[Official Event] Tug of War

[Barrier]

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Tug of War
Colorado, Honshu & More
Trading/Smuggling Event

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DATE & TIME

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Feb 15 - Feb 23
Config and price increase active from 10am - 2am UTC, and all day from Feb 21-23.

OVERVIEW

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Relations between Liberty and Kusari are at boiling point, with the Liberty Navy and Kusari Naval Forces both placed at high alert along the borders. There is significant public confusion about this situation, as neither government is willing to comment on the nature of the "incident" in the Independent Worlds that prompted the buildup. Against this backdrop of paranoia and hostility, another straw is tossed onto the teetering pile.

A devastating Farmers Alliance attack on Deshima Station has been thwarted. They had attempted to replicate the Roppongi playbook to the letter. A hijacked freighter had been loaded with a dirty bomb and sent to dock, with their plan being to set the foreign station ablaze, destroying it and the attached Synth biodomes. However, station operators had learned painful lessons from the atrocity at Roppongi and had implemented stringent countermeasures.

Acting on LSF-provided intelligence intercepts, Guild security officers quickly incapacitated and boarded the Rhino. Several Alliance operatives were arrested, the fissile material confiscated. Before breaking the news of the attempt's failure, the prisoners and payload were spirited away to Liberty and the waiting hands of the LSF, Deshima having little faith the matter would be thoroughly investigated in Kusari.

Following the Roppongi explosion, Kusari had been forced by outrage abroad to launch a formal initiative to curtail Alliance activities. Liberty was chief among these voices, aggrieved by the death of their ambassador and hundreds of citizens during the attack. Despite this, it is widely considered that the KSP and KNF initiative is largely performative, and the investigation intentionally short-sighted. Most significantly, Kusari has steadfastly failed to follow leads on the Alliance's funding or acquisition pipeline for the radioactive material used in their attacks.

Deshima is a step too far for Liberty. Citing emergency circumstances, President Hawthorne has announced a targeted package of sanctions against Kusari for their failure to take basic steps to prevent acts of terrorism against Liberty citizens. She has demanded immediate action to eradicate the Alliance threat altogether. A full embargo on the export of essential Superconductors has been applied - a critical input for Kusari's high-tech industries that are already suffering from the Sirius-wide Gold shortage and associated supply chain shocks. More painfully for Kusari's ambitions, this is one of the few Liberty inputs they are reliant on for their own Jump Drive program.

Outraged by Liberty absconding with key evidence from Deshima, and furious at the painful economic coercion, Kusari has immediately fired back with their own retort. A reciprocal embargo has been applied on the export of Optronics to Liberty. Kusari has demanded Liberty withdraw its sanctions and remove the military forces along its border. Already shipping traffic has begun to back up across both borders as military vessels stop and search merechants. As the news broke, stocks across both Liberty and Kusari plummeted, and commodity prices soared. Bretonia and Rheinland have responded with unease, urging both feuding Houses to come to the table to negotiate.

One thing known for certain is that those goods are still needed, and a captain nimble enough to pick their way through the dangerous blockade can become very rich indeed.

DETAILS

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Optronics:

• To compensate for reduced exports, the base price of Optronics has increased by $30 (buying and selling).
  
• Optronics are now Restricted Cargo according to the Imperial Stellar Codex of Kusari. Only Kusari Corporate Vessels are permitted to haul this commodity - unless otherwise agreed by Kusari authorities.
  
• As demand steadily climbs in Liberty, Fort Bush has become a clearing house for all imported Optronics. Rochester serves the same purpose for the shadier sort.
  
• A number of organizations is willing to take the risk of angering the Kusari Empire to satisfy demand or make a quick buck. The following ids will earn a $50 bonus for each delivery.
  

Optronics Haulers

• Ageira, DSE, Interspace, Universal.
  
• Bristol, Freelancers, Junkers, Smugglers.
  

Superconductors:

• To compensate for reduced exports, the base prices of Superconductors has increased by $30 (buying and selling).
  
• Superconductors are now a Restricted Commodity according to the The Laws of Liberty. Only Liberty Corporate Vessels are permitted to haul this commodity - unless otherwise agreed by Liberty authorities.
  
• As demand steadily climbs in Kusari, Shinjuku and Shinagawa have become competitive bidders for all imported Superconductors. Kabukicho serves the same purpose for the shadier sort.
  
• A number of organizations is willing to take the risk of angering the Republic of Liberty to satisfy demand or make a quick buck. The following ids will earn a $50 bonus for each delivery.
  

Superconductor Haulers

• Hogosha, Kishiro, Samura.
  
• Bristol, Freelancers, GMG, Smugglers.
  

Rule Changes:

• Trade Ships docking in Kusari, Liberty, and bordering systems with Optronics/Superconductors during a hostile encounter ARE considered to be "killed".
  
• KNF, KOI, & KSP have the following lines added to their ID:
  - Can attack Trade ships belonging to Liberty in Galileo and Kepler.
  
• KOI has the following line added to their ID:
  - Can demand Optronics outside of Liberty.
  
• LN, LSF, & LPI have the following line added to their ID:
  - Can attack Trade ships belonging to Kusari in Galileo and Kepler.
  
• LSF has the following line added to their ID:
  - Can demand Superconductors outside of Liberty.
  

Rewards:
All rewards require an INRP write-up about the event from the point of view of your character. Can be submitted as a report within the comm section, in a relevant faction channel, or as part of a story thread.

Smuggler ID

Smuggler ID

Smugglers are traders who deal in illicit goods or illegally cross embargo lines. The occupation is a dangerous one, as they may find themselves targets of both law enforcement and pirates, but the demand for drugs, weaponry, or exotic alien materials promises great rewards to the daredevil pilots who are willing to take the risks.

This Generic ID is used by Smugglers, who:

- Can only use Freighters and Transports.

- Can only haul illicit commodities.

Requires shipping at least 300,000 units of either Optronics or Superconductors. The total can be combined across all of your characters.

Custom Title
Requires participation in the event, event IDs only.

Shared Ships
Deliveries by tagged ships on the config will be summed, allowing the purchase of faction shareds with the resulting points at the following rates: Archon = 500,000 | Longhorn = 280,000 | Supertransport = 60,000 | Frigate = 40,000. Faction leaders should pm @Barrier with the final details. Please note that techcompat remains in effect for these ships, and locking is for official factions only.
Factions currently eligible for this reward (must be on the tracker): Ageira~, AWES-, B|-, [CSA], [DSE], GMG|, =IT=, .:j:., NHI-, Samura|-, USC|-

Results

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The immediate escalation of hostilities between Kusari and Liberty that many feared and some craved did not come to pass. But while the hawks continue to stew on their bridges and behind board room chairs, the situation if nowhere near de-escalation. Confirmed reports have been brought forward to the clandestine agencies of both Houses about outright destruction of trade convoys, and the heavy-handed blockade enforcement that left many independent hulls drifting dead in space.

As the leaders on both sides of Galileo ponder the situation, magnates who have previously enjoyed a warm relationship with their counterparts continue to curse their masters. While many who are bought and paid for continue peddling de-escalation, most have resigned to the specter of war on the horizon. More aggressive resolutions about the control of Galileo are already being tabled, and only those with an eye for opportunity and healthy lack of risk aversion will come out the winners in the end.

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Event Deliveries

Galway 665000 Idris 470278 Sandriski_Transport 449000 Trevor.Gills 389498 Sentient 329401 NHI-T>Abel_Deacon 306000 Saipan.Maru 141750 Wirecard 133200 Rubicon 104400 Steuben 80000 LNS-Liverpool 75600 Ibaraki 56700 GTS-Skyline 55000 [PMF]-Garud 50400 USC|-Vancouver 50000 Titanic 45000 Nahagliiv 39400 Ole~Betsy 30000 =IT=Concordia 28800 StormRunner 28200 Samura|Keiko 22400 Pile.O'.Junk 20400 The_Buccaneer 18000 Tam.O'Shanter 18000 Joe.Jones 18000 RockyBoy 14400 Sahlokniir 14000 AQCY 13170 HFC|Tern 10800 Fritz_Herold 10000 Omamyth 9600 B|-BCV-Saggiatore 8600 Redneck~Transport 7440 V)-SS-Halifax 7200 Blackmist 7200 [DSE]-Wehshumwis 7200 =IT=Independence 6800 [DSE]-Christina 6400 Ragnell 5801 Dark-Kirchensteuer 5400 Black_Ronin 5400 KTS-Myoko 5000 Big.Train 5000 [DSE]-Mingo 5000 Tanktier 4400 Breckenridge 4300 BK-Bulwark 4300 BCV-Fairbanks 4300 IcePick 3780 Spectrous 3600 Merlinus 3600 Causeway 3600 Stargazer17 3368 Isesaki.Maru 3150 look 2800 SteadyFreight 2500 Iron.Vulture 2475 Scarlet.Blade 1600 RFID-III 591 [DSE]-Clarion 245 Minney.G 18

Optronics total: 2,066,473 Superconductor total: 1,832,992

Players of characters eligible for the Smuggler id. Please reply here or contact @Barrier if the combined deliveries across your characters makes you eligible.

• Galway (665000)
  
• Idris (470278)
  
• Sandriski_Transport (449000)
  
• Trevor.Gills (389498)
  
• Sentient (329401)
  
• NHI-T>Abel_Deacon (306000)
  

Players of tagged factions accumulated the following point totals:
(rates: Longhorn = 280,000 | Supertransport = 60,000 | Frigate = 40,000.) Their leaders should contact @Barrier with the details of their reward, if they are eligible.

• NHI- = 306000
  
• USC|- = 50000
  
• =IT= = 35600
  
• Samura| = 22400
  
• [DSE] = 18845
  
• B|- = 8600
  

[Zephyranthes]

So uh, I'm guessing Americans with jobs are just not gonna be able to participate significantly for the event.

[Amba]

No unlawful haulers in your smuggling event?

[Lythrilux]

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[Barrier]

No unlawful haulers in your smuggling event?

Provide some rp with Hogosha/Junkers or one of the Houses as a whole, and you will be added.

[Culbrelai]

So uh, I'm guessing Americans with jobs are just not gonna be able to participate significantly for the event.

The usual affair i'm afraid. They are so worried about people trading off hours they screw Americans. Sigh.

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#NotMySNAC

[Petitioner]

So uh, I'm guessing Americans with jobs are just not gonna be able to participate significantly for the event.

The eurofication of staff and its consequences have been disastrous for the American community.

Oh well, guess they'll just keep doing copper/iridium.

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Recruitment | Task Force Prometheus | ICN FIRESTORM

[A Magpie]

But can my Libdread shoot Tokus yet?

[Lord Caedus]

With how long this trade event is scheduled for you might as well make it an all day thing, limiting it as it is only hurts the ability of players to interact with the event. Cause either this event is only 4 hours a day and meant to run from 10 UTC to 14 UTC or you have it set up to be a 16 hour long window each day.

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[Barrier]

The event runs for 16 hours per day (from 10 am to 2am of the next day UTC), which are peak server hours.

I am a bit surprised at the sudden problem - we just ran Loss Leaders last month, and I haven't heard a peep from folks about the time. Maybe that was due to the holiday season or me being forgetful...

In any case, there is currently discussion to include later windows on some days to encourage NA (which I am a part of too, mind you).