Volume 3

All the news that's fit to print, first!
From the Editor's Desk
Many of you complained about the layout of our last issue. We made a few slight adjustments, but well, to be honest, our budgets are tight, and all we have is an editor. I run the presses, I write the articles, and I am NOT a graphic designer. If anyone wants the job, the pay is nothing.



General News
This week Federations scientists unleashed even more nasty drones, the Z-16! They were built to combat the Z-14 and Z-15 drones and fighters, but again, they have gone renegade from their masters. When will the inferior Federations scientists learn? Probably never.

It appears that many of the enemies in the universe have gotten smarter as well. Many now attack when you try to retreat rather than allow you to run. Following and firing. Many high level fighters have fallen to the Z-16 drones, Z-15 fighters and even Famous Pirates. So be careful out there.

In other news, a new species of monster, the "Bio Scavenger" as it's been named, are being found in and around planets. Scientists say they may have hitchhiked here on ships from distant galaxies and feed on bio matter. Not much else is known at this time. In talking with a few pilots, they apparently easy to kill by a pilot of mediocre training.

Pirate Activity
Infamous Revenant Squadron Leader Vespacian drove his Liberator into the sun, no word on why, but the pirate band is now being led by Ender, the pilot previously known as Johnny Rico.
Anti-Mooninite sentiment heated up this week, and many of their members spent long hours contemplating their evil deeds in pod rides to their homeworld. Many Empire and Federation pilots are involved in this action.
Newly minted Mooninite PurplePanzer has been pirating in and around Ska sector. This reporter had a tangle with him, but wasn't able to bring the pirate to justice. I'm sure the Imperial Paladins and the Imperial Guard will eventually send this pirate back to the cloning tanks until he learns his lesson.

New Buildings and Demolitions
It appears that Stephen of TSO has finally managed to raise the replacement to Shadow Guardian. Stephen named his Starbase "The Thunder from Down Under". I'm sure it will be successful. Hopefully his first additions are all Heavy Defense Artillery.
The SB Claws of Darkness in Electra was destroyed by it's owner just before he went for the long nap. Lets hope another Imperial can colonize this dangerous sector.
The People's Starbase in Pass-Emp-02 was demolished by it's owner pandemonium tower, just days after receiving stewardship of the base from Duke rimskych. Let's hope he had a good reason for removing this outpost from the edge of the Empire.


Alliance News
The Holy Order of Light is no more! Another crackpot religion has come and gone, and I guess Prophet is just a madman who hears voices.
The Imperial Guard and pharmacentricity came to a peace agreement. Soon after, due to the shame of what many of their members had done to the Empire, claws and eddy flew their ships into the nearest star in a show of what honour they had left. Previously some other pharma associates had disappeared as well under mysterious circumstances.
Also both The Empire and the renegade Federation, have formed bureaucracies to track Private Conflicts that have been declared.

Interviews

This weeks interview was with eddy of pharmacentricity, it was done just one week before his demise. We started with some small talk and here is what transpired.

MG > So what ship do you pilot?
eddy> A PASC
MG > What sectors are you based in?
eddy> Daaya for the most part, that's where all but one of my buildings are.
MG> How hard is it gaining rank in the Neutral Zone?
eddy> Ranking? Well it's slow, but possible. You are more likely to be able to rank up in the lower ranks in the Empire, versus anything past Viscount. Lotsa Empire starbases make this possible, though I'm speaking mainly from experience in the NPR.
MG> How do you deal with pirates in that area?
eddy> In the NPR? We don't have too many reports of piracy, other than the occasional telerobber. Most of our buildings are either protected or not really worth raiding.
MG > Why did you start pharmacentricity? I assume that's who you mean by our?
eddy> pharmacentricity was started, initially, as a means to justify some revenge against Fearless Pride and to signify what has helped this band of pilots develop. I, like most of my alliance members, have only been around for a year or so. Without drugs, I don't think our economy/skills would be as high as they are today. The "centricity" part indicates that, no matter what, I suppose our alliance success kind of revolves around drugs/drug trafficking.
MG> A little bit about the past, how much planning went into the destruction of Quator and Fearless Pride?
eddy> Heh, quite a bit. Although I can't take credit for the majority of the planning. I was simply the alliance creator, but most of the strategy behind the assault was formed by Micah. I took a couple of opportune moments to declare the private conflicts and make it look like we were going to attack someone else, to help mask who would bear the brunt of our attacks. I believe the pc's declared back then were against DABOO, Imperial Order of Paladins and Fearless Pride.
MG > I believe you are right. You've aligned yourself with the Empire, and have used this alignment profusely in declaring Private Conflicts. Is this the only reason for throwing your hat in with the Empire?
eddy> Me, or my alliance?
MG> Both.
eddy> I've always been an Empire pilot, actually, so it was natural for me to stick to my original allegiances. The same goes for all the pilots in my alliance. I don't believe any of them have ever been Fed pilots. Aligning the alliance with the Empire was necessary for the pc's to work, and the daily reputation is nice as well. Some of the other Daayan members aren't officially part of the alliance because it's better for them to remain neutral and avoid hacks.
MG > Like Micah?
eddy> Indeed.
MG > Do you feel that private conflicts make everything alright or justifiable?
eddy> I don't see the private conflicts themselves as being able to justify much, they are merely a means to achieve certain goals. All private conflicts which have been acted upon have been declared due to other reasons - past or present.
MG> OK, fair enough. What is your relationship with M.E.R.C.? You seem to work closely with them.
eddy> M.E.R.C. was seen as a strong ally to have again the Scorpion Guard/The Shadow Order/Ruby Legion/P.A.C.K. uber-alliance, and some actions in the past have helped our alliances grow stronger. When Paan was threatened by a large invading force of alliances, pharmacentricity offered some aid to M.E.R.C. in order to help rebalance that conflict in favour of M.E.R.C. Some of the members of M.E.R.C. and my alliance have had awful dealings in the past. But these recent actions have helped us let bygones be bygones be bygones, or whatever the hell that human phrase is.
MG> Do you feel that the uber-alliance has been broken now that SG is a shadow of it's former self, TSO has been battered with the loss of ShadowGuardian, and PACK was chased to the South Pardus Rim.
eddy> I don't believe Scorpion Guard is a shadow of it's former self. In fact, I believe it to be almost as strong as it used to be before the Urhoho conflict. Other than the loss of Anubis/Jackal, not much has changed. They still have a sector they've secured (Urhoho), and several pilots whether "officially" within the SG alliance, will surely support the few that still are a part of the alliance.
MG> But you now control one of the MO's blocking Urhoho, do you not?
eddy> There are MO's within Urhoho that effectively seal off the sector, owned by (Lady)Aliara and (Lord)steel who are not "officially" members of SG, but...you get the point.
MG> Yes I do.
eddy> The loss of ShadowGuardian was actually quite a surprise. I didn't know such dissention was present within the Empire, and I'd actually never heard of EE (Economic Entropy) before then. But credits can be regained, starbases rebuilt. This was more a blow to Thorn rather than the entire alliance. I don't know Thorn very well, but it seems he's not the favourite pilot for quite a few people.
MG > I heard you helped prevent the replacement Shadow Guardian.
eddy> Indeed I did. Although this is more of a convenience blow to TSO (The Shadow Order) than a crippling blow. The Trade Outpost has been rebuilt, it will likely become a starbase quite soon.
MG> What can we expect from pharmacentricity in the future?
eddy> Depends on what happens amongst our enemies, I think most of what we do is reactive in nature. When larger alliances "inconvenience" my alliance, we tend to bide our time, gather our plans, and formulate methods for achieving revenge. Sure, revenge is petty, but....without revenge, we'd all be traders and all be in one big happy alliance.


Next week..Kora of Ruby Legion