I would like to file a complaint against a Kusari Naval Forces officer, [KNF-K]Uchigatana.
I am the captain of the mining vessel "This.Ore.That". I mine Niobium Ore in Tau-23, which I then ferry via Kusari to Planet New Berlin. On the way back to Tau-23, I pick up a load of MOX at Dortmund Station, which I then sell at Narita Outpost. I then take Mining Machinery back to Java in Tau-23. I am well aware of the restriction on exporting MOX to the Tau systems, which is why I do not do so--I import MOX to Kusari and then take Mining Machinery out.
Up until today I have had nothing but pleasant experiences with my frequent trips through Kusari space. Today, however, I was stopped at the New Tokyo jump gate in Honshu by a Hogoshan by the name of Kikoruku. He disrupted my cruise engines as I was making my way to the gate and stated that he required a "donation" of 2million credits. Had the request been more polite or less brunt, or had he not began the interchange by disrupting my cruise engines, I may very well have provided him with a "donation."
I asked if he was joking, and he began to fire upon me with no further comments. The battle quickly turned in my favor. I gave the Hogoshan multiple chances to leave the area and stopped firing upon him several times, but each time he came back to attack me.
[KNF-K]Uchigatana arrived via the tradelane from Yukawa and demanded that I stop firing, which I did at once. I explained that the Hogoshan had fired upon me, but the Hogoshan claimed that I had started the fight (Really? I'm a mining ship. I don't start fights) while continuing to attack me. When I fired back on the Hogoshan, Uchigatana ordered me to stop firing, which I again did. He claimed that he was unable to see the Hogoshan firing on me.
Uchigatana then accused me of carrying illegal goods (MOX). MOX is only illegal if it is being exported to the Taus, and I intended to drop it off at Narita as I always do. I invited Uchigatana to come with me to Narita to ensure that I was being truthful, but he never replied.
At this point my hull damage from the Hogoshan (who had been firing upon me the whole time) was becoming problematic, and out of self defense I was forced to eliminate the threat. At that point Uchigatana insulted me and declared that I would "pay for that." Pay for what, taking out a pirate vessel that was continuing to attack me in front of a naval forces officer? In any case, he destroyed my ship shortly thereafter, causing a loss of all cargo aboard at a monetary loss of more than 7 million credits to myself, not to mention the lost time.
I believe that Uchigatana is either blind to have been unable to see the Hogoshan firing upon me, in which case he has no business behind the controls of a starship, or he supports pirates--hardly the sort of officer I would imagine the Kusari military wants representing them.
Of course, if it is Kusari government official policy to support piracy in Kusari house space, then I apologize to have bothered, and I will be taking my business elsewhere.
Thank you for your time.
Unedited comm logs:
Quote:[13.02.2011 20:39:39] Kikoruku: Hold up.
[13.02.2011 20:39:46] Kikoruku: I require a small donation.
[13.02.2011 20:40:01] Kikoruku: Of two million credits.
[13.02.2011 20:40:24] This.Ore.That: You're kidding, right?
[13.02.2011 20:40:40] Death: Order|Cpt.Stone has suffered a self-administered loadout error (Mine).
[13.02.2011 20:40:50] Death: [GSF]Cpl.Baeddan was put out of action by [GSF]Col.Charlemagne (Missile/Torpedo).
[13.02.2011 20:42:50] Death: [GSF]Cpl.Baeddan was put out of action by [GSF]Col.Charlemagne (Missile/Torpedo).
[13.02.2011 20:44:01] Kikoruku: Help me!
[13.02.2011 20:44:05] Kikoruku: This miner is attacking me!
[13.02.2011 20:44:07] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: What's going on here?
[13.02.2011 20:44:11] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: Gaijin!
[13.02.2011 20:44:13] This.Ore.That: The Hogoshan demanded a fee
[13.02.2011 20:44:14] Kikoruku: He attacked me for no reason.
[13.02.2011 20:44:16] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: How dare you attack a Hogosha?
[13.02.2011 20:44:23] This.Ore.That: He attacked me.
[13.02.2011 20:44:34] This.Ore.That: After demanding a fee which I did not pay.
[13.02.2011 20:44:34] Kikoruku: I asked for a donation, he got mad and tried killing me.
[13.02.2011 20:44:36] A player who was killed in a PvP fight is not allowed to re-engage using any of his/her characters within 4 hours.
[13.02.2011 20:44:36] Characters of a player who was killed in a PvP fight must not return into the same system for 4 hours. Check the server rules on the forums for the exceptions to this.
[13.02.2011 20:44:42] Kikoruku: Look at my bot supply.
[13.02.2011 20:44:45] This.Ore.That: You shot first after I refused.
[13.02.2011 20:44:46] Kikoruku: I'm empty.
[13.02.2011 20:44:48] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: That is not how we do things in Kusari, Gaijin.
[13.02.2011 20:44:52] This.Ore.That: And then discovered that I was not so easy.
[13.02.2011 20:44:53] Kikoruku: He's lying. Layer layer!
[13.02.2011 20:44:55] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: You do not attack our citizens who politely ask.
[13.02.2011 20:45:08] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: Cease fire at once!
[13.02.2011 20:45:14] This.Ore.That: Tell that to him.
[13.02.2011 20:45:23] This.Ore.That: I attacked only in self-defense.
[13.02.2011 20:45:28] Kikoruku: Layer layer!
[13.02.2011 20:45:42] Kikoruku: Help!
[13.02.2011 20:45:45] This.Ore.That: And he continues to attack me!
[13.02.2011 20:45:52] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: Not that I can see
[13.02.2011 20:46:15] Kikoruku: Help!
[13.02.2011 20:46:34] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: Stop attacking our citizens, Gaijin.
[13.02.2011 20:46:53] This.Ore.That: If they stop attacking me.
[13.02.2011 20:47:08] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: You do not come here, to this house, and call lies on our people.
[13.02.2011 20:47:11] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: Furthermore...
[13.02.2011 20:47:16] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: You are not allowed to carry that Mox
[13.02.2011 20:47:22] This.Ore.That: I'm taking it to Narita
[13.02.2011 20:47:25] Kikoruku: Layer!
[13.02.2011 20:47:29] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: It is for registered tradeships, Samura and Kishiro.
[13.02.2011 20:47:29] Kikoruku: He is going to Taus
[13.02.2011 20:47:31] This.Ore.That: Follow me there then.
[13.02.2011 20:47:41] This.Ore.That: I take MOX to narita, then mining machinery to TAUs
[13.02.2011 20:47:59] Death: [GSF]Col.Charlemagne was put out of action by [GSF]Cpl.Baeddan (Missile/Torpedo).
[13.02.2011 20:48:17] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: Cease fire for the Emperors sake.
[13.02.2011 20:48:25] This.Ore.That: I am defending myself.
[13.02.2011 20:48:32] This.Ore.That: He keeps firing at me, or are you blind?
[13.02.2011 20:48:34] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: By attacking the Hogosha?
[13.02.2011 20:48:47] Kikoruku: He started firing, and he's carrying illegal cargo!
[13.02.2011 20:48:52] Kikoruku: Who you believe me or are a Gaijin!
[13.02.2011 20:48:53] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: Yes as I can see.
[13.02.2011 20:49:18] Death: Kikoruku was put out of action by This.Ore.That (Gun).
[13.02.2011 20:49:26] Death: [GSF]Cpl.Baeddan has suffered a self-administered loadout error (Missile/Torpedo).
[13.02.2011 20:49:33] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: You will pay for that Gaijin.
[13.02.2011 20:50:15] Death: This.Ore.That was put out of action by [KNF-K]Uchigatana (Gun).
I'm sorry I cannot address you more directly as you have yet to provided me with a name.
Nevertheless. My name is Commander Alexander Yamakazi, I represent the Kempeitai. Our department deals with internal affairs and monitoring of Kusari Law Enforcement, although the Kusari Naval Forces have just as much right to take part of this complaint of yours.
Now to begin with, you claimed the Hogosha opened fire on you. Very well, do you have any proof of this?
Quote:[13.02.2011 20:39:39] Kikoruku: Hold up.
[13.02.2011 20:39:46] Kikoruku: I require a small donation.
[13.02.2011 20:40:01] Kikoruku: Of two million credits.
[13.02.2011 20:40:24] This.Ore.That: You're kidding, right?
This proves nothing other than that the Hogosha asked for a donation which you refused. Who was the one that attacked first is impossible to determine, and since the Kusari Naval Officer arrived at exactly [20:44:07], which was approximately four minutes after that initiating conversation, he could not either be considered a valid witness.
To further prove this statement, please refer to this part of your provided comm logs:
Quote:[13.02.2011 20:44:01] Kikoruku: Help me!
[13.02.2011 20:44:05] Kikoruku: This miner is attacking me!
[13.02.2011 20:44:07] [KNF-K]Uchigatana: What's going on here?
His first line is, "what is going on here?" Clearly he has no idea what happened other than a Hogosha yelling for help. I don't even need to ask the Hogosha's side of the story since he clearly summarized his version here;
Quote:[13.02.2011 20:44:34] Kikoruku: I asked for a donation, he got mad and tried killing me.
You claimed the opposite;
Quote:[13.02.2011 20:44:45] This.Ore.That: You shot first after I refused.
Understandable, but what we have here are two people's words against each other, with neither side having provided any physical evidence to support their case. Unless you have any physical evidence which shows clearly that the Hogosha initiated fire during the time-frame of his donation request, then this part of your complaint is invalid as you cannot prove what you claim.
Moving on, the MOX issue can be considered merely an added suspicion the Kusari Naval Officer had due to the chaotic circumstances at hand. However you should note that he never took any actions regarding your MOX cargo, he merely informed you of the current Kusari Laws in regards to transporting said cargo towards the Tau-systems. Anything further about the subject was stopped right there as provided by your comms log.
The Kusari Naval Officer ultimately decided to open fire on you for destroying the Hogosha ship. Logically, I expect you to have attacked the Hogosha Pilot in question because he fired on you. But unless you can prove that with physical evidence, as stated previously, there is nothing the Kusari Law Enforcement can do. We cannot charge a person for piracy by just logged words that are not even clearly depicting an aggressive demand, a "pay or be killed" scenario so to speak.
At the very best, the Hogosha can be jailed (if the Kusari Naval Officer at the scene confirms it) for taking hostile measures against your ship during the time the law enforcement attempted to separate you two.
Finally, claiming that the Kusari House and its legal counterparts have an "official policy to support piracy in Kusari House Space" is not only an insult but an accusation taken very seriously. Unless you have very strong evidence indicating this to be true, you are basically throwing false accusations against our House, which I'm very sure is in violation of the Kusari Laws.
Kusari Naval Forces HC along with statements made by yourself and/or the Kusari Naval Officer at the scene are still open for interpretation should they be added on this channel.
Thank you for your prompt and extensive reply. First, allow me to apologize for both the tone of my communication and its existence in the first place. My message was written in haste and frustration, at some point between filling out insurance paperwork for both the vessel and the cargo, contacting dispatch to notify them, and contacting the owner of the vessel--the owner, in fact, being the one who helped me calm down about the situation. If only I'd contacted him first.
After having taken an objective look at the situation and the actions of Uchigatana, I agree that his actions were merited given the information and perspective he had at the time. When he showed up, the Hogoshan was busily discovering that the This Ore That is quite well armed for a mining vessel, and I recognize how the situation may have looked from his perspective. What followed can hardly be blamed on him. As a result I wish to withdraw any complaint against him.
I recognize also that given my failure to secure evidence to support my side of the story, and the lack of any witnesses, no further action can be taken by any party in this matter. In the future I will be sure to acquire such evidence before making any claims.
I apologize for any time wasted as a result of this matter. Thank you again for your time, Commander.
Sincerely,
Lance Cardone, acting captain of the This Ore That at the time of the described incident