In 831 AS, the slaves of Malta revolted against their mutant masters. Few outsiders are fully aware of this, and even fewer know the reasons why or the circumstances around it; most Sirians have been far more concerned about the downstream effects of the revolt. In this galaxy, lives are cheap, but ever since the slave uprising, cardamine has been expensive. Very expensive, in fact. For the next two years, the formerly steadfast business partners that kept the Orange Dream alive and available everywhere in Sirius would find themselves at each others' throats, scrambling to secure whatever supplies of the valuable narcotic they could, either for their personal use or distribution to their own group's customers.
In the past months, Maltese society has largely restabilized, with inheritances settled, slaves dealt with, and workers reallocated, and with it the cardamine network has become flush with orange gold once more. However, the end consumers - the vast population of civilians, executives, and pop stars who've never left the comfort of planetary atmosphere - have not yet been clued in to this market stabilization. As old alliances once again cement themselves, and smuggling routes cease to be underworld warzones, street dealers will inevitably begin passing on price decreases to their buyers in order to remain competitive, but this inevitability has not yet come to pass.
Smugglers all across Sirius - be they Chrysanthemum, Freelancer, or Rogue - see the writing on the wall. This is their last chance to make a truely massive score, as soon cardamine will once again find itself shipped in nigh-industrial quantities, driving the price back down to nearly pre-Revolt levels. The fact Malta's families no longer import "mandatory workers" has tightened the belts of those truly without morals even more, increasing the desperation of all those party to the cardamine trade to ship as much as they can before competing smugglers manage to.
As the biggest market for the drug, Liberty is the natural destination for these shippers. But the LSF isn't blind to the goings-on of the underworld, and have informed their counterparts in the Liberty Navy and LPI to be on high alert for an increase in the drug trade. With assets being redeployed after the fall of the Insurgency, New York has been practically on lockdown to guard against the moral corruption cardamine brings, with direct surveillance of the area around the Jersey Debris Field by the usually-neglectful Liberty Police, Incorporated now being undertaken.
Smugglers have been tipped off by their contacts in the privatized LPI, now make their way elsewhere, hopeful that the Navy is too busy with domestic unrest and the threats posed by the Zoner militias of Pennsylvania to patrol too far off the lanes.
TL;DR - Cardamine costs more at Malta, but Allentown is paying a lot to make up for it. Revel in the golden age of space smuggling.
Event Duration:
Sunday, October 15th 2023 16:00 UTC to Sunday, October 22nd 2023 22:00 UTC
Commodity: Cardamine
Cargo space per unit: 1
Total pool of Cardamine to deliver: 2 500 000
Seller:
Planet Malta, Omicron Alpha - 150 credits/unit
5000 units worth of Cardamine: 750 000 (old economy 75 million) credits
Buyers:
Main:
Allentown Base, Pennsylvania - 479 credits/unit
5000 units worth of Cardamine: 2 395 000 (old economy 239.5 million) credits
Fences:
All bases listed when you select Cardamine in FLStat.
Aftermath
The long-term effects of the Maltese Slave Revolt are still being felt. While the the first harvests from rebuilt plantations are beginning to stabilise supply, the drug's atrophied distribution network remains a noticeable bottleneck in the colonies. The Revolt and the sharp fall in Cardamine availability led to much infighting and hoarding among dealers, with many of those dysfunctions and shattered relationships remaining apparent to this day. Similarly, the extended withdrawal of Outcast ships to Malta left the Orange Road unguarded, and their enemies emboldened.
The enormous market incentive offered by Liberty's Junkers spawned an influx of smugglers willing to chance the run's hazards for immense personal gain. All along the Orange Road, these ships would be targeted ruthlessly by Corse raiders, Crayter patrols, Hogosha enforcers and even independent pirates who have lost their fear of Outcast reprisals. Even so, the flood of vessels threatened to overload even Liberty's well funded security channels. The Republic did not sit idly by however, with a joint special operation immediately being launched by the LSF, LN and LPI.
Clever shippers still found their way through the tight net, but as the dust settled the Junkers and the Outcasts were both alarmed. They had fallen short of their target for shipped product by more than 5%. What was intended to demonstrate the resurgent might of the now outward-looking Outcast cartels instead raised difficult questions.
Had the distribution network failed? Would bloody examples need to be made to instil discipline? Had their enemies been allowed to grow unchecked for too long? Where would forces need to be focused to ensure a favourable status quo returned? As the Outcasts grappled with these concerns, other rivals smell blood in the water. The Corse in particular see a crack in the Outcasts' previous market dominance, and a disgruntled network of distributors that could potentially be turned to other pursuits... like Nox.
While Cardamine dealers in Liberty still struggle with shortages, the Orange Gold Madness has allowed them to largely balance out the supply issues with their stocks on hand. Despite this, prices remain sky-high, with some major dealers facing significant shortages. Those unlucky addicts at the bottom of the list face an unpleasant death from withdrawals; there have been reports of riots and disturbances related to the shortage on Houston and deprived areas of Denver.
1) Bad.Moon.Rising: Smuggler's POB - a derelict asteroid base; it is not invulnerable, can be upgraded but does not consume upkeep supplies (like a Core 5).
2) Wayward.Wanderer: Unique Smuggler ID + SPRINGROSE + ROSEGUARD
3) Galway: Unique Smuggler ID + SPRINGROSE
4) 0xSurveyor: Unique Smuggler ID
5) Premium.Schaumkraut: Unique Smuggler ID
6) Forum title "Cardamine Consigliere" for anyone who shipped over 20,000 units.
7) In-game news articles to be added to reflect various faction perspectives on the outcome.
NOTES
This is the second official event and the first trade event after 5.0 release, featuring the Malta story arc. Everyone is welcome to join, whether as a Cardamine smuggler, a lawful ship in any of the houses, a local pirate wishing to steal the Cardamine smugglers' goods, or Cardamine supporters defending the convoys.
Once 22:00 UTC on October 22nd 2023 hits, or 2 500 000 units of Cardamine have been delivered, the event is over. Transports topping the charts will be rewarded with unique rewards, which will be determined once the event finishes. The rewards can be, but aren't limited to special codename weapons, custom forum title, etc.
I feel like there ought to be unlawful fences in the houses as well, like Noshima, Trafalgar/Halifax and Kreuzberg for unlawfuls looking to intercept the event cargo.
Is it possible to simply buy the Event Munitions without participating in the Cardamine aspect, or are they only "unlocked" if one smuggles the Cardamine first?
Posts: 3,194
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Staff roles: Systems Lead
(10-15-2023, 12:44 AM)TheSauron Wrote: I feel like there ought to be unlawful fences in the houses as well, like Noshima, Trafalgar/Halifax and Kreuzberg for unlawfuls looking to intercept the event cargo.
Done, thank you.
(10-15-2023, 12:50 AM)LunaticOnTheGrass Wrote: Is it possible to simply buy the Event Munitions without participating in the Cardamine aspect, or are they only "unlocked" if one smuggles the Cardamine first?
Yes, but it won't be as profitable as the Cardamine. It's more of a convenient unlawful event HRC (High-risk commodity) on the way back.
Posts: 3,194
Threads: 196
Joined: Nov 2009
Staff roles: Systems Lead
The event is now live. Unfortunately we had to remove the return Black Market Munitions commodity (sorry @LunaticOnTheGrass ), but Cardamine pays *very* handsomly to compensate.
Transports topping the charts will be rewarded with unique rewards, which will be determined once the event finishes. The rewards can be, but aren't limited to special codename weapons, custom forum title, etc.
(10-15-2023, 04:56 PM)Antonio Wrote: The event is now live. Unfortunately we had to remove the return Black Market Munitions commodity (sorry @LunaticOnTheGrass ), but Cardamine pays *very* handsomly to compensate.
Transports topping the charts will be rewarded with unique rewards, which will be determined once the event finishes. The rewards can be, but aren't limited to special codename weapons, custom forum title, etc.
(10-15-2023, 12:34 AM)Antonio Wrote: TL;DR - Cardamine costs more at Malta, but Allentown is paying a lot to make up for it. Revel in the golden age of space smuggling.
(10-15-2023, 04:56 PM)Antonio Wrote: The event is now live. Unfortunately we had to remove the return Black Market Munitions commodity (sorry @LunaticOnTheGrass ), but Cardamine pays *very* handsomly to compensate.
My Morality cannot be Bought no matter how Handsome the profits
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