Pator – A long-range Republic Fleet patrol near the Heimatar – Derelik border claimed a victory over a slave convoy today. While that alone is usually a cause for celebration in Fleet rec clubs, this particular convoy had an unexpected cargo – nearly two dozen survivors of the failed pilgrimage to find the Minmatar Elders.
The survivors are still under Fleet purview and are not being made available for media questioning. They are officially listed as Held Indefinitely for both medical and psychological evaluation and treatment. Fleet representatives state they will be notifying and transporting next-of-kin to the survivors’ current location.
What is known is that the twenty two survivors are all young women and were apparently captured by a rogue pirate element in the Great Wildlands prior to being sold to an independent slave trader.
Experts on slave trade practices speculate the surviving pilgrims are likely the “saleable” ones of whatever population was captured initially, being of breeding age and in generally good health. The same experts went on to say that unfortunately, the remaining prisoners were likely either left in the wreckage or “humanely dispatched” depending on the preferences of particular group that found them.
Representatives for the remaining families of the pilgrims declined to make any comment on the situation.