Zone Game 30

Zone Game 30 took place on 9th May 2009.

Factions: Rixian Unity vs Rixian Unity and Iron Coalition

This game continues the Rixian Civil War with Rolling Thunder still heavily invested in the war with the Extremists. This game differs by being the first to have primary and secondary objective for all sides.

DataNet reports follow:

Nick_H: MAR.12.2159/Transmission: 00253.001

Date: MAR.12.2159 - File: 00253

Report filed by: Nick_H

The Rixian Civil War is continuing into the third month. The confrontation lines have been drawn: the Extremist Rixians have arisen under Autumn Sel's charismatic leadership in order to fight the Progressive Rixian leadership that has for so long denied them the right to kill those that refuse to follow the Rixian path to Ascension. Fighting alongside the Extremists is Rolling Thunder, the mixed-race mercenary squad from Human space.

The Extremists have a definitive disadvantage in manpower and industrial capabilities: they have been unable to mass-produce capital ships unlike their Progressive brethren. However, what they lack in technology they make up for in fanaticism. Autumn Sel is well-known in Human space to be a hard-line fanatical xenophobe, and his capacity to figuratively whip his followers into a frenzy should not be underestimated. Every loss of life and investment is more hard-felt in the Extremist ranks, but the Progressives may not have the will to fully put down the rebellion before it comes back with heavier guns. Unless the Progressive Rixian leadership manages to secure a discreet victory over the Extremist forces, the rebellion will continue to grow and fanaticism will triumph, bringing with it a swarm of Rixians to Human space.

Human space has been relatively quiet. Bios seems to be preoccupied with Technoflux, and the Ga'Taraan Federation has shown itself to be far less aggressive than was previously feared. A representative of the Federation recently sat down with one of our correspondents to explain their history, and the full report will be released into the DataNet soon. The Iron Coalition has been solidifying its gains and rebuilding infrastructure on Luna. Gigacorp continues to dominate all aspects of post-Earth economy, despite small pirate and independent gains. What was once held to be a new threat, the Dreghklar lizards have not been seen for some months, begging the question of what happened to the rest of their race? Is a larger invasion en route? Judging from certain Rixian communications, it seems that the Rixians and Dreghklar have a history of conflict, and that the Dreghklar Empire may be far larger than was thought.

As the Rixian Civil War develops, and as anything interesting pops up in Human space, remember to watch this space and we'll keep you posted.

Nick_H: MAY.04.2159/Transmission: 00254.001

Date: MAY.04.2159 - File: 00254

Report filed by: Nick_H

Last we heard from the Rixian Federation, it had effectively divided in two with Autumn Sel leading the Extremist splinter group and the remainder of the Unity government reforming into the so-called Progressive political faction. The Extremists have managed to spread to other Rixian world, and their influence has grown significantly, but they are unable to pose a large threat to the Progressive government without obtaining more military hardware. The nature of capital ships makes it impossible to construct them without the aid of a shipyard already in space, and the Progressives have been actively denying the Extremists the ability to build their own. So what is an honest Rixian to do?

Capture one, of course.

The Progressive government has been solidifying defenses around existing shipyards, but Rolling Thunder is still invested with the Extremists. It is only a matter of time until the Extremists attempt to capture one with RT's aid, but the Extremist forces are spread wide so nobody can really tell when or where they are going to strike. We have been working into tapping into the extensive Rixian probe network -- recently damaged in the conflict. It still covers far more territory than the Iron Coalition's, so we will be able to note any significant movements.

As always, keep watching, and we'll keep you posted.

Nick_H: MAY.10.2159/Transmission: 00255.001

Date: MAY.10.2159 - File: 00255

Report filed by: Nick_H

The Extremist Rixian forces, headed by the infamous xenophobe Autumn Sel, struck against a Progressive Rixian shipyard installation. With the aid of the mercenary group Rolling Thunder, the Extremists were able to end the engagement with the Progressive shipyard in their possession. The Progressive government must be furious with the rookie commander placed in charge of defending the shipyard: it was captured by Rolling Thunder while almost all Progressive forces were on the offensive.

While stopping short of a complete victory, the Extremist forces are now consolidating their gains and producing as many capital ships as possible to aid them in the Rixian Civil War. Maybe the Rixian government should have executed Sel while they had the chance? I suppose there is no going back for them. Rolling Thunder continues to operate out of many small outposts, and it seems that their role in this conflict is coming to an end as the Extremist forces will soon be evenly matched with the Progressives. One of the Progressives mentioned on an unencrypted channel that the Extremist forces are likely to backstab RT as soon as their mercenary role seems over. Autumn Sel is known to be ruthless, so there might be some truth in that statement. There can be no denying the influence RT played in this battle: without their aid, the Progressive economy would have developed unhampered, and the Extremist garrison was likely to have been destroyed.

Altogether, this ended up being a decisive victory for Sel's forces, a blow to the milder Progressive Rixians, and a possible victory for Humanity. Should the Extremists win this war and wrest control of the Rixian government proper (now controlled by Progressives), we are unlikely to ever receive a reprieve in battle or to enter negotiations with the Rixians. On the other hand, whatever Rixian unity emerges from this conflict, it will be a weaker one.

As more information comes in, we'll keep you posted.