Another very busy day today, i was rushing from one side of Liberty to the other with other Navy officers to try and contain the hordes of smugglers that seemed to have infested Liberty once again.
As Recruit Galen Anderson has already covered the attack on the Order spies, i will not be reporting on that, but would like to thank all friendlies involved in the tactical strike, and would like to announce that LNF-Derek.Applegate is recovering well in Manhatten Central Hospital.
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After the Order attack, i made my way back to Manhatten, where i encountered wells_fargo, who was carrying gate/lane parts, and was unauthorised to do so. After asking him to return them, he complied completely and it looked like an honest mistake.
Once again i ran into Tobias Vaughn, and yet again he was smuggling artifacts, but as soon as he saw me, he quickly turned tail and ran into Zone-21. He then docked to Alaska, and i pursued. I was forced to destroy him shortly after leaving the jumpgate. I also somehow accidentally destroyed Mastar_Venom whilst in Alaska, it is possible he was in the unstable vortex of the wormhole when i undocked from New York. But I would wonder what Mastar_Venom was doing in Alaska in the first place...
After returning to New York, fellow Navy pilots called me to the scene of yet another smuggler, who officers failed to catch before he landed with a haul of Cardamine. 'TheGhost' was apprehended trying to leave Manhatten orbit, but he refused to pay the fine for smuggling Cardamine. After refusing to come into custody, the target welcomed me to destroy him. Thinking this was a trick, and that he must have had explosives on board, i was apprehensive about opening fire. Luckily TheGhost did not have any explosives on board, and once again i was forced to destroy the target after he tried to flee.
[THC]TheBigFatty was present in Alaska, and as such, i ordered a stage 2 alert, and that all units report immediately to Norfolk in case he challenged us. Evidently TheBigFatty must have seen our might and returned back to Omicron Minor.
Ghost~Trader was the next smuggler to be found to have artifacts stowed away on-board, but failed to yield to demands to drop the cargo and pay the fine. A short chase ensued, where the target probably docked at a Junker base in Texas, but we dared not proceed any further into the debris field in fear of an ambush.
When returning to New York, i picked up something coming from inside Zone-21, and proceeded to investigate. Turns out it was a smuggler by the name Alexi Stukov, attempting to smuggle artifacts into New York. Myself and the LNS-Dutch.Oven were forced to destroy the target after it was clear he was not going to stop.
Godfish was the next target, as he attempted to smuggle diamonds from New Berlin into Liberty. Apparently he didn't know about the trade embargo between Liberty and Rhienland, and was very co-operative thankfully.
When doing another patrol around Norfolk, i was shocked to see Alexi Stukov once again coming from Zone-21. And once again, Alexi failed to comply with Naval orders. However, a comms error meant we had no-one guarding Manhatten! Alexi escaped with the haul of artifacts, but I am sure he will smuggle again, and next time, there will be no mistakes.
A short time later, i was called to Manhatten to investigate TheGhost, as it seemed he was smuggling yet again. Our suspicions paid off as he was hauling a full cargo bay of Cardamine. Once he saw me bearing down on him, he proceeded into the debris field near Manhatten and docked at a Junker base. His ship hasnt been seen since.
I was then called over the private comms system by Kyrann Straxi, a lane hacker. He offered the safe release of several LPI, BH and Civilian pilots if i met him in California. Puzzled by this request, i had officer Agatron stand by in the system in case it was a trap. I ordered he drop the pilots into space, and i would pick them up at the designated co-ordinates. He fully complied, and am still puzzled as to why he surrendered the pilots, but am thankful of their safe return to their loving families.
[OTC] Herackles was next on the long list of smugglers attempting to get artifacts into New York. I rushed to the aid of fellow officers, but i was too late and only managed to get a glimpse at his cargo before he docked at Rochester. I ordered a retreat back to Manhatten, suspecting Herackles wouldnt be stupid enough to undock from Rochester immediately. Once again i overestimated the intelligence of a pirate. He almost immediately undocked from Rochester, with a full load of Light Arms, probably destined for pirates or even worse, terrorist groups. We weren't going to let that happen, and Herackles soon found out the power of the Liberty Navy and her allies. The target was terminated, and all weapons returned to Detroit Munitions for immediate destruction.
Once again, the day ended a bit weirdly, with a confrontation with a Harvester. I did my best to convince it to drop the pilots he had on board, but it refused and proceeded to try and 'harvest' me. Luckily the Enchanted and Agraton were there to back me up, and the Harvester was terminated and the pilots rescued.
Day Summary:
Order spies present in Liberty --DESTROYED-- --SEE REPORT D-7 FOR MORE DETAILS--
Tobias Vaughn --SMUGGLER-- --DESTROYED--
TheGhost --SMUGGLER-- --DESTROYED--
CODE 2 ALERT: [THC]TheBigFatty PRESENT IN ALASKA --HE FLED BACK TO OMICRON MINOR--
Ghost~Trader --SMUGGLER-- --TARGET LOST IN TEXAS--
Alexi Stukov --SMUGGLER-- --DESTROYED--
GodFish --VIOLAING TRADE EMBARGO-- --TARGET COMPLIED WITH ORDERS TO LEAVE--
TheGhost --SMUGGLER-- --TARGET LOST AT ROCHESTER--
Kyrann Straxi --LANE HACKER-- --WILLINGLY GAVE UP LAWFUL PILOTS, DID NOT ENGAGE--
[OTC]Herackles --SMUGGLER-- --FIRST SHIPMENT UNLOADED AT ROCHESTER, DESTROYED AFTER UNDOCKING WITH LIGHT ARMS--
Harvester_51 --KIDNAPPER-- --DESTROYED--
Well, my first day as a Sub Lieutenant proved to be eventful and i am sure it wont be the last bust day on the job. My onboard camera is operating, but i am unable to obtain any images off the the hard drive. As soon as i am able to ascertain the images, i will update this report.