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You've got questions about vehicles? We've got answers! In this episode, our vehicle team answers questions from the community about the development status of your favorite ships and more.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Do you find yourself constantly getting in trouble with the law? In this episode, the Mission Feature team discusses what upcoming changes criminals can expect from Kareah and Klescher.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
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Every two weeks, we accompany the Roadmap update with a brief explanatory note to give you insight into the decision-making that led to any changes. This is part of an effort to make our communications more transparent, more specific, and more insightful for all of you who help to make Star Citizen and Squadron 42 possible.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Inhalte von externen Seiten werden ohne Ihre Zustimmung nicht automatisch geladen und angezeigt.
< Transmission Begins >
What does it take to get to the truth? Does it take a fancy education? No. It takes a willingness to ask questions. To look underneath the few facts those in power choose to share with us. It takes bravery. Because the truth is often dangerous and frightening. But bravery isn’t the absence of fear. It’s conviction in the face of it.
My name is Parker Terrell, and this is the Plain Truth.
Throughout my career I have always been dedicated to rooting out the truth. But I’ll be the first to admit that today’s story tested my resolve. Is sharing this story worth the risk to myself and my livelihood? The risk to all the people who depend on me? The answer? A resounding yes. Nothing should stop the truth.
A little over 60 years ago, a group of Hurston Dynamics employees came together to lobby for better working conditions. These workers were underpaid, overworked, and callously subjected to noxious, hazardous chemicals while on the job, with only the barest safety standards to protect them. They called themselves the United Workers of Hurston, or UWH, and bravely organized peaceful protests in an attempt to open dialogue with Hurston executives.
But these days, the UWH is better known as an extremist group. Their nobler aspirations have given way to campaigns of fear and intimidation. The group have claimed responsibility for numerous violent assaults on Hurston production facilities, several of which have even taken innocent lives. But when did everything change? How did they stray so far from their peaceful attempts at changing Hurston policy?
For many, myself included, the group’s turning point can be defined by a single incident. Of course, I’m referring to the Lastal tragedy of 2937, when a group of UWH members violently seized control of a Hurston cargo transport. During the standoff with local authorities, they quickly paraded their hostages in front of cameras broadcasting across the Empire and made their grievances known. And to demonstrate their conviction, they flew over Lorville and pushed the pilot out of the ship, sending him plummeting to his death below. Shortly after, Hurston Security forces executed a raid on the ship to retake control. All of the UWH members were killed along with three more hostages.
In the aftermath, public sentiment quickly turned against the UWH, and Hurston Dynamics declared the group a terrorist organization. From heroes of the people to the most reviled group across the UEE, just like that.
Of course, the UWH didn’t disband. They simply went underground to avoid further persecution. And when the group would eventually emerge again from the shadows, violence became their calling card. Sure, certain factions within the organization continued to pursue more peaceful methods of protest and attempted to distance themselves from the more militant cells, but the damage was done; public opinion was firmly swayed against them.
Like many others, I remember empathizing with the UWH in the early days. Mega-corporations like Hurston can run roughshod over common folk with few obstacles. I used to think it was brave of the UWH to stand in its way – to fight for better treatment. But after their seizure of the Lastal, I could not condone their actions. They were no longer brave, disgruntled workers suffering under the tyranny of the rich and corrupt. Just like you, I was convinced they were violent and dangerous criminals. That was what I believed. At least, until a few months ago, when I received a comm from a Hurston employee. The contact chose to remain anonymous, identifying themselves only as Canary. And what they told me shook me to my core. According to them, Hurston had manipulated the UWH, intentionally driving the organization to violence in order to give the company the legal foothold needed to ban the group.
It sounded crazy, but the case Canary made was damning. Although this was a bombshell, I still had questions. Who is Canary? They clearly came to me for a reason, so why wouldn’t they disclose their identity? Without that disclosure – without that trust – how could I justify sharing anything I learned? And yet, what if it was all true? I had to know the full story.
Canary explained to me that once the UWH started garnering support from other Hurston Dynamics employees across the ‘verse, the board of directors started to get nervous. But it wasn’t until the group’s messaging began to inspire pressure for change outside of the company that they realized the group’s true danger: such a large number of employees organizing would have a severe impact on their profits! Is it such a leap to assume that a company as callous as Hurston might take steps – even drastic ones – to protect its bottom line? I don’t think so.
Canary said that, in a sort of preemptive retaliation, Hurston Dynamics began to target individuals it knew to be part of the UWH and aggravate them, withholding pay, neglecting safety standards, and even being as petty as to saddle simple procedures with bureaucratic red tape. Even worse, Canary claimed that Hurston escalated its attacks by sending its own loyal agents undercover into the UWH to further radicalize the group from inside. Canary claimed that it was Hurston’s own infiltrators that began to push for the UWH to adopt more violent methods.
Take a moment. Think about that. Think about the ramifications of it. Could this mean that Hurston Dynamics was ultimately responsible for the Lastal tragedy? If we believe Canary, then maybe the empire owes the UWH an apology. How many of the people involved in the Lastal incident weren’t actual members of the UWH? How many were Hurston operatives, intentionally making the situation worse? If the company was willing to incite such violence back then, what about today? Is Hurston letting the angry and violent factions of the UWH operate in order to fulfill some darker agenda? Could it be directing them; choosing the UWH’s targets for them, creating whatever narrative most benefits the company?
Unfortunately, all these questions and more went unanswered; the investigation remained incomplete. I have not heard from Canary since our last conversation and though they provided names, dates, and events that verified they were likely a Hurston employee, I never learned Canary’s true identity.
I realize that sharing this information may seem irresponsible and will likely paint a target on my back. But Canary was brave enough to contact me. And so I have chosen to be brave, too. And I hope you will do the same. The more you share the truth, the harder it is to hide and cover up.
When we come back, we’ll explore Hurston’s history with the UEE and its connections to senators across the ‘verse who have a lot to answer for.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Entwickler Cloud Imperium Games arbeitet gerade an einem Rennspiel-Modus für Star Citizen, bei dem Spieler mit einem Buggy um die Wette fahren können. Schon mit dem nächsten Alpha-Update soll das Feature eingeführt werden. Fans des Titels hinterfragen…
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
What would your ideal racetrack in the 'verse look like? Join master of the Star Kart Racetrack, Martin Milz as we build a new track based on player feedback in this episode of Star Citizen Live Gamedev.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Which of these Sprint Report ships do you think has the potential to become a future Ship Showdown winner? In this episode, we share new progress on upcoming ships, plus a look at hull scraping, and more!
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
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Welcome to July’s Squadron 42 development report. Enclosed you will find details on the latest progress made across the campaign, including updates to Vanduul movement, level design, and character art.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
This portfolio originally appeared in Jump Point 9.8.
“I’ve never been more nervous. Our network of activists had been completely betrayed, forcing us to flee as Advocacy agents began their raids. I knew some of my friends had made it to Xi’an space, but others just disappeared. People assumed the Messers got them, but I also heard stories of smugglers selling them to the Banu. Still, I had to risk it. Anything was better than one of the Messers’ re-education prisons, so I climbed into that smuggler’s crate and they sealed me up. Next thing I know, some Xi’an was shaking me awake. First one I’d ever met, and I, ah… well, I screamed because it was all very shocking. Then I just broke down and cried because I knew I was finally safe.”
- August Dunlow, Crusader Industries Founder
August Dunlow’s vivid firsthand account of fleeing the UEE is one of many that appear in The Bremen Beltway; a book that brilliantly mixes interviews, journal excerpts, and declassified government documents to illuminate the extreme measures used to smuggle activists, journalists, opposition politicians, and others in and out of the Messer-controlled UEE. While the regime made escaping the empire a difficult and often dangerous proposition, one method would come to distinguish itself as the most secure and significant. Nicknamed the Bremen Beltway, the route is not only believed to have smuggled out more people than any other but was instrumental in quickly returning hundreds of significant anti-Messer activists once the revolution began. Their timely return proved key to organizing the various planets to finally topple the totalitarian regime.
Though over time the journey became best associated with Bremen, the route actually runs through five systems: Bremen, Nyx, Tohil, La’uo (Virtus), and Ē’aluth (Eelaus). Bremen earned the namesake because it was the starting point within the UEE and the only system travelers knew about prior to their trip. Strict security measures meant the only information travelers received was a time and a set of bespoke coordinates within Bremen. Arrive there safely and smugglers would provide sleeping pills and a cramped smuggler’s crate. Meanwhile, high-ranking members of the Bremen Defense Force (BDF) would secretly ensure the smugglers could avoid security patrols by the UEE and less sympathetic BDF members while crossing the system and making the jump to Nyx.
Though Levski’s residents also yearned for revolution, they sadly were unable to offer permanent harbor for the revolutionaries fleeing through Nyx. Leaders of the People’s Alliance gladly offered up Levski as a stopping point for refueling, but with significant portions of the old mining facility still badly in need of repairs and life support systems already overtaxed, they were unable to support a larger population at the time. So, most smugglers working the Bremen Beltway hurried through the system to get to Tohil.
A Perry Line system meant to act as a buffer between the two species, Tohil instead drew them together. Tohil became the main exchange point between Human and Xi’an smugglers, who were now tasked with safely transporting the refugees into Xi’an space. Smugglers on both sides nicknamed this meeting point the “Tohil Trampoline,” partly because handoffs often happened on large botanical biomasses floating in Tohil III’s oceans. These exchanges proved so safe and reliable that Xi’an Emperor Kr.ē and Terra Senator Terrence Akari met on Tohil III in 2789. The meeting produced a peace accord that was narrowly approved by the UEE Senate but never signed into law by Imperator Messer XI. Still, the passing of the Akari-Kr.ē Treaty exposed the Messer regime’s waning control over the Senate.
Despite being a part of the Perry line, Tohil’s remote location, combined with mounting economic pressures, kept the Messers from stationing soldiers in-system. Instead, UEE security relied on a vast system of sensors and periodic patrols from fleets stationed in Oya – obstacles easily avoided by seasoned smugglers on both sides. The UEE Military, primarily worried about a large-scale Xi’an invasion, believed these lax security measures were permissible because the system could only be reached through the unclaimed and almost empty Nyx and two other Perry Line systems. The first being Oya, where the closest UEE troops were stationed, and La’uo (then known as Virtus), a system considered inhospitable due to the expanding red giant at its center. That also made the system the ideal next leg of the Bremen Beltway.
The UEE treated La’uo like a Perry Line system in name only. They didn’t bother to patrol or place more than minimal sensors there since those heading to the UEE still had to pass through Tohil. The Xi’an freely roamed the system with little fear of running into a UEE patrol. That meant once in Xi’an hands, travelers on the Bremen Beltway were considered safe and secure. Most were woken, helped out of the smuggler’s crate, and placed in “Humanized” quarters for the remainder of the voyage.
Still, the Xi’an knew how politically dangerous it would be if the Messer regime ever learned of UEE refugees being given diplomatic sanctuary. For political cover, they smartly exploited a culture difference that took advantage of how little Humanity understood their species. In practice, this meant only Xi’an pirate gangs could transport, house, and care for the UEE refugees. That way, if ever discovered, the Xi’an government could truthfully claim that the scheme was carried out by “pirates,” a loaded phrase for both species. The Xi’an knew that Humans considered “pirates” outlaws that acted outside of the government’s purview, and that Humanity didn’t yet know that some “pirates,” like most other criminal organizations, were officially sanctioned by the Xi’an government.
Though UEE forces never ventured as far as La’uo, the Xi’an deemed it unwise to keep refugees there and instead moved them into the Xi’an Empire. Most ended up on pirate-controlled space stations retrofitted for Human occupation in Ē’aluth (Eelaus system). Upon arrival, the refugees would be interviewed by Xi’an officials who were collating data on the current situation inside the UEE. Once released, the refugees could socialize, strategize, monitor UEE news via remote spectrum relay, and more. Encrypted comms could also be sent on rare occasions, as a separate data running pipeline was established to smuggle messages into the UEE. Aboard these space stations, refugees recall comfortable living quarters and a willingness by the Xi’an to adjust conditions and amenities to better suit Human needs. The Xi’an learned much about Humanity during this time and subsequently used those lessons to improve the appeal of ships, foods, and other products now widely available in the UEE.
Years would pass. Some UEE refugees grew restless being confined to a space station and would make the harrowing journey back home, but most were determined to stay ready to aid regime change when the time was right. That patience paid off when the fateful Massacre of Garron sparked riots across the empire. Sensing the fires of revolution, the Xi’an reversed the Bremen Beltway to expedite the return of important refugees to the UEE. Their timely and surprising arrival amidst the uprising cemented the revolution and directly led to the eventual overthrow of the Messer regime.
The Bremen Beltway can be considered key to helping topple the Messer regime and bringing the Human and Xi’an species closer. Together, sympathetic members of the Bremen Defense Force, kindhearted Human smugglers, and loyal Xi’an pirates acting as government proxies created the safest escape route between the two empires. The Bremen Beltway proved that the two species could work together, and that the universe could be better because of it.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
What happens when the VFX team creates new visual effects based on live feedback from the community? Find out when you watch this Gamedev episode of Star Citizen Live!
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Ready, set, and go behind the scenes with us to see how the community inspired the recent addition of the Snake Pit race track in this episode of Inside Star Citizen, plus you'll also get a sneak peek of the luminous debut of indoor kart racing.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
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Welcome to July’s PU Monthly Report! With Alpha 3.17.2 making it to the live servers at the end of July, most teams shifted focus to tasks for the next patch release and beyond. So, this month, you’ll see progress on various dependencies for persistent streaming, Pyro, the economy, and more. Read on for all the details!
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Inhalte von externen Seiten werden ohne Ihre Zustimmung nicht automatisch geladen und angezeigt.
Every two weeks, we accompany the Roadmap update with a brief explanatory note to give you insight into the decision-making that led to any changes. This is part of an effort to make our communications more transparent, more specific, and more insightful for all of you who help to make Star Citizen and Squadron 42 possible.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Inhalte von externen Seiten werden ohne Ihre Zustimmung nicht automatisch geladen und angezeigt.
Greetings, traveler. As enjoyable as the myriad sights and sounds of the universe are, we have found that it’s the people and the stories they tell that truly make our time here exceptional. We at the OBSERVIST LIFESTYLE are eager to provide an up close look at the unique souls that form the tapestry of our universe.
The six planets of the Pyro system spin under the livid glare of a volatile variable star, so life is difficult there on the best of days. The innermost planets are oppressively hot, while the outermost are deathly cold. There are almost no comfortable lodgings where you can spend the night, let alone safely park your ship. Detritus from fruitless terraforming attempts in the 26th century can be found floating in unexpected places, posing a persistent threat to the unprepared traveler. And at the heart of the system beats a star that unleashes hell whenever it flares. It is, in short, inhospitable.
Despite these obstacles – or perhaps in part because of them – Pyro has become a stronghold for pirates, fugitives, terrorists, and other kinds of people you wouldn’t want to run into while flying solo. Settlements abandoned when legitimate businesses fled the system have become hives of criminal activity. The largest of these is a former Pyrotechnic Amalgamated housing platform known among locals as Ruin Station. Its dilapidated halls are packed with squatters and black market dealers who eke a living outside the grasping hand of the law, but beneath the iron fist of whatever gang is in charge. Power struggles on the station are frequent, but violently anti-alien and anti-corporate terrorist group XenoThreat has been the reigning authority on Ruin Station – and thus Pyro – since 2947.
Since then, XenoThreat has used Pyro as a launch point for armed raids on their neighboring systems, especially the corporate-led Stanton system. While the Advocacy and Civilian Defense Force have thwarted XenoThreat’s attacks in the system, they have been unable to significantly hurt the organization. In fact, XenoThreat’s numbers seem to grow with each passing year. Experts say that as long as Pyro remains under their control, it is unlikely that the people of Stanton will see a respite from invasion anytime soon.
Madge Hartford, known as Dash to her friends, hopes to change that.
A WAR OF ACQUISITION
Inside M&V, the bar is packed from its fortified metal entrance to its neon-lit corners. It’s stuffy and smells of sweat from the press of bodies, but I breathe deep all the same, savoring the filtered air after walking for so long in the Hurston smog. People from ArcCorp, Hurston, Crusader, and even distant microTech have gathered in Lorville today to mix and mingle. A young man with an asymmetrical haircut and vividly-purple reflective sunglasses embraces another man in torn pants and scuffed boots, while at a nearby table three people in high-end suits converse in low voices with a woman in an old set of light armor. Against her hip she holds what appears to be a crumpled plastic bag.
A woman with gunmetal-gray hair spots me and waves me to the bar, where she stands with a glass of whiskey in her hand. I weave my way through the crowd, and when I arrive, she claps me on the back as if we’ve known each other for years.
“Glad you made it,” she says. She lifts one hand to signal the bartender. “Let’s get you a drink.”
This is a meeting of Citizens for Pyro, a concerned group of civilians who have taken it upon themselves to tame the adjoining outlaw system once and for all. What started five years ago as occasional forays into Pyro to hunt down criminals has grown into a full resettlement plan spearheaded by Hartford. A former accountant for Hurston Dynamics, she founded the group after her best friend Kyuwa Endicott was killed near the Pyro-Stanton jump point when a sudden firefight erupted between rival gangs.
“The Advocacy said he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” She shakes her head. “‘Wrong place.’ ‘Wrong time.’ No. You can’t tell me that. He was exactly where he was supposed to be, in the system where he was born, flying the same cargo route he’d flown for eighteen years. They were in the wrong place. Not him.”
The bartender slides me a tepid beer, and I mount one of the rectangular stools at the far end of the bar, close to the booths. Hartford clinks her glass to mine before taking the seat next to me. The hazy red glow of the sign on the wall lights up her hair like a halo.
“They never caught the scum who did it. For a while, I thought I’d try and get revenge, but that petered out when I realized I had zero chance of finding Kyu’s killers in a system so huge and undeveloped. Almost everyone here has the same story.” She waves her glass at the crowd. I hear the clack of billiard balls hitting one another in the basement, just audible over the din of conversation. “They’ve lost family, partners, friends, pets, property – you name it, some outlaw from Pyro has taken it away. We don’t want that to happen to anyone else. The attacks, the raids, the deaths – we’re sick of it all. It has to end. So we’re going to rip the problem out by the roots.”
Hartford tells me that her organization plans to establish a base of operations within Pyro, preferably on Pyro II or Pyro III, within the next five years. There, she says, they will build a community who will provide economic and cultural incentives to keep the system secure. The hope is that eventually companies will be attracted to the system due to the higher safety levels and will establish footholds there, bringing credits and influence that could transform Pyro from a lawless wasteland to a bustling center of new growth. It may take decades, but Hartford believes this will rid Pyro of its criminal infestation once and for all.
“The idea’s simple: There are more of us than there are of them. And the more of us move to Pyro, the less room there’ll be for them.”
The group has recently gained momentum in light of XenoThreat’s repeated attacks on the Stanton system. They’ve also received substantial donations to their cause, and hundreds of new volunteers have joined, many of whom have begun rigorous training regimens to survive on worlds with extreme environments. When I point out how dangerous this will be, Hartford smiles.
“Outlaws have been living there for years in the exact same conditions. Don’t you think it’s time decent people took over instead?”
A cheer erupts from downstairs. Though it couldn’t be for Hartford’s declaration (I would later learn that the Stanton Knights had just won a close game against the Fora Flames), it feels for a moment like an expression of solidarity.
I tell her that I’ll drink to that. It’s a future I’d like to believe in.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
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August is here with this month’s Subscriber offerings; Dashboard Flags for decorating your ship’s dashboard, the Drake Cutlass Steel as Ship of the Month, and the Crusader Ares Ion and Inferno available with enhanced insurance till the end of the month.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
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Attention Subscribers: the July issue of Jump Point is now available in your subscription area. This month features the development of the Siege of Orison Dynamic Event, the story of Maria Pure of Heart, and a Galactapedia covering one of Crusader’s moons, Yela.
Interested in becoming a development subscriber? You can learn more here.
Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and…
