I must report a grave breach of protocol from a ship purporting to be a Zoner calibrating his ship's IFF computer.
As you know, we tolerate our allies 'training' with our rookie pilots in order for them to properly adjust their computers. We ask that they hand over any pilots that happen to eject, and that they conduct these activites in Sigma-19, away from our tradelanes in Sigma-13.
I received a tip-off about a ship firing upon GMG ships in Sigma-13. Upon arrival I came upon one "SOLIDWING" - Universal IFF, ZOner Guard Tag, Rhineland Transport.
This pillock had obviously decided he could act as he pleased. After firing a few shield-lowering shots into him he decided to depart for Sigma-19 - taking the GMG pilots with him!taking the GMG pilots with him!
My bomber is not equipped with CDs to intercept. I followed the ship and observed him travelling to the Omicron Beta jump hole - where he departed for Outcast space with our pilots as hostages!
This is a grave crime being committed here by one of our so called 'allies'. In light of this I would like to request the following from the Guild Masters:
1) A immediate ban on 'rep-fixing' - persons wishing to calibrate their computers must register with us so they can be properly vetted, and made aware of our conditions for doing this.
2) If this might be considered too harsh, then at least a communique sent to the Zoner Council outlining our conditions for Zoners calibrating their IFFs in our space (ie: done only in Simga-19, and hand over pilots on request).
3) An immediate bounty to be placed on SOLIDWING for kidnapping and destruction of GMG property!
Com ID: Kasugai Hatsumi Location: Gas Miner Naha, Sigma-13 Callsign: Omega Lead Transmitted to: Paramilitary Division Command Centre
-Open transmission-
I'm reporting an encounter that occurred at Naha at around 0415 SMT. I intercepted a cardaminesmuggler with the tag {SU}. Upon my request for him to drop the cargo, the unit provided much verbal resistance. Here is a transcription of the exchange.
The smuggler said he was calling in his allies. I thought it a bluff, but I was wrong. A neutral by the callsign "Vlad" alerted us to the presence of an Outcast Cruiser in Sigma-13, which caused Sum Yungai to deploy a bomber. When we detected the fiends approaching, we realized that they were a trio of Sabres. The Outcasts screamed nonsense about the "Orange Dream," then opened fire. Yungai and I left the smuggler, and took on the fierce Sabre wing in our pair of bombers.
The battle raged on for quite some time. I managed to take out one of the Sabres before they called the retreat. I was unable to stop the smuggler, but I suggest next time he passes by our base he be punished for his transgressions.
Com ID: Gas Miners Guild, Security Officer Isamu Shimazu
Location: Gas Miner Ogashawa, Sigma 19 system.
Callsign: Gas Miners Guild Theta 3
Transmitted to: Aomori station, Honshu system. Paramilitary Division Command Centre
-Open transmission-
Hai. Konnichiwa. With withdrawal of some operations in Sigma 13 system I've recently moved to Ogashawa miner as ordered.
Sigma 19 patrols are...dull. This is the very edge of civilised space. However, today on routine patrol Theta 3 has encountered a medical ship and provided escort services to Luxury Liner Hawaii.
The trip was a success. However Hawaii Liner is a popular place for criminal element to gather. An Outcast bomber soon arrived in the area and boldly attacked Theta 3 patrol.
The fight lasted several minutes before the contact with Theta 3 patrol was lost. Soon a mission of Outcast wing suffering decompression was caught on comms by Hawaii. It is unclear what happened there, but it is thought that the Outcast had a drug caused seizure and crashed into Hiran.
Hopefully the remains of the ship and the pilot will be extracted soon as the fight took place within Hawaii's vicinity.
The motives behind the attack are unknown. The fight caused some amusment among the liner, however. Such form of entertainment is disgusting.
from: Elizabeth Tate, Persephone-II-
to: the GMG HQ
"greetings, - ladies and gentlemen,
i am sure the word has spread over all the way throughout kusari and the sigmas about a series of newly discovered jumpholes into hitherto unknown, but civilized space. - i have decided to search for diplomatic anchors for the zoners.
we will try to establish political links to the factions in that yet undicovered space - and for that mission, i am in need of a durable fighterclass ship that can travel longer ranges. while the eagleclass ship appears fine at the start, it lacks the ability to operate in more rough enviroments - like thick nebulas. - furthermore, the eagle line is rather expensive to maintain.
so i am asking the GMG to sell me one of the "Karasu" fighter types.
on another leaf - i have to inform you that the freeport tradeship "Sanctimony" under captain Richard Bach had to abandon the established route to supply the okinawa effords. - due to a polite request by the Hogosha, he sees himself unable to proceed into okinawa. - our neutral stance towards the hogosha cannot be harmed if they take such offence by tradeships trading with the colonizing effords of okinawa.
if you have a suggestion about supplying your installations without upsetting your neighbours, he will be delighted to assist the gas miners guild.
please send me a reply in both cases via private coms,
Konnichiwa, it is with great concern I report on the activities of a Zoner ship tagged 'ZSI'.
Not wise smugglers know to stay clear of our facilities when moving contraband - the Junker Congress knows this, so do other Zoners.
Not this one. Not only did he not care for my requests to stop - he claimed he could do as he pleased. I first caught him moving Cardamine within 5K of Naha - being a Zoner ally I discretely told him not to smuggle so close.
How is the Guild repaid for such courtesy? By bringing SLAVES past me on his return trip!
If I were to go to a Freeport and start violating its laws - would my Zoner hosts not be angered? The smuggler then came back for a second round! AGAIN moving Cardamine right past me at Ogashawa!
When I dropped his shield, he then used an old docking clearance and forced himself onto Ogashawa. Our Guards surrounded the ship but he would not come out - instead he claimed he was drinking in the bar?
In summary - I was hoping to come to an arrangement with this creature, by which 'human cargo' comes our way instead of heading onto Outcast space. Such a deal would actually have been profitable for him!
Instead I get a repeat offender, who has utterly no regard for an ally.
I am requesting that the Guild Masters make a formal complaint to the Zoner Council regarding this matter.
I am also requesting authorisation to use deadly force if required.
I have the pleasure to announce that members of the Guild has recently conducted a most successful operation into Omicron Beta in order to retrieve several samples of the alien life forms that can be found there, and also to take scans of the planet known as "Elysium". Our exploration force consisted of me commanding the Wakkanai, escorted by Commander Katsuo, Lieutenant Commander Hatsumi, Ensign Nagaroki, and Jinsei Shindo.
Moving into Beta, we approached the planet, where the escorts established a secure perimeter, and began to collect samples of the alien life forms that are so prevalent in the system. The Wakkanai had been specially outfitted with advanced optronics and scanning equipment which was used to take readings from the planet itself. Elysium is thought by many to be the remnants of a much larger gas giant, and our readings supported this theory. We also detected many deposits of valuable materials in and on the planet. In future expeditions, I would suggest a feasibility study into landing on the planet itself in order to extract these deposits.
However, before we could gather much data, we were assailed by a pair of Outcasts flying Sabres. While our escort wing was able to destroy both ships, an encoded transmission was detected to emanate from one of the fighters, shortly before it exploded. Assuming our location unveiled, we made haste for the Sigma 19 hole, with another group of Outcasts hot on our heels. The escort wing again proved their worth, holding off the Outcasts in order to allow the Wakkanai to make a break for Honshu and safety, with our valuable cargo still intact.
Post battle records indicate that our forces managed to drive back the Outcast onslaught with minimal losses, and special merit must go to Jinsei Shindo for managing to hold off most of the Outcasts until help arrived.
Hopefully, study of these organisms and the data collected from Elysium can prove most valuable.
Com ID: Kasugai Hatsumi Location: Gas Miner Ogashawa, Sigma-19 Callsign: Omega Lead Transmitted to: Paramilitary Division Command Centre
-Open transmission-
Konnichiwa. I have two incidents to report.
While on patrol, I found a pair of Outcast Gunships in battle with an IMG Destroyer near the Sigma-13 Jumphole. It was peculiar that the IMG was out this far, but I did not ask questions - I just called for assistance, and then moved in to assist. The first gunship, "Raven" did not last long against our combined strength, though the "Nimrod" lasted longer - and put up a fair fight.
Based on intelligence reports we received from Freeport 9, we learned of an impending attack by the Corsairs, doubtless stirred up by the disgrace that is the Hogosha.
Guild ships were ordered back to Okinawa. I was also able to establish contact with the Ronin squadron, and the honourable Sentai.
I also learned that Azuki Tamagochi had procured the services of two Freelancers, one of them a Kusari national.
At approximately 1500 hours, I was able to establish a level of coordination between the known battle assets in Okinawa. I made the recommendation (accepted) to disperse the squadrons, so as to lure in any enemies in the event of an attack.
The Ronin agreed to wait at Fujisawa, a short trip down the trade lane. The Dragons remained based somewhere in the nebula, remaining hidden as they are want to do. The Freelancers were asked to dock on Furyoku, being a neutral Interspace depot.
This dispersion allowed for our defense to be timed perfectly! The enemy emerged most likely from the dust cloud. With the attack code 'BANZAI!' given, all groups moved to intercept.
There is but one image that describes visually the ensuing rout! One almost feels sorry for the Corsairs. Doubtless they were lied to by the Hogosha as to the nature of this action. The Hogosha surely knew they would be trounced - there was only one of their ships at the battle!
As you can see, the enemy is barely visible under the crushing weight of our combined forces!
We did lose a couple of ships, but victory was assured from the outset.
I for one am convinced that the Hogosha havent the stomach to face us in open combat. Azuki tells me her thoughts are that the Hogosha is instead trying to influence the Kusari government to look unfavourably on us. Not that they need much convincing these days.
It was a privilege to fight this day, and my thoughts are with those who fell in battle, and to all our Guild Citizens and families who can rest easy, knowing that we sleep easy again tonight...
Yet another successful research mission was today conducted into Omicron Beta. The Wakkanai's equipment and personnel were supplemented by the addition of a Ronin Explorer class vessel. With a strong, mixed escort force, we moved out via Sigma-60 and Omicron-64, moving into Omicron Beta relatively unopposed.
While we stationed ourselves in close orbit of Elysium, Master Okazaki lead a recon of Outcast forces on our northern flank. As we withdrew from the system, our escort was engaged by a sizeable Outcast force, culminating in an engagement with several capital ships, most of which I hear were destroyed (full details can no doubt be received from the pilots involved).
Recorded scans indicate that Elysium lacks any form of atmosphere, despite it's enormous gravity well (or, possibly, because of) and, as such, extraction of the minerals on its surface may prove high cost and risk operations. It appears, however, that Omicron Beta is definitely an abundant source of alien organisms, such as the ones used in the terraforming of uninhabitable planets. If we could but drive the Outcasts out, we could potentially harness these raw materials as a further form of income.
Com ID: Kasugai Hatsumi Transmitted to: Paramilitary Division Command Centre Subject: An Outcast fleet has been neutralized Priority: High
-Open transmission-
As stated by Captain Kou Yamato, our exploration and survey mission was successful. We had quite the expeditionary force.
Guild Master Katsuo Okazaki - Karsasu Heavy Fighter
Commander Taro Katsuo - Kaichou Bomber
Ronin Commander Tzuchao (Ronin wing) - Ahoudori Explorer
GTS-Wakkanai - Kamome Transport
Sum Yungai - Kaichou Bomber
Kasugai Hatsumi - Kaichou Bomber
Sen Tsudo (Ronin wing)- Wasapu Very Heavy Fighter
Taro Katsuo and Sum Yungai returned to Omicron Beta after we departed to locate Guild Master Katsuo Okazaki, who was on reconnaissance. The rest of us continued to Honshu to ensure the Wakkanai-maru's safe arrival. At Aomori, I spotted a hostile contact: "Infamous," a Rogue Gunboat. The bogie didn't respond to my threats, but headed for Omicron Beta with myself in pursuit. When we learned that Katsuo Okazaki was engaged in Omicron Beta, Taro Katsuo gave the order for our forces to return to Omicron Beta to assist.
The battle occured in two parts, one in Omicron Beta and the other in Sigma-19. Katsuo Okazaki switched to a Kaichou Bomber for the second part to combat the Capital ship invasion. Our forces were joined by
We took some casualties, but most importantly, the Ronin Explorer was lost. Fortunately, a replacement is currently being constructed at Yukawa, and should be ready in no time.
As for the Outcast Dons, I imagine they are feeling a smidge less comfortable in their cardi-pools.