Rumors! Gossip! Tabloids!

Tanvir Vasumati choses surprise running mate

LA HARROULETTE, Vaashnapoor, Duureanta, Harroule IV - 29/11/121

Tanvir Vasumati, widely considered the front runner in the upcoming elections for the Archon’s chair in the Duurbar, today announced a surprise running mate as his deputy - researcher and activist Dr. Mossaf Rumaita. The two make an unlikely pair but could the choice be an inspired one and broaden Vasumati’s appeal beyond his base?

Tanvir Vasumati built a reputation as chief inspector of the Duureanta Narcotics Task Force for being a tough and aggressive enforcer of strict regulations on refining khuska oil. Although acquitted in YC113, allegations of corruption prevented him from standing in the YC117 elections. He has maintained a strong base of support among conservatives but may lack appeal to younger voters and those who argue that Duureanta’s heavy regulation of its khuska industry prevents it from fulfilling its potential to provide revenue and highly skilled jobs.


Dr. Rumaita has long been an outspoken advocate of deregulation, whose profile has skyrocketed after his ex-wife and daughter were seized by Serpentis kidnappers only to be rescued in dramatic fashion by security contractors working for the Intaki Space Police. The affair has also completely undermined previous accusations of corruption directed at Rumaita based on his liberal views.

It seems that these two very different characters have decided to meet in the middle, in a manner that Idama Adhrit Vaakpati would approve of and may appeal to an electorate tired of polarised policy positions.

While enforcement is one tool, I have come to realise that this is most effective when combined with addressing the causes of crime through creating the opportunities that our young people need and deserve,” comments Vasumati. “I agree,” Rumaita chips in, “but the harrowing experience which my family endured has made me appreciate the dangers which our enforcement agencies work so hard to keep us safe from.

Vasumati and Rumaita are proposing a balanced khuska policy, with the new refining licences awarded earlier this year being confirmed but no new ones planned until the social impact of the new licencees’ performance can be assessed. On the enforcement side, they are proposing to work much more closely with the Intaki Space Police and its contractors and are even socialising the text of a petition (as set out in full below) to be submitted to the Federal Senate calling for the Intaki Syndicate’s legitimacy to be formally acknowledged by the Federal Government.

The Vasumati-Rumaita campaign appears to have received a financial shot in the arm since the announcement, with canvassing and media activity noticeably more intense. Whether the new war chest and the unconventional ticket can persuade voters remains to be seen but snap polling data suggests this surprise choice of running mate may prove to be shrewd one as well.

[[Art credit: Yumiki Hong]]

DRAFT RESOLUTION:
The following petition has been submitted by Archon Vasumati to the Duurbar of Duurreanta

The Federated Union of Gallente Prime (the Federation) recently attended an international summit hosted by the Society of Conscious Thought (the Summit).

The Summit was also attended by a number of other sovereign and non-sovereign entities.

The Senate of the Federation (the Senate) has convened a committee to conduct hearings into the inclusion of certain organised crime networks among the non-sovereign entities attending the Summit (the Committee).

The Intaki Syndicate was invited to attend the Summit as a sovereign entity.

The Intaki Syndicate is a neighbour and a vital partner in Duureanta’s economy and the continued restoration of its external and internal security.

It is therefore proposed that this Duurbar shall request the Senate’s Committee to include within the scope of its hearings the possibility of submitting a motion to the Senate formally recognising the sovereignty of the Intaki Syndicate, independent of both the Federation and of the criminal organisations subject to the Committee’s inquiry.

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“What the hell is this Orika!”

“Share Reports.”

“Share Reports… Share Reports for a Capsuleer Corporation!”

“And? How is this a problem?”

“How much did you pay for the damned things?!”

“17.1m per Sha-”

“17.1 Million ISK per?! From the Production accounts?!”

“Yes, from the Production accounts.”

“Varottiers is gonna kill you Orika! Buying shares from a Capsuleer corp on Production dime…”

“No, she won’t, Tanik. Check the returns from the first dividend release.”

“…What in the… This can’t be right…”

“It is, those shares are going to make Production a lot of money.”

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“Wow.”

“CONCORD must have smelled something, they’re investigating him again. Fifth time today.”

“Any idea what they want?”

“None, and if anything it looks more like they’re simply harassing him.”

“They should know that’s not a wise idea.”

“Doesn’t look like they care. I’m counting two Marshals, a handful of Enforcers, and that’s at least two Pacifiers, not sure from this angle. But there’s not a lick of gunfire. A lot of ships for ‘routine inspection’.”

“They said that?”

“In addition to him being on watch. So if they saw that little spit from a week ago, he might be in trouble. If he is, then CONCORD has a bigger problem than him.”

“What?”

“What’s gotten him so riled up that CONCORD is looking into him?”

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A low encrypted transmission leaving Floseswin IV, picked up by any one monitoring

My dear Katryn,

I am, amazingly, alright. I think of you always even though I don’t write as often as I should. They finally pulled my unit last night for some rest. Most of us ended up sleeping wherever we dropped our gear. The fighting here is intense, almost non stop since the first landings. Say what you want about these bastards but they know their business, and no sooner do you shoot one down that another takes his place.

I heard some of the officers saying that we aren’t even facing the brunt of the enemy’s advance. The boys south of us are getting hit real hard. We may have to move soon to avoid being outflanked, but so far we’ve been holding our stretch of the line. Moral is surprisingly high, given everything going on. The Commander, the capsuleer I told you about? The guy who owns our outfit? He manages to bring in hot food and even some spirits from off planet. Honestly kate, thank the gods for that. I’ve even seen him come out to the front lines, slumming it with the rest of us. It definitely helps keep the spirit strong.

Please give my love to my parents, and tell them I hope to be home soon. I don’t want you to worry about me. I’ll be fine as long as I keep my head down, and am I am sure as hell not going to let me amarr bastard kill me. We still have that wedding planned, and there is nothing that’s going to keep me from you.

With all my love,
Virmir.

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ONE-IN-A-MILLION COMMUNICATIONS FAILURE IN SANCTUM REPAIRED

1/12/121: Tar III - Secure Commerce Commission Depository

A cascading failure of the fluid router network affected civilian and military communications in the Sanctum constellation, as well as nearby systems in Genesis, Verge Vendor, Everyshore, Sinq Laison, and Essence, causing a momentary shutdown and emergency systems recovery process two weeks ago, The Federal Times has recently learned.

CRC investigators and response teams pinpointed the source of the failure as the SCC Depository station above Tar III and were on the scene in minutes, but have since determined the cause to have been accidental.

“The incident was a result of poor maintenance and sheer ill fortune,” explained CRC Sanctum Public Relations Liaison, Onre Loucaille. “The station utilized an old and accident-prone design which located the emergency battery backup near the router relay control to save money on superconductive conduit. The station was also using legacy software which predated interconstellation address indexing. This initiated a localized reassortment in the index systems in the event of a sudden forced reset of the relay subnet, resetting all index systems to their factory defaults and touching off competing cascading address conflicts through Sanctum and beyond until CRC technical employees decoupled the network racks.”

“Even so, the circumstances which led to this accident are exceedingly rare. It’s a million-to-one breakdown in our fluid router network, which even in other similar circumstances was highly unlikely to ever occur.”

Improper battery maintenance was described to have led to leakage from the battery stack onto the router relay control, causing a small but damaging electrical fire. The resulting plasmated surge began to repeatedly restart the router relay, misallocating more and more system indexes, causing further repeated competing reassortments. With the subnet experiencing address conflicts for several jumps in every direction which could not automatically self correct, it became necessary to completely reset the affected systems. Further failures were thus averted and the fluid router network central hub afterwards automatically reallocated the existing protocol addresses.

CRC repair crews worked overnight to fix the damage on the SCC Depository station and replace the aging router relay and battery backup system. Basic service through the rest of the constellation systems was restored within ten minutes and the Tar III SCC Depository Station was returned to full communications functionality within thirty minutes. The SCC reported that the thirty minute shutdown cost the equivalent of 50 billion ISK in transactional delays and 25 million ISK in physical damage to the router relay. Still, the news was mostly positive in the wake of the accident.

“In a way, we were very lucky,” said Korut Thimnasan, Cybersecurity Investigations Division II lead for the Tar Police division of CONCORD. "Had it been a bad actor attempting to take advantage of the relay failure, we could have had a very serious problem on our hands. The communications breakdown could have created temporary false transactions to steal money from legitimate companies through the SCC, or even to hide funds in a manner that they could never be recovered.

"Thankfully, after having compared the frozen transactions with the archival data of company systems, we have determined that neither of these worst case scenarios occurred. CONCORD and local police authorities from all four major empires participated in this investigation and are satisfied of the accidental nature of the communications breakdown and that no ISK was taken nor hidden anywhere. We have jointly and universally concluded, after extended investigation of all affected communications systems, that no security breach has occurred and the circumstances which led to these communications failures were a terrible accident. In seeing this situation incidentally, we thus can prevent it from being initiated intentionally.

“So much worse could have happened, and we have thoroughly examined all relevant data and footage to determine if any foul play occurred. However, with all transactional communications accounted for, we can all breath easier tonight.”

“Communications service was restored easily by enabling the onboard reset of all affected systems,” stated Loucaille. “Within a half-hour, all addresses were automatically reallocated. All customer issues, if they encounter any, should be easily resolved by restarting their in-house router.”

Restarting the in-house router, Loucaille explained, will download the new CRC firmware patch which will prevent further failures of this variety. The CRC recommends this patch be downloaded as soon as possible to prevent failures of this type from reoccurring. Further issues should be solved through CRC’s 24/7 hotline, which provides localized repair services and technical support.

“We would like our citizens and our partners to know how seriously we take these incidents and how we value the safety and security of their communications and their money,” Thimnesen read in his joint statement with other local law enforcement leaders in the investigation and the CRC investigation team. "CONCORD and law enforcement entities approach these matters with experience and professionalism, and we care deeply about the communities we serve.

“Even if this particular incident was simply an unfortunate accident, I’m proud of the way our response services reacted. We will always safeguard your access your communications with the same zeal with which we protect their homes and lives. Rest assured, this accident and the circumstances which cause it have been rectified, and should pose no further issue to our citizens or their service.”

As of noon today, the criminal case has been closed, and all further questions are asked to be directed to the CRC Public Relations Bureau in the locality of origin.

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See and Hear, Rens, Heimatar

Published YC121-12-01

FRANCO PHONAGA’S GIRLFRIEND WOES CONTINUE

Franco Phonaga’s girlfriend has another? The billionaire philanthropist’s girlfriend Aurora Morgan was seen together with toxic troublemaker Valerie Vynneve at the Verge Hôtel on one of the SoE Bureau stations in Rens on Saturday.

The pair spent a short two hours in a suite—not really enough time to nap, hmmm? They were later seen together at the Yule ball hosted by notorious capsuleer Lasairiona Raske. Staff at the L’Amore in Ballo club have confirmed that the couple was one of the first on the dance floor and danced together for about half an hour. Valerie was overheard telling other capsuleers she and Aurora were each other’s escorts, and there was no better alternative.

We are left wondering about Aurora’s motivation for this dangerous liaison. Is she perchance trying to get back at Franco’s flirtations with femme fatale Lunarisse Daphiti? Could she not have made a more wholesome choice of partner than a known terrorist and smuggler? Though, we have to admit that Valerie looked foxy in her tight-fitting red dress, and Aurora was dashing in her turquoise kimono.

Jorianna Gallaire Director See and Hear, Capsuleer Affairs Correspondent

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Atalanta Journal, 30 November YC121

Ealur Woman Becomes Capsuleer On Five-Year Anniversary Of Manumission

Kiso Drorndra, a young Ealur woman and former slave, graduated from capsuleer training at Hedion University on 26 November, five years to the day that she saved the lives of her lord and his family.

Lord Jocelyn Azolain, then the former fleet admiral of the Qumenee Navy, graduated from the same program four days later, a symbolic gesture on the anniversary of Drorndra’s manumission.

The pair of graduations was announced by House Azolain on Monday, with a celebration held in Atalanta on Tuesday.

Kiso Drorndra has been a local hero since her actions in YC116 uncovered the truth behind a story then-Lord Vairys Azolain had constructed around the fate of his older brothers. In YC102, while serving as General of the Armies of Qumenee, he claimed that Angus and Jocelyn, then the head of House Azolain and the fleet admiral respectively, had been killed while battling the band of smugglers known as the Jacopo. He then ascended to head of the House and accepted the rank of Holder.

In truth, he had murdered Lord Angus and framed Lord Jocelyn for the act, but quickly changed his tune upon realizing how popular his brothers were in Qumenee, giving them heroes’ deaths instead.

Ms. Drorndra uncovered the truth while working in the mines off the coast of Atalanta, where she found Lord Jocelyn tucked away in a hidden prison. She freed him and then raised both the Navy and Army against the false lord Vairys, who was violently deposed.

Upon gaining his rightful titles, Lord Jocelyn immediately granted Ms. Drorndra her freedom. He then had her tested for capsule compatibility. The Ealur girl turned out to be an ample fit. While not classically smart, she is said to have an uncanny perception and quickness of mind. Lord Jocelyn has stated that he began capsuleer training along with her in anticipation of the discrimination she would face.

Lord Jocelyn’s wife, Lady Yisha, threw a banquet for the five-year anniversary of those events and the graduations of her husband and Ms. Drorndra, whom both have described as their “daughter”.

Reached for comment, the bubbly Ealur stated that her experiences among capsuleers so far have been “awesome” and that “everyone has been soooooo sweet!” toward her.

Lord Jocelyn has indicated that he has further plans for Ms. Drorndra’s career with House Azolain, should she choose to remain with them.

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Re: Shares
From: Tanik Delaverga
To: Orika Tondari

Orika, its Tanik, Boss V finally saw the shares you grabbed. She wasn’t happy, even after she saw the returns, but she isn’t pissed. Which is good. She had me run a check on that corp, Wolf Brothers INC, turns out some of their pilots have been picking up our public distrib contracts for Production, and filling our ore orders. Pithix, Augumene… crap like that. Nothing special really, but they’ve been pretty consistent.

And get this, remember that modded egger that bought the dive off Dock 13 at the Logistics Support? Turns out she’s one of the primary directors for that outfit. Doubt they’re disappearing anytime soon.

Anyway, you dodged a bullet, if those shares had been dead on returns, you’d have been in some deep ■■■■. Try and keep your head down, would ya?

Tanik

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The Excubitoris Chapter seems to have filled most of its advertised positions at the Oris Chapterhouse, and the researchers are bustling around the small campus that is rapidly being constructed at the site. The newly established department of Cultural and Defense Studies has started running seminars in which they invite Amarr experts from the MIO, Military, and Major Universities to speak to the Excubitoris Chapter on how to most effectively interact with non-Amarr cultures.

Astute observers have noted that the number of employees who have offices on the Oris Chapterhouse Campus is significantly smaller than the number of individuals hired for the project by the Excubitoris Chapter. This seems to be because a large proportion of the hires are for a pair of field project oriented divisions called the Strategic Archaeological and Archival Services. These groups will be based out of other Excubitoris Chapter facilities and specialize in field research on everything from the history of Amarr to Precursor field studies.

Two projects that seem to be producing a great deal of excitement as reports come into the campus. The first is an ongoing investigation into the history and theology of Amarr missionary movements, with special attention on the Salvation Church of Blessed Servitude and other missions aimed at Matari populations specifically. The second is a project working on valuables preservation from imperiled areas. This latter project seems especially concerned with making sure that important cultural resources are not lost to conflicts and is especially concerned with potential damage from the recent Triglavian invasions.

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“Massive spike in system traffic, it’s not the gates.”

“There. Is that-”

“Two guesses where it’s going.”

“He’s sat in station for close to a month, what could they want from him?”

“By the looks of it its an eviction notice, courtesy of SARO.”

“There’s no way he’s moving his entire operation out.”

“There is a way, and CONCORD is willing it.”

“And guess who just came running?”

“The bitch, come to protect her pup.”

“This is going to be interesting.”

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The following was found in a Throne Worlds based Nobility gossip tabloid.

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After the recent change of Flosewin’s status reports are coming in that the two-three week-long deployment from Sorn Interstellar Industries’ [S-II] security division of Asteria’s Wings in the system will soon be coming to an end. Our reporter got a quick interview with the head of S-II before she headed to survey the system for any remaining Amarrian presence.

“Miss Sorn I take it you are happy with this outcome?”

“I am indeed, it’s good to see justice being made clear and that freedom won. Amarr needs to learn that it can’t do whatever it wants”

“Some people back in Luminaire have asked the question, why would a Khanid and former pilot of the Navy take a stand against the Amarr and fight for the Matar?”

"Than you have seen the horrors that were Kahah first hand you grow to resent what you grown up thinking was the true path… so you can note it as a change of heart. I have seen what personal freedom does to better a person’s life, so enslaving a whole plant is just wrong.

“Thank you for that statement. This has been Rita Sinclar reporting at the Tribal Liberation Force Logistic Support above Flosewin IV, now signing off”


Image of the S-II flagship Domination Samirage leaving the orbit of Floseswin IV

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The following is an anonymous poem published in local Amarr-Minmatar Warzone news journals.

Last Stand of the Newelle Brigade

I.
Half a day, half a day,
half a day onward,
In Floseswin field and death,
Held the twelve hundred.
“Stand firm, Newelle Brigade.
Shield from the guns!” he said.
In Floseswin field and death,
Held the twelve hundred.

II.
“Stand firm, Newelle Brigade!”
Was there kameira dismayed?
Not though the slave soldier knew
Sarum had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
In Floseswin field and death
Held the twelve hundred.

III.
Bombs dropped atop of them,
Valklears that surrounded them,
Armor to the front of them,
Rumbled and thundred;
Stormed at with gun and shell,
Boldly they held and well,
With bodies the trenches swelled,
Into the jaws of hell,
Held the twelve hundred.

IV.
Flashed all their scramblers bare,
Gleamed as they shot the air
Piercing the Brutors there,
Fighting an army, while
All the cluster wondered.
Plunged through the cannon smoke
Right through the trench they broke;
Krusual and Brutor
Reeled from the scrambler stroke
Battered and sundered.
Then they marched back, but not
Not the twelve hundred.

V.
Bombs dropped atop of them,
Valklears that surrounded them,
Armor to the front of them,
Rumbled and thundered;
Stormed at with gun and shell,
While slave and Holder fell,
They that had stood so well,
Devoured by the jaws of Death,
Back from the brink of hell,
One that was left of them,
Left of twelve hundred.

VI.
When can their glory fade?
O the last stand they made!
All the cluster wondered.
Honour the stand they made!
Honour the Newelle Brigade,
Martyred twelve hundred!

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EMERGENCY

QUARANTINE FAILURE ON DECK 3, HANGAR 2

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED

LOCK-DOWN INITIATED

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CONTAMINATION DETECTED ON DECKS 2, 4 AND 5.

CONTAINMENT PROTOCOLS HAVE FAILED

ALL EVACUATION ATTEMPTS DENIED

COMMAND DECKS SEALED FROM RESEARCH DECKS

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leaked emergency responder helmet recording, audio only, Eugales VI, Masariin Gazaar Arcology Habitation Block 16 - Silver Concourse, 12.14.YC121

“Director! Let us get you out of here to medical.”

“You don’t get your hands off me I’ll put you out for the next hour…”

“But ma’am, the right side of your abdomen is shredded!”

“I’m fine damnit, subcutaneous plates caught most of the shrapnel, looks worse than it is. Follow your training, standard mass casualty triage, I’m not in danger of bleed out or shock, I’m low triage priority. Help the Ashes damned civilians, not me!”

“…Yes ma’am… you heard her… details are sparse, security feeds went blank before the detonation…”

“Blast was consistent with a spindel charge, the shrapnel in my arm and side plating matches too… help as many as you can… signals are already outgoing for additional teams from medical centers in other blocks…”

“Oh spirits…”

“Someone is going to pay for this. I’ll make certain of it.”

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Reports from Floseswin frontline reports that the head of S-II forces Maira Sorn Blackfire have been rushed to a medical center above the planet after a proximity mine exploded and destroyed the LAV she was in, as her convoy was on the way back from delivering a supply run to a civilian outpost.
Command of the rest of the S-II forces has been handed over to the head of the security of Asteria’s Wings. Kalika Savitar the head of security had this to say.

"Who the ■■■■ uses landmines it´s the weapon of a coward … " the feed cuts as she goes on a rant about the use of remote explosive in Intaki

in other news, a new transport ship manufacturer claims to have painted his new models red to make them go faster …

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“He’s pissed.”

“You think? Someone took pot shots at his bitch, and she didn’t tell him until just now? If it’s not her taking the heat, it’s the civs that got caught in the crossfire. If she’s going to make them pay in full, the man is going to make them pay interest.”

“Do we have any leads? It’s one thing to want him to pay, but people shouldn’t be caught up in these affairs.”

“No, but if the bitch gets on the trail there will be something for us to follow, and almost certainly something she’ll miss in the ashes she leaves in her wake.”

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“She’s not gonna like this Ag.”

“Yeah, she won’t Kar, but the boss isn’t here, she’s laid up with infection riddling her side because she couldn’t stay in bed for a ■■■■■■■ week, so I’m in charge.”

“She said to only deploy Shadow series in extreme circumstances, you’re using it for a suicide run. A Wraith or Vulcan would be better for that and you know it”

“Yeah, and only smash a small portion of a sector before going down and me having to get slammed back up here in the Vats. Shadow has active camo and a heavy charge, only way to really get in close and blast a lot of surface entrenchments in a wide radius before the alarms go up.”

“And you with it, again, back into the Vats.”

“Do I look like I give a ■■■■? Boss can reprimand me later. I know the blast will barely touch the reinforced bunkers they’ve probably setup by now, but this’ll put some hurt on that annoying Kador puke I’ve been watching on the IGS, boss may not approve but a slaver is a slaver, they deserve to hurt just a little.”

“and what about the wreckage of your fighter?”

“heavy charge will scatter it, most they’ll be able to put together is AK traces and maybe a Trinary subnet in the slag leftover.”

“Fine, waste good biomass and one of our limited assets.”

“Just prep the MagCatapult and get ready to drop cloak Karve, our window’s coming up.”

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Reports coming from the Amarrian ground forces indicate an uptick of fighting along the line as enemy operations intensify, testing the Amarrian held positions in what appear to be probing and destabilizing operations. Reports indicate that while the lines have not broken, these ‘hit and run’ attacks are placing a strain on fortifications and threaten to further stretch resource distribution as rumors escalate of Matari combatants behind their lines attacking key logistic and arming centers.

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