Kusari’s first activation of the prototype Jump Drive met with mixed results. The ill-fated IKN Niyodo translated into jump space, then vanished with its attendant fuel tanker. The experiment was considered a partial success. The Jump Drive had functioned, albeit imperfectly. The captured data led to the discovery of the stable hyperspace pocket Liberty would come to know as “Earhart”, and the algorithmic Drive "weighting" needed to avoid its grasp. A small consolation for the loss of the Niyodo, and all hands aboard.
In the years since, humanity has begun the difficult and dangerous process of exploring Earhart. The KOI’s Jump Drives, LSF’s Super Gate and even MND access to the calamity that befell Planet Gotha provide entryways for automated probes. Those probes discovered an alien and inhospitable place; a graveyard of unfathomable proportions, containing a sea of debris scattered over the span of centuries. Upon jumping, contact with these probes was abruptly lost.
Desperate to know what was ensconced beyond the boundaries of mainline reality, all three agencies adapted. Probes were soon adjusted to seek out the gravimetric readings associated with Jump Holes and Jump Gates, in the vain hope that one might find its way back to Sirius with its payload of vital data. Before long, some probes began to trickle back to Sirius -- less than half of those dispatched. The retrieval of these probes from seemingly random spots throughout Sirius became a significant focus for each House.
In early 835 AS, the LSF recovered a probe that had made a monumental discovery. The wreckage of a Kusari vessel - a battlecruiser, the IKN Niyodo. More importantly, the reactor section was largely intact. The LSF has been aware of Kusari’s Jump Drive program for some time, and bristled at their inability to meaningfully sabotage or disrupt it. Liberty correctly surmised that there is only one way the Niyodo could have ended up in Earhart: there is a possibility that intact Jump Drive technology remains aboard. This was a prime opportunity to rectify that, albeit with a short, dangerous window for success.
In a daring first, the LSF has assembled a recovery expedition to grab the reactor, drag it back to Sirius, and exfiltrate the component to Alaska for study. A remote-controlled Heavy Lifter was selected for the task of moving the module, the LSF unwilling to risk exposing a crew to whatever might be emanating from the Niyodo's cracked reactor housing. As the operation is executed, Liberty Navy patrols in Galileo are ordered to high alert, and told to prepare for any eventuality - including possible Kusari retaliation.
Kusari meanwhile has been aware of the Niyodo’s location for some time, leaving watchful sentinels in place while they methodically prepared their own recovery expedition. When the proximity sensor triggered on the arrival of Liberty's scout probe, Kusari’s watchman fled for Sirius, carrying its urgent warning. Upon retrieval, Kusari were horrified by the recording. Wrong-footed, the KOI have surged its plans forward in an attempt to head off Liberty’s machinations. The two Houses are now on a collision course for conflict in the most hostile space known to man.
DETAILS
"Convoy" Details:
The Argonaut-3 will be a neutral heavy lifter flown by staff. It is an drone with a simple onboard AI that is issued with remote instructions. It will start in Earhart near Niyodo's wreck (sector D3).
Liberty forces will begin at the Alaska Super Gate, Kusari forces will begin at Heaven's Gate in Tohoku. Both sides may enter Earhart only after the event starts.
The Argonaut is initially commanded to return to Alaska; once the Liberty group arrives it will follow their instructions on the route to take.
A group can hack The Argonaut's command signal and change its destination when only their ships are within 2k of the Lifter. When successfully hijacked, the Lifter will join the new owner's group and carry out their instruction until different ones are issued.
The Argonaut can only travel at a max of 180ms thrust speed; the cargo is too sensitive to use Trade Lanes.
The Argonaut cannot be destroyed. If reduced to 10% of it's original HP, its payload will be significantly damaged.
Liberty wins if The Argonaut reaches Alaska. Kusari wins if The Argonaut reaches Tohoku.
Bounties:
Event IDs will earn points and a $400k bonus for kills of the other team's ships.
Rule Changes:
All event participants will have their respawn timer reduced to 15 minutes.
For the duration of the event, Kusari and Liberty IDs may treat one another as "hostile".
The Argonaut may be treated as a combat ship belonging to the group currently commanding it.
All event participants are limited to Battlecruisers and below, with the exception of two registered battleships/dreadnoughts from the KNF and LN (with OFs getting priority).
If Liberty acquires the Argonaut, it will "jump start" their progress in the latest Sirian technological arms race.
If Kusari acquires the Argonaut, they will impede their primary rival and gain critical diagnostic insights into drives under extreme strain.
Rewards:
All rewards require an INRP write-up about the event from the point of view of your character. Can be submitted as a report within the comm section, in a relevant faction channel, or as part of a story thread.
Custom Title
Requires participation in the event.
Codenames (built with Earhart mats)
Requires at least 3/5/7 kills. Pick from any eligible fighter/gunboat/cruiser code. Multiple rewards are possible.
Ikazuchi/Akhetaten
Requires at least 16/32 kills total across faction-tagged ships. [KNF] for the Ikazuchi, 46th| or [LN] for the Akhetaten. Single award only.
Results
After transiting through the Alaska Super Gate into Earhart, the LSF taskforce initially made good speed. Relying on the scant data recovered from surviving drones, they avoided the obvious hazards nestled in the pocket’s centre. The Argonaut-3 latched onto the Niyodo’s reactor section and began to tow it away. As the expedition moved towards an anticipated exit-point, the situation shifted drastically.
A drive rift opened and expelled a Kusari strike group, transponders disabled. While the LSF has long been aware of Kusari jump drives -- schemed to defeat them, even -- it was still an unpleasant shock to be on the receiving end of their abilities. The KOI were horrified to find they were too late, the reactor had already been acquired by their rivals. Records next become garbled and confused, and it is unclear which side fired first.
What is known is this distant and alien frontier became a bloodbath, as the two House’s agents tore one another apart. The LSF successfully disengaged from this first clash, however their escape left the convoy in terminal peril. The exit point led to Kepler, a morass of deadly dark matter and gravitational hazards. While the LSF had painstakingly mapped the shifting tunnels of relative safety in previous months, they were not permitted a free hand to retreat. Soon after, regrouped KOI survivors pursued through the exit point and the battle began anew.
Ames was thrown into disarray by the chaos, as Liberty and Kusari ships fought and died in the safe zone surrounding the station. Soon the local neural net was ablaze, attracting the malign attention of the Lane Hackers. A squadron launched from Leiden Base was first to respond, arriving on the scene to confront the handful of surviving KOI operatives. This confrontation was merciless, with the Hackers soon after inheriting the Argonaut-3 and overriding its automated protocols.
The Hackers were not quite sure what they had obtained, but it was evidently capital ship wreckage of great value. They determined Cochrane Depot’s drydock was the best place to take it, and made off towards Colorado. The journey to Ontario was calm, despite Colorado itself being in uproar. Nothing was being reported on the neural net, but clearly some sort of transmission had escaped from Kepler. The Liberty Navy had been ordered to maximum alert and were preparing to reinforce the border.
All LSF stations had also been placed at maximum readiness, and briefed on the strange energy readings the scout drones had detected emanating from the Niyodo’s reactor. It was exactly these readings that caught the attention of an LSF patrol flying off the Battlecruiser Lehigh. A sudden spike in exotic radiation was detected in the gap between the St Lawrence Ice Field and the North Ontario Debris Sea. Another interception, another bloody combat, joined part-way through by dogged KOI trackers. The LSF’s mission CO quickly surmised the tide was turning and determined that the component must be destroyed rather than lost to Liberty's enemies.
Critical damage was inflicted on the Argonaut, but the Hackers were successful in driving their pursuers off. The thieves vanished into the debris field, and arrived at Cochrane Depot with their dilapidated prize in tow. Despite this, one of their own had been forced to eject, and was now aboard an LSF interceptor heading for the Lehigh and an uncertain fate. The heist of the decade has overturned an ant hill. The attention of the LSF is now, more than ever, fixed on Ontario, while the Navy waits to see what response may yet come from the north.
Based on the above numbers, a number of characters are eligible for rewards. When claiming them, please post all of the characters you played, what you are claiming (and where to put it), and link the RP you wrote.
Furthermore, players of tagged factions accumulated the following point totals:
[KNF] = 16
46th & [LN] = 8
This makes [KNF] eligible for an Ikazuchi. We will watch that RP with great interest.
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(01-14-2025, 11:12 AM)A Magpie Wrote: Will the Argonaut be given an event armor upgrade to prevent instant dual railgun shenanigans cooking it?
Yes, but we've not yet settled on the loadout it will be running with.
(01-14-2025, 11:13 AM)Chronicron Wrote: has this been per chance inspired by pandora's box?
I wasn't aware of that, no. Very cool premise though! The Niyodo wreckage "cargo pod" has actually been sat in the game files for several months with this idea in mind.
(01-14-2025, 11:13 AM)Chronicron Wrote: looking forward to it either way. is there a chance kusari wild could be included as well?
I thought KOI were already listed :thonk:
I suppose they could both be added as a job lot, given that KuWild are currently doing their best KOI impression. Will discuss it internally and get back to you shortly.