114.4.15
by Kedra Brenari
(Wake Station) The STCC has put out a call for all Solrain pilots to help with preparation for this year’s Alkotó celebrations on 104.04.22.
“We are thrilled to host the official Alkotó festival this year,” said Hantor Rebenios, Governor of The Wake station. “And T&P has been a great partner in helping us pull things together. But we need our independent Solrain pilots to help as well by hauling in supplies for the event. We still need Organic Foods, Beers (all types), Water and Textiles for the various Corporation dinners that will be hosted here after The Closing.”
“We’ll also need about 50 Sabre missiles delivered as well,” Rebenios added.
Modern Alkotó is primarily “celebrated” as the end of the Fiscal Year (“The Closing”), when books are closed and profits are calculated. Most Solrain Corporations treat their employees to a fine dinner. Fireworks — usually accompanied by a concert or music of some sort — are the traditional finale to this holiday. Since Pilots and Space Station Residents can’t enjoy fireworks the alternate tradition is “Nuking the Gate” where a number of Sabre missiles are fired at a specified gate with the resulting light show broadcast throughout the Commonwealth.
Because the political climates with both Octavius and Quantar are tense this year, there have been no official invitations made outside of Solrain. “Unofficially,” said an unnamed STCC official, “all pilots with peaceful intentions are welcome to help us prepare and to join the celebration on the 22nd – especially for The Nuking of the Wake/Purian gate.”
Gate Nuking traditionally takes place at 24:00 GBS Time (Midnight GMT; 19:00 EDT), so all pilots are warned to stay well away from the Wake/Purian Lake gate between 23:50 and 00:10 GBS time to avoid unfortunate accidents.
Alkotó is an ancient feast that predates the Sorian culture, and is now sometimes referred to as “Founder’s Day.” Many scholars insist that the original translation/meaning was closer to “creator” or “begetter of all things” and that the newer “Founder’s Day” was simply the result of modern-day secularization of Solrain culture.