Recent Events

The world of Star Conquest is constantly evolving, and many of the most significant events happen in front of players with their participation.

Here is a summary of some recent events.

In mid-February 2309, members of the military of the three major alliances (AEU, League, and Fringe) allowed selected pilots to purchase a particular class of ship. This ship, which bore a superficial resemblance to the supply shuttles that were used exclusively at the time, were in fact armed in defiance of Outsider regulations.

The ships flew for a week without incident. And then the Outsiders noticed.

The pilots were promptly seized by Outsider enforcer drones and tossed into prison, along with some members of the Mutuality, who had apparently been imprisoned for years.

In the meantime, the alliances had decided they had no choice but to come out into the open. On 28 February, a stockpile of small, newly-built ships was made available to additional pilots.

A few hours later, one Corin Shea spoke up on the general communications channel, asking pilots to gather in a neutral sector. She then quickly briefed the assembled pilots.

The pilots quickly agreed, but the question remained of how this might be accomplished. That is the moment that one Aleksei Frolov hailed the assembled pilots over radio. He revealed himself to be a pilot for the Mutuality, and flying the fleet command vessel Symbiosis. This ship would have the means to assist the alliance cruisers (The Iron Spy, Indomitable, and Delphi) in their journey to the prison station.

The terms of the Mutuality's assistance were quickly hammered out, and the alliance pilots boarded the alliance cruisers or their own ships, and docked with the large Mutuality vessel.

The pilots made their way to Sector 26, the location of the prison station.

And they found the Zmnyi Mmyaz, the Outsider mothership with its unstoppable phased destabilizing beam superweapon, waiting for them.

An exchange began over the sector's general channel.

Corin responded from her ship, the marauder Burn, Don't Freeze.

Corin and the alliance pilots looked on helplessly, their ship's computers narrating the events that followed.

Several pilots swore. Others bowed their heads in a brief moment of silence. Then their ship's computers spoke again.

Everything exploded into confusion. The Zmnyi Mmyaz cried, "THIS IS A VIOLATION OF THE TERMS OF OCCUPATION" and promptly launched fighters. The alliance pilots flung their ships into the melee, while the Zmnyi Mmyaz and the Percival Lowell circled each other, trading shots.

The Outsider fighters were being overwhelmed by sheer numbers of alliance pilots, but there was no sign of damage to the Outsider mothership. Finally, James Korie's voice was heard over the general channel, shouting, "We can't destroy the mothership! We're going to try to lead it off. Do what you came here for!"

With that, the Percival Lowell left the sector, with the Zmnyi Mmyaz close behind.

Once the sector was clear of Outsiders, the Mutuality ship assisted the alliance pilots in forcing their way onto the prison station. Outsider enforcer drones stood in their way, but the incensed pilots leapt on them en masse, bearing them down to the ground and then kicking them until they shut down.

With the drones destroyed, the pilots began a systematic search of the station, soon locating the station's holding cells. After figuring out the code on the cell's panel, the imprisoned pilots were freed.

The pilots abandoned the station and returned to their own space, unsure of the condition of the Percival Lowell, or how long it might keep the dreaded Outsider mothership away.

Over the next few days, it was revealed that Benjamin Masterson, former CEO of the Intersector Shipbuilding Company, had been designing in secret weapons and hardware that would allow the alliances to conduct ground assaults. This included what was called an aerial fortress, as well as armored battlesuits that humans could wear to go into battle. Several small tests were conducted against Outsider enforcer drones, and the suits performed well.

It was about a week later that James Korie abruptly made contact again, his ship Percival Lowell being chased by several Outsider warships. Once the warships were destroyed, Korie asked for a rendezvous with alliance pilots on the unclaimed planet Grenwold. The pilots quickly complied.

Others also quickly arrived: Fringe leader Nina Thomas, accompanied by Corin Shea and Fringe operative Jace Felios, who were both armed with stun weaponry. They approached the airlock of the Percival Lowell and demanded that the pilots stay back as Korie emerged.

Thomas was visibly enraged, declaring that Korie's actions had nearly caused the extinction of the human race (since the departure of the Lowell is widely regarded as the catalyst for the Outsider War) and that Korie himself was a traitor to humanity. Thomas further demanded that Korie come with her and face a tribunal and defend his actions.

Korie, for his part, seemed shocked at what had become of the alliances, having been out of contact for the duration of the Outsider War. After a few moments of bewilderment, he recovered, refusing Thomas's demand to face a tribunal, stating that his business was too important. He informed the gathered people that he had data concerning how to replicate the Lowell's shield against the Outsider phased destabilizing beam, and he handed this information to Corin Shea.

The EAOS, in the meantime, made a surprising reappearance, represented by Casey Orin and Viktoria Door. None of the pilots gathered there were surprised to see the EAOS come out in support of their leader. Korie asked the EAOS to reemerge into public view and join the fight against the Outsiders. Orin agreed, pledging that the EAOS would do its best to interpret the data that Korie had brought.

With this accomplished, Korie made his exit, barely avoiding a shot from Jace Felios's stun rifle as he ducked into the Lowell's airlock. The starship quickly launched, presumably to resume keeping the mothership Zmnyi Mmyaz away from human space.

In the days that followed, the EAOS did indeed reemerge, abruptly seizing control of their ports and sectors from the Outsiders in a manner that drew a sizable Outsider attack. Alliance pilots fought off the attackers, and landed on The Torus to find that the EAOS had succeeded in interpreting some of the data on the disk. Adapting the shield against the Outsider superweapon, though, would take more time, they said.

Things remained relatively uneventful then, with occasional attacks from the Outsiders, until the Mutuality suddenly requested assistance in their own space. They said they were under attack from the IFS, an enemy that had not been heard from since the start of the Outsider War. Pilots were instructed to lock onto the weak beacon of Sector 61 and fly there to render assistance. The pilots did so, and dispatched the IFS fleet with Mutuality assistance.

In Sector 61, alliance pilots found an object called a quantum skim accelerator, apparently the key to access to Mutuality space.

In the wake of this contact with the Mutuality, alliance leaders made tentative inquiries into access to Mutuality space, while not letting up on propaganda that referred to the Mutuality as the "traitor fleet." In response, the Mutuality agreed to talks with each alliance, but demanded to speak with pilots rather than alliance diplomats.

The alliances reluctantly accepted this turn of events, with the exception of the AEU. AEU President Chris Sheffield insisted that no pilots should negotiate with the Mutuality.

On the night of the negotiation, the alliances gathered their emissaries and traveled to Mutuality space. The Fringe sent Asteris Duvoix, Cesar Ysidro, and Rowan McKell. The League sent Heikki Nieminen and Zaiden Alkazar. And the AEU, against the orders of its president, sent Kayden Beckett and Sean Dillon.

The first alliance to complete negotiations, after a fashion, was the League. The League emissaries suggested that no military alliance could be equal unless the League also had the ability to turn the quantum skim accelerator on and off, thus preventing the Mutuality from retreating from the war should they decide to do so. The Mutuality not only disagreed with this assessment but took great offense, swiftly escorting the League pilots from the room and ending negotiations.

The next alliance to complete negotiations was the AEU, which agreed to a non-aggression pact and an exchange of technology. The Fringe talks took longer, but they ended up reaching a similar agreement, with the Fringe further pledging to transport supplies to the Mutuality space stations.

The Fringe agreement was soon ratified by alliance leadership. Unfortunately, the AEU was not so lucky. President Chris Sheffield almost immediately revoked the licenses of Kayden Beckett and Sean Dillon and denied them access to AEU ports. The Fringe responded with a declaration that they, for one, would continue to recognize Kayden Beckett and Sean Dillon as registered pilots. The Mutuality went a step further, offering the pilots refuge in their own space. The EAOS similarly offered asylum to the exiled pilots.

In the meantime, the Outsiders appear to have chosen to press the attack against humanity through a proxy species, presumably subjugated much as humanity has been, but filling a different role. This species is known only as Outsider Battle Thralls, and fights with starships not of Outsider design. These ships are equipped with chains that partially immobilize their victims. The bulk of the Outsider invasion force has since consisted of these thralls.

In the wake of the exiling of the AEU emissaries, President Sheffield declared all-out war on the Mutuality. The AEU Navy, apparently having sent long range scouts looking for Mutuality space, stumbled upon Sectors 61 and 67. There they met several Mutuality ships, as well as those of the exiled pilots, and engaged in a fierce skirmish in which several of the AEU ships were destroyed. The retreating ships let it be known that they were only the advance guard of a larger attack force, and hinted at an easier method for returning.

Resentment brewed in the AEU pilot league over the exiling of the emissaries, as well as the incursions into Mutuality space. With the sentiment of the pilots firmly behind the Mutuality and against the AEU's ruling party, the pilots began to call for the toppling of Sheffield's administration. Further, they accused him of engaging in a policy of appeasement with the Outsiders.

Approximately a week after their first failed attempt at diplomacy, pilots from the League once again met with Mutuality representative Renee Sauveterre in an attempt to come to an agreement. Heikki Nieminen, the prime mover for the League in the original sessions, was conspicuously absent, replaced by Nissi Valdaire and Aaron Michaels who joined original emissary Zaiden Alkazar. After a lengthy debate, the two factions came to an agreement similar in scope to the AEU's agreement, guaranteeing shared port access, a military alliance, and an exchange of vital technology.

As the League emissaries were escorted from Mutuality space, they came upon an AEU Navy blockade, consisting of several warships. Stating that their actions were approved by the AEU Navy command, the ships opened fire on all ships who refused to turn back to Mutuality home space. Most importantly the AEU ships opened fire on the ship carrying the League emissaries, calling its passengers traitors to humanity, even after being informed of its diplomatic status. Eventually the AEU ships were destroyed or driven off and the League emissaries returned home safely.

Some days later a strike force of EAOS vessels appeared in Sector 21, including a prison ship that appeared to have been carrying President Sheffield and the majority of his cabinet. As the AEU pilot league cheered the EAOS on, their ships battled and destroyed the AEU Navy vessels that had scrambled to prevent the prison ship from leaving the sector.

In the wake of this battle and the disappearance of the AEU leadership, the alliance has been thrown into turmoil. Rioting and looting on many AEU worlds has taken its toll, with many citizens blaming the pilot league for the collapse of the government and for essentially sponsoring an EAOS-backed coup. This has left the AEU leadership headless and confused. Furthermore, the rioters have begun to use force against pilots of all alliances, assaulting them with thrown objects and trashing their ships.

Meanwhile, Coalition leader Corin Shea met with pilots of all major alliances to discuss plans to ramp up resistance activities against the Outsiders. Shea revealed that the temporary station in Sector 20 will be used as a base of operations for planning as well as training, research, and development. Furthermore, the Coalition has managed to scrape together three "mule" ships, which will be used as transports and mobile bases of operation for ground attacks against Outsider installations on occupied worlds.

Each alliance has been given the use of one of these mules, and an attached airfort, which is used to transport battlesuited pilots from space to the planetary surface. While encased in these battlesuits, pilots can battle Outsider drones and destroy Outsider buildings in relative safety. Already, several smaller worlds and moons have been liberated from Outsider influence, and the tide appears to be turning.

Shea also announced that the Coalition has received information from the Mutuality that will allow pilots of all alliances to make use of scrap parts collected from destroyed ships in order to craft new and useful devices. These devices range from personal weapons to starship components to simple containers, and are expected to increase the the utility of Interalliance fleet dramatically.

Several days later, after the Interalliance pilots had liberated several more small worlds, Casey Orin of the EAOS called all those in listening range to Artifact Zeta, in Sector 10. There he re-introduced them to Warren Garner, an AEU politician from pre-Outsider times who had once run unsuccessfully for the office of president. Garner appeared to be the figurehead of the EAOS-led coup to overthrow President Sheffield. He gave a stirring speech, promising a new day for the AEU and guaranteeing that the new leadership would take the fight to the Outsiders.

Reaction in the AEU Pilot League was mixed, with some angry at Garner's lack of specificity regarding plans to quiet riots across the many AEU worlds and, more importantly, to liberate the alliance from Outsider influence. Garner, backed by Orin, held his ground and eventually found a rapport with the majority of the pilots present, who appeared to recognize him as, at the very least, a positive change from the previous regime. Garner stressed that he has not been installed as a new AEU President, but it seems clear that he may campaign for that position in the future.

With the AEU gradually returning to order and its pilot league tolerating (if not exactly welcoming) the EAOS connection to Garner, the rebellion was able to quickly move forward and the pilot leagues began to free many of the worlds in Known Space. Shortly after the AEU managed to free their capital from Outsider control, the Outsiders launched a large counter-assault using transports to drop more troops onto many worlds, effectively re-subjugating the newly free planets.

In an attempt to limit Outsider patrols near Known Space, decoy beacons - devices that would summon Outsider patrols by making them mistakenly believe that a new sector beacon had been deployed - were released. Pilots took this mission up with vigor.

But celebrations would need to wait - a large section of the AEU Navy revealed themselves in Mutuality space, apparently having flown manually there under the orders of Chris Sheffield and the AEU government. They began to attack Mutuality ships, informing the pilots of the League, Fringe and AEU, when told to stop, that their actions were 'authorized AEU Navy operations'. They also strongly implied that even if they were stopped here, they would have a method of returning 'very quickly'.

The alliance pilots quickly banded together to take down the Navy ships, but it proved just how divided the AEU had become, even with new leadership doing its best to restore order.

There is a saying that when things are peaceful it is the 'calm before the storm', and this seemed to be the case for the alliances. After the incident with the rogue members of the AEU Navy, things were far too quiet for some time.

Eventually, all the worlds of the First Thirty were freed from the grip of the Outsiders, and a small celebration was organised on the Resistance HQ in sector 20. Congratulating the pilots on their hard work, Shea was also keen to remind them that the work was not over. After a brief celebration of Benjamin Masterson's hard work in giving the pilots the tools they needed, the communications officer Michael Barnoble gave a stark warning over the PA system: The Zmnyi Myaz had entered the sector.

Immediately the crew of the station began tasks they had clearly trained for, powering down the station, even shutting off the air recycling in order to hide the station. This seemed to work, until Barnoble reported that the mothership and a small fleet of ships had begun to move towards Grenwold. Before he could theorize as to their intended purpose, Zmnyaz addressed the rebellion directly.

A massive power surge was detected in the mothership: its phased destabilizing beam. Its retinue of warships augmented the mothership in some manner, causing the beam to cut through the atmosphere of Grenwold, slicing into the crust and boring a hole into the mantle. Within a matter of seconds the beam had caused the planet to explode, the shockwave and debris hitting the powered down station.

With the mothership heading directly towards the defenseless station, the crew began the powerup sequence as the pilots watched... but it wouldn't be fast enough. Without power, the docking bay airlock was nonfunctional, and Barnoble warned the pilots that after the severe alterations to what had once been a temporary structure, the escape pods could not be trusted. This became almost moot however, when the station's fusion containment began to fluctuate - the mothership was remotely destabilising it. Quiet since the appearance of the mothership, Masterson's usual absentminded and confused expression slowly faded as he became focused. Emphatically stating that they would not destroy another of his creations, especially while anyone was on them, he promised to keep fusion containment, and rushed to the generators while ordering the pilots to prepare to leave the moment the airlock regained power. As promised, the generators almost immediately began to stabilise. The pilots, along with Shea and the gathered alliance leaders, quickly launched their ships - Shea ordered Jace Felios to rescue Masterson from the station before it was too late, but he had locked himself in.

The mothership left almost immediately, gone to once again chase the Percival Lowell, and the Outsider warships were quickly dispatched by the alliance pilots.

But the loss was great. The space station that had become the symbol of the resistance had been destroyed. Grenwold had become four chunks of molten rock orbiting one other. And Benjamin Masterson, the mind behind much of the advanced technology the alliances possessed, was dead.

Well-loved by all the alliances, Masterson's loss hit everyone hard. A day of mourning was held on all League colonies, with official statements of consolation from the AEU, Fringe and the Mutuality.

Originally planning a small private funeral, League President Charisse Robinson changed her plans to include a memorial service for the pilots to attend, due to the overwhelming reaction of the pilot leagues, regardless of alliance.

The Mutuality offered the use of a station in their hidden space as the new resistance headquarters, but even this was not enough to offset the dark mood over Known Space. A heavy blow had been struck against them, and the Outsiders were quiet, letting the sheer amount of power they possessed sink in to humanity.

Two weeks later, the alliances would be surprised once again when an AEU officer calling herself Fleet Admiral Kendra Janus asked the AEU pilot league who had elected Warren Garner, who had chosen Corin Shea to lead humanity, and who had decided that an alliance that had turned its back on humanity before could be trusted again. She eventually spoke to all pilots over the Tactical Communications channel, telling them to meet her in sector 67, the effective Mutuality capital sector.

When there, she told the gathered pilots that she was glad that they had arrived in warships, and that they could easily force the Mutuality to surrender, the first link in a chain of corruption and injustice that led from them to the Resistance, to Warren Garner and the EAOS.

Unwilling to listen, the gathered pilots threatened to shoot her down, but she revealed first that the previous AEU expedition to Mutuality space had been a success: they had planted a full sector beacon, but had yet to activate it... something they could do at any time. Janus ordered the Mutuality fleet to surrender within a week, or the beacon would be activated... leading the Outsiders right to the heart of Mutuality space and the last vestiges of the human resistance.

Of course the pilots refused to accept this, and with little other choice the alliances risked sending a powerful signal to the Percival Lowell and James Korie, hoping that he would have a way to help stop this turn of events. Returning just before the deadline, Korie was unaware of what had transpired. Indeed, having been gone for five years he was even unaware of the existence of the Mutuality as an alliance. Though annoyed, Janus agreed to give Korie and the alliances one extra day to 'deal' with the Mutuality fleet.

With less than a day to prepare, Korie and the Coalition set to work planning a forked plan of attack. They had little hope of stopping the beacon before it was activated, but once active it would be visible, allowing a team of pilots to destroy it from within. The Mutuality would act on this.

While that was being done, the pilots of the other alliances would concentrate on the incoming mothership - weapons would have little effect, the only option was a crazy, last hope plan. They would fly the mule-class transport vessels used to free their planets into the mothership directly, ramming its hull in the hopes that they would penetrate where torpedos, chainguns and lasers had failed. The three alliance cruisers, now with fully functional anti-PDB fields, would need to draw the fire of the mothership.

Once inside, the pilots would need to take down power generators and eventually locate the control room and Zmnyaz itself. Not an easy task, but the alternatives were unthinkable.

The deadline came and went, and it quickly became clear to Janus that the alliances were not agreeing to her demands.

Within minutes, the Outsider mothership "Zmnyi Myaz" jumped into the capital sector of the Mutuality. The alliance pilots immediately began to draw the fire of it with their shielded cruisers, leaving pilots flying them while the bulk used the mules to ram the mothership, the Mutuality pilots going to work deactivating the beacon.

After a long, arduous battle, the two groups reunited within the mothership. As they progressed even deeper within it, they eventually reached its control center and Zmnyaz itself. Leaping on it, the pilots beat the creature unconscious with ease... the mothership was now in human hands.

With the immediate threat of the Outsiders ended, James Korie peacefully relinquished control of the Lowell to the Coalition and the EAOS, and handed himself over to the Chetumalian Guard, ready to face trial.