport. - i cannot move there with my family and after moving in complain about the noise - i knew what was coming for me before i spend my money on it. it is a characteristic - just like most BHG ships have forward facing turrets ( yes, its unfair - but its a characteristic, too )

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