The Amarr Empire marches to war!

Prelude

Following the death of Empress Jamyl Sarum I and the announcement of the Succession Trials, Court Chamberlain Pomik Haromi met with the Ministry of War & the Grand Admirals for a proper course of action regarding the Drifter threat.
Initially, the Amarr Empire has been put in a high state of alert, but a more direct answer was needed to comfort the population of the Empire. And this answer came after a few days, where the Grand Admiral Kezti Sundara explained the Drifter threat to the Theology Council & the Privy Council.

The inevitable conclusion

As of 25 August, YC 117 at 11H, the Amarr Empire is officially at war with the Drifters. A general mobilization is in progress. A fortification of the Throne World fleets is underway, along with the reinforcement of the border systems to prevent opportunistic attacks from others.
Also, the Imperial Navy has begun cleansing the Drifters from the core world systems. Imperial forces have also entered the contested Devoid region, reinforcing the area & actively engaging Drifters.
This intervention in Devoid will surely be ill-received by the Minmatar Republic, but for now, there have been no official statements from their diplomats.

For the official document go here:
 'For immediate public dissemniation; Declaration of war by the Amarr Empire towards the Drifters'

Khanid Kingdom under attack!

The Drifter response didn't wait for long. Only a few hours after the declaration of way, they begun their attack on the lowsec system Nandeza in the Khanid Kingdom. As the Imperial Navy was mainly securing it's own space in the Amarr Empire, this gave the Drifters the initial advantage, allowing them to rapidly setup a few strongholds & strikepoints!
However, the response of the Imperial Navy wouldn't take long and they send in their forces to assist the Khanid Kingdom to battle this threat.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Internal Order has geared its propaganda into action, calling the people of Amarr to pray for the righteous defenders of the Throne Worlds. On top of this, the Drifters are portrayed as the harbingers of unimaginable evil to strike an iron resolve in the people to defy them.

All shall fall in our wake

In response to the Amarr declaration of war and the invasion of the Drifters into the Khanid Kingdom, capsuleers set out to attack this foe.
But when they arrived, they were met with a discouraging sight... the wreckage of countless Navy ships floating across space.... Sometimes a flash of light was seen when a straggler launched a final desperate attack on the Drifter battleships, only to be erased by their superior weaponry...
The first capsuleers that attacked didn't do much but to follow the fate of the Navy ships...

But capsuleers are nothing of resourceful in the field of battle. Both Arek'Jaalan and Spectre Fleet took the forefront this conflict. While Arek'Jaalan send in small forces to analyze their tactics & devise strategies to combat it, Spectre Fleet went full in, launching devastating attacks on the Drifters. While they were often pushed back, they managed to diminish several Drifter task forces in the area.
While all this fighting is going on, capsuleer The Golden serpent tried a more peaceful route after the Drifters destroyed her ship. She remained in the area with her pod, seemingly ignored by the Drifters and began recording what she saw, gathering & releasing all the info, for a better understanding of this rising threat. You can find her observations here: 'Report on the trip to Baratar system, Khanid; Drifter incursion' 

Despite all these actions, it isn't enough to drive out these invaders. There's been reports that the Drifters intend to expand their area of influence to other places once they have consolidated this area.
Considering the Drifters have begun their attack in lowsec, it complicates matters, as there's always capsuleers that prefer to engage their own kind instead of facing an invading force, making it all that more difficult to drive them out.
If this continues, the future looks grim for this area of the Khanid Kingdom... We have no idea what the Drifters will do once they solidly control an area of space... But an invading entity rarely has good intentions for their enemies.

The silence of Concord

In all the recent Drifter related conflicts, Concord has been eerily silent since the attack on the Yulai HQ by a small drifter taskforce. In previous rising threats, Concord at least provided some intel or made some public announcement regarding it.
While Concord's main goal is to provide peace between the 4 nations & keep a leash on capsuleers, the stability of the cluster as a whole should be a concern of theirs. Drifters snooping around everywhere with advanced tech & engaging anyone who comes too close is surely a worrying matter, not only for Amarr but for the whole of the New Eden cluster.
Hopefully we'll hear news from Concord soon regarding the Drifters.

13th Alliance Tournament second weekend results

Concord Command Personnel (CCP) owned image

Second weekend, the teams that made it!

Well, this weekend has been a slaughterhouse, with many teams that got eliminated from the tournament! 4 teams remain undefeated, while 12 teams are still competing in the Elimination part!

Undefeated Teams

Camel Empire ----- Warlords of the Deep

Nulli Secunda ---- Pandemic legion

Among the undefeated teams there's no major surprise, these 4 teams are the big game contenders and always end up high in the Alliance Tournaments! Nice to note is that the Warlords of the Deep is the old Hydra team. In the final weekend these teams will fight 3 matches to determine who can go to the finals!

The Elimination Battles

The Tuskers & Co. ----- The Afterlife

winner against

Tactical Narcotics Team

The Gorgon Empire & Spawn ----- End of Life

winner against

Shadow Cartel

Test Alliance Please Ignore ----THE R0NIN

winner against

Exodus.

Phoebe Freeport Republic ---- Hard Knock Citizens

winner against

Triumvirate.

These will be some tense matches, as the teams here must win to continue! No third chance for them! Most teams here are of little surprise, as they tend to get far in previous AllianceTournaments as well. Also a few new names who managed to get this far! Lets see if they can win against established teams!
In this light, the Phoebe Freeport Republic match against Hard Knock Citizens will be especially curious as both are new teams competing in the Tournament!

All in all, the Finals weekend will hopefully be filled with thrilling battles where teams do their best to outmatch the opponent & provide ambiance for their spectators & fans!
You can see the Tournament brackets here: 13th Alliance Tournament Brackets
You can get a quick view of the matches itself with the excellent 3D match review option provided by NULL-SEC.COM. You get the 3D views by simply clicking the match yo'ure inetrested in & use the option to review it once the match is selected.
If you prefer to view the stream of the matches, you can visit Alliance Tournament XIII Complete set, provided by capsuleer Ranger 1 with thanks to CCP & ISD personnel that streamed it all.

Some observations of the Tournament

ECM galore!

In these two weekends, there's been complains about the large use of ECM in this tournament, reducing some matches to the luck of a draw, whether a jam would work or not.
This abundance of ECM can be attributed to various factors.

1) ECM is very effective in small scale engagements, like this tournament. The ability to shut down 1 to 3 ships gives you a great advantage, even of only temporary shut down.

2) Tech 2 drones & Meta drones are banned this tournament. Unlike the previous one, which saw an overabundance of Gecko-drone users & tech 2 drones. Usually drones are a nice counter to ECM as you can reassign them to others & you can't jam a flight of them, allowing you to chase off or even destroy the Jammer.

2) The banning of Dampening scripts. These tend to be a good counter to ECM as well, as they force the usually fragile ECM ships to close in, making them more vulnerable to be shot.

With two counters nerfed, the large deployment of ECM was to be a given at this Alliance Tournament as it's a tool that gives a large advantage for the team that wields it.

Alliance Tournament ships galore!

I reported last weekend already that AT ship prizes were used in this Tournament, namely the Malice. but this weekend the Malice AT9 frigate was fielded more liberally, by multiple teams, showing the lethality of this ship in team engagements.
However, the Malice wasn't the only AT prize ship that was seen this tournament. Pandemic Legion brought in the Etana logistic cruiser on the field in their matchs against Shadow Cartel.
While Shadow Cartel lost this match, they did bring home a moral victory by blowing up the prized Etana cruiser!

The Etana cruiser is an offspring of the Osprey Caldari cruiser. It was designed during Heth's rule to assist in espionage & covert operations. Prototypes of this ship were deployed to spy on Gallente ship & troop movements around Caldari Prime.
In order to perform this function, this logistic cruiser was equipped with a covert jump drive & advanced electronics allowing it to have an unparalleled shield transfer rate and equip a covert ops cloak on top of it.
The State sponsored the 10th Alliance Tournament, providing a batch of 50 Etana logistic cruisers for the wining team Verge of Collapse.

Closing note

Quite some tense & close matches now. Not to mention that multiple teams fielded AT prize ships, risking billions to win their matches. While it does give the Team that uses the AT prize ship a nice advantage, the Alliance Tournament is the event to use them, as they're far to rare & expensive for normal combat operations. not to mention that the opposing team can score a bonus moral victory by blowing one of these ships up, as Shadow Cartel did with the Etana from Pandemic Legion!

Also the Tournament matches went smooth now, no hiccups or rule-lawyering, boosting everyone's enjoyment!
Now onwards to the Grand Finals! Where the best of the best duke it out to win fabulous prizes!

Succession trials confirmed next year to select the new Emperor/Empress

The Imperial capital, Dam-Torsad

The Court Chamberlain Pomik Haromi announced from the Imperial Palace in Dam-Torsad that the Succession Trials would commence next year. The speed at which this is announced took away fears of a second Karsoth in power.
It was further revealed that the Succession Trials would mirror those of YC105, where Capsuleers were chosen as champions of the Houses to represent the Heirs.

The current Heir of the Royal Houses of Amarr are as following:

- Articio Kor-Azor, Heir of Royal House Kor-Azor
- Uriam Kador, Heir of Royal House Kador
- Catiz Tash-Murkon, heir of Royal House Tash-Murkon
- Yonis Ardashipur, Heir of Royal House Ardashipur
- Merimeth Sarum, Heir of Royal House Sarum

To find out more about each House & their politics, you can visit this archive: Politics of the Amarr Empire
Currently, the details of the Championship Succession Trials aren't known yet, as each Trial is unique, its rules adapted to the times they occur in & to eliminate mistakes made in previous Trial Championships.
A part has already been unveiled however & it seems in line with the previous Succession Trial Championship held in YC105

Current known rules & regulations

-Succession Trial Date: 21 to 23 April of YC 118
-Only Amarr & Khanid ships will be allowed to participate (In detail: only ships that exclusively require Amarr ship skills) The class of ship has not yet been determined.
- Champions must have positive unmodified standings towards the Amarr Empire
- Champions can be of any race or Bloodline (a change from the previous Championship!)
- Champions may not put forth an Heir of their Choice, as the Heirs will select the best 5 of those after the Championship Tournament to fight for them in the final Succession Trial.

More details concerning rules, registration & the Championship trials will be released in a future declaration.

Empress Jamyl Sarum I assassinated by Drifter taskforce!

When happy celebrations turns into shock & mourning

What was supposed to be a happy celebration as the newest Imperial flagship would be unveiled to the people turned into one of the darkest days of the Amarr Empire.

Hundreds of capsuleers had gathered at Safizon to witness the arrival of Empress Jamyl Sarum I in her Titan along with her escort of Aeon supercarriers. To honour her, CVA/PIE/SFRIM capsuleers & friends held a prayer for her.

Even the station turrets were modified to enhance the celebration as they shot fireworks across the crowd, making everyone feel excited for the upcoming reveal.

A capsuleer loyalist fleet preparing for parade formation, unaware of what is about to happen...

Image by Jandice Ymladris

But then, a dark nightmare became reality when a large fleet of Drifter battleships appeared all of a sudden amidst the speech of the Empress. Wasting no time, they fired two volleys. One volley took out the Imperial Titan Seraph, the second smaller volley fired at her escape pod. Then the sinister Drifter taskforce warped out, leaving hundreds of capsuleers & their crews behind in shock & confusion as it all went so fast...

The strike on the Seraph, annihilating the Titan immediately after.

Image by Sahriah Bloodstone

Crowd in disarray as the wreckage of the Seraph floats through space

Image by Jandice Ymladris

Chaos erupted as people began shouting, overloading comms. Rumours spread that Amarr was under siege, causing many fleets to warp as soon as they could to the system. All the while, the Admirals of the Imperial Navy called for order & asked to secure the area; to assure the Drifter taskforce was really gone.

Arriving at Amarr, nobody could confirm the presence of Drifters, yet people remained vigilant, scouring the system. In the end, it turned out to be a false alarm.

What will happen now is unsure. Capsuleers claim that she has died during the attack, as people confirmed to have seen her corpse.

This attack showed the lethal danger the Drifters present. they can strike anywhere, anytime they desire, taking out whatever they choose & withdraw in impunity... Dark days have befallen the Amarr Empire... and perhaps the cluster if their aggression expands...

Currently, it is not known why the Drifters were so focused on the Empress, to the point that they ignored everyone else & retreated once her ship was gone.

Memorial image of Empress Jamyl Sarum I, as released by the Amarr Empire

Only a few hours after this brutal attack, the Court Chamberlain officially confirmed the death of Empress Jamyl Sarum I. Following this announcement, the entire Imperial Navy was set on high alert. Chamberlain Haromi also called for a meeting of all the heads of the Imperial armed forces and the Imperial government to assess the situation & react accordingly.
The killboards show the destruction of the Seraph Titan & assassination of the Empress in more detail:
- Destruction of the Imperial Titan Seraph
- Assassination of Empress Jamyl Sarum I


For those who want to honour the passing of the Empress, capsuleer Alizebeth Amalath is organizing a funeral ceremony to pay final respect to Jamyl Sarum: Funeral Mass information

The Scope reported on this shattering event as well:

Scope reporting on the Drifter attack in Safizon, resulting in the Seraph' destruction

Direct footage by capsuleer Mangraa Dementia showing the assassination of the Empress by the Drifters

Short vid, showing the final moments of the Seraph & the Empress

Capsuleer Sahriah Bloodstone created a short movie titles 'Fall of the Empress' summarizing the Safizon Drifter attacks that culminated in the assassination of the Empress

"There will be neither compassion nor mercy;

Nor peace, nor solace

For those who bear witness to these Signs

And still do not believe."

-The Scriptures, Book of Reclaiming 25:10

The reactions of the other nations & Concord upon receiving this shocking news

An official publication has combined the various responses of Concord, the State, the Federation and the Republic. below you'll find a summary of it.

The Concord assembly has put their fleet in the highest state of alert since the Sansha attacks of YC 112. They also expressed that while they were shocked & saddened by the sudden death of Empress Jamyl Sarum I, they'll remain vigilant & that the Drifters are their highest threat priority to the peace & stability of New Eden

In the State, the Chief Executive Panel has released a statement, offering their condolences to their allies and that they shall mourn the Empress' death. They furthermore stated that she was an important figure in maintaining the friendly relations between the State & Empire.
In reaction to the Drifter attack, the Caldari Navy has been placed on high alert and the Megacorporation Security forces have been mobilized to secure the State from their aggression.

The Gallente President Jacus Roden praised Empress Jamyl Sarum I for her clarity in matters regarding the Amarr Empire & its people. While the President & the Empress often disagreed in important matters & morals, he still called her a positive influence on the Gallente-Amarr relations and therefor offered condoleances to the people of the Empire in name of the Gallente Federation.
The Gallente Navy has been put on invasion alert, making sure that their fleets occupy strategic defensive positions to deflect possible incoming attacks. The Federan Intelligence Operations also have been put on high alert, keeping track of all Drifter activity in federation space.

Sanmator Maleatu Shakor of the Minmatar Republic remarked briefly that he was dismayed at the ability of the Drifters to penetrate the security of a major power and violently remove their head of state. Further on, he declared that after a session with the Tribal Council that the Drifters pose no immediate threat to the Republic and therefor no actions are being undertaken against them. He further expresses his concerns that the current instability in the Amarr Empire could lead to an increased suffering of the enslaved people.
Meanwhile, in parts of the Republic, citizens are far less restricted in their response, celebrating the death of the Empress, whom they sometimes refer to as 'The Witch'. The Sanmator declined to comment on these celebrations, albeit Chief Tenerhaddi Dykon of the Krusual Tribe was more open about it, station that he rejoiced as he would rejoice at the death of a rabid slaver hound.

Over 29.000 refugees are welcomed aboard the Aurora Arcology!

It's been some action packed weeks as of late. From the Alliance Tournament kickoff to the various Drifter attacks in Amarr space, there has been no shortage of news to report on.
The Alliance Tournament is a yearly recurring competition where capsuleers compete to see who has the best team. Broadcasted across the cluster to be viewed by billions of citizens across the various nations, it is one of the largest & most known capsuleer events in New Eden.
So far, it's been entertaining, with all recurring teams being backed by their fans still going strong in the Tournament. Quite some of the new teams had a good run as well, adding flavour to the tournament.
Undoubtedly, the upcoming weekend will see some serious battles being fought in the competition, as the teams aim to claim the top prizes consisting of the Interceptor & Heavy Interdictor Sansha ships!
Then again, for the less fortunate, PLEX prizes & a Sansha skin license awaits!

The rising threat of the Drifters on the other hand is an issue that can't be ignored, as they launched yet another assault on Amarr space. Suspecting the Drifters plan to sabotage the first official flight of the new Imperial Flagship, CVA has called out to organize a fleet & be ready for the worst. State supporters have already stated they will stand by their allies in these dark times.
So if the Drifters try anything, at the ceremony, the capsuleers are ready to challenge them.

Now onward to this week's immigrants. With thanks to capsuleers Francophobia, & many others, alot of refugees can look forward to a bright new future!

Immigration list:

Regular Civilians:

- 1 Caldari Prisoner of War
- 10 Civilians
- 703 Homeless
- 5,622 Janitors
- 12 Oura Madusaari  (Patients suffering the Oura M. Syndrome)
- 89 Prisoners (Part of the Prison Lend-Lease Program)
- 1 Prop Comedian
- 144 Refugees
- 158 Science Graduates
- 13 Scientists
- 4 Stranded Pilots
- 10.549 Tourists
- 1,325 Freed Slaves
- 4 Animal Medical Experts

Pets

- 24 Fedos (Datafile:A strange animal)
- 911 Hounds

Law Enforcement

- 30 Caldari Light Marines
- 3.577 Freedom Fighters
- 1 Kameira
- 4.742 Marines
- 736 Militants
- 420 Slavers (Part of the Redemption Program)
- 70 Bodyguards

Employees for the Nightclub L'Etoile Rouge

- 1.083 Female Exotic Dancers
- 1.326 Male Exotic Dancers

Council members

- 2 Dari Akell
- 1 Logut Akell
-7 VIPs
- 10 Angel Cartel VIPs (Part of the Redemption Program)

Once again, thanks alot for offering these people a new chance in their lives!

13th Alliance Tournament first weekend results

13th Alliance Tournament banner, image by Concord Command Personnel (CCP)

First weekend elimination

The Alliance Tournament has two different brackets/ Undefeated & Elimination. As long as you keep winning, you remain in the Undefeated bracket. Once you lose a match however, you are placed in the Elimination bracket, giving you a chance to renew your glory. But once you lose in the Elimination bracket, you're out the Tournament!

Eliminated

-affliction

Chaos Collective

Alternate Allegiance

Affirmative.

Quebec United Legions

Black Legion.

Gone Critical

Nerfed Alliance Go Away

That Escalated Quickly.

Clockwork Pineapple

404 Alliance Not Found

WAFFLES.

The Kadeshi

A Band Apart.

Forsaken Federation

Pandemic Horde

Flagships destroyed

Alternative Alliance Bhaalgorn (Eliminated)

Brothers in Arms Alliance Rattlesnake (Competing in Elimination)

Circle-Of-Two Armageddon (Competing in Elimination)

Gone Critical Armageddon (Eliminated)

Suddenly Spaceships Bhaalgorn (Competing in Elimination)

That Escalated Quickly Barghest (Eliminated)

The Bastards Typhoon Fleet Issue (Competing in Elimination)

For a full list of the competitors & their matches, go here: 13th Alliance Tournament brackets
If you missed a match, don't worry, ISD has stored them on their video channel: Interstellar Service Departement! Their video logs are stored per system, per day.

So far, no big surprises. All the  teams that did good in the previous two tournaments are still in the competition. You can find the list & schedule of the previous two Alliance Tournaments here:
- 11th Alliance Tournament schedule
- 12th Alliance Tournament schedule
As noticed above, 7 Flagships met their untimely end as well, meaning these specific ships may no longer be used by their team for the rest of the tournament. Big thanks to capsuleer Aliventi of Pandemic Horde for the Flagship kill list!

I thank the organisation of the NULL-SEC.COM website for storing this data for future use! It offers a great overview & helps in assessing good teams & team surprises. Their site offers much more then just Tournament overview however. It includes news, fits & a market overview section, so enjoy browsing their site!

Fun observations & facts

Red Team = Winner's Team!

Did you know that during the first weekend, Red team won nearly all matches? This is especially noticeable on Day 1 in both systems & Day 2 in the PE1-R1 system. The only exception to it is the Day 2 competition in JB-007 where it was mostly blue teams that won.


Can't touch the Malice!

On the first day, in the "Black Legion. vs Warlords from the Deep", the WotD team deployed a very rare & expensive ship! Namely the Malice, an AT 9 tournament prize ship!
The function of the ship during this match was bait & it worked greatly. The BL team primaried the frigate, trying to shoot it down, but they failed, giving the victory to the Warlords of the Deep! The Malice survived this ordeal.
On the second day, the Warlords of the Deep used two Malice frigates against their opponent The Methodical Allaince. This expensive deployment was successful & they once again won the day!
On the same, there was another team that deployed a Malice, namely The Camel Empire who sent theirs against the Agony Empire team. Once again with success.

Some info about this unusual frigate, the Malice is a design from the Amarr Empire that was designed exclusively for the capsuleer winners of the 9th Alliance Tournament.This rare frigate includes state of the art technology in both defense and offence, providing enhanced armor resists and extended power & range to small laser turrets. It also comes with enhanced energy drain & neutralize systems, making it a lethal opponent on the battlefield.
So far the Malice is the only AT prize ship that's been fielded this Alliance Tournament.

6 Flagships down vs 1 the next day

Most teams have selected a flagship for use. These ships can circumvent certain rules on fitting, but must be approved first by the Tournament. Also, the team may only use 1 of these fitted ships for the whole tournament, so if they are destroyed, that team cannot use their Flagship anymore!
In this case, there's quite the difference of Flagships taken out. The first day saw 6 of them down. Apparently, this made the teams alot more careful in the next day, as only 1 went down then!

Alliance Tournament rule violations & rulings

Bad news is that there have been two rule violations. both of them not picked up by referees or rule checkers until after the match was over. You can check Alliance Tournament rules here: 13th Alliance Tournament Rules.

That Escalated Quickly Flagship uses an illegal meta module

In the match "Nulli Secunda vs That Escalated Quickly", NS managed to blow up the Barghest Flagship. Shortly after this, killmail observers spotted the usage of a Capacitor booster meta module, which may not be allowed, not even under the Flagship exception rules.

Keep in mind, That Escalated Quickly is a new team & this is their first tournament. On top of this, Flagship fits must be submitted at least a week in advance in order to verify that these fits don't break the fitting rules for them.
The main culprit behind this is the rule 'Faction Capacitor Boosters are allowed' which refers to the capacitor booster charges, not the capacitor booster module! Hopefully an update to this rule will make it more clear for future new teams in the tournament & those who check fits.

In the end, That Escalated Quickly was given a warning, a fair ruling considering this was their first Tournament, that they lost the match and because the meta module should have been picked up during the Flagship fit submission.


Together we Solo warps in beyond maximum range established by rules

In the match "Together We Solo vs Gone Critical", the TWS team warped in at 100 km while the rules state that the max warp in distance is 50 km. On top of this, it was not picked up by the referees at the time. To make matters worse, the TWS team won this match.
Considering that weapon effectiveness is highly range dependent, this can be seen as a large unfair advantage for the TWS team.

Despite this, the TWS team was given a warning, despite the fact that GC could have won if the match was played out by the rules. Note, this ruling was first discussed between the TWS team & GC Team before made public. Neither team opposed the rulings.
In this case, a rematch would have been more fair, as the unfair advantage very likely skipped the match in favor of TWS, who did won it.

Closing note

All in all, the matches were fun to watch, seeing some quick team collapses, but also hard stances of those who won't give up, fighting tooth & nail for their matches.
There were some unusual setups as well, with the Curatores Veritates Alliance gaining alot of attention, as many expected them to field Amarr ships due to their allegiance to the Amarr Empire. yet they surprised everyone by bringing a Vargur ship team!
Seeing a Malice in action was a rare but great sight as well! Cheers for Warlords of the Deep risking one in their tournament.

It's a shame about the rule violations, but the teams involved did agree with the ruling outcomes, so that should be the final word on it. Hopefully, the Alliance Tournament management learns from these two cases, so that in the end they'll have a positive effect for future matches.
After all, almost all matches were fought fair & people had a blast! Lets focus on that instead of two negative cases!

Amarr Navy repels third Drifter assault

Second attack on Safizon deflected

On 15 august, the Drifters launched their third strike on the Amarr Empire, targeting the Imperial Navy Headquarters. But this time the Amarr Empire was prepared for them.
A large fleet of battleships, cruisers & frigates defended the system under the command of Grand Admiral Ren Karetta. On top of this, the Grand Admiral called out for capsuleers to assist in the defense. Many capsuleers responded to his command, among them PIE, CVA, SFRIM & FCORD forces.

This time, the Drifters had alot more trouble pressing their attack, as the Imperial Navy successfully defended several system critical locations like Stargates & the Imperal Navy HQ. Through the fight, the Imperial Navy bore the brunt of the Drifter offensive, destroying many of their ships without suffering too much losses.
In the end, the Drifters were disposed of fairly fast compared to the first attack on Safizon that saw Drifter skirmishes for hours on end. This successful & efficient defense can be attributed to the deployment of the Imperial 3rd Fleet commanded by Grand Admiral Ren Karetta

Imperial Navy attack formation, image provided by Concord

More on the second Safizon attack can be read in the official report: Imperial Navy Forces pushes back second Drifter advance
You can also view the Scope report on it: Drfter forces assault Amarr Navy HQ in Safizon

Originally it was suspected that the Drifters target Safizon because of the construction of the newest Amarr Flagship, the TES Auctoritas. However this is unlikely as this advanced ship is currently in the Ebidan system, where it is performing flight trials for the next week or two.
What triggers the Drifter attacks on Safizon is currently not known, albeit speculations are abound. The most heared one is that the Imperial Navy HQ houses a piece of advanced technology that the Drifters either want to recover or to destroy. Keep in mind, this is merely speculation!

But this is not all... recently reports have reached me from reliable sources that the Drifters are acting aggressively beyond the borders of Amarr space!

Gallente Gate patrols engage in skirmishes with Drifters!

 Recently, people witnessed small skirmishes between the Gallente Navy & Police forces and the Drifters. So far they've been small & limited in scope. Witnesses report that shots are being traded, but that they stand down after a time, ceasing aggression.
What triggers the small skirmishes is unknown, but it remains a worrying trend...

So far, no reports of skirmishes have come from the State or Republic, but currently there's not enough information to confirm this.
All that we can tell is that the Drifters are no longer solely aggressive towards Amarr, but that they now annoy Gallente Gate patrols to a point that fire is being exchanged. So far no full out battles have been reported, but this might only be a matter of time...
Capsuleers who witnessed skirmishes between Drifters & other navy or Police forces are always welcome to report this to me & the official organisations. If possible, take images of it, in the hope additional info can be retrieved through it!

The 13th Alliance tournament has kicked off!

The 13th Alliance tournament banner, depicting the two ship prizes

The Sansha interceptor Imp on the left & the Sansha Heavy Interdictor Fiend on the right

Introduction

The Alliance tournament has started it's 13th edition this weekend, pitching the best teams against each other! The winners will gain cluster-wide fame & acccess to ships normally excluded from capsuleer ownership.

This year sees 64 teams competing against each other to show off who's the best & earn the prizes! The prizes itself are controversial, as they're based on Sansha ship designs, but better. Yes, that Sansha, who threatened to lay waste to the New Eden cluster!
The tournament itself will run over 3 weekends. The first weekend, from 15 to 16 August is an elimination round, to sort out the best teams, who will then combat each other the following weekend from 22 to 23 August.
And once the best of the best are known, the big showdown happens on 29 & 30 August, to determine who's the top team of this year's tournament!

The Tournament schedule can be found here: 13th Alliance Tournament match schedule
For an overveiw of the brackets every team competes in go here: 13th Alliance Tournament brackets

13th Alliance Tournament prizes

In the competition, there's a ton of prizes to win, from general awards to very rare & coveted ships. Below you'll find a list of this year's prizes & a link to the official source!

The Alliance Tournament Cup

For the winning alliance only. The cup is relocated to the winning member each year & is unique. Engraved on the cup is a list of all the previous winners of the Alliance tournament.


Alliance tournament medals

There's two different sets of alliance tournament medals.
One is reserved for the teams that ended 1st, 2nd & 3rd, allowing them to show off the rank they achieved during the competition.
The other set is granted to the team & their alliance they represented. These medals are granted to the top 32, top 16, top 8, 4th spot, 3rd spot, 2nd spot and 1st spot. You can only get one award, the highest your alliance scored.


PLEX

These are the PLEX the teams had to pay as entry fee for the tournament. They are redistributed among the winners based on the rank they achieved.
Teams placed 32nd to 17th get 5 PLEX per team
The top 16 teams get 15 PLEX each.


Spaceship prizes

Now we get to the interesting prizes, the stuff everyone fights for! As mentioned above, this year's ships are based on enhanced versions of the Sansha frigates & cruisers. On top of this, a Sansha battleship skin will also be awarded to the teams.

The distribution of the prized ships is this:
-1st place: 25 Cruisers & 25 Frigates
-2nd place: 15 Cruisers & 15 Frigates
-3rd place: 7 Cruisers & 7 Frigates
-4th place: 3 Cruisers & 3 Frigates

The Sansha Frigate is called the Imp and classified as an interceptor & is normally not available to players. Same with the Sansha Cruiser named Fiend which is classified as Heavy Interdictor and normally not available to capsuleers.

The Alliance Tournament Sansha Battleship Skin prize will be handed in packets of 10 per team per match won. In short, there will be plenty of them available! So if you would like one, keep an eye on the market once they're released as there are bound to be a few sold there. Just keep in mind prizes will likely be steep due to the small number that will find their way to the market!

For a link to the prizes: The Blood Soaked Riches

This years competitors & their flagships

Flagship: Armageddon

A Band Apart

Brave Collective

Circle-Of-Two

Confederation of xXPizzaXx

Gone Critical

M.I.F

The Explicit Alliance

Vox Populi.

WAFFLES.

Flagship: Barghest

That Escalated Quickly.

The Afterlife.

Verge of Collapse

Flagship: Bhaalgorn

Affirmative.

-affliction-

Agony Empire

Alternate Allegiance

Clockwork Pineapple

Dead Terrorists

Drop the Hammer

Easily Excited

Exodus.

Hard Knocks Citizens

It Must Be Jelly Cause Jam Don't Shake

Nulli Secunda

Pandemic Legion

Phoebe Freeport Republic

Project.Mayhem.

RAZOR Alliance

Rote Kapelle

Shadow Cartel

SpaceMonkey's Alliance

Suddenly Spaceships.

Test Alliance Please Ignore

The Gorgon Empire and Spawn

THE R0NIN

The Tuskers Co.

The WeHurt Initiative

Together We Solo

Triumvirate.

Flagship: Dominix

Pandemic Horde

Flagship: Machariel

Chaos Collective

Flagship: Rattlesnake

Brothers in Arms Alliance

The Kadeshi

Flagship: Scorpion Navy Issue

The Camel Empire

Warlords of the Deep

Flagship: Vindicator

Black Legion.

CAStabouts

End of Life

Flagship: Typhoon

Quebec United Legions

Flagship: Typhoon Fleet Issue

Ministry of Inappropriate Footwork

The Bastards.

No Flagship selected

Scary Wormhole People

Out of Sight.

Curatores Veritatis Alliance

The Methodical Alliance

Nerfed Alliance Go Away

Dream Fleet

404 Alliance Not Found

Tactical Narcotics Team

Nihilists Social Club

The G0dfathers

Forsaken Federation

R.E.V.O.LU.T.I.O.N

Northern Coalition.

Quite the long list, but you can already see a trend in Flagship selection. The Bhaalgorn is a very popular choice, with only the Armageddon peeping out from the rest of the selections. The reason is fairly simple. In small group engagements, the Bhaalgorn is a formidable opponent, able to shut down multiple targets at the same time if well directed & supported. Not to mention that it is capable of fielding a strong tank, at the cost of mobility.
Keep in mind, teams can always field their Flagships, even if the other team banned this ship hull from their match. But once a flagship is destroyed, it may no longer be fielded in any future match of the tournament.
The rules of the alliance tournament & Flagship selection can be found here: Alliance Tournament Rules

Tournament stream broadcasts

Where can you follow these tournament fights? On the various streams offered by registrated officials:

First weekend ( 15 to 16 August) from 14H to 19H30 by ISD officals
Stream 1 follows the matches in the PE1-R1 system
Stream 2 follows the matches in the JB-007 system

Second Weekend (22 to 23 August) from 13H50 till 21H30 by CCP
CCP Stream
Third Weekend (29 to 30 August) from 14H50 till 21H10 also by CCP
CCP Stream

More info on the broadcast data & times can be found here: Alliance Tournament Broadcasts

The Salus Project: The search for Hilen Tukoss

Prologue

The Salus project was originally set up to search & recover Hilen Tukoss after we received the messages from both the fake & real Hilen Tukoss. But this search turned out to become much more then anticipated. Through the intensive search for the Arek'Jaalan founder, we stumbled on alot of new discoveries. From shattered wormholes to strange Drifter structures.

Hilen Tukoss himself disappeared several years ago, when he wanted to find out what happened to Lianda Burreau after her ship was found inside the wormhole system J105934 along with a piece of Trinary data aboard, a Jove relic. She and her team were one of the first to travel into wormhole space as an assignment from Creodron. Shortly after she broadcasted the discovery of a new civilisation (Sleepers) she vanished & was presumed lost.
In an attempt to find out what happened, Hilen Tukoss took matters in his own hands & went looking for her, only to go missing himself...

The search for Hilen Tukoss

Almost a year ago, we received messages from Hilen Tukoss, who disappeared a few years prior as he was investigating the wormhole systems. It was quickly discovered that there were two broadcasters identifying themselves as him. The first messages were from an entity that pretended to be Hilen Tukoss, in a successful attempt to acquire Jove body parts. The latter messages are believed to be from the real Hilen Tukoss.

These messages lead to the creation of Project Salus, to search for Hilen Tukoss & discover what is going on. From the little info collected, it was determined he was held captive in a wormhole system.
Initially, the search for Hilen Tukoss didn't got alot of priority, until the Caroline Star event, that set in motion an avalanche of events, from the Seeker's arrival to the discovery of many new wormholes. These major changes turned Project Salus into a priority, as it was believed that Hilen Tukoss had acquired crucial data during his captivity.

For many months, dozens of capsuleers scouted wormhole systems, in search for clues. During this they mapped out the shattered wormhole systems, discovered the Sansha staging grounds embedded deep in wormhole space. Diplomatic contact with the Drifters and Seekers was also attempted, hoping to appeal to them for clues on Hilen Tukoss' whereabouts, but to no avail.
despite all the efforts people put in it, it was as if we were chasing a ghost. Despite the many discoveries made during the Salus Project, we didn't seem to get closer on finding the Arek'Jaalan founder.

But the release of a disturbing recording that was leaked to Scope put the search in overdrive, as it depicted a massive gathering of Drifter battleships & was voiced by Hilen Tukoss. Shortly after this announcement, it was discovered that the Drifter wormholes could be traversed. The reason for this is unknown, as the Drifters still fire on anyone approaching their wormholes, so we're clearly not wanted in there.

Body of Hilen Tukoss found

At long last, the corpse of Hilen Tukoss was found as reported by the Scope. In a public announcement by Makoto Priano, it was revealed that his body was found in a newly discovered wormhole system, occupied by the Drifters. Alongside his corpse was also the presence of an immense structure, a Drifter Hive structure! Initially this fine group of explorers were honored by the DED for their dedication & the retrieval of his biomass.

Hilen Tukoss' corpse, image provided by Makoto Priano

However, the situation turned sour rapidly after Concord announced they would sanction these capsuleers if they did not turn over the recovered biomass.
They were even willing to put hefty bounties on them & sanction their corporations! Such heavy handed threats towards capsuleers are a rare occasion & made many a capsuleer frown. Especially because in a later public statement, the involved capsuleers stated they wanted to cooperate as much as they can, without surrendering critical pieces of evidence to Concord, preventing them to take their usual 'We don't reveal information' policy.

Shortly after this announcement, negotiations went smoother, allowing Concord to confirm the remains were indeed Hilen Tukoss.
In an public release, Concord officially confirmed the death of Hilen Tukoss by Transneural Brun Scan Failure, a rare occurrence where the neural transmitting from the capsuleer clone to the new clone body fails due to an error in the burning process.
On top of this, Concord also confirmed all charges against the involved capsuleers were dropped & they praised their efforts once more. This indicates that something went wrong during initial communications. Not a surprise considering the Concord Official appointed for these negotiations, Odo Korachi, is not known for his tactful & diplomatic approaches....

This left Eifyr & Co to execute the last will of the deceased Hilen Tukoss & send his corpse to Piekura, for a proper burial at his homeground.
To honour his achievements & pay respect, capsuleer Dutchgunner organized a Memorial service that drew in a large crowd who all wanted to pay last respects to Hilen Tukoss.

The search continues

Despite all the above, the search for Hilen Tukoss continues as some believe he had a backup system ready for something like this. This would be unlikely, as the analysis has revealed that the burn process itself did not ru n like it should, indicating a high risk on permanent damage for memory data transfer.
Another speculation is that Hilen Tukoss still lives on in a digital form aboard a Sleeper or Seeker ship but that he's not fully aware of this aspect. This speculation find ground in the decrypted message where he announces he would head towards Site One and urges capsuleers not to shoot on Sleeper/Seeker ships as he would be flying one.
So far no Seeker has been sighted on Site One with odd behaviour, or a Sleeper ship, yet various capsuleers keep an eye out for his arrival, just in case.
It's also possible that this search will never come to a satisfying conclusion, but that does not need to be a bad thing. So far, the search for Hilen Tukoss yielded a ton of information & made staggering discoveries, like the Drifter Hive structures in the newly discovered wormhole systems.

Capsuleers present petition to Eifyr & Co

Prelude: What is Eifyr & Co's role in recent events?

They are the company that employed Hilen Tukoss after his departure at Zainou Biotech in YC 113; They also assisted him & his Arek'Jaalan project the construction of Site One & overseeing it after his disappearance.
When Hilen Tukoss returned, they were not contacted directly, but were happy to see him back. During these events a mysterious container was placed at Site One for the acquisition of Jove body parts for Hilen Tukoss. This objective was met, despite that later it turned out this Hilen Tukoss was a fake, a possible impersonation of him by the Drifters.
They were also interrogated by DED officials after suspicion that they had withheld an important broadcast by Hilen Tukoss regarding the Drifters.

Ever since Hilen Tukoss disappearance & later confirmed death, Eifur & Co managed the Arek'Jaalan HQ Site One and let it dormant for the most time. But with the arrival of the Seekers & Drifters, capsuleers have been pushing for a reactivation & expansion of the site as it was and still is the prime location containing information & research on the wormholes & Sleepers, who are probably related to the Seekers & Drifters.
The petition handed over by Dutchgunner is a formalization of these requests & some more that are seen to be important to the capsuleer scientific community.

The petition to Eifyr & Co & a visit to Site One

The Arek'Jaalan project has seen alot of activity as of late, with capsuleers across Eden assisting in various research projects to better understand the new discoveries made in wormhole systems & the nature of the Drifters.
Despite all this activity, the Arek'Jaalan capsuleers were unable to access Site One except for reading & downloading the archives. On top of this, Eifyr & Co don't seem to have an interest in expanding the facility to accommodate for the additional projects & discoveries made regarding wormhole systems & their inhabitants.

A petition was called for to address these issues formally, hoping Eifyr & Co would respond more positively to a rally to their station. This was deemed necessary as there's no official contact among Eifyr & Co regarding the Arek'Jaalan project.
The rally for the petition would occur on 8 august, 19H, announced by capsuleer Dutchgunner who also organized the memorial service for Hilen Tukoss. Scientific ships like scanner ships & Sister of Eve ships were preferred, but anyone who could come to support the rally was welcome.

Science ships at the petition rally

The rally itself was a success, with over a dozen people in various science ships present, from covop frigates to the Nestor science battleship! Among the attendees was also a Sanctuary Stratios cruiser, a rare sight! With this support gathered outside the Eifyr & Co HQ station at Elgoi, the petition was published for anyone to read prior to the handover to officials.
The petition requests are as following:

1) To have the container that is currently anchored within Site One: Antiquus removed and analyzed. It was used by an entity that pretended to be Hilen Tukoss. I am aware that it is very unlikely that any clues to the origin of the container or the person who placed it can be found.  At the very least it will serve the purpose of removing a unneeded and unwelcome object.

2) To consider expanding the current facilities in Site One: Antiquus with a Caldari Research Outpost structure. The construction would be done in the same way as with the construction of Site One itself. The capsuleers will provide the needed materials and resources within a certain time.
An additional and useful expansion would be a construct that allows limited interaction with capsuleer ships. This would be in order to allow the unloading of gathered resources (such as from beyond wormholes).

3) Should this expansion take place, to name the structure after Hilen Tukoss and to allow scientists from all corporations and nations to join the Arek'Jalaan project. This would be in line with the strive of the Arek'Jalaan project to provide transparency on the research that is done and on its results.

4) To assign or appoint a contact from Eifyr and Co for matters strictly related to the operations of Site One: Antiquus and the research that is done there. This would be to communicate the needs for materials or supplies, in what quantities and also when it is needed.

5) To share more information on the will of the late Hilen Tukoss. This would provide some insight into how we can continue the Arek'Jalaan project on his behalf and in the way he intended it.

The petition broadcast was closed with the sentence Hnolai ki tuul, ti sei oni a tiu, a Napaani saying that translates into: Honored are the dead, for their legacy guides us.

These requests have been made in hope for a more smooth operation of Arek'Jaalan's Site One & a better cooperation with Eifyr & Co. They would also help in honoring Hilen Tukoss' legacy & continue his work.

Shortly after this announcement, the rally set course for Site One, just a jump away from the Eifyr & Co HQ. Originally meant as a visit to accentuate the importance of the site to the Arek'Jaalan project, it quickly turned into a new attempt to analyze the mysterious container placed for the entity that impersonated Hilen Tukoss to get the Jove bodyparts. Can't place a dozen scientists & their tools together without them analyzing something!

Data & Relic analyzers worked briefly on it, until access to the container was granted. After this they no longer locked on, combined with the system message that access has been authorized. This was already known, but never hurts to try again, to check for variables.
A temporary science lab for more intensive analysis was also set up by capsuleer Trii Seo, in order to acquire more secured information. While this was a partial success, the results will be investigated thoroughly before being released to the general audience.
On top of this, data gathering with the Entosis Link has also been attempted. Crystal Chantreuse was the brave capsuleer who volunteered for this, turning off all the safeties of her ship in order to maximize the potential for data gathering & response. However, the Entosis Link could not activate on the container or any other Site One installation.

Conclusion

The petition rally was a success, as most folks showed up with their science ships to support the initiative.
I personally hope for an expansion of Site One, in honor of Hilen Tukoss, so his legacy will have a visible component, honoring his work to unite capsuleers in a common science project.
A direct contact for the operation of Site One would also be more then welcome, to accommodate for future research projects & requests. This would vastly reduce the need for capsuleers to rally outside Eifyr & Co HQ every time a major event happens in regards to wormholes & associated places.

The analysis of the container was unplanned, yet inevitable when you gather a group of scientists with their tools around an object that is not fully understood.

More information could be gleamed off it if we could have full access to it as by petition's request, but for now, we'll have to do with what we can to unlock it's mysteries.

The rising threat of the Drifters

Striking terror in the hearts of many, the formidable Drifter battleships

Prelude

Ever since the arrival of the Drifters earlier this year, tensions have been on the rise in new Eden.
From the moment they arrived they proved to be a force to be reckoned with, piloting ships that are more then a match for capsuleer ships & able to adapt to our tactics.
The past few months saw the Drifters taking an aggressive stance, mainly against the Amarr & those who try to analyze their technology. To what end the Drifters are roaming in our space is not yet fully understood, but considering past events, it's not for peaceful study...

Counted from their arrival in New Eden, 4 major conflicts are known, 3 of them were initiated by the Drifters. Below you'll find more details about each of the battles.

First Contact

When the Drifters made a first appearance, many capsuleers sought them out, some to study or to observe, but many did to destroy, kill & plunder. But those with hostile intentions got a nasty surprise... These Drifters packed considerable firepower & strong defenses in a high speed battleship. The first few days saw a massacre as the Drifters defended themselves from capsuleer aggression.
The massive destruction caused during this early period set their reputation as a strong foe & that they should not be taken lightly, as even capital ships perished in their wake!

Once the excitement about the new arrivals had died down, most left the Drifters alone, content to observe them & see what they were up to. A few kept engaging them, in order to adapt to the Drifter weapons & tactics, but this backfired, as the Drifters used these engagements to adapt their technology & weaponry to the capsuleer combatstyle & weapons. Among these adaptions was upgrading their sensors to render them immune to ECM attacks & extending the range of their capital weapon, the Aegis Beam.

The Yulai attack

For a while, the status quo remained, the capsuleers observed the Drifters & the Drifters kept to their own devices, protecting their installations.
But in May, this all changed. A group of capsuleers (Anslo, Mizhir, Kybernetes Moros, Kalo Askold) had performed a successful autopsy on a recovered Drifter corpse & had shared their findings to the DED. In turn, the DED held a press conference & broadcasted a live holo about these findings, to inform all of New Eden about the discoveries made by these four capsuleers.
But right at the point the Press was allowed to question the four capsuleers about their findings, the holofeed was disrupted & a small fleet of Drifters appeared at the DED station in Yulai. There was no question about their intentions once they began opening fire on the gathered capsuleers!

While the Drifter taskforce was small, 4 battleships, they managed to cause quite some damage as they initiated the attack on an unprepared group. Luckily, the capsuleers regrouped & countered the Drifter aggression swiftly due to their superio numbers.
This attack did mark the end of the DED Yulai press conference however. It is also significant, as this is the first time the Drifters initiated an attack, but it would not be the last time....

The attack on the Imperial Celebration

Originally meant to be a celebration for the capsuleer organisations PIE & Imperial Dreams, existing 12 years, it was modified & enlarged after Empress Jamyl Sarum's decree to share classified new shield technology with the cluster to heed her call to stand united. This would occur in June, at the Mekhios Graveyard in Sarum prime, the place where Empress Jamyl returned in full glory & decimated an invading Minmatar Elder Fleet.

The celebration itself was a display of Imperial might & power by the capsuleers loyal to the Amarr Empire. But all of a sudden, an Imperial Navy officer warned of an impending Drifter attack!
Before they even got a chance to reorganize, the Drifter armada arrived on field and began opening fire! Under the guidance of the CVA Fleet commanders, a full retreat was called in order to reorganizing into a combat formation, as the fleets were still in parade formation & not suitable to combat such large force.

The capsuleer fleet engaging the Drifters, image by Stargazer

During this chaotic period, some capsuleers were left behind in the Mekhios graveyard, watching the large Drifter fleet wreck havoc as they opened fire on the fleeing ships. During this chaotic period, there's been unconfirmed reports of strange sounds & odd flashes.
Whatever it was, by the time the main fleets returned to kick the Drifters out of Amarr space, it was noticed that quite some Drifters had lost their blue overshield, their strongest defense.  Seeing this as a sign that God was on their side, the defense fleet pushed even harder, hammering down the Drifters who were not prepared for such a swift & coherent response to their aggression.

You can read more about this celebration here: Amarr & Allies destroy Drifter armada and here: 12 years of Imperial Dreams

This attack is more disturbing then the one at Yulai, as this celebration had no direct connection to the Drifters & their technology. They just attacked out of nowhere & seemingly without an obvious meaning.
The observation that several Drifter battleships had lost their blue overshield is interesting. It has been suggested it had to do with the location, that residual energy from the superweapon used to destroy the Elder fleet interfered with Drifter shield technology. However, nothing has been confirmed regarding this, except that there were too few capsuleers on the field to cause so many overshields to be down before the return of the main fleet.

The Safizon attack

A few days ago, the Drifters launched a third attack, once again with a large fleet; This second armada of theirs targeted the Safizon system, where a new Imperial Issue Abaddon is being built, rumored with integrated advanced technologies.
The Imperial Navy wasted no time & rallied en mass to defend the system from Drifter aggression. Despite this swift response, they were defeated, forcing high command to regroup & call on capsuleers to aid them in the defense of Safizon.

The Imperial Navy defending one of the gates

However, capsuleers quicly noted that the Amarr Navy had struck a great blow already to the Drifters, as they lost a substantial part of their fleet already.
Despite this, the battle for Safizon would rage on for many hours before the cleanup could begin. During the fight, many capsuleers noticed the advanced combat tactics employed by the Drifters. This combined with their advanced technology meant they were much harder to drive out the system.

The nightmare of every capsuleer, Drifter focus fire in action, image by Caroline Grace

Ultimately the Drifters were driven out, with the combined effort of capsuleers & the Imperial Navy.
Just like the second attack, there was no direct connection or provocation for the attack. While Safizon is the system where a new Imperial issue Abaddon flagship is being built, it's not clear if it's related to the Drifter aggression. It could be that the Drifters simply wanted to test combat tactics & reaction time of the Amarr Empire & it's allies.
You can read more about the Safizon attack here: Amarr Coalition defeat Drifter armada in Safizon and here: Cleanup begins in aftermath of Safizon attack

Conclusion

So far, the Drifters launched 3 attacks, two of these with a large fleet, who were both in Amarr space. Coupled with this is that there's far more sightings of roaming Drifter battleships in Amarr space then any other nation.
For now it's unclear why the Amarr are such a priority for the Drifters, but one of the reasons could be the lead in wormhole & sleeper technology that the Amarr Empire enjoys.
Also, while the Amarr Empire attracted the most attention, the Drifters are not above striking other targets beyond Amarr space, as their attack in Yulai displayed.

Some capsuleers have called to 'stop the provocation & initiate diplomacy' but it's my fear that this ship has sailed. Diplomatic efforts have been tried, the Drifters took note but did not respond to Arek'Jaalan's offering of diplomatic contact.
Also, the Drifters have attacked the core of the Amarr Empire on purpose twice with an armada of their Battleships without any direct provocation or declaration of terms. In both cases, the Amarr Empire & it's allies were in their right to respond with laserfire to defend themselves.

It's doubtful that these incidents are the last. We must stand ready to defend ourselves from the Drifters, for they'll surely strike again. Finding out what triggers or motivates their attacks would be a great help in organizing an effective counterfleet against their invading armada's.

As a closing note, Concord officials have published a short overview in holoform about the events that transpired from the discovery of Caroline's Star to the recent drifter attacks, along with speculative images of the drifters themselves in action:

The emergent threat

Over 17.000 refugees arrive at the Aurora Arcology

Once again, the Aurora Arcology has opened its doors for refugees, lifting the immigration stop that was in place for nearly a year after the discovery of a Jove Observatory in Irjunen. This was done for security measures as nothing was known at the time & the increasing threat posed by the Seekers and later the Drifters did reinforce the need for the lock-down.
The only time this immigration stop was lifted was to allow the Arcology Convoy to arrive with additional supplies & new immigrants from the overloaded temporary refugee camps near Jita. I thank everyone who participated in this convoy, as it surpassed my expectations!

But with the rising chaos & the ongoing conflicts by the Drifters and the Concord enforced changes to capsuleer sovereignty in nullsec space, it has been decided to lift the immigration stop, despite possible dangers.
the reason is that an institution like the Aurora Arcology center is now more needed then ever. Alot of people will be looking for a new safe haven, trying to escape conflict zones & starting their lives anew in a safe & secure environment.

And as if fate conspired, last evening, when everything was being set up to lift the immigration stop, the Drifters launched a major attack against the Amarr Throne World region, at the Safizon system! This attack is just the latest in a series of attacks by the Drifters, targeting the Amarr for reasons not yet fully understood.
The initial counterattack by the Amarr Navy was repelled by the Drifters, but at a heavy cost. Once the capsuleers arrive to assist the Imperial Navy in their task, the Drifters would be fighting a losing battle.
Yet, it would be no easy victory, hours upon hours of fighting & chasing ships was needed before Safizon could be once again declared safe for travelers. You can read more about this valiant defense by Amarr capsuleers & their allies here: Amarr Coalition Forces defeat Drifter Armada in Safizon.

Coupled with this event, several capsuleers had noticed the Arcology was back online & contacted me regarding refugees they sheltered over the weeks. These refugees were recovered from destroyed capsuleer ships and other places attacked by the Drifters in the throne world region during the past attacks.
Despite that the Arcology was still being relaunched, an agreement was quickly arranged & a transport was deployed to Amarr, where the refugees were waiting to be picked up. This event signaled to me that the Aurora Arcology was more needed then ever in these dark days. I like to thank all those who still had faith in the Aurora refugee center despite its sudden disappearance on the network grid.
Rest assured that as long as the Drifter threat looms over the cluster, the Aurora Arcology will not see another immigration stop unless absolutely needed. Because in these dark days, it's when projects like this are most needed.

Now onward to this week's immigration list. Do note that these refugees are not all from Amarr & that many come from other parts of New Eden. I like to thank Francophobia for his effort in rescuing & securing countless refugees from the Drifter battles. Also thanks to Commander A9, Lord Draconis, Jack Sly, Khaprice, Caroline Grace and many others for their help & support they've lend me & the Arcology in the past months, one way or another.

Immigration List:

Regular Civilians

- 1.386 Civilians
- 40 Construction Workers
- 115 Homeless
- 25 Injured Rescued Slaves
- 1.499 Janitors
- 8 Miners
- 10 Prisoners (Part of the Prison Lend-Lease Program)
- 107 Refugees
- 20 Ship's Crew
- 19 Stranded Pilots
- 1.960 Tourists
- 8.012 Freed Slaves

Pets

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

Law Enforcement

- 70 Caldari Light Marines
- 249 Freedom Fighters
- 20 Army recruits
- 2.880 Marines
- 430 Militants
- 15 Spies
- 92 Bodyguards

Employees for the Nightclub L'Etoile Rouge

- 43 Female Exotic Dancers
- 478 Male Exotic Dancers

Council Members

- 6 VIPs

The Aurora Arcology also received a wide array of supplies, from antibiotics & food for the people to decoding software & new databanks to assist us in restarting our networks. A big thanks for all this support! You are the reason the Arcology Project is thriving!