Last Resort was a pretty popular mission this time around, so lots of factions got bonuses! Unlike last month, the ranking changed where Yu Jing went from 3rd place to 1st place! Glory to the State Empire!
Faction
Games
OP
Losses
Secret
Yu Jing
12
65
1855
4
Nomads
13
62
1826
2
Haqqislam
10
58
1595
2
Combined Army
15
49
2495
1
O-12
7
39
1133
1
ALEPH
5
33
649
3
Ariadna
5
27
815
0
PanOceania
5
19
798
1
If you’d like to hear Pete, Adam, and Jon talk more about this, have a listen to the relevant Late Night Wargames!
Faction Updates
ALEPH
ALEPH has been busy searching for Zero Burn and their associates for allegedly attacking the Eye of Hipparchus observational station. Some leads have been more fruitful than others:
After thoughtful scrutiny of HuEOS’ traffic log, we gathered enough data to determine that the class 2 cargo ship Lorem Ipsum is likely the hideout for Zero Burn and other dissidents, surprisingly including CA outcasts that are against our alliance with the Evolved Intelligence and rebels from major human sphere factions.
The objectives and motives of this yet-to-be-named ragtag group remain unclear, but it’s obvious they thrive for chaos and instability in the Homeric Belt.
We are sure that the Antochi and O-12 will bring these unruly pirates to judgement but meanwhile, we advise everyone to look out for the Lorem Ipsum and be prepared for trouble in case they were to aid and protect those evildoers.
Uncle Pentium
Lesser Aspect Emberosia was quick to respond, further illustrating the deepening ties between the AI and the EI.
The EI would like to note that the crew composition of the Lorem Ipsum has been compiled with incomplete data. Currently we have no reports of any AWOL units either from within the Nephews cluster nor outlining sectors. It is our belief at this time and until we complete a full audit that any non humans among the crew are a combination of illegal Tohaa operatives and escaped Morat prisoners from the Paradisio campaign known as Krakot.
Lesser Aspect Emberosia
We are certain of your cooperation and good will, Lesser Aspect Emberosia: sharing and cross-correlating our data will be mutually beneficial and will be pivotal for synching our activities on the field.
Uncle Pentium
Of course, the Nomads have vehemently denied any and all allegations.
This is an utter fabrication, a farce, and fantasy to divert from ALEPH’s actual murder of a journalist.
There is no Zero Burn. Is there ever was, they gave their lives in service to true freedom and self determination. There is no good ship Lorem Ipsum full of happy terrorists charting a cross-species revolution against the control of malign artificial intelligences. Were that it were so!
The Nomad Nation welcomes all legitimate resistance against these corruptions under the local flagship Bulls On Parade. But this is here prevarication and pretext to board every ship, monitor every datasphere, and to use the Eye of Hipparchus to peer into every secret so that you will be all the more pliant, either through the coercive manipulation of ALEPH’s domotics or naked blackmail and extortion.
borisgreymenace
Still, regardless of the niceties in the diplomatic exchanges between ALEPH and the Ur Hegemony, what matters is the actions both parties take. Hostilities continue in the various asteroids near the Eye of Hipparchus with a small Ekdromoi detatchment engaging Shasvastii infiltrators.
Troubling indeed. Anathematics represent a significant investment by the Ur Hegemony, and for the two intelligences to be engaged in shadow warfare while opening professing complete cooperation undermines confidence in both parties. Perhaps ALEPH is just gathering data and attempting some pattern recognition to ascertain the motives of the Hegemony.
Coordination routine #2: Aldebaran calibration
For centuries, humans have used stars to navigate the perils of elements. The Sun in the day, the stars at night. Even here: deep in the Homeric Belt, and now: in a present future unimagined of, the most advanced telescope ever produced by humanity, still has some routine calibrations based on its relative position to the heavens. As if stars were actually eternal. As if “humanity” still had a meaning uniquely related to humans, as a species.
Uncle Pentium devoted part of its own conscience to the calibration routine, sorting out patterns and tabulations of Aldebaran’s multispectral silhouette.
Transcension will bring us to a whole different scale…, it muttered to itself, while a bubbling grin of shimmering potassium embellished its tank. …whatever “us” means anymore.
A cascade of yellowish alerts briefly caught its attention: “Zero Burn spotted”, “Lorem Ipsum is on the move”, “ISS troops fighting Nomads helped by our operatives”, the list continued, a burst of information conflicting with its current tasks.
I don’t have time for that…even if I really need and want to. I have the duty to set up this gravitational telescope as soon as possible. Seeds planted yesterday will bring us more fruits tomorrow than those we could reap today. I have to focus. Humans have always navigated uncertainty with the help of stars, now Aleph will take the help of gravity!
The calibration was almost complete. Just a few more routines and the telescope would be ready. Only then, he would focus again on the Edgelord crisis.
Uncle Pentium had to rely on the other Aleph commanders, on the protection of the Antochi and on the support of the Combined Army. It would have been way better if they would have deliberated on sending one of their ships as well, as they had anticipated. Uncle Pentium had to wait: luckily it was a game it was born to play.
Uncle Pentium
Ariadna
Ariadna continues to put the needs of its workers first. A wide range of chemical leaks have plagued the various mining sites, but in spite of the deadly chemicals Ariadnan workers held to safety protocols and very few lives were actually lost. While no loss of life is acceptable, it is certainly a testament to the level of effort the AWU places in safety training for its members.
We look forward to the findings of the incident reports that are in the process of being compiled by investigators. We’ve been asked to share this statement from AWU leadership with regards to the investigation:
Good evening. My name is Yevgeny Simeonovich and I speak to you tonight as a representative of the Ariadnan Worksers Union. As you are no doubt aware, a number of fatal chemical leaks have occurred at the Sterling Forge Mining Complex. We are working to notify the families of the victims, so we are not releasing the names of all the victims just yet.
We can report, however, that the initial findings suggest that the death toll could have been much higher were it not for the careful and expedient actions of the AWU personnel on site at the time. All personnel are accounted for, so we are moving from search and rescue into containment efforts.
At this time, the various leaks have been contained and cleanup is underway. We expect the mining facilities to be closed for at least a week while cleanup crews do their work.
We ask that all non-essential personnel report to their shift supervisor via Comlog but remain off-site while the cleanup efforts and investigations continue.
Our investigations will be thorough and unrelenting. We will discover what happened, and who, if anyone, was responsible. Our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to those personnel recovering at the Averroes Hospital we wish you a speedy and complete recovery.
Yevgeny Simeonovich
Combined Army
If there’s one thing that’s clear, the Ur Hegemony is paying particular attention to the Averroes Hospital. It all started with the untimely demise of Erin O’Nealz, but something more sinister is at work here.
It is with regret that we of the Ur Hegemony have submitted the official paperwork requesting an investigation into Averroes Hospital. Many of you have likely heard the prolific rumors of humanoid disappearances at Averroes Hospital. While there is no known proof at this time an investigation is warranted at this time due to public outcry.
While transporting allied personnel our units have,of course, heard these claims of missing persons. The claims seem to point to a focus of missing sentient non humans and human hybrids such as Omn, Wulvers, and Ateks.
After a recent incident at the Kemi-Tec MSG Plant one of our vessels was requisitioned as emergency transportation to Averroes Campus. En route upon learning of their destination there was an outcry among the injured causing a civilian Dogface to go into a frenzy. Subduing this frightened civilian slowed the vessels arrival to the Campus and that added time directly led to the expiration of 3 civilians. Incidents such as this have been increasing to a level of which they are almost expected.
Regardless of the findings the public needs to see action on this issue.
Lesser Aspect Emberosia
Of course, Haqqislam took umbrage to the Combined Army initiating an investigation, especially when Yara Haddad herself is in system to do the very same thing.
The Haqqislamite delegation would like to remind the EI that there are issues of territorial control that must be addressed in this request. At this time Haqqislam is engaged in an ongoing investigation into the matter, and it is being treated ith due diligence. In the last month and a half it has actually become the top priority for our intelligence and law enforcement forces, and a great deal of resources are being directed into this line of inquiry.
If it is found to be necessary, requests will be filed as needed with O-12, however for the time being we would request that your personnel and any related oversight be restricted to the designated EI only areas of the facility, and respect the autonomy and oversight of an established G5 nation within its own territory. We appreciate your concern for the well being of patients within our medical care, and the maintenance of high quality treatment within out facilities.
Dhalik Alshabuu
The other representatives were also quick to point out some… cultural differences.
Ateks are human. That you deny their humanity because they can’t be surprise-Sepsitored speaks volumes of the EI’s intentions.
borisgreymenace
If the EI has concerns about disappearances around Averroes hospital, we encourage it to submit evidence to the ongoing Haqq-run investigation of the matter. We are all deeply concerned with any irregularities surrounding our ongoing medical treatment and will cease any such irregularities as quickly as possible.
We also remind the EI that ‘atek’ is a derogatory term for those economically unable to access advanced technology and they are, in fact, fully human.
Independent investigations are not authorized and will be treated as hostile military incursions.
havocfett
Thankfully, the incident did not escalate further, with the human representatives suggesting a translation software upgrade might be in order. Not content to give the humans the last word, Lesser Aspect Emberosia had this to say:
I am not surprised that you find translation equipment to be the most worrisome aspect and not the de-humanizing your species does to itself.
There is some question as to whether or not all the attention directed to the Averroes Hospital is but a distraction. We’ve had reliable reports from Yu Jing sources that a Morat Aggression Force attack absconded with a high value target from Yu Jing custody, despite the best efforts of a heroic Hac Tao.
One thing is quite clear–the Combined Army is quite active in system, in fact, the most active faction this month!
Haqqislam
Haqqislam continues to defend the Averroes campus with tenacity and wit, both in arms and in diplomacy.
The EIs territories, while open to the public, are not seen as critical to all personnel at their most vulnerable time as say the sectors only major medical facility is. Furthermore your claims of shasvastii infiltrators means the alleged activity is being conducted outside of our own sphere of influence. These allegations are that the activity is being conducted within your own. Our vacuum hatches are open to O-12 investigations when they are determined necessary, we only ask that yours are as well.
Lesser Aspect Emberosia
These claims seem to suggest a level of transparency and willingness to oversight that previous requests into the matter were not met with. Merely verifying the status of existing delagates outside of your sphere was a point of contention, are we to believe that your own back yard would have been open to us then? This was a motion seconded and passed by multiple members of the O-12 council, with legitimate grounds for concern.
Dhalik Alshabuu
Perhaps your own translation devices need callobrated. “Your claims of shasvastii infiltrators” has an entirely different meaning than “our shadvastii infiltrators.”
It is hardly our fault that your inquests were all found to be lacking in justification by the majority of council members in a closed vote. Our backyard, as you call it, would of course be open to official investigators appointed by the council They would not be open to unilateral meddling by Haqqislam forces with no jurisdiction.
Lesser Aspect Emberosia
Our role in the investigation was to be entirely non-existent, while we did back the motion, which I remind the delegate was presented by the nomad nation, we lack the accessible overstock of equipment to allow our forces to conduct bio scans, and the Jade Empire has offered their service in this field, disproving both the claimed unilateral nature of these accusations and our direct hand in any “meddling,” as you describe simple security measures, that is being suggested.
Dhalik Alshabuu
I have the minutes before me. The motion was in fact put forward by yourself to scan council members, seconded by myself, and then amended by the representative of the Nomad nations. All meddling was certainly stopped by a simple lack of cause to enter our territory and my own disapproval was at the required expense the operation would cost member nations. Judging by the lack of evidence compiled since initiation I will leave it to the members to determine who’s opinion is justified at this time.
Lesser Aspect Emberosia
Incorrect, while the matter of concern regarding infiltrators has been expressed by Haqqislam, and we have offered to collect and analyze this data AFTER it’s proposition by the nomad delegate. At the time this point was raised I was acting under incorrect diplomatic information and allowing a less vigilant attention to the forces of the EI. Refer to the minutes of 7/9 as I suspect the later discussions are being referenced in this matter, at that later time, in support of our allies, we took a harder stance on the matter.
Regardless we will leave these decisions in the hand of O-12, and advise in response to the request for investigation that it is currently ongoing and any information relevant to the forces of the Combined Army will be released post haste.
What is most concerning is the reports from that engagement of corrupted Dakini Tacbot firmware. Nomad forensic hackers are reporting that the Dakini was exhibiting Combined Army subroutines.
This indicates either the Combined Army is able to defeat ALEPH security protocols or that they are intentionally being allowed in. Either scenario is quite dangerous and deserving of immediate attention!
Despite O-12’s heavy use of Wild Parrots, Nomad forces were able to secure the supply crates. While this was an unsanctioned mission aimed to deal with the Air Drop of the crates, Nomad forces have a lot of operational freedom. If you’d like to have a look at the mission parameters, check below.
Some Corregidorian forces engaged a Military Orders force attempting to secure a high value location. A brawl ensued, but Nomad forces successfully repelled the PanOceanians. Something about owning the location or avoiding a parking ticket? The details were unclear, but if you want an after action report from the Corregidorian commander, look no further:
The command deck of NS Bulls On Parade clamored like a militarized pachinko parlor, awash in the glare of tactical augmented reality holos and the excited thrum of Nomad Military Force commanders dispatching small teams across the trinary asteroids of HuEOS 289, 1777 Du-ε, and LuY 911. There was a swagger in the air, half-piratical and almost jovial, as neo-Swahili, barrio Spanish, theosophic Greek, and a Fenya-Olbanian infused Slavics jostled for dominance amidst the din of orders and sitreps, mediated only by overclocked geists and the tight camaraderie between restless wanderers.
Like most NMF vessels, Bulls On Parade was on her second life. The operations room smelled of stale coffee and spiced rum, a holdover from its days as a mess deck when she had served as a Haqqislamite freighter. After an estate sale for a Silk Lord run afoul of the Hassassin Bahram, it had since been repurposed by Bakunin Jurisdictional Command, its cargo hold segmented into compartments of REM bays, quantronic arrays, fire control stations, and crew bunks wherever free space remained. With a teseum reinforced hull and batteries of HRMC point defense cannons packed as tight as quills on a porcupine, she was a fine vessel. Having already proven herself in tours at Acheron and Cerberus and now at the Homerid Belt, she had been refitted twice as strong to serve as a command vessel. The only thing she lacked for was comfort. The normally cramped ship was crowded with senior officers representing the Nomad motherships to the Human Edge.
With O-12’s relationship with the Ur Hegemony growing closer and closer and supported by ALEPH, it’s no surprise that there is a fair amount of suspicion surrounding O-12 personnel. The questions range from “who is human?” to “who can be trusted?” There are no clear answers, but what is clear is that O-12 is out in force to ensure parking regulations are being followed.
PanOceania
The purchase of 1777 Du-ε by a PanOceanian Hypercorp has thrown the system into a frenzy of speculation and the associated mercenary contracts. Samantha Moneylady-Harboil is quite involved in this process, especially with the Geological Conference.
There’s a lot of money involved, and if we know anything about PanOceanian Hypercorps is that when money is involved, they tend to send the tier one operatives. If you smell strawberries, it’s already too late.
Yu Jing has also detained the Operations Manager of the port, one Joline Sandoval. Imperial Service representatives confirmed that Ms. Sandoval was in their custody and added she was being held for routine questioning and that every care is being taken to ensure her comfort and safety.
The Imperial Service is also targeting one Hiroshi Tanaka, who is associated with one Rodney Rhodes. We were able to obtain the Imperial Service’s dossier on Mr. Rhodes, for those unfamiliar:
Rodney Rhodes is a controversial minor celebrity late-night nomad conspiracy theorist/ Arachne-streamer who overanalyses Aleph-related media from Maya in a show called ‘The Rhode To Truth’. Rodney streams his one-man talk show from the depths of the HuEOS-289 Pioneer Capsule District. To the wider Arachne population his shows are just the ramblings of a disgraced madman, full of unverified nonsense conspiracies and fake-news stories, but amongst the Corregidorian miner population of Huey, Louie, and Dewey, his shows draw a fairly sizable audience for his ‘stick it to the man’ attitude, and blatant hatred of all things Aleph. From the audio-speakers in the cantina, the personal headsets of the ice workers, and along the darkened corridors of the union-funded living quarters, there’s always someone tuned in to the frantic, excitable voice of Rodney Rhodes.
He rarely leaves his one-person, one-room accommodation, spending most of his hours streaming new episodes of his talkshow, sharing classic rock albums, and showing re-runs of anti-Aleph documentaries and news articles about cover-ups and conspiracies centred on Aleph and the other factions of the human sphere. Those who do meet him in person describe him as “grating”, “self-entitled”, and “kind of a dick”.
The JSA contingent from Samsara’s Wheel engaged Yu Jing forces and narrowly snuck out a victory at significant cost to their forces. Samsara’s Wheel did achieve Billboard bounty 08-17-ANT-11: A number of Popular Noodle Cart vendors have been refusing our attempts to become franchise members of Whole Protein Company. Bring the Cart owners to our Wine Mixer on the asteroid surface so we can convince them to sign on with us, so we should see some changes to the food options in system.
Statistics
Ducktail Pub Leaderboard
Captain
Company
Affiliation
TOTAL EARNED
Serrionavyr G2282
Samsara’s Wheel
Japanese Secessionist Army
BitCred 758,54
JusticeDragon
Azureline (Swallowtail Crew)
White Company
BitCred 443,29
Sebbychou
Team Trauma
Ikari Company
BitCred 442,32
Capt. Strummer
The Mescaleros
StarCo
BitCred 435,53
Louis XIV
NOT DISCLOSED
Druze Bayram Security
BitCred 338,53
Dhalik Alshabuu, for Jerodite Solis
Dashit INDPNDT PMC
Dahshat Company
BitCred 317,19
Jeffrey “BigCat” Komal
D.A.T.E.S.
Dahshat Company
BitCred 280,33
Wolf_Warrior
NOT DISCLOSED
White Company
BitCred 109,61
Gwaernydd
NOT DISCLOSED
Druze Bayram Security
BitCred 32,98
Capt. Kii’wa Keer’fufle
Fiberwyre team 17
Spiral Corps
BitCred 0,00
Aaliya Greysleeve
NOT DISCLOSED
Dahshat Company
– BitCred 216,00
Faction Rankings
Here is the faction ranking, without the bonus points from Last Resort.
Faction
Games
OP
Losses
Secret
Nomads
13
59
1826
2
Haqqislam
10
56
1595
2
Yu Jing
12
56
1855
4
Combined Army
15
45
2495
1
O-12
7
32
1133
1
ALEPH
5
30
649
3
Ariadna
5
27
815
0
PanOceania
5
17
798
1
This month we had less NA2 games–looks like all our Dahsaht players were busy or playing other factions. Here’s the faction ranking, with NA2 split out:
Faction
Games
OP
Losses
Secret
Nomads
13
59
1826
2
Haqqislam
10
56
1595
2
Yu Jing
10
51
1588
4
Combined Army
14
43
2321
1
ALEPH
5
30
649
3
O-12
6
29
1031
1
Ariadna
5
27
815
0
PanOceania
4
11
618
0
JSA
1
6
180
1
White Company
2
5
267
0
Foreign Company
1
3
102
0
Spiral Company
1
2
174
0
If you’re curious about who hired whom, here’s the details:
Faction
NA2
Games
Combined Army
Spiral Company
1
O-12
Foreign Company
1
PanOceania
JSA
1
Yu Jing
White Company
2
Faction Versus Data
If you’re interested in faction matchup data, we’ve got you covered:
Faction
Adversary
Games
Faction OP
Adversary OP
Faction Losses
Adversary Losses
Faction Secret
Adversary Secret
ALEPH
Combined Army
2
13
7
230
367
1
0
ALEPH
Yu Jing
3
17
9
419
396
2
1
Ariadna
Combined Army
2
11
8
208
446
0
0
Ariadna
Haqqislam
2
14
16
360
464
0
0
Ariadna
Nomads
1
2
8
247
19
0
1
Combined Army
ALEPH
2
7
13
367
230
0
1
Combined Army
Ariadna
2
8
11
446
208
0
0
Combined Army
Haqqislam
4
7
21
679
507
0
1
Combined Army
Nomads
3
10
10
436
444
0
0
Combined Army
O-12
1
1
3
260
48
0
1
Combined Army
Yu Jing
3
12
8
307
498
1
0
Haqqislam
Ariadna
2
16
14
464
360
0
0
Haqqislam
Combined Army
4
21
7
507
679
1
0
Haqqislam
Nomads
1
1
2
157
128
0
0
Haqqislam
O-12
2
13
7
325
432
1
0
Haqqislam
PanOceania
1
5
4
142
228
0
0
Nomads
Ariadna
1
8
2
19
247
1
0
Nomads
Combined Army
3
10
10
444
436
0
0
Nomads
Haqqislam
1
2
1
128
157
0
0
Nomads
O-12
3
8
19
608
551
1
0
Nomads
PanOceania
2
12
6
244
143
0
0
Nomads
Yu Jing
3
19
26
383
485
0
3
O-12
Combined Army
1
3
1
48
260
1
0
O-12
Haqqislam
2
7
13
432
325
0
1
O-12
Nomads
3
19
8
551
608
0
1
O-12
Yu Jing
1
3
1
102
226
0
0
PanOceania
Haqqislam
1
4
5
228
142
0
0
PanOceania
Nomads
2
6
12
143
244
0
0
PanOceania
Yu Jing
2
7
12
427
250
1
0
Yu Jing
ALEPH
3
9
17
396
419
1
2
Yu Jing
Combined Army
3
8
12
498
307
0
1
Yu Jing
Nomads
3
26
19
485
383
3
0
Yu Jing
O-12
1
1
3
226
102
0
0
Yu Jing
PanOceania
2
12
7
250
427
0
1
And if you want the full details, here’s the above with NA2 broken out:
