A study about gravitational waves, effects and applications

Author: Umbre Fallenstar

Original post: https://forums.eveonline.com/t/yc-122-newcwc-skarkon-war-news-compliation/241448

Entry for YC120 New Eden Capsuleer’s Writing Contest in the Academic/News category.

New Eden Capsuleer Writing Contest Submission Skarkon War News Compilation (June YC121 - May YC122) As Compiled By Galm Eskola-Fae

Bosena Accords, UNF Repel Angel Cartel Attack Internal Memo in Molden Heath Security Inquest Leaked Bosena Accords' Operation Galatine Weakens Seykal-Krullefor Strength in Molden Heath Krullefor Underboss Killed on Muttakon II as Operation Galatine Continues Bosena Accords and Allies Double Down on Skarkon II Invasion Skarkon Situation Heats Up: Supercarrier Sighted Over Skarkon II Neopian Force Presence Escalates Above Skarkon II Bosena Accords Deploys Primary Fleet to Skarkon II Legal Battle Over Skarkon II Ferry System Explosion Onboard Skarkon II Ferry Vessel Kor'ali Wracked By Massive Explosion Clone Pilot Airstrikes Begin in Earnest Against Krellufor Convoys and Supply Bases CallieGirls™ The Skarkon War Neopian News Channel – 07.01.121

Following a detailed statement put forward by Eugales VI arcology lead @Lauralite_Anne_Brezia, the ongoing conflict between the United Neopian Federation and their allies in the Bosena Accords against an armed raid from Serpentis and Angel Cartel militants has reached a stalemate.

According to the Project Salvo co-lead, the cloned mercenaries succeeded in inflicting significant damage to the Eugales VI colony’s industrial district before being pushed back to Industrial Block H4-DL3Y. The response team, organized by @Junon_Tristan of the Bosena Accord’s Department of Structure Security and Defense, specially requested operators from the Accord’s elite Draugr Division under the command of @Foley_Aberas_Jones to keep the fighting contained to Block H4. Meanwhile, baseliner units from the Neopian Defense Force began establishing fixed positions with dispersed artillery support along the perimeter of H4-DL3Y.

Shortly after, a Python-class gunship arrived on-scene containing the Bosena Accords founder Galm Fae along with several dozen crates of experimental small arms and equipment stamped from DysTek Armories to resupply the warclone auxiliaries. Claiming to represent the Glatisant Tribunal, the judicial branch of the warclone stronghold of Avalon, the former Warden of Avalon was quick to comment as the situation unfolded:

“Make no mistake about my appearance here, this counter-offense was executed masterfully by everyone from the command level to the baseliner Neopians that fought alongside our troops. I trust Foley to keep abreast of the situation and to keep Draugr Division poised if we see some sort of a break-out. My presence here is to observe, take note, and to negotiate a ceasefire should the poor bastards on the receiving end of our guns decide they’re ready to come in from the cold.”

When pressed on why the Seperentis and Cartel hadn’t been fully eliminated yet, the warclone had this to say:

“It’s a bit more complicated than just ’blast ‘em!’ We got’em pocketed now, but that’s a tough place to be. Any attempts to push forward have been met with bottlenecks and killing zones that place an unnecessary risk on our troops. There’s not much sense in wasting equipment and biomass feeding clones into the meatgrinder when we can just wait them out or glass ‘em from orbit with a targeted strike. Vaporizing an entire industrial plant and shattering the local atmosphere isn’t exactly ideal either, and it’s only a matter of time before they either force a break out, fight to the last clone, or just all decide to self-terminate at the risk of going home empty handed.”

Rather than dropping hybrid rounds and artillery shells, however, the Bosena Accords took to dropping something else. Late in the evening, as the shots grew silent a flight of three Bolas RDV transports passed over H4-DL3Y and airdropped several cases of provisions including rations, sleeping bags, hand warmers, and dryer sheets to help fight the ambient static that constantly builds on the storm world along with laminated pamphlets informing the entrenched pirates that neither the Serpentis nor Angel Cartel had attempted an extraction or rescue mission. Rather than carry on fighting or self-terminate, the pamphlets offer an appealing alternative; cross the barricades peacefully and enter the fold as Bosena Accords signatories with full amnesty and benefits.

The pirates, for their part, have declined to comment at this time.

Bosena Accords Draugr Division warclone, armed with an experimental XCLBR rifle, secures the perimeter around Block H4-DL3Y. REPUBLIC STAR BREAKING: INTERNAL MEMO IN MOLDEN HEATH SECURITY INQUEST LEAKED

Re: Molden Heath Security Inquest From: Galm Eskola-Fae Sent: 2019.08.19 05:37

ALCON,

I would like to present to all of you, the essential content of todays’s meeting:

To review, we have reason to believe that the Seykal Clan and the Krullefor organization are openly collaborating in Thukker-sanctioned smuggling rings across Molden Heath. It is my belief that this constitutes not only a threat to the locals to have hostile Krullefore and Seykal allied warclones present in the area but also acts to undermine Republic law in local space. I have attempted to contact the Thukker government directly, but they have been unable or unwilling to reply at this time. While there is no proof that the Thukker are directly involved in Seykal activity in the region, it seems fair at this point to estimate that they are compliant in their activity and that of the Krullefor Organization based on the Thukker’s tentative relation with their CEO.

What’s made all the more complicated, at this time, is the territorial sovereignty of Molden Heath. While the Heath remains nominally under the control of the Republican government, many of the habitable planets are specifically set aside for Thukker settlement. This leaves the sovereignty and administration of these planets questionable. Rule of law is a mess of tribal politics, and it allows smuggling operations like those of the Seykal to thrive

Which leads me to my proposed solution. The thukker had a clear plan of action in reducing pirate activity in the area once before; open previously uninhabited Thukker lands to warclone settlement. Warclones have, by and large, evacuated the region as a part of the Bosena Accords or sought work elsewhere and left these regions in disrepair. Formal military districts and installations like those on Bosena XI are now proving to be hubs for criminal activity while remaining de jure “warclone” territory.

Our operatives have reason to believe that the Seykal and Krullefor have been so widely successful due in no small part to their ability “squat” in abandoned warclone infrastructure across Molden Heath that remains unoccupied. These areas are and remain largely unoccupied, and suffer from extreme environmental hazards due to the warclone conflicts planetside. For any representatives present on Bosena XI, you may have noticed the impact sites and glass pillars surrounding this station on your rotation planetside that gives Terror Maw its name due to the rampant orbital bombardment sites. So long as these hazardous facilities remain largely unoccupied and this territory remains de jure warclone sovereignty they will continue to be breeding grounds and staging areas from both Krullefor and Seykal activity. Thus I propose the following:

I have spoken with Knight Guard Fury, Wardon of Avalon and the de facto head of state for our union of warclones. We have agreed that these districts and territory is largely useless for us as we focus our attention away from Molden Heath and towards our goals of establishing a “homeland” in space via a project we call Avalon.

A majority of warclones support these ambitions, and interest in Molden Heath is diminished. However, given suspected links with the Thukker and Seykal clans I am unwilling to simply relinquish warclone lands back to the Thukker tribe Therefore, it is my intention to invite all parties here to cooperate on a widescale settlement campaign to encourage Republic and Thukker citizens alike to pioneer these areas to create a large enough population of Republican citizens that these districts can then be marked for annexation by the Minmatar Republic or incorporated into larger Thukker autonomous regions.

This will have to involve collaboration with Matari affiliated organizations like the Electus Matari to encourage resettlement planetside, and organizations like Corovid Industries to lend their heavy industry abilities in creating settlements. Meanwhile Bosena Accords will act as the primary warclone representatives involved in the hand-off of planetary districts to Republic control, and as a peacekeeping force until such a time where these districts can defend themselves without warclone support. In exchange, the Bosena Accords asks that allied Matari capsuleer groups support our ambitions to create spaceborne superstructures through Project Avalon to act as a homeland for warclones that will take the place of planetary districts in Molden Heath.

In conclusion:

Seykal and Krullefor Organisations are using abandoned warclone facilities for smuggling operations The warclone community no longer has need for these facilities as we turn our ambitions towards space and Project Avalon In exchange for Avalon’s nominal recognition from the Matari community, the Bosena Accords and by extension the warclone community will relinquish administrative control of planetary districts across Molden Heath for Republic settlement. All parties involved in the summit will be asked to provide diplomatic and material support in this mass settlement project. Bosena Accords warclones will provide planetary security and defense for these settlements until such a time that these settlements can stand on their own.

Very Respectfully,

Galm Eskola-Fae Chief Arbiter, Bosena Accords Avalon

Above: Bosena XI, District I “Terror Maw” REPUBLIC STAR BREAKING: BOSENA ACCORDS’ OPERATION GALATINE WEAKENS SEYKAL-KRULLEFOR STRENGTH IN MOLDEN HEATH

Confusion and violence spread across Molden Heath today as a joint coalition of Bosena Accords warclones, independent capsuleers, and advisors from Corovid Industries have conducted a series of high speed raids against the Seykal Clan and their Krullefor allies.

Acting on critical intelligence sold to the Bosena Accords by an unknown hacker, the attacks have targeted key Seykal-Krullefor strongholds and supply areas in an effort to cripple both organizations ability to make war in the on-going Seykal-Cartel war. Six days ago, Bosena Accords spokeman Galm Esokla-Fae initially offered a ceasefire 1 to the Seykal Clan in the interest of de-escalating the ongoing war but quickly altered their terms following input from cadet chief Melisma Ramijozana. Unless the Seykal and Krullefor were willing to agree to terms, they would instead refocus their efforts on “delivering a hammer blow to [Seykal-Krullefor] operations while they are on the back foot defending their territory from the Angels [Cartel.]”

Citing the persistent threat that the Seykal Clan has posed to the stability of the Minmatar Republic, a coalition was quickly formed to use the opportunity created by the Seykal-Cartel war to put a swift end to Seykal-Krullefor influence in the region should the Seykal refused to negotiate. The newly formed coalition has carried out assaults on a series of fortifications across Molden Heath. Rather than intervene in the on-going gangland violence in populated civilian areas, a vast majority of attacks were focused on rapid strikes against strategic supply centers on former warclone-controlled lands planetside or “hard target” orbital fortifications.

Exceptions occur, however, with Accords troops amassing on their stronghold planet of Bosena IX in preparation for a sustained invasion of the Krullefor planetary fortress located in the Third District of Muttokon II. With the air war already raging in the skies above Muttokon II, the Accords has dispatched veteran pilots from the 1st “Hellawes” Strike-Fighter Squadron to conduct SEAD operations against Krullefor defense batteries to clear the way for their air assault corps.

(Above: Strike-fighters from the Bosena Accords’ Hellawes Squadron conduct strafing runs against Krullefor supply convoys outside Muttokon II District 3 while a gun battery burns in the distance.)

REPUBLIC STAR KRULLEFOR UNDERBOSS KILLED ON MUTTAKON II AS OPERATION GALATINE CONTINUES

The Bosena Accords has claimed credit for the death of Sals Armarthen, the Krullefor Organisation’s lead underboss in Molden Heath 2. As the airwar over Muttakon II begins to draw down, the Accord’s elite Draugr Division was dispatched planetside under the command of Bosena Accords veteran Foley Jones to conduct battle damage assessments following a key series of airstrikes from the 1st “Hellawes” Strike-Fighter Squadron. According to squadron commander Mobius Wyvern, Sals Armarthen’s convoy was intercepted attempting to reach Seykal-aligned territory ahead of the Bosena Accords invasion.

It is unknown at this time why Armarthen was attempting to reach Seykal territory. While the Krullefor organisation appears to be closely allied with members of the Seykal clan in smuggling operations across Molden Heath, the Seykal Expeditionary Force has recently pivoted their operations in working with the RSS-affiliated Krusual Covert Operators to combat the growing Angel’s Cartel presence in the region following an initial turf war with the Cartel. It’s unknown at this time if the newfound Seykal-Krusual bloc is merely an alliance of convenience, or a purposeful move to distance themselves from Krullefor operations to protect Seykal interests as the Bosena Accords continues their war against the Krullefor Organisation.

When asked for comment on the nature of the Krusual-Seykal alliance, Bosena Accords spokesman Galm Eskola-Fae had this to say.

“The situation in Molden Heath, and the Republic at large, is incredibly contentious. Our continued operations against the Krullefor in Molden Heath is only possible due to our allies in the region and in the United Neopian Federation. Our coalition maintains excellent standing with the Republic Security Service, which has allowed us to coordinate with local leaders and officials to help navigate the political minefield in the Heath. While the current political landscape has forced us to withdraw from attacks on Seykal targets, this latest strike has allowed us to deliver a crippling blow to Krullefor operations on former warclone lands. It is unknown if Sals Armarthen was cloned ahead of our strike, but I remain confident that our attack has caused enough chaos among the rank-and-file of the Krullefor Organisation that we can mop up Operation Galatine without any major resistance.”

At the time this article is being written Foley’s Draugr Division reported multiple victories in their land assault on the Krullefor facility on Muttokon II. To any Krullefor operatives on the receiving end of the Bosena Accord’s assault, Galm Eskola-Fae was quick to offer them clear terms of surrender:

Lay down your arms and become independent mercenaries under the Bosena Accords charter, or be sent back to Baliggan Krullefor "in a dust pan."

(Above: Draugr Division soldiers mop up hold-out Krullefor forces on Muttokon II )

REPUBLIC STAR BOSENA ACCORDS AND ALLIES DOUBLE DOWN ON SKARKON II INVASION

Following their initial invasion of Skarkon II 8, the Bosena Accords and their allies in the United Neopian Federation 1 have committed further material support for the prolonged invasion of Skarkon II in their war against the Krullefor Organization. In addition to their previous vanguard force outlined in their press release, shipping manifests have confirmed the deployment of four Chakram heavy assault vehicles.

Designed for clandestine operations, the Chakram “stealth tank” 5 was designed by Caldari arms manufacturers prior to the war of planetary conquest to provide scanning and electronic warfare support to cloned troops in field while acting as an anchoring point for special operations teams via its onboard Clone Reanimation Unit. Only a handful of these vehicles exist today, with a majority scrapped or destroyed following the conclusion of the War of Planetary Conquest in Molden Heath and very few blueprint copies ever disseminated. When pressed for comment, the Bosena Accords confirmed a joint project had occurred during their rearmament campaign 2 between their “Myrddin Institute” and the UNF’s DysTek Armories under the guidance of Accords affiliate Woodrow Ormand to modernize their fleet of Chakram HAVs.

While the four vehicles needed to be dug out of coarse, glassy sand of Bosena IX or welded back together from scrap, today the four sister vehicles (Percival, Geraint, Bedivere, and Lamorak respectively) will act as critical support to ground combat teams conducting counter-insurgency operations across Skarkon II. With a smarter set of electronic support equipment, an improved turret, and a near zero scanning radius to magnometric, radar, and ladar scanning the improved “Chakram II” is set to be a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield and a difficult target to pin down by hostile forces.

The Accords has already began to divvy up their vanguard force into smaller, mobile special ops teams to strike at key Krullefor sites across the planet. Strikes have been largely successful, due in no small part to Bosena Accords Chief Arbiter Galm Eskola-Fae’s willingness to cooperate with a large coalition of high profile Angel’s Cartel leaders local to Skarkon II. Unlike previous raids taken under Operation Galatine, however, many within the Bosena Accords leadership believe that Skarkon will be a war for attrition and a final turning point for the war.

“[Skarkon II] remains a major Cartel stronghold planet, so there’s no small wonder why the Krullefor chose to focus their efforts here. I firmly believe that should Skarkon II fall to the combined effort of Seykal, Krusual, and Krullefor forces the Angel’s Cartel will have effectively lost the planetary war in Molden Heath and Krullefor dominance in the Heath will be secured […]Make no mistake, this is where we are making our stand against the Krullefor and where we intend to stop their operations dead in their tracks. Today, its open season on the Krullefor and their allies.”

As a part of the same statement, the Bosena Accords cited the Seykal Expeditionary Group, Krusual Covert Operations, and Tronhada Free Guard as potential cobelligerent factions allied with the Krullefor Organisation on Skarkon II should they involve themselves in the ongoing war.

(Above: Bosena Accords dropships escort RDV transports delivering Chakram II HAVs planetside) Heath Row News Skarkon Situation Heats Up: Supercarrier Sighted Over Skarkon II

YC 122-04-13

In a surprising escalation of the ongoing Skarkon Invasion by warclones of the Bosena Accords and United Neopian Federation based security forces 2, a Wyvern class Supercarrier with UNF identifiers was sighted in orbit, with a Sin class Black Ops escorting.

The Supercarrier held in orbit for several minutes, disgorging several heavy landing craft escorted by advanced fighters that quickly descended into atmosphere. Planetside reports say they have consolidated alongside BosAc and UNF ground units and are already proceeding with Close Air Support operations.

When reached for comment, the pilot of the Supercarrier, identified as the UNF SCVG-001 Wellspring Source from transponder beacons, Lauralite Brezia, had this to say, “This represents a force escalation well above normal operational parameters, but it has been weighed against other options available to us and has been determined to be the best course forward. We remain in steady contact with our local liaisons in the Republic Security Services, they were informed of this coming escalation, and made no attempts to dissuade us from moving forward.” When asked for comment on the nature of the advanced craft deployed, Ms. Brezia was more recalcitrant with her answer, but stated that “Clone Pilots have been deployed and will be conducting operations alongside Warclone and Baseline units.”

What this escalation will bring, only time will tell.

Heath Row News BREAKING: Neopian Force Presence Escalates Above Skarkon II

A mixed battlegroup of capital and subcapital vessels belonging to the United Neopian Federation have escalated their presence in the Skarkon system over planet II, likely in further support of Bosena Accord ground units, the Wyvern Supercarrier Wellspring Source leading the fleet. Further supporting this was the mass of dropships released from each of the capital vessels in orbit, being escorted by squadrons of advanced fightercraft, identified as ‘Wraith,’ ‘Nagi,’ and ‘Jackal’ series craft by military experts, these fighters were noted as being difficult to procure in such numbers by most conventional forces, and lack safety features common in most production fightercraft, making them exceptionally dangerous to pilot. The capsuleer pilots from the UNF battlegroup were unable to be reached for comment.

UNF Battlegroup in Orbit of Skarkon II

Wraith Series Assault Fighter

Nagi Series Support Fighter

Jackal Series Heavy Assault Fighter

Heath Row News Bosena Accords Deploys Primary Fleet to Skarkon II

Following the deployment of the United Neopian Federation battlegroup, the Bosena Accords has taken advantage of local space superiority to deploy their primary fleet in orbit above Skarkon II. The fleet, led by the capital-class warbarge Fisher King, rendezvoused with the UNF Wellspring Source and its associated battlefleet before deploying its own host of escort craft while under guard of the Vindicator-class gunboat Liberation piloted by Woodrow Ormand .

Hypernet transaction records indicate that the Fisher King , originally a Bowhead-class freighter sold to the Accords by signatory Thaddeus Reynolds under the name Settov’s Hammer underwent significant conversions to fill the role of a capital-class warbarge during a joint project with the UNF using components sourced from allied production facilities in Venal. In addition to its self-launched escort fleet of drone carriers, the Fisher King is capable of fielding ten Mobile Command Center ships built on the Bifrost command destroyer platform, an attaché of Magus-class ships to act as launch platforms for planetary RDV support drones, and an additional black ops battleship to support space-borne infantry operations conducted by Draugr Division.

Following rendezvous with the Wellspring Source, the Fisher King quickly launched two MCC’s from their maintenance skiffs and dropped an additional RDV drone hub. All three craft continued their descent into lower orbit to support Bosena Accords troops over the city of Sa’kak.

Sa’kak, the capitol of the Gulormola district of Skarkon II maintains a significant number of Sebiestor settlers and Angel’s Cartel loyalist within their administration following the planetwide economic collapse of the previous Minmatar corporate administration in YC65 3. It is assumed that the local administration of Sa’kak had negotiated with Bosena Accords representative Galm-Eskola Fae for access to Sa’kak airspace in exchange for a non-aggression pact and continued coordination against the Krullefor Organization.

Republic Star Legal Battle Over Skarkon II Ferry System

Following formal protest by the CBD Corporation on the Minmatar Republic’s response to the ongoing Skarkon II conflict, the Caldari-based megacorperation began moves to purchase many previously nationalized industries on Skarkon II to protect their material interests during the war between the Krullefor Organization, Angel’s Cartel, and outside warclone incursions by the Bosena Accords. While many contracts to expand CBD’s influence on the planet went largely uncontested and remained focused on supporting their stronghold province of Ishohuolvi, a major sticking point seems to be their attempts to purchase the robust ferry system that connects several major local cities including the CBD mining hub of Iddeserigard to the central province of Skardisaad.

The only major region on Skarkon II not privately held by corporate control, cartel influence, or landholding clans, Skaardisaad acts as a major hub to all other adjacent districts due to its access to the planetary skyhook system. At one point, all other adjacent corporate cities maintained their own privatized ferry system to transport workers and settlers from the heavily populated cities of Skaardisaad to the frontier. After the planetwide fall of the local Twin Atomic Superconducting Crystals industry in YC65 the frontier began to collapse and many of these private ferry systems fell into disuse and disrepair. In an effort to preserve the only reliable mode of transportation connecting these remote provinces the democratic administration of Skaardisaad opted to purchase the ferry fleets from each corporation and unify them into one centralized public transportation commission. Since then, the ferry system has remained a source of pride for the natives of Skarkon II and is renowned for remaining fiercely independent in the face of unrest.

Fearing an unprecedented level of instability and the potential for civil war the CBD Corporation was quick to present the Skardisaad Ferry Commission a multi-billion ISK contract should they agree to transfer administration over entirely to CBD. Many within the ferry commission are hesitant to sell out to an outside Caldari megacorporation and abandon their policy of providing transportation to all districts of Skarkon II equally regardless of corporate affiliation, with several union leaders threatening mass walkouts in retaliation if the ferry system is sold.

Representatives within the government however believe that CBD’s contract is too good to refuse, and that CBD is the only force on Skarkon II with the the materials and capital needed to provide desperately-needed repairs and security to keep the ferry system safe from Cartel and Krullefor activity. With frequent acts of violence carried out against rival gangs onboard the ferry route connecting the Krullefor-controlled city of Kor’ali and the Cartel stronghold of Sa’kak, it is increasingly likely that the Skaardisaad Ferry Commission will bend to CBD pressure.

The prospect has been met with fierce opposition from the government of Sa’kak. According to Sa’kak’s city council their ferry system was never legally transferred from Minmatar Mining Corporation, the previous holder of Sa’kak’s Gulormola province. Instead, it was claimed unlawfully by the city of Kor’ali following MMC’s flight from Gulormola and their abandoned assets were repatriated by Skaardisaad without proof of ownership or legal authority. Therefore, they argue, these assets cannot be legally granted to CBD without explicit authorization from the Minmatar Mining Corporation. Given Sa’kak’s previous approval and financial backing of the Skaardisaad Ferry Commission, however, it seems clear to legal experts that the Angels-sympathizers of Sa’kak merely intend to delay CBD’s purchase as long as possible so the Angel’s Cartel can continue to use the ferry system to strike at Krullefor targets in Kor’ali without CBD interference. The warclone mercenaries of the Bosena Accords, who have also set up a forward operating base in the outskirts of Sa’kak, have declined to comment on the ongoing legal battle at this time.

(Above: Ferry vessel departs Sa’kak’s harbor locks while underway to Kor’ali. Republic Star BREAKING: Explosion Onboard Skarkon II Ferry Vessel

Mere hours after the acquisition of the Skaardisaad Ferry Commission by the CBD Megacorporation, an explosion was reported onboard the Sa’kak-Kor’ali ferry with all hands lost. The ferry, shortly after leaving port for the first time following news of their acquisition by CBD, reported violence onboard the vessel thirty-eight minutes into its two-hour voyage across the Gulormola Channel. A two minute period of radio silence followed, broken by a report forty minutes in of military aircraft circling the ship. Navigation logs indicate that the ferry attempted briefly to reverse course to Sa’kak, but stopped dead in the water soon after. Radio communication halted once again but was restored following frantic reports of an explosion onboard the ship with multiple casualties and substantial flooding. According to the final radio transmission, the captain was killed on impact and the executive officer was attempting to regain control of the ship amid the chaos. The frequent breaks in communication are likely to be the result of some form of electronic warfare jamming, likely applied to prevent the vessel from contacting coastal rescue teams.

Despite the attempts at jamming, the aforementioned broadcasts were received and coastal patrol vessels were dispatched from Kor’ali, Sa’kak, and a passing CBD patrol fleet. Originally stationed on the Ishohuolvi Peninsula, the CBD fleet stated that they were en route to secure ferry stations across Skardisaad in accordance with their recent acquisition before redirecting to respond to the ferry’s distress signal. The CBD patrol fleet were the first on-scene, reporting that the ship had already sunk with fuel fires engulfing the surrounding waters leaving no survivors. As all three fleets convene on the wreckage, many on the mainland and within CBD are already calling for blood against whoever is found responsible for the ship’s destruction.

(Above: Final image transmitted by the ship’s onboard security cameras.)

Heath Row News Clone Pilot Airstrikes Begin in Earnest Against Krellufor Convoys and Supply Bases

Earlier this morning, a series of coordinated airstrikes began across the Gulormola district, confirmed to have been carried out by Clone Pilots under the employ of the United Neopian Federation, in support of ongoing Bosena Accord Warclone and UNF ArSec operations. Security footage and eyewitness reports show that Jackal heavy assault fighters were heavily utilized in these strikes. Their XC-30 ‘Ripper’ Starburst Mortars being used to devastating effect against armored transports and installations alike. Wraith assault fighters were also seen both escorting Jackals to target zones and engaging ground targets with more traditional blastercannons and so called ‘StormWave’ Scourge Flechette Rockets, weapons normally used against other fightercraft and subcapital vessels.

During the course of these daring attacks, a handful of craft were noted to have been downed, but most crash sites were quickly secured by ArSec units, and recovered.

We’ve reached out to UNF and BosAc forces for comment, and one of the Clone Pilots involved in the campaign, going under the callsign ‘Agonarch,’ stated that 'This air campaign’s a lot different from my normal fair. Sure I’ve hit targets in atmo before, but haven’t run interference for ground ops since Caldari Prime when I was a CalNav fighter jockey. We’re working to minimize collateral damage as much as possible, most of our hits being carried out along desert highways or against Krellufor installations far removed from civilian centers. My sympathies go out to the poor bastards working for Krellufor, Jackals are normally used against Battlecruiser sized targets and up, or for crunching through clusters of fighters, and watching Ripper guns tear through their armor almost makes me feel sorry for them. Tore them open like an axe through a can of Quafe."

(Above: The UNF Clone Pilot ‘Agonarch’)

Breaking: UNF Logistics Support Raitaru 2 Destroyed During Anchor in Orbit of Skarkon II by Nyx Class Supercarrier Belonging to The Ivana Trading Federation Federation, Payoff From Krellufor Organization Suspected

Skarkon Station Free Press BREAKING: Kor’ali Rocked By Massive Explosion By Jerindine Orindold Only a day after the attack on the Sa’kak to Kor’ali ferry route, an enormous radioactive explosion has forced the evacuation of large portions of the city of Kor’ali. The twelve kiloton blast originated in the riverside slums and obliterated large portions of the city’s northwest district as well as sending up a deadly radioactive plume. Fires have spread radioactive ash over much of the city and the surviving administration is calling for evacuations and emergency medical aid. Accounts of acute radiation poisoning are already being reported throughout the surrounding area as radioactive fallout spreads away from the blast on the western winds. While responsibility for the attack remains unclaimed, humanitarian organizations were quick to decry the dirty bomb’s use as barbaric and inhumane. The death toll from the initial fireball is estimated to be at least twenty thousand, and the intense radiation has led many to fear the final death toll may be as high as one hundred thousand, making this the worst tragedy to befall the impoverished desert planet since the elevator crash and ensuing famine of YC109-110. Although the cause and reason for the attack may take some time to determine, expert analysis of local video and sensor data has revealed that a four kiloton antimatter explosion preceded the larger and dirtier explosion by several milliseconds. It is believed that this antimatter blast occurred in the immediate proximity of a large number of plutonium fuel cells, some of which exploded themselves and others of which were broken apart by the blast, spreading radioactive contaminants across the city. This attack marks the largest potential escalation so far in the conflict between the Krullefor Organization and the Angel Cartel and has led many to fear that this may only be the beginnings of wide-scale open warfare on the Skarkon II. I’m Jerindine Orindold, reporting from the Skarkon II capital of Sahaal for the Skarkon Station Free Press. (Above: Rescue workers pick through still burning rubble in Kor’ali.)

CallieGirls™ May YC122 Edition

Originally created as a Callie-based gentleman’s magazine, CallieGirls has gradually built a cult following of fans that have taken to reading the publication just as much for its exposé articles as its “exposure” articles. Detailing subjects ranging from thukk rock bands, drug industries, sex cults, and warzone violence CallieGirls reporter Hugo Harghest has seen it all and wrote to tell about it. Originally a little-known GalNet personality, he was hired by CallieGirls after the conclusion of Operation Highlander for his harrowing frontline reporting of civilian militia groups in the city of Arcurio.

Originally on Skarkon II to report on illegal weapons trades between nomadic groups of the Ngelgnieg desert, Hugo quickly volunteered to return to the city of Sa’kak to report on the immortal mercenary presence there as an embedded reporter.

Hugo Harghest, CaillieGirls™ May YC121

I barely had any time to wash the dust of the Ngelgnieg off me before I got the call from the Bosena Accords that they had agreed to take me on as a ride-along.

All the better, as I had already burnt through the last of my per diem in one of the nicest hotels the Angels Cartel had in their pocket, which was to say all the ones that mattered in Sa’kak. I was still hung over from the night before when I was told they had already sent transport to pick me up, forcing me to leave behind a fair amount of broken bottles, dirty towels, a high femme krusual woman and a waifish sebeistor twink I’d shared a bed with since coming in to town. I had, however, remembered to take the block of hashish we had been splitting that I picked up from the nomadic tribes of the wastes in exchange for a few goods from the cities; more than enough to last me for however long I’d be stuck on the frontline of the Skarkon War.

A Saga scout car came by and drove me to the outskirts of the city, where the UNF’s ArcSec and Bosena Accords mercenaries had been working to establish a fortified outpost while Bosena’s Mobile Command Center fleet hung above wrapped in a circle like the tabor wagon forts I’d seen out in the Ngelgnieg. I brushed the hair out of my eyes to get a better look at the ships, hovering lazily in place like massive gun-strapped buoys bouncing up and down in the surf. Last time I had seen a warclone MCC they were hot-dropping Dragonaur troops in my home city. I wondered to myself, statistically, how many of the soldiers I’d meet today were there on Caldari Prime that day.

The briefing was relatively swift; several hours ago a twelve kiloton blast had rocked the city of Kor’ali. The blast was enough to send shockwaves across the Gulormola Channel and be heard in Sa’kak, which I can only assume I had slept through blissfully unaware thanks to the hashish. Reports indicated that the blast wasn’t the result of the original payload, but instead was triggered by a smaller antimatter charge that had activated a larger supply of radioactive materials. Ipso facto, the Krullefor forces were now potentially sitting on nuclear deposits across the city and were out for blood. The perpetrators and reasons for the explosion were yet unknown, but the threat of retaliation was high. In accordance, a Chakram II black ops Heavy Assault Vehicle team was dispatched across the channel to conduct damage assessment and comb the city for potential nuclear stockpiles across Kor’ali. One of the tanks were detracked by a man portable rocket launcher and sunk into the rubble, and was now surrounded by hostile Krullefor and enemy militia that were eager to blame the Accords for the recent explosion.

The Accords’ 1st Hellawes Fighter-Bomber Squadron had been at work all through the night conducting SEAD missions over the city, accompanied by a flight from the UNF’s spaceborne advanced fighter squadrons launched from the Wyvern-class supercarrier Wellspring Source. Now that the airspace had been cleared, I would ride along a warclone-piloted Crotalus VTOL bomber to hang on-station and support the Chakram II combat team. The pilot, a tall son of a bitch, kept me on a short leash as he brought me from the briefing room to the runway for sortie. He towered over me, clad in his sealed dropsuit frame as I struggled to keep up while we made our way down the tarmac.

“Hey man,” the six-foot-seven war machine laughed down at me, “Don’t worry about it. I was five-nine before I took this job. I’m assigned to babysit you, so keep up, sit down, shut up and don’t touch anything so you can blog all about it later. I don’t need a dead reporter on my consciousness or our records, so let’s knock this sortie out and we can send you home to your polycule in Luminaire or wherever you came from.”

His crew was just finishing their pre-flight checks and helping load armament with the aid of their powered exoskeletons as we boarded. The clone nearest to me hunkered down next to the door gun, assumedly staring at me through the piercing lights of their helmet. All of the clones wore their signature armor, even this far from the front lines. Each bore their own individual markings and personal flair, either in the form of unconventional and improvised equipment, custom decals or stickers, battle-weathered paint jobs, or scratched out insignias bearing marks ranging from the Republic Fleet to the unmistakable emblem of the Guristas. Standardization, quite simply, was not a concern for these soldiers. Their armor was their only source of identity separating them from each other and the pale, featureless clones sealed inside.

As we passed over the Gulormola Channel, I could see passing CBD patrol vessels below circling long black veins of distant smoke plumes rising from the water. The bomber banked right, pulling away to the very edge of the patrol frigate’s range of fire to give the Caldari troops a wide breadth. I’m informed over the on-board radio channel that CBD patrols had tripled since the sinking of the Kor’ali-Sa’kak ferry and that they were looking for any reason to fire on our dropship.

“How are the Bosena Accords managing the situation here on the ground?” I shout, looking out over the open ocean down onto the Caldari fleet, “Seems like everything’s a bee’s dick away from civil war. Is someone running ■■■■ down here, or all you just ‘cowboying’ your way into this?”

“Galm Fae has been keeping a close monitor of the situation personally from the front,” the pilot responded from the cockpit, a fair amount of frustration in his voice.

“From the front?,” I pry, shaking my head and pulling back from the door into my seat, “You mean from orbit? I tried getting an interview with the guy, last I checked he was coordinating efforts in space alongside the UNF.”

“Hey!” the door gunner groans, quickly changing the subject as if inspired while she carves new markings into their armor with her survival knife, “I got a riddle for you paperboy; A man and his son are out for a drive in the countryside. Both get in a horrible accident. The man dies on impact but the boy is airlifted to the hospital. He’s sent to the emergency room for life saving surgery. The catch is, it’s got a forty percent chance of killing him. Only one doctor’s willing to take the risk, but when he sees the boy on the operating table he stops and says ‘I can’t operate on him, he’s my son!’ How’s that ■■■■ work?”

“He’s got two dads,” I answer flatly, unimpressed.

“Ha! Yeah,” she spits, clicking her tongue and going back to her carving, “Good answer I like that one.”

“Did you have a point or?–”

“Naw,” she barks wolfishly in a thick Lonetrek accent as she brushes aside a pile of paint dust to reveal a newly etched effigy of a ghostbird on her arm guard, “Just checking to see if your a homophobe I guess before I decide to throw you off this ship or not.”

I squinted incredulously, trying to search for some sort of hint or tell from the four “eyes” that made up the optics on her helmet before realising how pointless that was. If there was any deeper meaning to her riddle, it was lost on me.

Twenty minutes later we were passing over the coast of Kor’ali, lowering ourselves down between the jagged buildings to avoid ground fire. The onboard geiger-counter began to spike, alerting us to the radiation that was already wafting over the city from the ruins that were once the riverside slums. Small arms fire bounced off the tritanium hull while the door gunner rained a line of hot plasma down on scattered rooftop infantry. Clearly, they were expecting us.

“This is Persival,” the radio called out as we made our way deeper into Kor’ali, barely audible from the caucoffany of fire around us, “Our HAV has been detracked. We’ve been deploying troops via our onboard reanimation unit to defend this position while we conduct repairs but are receiving heavy artillery fire from the enemy command post to the north and are being swarmed by enemy infantry. Requesting ‘hammer down’ on our position, then release the remaining payload on the enemy base.”

“Copy all Persival,” the pilot called back without hesitation, “See you in the next life.”

With that, the Croaltus flew over the target position. I watched out the side window, catching a passing glance of the Bosena Accords tank formation in the center of the street surrounded by burning rubble as the barrel bombs released and came down on top of them. The shockwave shook the bomber, causing me to lurch up out of my seat, my safety strap barely keeping me from tumbling out. The bomber climbed up over the next several adjacent blocks and dropped our remaining payload on a stout administration building brimming with gun positions, completely caving in facade as the support pillars collapsed. We hung briefly on station, waiting silently for any response from the HAV team. Eventually, a weak signal began to come in.

“This is Percival. Good effect on target. Multiple hostile and friendly KIA, but the tank is still in one piece. We’re reanimating now and staging to clean up that command post so we can get rolling again. Good talley, boys.”

There were only a few short moments of celebration before the pilot received a message from friendly forces informing us a “Block” electro-optical missile had recently been spotted in the air by UNF aircraft. Rather than relying on acquiring a direct thermal or radar signature before firing, the Block missile is fired from the ground to hover at a high altitude, using an AI algorithm to parse multiple camera angles across the spectrum to identify aircraft based on their overall silhouette. While the missile had no way of identifying the advanced UNF aircraft, our aging bomber had no countermeasures that would block it from acquiring us as a target. With that, the pilot hit the afterburner and turned us back to Sa’kak for our next sortie.

I was later informed in the after-action briefing that the missile had been fired by CBD.

End of Part I. Next article, UNF’s Lauralite Anne Brezia gets electric on Eugales VI while punk icon Renee Ramalin shows us how hot Mannar can get!

(Above: Crotalus dropship bombers strike at Krullefor positions.)