The (Unregulated) Update

Vol. II, No. 1 – by Ares Kiden

After a rather lengthy hiatus, The “UU” is back!  But I won’t bore you with the details . . .

Flux-Hunt In-Progress
The Samwise Memorial Flux-Hunt is in-progress and has apparently gotten a number of veteran pilots to jump back into the cockpit, including Ambrosius, Audi, J_Prime, MadCat, Nammoc, Nessos, Noodles, Orome, Slopey and Yozho (to name a few I noticed).  Apologies to any I missed.  Kudos to RazorsKiss who organized the event, which will be running through 118.2.3.

Corporate Blues
First OPL announced layoffs on Outpost and Octavius Core stations … then Cromforge announces inventory and production cuts, and even more layoffs.  Things don’t sound good for either of those giants.  No peep yet from the Solrain mega-corp, Tens & Piney, but I’m sure investors are watching them closely.

New Flux Patterns
A few weeks ago, pilots began noticing some changes in the was Conflux have been spawning.  Changes have been noted in Aman Hook, Blasted Corner, Bronci Rift, Hyperion Gate, Inner Aman, Main Gate and The Stith (did I miss any?).  Pilot RazorsKiss (who seems to be one busy dude these days) has created an updated Conflux “threat map” and it can be found HERE.

Scientists Propose Original Purpose of “The Henge”

by Thane Carios

(Alexios, Soria)  A consortium of Solrain scientists and engineers studying The Henge today released their theory on its original purpose.

“We have been studying these structures for years and there have been many theories over that time,” said Dr. Piter Moss, Professor of Applied Physics at The Alexios Institute.  “Most of them have been more speculation than true theory.  But now we have a very high confidence level, that this was an enormous electromagnetic arrestor apparatus , built to facilitate the landing of large ships.  There’s no way to speculate yet on the exact nature of these ships — they could have been cargo ships, transport ships, or large military vessels.”

“Our work on this is far from done.  This is one of the most significant pre-collapse sites on Solrain and we hope to gain further insights into pre-collapse technology in general by even further understanding the incredible engineering here.”

The Henge was last in the news when 24 members of The Solarian Apostolate were found dead there, believed to be a mass-suicide.

 

First Annual Samwise Memorial Flux-hunt to Begin 118.1.26!

UUNN Newswire

 *  *  *  *  *  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE *  *  *  *  *

Alterion RazorsKiss, of squad FluxGuts, announces
The First Annual Samwise Memorial Fluxhunt!

(Octavius Core) Pilot samwise, of squad New Dawn, was a wingmate of former New Dawn CAG RazorsKiss, and remains in #2 on the current all-time flux kills leaderboard (post-Catastrophe). He passed away on 116.11.28, but his love for fluxing competitions was well-known to his friends and squadmates. It is hoped that this event will be a fitting tribute and legacy to his steadfast defense against the Conflux, his example to us all as a pilot and friend, and to his legendary service record for New Dawn, Solrain, and TRI.

This competitive flux-hunting event will begin at 17:00 UTC on 118.1.26 – and end at 05:00 UTC on 118.2.4. Entries will be automatically selected from the Flux Kills rankings on JSR – and any interested pilot not on that list may submit a screen capture of their pilot page to enter, at or after 17:00 UTC on 118.1.26.

Cromforge Names New President

UUNN Newswire

(Quantar Corridor) Today Cromforge Enterprises (TRISE:CROM) today named Reshan Lexis as its new President, and she hit the ground running revealing her plans to begin restructuring manufacturing operations. As a part of that process, this morning Cromforge is discontinuing all weapons manufacturing on Corridor station.

Gunman Kills at Least 12 on Outpost Station

UUNN Newswire

(Outpost Station)  A lone gunman killed at least 12 and injured dozens more today at the Octave Propulsion capacitor factory on Outpost Station.  Although the alleged attacker has not been officially identified, sources indicate that he was one of those impacted by the massive layoff announced by OPL on 117.12.15.

The manufacturing facility has been shut down pending completion of an investigation.

Cromforge Plans Inventory Reduction

UUNN Newswire

(Quantar Corridor) Cromforge Enterprises (TRISE:CROM) announced today that is is planning to scrap thousands of units of it massive equipment inventory on all Quantar Stations. “When inventory does not move, it not only has to be stored — it also has to be maintained,” said Cromforge spokesperson Cila Rotup’uh. “It is a huge expense, and one we can no longer sustain. The fact is that we have sold exactly ten Harvesters in the last six months. We have an inventory of more than 1,700. And that’s just a single example.”

The inventory reduction is not expected to have any immediate impact on pilots. It will be reported as a one-time expense in Cromforge’s Quarterly Results, which were already expected to be poor, resulting in a net-profit decline in each of the last six quarters.

Fears Grow Over Conflux Inroads

by Thane Carios

(Solrain Core)  Changes in Conflux spawn patterns has begun to raise concerns among pilots.  There have been confirmed changes in spawn behaviors in a number of sectors — in some instances, the spawn strength has decreased, but in the majority of cases, pilots have been seeing higher-level Conflux drones appearing.

“This is nothing to worry about,” said Carlo Adiar, Asst. Director of Conflux Studies at TRI Corporation.  “We have seen Conflux patterns change periodically and see no particular threat-pattern here.”

Prosthetics Smuggler Apprehended

by Thane Carios

(Solrain Wake Station) A smuggler flying a Phaeton was apprehended yesterday in Bronci Rift by TRI Security for allegedly having Prosthetics in-hold, a commodity that has been outlawed for many years.  The pilot’s name has not been release pilot pending an official arraignment.

There has, as yet, been no speculation regarding the smuggler’s planned destination or destinations.

After years of lobbying and protests — primarily by Quantar — Prosthetics exports from Hyperial were outlawed by TRI after evidence was unearthed that the Prosthetics included organic tissue of questionable origin.  Hyperial was thought to have stopped all Prosthetics production in 107.