President Jacus Roden begins his second term

The Presidential inauguration ceremony would occur at the Senate headquarters, in the Villore system. As the day of the inauguration came closer, extreme security measures were taken, under a veil of secrecy. This is uncommon as usually the inauguration ceremony is a very public event, followed by media across New Eden.

But now, even the President arrived unannounced in his Federation issue Megathron under a heavy escort composed of Federation Navy ships & Directive Enforcement Department ships.

The reason for all the secrecy & security measures is the appearance of the unknown structures & the ships that accompany them, causing major criticism by the Gallente citizens towards the Roden administration regarding Federation security & the failure of the Tripwire warning system. As not much is known about these strange intruders, security remains in an all time high alert state to assure the safety of the President & the attendees.

At 28 Februari, the inauguration ceremony began, preparing President Jacus Roden to swear in his second term as president.

Under the watchful eye of the Senate, lead by Head Senator Andon Gardieu & watched by trillions in the Federation & beyond through the holovision broadcasts, President Jacus Roden officiated his second term as he repeated the traditional Oath.

Flanked by Black Eagle Director Mentas Blaque and Gilles Ranchel, Head of the Senate Domestic Security Council, President Jacus Roden places his right hand on a leather-bound copy of the Federation Constitution and repeated the oath spoken by Head Senator Andon Gardieu, officially marking his second term as President of the Gallente Federation!

The oath recites as follows:

“I, Jacus Roden, do solemnly swear before the Federal Senate and Federal Supreme Court, that I will faithfully and honorably execute the office of President of the Federated Union of Gallente Prime, and will, to the best of my ability, ensure that my actions in office protect, preserve and defend the values and principles of the people, as laid out in the Constitution of the Federated Union of Gallente Prime.”

Immediately after this, President Jacus Roden addressed the people through the media, thanking them for their support in the elections. After his speech, he was bombarded by questions by the journalists present, mainly regarding to the supposed threat of the Seekers and Drifters & their mysterious structures that appeared.

He responded that there's an investigation ongoing on how they could circumvent the Tripwire warning system & how dangerous they really are, but that as long as there's nothing known for certain, the Federation Navy remains in high alert in order to secure the Gallente Federation from any possible threats that might arise.

With the ceremony coming to an end, President Jacus Roden does offer stability to the Federation in these tumultuous times. It's expected that his policy regarding Federation matters will continue the upcoming years, allowing more solid interstellar politics & treaties to be formed. This will be a good thing with the mysterious arrivals of the Drifters who have everyone on alert!

I-RED chases sabotage suspects across New Eden

Prelude

Ever since the sabotage that struck the Tsuruma Colony, I-RED has taken extreme measures to locate & arrest possible suspects. The raid last week gave a glimpse of this. But this week shows they don't shy away from seizing their own assets if a possible suspects hides there.
But as shown later, they don't shy away of locating possible leads deep in  the lawless space that is the Syndicate region.

The Silen raid

This second raid occurred in the Silen system on 22 February at 21H , and would take place at an I-RED mining complex. The mining facility itself is split up in 3 parts, linked together through large connector tubes. This split structure makes the boarding & securing easier.
Once again, a small strike force was gathered, but this time complemented with assistance ships. Lyn Farel flew a transport to help getting people of the facilities, Jaret Victorian's transport was fitted with medical bays, just in case there would be wounded.
Dust Mercenary Foley Aberas Jones joined once again with his warbarge in the strike fleet, providing ground support.

Once the fleet arrived at the I-RED mining installation in the asteroid belt, Katrina Oniseki broadcasted a clear message that left no room for interpretations. The facility personnel had to stand down and yield to the I-RED Internal Watch forces inbound. Do note, that Katrina Oniseki only revealed herself at the end of the raid. the first times the announcements was made, she did not reveal who she was.
The message was:

Attention Silen-Colony - This site has been designated for restructuring. Your right to authority has been rescinded. Stand down and prepare to be relieved of your duties.
Disengage your security systems and unsecure all sections. This site is now under the direct authority of Internal Affairs. Failure to comply will result in termination.
Use of deadly force authorized.

-Broadcasted by Katrina Oniseki, head of I-RED Internal Watch

After this announcement, Internal Watch ground forces boarded the facility, rounding up the surprised personnel. The one person that questioned this authority was handled brutally, leading to a broken arm.
Shortly after, Dust Mercenary Foley Jones arrived in the compound, coordinating the operation in name of Katrina Oniseki & Korsavius. All the personnel that was arrested were brought aboard the transports.
Meanwhile, Foley Jones investigated a signal beacon, in the hopes it would lead them to the important suspect. But the beacon turns out to be a fake, meaning they had to storm the second section of the facility in the hope to apprehend this suspect.

Once again, Katrina Oniseki player her message before they would storm the facility. But the personnel here was much more resistant, as they had seen through the commlinks how their colleagues were brutally arrested by the Internal Watch forces.
As the resistence proved to much to overcome without many casualties, Katrina Oniseki hacked into the mainframe, allowing her to use a painful but non-lethal sound suppression device. After this, most resistance was broken & the people could be rounded up easy by the Internal Watch security.
Using this opportunity, Foley Jones & a small team went to investigate the hangar for the suspect, only to fall in a trap.
Turns out the hangar defense mechanisms was rigged and turned against the team in the hangar. As they tried to find cover as best as they could, most perished before they managed to reach safety.
By deploying light drones inside, the heavy turrets were rapidly taken out. However, the side effect was that this heavy duty firepower practically took out the entire hangar, requiring the soldiers to find another way into the third section of the mining complex.
In the aftermath of this, the surviving & able troops boarded the dropships again, while the wounded got transported into the medical bays.

And so, once again Katrina Oniseki broadcasted her message to warn the I-RED personnel on the mining facility. Now there's only one section left to investigate, cut off from the rest after the hangar trap.
But as Foley Jones disembarks, a horrifying sight unveils before him... dozens of dead personnel, all in grotesque positions, as if they suffocated painfully. Lucky, the boarding troops were wearing their mercenary suits, protecting them from harmful environmental conditions.
As the troops made way to the final hangar, where hopefully the suspect resides, they hear the roaring of engines!
As Foley Jones storms the hangar, he watches an old Caldari dropship take off. Reacting instinctively, he fires a tracking chip at it, allowing the I-RED fleet to keep track of the escaping ship. The ship was revealed to be flown by  'J.Kruger', a name that also can be found in the Scope Internal Leaks article.
In the meantime, a survivor was found, Otiaj Rukerg. While he claimed he had nothing to do with it all & declared Kruger a madman, he was still arrested & sent into custody by Internal Watch forces.

As the operation ran to it's end, the wounded survivors were transported to the medbays, the arrested personnel were sent to the transports, along with classified crates.
During this, one of the floating secured storage holds in space caught the interest of Korsavius, as it emitted a rather strange ID. Upon request, Capsuleer Kithrus managed to hack the hold & retrieved it's content. It turns out it's sensitive I-RED data stored away. Upon request, Kithrus hands over the data, as it's I-RED property.
With this final bit, it's over & the fleet makes its way to the nearby Lai Dai station, carrying the arrested personnel, the injured people, the arrested suspect Otiaj Rukerg and the various unmarked but classified cargo & sensitive data.
The suspect they were after, Kruger, got away however, but it's expected that the tracker will allow I-RED to find his whereabouts.

Syndicate Search & Rescue

Several days after the raid, another development occurred. A custom office holding an important I-RED informant got in trouble in Syndicate & broadcasted an emergency signal for assistance.
With all the focus on I-RED lately, quite some capsuleers jumped on this opportunity to help out & perhaps get a glimpse on what was happening on a deeper level.
The custom office itself was located in system AK-QBU, at planet III and was attacked by Eve University. While most of the surviving personnel were handled by E-UNI, a group of refugees wanted to be transported to another location & E-UNI agreed to escort them out. Among them was Jordan Kaine, informant & ex-employee of I-RED.
During the flight, they encountered pirates & the escort was overwhelmed. the refugee ship managed to flee but the pirates pursued, causing them to send out a distress signal, in hopes that someone would help them out.

Report of the emergency situation, by Haria Haritimado

As the emergency happened in lawless space, most ships that raced to assist were small & nimble, allowing to bypass gate camps & bubbles easy. Interesting to note is the wide diversity of capsuleers that came to assist, from SFRIM to PYRE & many others. Thanks to the coordination under the guidance of Haria Haritimado, the refugees were quickly located & the rescue could commence.
But as they approached the escape-pod, they discovered a problem! The emergency lock procedure failed, locking the survivors inside their pod, unable to be rescued.

Lucky Eran Mintor showed off his hacking skills by breaching the data-locks & decrypted the emergency lockdown code.
This allowed him to retrieve the 4 survivors, among them the I-RED informant Jordan Kaine. 2 of them were badly injured, requiring immediate medical assistance Due to the rough handling of people in previous raids by I-RED security, Erin Mintor was unwilling to hand the survivors over directly to them. Instead, he contacted the Aurora Arcology CEO, in order to make sure the proper steps would be taken in securing them
Once handed over to the Arcology, I-RED repeated the request to hand the survivors over to them. As these people were (former) employees of I-RED, the Arcology couldn't legally hold them. The two injured survivors remained, in order for them to recover from their wounds. Jordan Kaine & the other survivor were transported by a fast Aurora courier frigate to the requested I-RED facility & were assigned a lawyer, to make sure they would be treated properly.

Sadly, later on news spread that I-RED tried transporting informant Jordan Kaine & his lawyer to another facility, but once again fell prey to a pirate raid... The informant survived, but the lawyer perished... In response, Aurora Arcology management sent in an Investigation team, but they found nothing that conflicted this attack.
I-RED then made a public announcement, assuring everyone that the informant is safe within I-RED custody & offered condolences to the lawyer's family.
To put the concern to rest that Jordan Kaine was mistreated, capsuleer Jennifer Starfall was allowed to interview him & record it. The interview itself is intriguing, as it gives a glimpse on the Killing Field leak & that Kruger is involved in this possible deception.

Conclusion

With all this, I-RED remains in the eye of the storm that followed in the wake of the two slanderous Scope articles that were published. As could be read in the reports about the raids, I-RED actions help little in dispelling all the rumours & speculations that go around as a result of it.
However, the published interview between Jennifer Starfall & Jordan Kaine shows that I-RED is indeed looking into the Killing Field accusations & that there's something not quite right with it all!

However, with the tracker on Kruger's dropship & the informant Jordan Kaine safely in I-RED hands, it seems the final steps have been taken to bring all this to a closure & finally have some answers regarding the uncovering of the Killing Fields & the sabotage of the Tsuruma colony.
We can only wait & see to what the answer will be, but with the help of capsuleers investigating these matters, the truth will hopefully surface & the culprits brought to justice!

Jovian structures delay Aurora Projects

Ever since the appearance of the cloaked structures, the Aurora Projects have suffered major delays through them. The Aurora Arcology Project put in a full immigration stop after one of these strange structures was found. this was on top of the spotting of the Circadian Seekers, who's aggression levels were unknown back then.
The other project, the Ayem Colony support also suffered through it, as it was deemed to unsafe to travel to Providence with these unknown entities around. On top of it, 4TH District also found a cloaked structure along with their own group of Circadian seekers patrolling & scanning in the  I-MGAB system.

However, the recent upheaval about the Jovian Drifters appearing in known space, along with the decloaking of the structures has led to a re-evaluation of the risks involved with these projects.

The Aurora Arcology Project

The refugee project is the most known of the two. Under normal circumstances, refugees & immigrants can join the Arcology to have a new & fresh start in their lives.
But as noted above, an immigration stop was called to assure the safety of it's population towards the unknown threat.
But the immigration stop proved to be unsustainable in the long run for the Arcology project, as the various Aurora immigration camps faced major overpopulation issues. To resolve this, a one-time Convoy operation was organized. As you can read in 'The Arcology Convoy is an overwhelming success!', the outcome of this operation was beyond expectations!

Currently, negotiations are ongoing with security to find a good compromise between security & immigration. Until an agreement can be reached, the immigration stop will remain in place, at minimum till end of this month.
The security of our population is of great concern, as the Arcology houses 1.3 million people from a wide variety of backgrounds. With the recent surge of mad capsuleers wanting to one-up each other in genocide, a good working & strong security is paramount.

The Ayem Colony Project

This project is a joint venture with the 4TH District alliance, in order to establish a large, populous colony in Providence. You can follow the development here: 'Ayem Colony development'. The development plans stalled when Providence saw a high number of attacks from other capsuleer organisations. Due to this, it was deemed too dangerous to transport new colonists to Ayem for the time being.
When things finally began to cool down, a cloaked structure appeared, delaying the development even further. While no new colonists were arriving from the Arcology, the earlier development by Aurora Arcology & 4TH District did cause the colony to grow slowly by attracting small groups of settlers from surrounding systems & stations. Currently, the Ayem Colony houses over 70.000 people, but with room to house much more, as the expansion plans were already set in motion before the colonist transports were halted in light of the events in providence & the appearance of unknown structures.

However, unlike the Aurora Arcology Project, the Ayem Colony project faces a more dire situation, as not only has the structure decloaked now, it is also accompanied by Drifter Battleships protecting it!
This development has put 4TH District on high alert, as by now, the Drifter damage reputation is well known. This also resulted in an emergency meeting by 4TH District, in order to discuss the best method of approach.
The outcome of this meeting was that the Drifters are not considered hostile and will not be engaged, but they will be monitored closely to make sure they pose no threat.

Based on this stance, the colonist transports to Ayem will resume in the near future, likely once the immigration stop is lifted or softened in the Arcology Project.

The Elysion Concerts

Introduction

Capsuleer Halcyon Ember has organized two performances by famous capsuleers in her venue & invited those who are interested to attend the event. The concerts would start at 21H on 16 February. First on stage would be Vincent Pryce with his band, The Swing Wing, who bring Achura influenced rock! After this, at 0H, Anslo would perform with his band, GACHE, bringing heavy rock to the crowd!

On the day itself, many capsuleers & even some duct mercenaries arrived at the Elysion. Once cleared by security, they were all free to have a good time. The bar was well stocked & the high number of attendees meant that people could find entertaining company easy.
looking at the attending crowd, it was easy to see how popular Halcyon Ember is with the capsuleer crowd, as people of a wide variety of backgrounds attended, Amarr & Minmatar, outlaws & law enforcers, and more of these eclectic mixes.
Close to the start-time, Halcyon Ember called attention through a short speech, before announcing the first performer of the evening, Vicnent Pryce!

On Stage, part I: Vincent Pryce & The Swing Wing

As Vincent Pryce gets on stage, in his stylish vest over his white shirt & black pvc pants, he kicks off the concert in style! With a strong riff from his electric guitar, he sendsoff a blast of pyrotechnic flames from the stage. And so he sets in the first song of the evening, a cover of 'Redemption'.
With his energetic performance, along with the show element of the pyrotechnics, his concert - show was a joy to watch.

The next song Vincent Pryce covered with his band was 'Metaporphoze' & he dedicated this play to his number 1 fan, Aurora Morgan. By now, the audience was clapping & moving along on the tunes of this song, clearly enjoying the concert. And so the next song sets in, 'Paranoid Doll', with a full blazing Vincent Pryce energizing the crowd!
After this powerful performance, the next song was tuned down a bit, to let the people catch a breath, as the band played 'PS I Love You', With this song as excuse, Vincent Pryce went off stage, while still singing and danced with capsuleer Lasairiona Raske on the tones of the music.
Once the song was running on it's last tunes, he left the dance & returned to stage, determined to pump up the audience once more, with the song 'Mizérable', followed after by 'Claymore'. By now, most people were commenting on the great singing voice of Vincent Pryce, a voice seldom heard in the cluster as his musical performances are rare.

And then he sets in the last song of the evening, dedicated to all the ladies in the audience; 'Vanilla'. With his phenomenal voice and his sensual & suggestive dance moves, he quickly catches the attention of the ladies, once again confirming his status as a ladies' magnet!
And so his show ends, in a fiery blast of pyrotechnics before it all turns black. When the lights slowly went back on, Vincent Pryce & his band, The Swing Wing thanked the audience for their wonderful participation.
But the crowd called for one lats performance from him before he would walk off, and so Vincent obliged with the song 'Episode 0', offering the people one last show of his singing & dancing talents under a thundering applause.

With the first concert over, Halcyon Ember announced a short break before the next performance, allowing people to have a rest & some drinks from the bar before the next concert.

On Stage, Part II: Anslo & GACHE

And then it started, the second concert of the evening, with star Anslo Tetua as lead singer. The drummer rapidly caught the audience interest as the opening song began. the reason for this, is that the drummer is his out-of-place white suit was none other then Foley Jones, the famous Dust Mercenary!
Quickly people started moving to the beat, enjoying the hard rock Anslo & his band brought. Not giving them time for a brief rest, a more powerful song followed, GREED, with a blazing colorful holoshow.
By now, the crowd noticed they were performing with blindfold, making their performance even more remarkable. And then, it all went dark after the last powerful notes, making the people wonder what would come next.
Slowly, sound returned, but this time the song sounded serene, reinforced by the holosystem displaying colors as if you were in a relaxing rain shower. As he performed the song ENVY, Anslo's strong, powerful voice echoed clearly across the Elysion ballroom, moving the audience with his performance.

After this, a short break was called by Anslo, as he seemed to have hurt his arm during the performance. Lucky nothing serious & he was back on stage fast, blasting away the crowd with his returning song DEVIL, the brutal powerful beats overwhelming the attendants.
And then it ended as sudden as it began, giving the crowd a breather before the grand finale. By now, people began commenting on the drummer & his habit to break his drumsticks at the end of a song, requiring him to pull out a new pair each time.

And then the last song was set in, by Anslo clapping his hands, a gesture quickly taken over by the audience. As the band instruments played & the crowd clapped their hands, a special guest came on stage, capsuleer Vizage. And so it began, a wonderful & beautiful duet sang by these two capsuleer artists.
Vizage's voice ringed clear & beautiful, even melodious in shart contrast to Anslo's deep & smoky voice, often turning in raw yells. Foley Jones played accordingly, from soft beats to hard drums, on the tune of the duet. As the song progressed, the duet became more energetic & powerful, moving the audience, who cheered at this excellent performance!
And so the duet ends, in a fantastic apotheosis! And so Anslo went off stage after he thanked all of the Elysion attendees.
As it ended, security did storm the stage, as Foley Jones had apparently set his suit on fire, causing them to douse him with a green flame-suffocating foam. Lucky it turned out to be fine, as the burning suit was merely a show-piece.

Shortly after the concert ended, many folks went home, but the performance by both artists & their bands did leave a great impression.

Conclusion

The Elysion Concerts was a great event, with enjoyable music & great shows by the singers & their bands. The large crowd attending added to the concert feel.

Both Vincent Pryce & Anslo Tetua performed greatly, each with their own styles & show-elements. Vincent had his great audio-system to boost the songs, while Anslo gave a wonderful duet performance with Vizage. 

I was glad I could attend these concerts, especially as capsuleers rarely perform on stage, outside giving speeches. It was a pleasant evening for me.

Imperial Navy honours the Amarr Militia

For the efforts made by the 24th Imperial Crusade, also known as the Amarr Militia, Imperial high command has awarded the members with a decoration. The award is in honour for the total control of all Amarr-Minmatar contested systems. This goal was achieved on 15 December, YC116.

The Grand Admiral Ketzi Sundara issued the decoration at the Royal Shipyard, where normally the Empress blesses the ships that become the powerful 'Imperial Issue' variants. In the speech he praised the 24th Imperial Crusade for their dedication in the warzone, to serve God and the Empire through these actions. On top of it, he boasted how they completed the Reclaiming in the contested systems, showing the might of the Empire to the cluster.

After this speech, all members of the Amarr Milita were awarded the Righteous Cross Medal for their service to the Empire.

This decoration will surely bolster the morale among the Militia capsuleers. A well timed boost even, as the Republic has been preparing to strike back at the Empire through the deployment of a new ship & advancements in their weapon technology!

Later, the Grand Admiral attended the ceremony to name the newest Imperial Issue Abaddon in honour of the 24th Imperial Crusade, the TES Righteous Cross.

What was remarkable in this ceremony & the previous one, was the attendance of Court Chamberlain Pomik Haromi instead of Empress Jamyl Sarum I.

Under normal circumstances, the Empress would lead both ceremonies as it is tradition in the Amarr Empire. However for unknown reasons, her Court Chamberlain is standing in for her in public appearances since September of YC116, giving rise to speculations on her absence.

Whatever they might be, seeing a Court Chamberlain appear so often in public makes the people feel uneasy. Keeping in mind that the previous Court Chamberlain was Dochuta Karsoth, a man who turned out to be a Blood Raider fanatic, the uneasy feel is understandable.

The official announcement can be read here: 'Ketzi Sundara awards Imperial Militia pilots with military distinction'

The Jove have returned and they have such sights to show us....

If you could only see what I have seen
 If you only knew what I know
So young you are, so innocent
 So full of your capacities
 You cannot see the gates of oblivion unfolding before you...

When ancients return

As you all know by now, a shocking revelation has occurred! The unidentified structures decloaked & turn out to be colossal Jovian structures! Often guarded by strange battleships along with the Seekers still patrolling the systems. There's even reports coming in of strange unidentified wormholes accompanied by odd structures. Even planetside, Dust mercenaries have been reporting odd things that tie in with current events!

But the Jove that are returning are not the Jove we know... They look different, both in looks as in their ships & structures... utilizing powerful technology unseen before & carrying strange insignia's... Their motives are a mystery for now, but so far they seem to have the same stance as their Circadian Seeker companions. Leave them alone, and they leave you alone. If you choose to attack them however, you'll soon regret it...

Massive Jovian structures decloak all over New Eden

Jovian structure to scale with a Naglfar Dreadnought (it's the tiny brown speck on bottom)

Image by Thebarticus

The first thing most people noticed was that the massive structures that were cloaked for so long finally showed their true shape! Initial investigations revealed they are of Jovian design. Regarding the function of these large installations it's still guessing, but its theorized that they might be Jove listening posts, possibly to observe & keep watch on us all... This would give an explanation on why the Jove always knew everything about us...
These structures are often guarded by a Drifter battleship, a formidable foe when aggressed!

To realize the scale of these structures, they dwarf any known capsuleer ship, even Titans look small next to it! Early measurements have put down the vertical size of the massive station around 160 - 195 Km in height. On most planets, such towering structure would reach above the atmosphere, into space.
What is also noticeable is the design, very rigid, unlike the more organic lines used by the Jove we know. These rigid design features will return in many of the other recent discoveries, hinting that these Jove are a different faction then the ones we know...

New strange structures appear everywhere...

In space & planetside, new structures appeared

 Image inspired by the one used on EN24

First to note is that the planetside structures have been around for some time now. They appeared around the time of the Caroline Star event. However, when the new strange structures in space started appearing, capsuleers & Dust mercenaries found similarities with these ground based structures. Seems when one structure is revealed (the Jovian listening posts) new mysterious ones appear to take their place...
It's suspected they are part of an unknown network used by these Jove to travel around. Supporting evidence lies in the space-bound structures being accompanied by unidentified wormholes & often being guarded by multiple Drifter battleships. Adding to this, are the various reports of capsuleers who have seen Drifter battleships coming in & out these wormholes.
Of note is that the space-bound structures are often situated far from any celestial object, requiring good scanning skills to pinpoint their location.

A warning however, the Drifter battleships will attack anyone that approaches the wormholes too close. It's advised to maintain distance when observing these sites. Considering multiple Drifters are usually spotted around these structures, it's best to heed this warning, as the Drifters are heavily armed & will pursue anyone they have engaged.

The Drifter Battleship, a powerful & ancient warship

The Jove Drifter battleship in all it's glory, image by Uriel Paradisi Anteovnuecci

And this is the 'new' ship being spotted across the New Eden cluster! From engagements made by capsuleers it's known to be very powerful, slaughtering the careless in seconds. However, investigations into this ship reveal it to be ancient, yet in very good condition. It is also equipped with advanced technologies, both offensive as defensive. What also comes into play is their scanning, the same way the Circadian Seekers do it, suggesting a link between these two as well! The ship design also adds to this, as it's reminiscent of the Sleepers in a way...
For now, indication seems to be they are the remnants of the Second Jove Empire, a period where the Jove were more advanced & powerful than the current Jove Directorate!
Lets have a look about what has been found out on their equipped technology so far.

Defensive technology

The Blue Shield

The first thing any capsuleer notices when he targets a drifter is the strange blue indicator for their shields. This is actually their top-shield. Drifter battleships come with a double-layered shield, so if you manage to breach the first shield, there's a second layer still to burn!
On top of this, breaching the top-shield activates their doomsday weapon! Which they can re-use after a cooldown!
Once the shields are breached, the armor & hull follow rapidly, a design feature shared with the modern Jove ships who also have a prime focus on shields.

The Gold-White Glow

Some capsuleers have reported that the ship sometimes glows gold-white. This could indicate they us a technology similar to the Reactive Armor Hardener, a module that actively shifts resistance when activated. More research is needed to confirm this however!

High speed

The Jove battleships can easily reach 1000+ m/s when orbiting their targets, making them hard to target by capital guns & other slow-tracking weapons

Electronic Counter Measure

This is deployed once you breach their blue shield. They jam your ship, allowing time to regenerate their shields & ready their doomsday to fire at you. Keep in mind, they seem only to use it when the blue shield is breached.

Immunity to ECM jams

In more recent months, Drifters have altered their sensors to become immune to our ECM technology, rendering it useless against them. This alteration eliminated a weak spot in their ships, making their Drifter battleships even more formidable to fight.


Offensive weaponry

Lux Kontos - Light Spear

The Drifter main armament, Lux Kontos, image by DXFunz

The Lux Kontos weapon is hard to classify, as it is a hybrid between a turret & sentry drone. The weapon is not fixed on the ship, but rather glides slightly above the hull. This allows it to assume the perfect firing position regardless of the ship's position and that of it's target. The result of this is that it's capable of dishing out massive damage, irrelevant of a ship's resistances!
It's observed that a regular Drifter Battleship carries around 7 of these Lux Kontos weapons.

The Doomsday (Aegis beam)

This is their most terrifying weapon. The range of this weapon is unparalleled as it can fire up to a range of 500 km, further then any other known weapon! And it does this without losing enery, causing it to deliver maximum damage potential at any range.
They only start using it after the blue shield has been breached. Once done, they fire upon the offending capsuleer, obliterating any non-capital ship with its powerful energy blast! After this display of might, it submits to a cooldown period before it can be used against other aggressors. It seems the Drifter only carries one of these powerful weapons, but considering they can re-use it in a fight, it's already lethal enough...

The similarities with the Concord killbeam, installed on the Concord Police Commander battleships do contribute to the fact that these Drifters are a faction of the Jove, but one far less hesitant to fly around in heavily armed & advanced battleships... And use them...

The Cybernetic Jove - The Vigilant Tyrannos

Cybernetic enhanced beyond compare, the Drifters

All the sightings of these new Jove indicate that they're part of another, older faction of the Jove, the 'Vigilant Tyrannos', meaning 'Watchful Rulers'. Signs seem to point they are the heirs of the Second Jove Empire, a period where the Jove were more advanced then the current third empire, the Jove Directorate.
What is worrying is that the Prosper Vault station (3-CE1R system) has fallen under Drifter command... This is a former Jove Directorate station, it was also the system & station Nation occupied for roughly 6 months during the initial Sansha invasions.

The Drifter faction icon, the triple integral symbol

It's curious to note that these Jove are much more into technology to enhance their bodies, unlike the Directorate who preferred genetic modification to enhance themselves. Of special note is that this faction seems to be split in two roles. The Drifters encountered are usually referred to as 'Artemis' - Hunter and 'Apollo' - Healer. So far the significance of these roles eludes us, but continued investigations will hopefully bring it to light!
However, observation of their behaviour has shown they are relentless, ruthless and extremely focused when performing their duties. Their high degree of cybernetic enhancement surely adds to this!

These Drifter Jove can usually be found flying their formidable Drifter warships alone or in group near the colossal Jove structures and the structures near the unidentified wormholes! Caution is advised when approaching them. So far they don't seem to be eager to start hostilities unless you approach the unidentified wormholes too closely. Also they gladly finish any hostilities capsuleers commence against them! When in trouble, it's often reported they call for backup, or when capsuleers arrive in force to battle them, they don't hesitate to call for support either! Keep in mind, withdrawing from a battle with Drifters won't do you much good as they've been known to pursue capsuleers up to the point of setting up station & gate-camps!

Whatever the future holds, the Drifters will surely be involved, for good or bad. This day, we are catching a glimpse of our own future as capsuleers... As the Jove were us, millennia ago... The tales they could tell us, the warnings of mistakes yet to happen... The guidance they could give us in exploring our boundaries as immortal capsuleers...

CONCORD on high alert & Capsuleers broadcasting warnings

In response to all this, Concord has put the DED Genesis fleet on high alert. In a public announcement, DED Dirtector of Operations Arve Vesren states this is a precautionary measure, as so far the newly appeared stations & ships have not initiated aggression outside self-defense.
The Director goes on, stating the structures pose no active threat at this point, however the ships accompanying the structures are extremely well armed & lethal when engaged.

The offical announcement can be read here:
 'Concord Assembly places Genesis Fleet & DED on high alert!'

On top of this, various capsuleers put out their own warnings regarding Drifters & their powerful offensive capacities, reminding the others that these new ships are not to be taken lightly!
Aurora Morgan was the first to warn the capsuleer community regarding the dangers of approaching their Unidentifed Wormholes. Doing so will cause them to attack you! For those unprepared, it means a swift end of their ship.
Later on, Frenjo Borkstar, Arek'Jaalan Coordinator also issued an emergency warning. Here more emphasis is put on the weaponry carried by these Drifters, pointing out the formidable Lux Kontos weapons, but also the pocket-sized doomsday device they carry & use.
Frenjo Borkstar reported how Arek'Jaalan's approach for communications with them failed as they were fired upon. A second attempt, using a show of force failed as well to establish communications but managed to down a Drifter, after they lost ships as well.
All in all, they don't seem that much interested in communications with us, content to remain passive as long as we stay away from them...

Other sources of information

Holovid overview of the Drifters by General Stargazer
 It offers a great summary of what we know about them! Check it out!

Image-Gallery revealing the size of the Jovian structure by Thebarticus (Images)

In the name of the Jove by Tarek Raimo (Article)

The Pathway to the Next by Rhavas (Article)

Drifters by Matterall (Article)

[HOLY COW] Sleepers, Jovians & the Other (Thread)

[OH MY!] Drifters, Tyrants, Jovians and more! (Thread)

Unidentifed Structures uncloaked, sightings of "Drifters" (Thread)

I-RED raids science facility to arrest suspects!

Hasama III, location of the possible suspects' hideout

Suspects believed to be involved in the Tsurama Colony sabotage were tracked down in the Hasama system. I-RED operatives discovered they were hiding in a former I-RED recon outpost on Hasama III. The outpost was sold to a neutral third party three years ago, and had since been converted into a research facility
An assault force was quickly assembled by Korsavius, with Makato Priano keeping tabs on the operation. Two dust Mercs were also involved to provide fire support for the I-RED extraction team. These Dust Mercs were Foley Jones & Reko Blancwood.
The strike team utilized forces from the new heavily militarized security branch within I-RED, known as Internal Watch. Once the small strike force was assembled, they set course for Halaima III in order to surprise the suspect & not give him any chance of escape!

Upon arrival, dropships were quickly deployed, moving the Dust Mercs & strike force troops to the hidden research facility.
Initially, it all went smooth, most of the facility personnel was quickly rounded up, albeit the brutal force used by the Internal Watch members did raise some concerns. The Dust Mercs who provided cover support didn't ran into noteworthy trouble. The few that resisted the roundup were pacified through non-lethal shock rounds.

The smooth operation was disrupted when an explosion rocked the facility, killing a dozen I-RED Internal Watch personnel. The gunfire following the explosion threw the whole operation into chaos. While the I-RED strike force recovered from this blow, medical assistance was called in.
The hostile facility personnel had set up a perimeter around the central base structure, defending themselves from the I-RED strike team. From there they had an excellent vantage point, making it hard for the Dust Mercs & their support.

However, with the combined effort of I-RED's security team & the Dust Mercs firepower, they did manage to slowly take down the resistance. Explosive weaponry couldn't be used due to the hostages taken by the facility personnel. During this, the Dust Merc Reko Blancwood was injured as he took down the last resisters.
Once done, medical personnel flooded in, checking the status of the hostages & administering medical aid to those in need. Of the 12 suspects, only one had survived the whole ordeal. However, a second suspect could have been caught alive, but he was taken out by two shots from an Internal Watch sniper as he was backed up against a wall with a hostage. It pays to note that an I-RED officer was negotiating with the suspect during this, in order to persuade the man to release the hostage.

On overall, the operation saw a minimum of civilian casualties. Out of nearly 2.000 facility personnel, 2 non-hostile personnel were killed in the crossfire. A couple dozen of them suffered minor injuries like bruises & cuts. Contrary to one would think, most of these injuries were not a result of the firefight, but of the rough treatment the facility personnel received during the roundup.
Even the Dust Mercs had queries at this rough treatment, especially when a child was struck with the butt of a rifle by an Internal Watch member as he subdued a facility member.

When questioned regarding the rough treatment by the Internal Watch forces, Korsavius replied: "The personnel on this facility were of unknown intentions. As such, Internal Watch members exercised necessary roughness to ensure the safety of everyone involved in this operation. they were following orders, as they should, directly from Internal Watch director, Katrina Oniseki-Charantes"
When it was brought up that Internal Watch personnel was spotted exercising brute force even before the gunfire broke out, Korsavius declined to comment on this.

Interesting to note was that the surviving hostages were rounded up & detained by I-RED. By now, the situation was in full control & extraction commenced of the detainees & the surviving suspect. A detachment of I-RED's strike force team remained behind to investigate the facility further.
All in all, it was a large show of force to apprehend possible suspects from this facility, something that implies more was going on then just that, in line with the recent revelations about I-RED....

Investigations into the recent I-RED accusations

Prelude

Recently, Scope made damning accusations towards I-RED ( 'Killing Fields' ). Originally, it just seemed your regular sensationalism Gallente news, like Gutter Press often publishes. I should have known better however, as the timing's suspicious, so shortly after the I-RED Tsuruma colony disaster.

Thanks to an internal source, Aurora News managed to acquire a copy of the tapes Scope used for their reports. The information held within these tapes compelled me to run an investigation myself.

Discrepancies in reporting

Before we go any further, it's relevant to know that I-RED does have a long standing history in Syndicate, working for years to reduce the pirate activity & improve the situation of the colonies in the region.
However, the information held by the tapes used by Scope do contain info that they did not publish or otherwise neglected to report to condemn I-RED. To further investigate the reports, a private investigation has been run. Do note, I-RED is conducting their own internal investigation on the matter.

The Killing Field investigation

Due to the sensitive nature of all the info, a decision was made to deploy an Arcology forensic investigation team down to the planet, as they would offer a neutral viewpoint on the findings.
First & foremost, the Killing Fields are a real thing, no denying that, with the Kresh Trees present & the disfigured corpses strewn around, some of them barely hanging on the trees branches after all this time.

But a first clue pops up when investigating the trees. The Scope report mentions the trees are roughly 4 years of age & without any mention of the site's age, it implies that's the timeframe.
However, the Kresh Trees planted would have trouble growing in the humid & muddy environment, not to mention their size indicates they are quite older then 4 years. In addition, research revealed that sometime in the past two years they've been replanted to this site. The conclusion has been drawn from two things: One, their stunted growth on the end of the branches, indicating their conditions worsened since two years. Two, the rootballs of the trees are proof they've been replanted from somewhere else. The outgrowth from it is also only dated 2 years.

Research on the corpses provides not much, albeit none of them wear any uniform related to I-RED, despite the suggestion by Scope that this was an 'internal purge'. the tattered outfits worn are those of typical make for Syndicate colonists, a low quality fabric with no distinguishable form or function. All in all, while the corpses are horribly disfigured, some of it clearly based on an old, outlawed punishment practice known as the 'Kresh Feeding', there is no direct link with I-RED here either.

Further investigation of the surroundings brought to light some additional curiosities. While most of the tracks & traces are more recent, accounted to other investigators, likely Scope or I-RED, there's a few older traces.
The most notable are the old imprints of two Caldari Dropship landing spots. Due to the muddy soil, they've been deeply imprinted and are not easy to erode away. However it's hard to tell if they landed together or separate as too much time has passed.
Another special note is how 'clean' the site is. Outside the recent disturbances made by Scope & others, there is no disturbance of the site, no old footprints in the mud or other items left behind, like cans or such. It's just the corpses & the trees, nothing more. It is as if someone did their best to cover their tracks, save for the quite deep & colossal dropship landing imprints in the deep mud.

The Killing Field Conclusion

All in all, it is a very disturbing sight. the investigation brought to light some curious things. One is the time, instead of 4 years, which is suspected to be roughly the start of the major Syndicate campaign by I-RED, it's now timed 2 years ago, smack in the middle of I-RED's major involvement with the region.
However, there exists no direct link with I-RED to this site! While it is easy to accuse I-RED of what occurred here, it is important to remember they made some powerful enemies along the way in their Syndicate campaign, from the pirates they fought to Megacorps who saw their investments flunked due to I-RED's alignment with Ishukone.
However, one person probably does knows the answer whether I-RED is involved in all this or not. This person is Katrina Oniseki, who was head of Public Relations at the time. While she has stepped down from this position, the successor Makoto Priano, who also leads the investigation is a pupil of her, making any form of unbiased conclusion hard for I-RED.

The role of Katrina Oniseki

In this light, the call for a third party to investigate the matter in detail carries value. In this light, any investigation taking itself seriously should also question Katrina Oniseki regarding any possible I-RED activities in that area around that time to verify if I-RED was involved or others.
A hint that Katrina Oniseki is a key person in clearing up I-REDs involvement in the killing fields can be found in the declassification of Project Dustbowl, where she reveals the investments of her alliance into the Syndicate colonies.
Of particular interest is the ambiguous term 'sterilization' used to cope with a colony under heavy Serpentis influence. However the bodies found carried no Serpentis insignia or marks, making a link unlikely.

Timing of the accusations & the internal leakage

With all of the above in mind, the timing is also curious, as only recently one of I-RED's colonies in Black Rise suffered a catastrophe due to sabotage...
In addition, the Scope report 'I-RED Internal leak' continues to paint I-RED in a dark light, without a relevant cause cause.
The relevance of this 'Kruger' operate isn't fully understood, but his actions are no different then other well-decorated covert operatives employed by Caldari megacorps to cope with the, sometimes literal, cut-throat competition with each other.

The leak continues with informing that I-RED has a large buildup of militia forces in recent times. While some might find this suspicious, with the rise of the Dust Mercs, this hardly should be surprising.
The past year saw a severe rise in security force recruitment by quite some groups, like the PIE Kameira recruitment program, to the most recent call by Richard Masseri to bolster his 'bodyguard' forces. Even the Aurora Arcology acquired some military grade assets last year to improve it's security!

With that in mind, it is important to note that there was no official announcement by I-RED to greatly bolster their security & militia forces, unlike the previous mentioned examples. In addition to this, these forces fall under the responsibility of a new security wing, namely Internal Watch. Previously, this security force fell under the management of Human Resources. The mobilisation mentioned in the leak, is probably related to the sabotage of the Black Rise colony.
I-RED had sworn swift justice upon the culprits and is likely to go far in this as thousands perished, and tens of thousands more would have died if not for the rapid assistance of capsuleers in the evacuation.

Conclusion of this investigation

All in all, there's no direct evidence of I-RED's involvement in the 'Killing Fields' but neither is there any that absolves them of this atrocity. Over the years they made enough enemies in Syndicate that some of them might go this far to stage a campaign to paint I-RED in a bad light.
However, Katrina Oniseki holds the answers, as she was head of Public Relations at the time & was directly involved with the Syndicate colonies, as the announcement on the declassification of Project Dustbowl shows.

An internal investigation however will never satisfy outsiders, simply because of Katrina Oniseki's history, too many folks in Public Relations would have a too strong connection to her, not to mention that the current head of Public Relations, Makoto Priano has learned much of her trade from Mrs Oniseki herself, making her hardly a suitable person for leading this investigation.
In this light, a neutral third party should be appointed to lead the investigations & have the ability to question Katrina Oniseki regarding the Killing Fields

The second report by Scope is a bit ambiguous & it's relevancy isn't fully understood. However as it seems to be linked to the Black Rise colony disaster, I'm sure we'll find out more about all of it sooner!
To keep track of the ongoing investigation, you can check here: 'Investigations into the recent I-RED accusations' that I published on the Intergalactic Summit, to offer a more continuous flow of the investigation.

The Republic strikes back!

Defeat only strengthens the resolve to rise up!

The Minmatar Republic faced one of its worst years in capsuleer history. After a long & extended campaign, the Amarr Empire conquered all contested regions & held them for several weeks! Even now, the Amarr hold supremacy in the Amarr-Minmatar Militia warzone...

What worsens the situation is the technological advantage the Amarr hold over not only the Minmatar but also the rest of New Eden by way of their technological breakthrough that resulted in the tech 3 destroyer, the Confessor.

But the Matari are known for their resilience and to be on their best when the times are darkest... Determined to break the Amarr supremacy in the contested areas, Matar scientists set out to improve existing weapons & develop new technologies that can offer the Minmatar Republic the punch it needs to lash back against the Amarr war machine.

And recently, the Minmatar Republic announced their success! Not only did they improve existing weapons, but they also developed their variant of the tech 3 destroyer!

First glimpse of the new Minmatar  tech 3 destroyer, the Svipul

The Svipul, the Republic answer!

While the Amarr used the new transformation technology sparingly, resulting in subtle changes for the various modes, the Matari decided to go all out! The Svipul pushes the new transformation technology to the limit, each mode is a different ship entirely!

The traditional horizontal ship mode focuses on speed & maneuverability while its more vertical forms are centered on combat, either defensive or offensive. But the Matari also took back one of their old dogma's: versatility. While the ability to fit 6 gun-turrets makes it a formidable foe in offensive mode, its slot layout for modules reflects this flexibility-doctrine, as they allow 4 modules in both high grade as low grade slots.

 But what is it capable of? Looking at the bonuses it grants to the trained pilot, many things!

Svipul Bonuses

As the ship comes with specially adapted electronics to hunt down targets, it requires 95% less CPU to equip a Scan probe launcher.

Overall ship bonus per expertise level:

10% to small autocannon/artillery turret damage & optimal range

5% less heat damage to overheated modules.

The solid defense form (left) & the sleek propulsion mode (right)

Defense Mode Bonus

33,3% increased resistance to shield & armor

66,6 % reduced microwarpdrive signature

Propulsion Mode Bonus

66,6% Increased maximum velocity

33,3% increased agility

Behold my true form! Assault mode deployed!

Assault Mode Bonus

33,3% Increased tracking with small autocannon/artillery turrets

100% Bonus to Sensor Strength, Scan resolution & target range

All in all, a very impressive ship that'll surely turn some heads. With the Matari dedication to go all out on the newly uncovered transformation technology, they fully intent to bring the offense to the Amarr Empire and drive them out the conflict regions. But this ship is not all! Improvements also have been made on various autocannon & artillery turret designs!

We'll hit harder! We'll hit farther!

Matari weapon scientists managed to come up with a new design for small artillery turrets, allowing them to hit harder! Sadly this does come with the drawback they rotate slower, making it harder to hit fast, mobile ships. The trade-off is surely worth it tho, the new artillery does 10% more damage, while its tracking receives a 3% hit.
Sadly, this new technology isn't applicable on larger artillery turrets, as it would make them to slow & clumsy to turn.

Single 425 mm Autocannon & Dual 425 mm Autocannon

More interesting are new developments made on autocannon turret systems. Adaptations of the firing mechanism allows projectile shells to increase their effective range, aka boosted falloff range. This also comes with a drawback as well, the very popular Barrage Ammo doesn't work as well with the new firing mechanism and thereby sees barely any change in it's effective range.
This new firing mechanism solution can be used on all known autocannons however, from small to capital sized turrets!
It's hoped that through this, Matari weapons offer an increased flexibility in ammo choice & that barrage is no longer the default go-to for shells.
In short, Autocannons now have an increased falloff range of 7,5%, but Barrage ammo suffers a reduction from 50% to 40% increased range in it's usage. The end result is that all ammo usable in autocannons can be fired at greater ranges, except for barrage ammo which range should remain roughly the same with this new firing mechanism.

With these upcoming changes, the Republic hopes to drive out the Amarr invader from their contested territories & reclaim their systems. The tools have been given, now it's up to the Militia to use them!
You can read the official Republic announcement on these technological breakthroughs here:
The Republic Strikes Back: The Svipul Tactical Destroyer & upcoming projectile changes!

The Arcology Convoy is an overwhelming success!

Convoy approaching a gate, image by Zenariae

Introduction

As mentioned in the article 'Aurora Arcology still under lockdown', refugees couldn't be transported freely to the Arcology. This was due to the rising thread of the Seekers & the presence of an unknown structure close to the Irjunen Arcology station.
However, as time passed, the various refugee camps set up in trade hubs filled up to maximum capacity. This forced the Aurora Arcology management to organize a transport for these people, before the situation would escalate.

Initially, the Convoy organisation happened in secret, as not to draw any attention from outlaws & thugs who enjoy ganking transports. But as time passed, it became clear that more support was needed to move enough refugees.
In order to draw more supporters, a decision was made for a public call for assistance to the Convoy.
The response to this call was beyond all expectations! Capsuleers of all ways of life offered to help out, either through transports, escorting or providing supplies!

I like to use this opportunity to thank you all, your outspoken support for the Arcology Convoy, either through public posting in the thread or through mail & private comms was amazing and moved me deeply!

Preparation for the Convoy

The organisation for the Convoy did take alot of time, not only were transports needed, but several other roles as well! Combat ships for escort, acting as deterrence to aggressors, scouts, to check ahead of the Convoy if the route is clear, command ships, to enhance & boost mobility & defenses of the fleet and logistic ships to provide assistance in case of hostilities.
On top of this, a good flight path had to be found as well, making sure the Convoy wouldn't pass any system with a high presence of gankers. With the help of the Live Event community, the initial planning of the flight path & Convoy roles went smooth. The Convoy was delayed for a week however due to heavy administration on my part.

When the public call for support went out, time was drawing closer to the Convoy launch date. The overwhelming support did cause some last minute reorganisations to accommodate a larger & slower fleet than anticipated, but the positive side was that all the planned roles were accounted for!

On Convoy Launch day itself, 7 February, capsuleers began arriving in the New Caldari Record station, allowing plenty of time for the refugees to embark on the various transports provided. After all, on 22H, the Convoy would depart, no delay would be allowed on account of the fleet's safety. However, due to the great support, the Arcology Convoy was able to take aboard all refugees! Now they had to arrive safely at the Aurora holding station...

Convoy leaving the station, image by Jandice Ymladris

At 22H sharp, the 21 capsuleers forming the Arcology Convoy left the station. Once undocked, people could observe the large variety of transports in the fleet, from freighters to frigates, they all helped out in moving the refugees to safety! The Convoy participants are listed below:

Feu dAstres, Convoy Fleet Commander

Jandice Ymladris, Convoy Supervisor

Eran Mintor, Main Convoy Scout

Main Convoy Transports:

Kueyen

Pyro Rat

Samira Kernher

Lunarisse Aspenstar

David Danton

Brent Anderson

Khaprice

Trader Jonas

Lore Vantz

Bu Imbagi

Convoy Escorts, Logistics & Scout support

Utari Onzo

Zenariae

Ace Echo

Jaret Victorian

Charles Surge

Ibrahim Tash-Murkon

Arkon Sarain

Frenjo Borkstar

We are go for warp! Image by Khaprice

The Arcology Convoy is on the move!

And so it begins, at 22H , the convoy leaves the station. Initially, there was some small chaos, due to my inexperience regarding fleet communication protocols. This was quickly resolved however when I realized my error & left Feu dAstres in sole command of the Convoy.

Arcology Convoy coming through!  Image by Jandice Ymladris

Thanks to the excellent scouting of Eran Mintor & Feu dAstres guidance, the Convoy could move swiftly from system to system in an orderly manner. Important crossroad systems that attract gankers, like Perimeter were avoided on the trip.
Several busy systems were crossed without any incident as everyone followed jumping procedures & awaited for the freighters to align.
However, a few jumps before arrival, a Minmatar Militia member was spotted. While he had no interest in the Convoy ships, he did pose a threat to Samira Kernher, who was part of the Convoy with her Deep space transport. Due to this, it was decided for the best that she split off from the Arcology Convoy & traveled to the destination at own insight to reduce her risk. The slow movement of the Convoy would expose her too much otherwise.

The Convoy leaving a gate, image by Charles Surge

Soon, the Convoy arrived at the Irjunen Food Provision Station, home of the Aurora Arcology project, with Samira Kernher & Eran Mintor awaiting our arrival! With more traffic on a single day then it usually sees in a few weeks, station traffic control had their hands full at coordinating the docking of the various Convoy transports!
The docking itself went smooth & people disembarked from the transports. For now they would remain in the temporary refugee camps set up, until they got fully cleared to enter the Aurora Arcology complex & receive their guidance to start a new life.

The Arcology Convoy arriving at the destination station above planet Irjunen VI

Image by Kueyen

Epilogue

At the end, most capsuleers had a drink at the local bar, the Skulking Furrier. While the place had seen better days, it was nonetheless a good way to have a drink & socialize with the various people who were part of the Convoy.
While it wasn't the fanciest of places, it did come stocked with a good selection of drinks & comfortable chairs, not a common sight in the State. The cheese on offer did attract alot of curiosity however.
I also used this opportunity to have a small speech, thanking everyone who participated in the Convoy & all those who supported the endeavour.

During all this, it gave the refugees time to leave the transports & get assigned a temporary home in the refugee camp set up for the Convoy.
Arcology Security & management on the other hand will have it's days full the upcoming weeks, with all the refugees. Considering that the last few months saw no incoming refugees & immigrants, it's good to keep them busy once again.
The delivery of supplies by the Convoy supporters will help a long way in assisting all these new refugees as well!

Arcology Convoy passenger & supply list

All in all, about 250.000 people have been moved! This number is far beyond expectations, but the Arcology has room to spare since it's last expansion & the several months of preparation for the upcoming immigration wave through the Convoy.

To avoid any assumptions from reading the list, a few deeper explanations regarding some of the people on the Convoy Passenger list.

The Freed Slaves are those who have been rescued from their miserable enslavement under Pirates, Black Market slavers & others. While Amarr are often targeted for their slavery practices, it's often forgotten that they are at least treated well compared to the unregulated slavery that happens in pirate compounds & illegal facilities.

The Rescued (Elite) Slaves are those who were rescued by the Amarr fleets during their various operations against Nauplius (see 'Blood Winery successfully destroyed' for more info on these & other operations against Nauplius)
These people have been entrusted to the Arcology & due to the horrors they faced, they will need a long & intensive care & guidance plan in order to be a functional part of society once more. It's expected that not everyone will make it, but the people responsible for the guidance administration will do their best to help as many as they can.

These people transported by the Convoy have been rescued or moved to the Arcology project by various capsuleers over the 3 months. A big thank to these capsuleers: Khaprice, Zhong Yuan, Samira Kernher, Zenariae, Sora Khamila, Kueyen, Argangtang Mulldan, Feu dAstres, Ace Echo & Diana Kim

Below you can find the passenger list:

Regular Civilians

- 11 Blood Raider Scientists (Part of the Redemption Program)
- 28 Caldari Prisoners of War
- 302 Civilians
- 21 Rescued Elite Slaves
- 2 Gallente Reporters
- 1.195 Homeless
- 12 Rescued Injured Slaves
- 32.801 Janitors
- 10 Kidnapped Citizens
- 18 Oura Madusaari  (Patients suffering the Oura M. Syndrome)
- 207 Prisoners (Part of the Prison Lend-Lease Program)
- 627 Refugees
- 30 Science Graduates
- 21 Scientists
- 161 Ship's Crew
- 12.223 Rescued Slaves
- 46 Stranded Pilots
- 5.131 Tourists
- 180.407 Freed Slaves
- 9 Animal Medical Experts

Pets

- 16 Fedos (Datafile:A strange animal)
- 8 Miniature Hounds
- 147 Hounds

Law Enforcement

- 115 Amarr Light Marines
- 35 Caldari Light Marines
- 1.668 Freedom Fighters
- 10 Army Recruits
- 700 Kameiras
- 7.111 Marines
- 5.868 Militants
- 73 Slavers (Part of the Redemption Program)
- 4 Spies
- 4 The Damsel's Drunk Bodyguards

Employees for the Nightclub L'Etoile Rouge

- 1.702 Female Exotic Dancers
- 1.202 Male Exotic Dancers
- 18 Prostitutes
- 6 Male Little Helpers

Council Members

- 1 Amarr Diplomat
- 1 Doctor Luija Elban
- 4 Fajah Ateshi
- 1 Kardimo Palettan
- 2 Minmatar Emissaries
- 1 Quao Kale
- 12 VIPs
- 27 Docking Managers

Extra: Supplies delivered:

- 24.436 Diary Products
- 14.986 Frozen Food
- 10 Frozen Plant Seeds
- 20 Long Limb Roes
- 1.000 Protein Delicacies
- 2.570 Antibiotics
- 24.517 Holoreels
- 800 Hydrogen batteries
- 20 Spiced Wine
- 1.750 Spirits
- 30 Wheat
- 10 High-Tech Manufacturing Goods
- 10 High-Tech Scanners
- 250 Zemnar (Special Antibiotics
- 11.510 Oxygen Pressure Bottles
- 116.240 Water Containers
- 1.500 Coolants

Three Convoy participants shared their impression of the journey:
Kueyen Image Gallery
Charles Surge Image Gallery
Zenariae Havraan's Diary

As a final note, once again my deepest thanks, the support I received was staggering. When organizing this Convoy, I wasn't sure on what to expect, but you all blew me away with your kindness & the numerous & near unanimous offers to support the Arcology Convoy one way or the other, despite not knowing the details of the journey.

Today, we all made the New Eden cluster just a little brighter, holding high the radiant light of hope in a universe of darkness.

The Arcology Convoy on the move, with an escort Scorpion watching in the dark

Image by Zenariae

When stargates glitch: The Peralles mystery

Gate travel: safe but not flawless

The knowledge & technology that allowed the stargates to be developed was a turning point in the history of mankind. No longer were we confined to a single starsystem. Instead, we could travel back & forth between multiple starsystems with only a fraction of the time needed compared to the old days. Continuous development allowed for better & more advanced gates to be developed.

Despite the firm understanding of the technology behind the gates, the civilizations of New Eden lack a firm grap on the foundations of their workings. While they can make stargates work, nobody is sure on how they connect on a fundamental scientific level. Is it by manipulating the time-space continuum, bending it so it forms a shortcut? Or perhaps it works by accessing the multiple dimensions that are rolled up on a quantumlevel? It could also be that the stargates access a different dimension, with laws of it's own, hyperspace.

All of that is still being researched & no suitable theory has come forth yet. At times, strange stories emerge in seedy bars & shady outposts about ships suffering strange effects when jumping through gates. For a long time this was blamed on faulty data or simply accidents.
However, with the rise of capsuleer presence in the nullsec regions, more stories began to emerge from those barren regions about strange incidents involving gatejumps... At first it was dismissed simply as an issue of the gates themselves, as the nullsec gates are badly maintained & sometimes fall into disrepair.

But then the Peralles incident happened... making people wonder if they opened Pandora's box when they started using the stargates...

The Peralles; vanished but not gone

The Peralles was the ship that transported the Gallente senator Hubert Caissor, along with his family & fortune to his new ambassador post in the Amarr Empire. Due to his importance, the journey was well observed & documented. But something went wrong in the Genesis region... The ship Peralles entered the Dom-Aphis system stargate but it never reached the other end, the Iderion stargate...
To add to this mystery, Iderion traffic control did receive confirmation that a ship was about to jump through their gate, yet no ship appeared...
A large search party was set up, along with a deep investigation, by both the Amarr and the Gallente authorities, but alas, nothing was found. As Dom-Aphis was a lowsec system, it was initially thought pirates destroyed the ship just before the jump, but no wreckage was found, or any signal of pirates at the time.

The mystery became even greater when the incoming signal of the Peralles was received the next day, at the same time. And yet, no ship arrived once again... despite the gate showing all signs of gate activation of a ship about to exit the stargate...
And the next day... and the day after... Every day, on the same time, the Peralles would signal it was about to exit the Dom-Aphis - Iderion stargate, but it would never arrive...
To this day, Iderion traffic control continues to receive this message every day at the same time, a ghost attempting to break free...

The warning tale of a ghost ship

Ever since the Peralles incident, more strange occurrences & mysterious events surfaced regarding gatejumps. These stories tell about disappearing ships, time shifts, ghostly echoes and strange disturbances during the jump-process...
The various nations investigated these tales further, but no satisfying conclusion was reached, save for the fact that we know too little about the fundamentals that make stargates work...
During that brief time one spends in the strangeness between gates, there seems to be more at work then what science can tell...
Yet despite all this, the gate network remains the safest method to travel interstellar distances to this day.

The Tsuruma Memorial Ceremony

Always remembered, memorial art by Haria Haritimado

About a week ago, the I-RED colony on Tsuruma VIII was struck by disaster when its reactor went critical due to sabotage. Thanks to the rapid assistance response of capsuleers, the majority of the colonists were evacuated into safety. However, despite their best efforts, thousands still perished when the colony was leveled by the explosion...
In this light, I-RED official Korsavius organized a memorial service to honour those who lost their lives in the  disaster. As Ishukone-Raata is a major supporter of the Ishukone Megacorporation, it was decided to hold the memorial service in their corporate headquarter in Malkalen.

As the memorial service would be open to the public & capsuleers alike, reservations were mandatory if you wanted to attend. While there was no dresscode, people were encouraged to come in formal attire, as a form of respect to the fallen.
The ceremony itself was a very serene happening, with no incidents. Korsavius held the opening speech, followed by John Revenent's rousing speech to bring justice upon the culprits & but also to praise those who aided in the rescue operation.
Once done, Korsavius took to the stage once more, reminding folks about the Malkalen incident, but also of Ishukone's resilience & efforts to rebuild from this tragedy.
At the closure of this, several I-RED officers appeared on stage, each carrying a small redwood box holding a medal. Korsavius called those who assisted in the rescue effort & were present to come on stage. Then he continued his speech, praising the bravery & generosity of those who assisted in saving countless lives as he pinned each of them with their commemorative medal.

The people who were honored that day were:

Morwen Lagann, through the presence of her liason, Suzelle Dullere

Jandice Ymladris

Samira Kernher

Lyn Farel

Utari Onzo (Not present due to unavailable wormhole connection)

Lunarisse Aspenstar

Foley Aberas Jones

Ibrahim Tash-Murkon

Alexa de'Crux

Once the medal ceremony was over, each honored guest was offered a chance to speak their minds, if they chose to. Several accepted this honour & gave their speech, remembering the tragedy of Tsuruma VIII but also reminding people that we all have a choice to do good, irrelevant of the cause one serves. Samira Kernher & Suzelle Dullere both held beautiful speeches, but it was Foley's speech that caught interest. Despite his speech being less fluid than the others, it was still as captivating as the others, as he came up with it on the spot, words from the heart.

As the speeches ended, the ceremony came to a closure, revealing the memorial monument erected for the victims of the Tsuruma tragedy. Through holoscreens, people could observe every angle of this monument. It was a huge Obsidian block carved in the shape of a diamond, hollowed out at the center to reveal a massive glimmering metal sculpture, vaguely resembling a falcon reaching for the sky.
The names of the fallen are engraved in the obsidian perimeter along the monument, so they would never be forgotten. Surrounding the monument from a short distance were cherry trees, whose blossom petals were slowly blowing across the monument, giving it a serene appearance. Benches under the trees gave visitors the opportunity to rest & contemplate the fate of the victims, but also those of the survivors.
But the reveal of this beautiful memorial was not over yet, as Korsavius activated the Memorial light beam, shooting brightly into the sky. The sculpture reflected the shine from the beam, dousing the surrounding memorial park in a beautiful, solemn way.

With the unveil of the memorial monument complete, Korsavius announced the closure of the memorial ceremony, thanking everyone for their attendance & reminded all that  visitation to the monument is free.

All in all, it was a very respectful ceremony, where everyone behaved. No speeches were interrupted, the silence from the crowd was staggering, bringing home the full weight of the tragedy on all those who were there. But there was also room to remember those who did survive and those who helped making sure that the death toll was far less than it could have been through their efforts.