Volume 30

All the news that's fit to print, first!
From the Editor's Desk
Things are slowly getting back to normal, after returning from vacation and having my leader disappear. Enjoy this issue, it should be a good one.

General News
Excellent news from the Ska Space Superiority Commission. Research funded by the Emperor, may his light shine forever, has yielded improvements to both the hull and the amount of armour mountable on the Dominator class Imperial warship. This research has been in the works for some time now and only now has this information been released, after stellar results in the past with adding additional missile mounts.

Armour manufacturers across the board raised the prices of their top armours by 80%, stating increased research costs, material shortages, and labour disputes. Their second line armours also had a raise of 15%. It is unknown why all the burden of these increased costs have been placed on only the premium goods.

The Tiacken Tribune has returned to publication, and a new publication, Eye on the Union has sprung up. The news business in Pardus is getting crowded. Only time will tell if publications, new and resurrected, will survive and prosper.

Rumours abound about recent explorations made by the different factions, and about what they may be searching for. It is thought by some of the eminent minds of today that there exists a way back into the ancient Pardus sector, and that it is possible and safe to return there after all this time. The coming weeks should see results from the exploration ship "Crawmak" under the pilot Viscount Mark'nak.

The Keldon Report - by Frozen
First of all I want to say sorry to everyone for not writing so long. I've been very busy, I hardly found time even for my pilot duties. But now I'm back and I will try to do my job as good as before.

We will have to start with a few not so good news. Urlafa has seen a little population loss lately. It was almost always in the top 3 of the biggest planets but recently it has dropped a little. One of the reasons for the population decrease could be that the Conglomo manager of Urlafa is currently on vacation. But I'm sure things will get much better quickly when he returns.

Now on to a few good news... The starbase The Emperor's Hand is in a much better condition now. It had a really low population and people and I lost many millions trying to get traders to bring at least some food and water to it. But now thanks to the Paladin traders it's population is rising again and I even made some money. The bulletin boards are filling with mission again and everything is staring to get back to normal. The pilot who has done the most for this is Desaari na Keldon and I would like to use this opportunity to thank him once again. Not only did he help with the starbase supplies but he also built a new fuel collector near the starbase to make trading in that area easier. So, thank you Des...


Special Event:

-Alliance War Games

TWITE with help of the The Imperial Guard and Imperial Order of Paladins are organizing the first Alliance War Games (AWG) in the history of Pardus. The game is quite simple, every Alliance can determine a pilot who will represent their alliance. The pilots will then fight against each other to determine the winner. But of course no ship will be destroyed. Every pilot has to set his ship so that it surrenders if armor points are below 1. Each fight is for 20 rounds, and the pilot who surrenders first (his armor points reaches 1) loses the fight. If in 20 rounds no one has surrendered the winner is the pilot who lost less armor points. Every alliance who wants to be part of the Game has to pay 500k credits, the money that will be collected goes to the winning alliance:
-The winner gets 40% of the money
-2nd place gets 30% of the money
-3rd place gets 20% of the money
-And 10% of the money goes to TWITE

All interested alliances should apply as soon as possible as I am planing to start the Games next week. (Apply to Frozen)

Some things to keep in mind:

1. If a pilot forgets to set his surrender point at 1 armor and his ship is destroyed it's his fault and he has to pay the repairs.
2. When a pilot attacks another pilot he has to attack only until the other pilot surrenders (check the "Only fight until the enemy surrenders (raid)" thing). If someone forgets to do that and he destroys another ship because of that he lost the Game and also has to pay the repairs.
3. Not all fights will be at once. Every week we will be holding a few fights.
4. It doesn't matter how many shield points you lose. So having big shields surely isn't a bad idea
5. It doesn't matter what armor type or strength you have, 1 armor point is 1 armor point...
6.Missiles are not allowed.
7. The AWG are not about money. The main reason for the AWG is to have fun. Since the pilots of Pardus don't have much time to play other sports this could be a good opportunity to have some fun. So that's why I ask every alliance to join the Games. 500k is not much for an alliance to pay but the fun the members will have will be huge.




The Imperial Soapbox - by Viscount Fezdan.

Bounties explained for the "victim". Part 2

Much has happened since I wrote Part 1 of this discussion of bounties, my time has been consumed in dealing with these other matters. I wish to extend my apologies for missing the soapbox last issue, I thank you all for your messages of support and encouragement to get back on the box this week.

Last time we looked at the rather cut and dry issue of faction bounties and concluded that if you commit the crime then you only have yourself to blame when some loyal pilot enforces the legal order. But what about when a pilot takes out a personal bounty for some perceived wrong?

The personal bounty system is the classic two-edged sword as it allows everyone a means of revenge, the virtuous as well as the nefarious. ConsequentlyI think it is important to view personal bounties as a means of retribution rather than justice, although at times the distinction is a fine one. The issue is that the personal system has no agreed standards of what is just. Justice after all is merely the notion that each receive as they deserve. Many a pirate would tell us that the weak deserve to be slaughtered and raided, in this they could be described as the instruments of justice. I, of course, violently disagree with their interpretation but the bounty system recognises no difference between a pirate bountying a brave pilot for opposing their raids, and a helpless trader bountying a pirate for stealing their robots. Vengeance.

The question we must ask, when we see our name appear on the bounty board, is - do I wish to use this system of vengeance myself? If the answer is yes, then we cannot in good conscience complain when others use it against us. To do so is sheer hypocrisy. It is similarly inconsistent to lambast a hunter for collecting a bounty placed on ourselves while cheering them when they nail someone we think deserved it.

It is for this reason that I long ago decided (afterI placed my 1st bounty on a raiding pirate) that I would be the instrument of my own vengeance. Even if it took years to do. If there is to be retribution, it is better, and somehow cleaner, if it is served by my own hand.

Does this give me the moral high-ground? Who knows, but it does save me a lot of money on the bounty board.

For the Empire,

Viscount Fezdan.

A Rookie Pilot's Journal by Soulblade - This was submitted months ago, and now that Soulblade is a successful veteran pilot, here is his story. This will be delivered in 4 parts, 1 part per week.

Greetings fellow Pardusians! I’m Soulblade, a young (and available, though only hot Keldonian babes need apply) rookie pilot hailing from Keldana I. Fresh out of flight school with my piloting license still in mint condition, I hope to share my experiences as a clueless rookie trying to make sense of this galaxy we call Pardus.

Months of grueling Zero-G training, sparring lessons, Piloting 101… all that seemed trivial as I trembled with excitement in Swallow’s (that’s my Sabre) cockpit, waiting for the green launch signal. Sure, I’d barely scraped through the finals for Basic Tactical Theory, but I’ve always taken pride in being able to perform when it matters most, when it comes to the real thing. And this was as real as it gets.

Green and go! With one last look at my tearful (soon to be ex) fiancé, I pressed the big black ignition button. The nuclear drive went into sputtering fits before finally roaring to life. Not much to expect from second-hand junk. Nevertheless, within a few minutes I had entered orbit, and my journey to riches, glory and fame had begun…