Volume 28

All the news that's fit to print, first!
From the Editor's Desk
I'm just back from vacation,next week will be meatier, I promise.

General News
Changes were made to the bounty rolls this week, there is now a 24 hour waiting period to have your bounty placed. Paperwork must now be approved by a supervisor before the bounty goes to the public.
In bad news, due to some instability issues with the King missile series, they had their damage output reduced, but luckily this also reduced the size. The exorbitant price paid for these super weapons is still the same.


The Keldon Report - by Frozen
Once again, on vacation. No news is good news I always say.



The Imperial Soapbox - by Viscount Fezdan.

Bounties explained for the ‘victim’. Part 1.

It was with amazement that I watched the unfolding of a discussion this week about the morality of bounty hunting. There was an awful lot of nonsense thrown about and it put me in mind of another discussion some weeks back about the lack of faction bounty collecting in Federation space. I was appalled at the attitude displayed by many pilots, mainly Federals, towards this issue. It requires some attention.

Our first distinction must be between faction and personal bounties. These are two very different items and must be discussed as such. This week we will review faction bounties and next week, the issues around personal bounties.

The most common complaints I have seen about faction bounties by the victims are….

1. "I didn’t know it was illegal…."
2. "It was only some bio-waste – where’s the harm?"
3. "You just destroyed my ship for 600 creds, do you know how much money that just cost the both of us"
4. "Everybody’s doing it, why me?"
5. "But we are on the same side….."
6. "But you targeted my best building!"

Ridiculous – every single one of them! Let's look at them one by one.

1. Who, bar the intellectually mild, would believe that the Black Market is a LEGAL place of business? Who has been allowed to fly into space without reading their training manuals? YOU ARE A FOOL! Learn your lesson well, if you choose to do the crime, you may well be forced to do the pod-ride, and rightly so. Accept responsibility for your actions.
2. Mmm, bio waste – genetic materials – used for making organic armours and weapons – why else would it’s sales be monitored. Any idiot who chooses to break the law to make an extra couple of hundred credits out of poo trades deserves to be hunted and more.
3. This takes the cake, and is typical of the Federal mindset. Read the following very closely. IT’S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY! A faction bounty is a punishment for pilots who break the law. If you take your faction rank and responsibility seriously you should enforce these wherever possible. Not just 'not oppose' the collection, but actually enforce the collection. Now, for various pragmatic reasons, there will be instances when the collection of a faction bounty is not the best course of action. Sometimes the greater good is served by the committing of a lesser evil. This however should be a case of exceptions rather than the rule.
4. Ahh, the plaintive cry of the eternal victim. Because you broke the law! It makes no difference how many pilots break the law, the law is broken each and every time. It is also pure nonsense to suggest that ALL pilots break the law. I have never had a faction bounty – this is because I obey the laws of the Empire.
5. Imperials should be on the side of the Empire. It is your duty to enforce these punishments wherever possible.
6. I’ve heard of victims rights but this is quite simply outrageous. I can imagine it now – the mass murderer is before the judge, awaiting sentence for his crimes. The judge says "Mr Massmurderer, you have been found guilty, how would you like to be punished? Solitary confinement, life in minimum security, weekend detention? What would fit best with your current lifestyle?" It sounds ridiculous doesn’t it. What able minded creature could in conscience sanction this system of justice? And yet this is exactly what the ‘victim’ is asking for when they say – "Don’t destroy this building – I would rather this one instead…."

In terms of legal systems of punishments the faction bounty is pretty mild. No one actually gets killed (assuming you aren't an idiot and fly with an escape pod), no one is actually deprived of their liberty for any great length of time. You take the hit and all is forgiven. That is pretty mild consequences in my book. And still pilots complain. It is beyond me how a rational being could seriously expect these pitiful complaints to have any real meaning beyond the subtext. The subtext of course being, "I am special, I am different to everyone else - it’s not fair that you hold me responsible for my actions".

I will hold you responsible, as will many others in the Empire. If you break the law be prepared to take the consequences. If this upsets you the remedy is simple. DON’T BREAK THE LAW!

For the Empire,
Viscount Fezdan.