~Lt. Commander Jack Malrone. >Information to be forwarded to the LPI.
During my patrol today, I encountered three smugglers - Arkcyber, [OTC]Nuestra_Senora and LKW-WalterAG. They were hauling full loads of slaves, artifacts and counterfeit software respectively.
My question to High Command is such: If a Navy officer simply bumps into a smuggler, can he/she force said smuggler to empty his hold and pay the appropriate fine to the officer. Naturally, the officer would be required to document the encounter and include it in his/her report. The fine would also have to be wired to a LPI bank account for further processing.
I know our duty isn't to apprehend smugglers, however our duty is to uphold the law to the highest degree - I'd feel much better in knowing a shipment of Cardamine was going to be off Manhatten streets and instead vaporised by my Vengeance's.
>Minor pirate presence in California.
Today, a rookie rogue and greenhorn hacker were found in the vicinity of the New York jumpgate in California. At first, I was hesitant to neutralise them both - I attempted to persuade them into moving along, so they wouldn't get into too much trouble. This strategy failed, however, and I was forced into destroying both their vessels for the safety of a civilian trader.
>Large pirate presence in New York.
As I returned to New York, I was greeted by a large pirate force blocking the tradelanes from Manhatten to West Point. Being outnumbered almost five to one, I sent out a request for backup. The pirates seemed quite passive and were eventually convinced to retreat.
If one looks carefully at the guncam shots, you can clearly see a [/JG\] mercenary idling around with the pirates. Their action as of late is a tad concerning to me and I am requesting to send a message through the diplomatic channel to their consortium - Questioning why they are dealing with pirates and refusing to aid in lawful attacks against pirates. A nagging feeling tells me they're playing both sides, I'd like to get a clear answer from them before we allow them to partake in routine strikes against unlawfuls in the future - They may be collecting evidence on our tactics.
I know I may sound paranoid, but I feel at times like these its best to get a clear understand of who are friend and foe.
>Phantom seige of West Point. - HIGH PRIORITY
Whilst teaching the new Navy Engineering Recruits at West Point the basics of thermodynamic equilibrium, a Code One alert got issued and I was required to assist. Long range sensors picked up almost a dozen Phantom ships closing in on the West Point Military Academy. It would seem the Phantoms encountered yesterday were merely a scouting party, ahead of this armada that we faced today.
As I launched my bomber, I quickly realised I should've taken my fighter - Skilled fighter pilots awaited me. Nonetheless, I joined Lt. Cmdr Darkmoor in the battle for West Point. One by one our forces were getting depleted, I continued to bomb the Phantom gunboat, Ze'ev's.Yacht. Shot after shot landed on his shield, however very few did any actual damage. The Brookstone was downed, soon after the Aurora fell to their weapons. I continued to engage the enemy, in the hope that a strike force was being assembled to take them down all in the one place.
No such luck - My bomber reactor went critical and I was forced to eject. No doubt these Phantoms were trying to curb the number of fresh Liberty Navy recruits by bombing their academy - They have a particular interest with West Point, I'm just not too sure what that is at this point.
The battle for West Point left my ship in ruins and myself with a fractured tibia - So I was out of commission for a number of hours. Once back on duty I came across another pirate on the Manhatten-West Point tradelane - Gerald.Gallego. After he refused to leave, I engaged the target and we dueled for quite some time. One can only battle for so long with a half-fractured tibia and so I thought it'd be a good time for a new recruit to get a piece of the action. The recruit, who's name escapes me, must've given the pirate a serious shock, as he immediately engaged his cruise engines and took off without looking back.
A mercenary with a Rheinland ship was spotted just idling outside Pueblo in Colorado. I ordered him to exit Liberty and not to return before obtaining a legal vessel. He seemed shocked that I would ask such a thing and immediately started to fire on my newly-obtained Guardian. After a severe beating he thought it best to flee with his tail between his legs.