Vexel was allegedly ready to break a follow-up story including definitive proof that the Hyperial government had deliberately activated the virus upon their own citizens as an excuse to eradicate all non approved religious beliefs.

It is feared that all members of The Fourth Tribe Hierarchy have been infected or otherwise eliminated. The rest of the small community has gone deep underground.  Former spokesperson, Hrafn, has joined The Hermits of Roh.

The Economy:
Debate Rages and Tempers Flare Over Station Stocking

With the TRI economy currently struggling with commodity and equipment shortages, tempers have begun to flare as rival pilot groups argue over the merits of public station stocking and the ethics of removing non-native equipment from a station for resale at private markets.

Not surprisingly, Flashfires have been at the center of the controversy as they are critical, inexpensive and take up little cargo or market space.  The dispute is between Station Stockers, who believe that public stations should be kept supplied with basic ship loadouts, and Traders who believe that they should be allowed to corner markets of certain goods for the purpose of making profit.

At the center of the debate is the concept of "Station Stripping."  Stockers maintain that buying large amounts of non-native gear from a station is stripping; Traders call it "free enterprise."

With both sides firmly entrenched in their beliefs, it appears this will end up being decided at gunpoint.

Venurian Unveils Two Breakthrough Mining Products

Venurian Prospecting, Ltd., the leader in mining laser production and development, has made announcements regarding two breakthrough mining products: the Deep Radar and the ML Amplifier.

Both items are ModX, but the DeepRadar helps miners more quickly locate important asteroid formations by radar differentiation between common and non-common roid types.  The ML Amplifier simply boosts the power of mining lasers by about 20% to improve mining speed.

The DeepRadar uses fusion technology licensed from Cromforge to create a neutrino pulse, that when used in conjunction with a standard radar fitting, highlights asteroids in the pilot's HUD. 

Samsun Announces Significant Strides Against Virus
Progress made on both Perascan and Hypsos Strains

In one of the last reports filed by TRINN reporter Zoe Vexel, Samsun announced a major breakthrough in finding a cure for both the Perascan and Hypsos strains of the virus.

"Following several weeks of unusually intense activity by our Research and Development teams, we are very happy to announce a first candidate cure for the virus on Perasca, as well as an upgraded mitigation agent for the virus on Hypsos," stated Yar Tardon. "Initial testing using simulators on the Perasca cure have shown a 72.8% success rate in removing the virus, with only a 7.3% total cell failure rate, which is a significant improvement from previous best case candidates."

Given Vexel's standing with Hyperial and her subsequent disappearance, some have suggested that she was being fed misinformation and that these reports should be considered suspect.

Flux Clearance
Calls for Major Push

Squad Flux Clearance has called on all TRI pilots to join a major flux-eradication push beginning 105.8.16 at 14:00 Ekoos Time and running until 105.9.16 @14:00 ET.

Master Fluxer, vorlon31 declared, "Wake up people! There is a war on!  It's US vs THEM and yet many pilots seem to be ignoring this fact. Many, it appears, see the Conflux not as an enemy to be destroyed on sight or hunted for immediate eradication, but merely an inconvenience to be avoided."

Vorlon went on to say that the prize for this effort would be the pride and honor of fighting the good fight, of pushing back the Conflux Hoard and Exterminating them without mercy. 

Interested pilots are encouraged to SIGN UP.

Khronos' Korner
Perspectives on player-driven storyline and RP.

When Istvan asked me to take on this month's column for DSD, I was a little wary on what to write. My gut feel was to write something on the economy - however, as that is somewhat fluid right now, it would be more appropriate if I don't make promises/suggestions on behalf of Istvan. Instead, let me talk about events style.

I am a very strong believer in (and hopefully proponent of) player control and responsibility within the game world. I am of the view that Jumpgate's player base should play the central roles within the ongoing story - those actions that are remembered are those that are/were initiated and led by players, not by RPCs.  With the arrival of our friends from Europe, and their strong role-play style, this becomes even more important.

My preferred style for a storyline or arc is to have no script, or predestined outcome. While this is not always possible, I would much rather see an Event happen, and the players rally round to take action to resolve the Event, without the need for intervention by RPCs. Interaction, yes; Intervention, no. Thus, depending on the actions/decisions taken by the players involved, the story meanders about, moving forward, backwards or
sideways. One of the problems, of course, is that the arc must follow the axioms of the Jumpgate universe - not all of which are public knowledge, and this is where the RPCs have to provide guidance (or in extreme cases, I have to step in as my 'OOC' self). In order for this to work successfully, the players involved must be willing to accept that actions have consequences, and these consequences may not always be what they expected, nor may they be favorable. Of course, as I mentioned, the best stories are those which are initiated and led by players - my PM box is always open to discuss ideas and concepts. Remember that I am not all seeing and all knowing (I may be a know-it-all though :)) - if I do not know of your plans, I cannot adjust my plans.  Communication is the key to ensuring both player led and RPC led arcs working smoothly together.

So, what does the future hold? Well, to see the future, we first have to look to the present. TRI is a bit of a mess right now. For whatever reason(s), several key positions are not filled, and with the economy in tatters, things are not looking good. Hyperial is growing bolder, and more open in their efforts to undermine TRI's position, while Amananth remains silent and enigmatic as usual. The glue of a single common goal that binds the factional governments to TRI is beginning to weaken, and (especially in OctLand) the voices of secession are becoming louder. The various corporations, especially those with ties to factional governments, are beginning to demand a louder voice, further adding to TRI's problems.

The time is ripe for significant change within TRI's political and organizational structure. Are you a leader, or are you a follower?

* * *

Khronos' is looking for YOUR questions regarding "dos" and "don't" as well as approaches to player-driven storyline development and management. 

Questions for Khronos' Korner can be sent to darkspace@jgcentral.net.

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Betrayal
a Jumpgate Novella by Fellblade
(reprinted with permission)

- Part IV -

The first man with an assault rifle took a pair of flechettes off-centre in the chest, spinning him back into the wall behind him, before dropping to the floor with a sickening thud. Two left... Arouin dived forward under a hail of caseless ammunition from another´s machine pistol, the tearing noise of the bullets whipping past him making him wince involuntarily as he sprayed flechettes over him. Hitting the deck face forward, knocking the wind out of himself, he swung around to look back over his shoulder as he clambered to his feet at the remaining foe bringing up another assault rifle to bear on him. The rifle flared, the report deafening in the close quarters of the room as Arouin took a round through the arm, spraying a little blood out and spinning him back to the ground, the flechette pistol in his left hand falling to the ground with a clatter. Grimacing in pain with bared teeth, he brought his other flechette pistol to bear and squeezed the trigger, spraying it across the guy who was still firing, trying to adjust his aim back down at his newly prone target and fighting the recoil of the big rifle. As the rifle made an ominous ´click´ing noise, the flechettes stopped spitting out of the gun as the line of them was about to tear him in two, and the gun quietly said in feminine tones,

"Ammunition Depleted"

The guy with the assault rifle went for his spare magazine, but Arouin just whipped out a large bore, no-nonsense pistol from the back of his belt, and fired with a deafening roar, splitting apart the other man´s head like a water melon and sending him flying backwards across the room.

(Click here for the complete text of Part IV)

Darkspace Dispatch Back-Issues

Vol.   I, No 1 (104.7.24)           Vol. I, No. 2 (104.8.12)           Vol.   I, No. 3 (104.10.2)          Vol.   I, No. 4 (104.10.2)

Vol. I, No. 5 (104.12.7)          Vol. I,No.6 (104.12.28)         Vol. II,No.1 (105.1.25)         Vol. II,No.2 (105.2.26)    

Vol. II,No.3 (105.4.24)         Vol. II,No.4 (105.6.16)

 
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