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!

Aurora News back online!

After a long absence, Aurora News is back online to inform you about news across the Eden cluster. Undoubtedly, many of you have questions on the long hiatus that we went through. In short, the danger & damage caused by the digital virus that struck our Arcology center was much greater then anticipated, forcing a full shutdown of our networks & databanks. This was needed as the virus proved to be too advanced for our protection software and had begun attacking core databanks, causing the loss of important information & the corruption of critical operating programs.

Luckily we were able to activate a backup network & programs, but as it was not meant to run as a main network, we had to cut all services but the most necessary to maintain the Arcology. Due to this, many non-essential services were cut, among it Aurora News & the Immigration center, resulting in a full immigration stop once again.

Rebuilding our main network took months and was only possible by the injection of personal funds by our CEO, Jandice Ymladris & afflifiated capsuleers, as such operation is not only a large undertaking, but also highly expensive. Thanks to everyone's efforts, the Arcology network has been rebuild and is once again in operation.
In the process of rebuilding the network, digital security has been upgraded & improved failsafe systems have been installed &  additional backup databanks are now available to prevent a repeat of this catastrophic event caused by this complex encrypting digital virus.

It was mentioned in the previous report that data regarding ongoing publications would be decrypted for publication, but alas, this proved to be a futile effort. While not all work was lost, it's unlikely all the reports mentioned will ever see the light, a serious blow to the credibility & integrity of Aurora News.
Efforts are still ongoing to salvage some data, but it is no longer a priority for Aurora News. Instead our team focuses on a new & fresh start, bringing the news to the cluster once again! And we all know what main event is coming once again this summer, the fabled 13th Capsuleer Alliance Tournament competition! Watched by billions across New Eden!

And of course there's all the ruckus going on in & around the Empire, from an ambushed Lai Dai Supply Convoy at the Imperial borders by unknown assailants to the destruction of a SoCT Gnosis by Imperial forces, the Amarr Empire keeps a high profile for quite some time now in the galactic news.
Soon Aurora New will report on ongoing events again once we're settled & are brought up to date with all the events of the past few months.


( OOC: My sudden vanishing does need a more direct explanation, especially to those who kept checking in hoping for more news & those who messaged me directly & were worried.
It's a combination of things.

One initial major factor was that I stumbled into a writer's block, unable to write freely, feeling forced to do things & general lack of creative feel to write. One of the causes of this writer's block was me trying too hard with too little time. While I do enjoy writing all the reports, I just tried to do too much, leaving too little to write for myself. I realized that I missed the immigration reports more then I thought, as they allow me to vent my own opinion on things happening in Eve, so they don't get in the way when I write the actual reports on these events. So yea, they'll be back, I'm aware they're the least read of my articles & gather little interest outside the RP folks, but they are important for me, allowing me to write the deeper & detailed reports that you lot love!

Second is that I had a serious case of an emotional backlash due to a serious event earlier in the year (No worries, no physical harm occured to me!), and I had to get that straightened out first. Sadly my initial reaction to emotional stress is to shut out social contact... Bad habit I know.... But now I'm back & once again reporting on the various shenanigans happening in Eve! )

Digital virus struck Aurora Arcology data-centers!

As many of you noticed, Aurora News went inactive for weeks. This was due to a digital virus that slipped past our network defenses.
Once inside, it immediately began encrypting files across the various civilian data centers, jeopardizing the Aurora Arcology workings. Due to the continuous encryption of random files, many systems had to run on backups or in limited safe mode, reducing their effectiveness.
Of the affected civilian data centers, Aurora News was struck the hardest. The digital encryption virus locked out many tools & search networks, required to maintain up to date information & fact-checking. It also prevented the publication of various news reports.

Only through the joint effort of our security department & the scientists specialized in digital encryption methods, we were able to overcome this virus.
However, the damage done is vast, as it took weeks to contain and eventually eliminate the ever-adapting virus.
However, as the main method of attack by this digital virus was encrypting random files, the after effects will last for a while. Currently, our digital security team is doing their best to decode the encrypted files.
Caution is needed however, as the virus sometimes places copies of itself in these encrypted files, requiring us to isolate any encrypted file before decoding it, to prevent any new copies of the virus to infect the system once again.

Usually, viruses like this are used to ransom the targeted organisation, corporation or individual. However, no claim was made & no ransom was issued. Either someone wanted to jeopardize the Arcology workings for a period, or the virus got into our system by accident. The latter is unlikely however, due to the security in place to prevent accidental tampering.
Due to the increased visibility of the Aurora Arcology through several very successful publications by Aurora News as of late, it's more likely it was a deliberate attempt to destabilize the Arcology workings.
In light of this, our digital security team will be beefed up, to avoid such digital attacks in the future.

Quite some files of Aurora News are still encrypted, among them various newsreports that should be published:

-The 4th Seyllin conference
Highly encrypted, decoding team faces a serious challenge in decoding it. Recovery chance mediocre

-The Aurora Arcology Introduction
Due to the extreme levels of encryption, it's unlikely that this old news report will be decoded anytime soon. Recovery chance: low
Likely, a new introduction will be written once the Aurora News team has worked away their backlog.

-Poetry Night at The Golden Masque
Lowly encrypted, shouldn't be too hard to unlock this file & make it available for publication. Recovery chance: high.

-Concord Ship Overview
Medium encryption, will take some time, but this will be recoverable, allowing people to have a more in-depth view of how Concord got their powerful ships. Recovery chance: high.

-The Drifters Evolve
Heavily encrypted. While this will be hard to rbeak, due to it's relevance, our digital security teams will do whatever lies in their power to unlock this data, to make it public for everyone. Recovery chance: medium.

-Hilen Tukoss Fourth message
While this newsreport is fairly outdated in light of recent events, it's publication would still be valuable, if only to provide people an insight into the latest messages of Hilen Tukoss. Recovery chance: high.

-Arek'Jaalan findings
The Arek'Jaalan science community invested alot in their research regarding wormholes, sleepers & drifters. This was meant to provide an overview of these findings, but alas, it's now heavily encrypted. Security is doing their best to recover the files. Recovery chance: low

As noted, a long list. Aurora News will do its best to decode the news-articles & put them up for publication. You can keep track of the decoding through this report or check in on the Aurora Arcology immigration reports, who will mention if a news-article has been successfully decoded.

I thank all my readers who stood by us in this dark hour. Aurora News will return, stronger & more resilient then ever! We shall not be held back on our mission to provide news from across the cluster to you!