Zone Game 25

Zone Game 25 took place on 13th September 2008.

Factions: Belters vs Rixian Unity

DataNet reports follow:

Date:05Sep2158/File: 00241 – Richard Caius Presumed Dead Report Filed By: Nick_H

The last we heard from him was that he was going to stay behind his and allow his main force to flee in peace. Flee they did, and now what remains of Caius' forces have set up shop at a fringe Belter outpost. In between spritzers, coolers, and major repairs, the beleaguered fleet has been sending out stealthy search parties to look for their lost leader. So far, all have returned empty-handed.

The loss of Richard Caius comes as a great blow to the Belter “ruling council.” It was news for me too when I heard of it, but apparently the loose collection of pirates, friends, guilds, clans, and families do meet up every so often to tell stories, pass along information, and attempt to work together in what usually ends up as an exercise in futility. Notwithstanding his recent loss, Caius was a man who was a bit closer to getting everyone working together than anyone else. Now the council seems to have lost it's most vocal proponent for solidarity, and their most recent meeting resulted in several of the participants leaving with bruises.

I am not saying that this did not happen when Ciaus was present, it just seemed happened either a lot less often or a lot less vocally.

Some of you have commented that Caius was great man and you felt his loss requires more grieving than what I am giving it in this column, but I still hold him at least partially responsible for the creation of Technoflux. I will, however, concede that he ran a tight ship with some balls and that if he does not come back, the Belters as a whole will be weaker for it.

Keep watching this spot, and when something new shows up, be it Caius showing up as the messiah or two of the Belter groups duking it out over somebody's mother, we'll keep you posted.

Date:13Sep2158/File: 00242 – Caius' Fleet Hold Position

Report Filed By: Nick_H

If you have not figured it out by now, I tagged along with Richard Caius' fleet to give you the latest updates as they happened. So when a message preaching the usual “Ascend or Die” phrase was broadcast over the public announcement system where the remnants of the fleet were stationed, I was a little bit worried.

Fortunately for me and the independents that own the station, the fleet took up it's more-or-less repaired ships (reinforced by the station's security force) and held off the Rixians quite well. It was quite a sight, I am sure the Rixians were not expecting that a small outpost would be so heavily defended.

Unfortunately for the fleet, there still has been no word of Caius' whereabouts. Despite the resounding victory, the pilots shuffled back into the bar leaderless. The victory was hollow as the probability of Caius being recovered alive is slim to none.

A little birdie told me that a high-level stealth patrol made its way to the point where Caius was last heard from. Despite noting (and bringing back, of course) significant Technoflux salvage, there was no clear indication that Caius' flagship itself was destroyed. Neither have any bodies been positively identified as belonging to the leader. It is possible that the ship was taken in whole by the Technoflux and that Caius has been executed in some unfitting way. It is also possible that he just took off in a random direction to lead TF somewhere away and perished there.

Keep watching, there will be something interesting here soon. As always, we'll keep you posted.