To Zoners and Corsairs

[Trogdor]

**Incoming Transmission**
**Comm ID: Captain Trogdor**
**Location: Location data scrambled**

Administrator Savage,

With respect, I have to express some measure of incredulity in regards to your announcement. My name is Trogdor, Captain of the Nephilim Burninator. We have been a longtime defender of Freeport One, returning after a short hiatus following the collapse of the Zoner Council.

Recently, we were called away to provide security for a meeting of Zoner leaders, who were to determine our course of action in this conflict with the corsairs. I won't get into details, since this is a low-security transmission. We have no men on the ground, but as far as I'm aware, the meeting has not yet concluded.

So I have to ask, with whom did you meet and what diplomatic authority did they have? It was my understanding that the heads of the OSI, TAZ, and what's left of the Omicroners were meeting to discuss this very thing; the immediate future of the public Zoner installations in the Omegas and Omicrons. From my position, it seems like nobody over there, with the exception of the station Admins, has the authority to decide anything at present.

Furthermore, I would strongly advise you to take anything a corsair 'leader' says to you with a heaping helping of suspicion. This entire conflict flared up because of their hypocrisy and bullish diplomatic demeanor. From what we have experienced while on duty at Freeport One and from what we have heard from passing traders, it is the corsairs who have been blatantly abusing our hospitality; using One, Porto Novo, and Boa Vista as forward bases from which to launch raids on Cambridge and Dublin, as well as leeching off of commercial vessels in Omega 3. Nothing is being done to them that they are not doing unto others.

I am a Guard, and I captain a warship. It is not my place to sit at the official round table and discuss policy. Or at least, it has not been since we lost the open forum of the Zoner Council. But this course of action seems foolish to me. It was very recent that the so-called corsair 'leadership' were demanding that we hand over control of an entire system and, effectively, its installations. Or else. Following this was a short and bloody conflict where, from what we witnessed, the corsairs took overall more losses than we did. And now suddenly they want to sit down at the bargaining table? I don't see diplomacy here, I see an enemy attempting to buy time to gather strength and come at us stronger in the future.

Again, it is not my place to tell you how to do your job, Administrator. I am not certain exactly what we should be doing instead. That's for you Admins and the Doc to figure out. But I would strongly caution you against this present course of action. These people are fickle, greedy, loathsome individuals, even among pirates. All they care about is what they can get away with. They have shown us time and again that they do not respect us. Why do we keep trying to make nice with them?

Following the conclusion of the business down here, and the resolution of a small personal matter, The Burninator will return to Omega 3.

**Transmission ends**

---