Zone Game 24

Zone Game 24 took place on 30th August 2008.

Factions: Belters vs Technoflux

DataNet reports follow:

Date:15Aug2158/File: 00239 - Caius springs to action

Report Filed By: Nick_H

If you have been following the Datanet, as I am sure you have, you would know that our not-so-friendly Neighborhood Fascists (the Iron Coalition) have been cooking up something mighty foul, and we've just caught the smell. You all know what I am talking about, of course (the stench is strong), but let me take you back in time for a moment. Recall when the Iron Coalition investigated a disturbance in Aleph Chain 8: the bit of space that is now well-established Ga'Taraan Federation territory. The Federation had a bone to pick with IC: seems IC had abandoned a research outpost, which became Ga'Taraan. Our distant science-bred cousins are at least civil, and haven't stirred up too much trouble in Sol proper.

Not for a lack of trying, of course. Recall March 8th, 2158. Federation forces are inching towards Mars, the exit point of Chain 8. They encounter and defeat a Rixian Unity force, only to find a fleeting Dreghklar Empire force. As they engage the Empire, Belter forces, led by Richard Caius, catch the Federation by surprise in the rear. Caius makes off with three exotic factions' worth of salvage. Among the salvage is something the Dreghklar prize dearly: dearly enough to send another force (unsuccessfully) after Caius. Gigacorp is sour at Caius, so IC is the major purchasing party at an auction conducted by Caius.

What ever became of the Dreghklar "black box"? Well, there really are three possibilities: either Caius sold it to IC, Caius kept it, or Caius lost it. Whatever the case may be, the salvage IC picked up from him contained enough tech to finish their newest project: the Technoflux.

Ah, but I hear you already. Does this mean that Caius is in part to blame for the existence of Technoflux? Call me what you will, but I feel that this point of view should not be ignored. That is, yes, I do believe that Caius sold IC whatever the Dreg wanted back, and that whatever was the last part of TF.

Well, guess who has a shiny new fleet (if you can call it that) and a mistake to fix.

Here is a bit of news that you should have all heard by now:

BEGIN TRANSMISSION Inhabitants of Sol. Fellow human and sentient beings. We cannot deny the grave new threat that has been created once again by the shortsightedness of the Iron Coalition. The lack of foresight from Gigacorp has created the Bios. Now, the lack of foresight from the Coalition has given us Technoflux. While the other factions do not realize the imminent danger we are all facing, I, Richard Caius, will personally see to it that Technoflux is smothered in it's crib. We cannot wait for profit, we do not blindly place our faith in science or religion, and we most certainly do not have time to deal with brutal bureaucracies. My fleet is departing. I will fight for you. Long live Humanity! Long live the Free Belters! END TRANSMISSION

Yeah, right. He has time for speeches though.

To his credit, the vast majority of Caius' fleet have departed towards the only known permanent base of Technoflux. You might doubt whether he had a hand in creating TF or not, but I think deep down inside he wants to fix his mistake. He should not have made it in the first place.

But I know I will sleep better knowing that there is someone who has enough balls to go out and fix mistakes.

Keep on the look-out, and, as always, we'll keep you posted.

Date:30Aug2158/File: 00240 - Technoflux Victorious. Caius-MIA

Report Filed By: Nick_H

You might have seen the images of Caius' Belter capships leaving their docks to fight the Technoflux menace.

After the action tonight, you will see less of them come back. In fact, many of them will not be coming back at all. Perhaps it was too early for Caius to try to bring TF down: their technology is exotic, their methods are not well-known, and they seem to be more determined and ruthless than any being made of flesh – the simple fact that their only known base is a Bios one says so much.

They know no mercy: as the Belter forces fled from their overrun positions, the Technoflux perused. They were not fighting for salvage, resources, or a tactical position. By perusing the fleeing forces we can infer that their goal was pure destruction.

The only reason the Belter fleet managed to escape is because Richard Caius stayed back with several ships to hold off the tide of robots. What remains of the fleet has managed to lose their perusers, but Caius has not been heard from since. The last bit of data I managed to snag from the Belters is that they were going to regroup and go back to look for him. He might have lost the battle, but if he can come back maybe he can lead his forces on to win the war.

Oh yeah, one last thing... besides the transmission that he was staying behind, Caius sent something else to his men. I got what I could, but I have not been able to decode it. Seems that my sensors were not set up properly and I might have lost some bits. I will be posting the raw files on the DataNet so you all can have a go at it.

As always, we'll keep you posted.