Every descendant of Crete who is still loyal to their heritage, be they far from home or tending to its ports, be they friends with their families or at odds with them - all flock back to Crete to take part in The Grand Fiesta. A Cretan national celebration, established in memory of their surviving ancestors from Hispania and the first settlers of their harsh homeworld. All of them gather round and fill their brims with rum and plundered food, “until their guts explode in a fiery salute”. The key factor of this celebration is the date itself - given the fickle nature of the Cretan history, the exact date of their ancestors landing on Crete, other than the year, has faded into obscurity. Thus, the date of this celebration is randomly chosen at the end of every Grand Fiesta. Traditionally decided by a dice throw from a chosen Council Elder, this year’s celebration landed on the month of May.

However, this year, the Elders, being the true gentlemen of fortune that they are, have agreed to extend the celebration of The Grand Fiesta beyond Crete - to the rest of the Sirius Sector. Every resident of the colonies and beyond is implored to toss a drink in the name and memory of Crete’s ancestors, whether out of grudge or admiration, while the Cretans themselves set on a pilgrimage across the Sector to share their joy with the rest of humanity - in a form of their infamous Cretan Rum.

Of course, the rumors of such a movement organized by the Corsairs have spread rather swiftly, some even saw this as their way of “warming up” to the rest of the Sector. Their arch nemeses from Malta were the first to take note of such development. Utterly insulted by such a tactic, the Council of Dons has dispatched a directive to the Golden Chrysanthemum matriarch - to eclipse the encroaching Cretan Rum threat with as much Shigeakiki as possible and increase their efforts in spreading the teachings of Yuyu Matsuda.

Yet Malta was not the only player to notice a change in the air. An increase in Corsair traffic has also been noticed by His ever vigilant Watchful Eye. A few successful interrogations about the Corsairs plans, as absurd as they sounded, have in the end been adapted by the Ministry of Truth as a method to advertise the Coalition's ideals. The decision has been made to extend an open arm invitation to the rest of the Sirius Sector, through Volgograd’s finest production - Vodka. With slogans of “Peace, Labour, May”, entire convoys of the Coalition have been dedicated to giving away surplus alcohol produce as a gesture of goodwill along with a courteous invitation to join the Coalition's cause.

The first Global Grand Fiesta has turned from a jolly celebration into a melting pot of benevolent never-do-wellers, with their sworn enemies or simple bystanders caught in the middle.