Informative reports & links about the Nullsec B-R5RB Titanic battle

The past few days have seen alot of buzz in various channels and establishments due to the great Titanic battle between the two largest nullsec sides.

Scenic overview of the titanic battle
 

The Communication Control and Protection division of Concord (CCP in short) provided a great report on this massive fight: The Bloodbath of B-R5RB, Eden's most destructive battle ever!

Also, Capsuleer Alizabeth Vea provides a very informative report on this fight, a real must read to understand such large battles more, and what they mean: The largest battle ever!

The capsuleer organisation Rooks & Kings also provided a gallery of images related to this fight: The beauty of large scale destruction

A last man standing overview of the battle's end

It's expected that mineral prices will rise, in order to accommodate the increased demand for ship-production to replace the massive losses. Also due to the nature of the losses, industrial prductivity will ramp up in various shipyards, possibly increasing capital ship prices.

Concord did establish a memorial site shortly after the fight ended, as it's historic significance was clear: The Titanomachy site, immortalising the remnants of this titanic clash forever.

The Arcology welcomes about 14.000 new refugees & immigrants!

The Aurora Arcology Project has been running smoothly, expanding it's population number at a steady rate.
With thanks to capsuleers like Khaprice and Mayandra Ember, refugees are given the chance for a new life under our guidance and protection.
The injured slaves that have been sent to our care have been treated by our medical staff. Once their wounds had healed, they've been transported to the Disciples of Ston, as their Matriculation Program is far more suitable in guiding them to a new life, away from the traumatic experiences they suffered as slaves.

Now onward to this week's immigration list! Once more, it's a very varied group, heralding from various ways of life. From scientists to janitors and anything in between.

Regular Civilians

-383 Homeless
-1980 Janitors
-4 Manel's Servants
-65 Prisoners (Part of the Prison Lend-Lease Program)
-72 Refugees
-10 Science Graduates
-20 Scientists
-3549 Tourists
-10 Mannar Textile Representatives (Datafile: Cultural Exchange)
-1236 Freed Slaves

Pets

-1 Fedo (Datafile:A strange animal)
-208 Hounds

Law Enforcement (Datafile: Internal Security Divisions)

-80 Caldari Light Marines
-1745 Freedom Fighters
-1 Kameira
-2558 Marines
-360 Militants
-277 Slavers (Part of the Redemption Program)

Employees for the Nightclub L'Etoile Rouge

-151 Female Exotic Dancers
-60 Male Exotic Dancers
-1 Little Male Helper

Councilmembers

-Fajah Ateshi
-Jorek Lephny
-Ryoke Laika

Once more, the council has been expanded in order to accommodate the explosive growth we experienced during last month. Fajah Ateshi will guide the expansion of the Science departments. Jorek Lephny on the other hand will make sure civilian matters are represented enough in the council to assure the smooth workings of the Aurora Arcology project.
At last, Ryoke Laika's appointment is to assure that the growing law enforcement is kept in check and that faction-specific militia receives the correct assignments.

There's also a large influx of Freed Slaves, we attribute this rise to the recent newscoverages on the Disciples of Ston, giving us publicity among recently freed slaves who still search for a place to call home.

Cultural exchange with Disciples of Ston

Both the Aurora Arcology and the Disciples of Ston aim to improve the lives of civilians across the cluster. However the focus of both organisations are different. While Aurora focuses on assisting refugees from conflictzones, the Disciples rescue slaves from their fate.

In previous events, I already had pleasant discussions with Ston, and upon the discovery we both had fashiondesigners amongst our population, the idea was presented for a cultural exchange.
This was further developed after the Sisters of EvE successfully presented a clothingline to the capsuleerpopulation.
An exchange of fashionidea's would be a nice boost to the creativity in clothing for both our projects and arrangements were made to prepare for the exchange.

In the Aurora Arcology, 2 of the 32 Coriault Couture Employees volunteered for the exchange, thrilled at the idea of spreading their creativity to other places. Meanwhile, at the Disciples of Ston, 10 Mannar Textile Representatives were excited to display their fashion & ideas at a new place!
A meeting was arranged at one of the Matriculation centers run by the Disciples to facilitate the exchange.
The Cultural Exchange ran initially in some delays, but in the end it all got sorted out. Both sides gained a boost of new creative fashionidea's and future couture to wear.

Some might criticize the two charities for being occupied with something as trivial as fashion at first sight.
 I like to remind all, that while both the Aurora Arcology and the Disciples of Ston are charities, we do our best to offer people more than just survival, shelter & food. We aim to offer them a new home, a new life. And we all know living is more than just surviving. Being able to offer people a wider selection of clothing helps in giving them that extra feel of being in a new home, a new life.

Workings of the Aurora Arcology: Internal security divisions

This feed aims to highlight the variety of law enforcement units working at the Arcology. The diversity arose as a result of many groups wanting their own people to watch over them. This was further enhanced by the existing conflicts between factions, causing distrust & unrest if members of an opposing faction were policing them.

Here's an overview of all the various Law Enforcement groups aboard the Arcology and the tasks they're usually assigned for.

Aurora Arcology General Law Enforcement

 

This is the main core of the Law Enforcement divisions. Almost all people working in law enforcement at the Arcology can be found in the two main subdivisions.

 

Militants

 

This is the main Police force, they maintain the internal order at the Arcology and investigate crimes when they happen.

They are composed of members of all 4 factions, assuring the Arcology Security Management to have suitable people at hand if situations grow tense between two different factions. This is mainly an issue between Gallente/Caldari groups and Amarr/Minmatar groups.

 

Marines

 

These guys ward the Aurora Arcology from outside threats. Pirate raids, rogue Mercs, sabotage, they are trained & armed to deal with these threats. So far, they haven't seen much action yet, hopefully it'll remain this way for a long time.

As with the Militants, the Marines come from all different backgrounds, but are united in their will to protect the Arcology from harm. The mixed background also helps the civilians to see the marines as *their army/security* that is not tied to a certain faction.

The Hooded Men

Originally started as an Minmatar security force, they now embody the spirit of the Aurora Project as they recruit members of any faction as long as they are willing to put aside their nationalistic ideas for the greater good of all.
These recruits are trained elite forces, sent in to deal with delicate & sensitive situations. Their mixed membership, combined with their training assures such situations are dealt with appropriatly, without accusations of bias or racism.

 

 

Caldari Security

 

 

Of the Four factions, the Caldari have the most diverse security divisions aboard the Aurora Arcology. This can be traced back to the Megacorps who all have their own private securityforce. Many caldari feel great loyalty towards certain megacorps, distrusting others. The result of this is that there's various small securitygroups present, protecting those who are still loyal to certain megacorps. Most of these securitygroups are private firms, but a few are Arcology run initiatives.

 

Caldari Light Marines

 

Main Caldari Securityforce aboard the Arcology, they are unaligned to any megacorp, and are usually deployed during internal strifes between caldari groups to maintain order.

They also keep order in the majority of the Caldari sections.

 

Arctic Warfare Marines

 

Elite trained personnel, specialized in planetside operations. These have been recruited with the Ayem Colony Project in mind. Once this project has launched, they will assure the safety of the colonists and train the local security forces.
 

CPF Security Personnel

 

Elite law enforcement personnel. When all else has failed, these guys are called in. They are well trained veterans, experienced in combatting crime & maintaining order.

Rightfully feared by anyone who harbors criminal intent as the CPF Personnel is ruthlessly efficient. While their methods can be questionable at times, the results show it works.

 

Gallente Security

 

The Gallente are the smallest faction aboard the Aurora Arcology and thereby feel alot of pressure from both the Caldari & Amarr groups, and recently, even certain Minmatar groups have been less than pleasant in their dealings with the Gallente population aboard the Arcology. The Arcology Militants did their best to provide security, but in the end, it was felt only a Gallente-specific law enforcement unit would suffice to make them feel safe.

Of the four main factions aboard the Arcology, it's easy to see why the Gallente were the first to requisition a faction-specific Law Enforcement division.

 

Temko Mercenaries

 

Oldest faction specific law enforcement aboard the Aurora Arcology. Originally they were hired Gallente security personnel, but nowadays, they're all recruited from within the Gallente faction, helping them feel more secure and treated justly by the law enforcement groups.

 

Amarr Security

 

Most amarr aboard the Arcology don't fit within the stereotype of slave-owning holders or nobles as almost all of them come from more humble backgrounds. As a result, many feel unjustly judged by the stereotypes people have of the Amarr.

This was the main reason of the Amarr faction to legislate their own security forces, as they felt most non-Amarr security personnel were biased against them.

 

Amarr Light Marines

 

Mainstay of the Amarr specific law enforcement division. they usually assist the Aurora Militants in dealing with various Amarr-specific issues to prevent incidents from escalating or cause unintended harm/insults.

They are also tasked with maintaining order within the Amarr section.

 

Kameiras

 

These are a special case of security personnel within the Arcology and highly controversial. Trained from childbirth to become warriors for the Amarr Empire, these individuals are extremely efficient at any security task appointed to them.

Aboard the Aurora Arcology project, they must be registrered and are only allowed to perform bodyguard security for authorized Arcology Citizens. These are generally high ranking individuals and religious figures among the Amarr faction aboard the Arcology. Most of these Kameiras answer to the Amarr scientist Fajah Ateshi as they are her personal bodyguard that she brought along.

Note: Kameiras always come from outside the Arcology, recruiting Kameiras is for obvious reasons illegal!

Riot Interdiction Team

These are the redeemed slavers who succesfully rounded their Redemption program. They are deployed during times of unrest & riots, in order to quickly subdue them, in order to prevent casualties. Their unique skills, gathered as slaver, allows them to rapidly identify leader-figures and remove them from the group by usage of non-lethal weapons & methods, rapidly quelling the unrest.
  

Minmatar Security

 



Originally, most Minmatar were content with the general security provided by the Aurora Arcology. This however changed with events occurring over the years. As their call for an own identity called louder & louder, so did their call for a Minmatar-specific security force.

 

Freedom Fighters

 

Originally, they formed rather spontaneously. Small groups of Minmatar organized themselves in their own civil guards. Over time their numbers & groups grew, requiring more cohesion & organisation. From this, the Freedom Fighters Security division was formed. While the least equipped of all security divisions, they are among the most numerous, working with large numbers of volunteers from the Minmatar population aboard the Arcology.

Despite their lack of equipment compared to other security divisions, they do perform an excellent job in maintaining peace and combat crime in the Minmatar section of the Aurora Arcology Project.
 

Conclusion

 

While the large number of different security divisions tends to complicate things, they are also a great boon in maintaining peace between the four main factions aboard the Arcology, as it avoids the perception of 'faction bias' The faction-specific security also helps in understanding certain racial issues better and the handling of them.

The faction-specific security personnel also helps in making people feel more secure and also in feeling welcomed.

Never forget that many of the people aboard the Arcology have been refugees & rescuees, so their trust in foreign security is not very high. Faction specific security, recruited from people who live among them helps these people to regain trust in law enforcement units.





13.000 more refugees join the Aurora Arcology!

Once more, thousands of refugees across the cluster have joined the Arcology Project. This week does see a great variety among the refugees & immigrants, including recruits to enhance the working of the Arcology.

This week's been calm on things, allowing us to develop the newly appointed spaces aboard the Irjunen station for future habitation & employment. The agricultural division has gained alot of additional space due to it's success in selling specialized food products.
The Medical R&D department also has been expanded, as it's one of our cornerstones for income. You can expect more info on this once the enhanced labs are in full use.

There's also the plan for the near future to set up a cultural exchange with the Disciples of Ston. It has been talked about previously and there was certainly interest from both sides. In the end, it's not only about as rescuing as many people as you can & give them food & shelter. You also have to think of less basic needs, in order to improve their quality of life.
A cultural exchange of fashion designers would surely fit into this! All new designs would be available for people to choose from, in clothing and other assorted products.
We'll keep you posted on this cultural exchange.

Now onward to the newest list of this week's immigrants! They come from all corners of the Eden cluster, so a great variety in backgrounds in this weekly report.

Regular Civilians

-1 Blood Raider Scientist (Part of the Redemption Program)
-1 Caldari Prisoner of War
-7 Conditioned House Slaves (Datafile: Deathcans & Slaves)
-366 Homeless
-1.866 Janitors
-10 Kidnapped Citizens
-14 Manel's Servant
-30 Prisoners  (Part of the Prison Lend-Lease Program)
-45 Refugees
-11 Science Graduates
-18 Scientists
-20 Ship's Crew
-7.195 Tourists
-500 Freed Slaves

Pets

-7 Fedos (Datafile:A strange animal)
-192 Hounds

Law Enforcement Units

-30 Caldari Light Marines
-1 Deep Cover Corporate Assassin
-241 Freedom Fighters
-2685 Marines
-290 Militants
-131 Slavers (Part of the Redemption Program)
-53 Temko Mercenaries

Employees for the Nightclub L'Etoile Rouge

-171 Female Exotic Dancers
-10 Male Exotic Dancers

Councilmembers

-1 Jorek Lephny
-1 Oura Madusaari (Patient suffering the Oura M. Syndrome)

We have a few interesting recruits & refugees this week. The Caldari Prisoner of War was rescued together with the Kidnapped citizens by Captain Turelus from a Gallente detention facility. When news of the prisoner's bad treatment spread, so did the tensions rise between the Caldari & Gallente factions in the Arcology. To safeguard the small Gallente population from unwanted aggression, Temko mercenaries have been recruited to maintain peace. We'll monitor the situation to prevent any escalations.
To assist the Gallente faction in feeling more secure, a call has been made to provide native security, as they are the only factions without their own nation's militia support.

The Conditioned House Slaves are indeed a breach on the Arcology's policy of *No Slaves Allowed* but these are a special case, they were well treated slaves, despite them being kept by pirates. We registrated these people, and due to their history as house-slaves, we should have less issues re-introducing them into society as free people.

The addition of the Deep Cover Corporate Assassin is a great boost to our intel division, showing other corporations that our intelligence agency is ready to thwart their covert ops. We like to thank the Ember family for this important addition to our intel division.

Rogue Drones & Derelict Sites

Introduction

Across the cluster you can find many data & relic sites, derelict places of secrecy, abandoned by their owners for various reasons, ranging from risk of discovery to simply outlived it's purpose. Among these empty structures, you can still find treasures if fate is with you.
For this reason, many capsuleers fit out exploration ships to find such sites and plunder them for the possible hidden goodies and technology.

However, capsuleers aren't the only ones interested in derelict sites... Rogue drones are always on the lookout to establish new outposts for various reasons, and an abandoned structure is just the right place to infect & grow a new rogue drone hive.
Little is known about the earliest stages of a rogue drone infestation and despite many attempts, there is very little concrete knowledge.
Recently, the capsuleer Aurora Fatalis might had a run in with the earliest stages of a rogue drone infestation during exploration for datasites.

Not so abandoned...

About a week ago, Aurora Fatalis set out to explore systems in the Esoteria region. During her journey, she scanned down a derelict Sansha data site. Hoping to find advanced blueprints, or remnants of powerful Sansha technology, she quickly warped towards it & proceeded to hack her way past the security system.
As the old security system powered down & opened the hangar, dozens of cans flew out. But when Fatalis tried activating her tractorbeam to pull in the cans, the system displayed a warning, that no cans were found in the vicinity... Quickly she analyzed these 'cans' and shock came to her when she found out their true nature! Rogue drones, dozens of tiny rogue drones!
As Fatalis regained control over the situation, she noticed these rogue drones kept circling her, but made no attempt at attacks. Neither did they attempt to web or scramble her, they seemed content orbiting her, as a sort of warning.
These rogue drones were much smaller than their combat-ready comrades, possibly constructiondrones, or perhaps an exploration-variant.
But capsuleer Aurora Fatalis didn't get much time to investigate this odd occurence deeper, as the systemcomputer warned of hostile capsuleers entering the system! She had to flee from this place, as the rogue drones circling the ship prevented it's cloak from activating.
She had no choice but to warp away, and lose contact with this site, and so she did in order to escape the hunting capsuleers.

Conclusion

It's not entirely sure what happened at this datasite, as rogue drones tend to be known for their stance of *shoot first, no questions asked* policy. It has been suggested that this was a rare sight of a starting Rogue Drone infestation, where small rogue drones prepare an abandoned site for the arrival of their bigger brethren in order to create a new hive or outpost.
As such event is a rarity to witness, the data gathered by Aurora Fatalis is crucial, even tho she had not much time to collect information due to the arrival of hostile capsuleers.

Gurista Capsuleers spotted!

No kill like overkill

A few days ago, several Gurista battleships were spotted in the lowsec system Covryn. This is odd, as this Gallente system is normally Serpentis' turf. Moreover, these were no normal Guristas, but capsuleer ones. There's quite some capsuleer organisations that associate with them, but very few actually join the Guristas themselves!

The alliance Cynosural Field Theory [MOROS], a capsuleer organisation residing in lowsec, spotted and enganged these Gurista Rattlesnakes.
The reason given for the engagement was provocation. A [MOROS] representative informed us that the Gurista capsuleers were insulting them, calling them eggers, and they would not stand for it! So they deployed a powerful force to deal with these insurgents.
The battle was short, fierce and onesided as the capsuleer organisation even fielded dreadnoughts to deal with the insurgents. In a great display of firepower, they eliminated the Gurista Battleship squadron in mere minutes. Not even pods could escape the [MOROS] vengeance for the insults.

The quick and fast elimination of these Gurista capsuleers is the main reason there was hardly any news about this.

A link to the battlereport: Gurista Squadron destroyed in Covryn

Speculation on this event

Now, why would Gurista capsuleers show themselves, and in gallente space of all? Where the Serpentis operate? The purpose of the squadron is unclear, as they had nothing special in their cargo, and did not say a thing, save calling the locals 'eggers'.
We'll put forth some speculation about their task:

-It might be linked to the Capsuleer attack on the Serpentis & Angel research stations a while back.
Guristas attempted to meet, or have met a Serpentis representative, to negotiate a deal of some sorts, fearing they might be next to be hit by such large attack.

-It can also be linked to the ghost sites, Guristas running some clandestine raid to reclaim some of the covert research tools that capsuleers stole from them. Which must have utterly failed, or didn't even start, as there were none in the cargo. It was also not in Gurista space,  so it's unlikely, but not impossible.

-It might have functioned as an escort for valuable cargo or important personnel. As there was nothing in cargo, it can be it was already delivered, and their subsequent destruction was a mere nuisance in such case as the objective was finished.

-Other, if you have any insight to possible reasons, you can contact Jandice Ymladris, and if it's a plausble theory, it'll be added here, to assist those who investigate this event.

Addendum, the Gallente authorities released a statement: Gurista incursion in Placid. It is believed it doesn't tell the whole tale however.

We urge all capsuleers to be alert! It is a possibility this is a prelude to increased Gurista activity!

Deathcans & Slaves

Deathcans

You may heared the term 'deathcan' before, but what does it exactly mean? Deathcans are usually cargocannisters jettisoned from ships into space with people still onboard. As these people have no way of moving nor communicating they are left to die as the oxygen rapidly decreases.
But who would do such thing? And why?
The main culprits of these actions are illegal slave smugglers, they can be capsuleers, but not necessarily so, dumping their slave-cargo if they risk being caught. Their hands come clean as they pass inspection, but their cargo of illegal slaves is doomed to die a slow suffocation death in space.
Other culprits are capsuleers, doing it out of cruelty, or for twisted games of gambling, seeing who can last the longest as the poor victims slowly suffocate. Some even just do it out boredom, or because they changed minds of transporting the people...

We had two recent experiences with such deathcans, as detailed in the upcoming reports.

An emergency call

As I was checking on some paperwork, an emergency call came in from Tahrmal Nalthkh, an employee of the Disciples of Ston. He requested assistance at Niarja in rescuing slaves from multiple deathcans.
As the Arcology HQ is closeby, a mere 4 jumps, I undocked and confirmed to him I would lend my help. With coordination, we managed to save all 93 people, almost all slaves.
As the cans were found close to the Kaaputenen gate, it was clear what happened, a slave-smuggler dumped his illegal slave-cargo to prevent being caught by Caldari customs.
Lucky, thanks to our combined effort, we managed to save these people from certain death. I transferred the rescued slaves to the Disciples of Ston as they have more experience in re-integrating slaves into society as free people. Illegal slaves are usually harshly treated, and require good counselling & guidance to be able to function as free people.

It's important to note that rescuing people from deathcans flag you as criminal by Concord, so you need to have a fast & agile ship, to outrun triggerhappy capsuleers.

Abandoned at Uedama

Travelling through Uedama, I noticed a can at a strange place, right next to the Sivela gate. This is odd, as normally wreckage & rescue-cans are a good dozen kilometer away from gates. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a deathcan!
Aboard were 7 houseslaves, jettisoned for an unknown reason by a capsuleer. I ordered my crew to get them aboard the transport as soon as they could as Uedama is a dangerous place. Any transport not hurrying itself in the system can be marked for destruction by the local capsuleerthugs.
Now the houseslaves are at the Arcology project, where they'll receive assistance to be integrated as free people into the Aurora community.
As houseslaves are generally well treated, this should go without much trouble.

Over 13.000 immigrants already joined the Arcology this year!

We're off to a good start! More and more capsuleers find the way to our organisation when they rescue people from pirate-hideouts or locate refugees seeking a better life.
Satyriasis Gabrielle is one of our newer supporters, regularly bringing in new rescuees she found among pirate-hideouts. Also a special mention for Halcyon Ember who did not only gave hundreds of refugees a new chance in life, but also prodded her family in assisting our Aurora Arcology Project.
Thanks to capsuleers like them, hope stays alive. A hope for a better future, for prosperity and peace.

The Aurora News Network also got a smashing start of the year with the report on the I-RED flagship celebration. The comments received from those involved were allround positive, and this also reflects in the large readerbase of this newsarticle!
It is our aim this year to bring more attention to events like this by reporting on them, and with that, draw more attention for future events.

Now without further delay, onward to the immigration report. Once more we got a very diverse group of refugees. We also received several fedos from capsuleers who wanted to get rid of the smelly beasts. With some care and a special diet, these fedo's should be ready for adoption for our civilians in a few weeks!

Regular civilians

-501 Homeless
-2.341 Janitors
-225 Prisoners (Part of the Prison Lend-Lease Program)
-30 Refugees
-12 Science Graduates
-6 Stranded Pilots
-4.343 Tourists
-751 Freed Slaves

Pets

-4 Fedos (Datafile:A strange animal)
-244 Hounds

Law Enforcement Units

-105 Caldari Light Marines
-209 Freedom Fighters
-2.253 Marines
-2.295 Militants
-174 Slavers (Part of the Redemption Program)

Employees for the Nightclub L'Etoile Rouge

-189 Female Exotic dancers
-80 Male Exotic dancers
-1 Little Male Helper

Councilmember

-Scotty the Docking manager.

With the expansion we had last year, there's room aplenty for all the new immigrants. If nothing happens, we should have all the space we need for this years estimated growth. We do look at other projects to assist the refugees, in order to offer them a wide selection of jobs & opportunities so they have an easier time re-integrating into society.

Celebrating the deployment of I-RED's newest flagship

Prelude

Some background on I-RED for our readers. I-RED is short for Ishuk-Raata Enforcement Directive and they are a capsuleer led alliance that supports the Caldari State in fringe regions. They do this by various programs and operations, the most visible is their anti-pirate program they run in order to secure regions for loyal citizens.
I-RED policy is influenced by the Ishukone Megacorporation, considered to be one of the more humane Megacorps in the State as seen by the treatment of their main workforce and acting policies (as shown here: Ishukone relief Convoy arrives safely).
More info on them can be found here: Ishuk-Raata Enforcement Directive Datafile

It is important to note that only friends of I-RED and friends of the Caldari State at large were invited to this event. As supporter of the State, I was granted an invite to this event after expressing my interest to attend.

The start of the event, a last check

The celebration of I-RED's new flagship was held at the Ishukone headquarters in the Malkalen system.
On approach, you can still see the damage the Station sustained during the Malkalen disaster, as a lasting testimony that the State should always be vigilant to outsiders. Once docked, nothing reminds of this incident however, showing the outside damage is now a facade, a lesson to be remembered.

Once arrived, everyone had to pass a formal security check, a valid precaution concerning the nature of capsuleers. Among the crowd in the arrival lobby, I was pleased to see many familiar faces, allowing for some small chats to shorten the waittime.
When the security check came out clear, Katrina Oniseki and Makoto Priano continued to assign the attendees their seats. The primary friends & supporters of I-RED were given priority, as it should be. Rapidly the other guests were assigned and lead to the Greatroom as well.

Speeches & Signings and a good time.

As people gathered and exchanged greetings at the Greatroom while seeking out their seats, there was time to marvel at the majestic noseplate of I-RED's newest flagship, the Leviathan IRV Gariushi-Oriki.

Footage of a Leviathan class Titan (Not the IRV Gariushi-Oriki, due to security protocols)

This noseplate was brought in to celebrate the ship's inauguration, because unveiling the ship itself to the audience would both be impractical and unwise. Too many enemies would jump on the opportunity to destroy such majestic ship.
Nearby were provided special engraving pens, to allow the guests to engrave their name or a special message into the noseplate, making them part of the Leviathan in a way. A very nice touch to this formal event, and a creative way to celebrate the inauguration of their newest flagship.

Once all were seated in the Greatroom, Katrina Oniseki called attention to the stage, for several people were invited to speak about I-RED, their friends, the newest flagship, and future plans.

The first speaker was John Revenant, a man who I admire much, a true hero. His speech was short but nice,telling a tale of travelling far, and to learn, to help and teach, and that's in that spirit the I-RED flagship IRV Gariushi-Oriki is constructed.

The next speaker was Bosquit, I-RED's FleetCommander who held a fiery and rousing speech against piracy and anarchy in Syndicate and her desire to bring peace & order to this place.
her fiery speech did earn her a loud applause from the crowd.

Up next was Makoto Priano, head of security for the event who invited selected honored guests to the stage for toasting at the deployment of the titan IRV Gariushi-Oriki. This caused a bit of chaos by people getting drinks to the bar in a hurry, but it was quickly resolved. The first toast was given by Sakaane Eionell, member of the Intaki Prosperity Initiative, who toasted that the brand new Leviathan may bring peace & order wherever it's deployed.
After her, several people were called on stage to bring out a toast themselves, among these was Demion Samenel, representative of 4TH District and Aldrith Shutaq, Amarr poet, whose mastery of words was displayed on stage.

Once the toasting was over, people were free to socialize and go to the bar and buffet to enjoy the celebration in freedom. During this, there was also ample time to put your personal engravings to the Leviathan's noseplate, an opportunity many took to put their personal message on it, with well intent.
Only one minor incident occurred during the celebration, and was by I-RED's own personnel. An apparently drunk capsuleer abused the privilege to engrave the noseplate by drawing an inappropriate picture. However thanks to Katrina Oniseki's quick reactions and the efficient security it was quickly dealt with and would remain the only incident.
A great achievement, considering the amount of capsuleers present. It's a testament to I-RED's efficient security.
For the rest of the evening, it was a great time for many to socialize with old friends and new acquaintances about recent and distant happenings. During this time, I took the opportunity to engrave a personal message of my own on the noseplate. Not often you can do it, so have to use the chance when you get it.
All in all, the celebration of I-RED's newest flagship was a rousing success. May this success endure in it's deployments

Examples of engravings by various individuals

Quite some signed the noseplate with their names, but some left beautiful words, or witty remarks, and here's some examples:

A couplet by Scherezad "The wooden walls of ancient halls our ancestors now tend // and metal hulls of starbound gulls their memories defend."

Treya Leral wrote "May this vessel inspire the same respect in your foes it does in your friends."

Jared Haywire's engraving "Remember, it's bridge not jump" is a callback to one of the largest battles the Eden cluster has seen, caused by a capsuleer giving the wrong command.

Another engraving showed a large X with the words "Aim Here" engraved next to them, a display of Pieter Tuulinen's wit.

As for my engraving, it reads: "May this ship carry the Glory of the State to all those who deserve its protection"

There were many more, but this is to show the variety of engravings people put on the noseplate, it did make for some great reading later in the evening.
A thanks to I-RED for organizing a succesful formal event in Caldari fashion.

Looking back at the YC 115 newsreports and the founding of the Aurora News Network

About 4 months ago, a newsagency was founded to provide the supporters of the Aurora Arcology Project with news, in order to provide them with information on what happened at the Arcology and to give more insight on how it all worked.
This startup was inspired by the Mercenary information blog run by Denak Kalamari. Initially the newsreports were just that, informing our supporters with how the arcology was run, and the regular immigration reports on new refugees joining. The original name reflected this small scope, as it was called Aurora Arcology News, putting the focus on local news.

Quickly, additional newsreports were added, detailing how some refugees were rescued from their situation. Looking back at them, it can be said that these were the first step to a broader news agency. These rescue reports were the first to bring in a new & larger audience, albeit it remained to serve a niche audience, namely those who had interest in our project and good works in general.

This changed when the News agency was asked to report on the Elokur Trial as neutral third party. It was the first large boost of our readership, eclipsing all previous newsviews. From that moment onward, our newsfocus shifted from local Arcology news to a broader news agency, with a focus on various happenings in the Eden cluster.
To reflect this new course, a change in name was adopted and from now on it would be called Aurora News Network (ANN), reflecting a much broader scope of newsreports.

The subsequent successes of further newsfeeds showed this was the right path to take. Among the reasons of the growing audience was Commander A9 who promoted our Event Newsfeeds to a large audience, booming our readership for these reports.

All of this also had effect on the Aurora Arcology project itself. With the increased publicity generated from the newsreports, alot more people have been assisting us in rescuing & housing refugees. The immigration reports reflect this increase of refugees finding their way to the Arcology project. From about 9000 in our first immigration report to a stunning 118.000 refugees in our last immigration report for YC115!

But what were our most read newsreports in YC115? Which ones were our biggest hits? And why? We'll answer this in our Top 5 YC115 Newsfeed list!

Top 5 Aurora Newsfeeds of YC115

5) Outcome of  the Colony Survey Report

This one's a special case. It's one of the few Arcology focused projects that has drawn in a large readership. This newsreport and those associated with the Colonisation project draw alot of attention. This shows that even in this time and age, colonizing a new world still appeals to people.

4) Capsuleers fail to organize a gank on Concord

Among the first newsfeeds to inform about events outside the Arcology project, this one became a large success, and provided a stepping stone in attracting a new audience outside the Arcology interests. This newsfeed reported on the clash between Capsuleer Anarchists and Concord, the result was very onesided in favor for Concord. Shows people love reading about the misfortune of others. This was also among the first newsreports created on request.

3) The Luminaire Holiday Festival was a great success!

Attended by many, and read by many, this newsfeed gave a glimpse on the holiday cheer capsuleers indulged in. Many shared this newsfeed to others, showing there's more to the Eden cluster and its capsuleers then just destruction & mayhem. This was also the first report to include direct image feeds to enhance the newsarticle and make it more attractive to read.

2) The fedo, a strange animal

This newsfeed is a fine example of being at the right place at the right time. Published as a new concept, to provide readers with background knowledge on less known subjects in Eden, this newsreport quickly rose to the top in days!
The success of this newsfeed can be explained by the recent Fedo popularity increase among capsuleers. As more and more capsuleers wanted a Fedo pet of their own, they quickly stumbled on a lack of information about these curious creatures.
As they found this newsfeed, it spread like wildfire among the Fedo Pet community as the article provided the information they were after and included links to other information sources!

1) Capsuleers respond en masse to the Call for arms, the Navies fail to assist!

Obviously most readers of our newsfeed know this one. It put ANN on the charts as reliable newsfeed. The massive chaos from this event resulted in very few information being published about it outside complains pointed at Concord and the Navies. As we managed to be among the first to compile a reliable report on the events, people flocked to us to read about it & point out errors, allowing us to correct these. Add to it that other newsagencies mainly kept their focus on the complains, and it's easy to see why this newsreport was such a success, as it focused on the event itself.
To this day this newsfeed remains the one with the largest readership, outdoing the previous 4 combined by far.

A thanks to all readers & supporters

I wish to thank all those who made the Aurora News Network such a succes. The sharing of stories, pointing out future events, assisting refugees with a new start at the Arcology project, even reading the various reports all help.
When I started this Newsfeed in the summer, I never imagined it would become so large in scope. What started as a small informationfeed about the Aurora Arcology Project has transformed into a Newsfeed blog reporting about major events in the cluster and providing filler info inbetween by publishing items about the Arcology Project and other fluff.
Also a major thanks to all who helped refugees get a new start in life by sending them to the Aurora Arcology Project.

May YC116 be a good year for all of us!