Some random snippets from CiTD borrowed heavily from this... modded a little bit,
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Former United Belt Alliance FleetOps Commander, Captain Nathan Hollister, Speaking from Azkhaban prison.
Nobody knew about Snow White. At least, at the time we thought nobody knew about it. Most of the settlements aligned with us certainly didn’t know, so when the first Knight Saber attacks began it seemed like a godsend to us.
Big Jim himself started getting bullish about it, especially when it became clear that the Space Patrol were putting the investigation on the long finger. That was a propaganda godsend for us, it really was. We could portray the whole Convention as being indifferent to our plight. And if the Convention wouldn’t defend us, then who better than the Alliance?
We tried to portray ourselves as the victims. It fit right in with Snow White’s message. We were attacked, and neither the Patrol or Great Justice seemed to want to do anything to help.
It might’ve worked too if Big Jim hadn’t started getting his big head. We built up so much steam that eventually something had to release. About the same time, we started hearing news of a journalist chasing up a few of the settlements where the Sabers had successfully interfered with Snow White, asking questions about the Alliance. We thought she was on to us.
I don’t remember where the idea originally came from; it might’ve been Mason himself, but I do know that the Smartest Guys in the Room were all for it from the get-go. Mason was taking the lead on it personally.
That’s where Poison Apple came from. I hired them, and I gave them the order personally.
~***~
Tonight, on ZNN.
The United Belt Alliance, an organisation of independent mining concerns which have banded together for mutual assistance, is known for its work protecting the independant operators from pirate attacks and securing fair pricing in the face of tough competition. Evidence has been presented to his news organisation, suggesting a darker side to it’s operations. This evidence, which has been verified from multiple sources paints the United Belt Alliance as little more than a front for what is quite possibly the largest protection racket in the history of Fenspace.
It began with the election of one James Mason to the position of Chairman, and ended with the attempted murder of a journalist and the pilot of her transport.
It was known as operation Snow White. It would begin with a light pirate raid on an independent mine, operating outside the Alliance’ jurisdiction. Shortly after the raid, representatives of the Belt Alliance would arrive, offering membership in the Alliance in exchange for an annual subscription fee.
They offered safety and security.
Those who accepted the offer never knew any better. Those who didn’t, would find themselves under increasing pressure.
After each attack, the Alliance would return. After each rejection the attacks would grown in intensity with the ultimate result being that the settlement would either abandon their homes, or join the Alliance out of desperation. Only once they joined did the attacks stop, giving credence to Alliance claims.
The Board of Directors hid their plans well, ensuring that they were isolated from both the mercenaries they hired and the innocent people of the United Belt Alliance itself. A network of payment facilitators, anonymous couriers and blind drops ensured that the mercenary organisations never knew who had paid them.
Suspicions were first raised after a raid on the reopened settlement at 77 Frigga. Settlement owner, Ford Sierra has this to say.
‘The first raid was about two years ago. We had some basic missile defences to discourage opportunistic pirate - nothing fancy. A volley was enough to encourage them to leave. A week later, Mason shows up offering membership. Naturally we said no....
A couplamonths back, another raid. This one in force. At the same time Queen Serenity II was visiting Survival Shot so we assumed it was an assassination attempt when a missile disabling one of their transports didn’t make them leave. They landed, and we had to fight them on the ground. We didn’t take any casualties. They were attacking a training centre which trains people to fight off raids just like they were launching.... we assumed they were aware of who and what they were attacking. We assumed it was more than just a raid because of that. I mean, we were a small business, but they had to know we were here.
Then we recovered a memory core from their disabled ship, and passed it on to Great Justice.’
That memory core contained information which showed that the mercenaries had been specifically hired to attack Frigga, and had been told it was nothing more than a lightly defended minor outpost. They had been given specific instructions on what sort of damage to cause, how many people to kill, and what items to take.
An important note was included, reminding them not to destroy items of economic or infrastructural significance. Takami Sakuragi of Stellvia
‘A pattern analysis of the mercenary attacks as they unfolded suggested that they were following deliberate objectives. There was none of the usual random smash-and-grab characteristics of a normal raid. The raids were specifically tailored to cause a maximum psychological impact, while minimising economic harm.
It’s obvious really. Once we’d confirmed this with the memory core, suspicion naturally fell upon the Alliance.”
At the same time, Maico Tange, following up on the same story, made her way out to 77 Frigga. On her return journey, her craft was attacked by a pirate vessel and she was taken prisoner. There can be no doubt that this was nothing less than an attempt to permanently silence the voice of someone who was about to speak out against the Alliance.
It is likely that they would have succeeded if not for the intervention of the Knight Sabers, who had been shadowing the transport. Miss Tange and her pilot were rescued and brought to Stellvia station for emergency treatment.
The memory banks of the pirate vessel were delivered to our desk unaltered by an anonymous courier soon afterwards, along with a copy of Miss Tange’s own research. From this, we are able to conclude that the attack on Miss Tange was ordered by James Mason, with the specific aim of silencing her before she could break this story.
This evidence has been shared with the Space Patrol and Great Justice who have both assured us here at ZNN that the situation shall receive an appropriate response.
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________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
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Former United Belt Alliance FleetOps Commander, Captain Nathan Hollister, Speaking from Azkhaban prison.
Nobody knew about Snow White. At least, at the time we thought nobody knew about it. Most of the settlements aligned with us certainly didn’t know, so when the first Knight Saber attacks began it seemed like a godsend to us.
Big Jim himself started getting bullish about it, especially when it became clear that the Space Patrol were putting the investigation on the long finger. That was a propaganda godsend for us, it really was. We could portray the whole Convention as being indifferent to our plight. And if the Convention wouldn’t defend us, then who better than the Alliance?
We tried to portray ourselves as the victims. It fit right in with Snow White’s message. We were attacked, and neither the Patrol or Great Justice seemed to want to do anything to help.
It might’ve worked too if Big Jim hadn’t started getting his big head. We built up so much steam that eventually something had to release. About the same time, we started hearing news of a journalist chasing up a few of the settlements where the Sabers had successfully interfered with Snow White, asking questions about the Alliance. We thought she was on to us.
I don’t remember where the idea originally came from; it might’ve been Mason himself, but I do know that the Smartest Guys in the Room were all for it from the get-go. Mason was taking the lead on it personally.
That’s where Poison Apple came from. I hired them, and I gave them the order personally.
~***~
Tonight, on ZNN.
The United Belt Alliance, an organisation of independent mining concerns which have banded together for mutual assistance, is known for its work protecting the independant operators from pirate attacks and securing fair pricing in the face of tough competition. Evidence has been presented to his news organisation, suggesting a darker side to it’s operations. This evidence, which has been verified from multiple sources paints the United Belt Alliance as little more than a front for what is quite possibly the largest protection racket in the history of Fenspace.
It began with the election of one James Mason to the position of Chairman, and ended with the attempted murder of a journalist and the pilot of her transport.
It was known as operation Snow White. It would begin with a light pirate raid on an independent mine, operating outside the Alliance’ jurisdiction. Shortly after the raid, representatives of the Belt Alliance would arrive, offering membership in the Alliance in exchange for an annual subscription fee.
They offered safety and security.
Those who accepted the offer never knew any better. Those who didn’t, would find themselves under increasing pressure.
After each attack, the Alliance would return. After each rejection the attacks would grown in intensity with the ultimate result being that the settlement would either abandon their homes, or join the Alliance out of desperation. Only once they joined did the attacks stop, giving credence to Alliance claims.
The Board of Directors hid their plans well, ensuring that they were isolated from both the mercenaries they hired and the innocent people of the United Belt Alliance itself. A network of payment facilitators, anonymous couriers and blind drops ensured that the mercenary organisations never knew who had paid them.
Suspicions were first raised after a raid on the reopened settlement at 77 Frigga. Settlement owner, Ford Sierra has this to say.
‘The first raid was about two years ago. We had some basic missile defences to discourage opportunistic pirate - nothing fancy. A volley was enough to encourage them to leave. A week later, Mason shows up offering membership. Naturally we said no....
A couplamonths back, another raid. This one in force. At the same time Queen Serenity II was visiting Survival Shot so we assumed it was an assassination attempt when a missile disabling one of their transports didn’t make them leave. They landed, and we had to fight them on the ground. We didn’t take any casualties. They were attacking a training centre which trains people to fight off raids just like they were launching.... we assumed they were aware of who and what they were attacking. We assumed it was more than just a raid because of that. I mean, we were a small business, but they had to know we were here.
Then we recovered a memory core from their disabled ship, and passed it on to Great Justice.’
That memory core contained information which showed that the mercenaries had been specifically hired to attack Frigga, and had been told it was nothing more than a lightly defended minor outpost. They had been given specific instructions on what sort of damage to cause, how many people to kill, and what items to take.
An important note was included, reminding them not to destroy items of economic or infrastructural significance. Takami Sakuragi of Stellvia
‘A pattern analysis of the mercenary attacks as they unfolded suggested that they were following deliberate objectives. There was none of the usual random smash-and-grab characteristics of a normal raid. The raids were specifically tailored to cause a maximum psychological impact, while minimising economic harm.
It’s obvious really. Once we’d confirmed this with the memory core, suspicion naturally fell upon the Alliance.”
At the same time, Maico Tange, following up on the same story, made her way out to 77 Frigga. On her return journey, her craft was attacked by a pirate vessel and she was taken prisoner. There can be no doubt that this was nothing less than an attempt to permanently silence the voice of someone who was about to speak out against the Alliance.
It is likely that they would have succeeded if not for the intervention of the Knight Sabers, who had been shadowing the transport. Miss Tange and her pilot were rescued and brought to Stellvia station for emergency treatment.
The memory banks of the pirate vessel were delivered to our desk unaltered by an anonymous courier soon afterwards, along with a copy of Miss Tange’s own research. From this, we are able to conclude that the attack on Miss Tange was ordered by James Mason, with the specific aim of silencing her before she could break this story.
This evidence has been shared with the Space Patrol and Great Justice who have both assured us here at ZNN that the situation shall receive an appropriate response.
------
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?