Correction issued: Quotes and pirate details have been corrected following a misprint earlier today.
Trustbreakers Open Planetary Defenses to Vanguard Subversion
Multiple Planetary Defense Networks have suffered outages in insurgent star systems. Reports of these PDN disruptions came in following the deployment of “Trustbreaker Arrays” by the Deathless Wraiths. With defenses down, clashing Vanguard warclone deployments have been sighted across Raihbaka II.
The Trustbreaker Arrays are capable of scanning PDNs and using a remote connection to the Warden in Zarzakh to reconstruct the passkeys necessary to shut down surface-to-orbit turrets on temperate planets. However, these arrays have come under persistent attack by Drifter-controlled forces. The Deathless Wraiths called for support in this conflict, but most capsuleers preferred to take the opportunity to keep the arrays alive long enough to generate PDN passkeys before allowing them to be destroyed. Almost all these PDN passkeys found their way into the hands of militia forces who used them to disrupt defenses in pirate-controlled areas, exposing them to ground-based assaults.
According to reports from the field, Vanguard warclones have been spotted fighting each other for control of the compromised planetary defense turrets at sites across Raihbaka II, retargeting them at each other's deployment infrastructure. The opposing warclones seem to be fighting on behalf of the Guristas’ Commando Guri on one side, and Mordu’s Legion mercenaries on the other.
The split loyalties of the Vanguard imply their usage has been made available by the Deathless Circle to both the Legion and the Guri. This has sparked rumors that the Circle’s primary interest is in the dependency on Vanguard deployments in a conflict, rather than the outcome of the conflict. It is clear that those responsible for the ongoing development of the Vanguard deep within The Fulcrum—led by the Arkombine’s Lifegiver and the enigmatic Quartermaster—are taking full advantage of these deployments as a proving ground for the minds, clones, and equipment wielded by this new generation.
Despite this, the Deathless Circle is believed to be reeling from the destruction of their Trustbreakers. Theft of their passkeys also means they have lost the ability to dictate deployment details. The State Protectorate coordinated the disabling of PDNs in Raihbaka for counter-pirate deployments by Mordu’s Legion, with Tribal Liberation Force similarly well placed to counter Angel forces in the future. General Gar Orga of the TLF sent a message from the frontlines stating that “With the assistance of capsuleers fighting Cartel insurgency in space and delivering these passkeys, plus the potential of Legion coordinated Vanguard efforts on the ground, we will soon free these worlds of the pirate corruption.“ Mumara Kara of the State Protectorate added that “Vanguard forces have pushed back Guristas and proven that they need not only be a force for chaos in this cluster.”
Agency Network Deploys Vanguard as Colony Attacks Escalate
Early Thursday morning, local administrations of four Equinox workforce colonies in the Branch, Querious, Vale of the Silent, and Wicked Creek regions reported attacks on transport and supply vessels at remote worksites. This marks the latest escalation in a wave of increasingly violent raids faced by Equinox nullsec colonies in recent weeks. Those responsible for these attacks, who identify themselves only as “militia", are suspected of belonging to a decentralized movement that aggressively opposes Equinox workforce colonies.
Upwell has denied appeals for preemptive surface security reinforcements on logistical and economic grounds. Various enterprising third parties have begun offering services to the colonies or exploiting their disruption. These organizations are wide-ranging, including the Order of St. Tetrimon, the Society of Conscious Thought, and even the Blood Raiders.
Mercenary contracting houses with controlling interests in the Agency network have deployed warbarges in orbit of the affected planets. From these, they are staging trials of Vanguard “freelance” deployments. Vanguard operating in these locations are accepting contracts from third parties and colony admins via the Agency's job brokerage framework, in addition to acquiring and extracting assets for personal use.
News in Brief:
-
Battle in 1N-FJ8 results in over 4 trillion ISKs of destruction including Revenant, Vanquisher, and Komodo as well as first-ever Azariel-class Titan lost in open combat.
-
Upwell refuses to comment on emergent “militia” threat.
-
Legion-coordinated Vanguard forces gain ground over Commando Guri, providing 40% of total suppression gains in Raihbaka.
-
Wormhole telemetry reports ships in Drifter deployments with new Drifter Recon Battleship.
-
CONCORD under fire following one year of insurgencies.
-
Trustbreaker deployment ends following continued Drifter attacks.
-
Sanmatar Shakor and Chairman Akimaka Saraki praise capsuleers for coordinated cooperation with TLF forces and Protectorate.
-
Executives across State visit Wayist temple, the House of Many Winds, as it hosts spiritual conference on New Caldari.