Pregnant Women at War and Other Fun with the 10th Mountain Division

For the first time in a long time that I can remember, New Jessie was completely empty.  It was a good time to restart the sim, so doing that, I had to abandon ship or get caught in the end of the world that would ensue in two minutes.  10th Mountain Division’s Baie Lazare is always a fun place to go for a raid, so I put on a right-handed Operations Glock, which looks pretty good with my suit, and holstered it.  I enjoy getting someone else to start the fight rather than just going in guns blazing, so I walked up to the checkpoint at Baie Lazare.

Two women, TaLanna Jameson and Pandoraearth Mathilde, both soldiers in the 10th Mountain Division greeted me.  Now I am no sexist – I am perfectly fine shooting a man or a woman in the head if it will save my skin and allow me to shoot more people.  But since they asked if I needed any help, and since my gun had been holstered anyway, I figured I would say hello.

I had planned on attacking, but I always feel bad breaking up a lovely conversation for the sake of my own desire to make green (and yellow) dots disappear on the minimap. I was outnumbered anyhow.

Soon enough they told me that they were pregnant – and we had a discussion about women in the military.  TaLanna told me she thought it was ridiculous that women aren’t in militaries, but I told her that I thought the problem was that she had a baby in battle.  I imagine the only situation more dangerous for a baby than a combat zone would be a trip to Planned Parenthood, but that much aside, TaLanna said her twins were doing well.  I could tell – an object she was wearing said as much:

“TaLanna feels more cramps and more aches in HER body as the MICHAEL AND MICHELLE ROMANO grow.”

She went on to tell me that the 10th Mountain Division does not force her to fight while she is pregnant – and that she even has the choice of maternity leave during the course of her pregnancy and for the time immediately after the baby is born too.

It was a very interesting statement about the family environment that has quite literally grown around the group.

TaLanna and Pandoraearth, left and right respectively, tell me about being military mothers to be.

Pandoraearth and TaLanna even told me that during a recent visit to the Chthonic Syndicate at Thorium, they came armed and ready and were asked by a CS soldier whether or not it was okay to shoot them, being pregnant.  Tempted to tell them it was not and then shoot them anyway, they held back from exploiting the opportunity.

Nature soon interjected: “Pandora’s Tummy: YOU smile knowing that the new life within you will be strong and healthy.”

Both of them are in relationships with male superiors in 10th as well, so it would be an interesting question to ask whether or not all women on base would get such treatment – but I imagine they would be friendly about it.  They are a pretty gregarious bunch for the most part.

I really enjoy attacking the 10th Mountain Division because they’ve got a great layout and a simple but fun base, and they are (at least from my experiences) pretty open about what you can use there.  I remember one time not too long ago some of my friends and I hit their base while masquerading as some kind of mix of the Soviet Empire and the Dreamcast game “Skies of Arcadia.”  They made things tough with the amount of firepower they brought to defend themselves.

Our revolutionary cause took far too many balls to the face before we finally infiltrated the 10th Mountain Stronghold.

Note: We are not communists, we just enjoy roleplaying as fools, and you don’t get any more foolish than communism – although fascism is probably tied.

With their explosives making a strong hold of the base's interior difficult, we decided to claim the skies above the base with our glorious worker's ship.

It’s not often in a world of bans that anyone is willing to negotiate surrender.  10th wasn’t ready to give up, but at least they humored our desire for some faux-diplomacy.

Comrade Constantine sits at an oak desk in the ship demanding the surrender of 10th Mountain's Baie Lazare in the name of the glorious revolution, only to be given a shot to the chest, courtesy these soldiers.

I am not sure who won that day, since eventually after four hours of combat I had to go to bed. But 10th Mountain is always a fun place to visit because it’s always changing and it doesn’t take itself too seriously.  Granted, one time I was given three or four guided missiles to the face because the bullets in my assault rifle were deemed “too big,” and the giant flaming red balls are present in nearly every assault in which the member of the group who uses them, Ertys Back, is online.

And so with pregnant women, Soviet spaceships, and bombs full of the brimstone of hell, it’s always an exciting place, and it is a real reprieve from the often times all-too-serious nature of combat in Second Life.

And yeah, a lot of other stuff is going down in combat in Second Life.  A massive battle took place a few days ago in which the Iron Symphony got what may have been the first real challenge as an entire alliance that it’s ever had, with huge battles in Vadoo Reef, Nerva, Titan, Salamis and Badnarik.  Unfortunately, there were a lot of complaints about rampant cheating and griefing during the attack too, and one attacking army withdrew from the coalition because of the behavior of its allies.

Merczateer Officer Blade Syakumi defends Badnarik from his Scimitar in a hail of gunfire, as swarms of invaders meet a human wall of Merczateer defenders.

The attack, organized by Olympus Wycliffe, was certainly nothing less than a feat of organization, but it has also left a bad taste in the mouths of many as well, so we’ll be reporting on the whole story soon enough.

And the day after, a lone Chaos member phys-delinked the entire Echelon Union base in Vadoo Reef.

A picture of Vadoo Reef in the wake of the phys-delinking, or a visual representation of Chaos' public reputation among most groups these days? "We report, you decide."

News in SL combat has been mixed lately, and I figured a short story like this might be a fun reprieve.  We’ll be covering this all and more soon enough, so don’t worry.

So, if you haven’t checked them out, visit 10th Mountain Division in Baie Lazare sometime, with some friends or on your own.  If you can make it past the great balls of fire and the ooing and awwing at the baby’s latest kicks within the womb, it’s usually a great time.

-Caine Constantine

They Hide behind Walls – A commentary on “Fair Combat”

March 21^st, 2009. The Alliance Navy organized an impromptu attack against Sparta. A force of about Six Marines and Two Pilots was organized. The pilots prepared a dropship to ferry the Marines from the hub straight to the Spartan Headquarters. It was it this point the strike force noticed Sparta was already under attack by Chaos, they chose to press on to destroy the Spartan Core anyway, killing any of either group that got in the way. The Strike force managed to destroy the core once, then a second time, then a third, then a fourth. One Marine contacted a ranking Spartan defender:

[2009/03/21 20:49]  Jim Herbst: Did we win yet?

[2009/03/21 20:50]  RoudyRaccoon Hand: you won on the first god dammed time D:<

[2009/03/21 20:52]  Jim Herbst: Alright, we’re pulling out

[2009/03/21 20:52]  Jim Herbst: good fight.

[2009/03/21 20:52]  RoudyRaccoon Hand: ok

[2009/03/21 20:52]  RoudyRaccoon Hand: take care

[2009/03/21 20:53]  Jim Herbst: We appreciate your hostility in this matter.

The Next Day, one of the Marines who participated in the attack returned to Second Chance and was greeted with a different message:

[2009/03/22 17:00]  Bruno Ziskey: If you guys pull another 15 vs 5 defenders like last night, consider your band of merry men and women banned, if you swarm. Follow base rules, we do the same when coming to see you guys.

N.B. – Sparta Rarely if ever attacks the Alliance Navy. There has not been a recorded Sparta attack on Elshout for over a month.

Ignoring the fact the AN fielded only 8 people,  If there is any rule in Second Chance stating that you can not send more people than they have, there is nothing in the hub to indicate this. It is absent from the rules notecard, none of the so-called “Informational pieces” scatted about the hub even hint that there is even such a rule. If it is one of Sparta’s rules, they don’t seem to be very concerned that the attackers, on pain of ban, should be aware of that.

A Former Spartan, when asked on the rule, has this to say:

“It’s just a “Bruno pulls it out of his ass” rule when he wants to and bans invading armies for violating it. So falls under the “Shit you should know” but we aren’t going to provide you with it before you ban you for it.”

The question should be asked if it is really a good idea to place a ban on outnumbering the enemy at the risk of being yet another non-negotiable rule that has the possibility of taking the fun out of SL combat.

Part of the fun of SL Military Combat is the variety and the fact that it is warfare in a persistient world. When the flag has been captured, the game doesn’t end. One does not join a server, pick a team, and play a couple rounds as if it were Unreal Tournament. The Allure of SL Militaries is the fact that things aren’t always going to be fair. The idea of Fair Combat is subjective. What if a group relies on weight of numbers to even the odds in the first place? What if the defenders start logging off, then must the enemy start leaving too?  Nothing is ever truly fair in a place where there are so many variables to how things are made or done. It is this writer’s opinion that we should stop pretending it is.

If you are defending with four friendly soldiers against what seems to be an endless stream of infantry hell bent on defeating you, it is a challenge, not a crime, for them to be fighting you. People have forgotten that having more troops than the enemy in warfare is usually a benefit, not a liability. Groups like Sparta are wielding their ban tools like toys to ensure that they never face odds they don’t find palatable. So long as this behavior continues, landowning groups will focus on banning their enemies instead of improving their ability to repel them. (It would also be prudent to mention that Sparta used to pride itself in facing down numerically superior opposition!)

What this community needs is a return to the attitude where if the enemy attacked your base with 15 people, your group would amass a similar force, bolstering the rosters with allies if necessary, and hit them back the next day. The reason old-time veterans of SL combat reminisce about “the good old days” (2005 – 2007) is not because it was any less laggy or more fun, it was because it was nearly impossible to ban somebody effectively. One group could actually fight another to the point of surrender as surrender was the only option they had to stop the attacks.  If this sort of behaviour is to continue along these lines, nobody will ever win, because the losing team won’t let them.

-Jim Herbst

Just a Little Respect

We have all seen it in the commentary, editorials, manifestos, and proclamations of our fellow residents. The calls for change, the demands for reform, the accusations and complaints; it seems that there is no shortage of opinions and viewpoints within the military community. I count myself among the people who are willing and indeed have put their opinion in the hopes of influencing the discourse and contributing ideas. However, I do not claim to be a source of indisputable wisdom or insight; indeed, few individuals are. It seems that the wisdom that seems most true is often the wisdom that surprises us. Such was the case with an insight granted to me by the simplest of gestures. In a span of just ten words, a fellow resident opened my eyes and allowed me to see, if only for a moment, a glimmer of the potential that I believe that this community has.

“You are a respect person…..we admirate persons like you.”

The words themselves are simple, the grammar is suspect, and the context is mundane. The speaker was a man by the name of “fernando Ryba”, leader of the small Brazilian military known as “CATI”. Many of you who have fought CATI in the past may know them for their eagerness for combat as well as their fondness for Fairlight weaponry. What this simple statement brought to mind, however, was the issue of respect in the military community. To Fernando, I am just a soldier in a military he has often faced on the battlefield. He does not know me personally, and has only met me on the battlefield, our bullets crossing paths on the way to one another. The language barrier between us has limited communication; we have never had an extended conversation or discourse. Yet despite all of this he has, to the best of his ability, communicated that he respects me on a profound level.

This simple statement took me by surprise. What made this particular statement resonate in my mind was the question of what would cause him to express such respect, or rather, the lack of cause. He respected me as a member of the military community who was just doing their job. He neither condemned nor supported in any specific sense the organization whose tag I was wearing. To my knowledge, he and I do not share a common ideology, let alone a common language. He respected me as a fellow member of the military community, and that was all the knowledge he needed.

It is my sincere belief that the respect that Fernando expressed is something that this community needs, if even just one such need of many. I am not insisting that every individual and organization merits your highest respect. What I am instead suggesting is a change in how we view each other. No matter what organization, ideology, or ethical code you stand for, we must all realize that behind every avatar is a person contributing something to the military community. You can scorn the actions of their military and condemn their ideology or practices. The leaders they follow might be hypocrites, idealists, or simply incompetent, but regardless of the flag they carry into battle, they are contributing their ideas, time, and personality to the community. You do not need to agree with what they say or stand for, but at least listen to them. If you feel the need to disagree with them, avoid needlessly antagonizing them while providing your reasons for disagreement in a civil manner. This is what respect is at its most basic level: treating each and every person like a human being. In the end, a little common respect would do nothing but good for this community.

-Scientific Waffle

The Shield Committee – A Call for Military Rebellion

Editor’s Note: I received this notecard individually from Zekeradi Darkstone, someone I’ve never met – but in the belief that they probably wanted me to post this – I am posting this piece because it is among the most interesting and thought-provoking I have ever read. Yes, it has clear biases like any other opinion piece, but it is well-written regardless, and it also has a lot of arguments that I definitely think are worth discussion – and that is what the Journal is all about.

Thank you,
Caine Constantine

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Subject: The Shield Committee
Date: 25th March 2009

Section 1: Introduction.

This is addressed to the general population of military community within Second life.

First, don’t misconceive our tone of writing in this note, we are in no way above you, and in fact, we like to consider ourselves far below you in social rank. We know our place, as the everyman in society. But we would like to present to you, an observation, speak an unspoken fallacy, and hopefully apply a light to some important information.

Section 2: The Shield.

I am sure many of you are aware of the massive political stalemate which has grinded all but the ones who control it, to a halt. The stalemate creates a cloud of unspoken political rules, and speech correctness forcing you to tolerate the arrogance of certain members of the community, out of fear that you will become alienated by the mass opinion and reputation manipulation controlled by the major military faction in question.

At the current time, you rely on each other for moral security, in a community where tensions are high, and anything past ‘fun’ is frowned upon greatly. ‘Fun’ being the mindless battles, where latency leads to crippling battles of boredom and pure endurance – a little more than fun, isn’t it? Because we highly doubt you enjoy the matrix-esc fighting.

Now let’s not forget how you all are forced to bottom feed on even lower military factions, because to attack the major factions would surely be suicide, in all ways, they would infiltrate you, and because you stress like no other, or would they just lag your sim during battle?

But, the major factions, where they are now, would not be there without their past’s. Do you remember the largest wars of drama and conquest, where these major military factions got to where they are today by going past the ‘fun’ and committing the crimes they look down upon today. It’s a strange juxtaposition, but it sure is good at keeping the small factions right in their places.

So if they can do it, why can’t you?

Section 3: The Whisperer.

We personally know of two factions which have your groups infiltrated, and study and collect ‘information’ on you, as people study mere animals (See what I did there?). One group is an overinflated empire of swollen ego and front, which often collapses on itself at the first sign of internal fighting. The other group, a collection of old fools lead by a fallen leader trying to infiltrate each group to destroy you all simultaneously upon their ‘glorious return’.

One is to be taken more seriously than the other, of course, but this poses the question, is your ’security’ really worth being studied like animals, as you sit locked your place. To commanders, is it really worth subjecting your men to what can only be compared to clever mental slavery at the hands of the major faction in question. Will you really sit by and let them patrol over your bases to recruit for their faceless masses of conditioned soldiers, will you really sit by and let them abuse your members privacy for their own desire to exercise a form of control or gain a form of mental superiority over you. (It makes them feel complex and advanced, don’t ask.)

A lot of you won’t. There’s whispers you see, people are angry.

Section 4: The Aspiring.

For those of you who aspire to be more, I salute you.
For through our advancement of knowledge, our willingness to learn, we ascend to greater things. Forgive my complex outlook on something so trivial, but it is true. Through breaking from the chains, and removing ourselves from the subservience of the powerful, we can become stronger individually, and self reliant.

I believe self reliance to be the main reason for a call for rebellion among armies. People want to restore their privacy and pride, to be self reliant, and not to be studied like mere insects by a faction whose leader is far too detached from humanity as it is.

Although my tone is somewhat heavy by this ‘fun only’ restraint, you should consider what was ‘fun only’ when factions which are major today, tore chunks from each other, and went as far as to threaten legal action against each other over petty things – When they produced propaganda media, and put it over the internet, incriminating each other’s names and reputations in an all-out war for supremacy.

The same war they will wage against you if you speak up alone – Or so they’d have you believe.
When in actual fact, you are not alone, not by far.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

What do you think about this call for rebellion?  Is the military establishment really as terrible as described here – or is this mere over exaggeration by someone with an axe to grind?

Please share your thoughts with us by commenting on the article.

-Caine Constantine

The Fearless Five : Total Domination

In times of late, a number of the smaller groups from this community have been playing with fire – facing up to militaries twenty-times their member count, with little hope of a plausable victory. One group with similar prospects is the “Shadow Raiders Tactical Forces” – a coalition of likeminded people, seemingly ripped right out of the mind of Aryte Vesperia, copied poorly, and losely ran by crimson87 Allen.

As of yet, the SRTF have yet to aqquire land, any equipment, or over Five members. The following conversation was leaked by an Informant to this Journal, and has been kindly slapped down here by the usual suspects.

[ This Conversation took place over Windows Live Messanger. Names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent. ]

SRTF GT-2 Master Grand Templar says: Once SRTF gets off and aly with is Im having an operation called Broken Crown

Jessie Informant: Against who, Exactly?

SRTF GT-2 Master Grand Templar says: the name says it all

Jessie Informant: Uhh. “Broken Crown”..?

(*Crimson87 pauses briefly.*)

Jessie Informant: Well, tell me more about this Operation of yours. It sounds intriguing.

SRTF GT-2 Master Grand Templar says: Well its a divide and conquer op. against cw

Jessie Informant: Do you mean C.S?

SRTF GT-2 Master Grand Templar says: No the Commonwealt

Jessie Informant: Ah, I see.

Jessie Informant: So, Sparta and 2142?

Jessie Informant: You aim to destroy The Commonwealth Alliance, and ultimately, the groups within it?

Jessie Informant: Sounds interesting.

SRTF GT-2 Master Grand Templar says: yeah almost fleet and ad will do 2142 and ground will take sparta

SRTF GT-2 Grand Templar says: ultamitly they will have no allies to help thats what i mean by divide and conquer

SRTF GT-2 Grand Templar says: its gonna be like crufix with the start early in the morning

SRTF GT-2 Grand Templar says: this way we can get a grip on the base and hold them from the inisde

Jessie Informant: *Nods* Jessie Informant: It sounds like a well thought out plan. I may Log into SL, to watch your progress.

(Realizing that Allen has finished gloating about his “Master Plan”, the Informant moves on to the SRTF in general, and begins to fish for Information.)

Jessie Informant: So, what are your other plans, concerning the Shadow Raiders Tactical Forces?

Jessie Informant: Do you have any specific long term goals, or plans for any other Military Groups who may have disturbed your flow?

Jessie Informant: well I dopnt know yet\

SRTF GT-2 Grand Templar says: kinda hard to tell right now

Jessie Informant: *Nods*

Jessie Informant: The other day, you mentioned The Dominatium Imperial Forces, and the New Zeridium Colony.

Jessie Informant: Do you have any plans concerning the two groups, or was it just a passing comment?

Jessie Informant: Their new command staff would be somewhat irked if you decided to cross them, so close to their reformation.

SRTF GT-2 Grand Templar says: well they are not a threat right now

Jessie Informant: That is plausable, I guess. However, both have already come into posession of a full Simulator, and are rising steadily to power.

Jessie Informant: However, I take this comment to assume that your statement from the previous day was indeed a passing remark.

SRTF GT-2 Grand Templar says: Well I standby all IS diplomacy stadards, in light of silverstar they seriously fucked up and dont know what the hell they were thinking trying to declare war on factions that have 3times more people then they do

Jessie Informant: Some would say that that is what you are trying to do, concerning the Commonwealth.

Jessie Informant: After all, it’s exceptionally easy to talk the talk, but you have yet to walk the walk.

SRTF GT-2 Grand Templar says: true

SRTF GT-2 Grand Templar says: i want only what is best for the group I love.

SRTF GT-2 Grand Templar says: yes i know spoken like a true leader

Jessie Informant: Spoken like a “true leader”, Crimson?

SRTF GT-2 Grand Templar says: I know “true leader”

Jessie Informant: Ah, I see.

Jessie Informant: Well, you have my thanks, for sparing your time.

Jessie Informant: The Best of luck, with the SRTF.

SRTF GT-2 Grand Templar says: Thanks Ending on a note of self-praise.

Allen exited the unwitting interview, in happy ignorance. So, what’s your take on all of this? Will the SRTF be the *One* to topple The Commonwealth? Are they hiding something about their intentions towards the Dominatium Imperial Forces and the New Zeridium Colony? Only time will tell. In the meantime, if you’re in 2142 or Sparta, you ought you ought to watch your backs. A re-enactment of Crucifix, with members reaching into single figures.

Be afraid.

Very, very afraid.

Written by Red Solution.

The Siberian Military District – A New Army Rises

After being in just about every army on the grid, I decided it was time to attempt to form my own, based upon the principles of each of the armies I’d seen that made them successful.  I believed that the way the Merczateers, for instance, rather than putting ranks in the actual groups themselves, have seperate arm pieces for each rank, was both efficient and easy.  I also liked the way that Aryte, the leader of Ordo Imperialis, seemed to leave the work to his members, instead of doing everything himself.  I liked how AN seemed to me to look more like a infrastructure than just a military.

Siberia stands strong.

I made these into the SMD.

The SMD stands for SIBERIAN MILITARY DISTRICT.

It is based upon a real life military in Siberia.

We pride ourselves upon use of skill and numbers to defeat our enemies.  Our infrastructure staff are top-notch, seasoned members.  We have a strong government, as well as military force.

Our sim is Diamanta Island.

We’d be happy to see you.

-Vinzenz Fiertze

Dominatium and the Unity Coalition – A New Beginning

In the wake of the Journal’s last article on the Dominatium, controversy ensued and it seemed as though the group had dropped off the radar for a while.  But it seems that the Dominatium is back once again and we were able to obtain an exclusive interview with their leader, Amory Gears.

Olympia Exonar: Mr Gears, thank you for granting me an interview. It was quite difficult to obtain any information about the Dominatium, I must say.
Amory Gears: Well, I prefer to control myself any information that comes out of the Dominatium for only I can express the true opinion of our Regime and administration.

"Serve the Tyrant, Create Order, Further Progress" - Dominatium leader Amory Gears

Olympia Exonar: Of course. Now let me ask you some questions.  Will you maintain your announced anti-Iron Symphony policy ?
Amory Gears: We will indeed, and are determined to ensure the growth of the Unity Coalition and its development into a gridwide opposition force.

A view of the Dominatium base, still closed to the public

Olympia Exonar: There are rumors saying that when you declared war upon most IS factions you did not declare war on Militant Collective. Is that true ? And if yes, why ?
Amory Gears: Unlike other factions within the Iron Symphony which immediately accused us and/or removed us from the concerned groups without asking, without questioning, only believing what had been said in an article written by Roo Tenk himself, Militant Collective remained neutral. They never commented on what the IS calls “Operation Silverstar”. Instead they stood more as neutral observers, than as participants of the conspiracy against us and our Regime. I like MC, I really do. Sometimes I wonder why they are still part of the Iron Symphony while they could achieve far more without their corrupted allies.

Olympia Exonar: Allright, so how is the Dominatium right now ?
Amory Gears: Well, we re-organized our groups, introduced a new rank system and are currently working on a new range of equipment for our division “Dominatium | Air” which is the main attack force of our Regime.

Olympia Exonar: What kind of equipment ?
Amory Gears: Ah, well, the Aurora, our legendary fighter is getting a new look and some new, more efficient scripts. Other vehicles and weapons are also under constructions but I won’t tell you more right now.

Another view of the Dominatium base

Olympia Exonar: Ok, Okay. So, please tell me more about UC, the Unity Coalition. What is it exactly ?
Amory Gears: The Unity Coalition is a treaty, a covenant signed by other militaries which are determined to fight on our side against the Iron Symphony. In exchange for their support, we provide them with equipment and sometimes even funding.

Olympia Exonar: How will the UC be administrated ?
Amory Gears: Well, for each faction a representative is appointed. All Representatives are to attend to a monthly meeting where we decide upon new policies, joint operations and provide help to smaller militaries.

Olympia Exonar: Sounds like the Sovereign Regime.
Amory Gears: Perhaps. We have different aims and work in a different way however.

Olympia Exonar: So, how does a faction join the Unity Coalition ?
Amory Gears: That’s simple, all they have to do is fill in an application form, immediately after an application form has been submitted, all faction leaders within the Coalition are asked whether they agree with this factions entry or not. Absolute Majority is required to join. This means that all factions within the UC must approve the newcomer.

Olympia Exonar: Interesting! Well, thanks Mr Gears, please let me know when i can come and visit your sim once it is finished.
Amory Gears: Of course, and you are welcome.

Shortly after this interview however, new information regarding former Dominatium official and current advisor to the group, Herbert Feldmann began to surface.  Though no longer officially a member of the Dominatium, he does still advise the leadership on an unofficial basis, and he is a founding member of the Unity Coalition.  And apparently he’s already got big plans, and is looking for allies to help further them.  In a conversation he sent us snapshots of to prove, Tristan Blazer, leader of the Republic of Germany, was solicited to break up the Iron Symphony with personal slanders against one of its leaders.

Herbert Feldmann: Within one year Aryte will cry like a little girl and you shall bitch slap him
Herbert Feldmann: Tristan
Herbert Feldmann: We will crush them
Herbert Feldmann: But it will take time to anihilate them completely
Herbert Feldmann: First of all we must break the Iron Symphony
Herbert Feldmann: Make them leave the Alliance and declare war upon the Merczateers

Tristan Blazer: We’re a match for the Mercz and ordo
Tristan Blazer: one on one

Herbert Feldmann: Break the Symphony

Tristan Blazer: Shit…that’ll be hard as fuck

Herbert Feldmann: Find compromising stuff about Aryte

Tristan Blazer: aryte is pretty much sucking lurdan’s cock

Herbert Feldmann: And I WILL GET IT PUBLISHED
Herbert Feldmann: Find compromising stuff about him
Herbert Feldmann: Even fake
Herbert Feldmann: As long as it seems real
Herbert Feldmann: I will get it published
Herbert Feldmann: I know a reporter who owes me a favour
Herbert Feldmann: In the Jessie Journal

Tristan Blazer: I will not resort to blackmail and lying.

Herbert Feldmann: Tristan
Herbert Feldmann: We are at war
Herbert Feldmann: They would not hesitate to stab you in the back would they?
Herbert Feldmann: Find something
Herbert Feldmann: Something compromising

Tristan Blazer: under attack by Sparta
Tristan Blazer: must fight

Herbert Feldmann: You have 5 days.

Mr. Feldmann apparently has plans to use this very Journal to break up the Iron Symphony.  And while we’re still wondering who it is on our staff that “owes him a favor” it’s more likely that the answer is that nobody does and he’s bluffing.  We soon talked to him about the issues at hand.

Caine Constantine: Hey Herbert, what do you think of this conversation I heard about you trying to compromise Aryte Vesperia?

Herbert Feldmann: Aryte doesn’t need me for that. He allready does enough things that can be considered to be “unlawful”. Besides i have no clue what you are talking about.

Soon after this, Olympia Exonar – who went to talk to Dominatium in the first place about legitimate military issues, rather than a plan about destroying someone’s reputation – was the subject of Mr. Feldmann’s response.  Olympia details what he had said to her – apparently involving attacks on her for an article of the past that she’d had nothing to do with.

Herbert Feldmann: I don’t know what you are trying to do Olympia but I know you are faking chat logs, not just you, [but] generally people who work for the Jessie Journal [as well]. First of all you started by publishing an article which nearly destroyed our reputation, an article based on lies, lies given to you by Roo Tenk and his friends and now people are contacting me and asking if i am involved in another conspiracy against Aryte. I dare you, if you publish any fake conversation, i will report you for difamation.

Olympia Exonar: What are you talking about Herbert?

Herbert Feldmann: Since the publication of your stupid article I am being daily harassed by Echelon members, I tried to leave the political life and wanted to stand there merely as an observer but even that is not possible. I am still being harassed and all this is your fault, because you and the Jessie Journal published chat logs without even verifying their authenticity.

Olympia Exonar: Listen, I didn’t write this article. If you have a problem, you should contact Metallicoe or Caine.

And so while he’s no longer part of the Dominatium or it’s ambitious new alliance, Mr. Feldman is still out there looking to clear his name.  He even sent us a completely convincing letter that was no doubt at all written by Echelon leader Roo Tenk – who we at the Journal are in the service of in exchange for lots of money, of course.

“We have successfully driven the Dominatium out of the Iron Symphony, now we must hold our blocade against SCS and get them out on a more lawful way. Our allies will support us, we only need to convince them to leave. Keep me informed about the progress of our operation.

~Roo”

It was, in a way, rather sad that Mr. Feldmann continued trying to change the history of his actions with such a poorly written letter.  After taking all of this in, I decided to talk to Tristan Blazer about what he thought of the attempt by Mr. Feldmann to draw him into a conspiracy to frame the Ordo Imperator and get him ejected from the Iron Symphony.

Caine Constantine: Hey Tristan, how’s it going?  Do you have a minute?
Tristan Blazer: Yeah, sure.

Caine Constantine: Did Herbert come to you with a conversation about destroying the I.S.?
Tristan Blazer: Actually, yes. Why?

Caine Constantine: I was wondering if you could authenticate the one I just received.
Tristan Blazer: Maybe.
Tristan Blazer: Got 10l?
Tristan Blazer: i’ll snapshot it
Tristan Blazer:lol

The conversation in the image is courtesy Tristan Blazer

Caine Constantine: Thank you Tristan, I appreciate it.  What do you think of all of this by the way?
Tristan Blazer: Don’t know, I think it was a dishonorable suggestion that I attempt to blackmail a fellow leader by such means. I regret having the conversation with him.
Tristan Blazer: I will not engage in such activities that I deem below my standing.

Caine Constantine: I can understand that.  Thank you for talking to me Tristan, I appreciate it.
Tristan Blazer: Aye, no problem.

I then talked to Amory Gears, the leader of the Dominatium, to see what his thoughts on Mr. Feldmann’s comments were.

Amory Gears: How can I help you ?
Caine Constantine: Hey Amory, I got a log from the RoG about an attempt to form a new alliance against the I.S. and was wondering if you could vouch for it.

Caine Constantine: Lemme send it by if you have time?
Amory Gears: RoG is trying to apply to the Unity Coalition, but their application will be denied until they remove certain people from their High Command. I don’t think anything will change though.
Amory Gears: I also discussed the purpose of the UC with Mrs Exonar, earlier today.

Caine Constantine: Yeah
Caine Constantine: We’re putting that out soon, we just wanted to get your thoughts on what the Germans said you’re doing
Amory Gears: Feldmann is no longer an official member of the Dominatium, he only retains a honorific rank.

Caine Constantine: Ahh okay.
Caine Constantine: So this is him personally then, not Dominatium or anything.
Amory Gears: I don’t care what he says or does, it doesn’t represent the thoughts of the Dominatium.

Caine Constantine: And he’s only an honorific in the new Unity Coalition too?
Amory Gears: No, we formed the Unity Coalition in an effort to challenge the IS but we are not as radical as Mr Feldmann.

Caine Constantine: Ahh okay, so he doesn’t speak for either group?
Amory Gears: Feldmann wrote the Unity Treaty, the fact that he is in the UC group doesn’t matter, he doesn’t have a say in how things are administrated. You may see him as an advisor of Dominatium | Control but in no way as a part of it.

Caine Constantine: Got it.
Caine Constantine: I thought this would be the case, I just wanted to make sure, I appreciate the clarification Amory.
Caine Constantine: I wanted to make sure if he’s separate, people see him that way, because like you said, he can be kind of radical.
Amory Gears: Indeed. Anything else Mr Constantine ?

Caine Constantine: Any word on when your sim will be open?
Amory Gears: No. You will be first to hear about it though.
Caine Constantine: Great, I appreciate it Mr. Gears.

Tristan Blazer, for his part, denies any intention to join the Unity Coalition completely.

And so the Dominatium is back, and they say they want to crush the Iron Symphony.  Members of the Dominatium say that this is a form of roleplay though and that the group is interested only in fair combat, with words like crush and destroy being part of the roleplay – contrary to land theft or group ejections and the like.

Will the Unity Coalition become a major alliance as the Sovereign Regime once was – providing soldiers, technology and funding to allies in need of defense?

It would seem that, instead of the Iron Symphony or the Jessie War Journal, the biggest threat to the vibrancy of the Dominatium and the Unity Coalition is the attempt by some of its former members to stir up military drama and slander the leaders of other militaries.

In any event, if the group can assemble a number of allies together and form a bloc with which to fight the Iron Symphony, there might be at least a credible challenger to the alliance – which now stands without any enemies capable of countering it as a whole.

We shall see more developments in the coming months, so please comment and give your thoughts on this new alliance in the making.

-Olympia Exonar and Caine Constantine

Combat 101: An introduction.

Dear Readers,

While this upcoming series may cause discretion and criticism; it was not intended to. This series is, in actuality, intended to assist and aid new fighters, or even the experienced alike; on how Second Life combat works – a survival guide, if you will, and if the pun permits. As much as criticism will be easy to pick, we hope you’ll add in your views, tips and all else in the comments of each volume in the series.

Combat 101 is an upcoming series chronicling Second Life combat. It is to provide tips, information, history and show only a small portion of what the community has to offer. From fighting, to flying, to rules, to treaties, to militaries past and present, and to figures that have made it big in the community. We want to include it all.

If you’d consider yourself knowledgable on anything in the community, please do contact us so we can include your tips and information. While my own methods of combat and understanding may be lacking, more experienced individuals unlike myself can input their own into this series – think of it as a communities guide.

Regards,

Metallicoe

“FOUR MORE YEARS!” A Celebration of the Alliance Navy

On Sunday the 15th of March, 2009, the oldest military group in Second Life gets even older. The Alliance Navy celebrates it’s fourth birthday in Elshout with all manner of festivities and events. Everyone is invited to celebrate the founding of the Alliance Navy on the grounds of the current AN Headquarters.

Many influential figures in the SL Military environment got their start with the AN. Commanders, Officers, and Generals of all stripes have served in the AN. Some groups owe their very existence to the them for good or ill. Others can attribute their success or failures to the intervention of the Alliance Navy, those who have never been properly acquainted with the Alliance Navy are to this day few and far between.

The AN has carried on where so many have failed. Persevered when many declared it dead or out for the count, has regularly stood up and performed feats deemed impossible. We here at the Jessie War Journal believe that this organization deserves recognition for this day and what it means. And so today, we devote an article to the people of the Alliance Navy, to share their experiences in and around the group past and present.

(Click the title to read the whole article.)

A Story About “Community”

There is a feeling among many in conventional combat on the grid that there is a combat community who shares common interests and should someday share common ideals in terms of how fair combat and fair treatment of others should be conducted.

This is the story of how, in zealous pursuit of this community of ideals, those ideals were completely forgotten, and then remembered once again.

-Caine Constantine

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The Chaos Factor

The tale begins with Dark Svenska, who could stand a lesson in public relations.  He’s got a history of coming across as a real jerk, and I only say this in the utmost belief that he’d probably agree.  He started a group called Chaos, with a history of its own involving the crucifixion of furries and other people Dark thought undesirable.

Takkun Gray: I thought Chaos was a military based on hate? -picks his teeth-
Dark Svenska: It is.

Dark was not, at least at first, particularly friendly towards the idea that behind every avatar, there’s a human being.

Dark Svenska: And dont butter me with that crap [about real people]. Chaos does not follow that crap about real people behind the screen. In a virtual world there are no laws of reality.

In other words, if someone gets in your way while you’re playing the game, why not just stomp them?  If they’re really upset about it they are probably just taking things too seriously.

And in these pursuits, the first incarnation of Chaos was largely hated or ignored, depending on who you asked about the subject.  The group disappeared for a while, as it had never quite got off the ground as an armed force and was without land.  Trolling was probably it’s biggest activity, and it’s proudest homegrown creation probably the imfamous “Aryte crucifix.”  There really was not much to show for it.

It made a resurgence a couple of months ago though, and it seemed to be a different beast entirely.  Dark was still in charge, but had surrounded himself with a group of people who were, while as imperfect as anyone else, fairly promising.  They were pretty good combatants, raiding sims regularly and doing a good job of holding on to New Jessie until a successful foray by the Merczateers forced them out.

They had even begun to try to reach out to other groups diplomatically, although Dark was not much of an ambassador.  He probably knew this though and so he picked one of his more promising members, Tyenshinsi Takaaki, to serve the role as liason to the Iron Symphony, who could be fittingly described as a collection of the staunchest opponents of Chaos.

And for good reason.  The new Chaos was still not particularly friendly.  A head on a pike was still greeting anyone entering their temporary home in Volsk, and they were still engaging in cheap tricks or asymmetrical warfare, depending on your perspective.  The new Chaos, probably banned from Ordo Imperialis sims for their previous antics, spent much of its time in small raids against the Merczateers.

They spent a lot of their time planning attacks that were aimed at creating trouble rather than simply engaging in combat.  I recall that during my building of the New Jessie “Mega Drama Room” I could hear some of them on voice talking about how much fun it would be to sneak into Badnarik and blow up a classroom full of E-1’s, and apparently they tried at least a few times to do this.

Chaos had some fair luck in beating up on lower and middle-tier groups, but in probably the greatest off-combat success the group did have, it temporarily convinced five Merczateers to leave the group after claiming that the weapons and items used by the Merczateers were unfair and that the group was generally unresponsive to the needs of its people.

Clearly, Dark’s group was creating a problem for the Merczateers, and was of course still despised by their Ordo Imperialis allies.  What would the fallout be?

——————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Patience Worn Thin

Combat on the grid has never been particularly gentlemanly.

Despite the attempts of people to clean it up and civilize it, it’s still as lawless an enterprise as it ever was.  The difference of course, is that many groups have adopted voluntary standards of combat by which to honor, in the hopes of improving things for everyone.

The Iron Symphony alliance has been one of the most forward thinking in putting forth a set of guidelines to fight by, not in terms of weapon specifications, but in terms of ethical expectations.  Naturally then, the response to the Chaos problem would follow these guidelines.  After all, the I.S. had already had previous experience with a much larger and more threatening supposedly “deviant” group in the form of Christoph Naumova’s Vanguard Armed Forces and had ended the problem by simply blockading and ignoring the group.  Why would they need to do anything particularly different to a group of perhaps 25 active members when a group ten times that size – Vanguard – had quietly faded away?

Chaos was not particularly strong militarily, either.  After about a week or two of Chaos soldiers holding New Jessie on and off, a single massive Merczateers raid had so badly destroyed their position in the region that they were told through group notices to, for the most part, stay out of the area.  Even now, their numbers have still not picked up in the sim.

For some reason though, Chaos was singled out for offensive action rather than simple isolation.  What seemed to spark the event was Dark’s successful attempt to get five of the nearly 400 Merczateers to leave the group.  Though they eventually rejoined, this – along with endless raids by unarmed Chaos who thought it was funny to attack after approaching Merczateers checkpoints unarmed – was apparently proof enough that Chaos was a threat that could not simply be ignored through massive blockades.  The fact that Chaos soldiers were encouraged to hide their groups and tags probably made banning them even more difficult to boot.

Some Chaos had been very open-minded and were eager to improve their group’s reputation, however, with Tyenshinsi Takaaki foremost among them.  But the problems still persisted.

I had been talking to Merczateer Marshal Anthony Lehane, a very patient leader, about the Chaos raids on their sims.  He had been rather indifferent about it at first, but as Chaos continued to attack underhandedly, eventually the Merczateers – who had originally even refused to put KOS orders on known Chaos members – began to reverse course.  Though very understandable in itself, it was nevertheless the first step to what became a very unfortunate string of events.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Retribution

I.S. leaders had at some point decided that the actions of Chaos had to be stopped somehow.  Though the groups rarely fought on the battlefield, Ordo had not lost interest in Chaos, and somehow they had convinced a high-ranking Chaos member to betray the group.  Though the identity of the traitor is probably known to me, I could not find proof beyond a doubt and, seeing as how the turncoat’s identity is not particularly important to the story anyway, it will not be revealed.

What is known is the person the spy had been working for.  Aryte Vesperia, Ordo Imperator, was invited into the Chaos land group, and in an appeal to the sense of “community” our story is focused on, he sent the members of the Chaos group the following message:

“The foundation of our collective is that of cooperation, respect, and the sentiments of mutuality. Chaos is, alas, simply a personification of Dark’s malice and a tool for his personal entertainment. These antics of hate are reminiscent to an era we’ve been fighting to be long rid of. A flawed mindset of uncaring, “for the lulz” quasi-griefing that plagued our community years ago.  I implore you all: find a new group.”

Soon after receiving this message, however, group members soon received another:

You have been ejected from ‘The Chaos Decretum – Land Managment’ by Aryte Vesperia.

About 20 members were ejected from the group.  As soon as I heard about the event, I asked Dark Svenska about what had just happened to his group.

Caine Constantine: Hey Dark?
Caine Constantine: I just heard Aryte got access into your land group and ejected everyone?
Dark Svenska: Yeah.
Dark Svenska: And Aryte said that I.S. was the fallback of it. Someone offered I.S. [an invite] and Aryte decided to do it amongs’t the leaders. Which I don’t think is true considering I think Aryte just used the I.S. as a poor excuse for his own actions.

Caine Constantine: The Merczateers would not have done that.
Dark Svenska: But would Mercz allow it?
Dark Svenska: It only proves the hypocrisy of IS and its groups.
Dark Svenska: But who cares, it was a land group.

Caine Constantine: But he destroyed a group, or tried to.
Dark Svenska: Aryte is once again being a hypocrite.

Caine Constantine: So he sends the message, and then he ejects you guys?
Dark Svenska: No, he ejected beforehand.

Caine Constantine: Oh that’s odd, why’d he send the message, if nobody was in the group?
Dark Svenska: He’s stupid?  This is what Ordo is, Caine.  And Mercz refuse to take any action.

Caine Constantine: Did you talk to them?
Dark Svenska: You know what keeps Ordo and Mercz together?  The High Command. If the grunts revolted along with the S-enlisted and etc., things could change.
Dark Svenska: And no, I did not.
Dark Svenska: I refuse to talk to Is leaders because all I will get is opinions about me that I dont care about.
Dark Svenska: If all I am going to get is comparisons to Christoph, false copybotting accusations, and opinions about me that are old news, I don’t bother with it.

It was after Dark brought Christoph up that I realized something.  What Aryte had done was a lighter version of essentially what Christoph had done to the Merczateers a few years back, when Christoph, an ex-Merczateer, had ejected dozens of Merczateers from the group in a final fit of fury as he left the group.  It was his attempt to destroy the group.  The difference of course is that Christoph would, quite admittedly no less, be very proud of destroying a group, while the I.S. purports to be past such things.

Caine Constantine: Funny…Aryte kind of did to you what Christoph did to the Merczateers.
Dark Svenska: Let me just say this Caine: The community has been taken over by the emo kids. And it has gotten out of hand. Whether it be Alliance Navy or any other group [who can stop it], it needs to be stopped.

But what did the Ordo Imperator who had actually done all of this think?

——————————————————————————————————————————————————–

“Wait a second, isn’t this a double standard?”

Soon after I had talked to Dark, Aryte contacted me once word had gotten out that I planned to write something up for the Journal about the whole incident.

Aryte Vesperia: Good evening Caine.
Caine Constantine: hey Aryte, how’s it going?

Aryte Vesperia: Goes all right! The same old, really. Juggling a billion things at once, haha. You?
Caine Constantine: Oh yeah I can imagine.
Caine Constantine: I am not too bad, just ignoring the billion things at once going down here.

Aryte Vesperia: Ha ha ha.
Aryte Vesperia: Good to hear.
Aryte Vesperia: I understand you’re writing an article?
Caine Constantine: Yeah I may be, need to get all the information first.
Caine Constantine: About your joining Chaos and sending a message and ejecting them and all.

Aryte Vesperia: Would you like my comments about it?
Caine Constantine: Definitely

Aryte Vesperia: Care if I ramble, or did you have questions?
Caine Constantine: Ramble away, haha.

Aryte Vesperia: I can do that!  From the outside, as a third party, I have no doubt your prevailng question goes something along the lines of: wait a second, isn’t this a double standard? What gives the Iron Symphony the right to pull something like this?

To begin. This has nothing to do with possessing the right to do anything. There’s no “if, then” or “under these circumstances” involved.

Chaos Imperialis, Chaos Decretum– however you care to tag it, underlines a strong aversion to any progress or development in the military community. The very idea of “Chaos” began as a collection of Dark Svenska’s “buddies” setting up a plot across from the Titan Industries store. Upon which, my image was erected and crucified.

Chaos was and is nothing more than a gathering of malcontents, bent on malice and intolerance. By Dark Svenska’s own admission, he does not recognize humanity or the individual. It’s just “for the lulz.” That is his grand excuse for being blatantly despicable; his excuse to attack an individual as personally and close to home as manageable.

Straight from the doctrine of the Iron Symphony: “The core belief of the Iron Symphony is that fundamentally, all military groups belong to a family of sorts.”

At no time has Dark Svenska cared to partake in the communal family. He has purposely aimed at harming it. He drew first blood and made his intentions clear:

“Dark Svenska: …Most of all: the conquest of other groups who don’t belong…Groups who basically just need to be disbanded. Like Ordo.  “Groups who basically just need to be disbanded.”

For the sake of not only the Iron Symphony, but the community at large, Chaos Decretum–or whatever guise Dark Svenska cares to champion–cannot be tolerated.

What I did was not something I particularly enjoyed. The opportunity was provided to us by a series of individuals who had become jaded with Dark’s antics.

We, and I do mean we–this is not “the Ordo,” but a joint effort–took the opportunity to reach out to his group at large. Upon being invited, a notice was sent out to the Chaos Decretum:

“The foundation of our collective is that of cooperation, respect, and the sentiments of mutuality. Chaos is, alas, simply a personification of Dark’s malice and a tool for his personal entertainment. These antics of hate are reminiscent to an era we’ve been fighting to be long rid of. A flawed mindset of uncaring, “for the lulz” quasi-griefing that plagued our community years ago. I implore you all: find a new group.”

Yes. Hard line and purposely so. We don’t intend to bow or complacently pat Dark between the ears while he flails around making claims of “destroying” what we stand for.

Was it the best choice? Probably not. But our biggest error would have been doing nothing at all.

So frankly, if it means putting a stop or even a momentary pause in Dark’s intentions: we’ll happily take the flack, for the better of everyone.

Keep in mind, if at any point we intended to hide or make this an act of subterfuge: it’d of only taken fifteen seconds for one of us to have logged onto an obscure alternate. We did this standing up, with full intent of addressing it.

Aryte Vesperia: That’d be about it, unless you have any questions.
Caine Constantine: Thank you
Caine Constantine: So then the people who invited you were native Chaos?

Aryte Vesperia: They were.
Caine Constantine: You apparently also got into the main Chaos group, right?
Aryte Vesperia: The main and land group.

Caine Constantine: Were you able to send notices or eject from the main group?
Aryte Vesperia: No.

Caine Constantine: Does this incident essentially say that those groups who consider themselves separate from the combat community are open to treatment outside of the bounds of the Iron Symphony?
Aryte Vesperia: Not at all. Only those who consider themselves designed and existing only to “destroy.”

Caine Constantine: Thank you very much for the time and information Aryte, I appreciate it.  Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Aryte Vesperia: No, thank you very much.
Caine Constantine: Have a good night.
Aryte Vesperia: You too!

Aryte’s conscience was certainly clear.  And if someone put my head on a pike, I’d probably mess them up too.  Dark once called me a “greedy bitch” a few weeks ago while he was renting my sim, Volsk, because someone else had rented it from me and because Chaos, whose “contract” there had expired, would have to move.  So in response, I opened up the previously closed sim, turned on damage, and let the I.S. have their violent revenge against him and Chaos.

And so, I certainly was not one to pass judgment on Aryte’s actions, although my actions hadn’t caused much damage and everyone seemed to enjoy the fight that day other than Dark.

What was interesting however is that the I.S. has a code of conduct that expressly looks down on such operations.  As it says, “Soldiers and commanders alike should constantly ask themselves, “How would I feel if my enemy did this to me?”

So how would the Merczateers – who had actually had a similar thing done to them in the past anyway – feel?  I decided to ask Merczateer Marshal Lurdan Huszar about this.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Protecting Progress

Luckily though, before I could talk to Lurdan though, he contacted me, as word had gotten out that I was writing about the incident.

Lurdan Huszar: Caine, we need to talk about what happened with Chaos before any articles are posted about it.
Caine Constantine: Hey Lurdan, what happened with Chaos?

Lurdan Huszar: I’m sure they’ve started complaining about what Aryte did, right?
Lurdan Huszar: And furiously accusing us of hypocrisy?

Caine Constantine: Well if he joined their group to expel their members and you guys said that’s okay
Caine Constantine: it DID remind me of Christoph

Lurdan Huszar: It was mainly to deliver the notice.
Caine Constantine: But he also ejected a bunch of people.

Lurdan Huszar: Yeah, which I sort of regret, but I’ll still stand behind.
Lurdan Huszar: Allow me to explain.
Lurdan Huszar: This is a group that has stated clearly that it wishes to cause real harm to us, on many different levels.
Lurdan Huszar: A group that threatens to reverse the progress of the Iron Symphony.

Lurdan Huszar: I’ll show some examples..
Caine Constantine: I appreciate that
Caine Constantine: but basically the whole point is, it’s okay to treat them in ways against the I.S. Charter and even similar to Christoph, if it will further the interests of the group.
Caine Constantine: I can understand Chaos and Dark are trouble, but it’s seeming like a double standard.

Lurdan Huszar: Interests is a bit broad.
Lurdan Huszar: Dark Svenska: …Most of all: the conquest of other groups who dont belong..
Dark Svenska: Groups who basically just need to be disbanded. Like Ordo.
Caine Constantine: Yeah I agree that Dark is trouble.  I think he probably would even agree.

Lurdan Huszar: Caine, Chaos has been actively attempting to damage our group, and has had success, although very limited.
Lurdan Huszar: He’s stolen five members with lies and deception.

Caine Constantine: I would have done the same thing you guys did.  But I don’t have a charter that decries stuff like that.

Caine Constantine: I think it’s okay to play rough with bad people, but just a week ago, we got this charter about being fair to all and treating everyone the same and all, and meanwhile what it really seems like is that it’s pick and choose here and in fact what it seems like more specifically is that there’s an I.S. and that there’s separate rules for Ordo.

Caine Constantine: I am not planning to write any of this in an opinion piece or whatnot, I just wanted to point out what I think is interesting about it.  All we were going to do is write what happened and then get the responses of the leaders of the groups involved.

Caine Constantine: I don’t want to sound like I am trying to lecture or anything, I am really not.  I just hope that the good ideals you have all put forth are not being lost for the sake of a single member group.

Note: Up to this point – I had thought it was only Ordo involved in this incident, and so I had figured what was going on was simply the Merczateers overlooking or ignoring something their allies had done.  But as Lurdan soon explained, it was a joint operation.

Lurdan Huszar: Ordo wasn’t entirely behind this incident, nor the events in the final days of Vanguard, so no, there aren’t seperate rules for Ordo.
Lurdan Huszar: I believe that if a group is attacking those good ideals and is threatening real harm to our groups, we can’t just watch.

Caine Constantine: I can understand that, but I don’t think that’s what’s been said though publicly
Caine Constantine: And I understand all this – if I was you, I’d have wiped out Chaos the same way, as you could see when I opened up the sim because Dark merely called me a name.
Caine Constantine: But on the other hand if you criticize someone like Christoph for saying he’s destroying groups, and then Aryte joins a group to eject a bunch of people, which is as close to actually destroying a group as you can get.  I think that while you can’t compare the two overall it’s hard to make that okay.

Lurdan Huszar: True, and I really do wish we only sent the notice.
Lurdan Huszar: By the way, I believe I did make public what we did yesterday to some degree.
Lurdan Huszar: During a speech I made a few months ago I mentioned that if malicious groups like Vanguard returned to threaten us again, we’d defeat them again.
Lurdan Huszar: A good deal of IS personnel read that speech

It was here that Lurdan explained that Vanguard had not simply dismantled, but that it had in fact been essentially destroyed as a group by the Iron Symphony.

Caine Constantine: Well…defeated?
Lurdan Huszar: As in, dismantled.
Caine Constantine: I thought Christoph took his toys and went home cause he didn’t like the way it was going and his spouse asked him to stop
Lurdan Huszar: The latter was a total lie.  The Ordo managed to get the majority of VGHC to defect.  The video helped lift the enlisted base out as well I believe.
Lurdan Huszar: Christoph simply had nothing left to work with.  So a day later, he threw in the towel.
Lurdan Huszar: Vanguard certainly didn’t just go away by itself.
Lurdan Huszar: And so, members of Vanguard found better groups to spend time in, just like we wanted.
Lurdan Huszar: It’s a similar situation with Chaos, Dark has just mislead a group of people with lies and deception.
Lurdan Huszar: That’s why in the notice Aryte sent we attempted to make a case against Chaos and asked them to find better groups.
Lurdan Huszar: That was the main focus, getting the notice out.
Lurdan Huszar: The ejections were unecessary and are really going to give us a headache.

Caine Constantine: Yeah that is understandable, I am just glad you weren’t agreeing with the ejections.
Caine Constantine: I mean I’d have done them myself if someone crucified me regularly, so I understand them doing it.  I just wouldn’t have understood if you who had a similar experience would have supported it
Caine Constantine: But thank you very much for talking to me about it
Lurdan Huszar: No problem.

At this point, I had been thinking about everything I had heard so far.  Dark and Chaos had been wronged, but hadn’t he and his group been out to do harm the whole time?  After all, wasn’t it as Dark once said a virtual world with no rules?

Then again, is it worse to be an internetz anarchist, or to set forth rules and principles for everyone but yourself to live by?  And considering it can be the difference between equal treatment and swift group destruction, who gets to determine who is inside of this “community” and who is outside of it anyway?

But these questions were soon overshadowed by what came out next.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————–

“It needed to happen…”

I was welcoming Tyenshinsi Takaaki to New Jessie for the day when what I thought had been a story that was finished and done for took a turn for the worse.

Caine Constantine: Hey Tyen, how’s it going?
Tyenshinsi Takaaki: Not that good, But could be worse.
Caine Constantine: Why bad?
Tyenshinsi Takaaki: Ordo ruined my sl military career.
Caine Constantine: I was about to ask you about that.  I heard you invited Aryte into Chaos.
Tyenshinsi Takaaki: Yea, was framed.  Sad that everyone ate it up like candy.
Caine Constantine: Who did it?
Tyenshinsi Takaaki: Don’t know.
Tyenshinsi Takaaki: After all I’ve done for Chaos its shocking.
Caine Constantine: So you mean to say Ordo then put the blame on you?
Tyenshinsi Takaaki: You got the notecard?
Caine Constantine: What notecard?

What followed was a faked conversation the Iron Symphony had put together trying to make Tyenshinsi – who had been the Chaos member most interested in reforming the group and befriending the Iron Symphony so as to engage in fair combat instead of lulz missions – look like he betrayed the group.  Tyenshinsi received a tip from someone in the Iron Symphony who didn’t want to see him framed.

“What the Symphony did to you is unacceptable.

Tyenshinsi was in New Jessie with Kristian Kit at the time of this [the ejection and framing] occurring.

Kristian Kit is a Frumentarii operative of a very high level.

Although I may be a member of the groups responsible, I support a cause greater than any single allegiance.

What they did was not honorable.

I cannot reveal my identity.  If I do I will not be able to get further information.”

The Iron Symphony spy who invited Imperator Vesperia to the group had his name changed in the chatlog to Tyenshinsi Takaaki and the conversation was put out to make it look as though Tyenshinsi had betrayed his own group.  To prevent confusion, his name in the chatlogs has been replaced with “I.S. Spy.”  The chatlog was provided by the same person in the I.S. who believed the alliance’s actions to be dishonorable.

I.S. Spy: Hey there Aryte.
Aryte Vesperia: Yo.

I.S. Spy: Something extremely retarded is about to happen to chaos
I.S. Spy: just keep your ears open for this one
I.S. Spy: :3
Aryte Vesperia: O.o
Aryte Vesperia: What!

I.S. Spy: JUST WAIT XD
Aryte Vesperia: TELL ME
Aryte Vesperia: omg
I.S. Spy: Lets say im leaving
I.S. Spy: and leaving them a going away present

Aryte Vesperia: Is that you?
I.S. Spy: Nope
I.S. Spy: He is my best friend though

Aryte Vesperia: Oooh.
I.S. Spy: xD
I.S. Spy: I think this has to go down
I.S. Spy: or atleast invite all of the people you want in
I.S. Spy: Fill the ranks with whom ever

Aryte Vesperia: Owner role?
I.S. Spy: Not owner, unfortunately.
I.S. Spy: But hey, I can keep inviting whom ever in

Aryte Vesperia: Invite me to a role with notice powers?
I.S. Spy: AND
I.S. Spy: you can kick people from the land group
I.S. Spy: How awesome would it be if ‘Aryte Vesperia” has booted you from chaos land management
I.S. Spy: You’re welcome

Aryte Vesperia: Thank you.
I.S. Spy: incase you want to say hello via group chat there.

Aryte Vesperia: Mmhmhm.
Aryte Vesperia: Can I eject?
I.S. Spy: from the land group yes
I.S. Spy: Not from main
I.S. Spy: i cant even eject
I.S. Spy: This was really the plan all along
I.S. Spy: We joined chaos to get it fucked over
I.S. Spy: I dont want to see piss poor groups like this come up in the scene

Aryte Vesperia: Thank you.
I.S. Spy: the suspense is killing me
I.S. Spy: Out with the notice! D=

Aryte Vesperia: Being IM spammed!
I.S. Spy: Baaaawwwwh xD
Aryte Vesperia: Mmm.

I.S. Spy: Admited, this is bad for my character, However, It needs to happen. >_>

Aryte Vesperia: And here I go.
I.S. Spy: DONT eject me
I.S. Spy: I lol’d xD
I.S. Spy: tell me when you get ejected.

Aryte Vesperia: Ejected.
I.S. Spy: eject away

Aryte Vesperia: I got everyone I could.
I.S. Spy: i fucking lol’d

Aryte Vesperia: Thank you.
I.S. Spy: “Curators, Begin investigations”
I.S. Spy: OH LOL XD
I.S. Spy: he doesnt even know
I.S. Spy: I’ll play it off all cool
I.S. Spy: Wait untillt he group fills up again
I.S. Spy: then bam, do it again?

Aryte Vesperia: Aye aye.
I.S. Spy: So, any alt you want in the group?
I.S. Spy: also, I hope you grabbed a member’s list while you were at it

Aryte Vesperia: This is good, thank you.
Aryte Vesperia: And I did.
Aryte Vesperia: Ejected again.
Aryte Vesperia: He is probably paying attention to online officers.
Aryte Vesperia: Best not invite me.
I.S. Spy: Yeah

With the logs disbursed, Dark soon came to think Tyenshinsi had invited Imperator Vesperia and caused the problem, and ejected him from Chaos.  When word came out that he had been framed thanks to the tip from the informant, I asked Aryte why this had happened, believing that Aryte had done the modification and the framing because he, after all, had been the one behind the ejections, right?

Caine Constantine: Hey Aryte, I had a question if you have a minute.
Aryte Vesperia: Sure.

Caine Constantine: Why did you guys frame Tyenshinsi as the spy?
Aryte Vesperia: It wasn’t quite my idea, I just had the means to go along with it. I imagine it was something along the lines of viewing Tyenshinsi as someone that would be nice to see out of Chaos.

Caine Constantine: Ahh, whose idea was it?
Aryte Vesperia: Lurdan’s.

Caine Constantine: Ahh, I was just wondering because Tyenshinsi seemed to be the Chaos member most open to changing the way things run down there.
Aryte Vesperia: Contrary to popular belief, this wasn’t the evil, evil Ordo’s idea. We’ve just been blamed for it, heh.

Caine Constantine: It’s been confusing trying to figure out who had the idea and who did what is all versus who went along with it.
Caine Constantine: But I appreciate you explaining this, I am glad I asked.

Though I did not quite mean to assume it was all the “evil, evil Ordo,” I did think that Ordo had been the primary actor – but it appears I was wrong.  So it was back to Marshal Huszar – who apparently had a bigger role in this than I had previously thought.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Confrontation

Just when I thought I had a full grasp of the situation, a member of the Merczateers messaged me to tell me that they’d resigned from the Light Ops division of the group over the incident, and that their position within the group itself was in danger.

When they told me that this was directly related to the framing of Tyenshinsi, I couldn’t believe it.

Requesting anonymity so as to be seen as looking for the truth and as not simply out to slander the Merczateers’ leadership, the former captain of the Light Ops filled in the rest of the story.

Merczateer: What facts do you have so far?
Caine Constantine: With regard to what?

Merczateer: The Tyenshinsi incident.
Caine Constantine: Someone in Ordo framed Tyenshinsi, who had been the most diplomatic and pro I.S. person in Chaos and who was really trying to make the group legit.
Caine Constantine: They faked chatlogs and apparently the Merczateers were okay with this.
Caine Constantine: Or the leadership was, that is.
Caine Constantine: Am I missing anything?

Merczateer: Yes.
Merczateer: [The spy in Chaos] was under investigation by Dark right before shit went down.
Merczateer: Marshal Huszar and Imperator Vesperia worked hand in hand to sabotage them.
Merczateer: [The spy] invited Aryte into the group, who ejected the members, and then they fabricated logs to frame Tyen.

Caine Constantine: But why would they frame Tyen?
Caine Constantine: He was their best friend in the whole thing and did nothing to anyone.
Merczateer: Yeah I think I have a log:

Lurdan Huszar: Give me one example in which Chaos has shown a will to be apart of that communal family.
Merczateer: Tyenshinsi Takaaki?

Merczateer: He was targeted on the lone fact that he’s Chaos.
Merczateer: Labeled.  It betrays everything we’re taught to believe in.

From what the former Light Ops captain was telling me, Marshal Huszar had planned this because he thought Chaos was a genuine threat to the Merczateers.

Lurdan Huszar: Do you think I’m proud of this either?
Lurdan Huszar: Dark stole five of our members.
Lurdan Huszar: It’s mainly just shit-talking me on a personal level and saying our tech is unfair and that enlisted aren’t being promoted fairly.
Lurdan Huszar: I thought Chaos was going to be a threat, I was probably wrong, but that’s what I thought at the time. I didn’t think it would “ruin” anybody’s SL career either, but if it does, I’m genuinely sorry.

The threat surprised me though.  And apparently, Chaos hadn’t even been successful at prying Merczateers away anyway.

Caine Constantine: A threat…for 5 members out of 400 in a group whose turnover is that high?
Merczateer: 5 members, who have all returned to the Merczateers, prior to this event.

The two were in a heated argument about the subject as we spoke.

Lurdan Huszar: Do you intend to remain in this group?
Lurdan Huszar: By the sounds of it, you don’t.

Merczateer: Oh no, I learned my  lesson before.
Merczateer: I care about this group, Lurdan, and I practice what I preach.
Merczateer: And I intend to move this community forward without sacrificing what I believe in.
Merczateer: I couldn’t leave these guys to follow you, you’d leave them to the sharks if Aryte cried enough.

Lurdan Huszar: Are you back to harassing me? You know I can’t have that.
Lurdan Huszar: You’re attacking me like I’m god-damn proud of what happened.

Merczateer: You earned it.
Merczateer: You earned it by trying to justify what you’ve done.
Merczateer: You’ve betrayed us.
Merczateer: You think ejecting me is going to fix things?

Lurdan Huszar: Not everything.
Lurdan Huszar: And there will be much to rebuild.
Lurdan Huszar: But I won’t take this harassment from you.

Merczateer: So what do you want me to do there?
Merczateer: Want me to sit and be quiet while you slander the innocent?

Lurdan Huszar: You say that like it’s a regular occurrence.
Lurdan Huszar: I recognize this as a mistake.
Lurdan Huszar: I want you to understand that.
Merczateer: Then you need to act like it.

The former Light Ops captain was not feeling optimistic about his standing in the group though.

Merczateer: Lurdan doesn’t like me criticizing what he’s done, and wants to keep me quiet.
Merczateer: So he’s threatening to eject me.

And he was justified in his fears. This was not stuff most leaders would take likely. More often than not, this kind of tone would land a lower rank the position of “traitor” and end with an order to shoot on sight. Did this Merczateer have much of a future with the group or would he be ejected?

——————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Remembering

Lurdan Huszar was probably one of the few “1IC” military leaders I knew of back in my noob days (a couple accounts ago) who did not just call me out as such and order his people to shoot me for fun.  I used to visit Badnarik all the time when I was still screwing around in sandboxes trying to figure out how to make two prims stick together and marvel at all the cool stuff they’d put together over there.  He gave me a tour of their base once and was even kind enough to escort me to safety when the tour was cut short by an invading army.

It was definitely a counter to other places I’d visit where I’d be asked for “papers” or simply shot.

So while I didn’t know much, being a sandbox rat who was still shooting people in no-damage zones and wondering why they did not die, I did know that he was a nice guy.

I could see this spirit in the apology he sent out to the Merczateers soon after the argument with one of his men over the issue of Tyenshinsi’s framing.

“If you haven’t heard already, Tyenshinshi Takaaki was framed to protect an informant the Iron Symphony had within Chaos in our efforts to subdue the malicious group. This was done partly by my hand. In my haste, I did something wrong in order to protect what I thought was right. It was a miscalulated move that I heavily regret. I defied what I believe in and what I want all of you to believe in. I genuinely feel like I have failed you all.

Please forgive me.

- Huszar”

He sent a personal letter of apology to Tyenshinsi too along similar lines.

Caine Constantine: Do you forgive him?
Tyenshinsi Takaaki: Yes.
Tyenshinsi Takaaki: I’m not the type to hold grudges.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Afterword

According to that former Light Ops captain, Imperator Vesperia was brought into Ventrilo by Marshal Huszar, along with some Chaos, and apologized to them for what happened to Tyenshinsi.  Apparently this apology has not been as well received by most Chaos, who didn’t find it particularly sincere.

He also claims that there are some issues of trust that are still bothering the Merczateers command in the wake of the incident, and says that many suspect that Lurdan was overstating his involvement to cover for Aryte, although there is not much to sustain this.  The issue apparently went largely unnoticed by the “grunt pool.”

What of the spy who made all of this possible?  He’s – so far as can be told – now a member of another Iron Symphony military.

Why had he given up Chaos though?  Had he truly joined Chaos with the pure intention of betraying them all along?  I knew this was a lie, because when I opened up the sim to invade it when Dark defamed me in his group notices, the spy – then a Chaos member – messaged me and seemed genuinely hurt at my “immaturity” in opening up the sim to attack.

So why did he really do it?

Tyenshinsi Takaaki: I recently had some “minor” Arguments with [the spy.] But they might have really got to him, I was enforcing rules. And one of his friends got ejected because they wouldn’t follow my orders. Continued to harass me. Dark ejected them.
Tyenshinsi Takaaki: I was going to eject them but at the time my SL wouldn’t let me eject.
Tyenshinsi Takaaki: I dislike people who betray their own groups. Its not honorable.

In a last bit of irony, apparently the spy who betrayed Chaos did so because he and his friends in the group were too disruptive – even for Chaos.  Of course, they claimed to care about the combat community as a whole in their act of betrayal, but when it came to simply being in a group and following the light rules that entail membership in Chaos – they couldn’t handle that part.  And so the Iron Symphony had framed someone who believed in its cause in order to protect a casual “lulzwarrior” who didn’t like a superior officer telling him what to do.

As for Dark, he claims to have been born-again into SL combat.  Now he’s talking about holding a sort of “blockade” against the Merczateers and starting his own parallel mission to restore combat in Second Life to it’s “old glory days.”

Dark Svenska: Merczateers endorsed Aryte’s actions and went against their own doctrine.
Dark Svenska: They didnt do anything about it. So I don’t bother with them anymore.

Caine Constantine: But aren’t you the epitome of the idea of doing whatever you want?  What about statements like: “Dark Svenska: And dont butter me with that crap. Chaos does not follow that crap about real people behind the screen. In a virtual world there are no laws of reality.”
Dark Svenska: Thats the old me. The one that did more drinking then talking.
Dark Svenska: I have a new set goal.

Caine Constantine: Which is what?
Dark Svenska: To return the SL community back into the happy place it was.
Dark Svenska: Whithout blanket bans, ban walls, copybot, or any other problem.
Dark Svenska: And to eradicate the hypocrits and liars of the Iron Symphony for the better of the community and its people.

Caine Constantine: What do you really mean by eradicate?
Caine Constantine: Do you mean infiltrate their groups, send messages, and eject them?
Dark Svenska: No.
Dark Svenska: I will do it by means of what Chaos is good at – full scale war.
Dark Svenska: Chaos will conduct combat in a way of hate whith a purpose. A goal.
Dark Svenska: We will also be following the ways of how combat was when things were more normal. Whith full fleet support and air supporting ground combat.
Dark Svenska: Realistic warfare.
Dark Svenska: Whith a RP community whith a theme of evil bad guys sorta look.

Dark Svenska: It’s funny Caine.. Once a long time ago i fought side by side with Merczateers against what i thought was wrong that was the AN. But now after a while of thinking about it…I wonder if what I was fighting for was really right. If it turned into this.
Caine Constantine: That’s an interesting way to look at it.

Dark Svenska: My goal now is to do to them what Operation Crucifix did.
Dark Svenska: And to make Chaos into a terrifying power that will obliterate anything whith Fleet, Aircraft, and Infantry.

Caine Constantine: Sounds like a tall order.
Dark Svenska: Well its like what I say: The raven god demands change in the community, we will bring change by infecting the masses whith the rot of the great unclean one. And torment their minds whith the whispers of the seduction god. And when they are weak, one by one they will be harvested by the blood god. In the end we win either way because you cannot just destroy Chaos.

Caine Constantine: …the great unclean one?
Dark Svenska: Nurgle. god of death,plauge,disease… Nasty shit basically.
Dark Svenska: Like imagine a corspe that has been dead for atleast 2 months or a few weeks.
Caine Constantine: Ahh…

Ultimately, the people involved here violated their principles. Screwing with Chaos would have caused little ill feeling on its own that was not already there – but framing Tyenshinsi to cover the tracks of a disenchanted Chaos warrior, who was only upset at being told what to do, was clearly crossing a line.

But the fact that various members of the Merczateers and eventually Marshal Huszar himself came around to speak out against the act, even at risk to their own reputations, is however a testament to the ability of the membership of the group and its leader as well to do whats right in the end. For the Marshal to have ended the sorry situation by simply owning up to it all and taking the blame was something seldom seen in the grid, and frankly, in life in general, and certainly deserves respect.

And of course, the story brought up some new questions. What is the combat community and who belongs to it – and who gets to speak for it, especially when it comes to attacking and destroying perceived enemies of the said community?

What do you think? Please share your comments on the story with us.

-Caine Constantine

UPDATE/CORRECTION: Aryte apologized to Tyenshinshi as did Lurdan, and afterward Lurdan asked Dark to come into his Vent and they discussed how they could bring their groups back to a state in which the conflict stays on the battlefield only.  Lurdan then had Aryte come in, and he had Dark and him talk about the issues they had with each other.

According to Lurdan, Dark sent a notice about it, telling his men to cool down and that the drama should end.

So just to be clear, there was no intention to make anyone, especially Aryte and Ordo, seem as though they were twirling any handlebar mustaches, although I do admire anyone who has the patience it takes to keep one of those things well-groomed to where it can be twirled.  Sorry for any confusion.

-Caine

Alliance Navy to Celebrate Four Years

Dear members of the military community at large,

You are cordially invited to attend the festivities this Sunday, March 15th, 2pm SLT onwards as the Alliance Navy celebrates four years on the grid. A banquet will be held in the dome garden, where the entire community will be welcome to sit, and drink, and feast, and share the memories you’ve had over your time fighting on the grid.

You heard the lizard.

For those of you who’d like to try your luck, the area outside the dome will be converted into a massive Bug Hunt – and by that, we mean bugs will hunt you while you run screaming for your lives. If you think you have what it takes to survive the bug invasion, come on in and try your luck!

The festivities will begin whensoever the morning’s combat operations end; while there is no set time to start, it will continue through the afternoon and late into the night. During that time, the bugs will be out in force in the craters, and the beer will be flowing with pixelly goodness in the dome.

-Izaea Qinan, Dance Commander, Alliance Navy

Echelon gets a makeover.

Echelon Union, the IS bound military with a reputation and legacy in the community, have recently rebuilt their sim.

Aptly named Vadoo Reef now follows a similar ‘Imperial’ theme, with concrete structures and a distinct relevance to modern day militarisms. The previous sim, which was known for its lack of cover and no-go areas, has now been re ramped entirely, with more routes, more cover; and more fun. Dispite the ever open ground, this is forgivable as militaries are learning to adapt to terrain structure.

Come visit Vadoo Reef when it’s open to the public in the coming days, when the sims finer details are complete, and echelon troppers are standing by to greet you.

Swords of the Sky – Part 4

Well I’ve been unusually productive lately (to the benefit of my 5 fans) and I have part 4 here for you already.  Those who remember I left off in Second Chance, well immediately after talking with RoudyRaccoon, I managed to get in touch with Detox Exonar, leader of the Guerrilla Rebel’s air force. I found myself being teleported onto the base as it was under attack by a couple unaffiliated assailants.

Detox and his Tornado
I was ushered into a conference room where we talked for a few minutes.

Detox and his Tornado

Detox Exonar: Hello Ma’am – I am General Detox Exonar CO of GRAD
Duckky Darwin: there has been a bit of a rebuild since i was here last
Detox Exonar: what can I do for you
Detox Exonar: yes a bit
Detox Exonar: Jordi has been busy
Duckky Darwin: looks good
Detox Exonar: thanks
Detox Exonar: you’re doing a story
Detox Exonar: have a seat
Duckky Darwin: mhmm I’m doing article describing everyone’s main fighters
Detox Exonar: ah
Detox Exonar: very good
Detox Exonar: we have several fighters
Detox Exonar: our main is a dual unit Torpedo
Detox Exonar: an attachment – but is not av spine attached like Uriel
Duckky Darwin: it’s not?
Detox Exonar: No – it is a sit attached
Duckky Darwin: and in you sit on it?
Detox Exonar: this is what it looks like
Duckky Darwin is familiar ^.^
Detox Exonar: but it is not the actual one as I would have to wear the attached unit then rez and sit in the rez unit
Detox Exonar: but this is same shell
Detox Exonar: yeah – modeled after DORU I believe – the original or early ship of SPARTA
Detox Exonar: we also have the Mantra
Duckky Darwin: heavier
Detox Exonar: yeah
Detox Exonar: the Leraj
Duckky Darwin: ohh i like that one
Detox Exonar: the Vulture
Duckky Darwin: bomber?
Detox Exonar: yes fighter/bomber
Detox Exonar: and the Barracuda
Detox Exonar: I am also currently contracting a builder to build GRAD a full attachment aircraft – liek the Uriel – that should be done in the next couple of weeks
Duckky Darwin: ahh
Duckky Darwin: that should be interesting
Detox Exonar: Modeled after the F-14 Tomcat
Detox Exonar: Tomcat
Duckky Darwin: oooh i like
Detox Exonar: that is basically our GRAD fleet
Detox Exonar: battery of weapons
Detox Exonar: including bombs and airmines
Duckky Darwin: i was hopeing to go into detail on the Torpedo and maybe another one
Detox Exonar: sure
Detox Exonar: ask away
Duckky Darwin: well first off who built the Torpedo
Detox Exonar: let me find a better spot – I will tp you again

I was then Tp’ed to their sky platform so that i could get some pictures

Another shot of the Tornado

Duckky Darwin: kay
Detox Exonar: ah
Detox Exonar: I believe that was Rookie
Detox Exonar: but I am not sure
Detox Exonar: it was here before I came to GR
Duckky Darwin: wouldn’t surprise me
Detox Exonar: let’s go to the sky platform and take a look OK
Detox Exonar: you stay here
Duckky Darwin nods
Detox Exonar: Rookie Parnas was the creator
Duckky Darwin: he did work for CS too
Detox Exonar: ah
Detox Exonar: if you alt-t me you will see I am wearing the attached unit
Duckky Darwin: ahh ok it works like a sparrow
Detox Exonar: been a while since I flew the sparrow – that is MC right?
Duckky Darwin: yup
Detox Exonar: yes – I flew a sparrow
Duckky Darwin: I was air corp for a couple weeks and fell in love with the sparrow
Detox Exonar: hmm – I do not recall 2 separate units though
Detox Exonar: It was OK for sure
Duckky Darwin: and of course GR were all I flew against lol

Detox Exonar: I have flown with SPARTA – Alliance Navy – MC – Mercz – CSL – and ORDO
Detox Exonar: ah nice
Duckky Darwin: wow
Detox Exonar: previous life that is why
Detox Exonar: my original AV was Tracy Laszlo
Detox Exonar: I was SPARTA CO of SAF
Duckky Darwin: what are its capabilities?
Detox Exonar: Speed
Detox Exonar: about 150 meters per sec
Detox Exonar: boost
Detox Exonar: variable speed
Detox Exonar: 1 to 0 0=150 mps
Detox Exonar: it has default damage gun
Detox Exonar: airmines
Detox Exonar: bombs
Detox Exonar: missiles
Detox Exonar: both guided and non-guided
Detox Exonar: all weapons are within STABLE compliance
Detox Exonar: although we do not go by stable
Detox Exonar: it goes into Phased mode immediately
Detox Exonar: when start
Detox Exonar: anything else?
Detox Exonar: This is our standard issue aircraft
Duckky Darwin: nope that should be good thanks ^.^

A somewhat less than stellar picture of the Tornado
Next, after doing some browsing on Xstreetsl I happened upon something interesting and decided to make a slight change to my next article. Shortly after that I was able to get in touch with Tsume Xiao and to my first section on a commercial military fighter, the Enigma.

Tsume at New Jessie, displaying the Enigma
We met at the runway and he showed off his product as we talked.

Tsume at New Jessie, displaying the Enigma

Tsume Xiao: Ok
Tsume Xiao: SO, Ask away :D
Duckky Darwin: well did you build and script this or was it a collaboration?
Tsume Xiao: I did the build, though a friend helped me with the wings, and I did the scripts, though , as I said, they need updating as they are sloppy compared to my current scripting
Duckky Darwin: this is work you did before  being involved in Ironsight Arms?
Tsume Xiao: Oh yeah. It’s quite old.
Tsume Xiao: Ironsights has been running for about 2 months
Tsume Xiao: this thing was built last July
Duckky Darwin: ahh
Tsume Xiao: Once the scripts are updated I may bring it into Ironsights, pending Daffee’s approval.
Duckky Darwin: what is it capable of?
Tsume Xiao: It’s a standard damage fighter, this iteration is only capable of coupled Camera flight, it has basic forward guns, explosive cannon rounds, a heavy shotgun, dumbfire rockets, and bombs.
Duckky Darwin: no mouselook then?
Tsume Xiao: Granted, when i rescript it, some of these features, which I now see are un, needed, will probably be removed.
Tsume Xiao: It is mouselook.
Duckky Darwin: ahh ok
Tsume Xiao: Coupled camera is one of the 2 mouselook modes
Duckky Darwin: oh is that when the camera follows the vehicles nose on its own?
Tsume Xiao: Yes. You turn your camera and the vehicle snaps to your focus.
Duckky Darwin: as in direction changes when you turn craft
Duckky Darwin: ahh
Duckky Darwin feels smart ^.^
Tsume Xiao: Decoupled camera, it turns, but does not snap, it keeps turning until you recenter your camera. It allows more control and more fun stunts, but requires more skill/learning
Duckky Darwin: simplicity is probably better for a civilian fighter
Duckky Darwin: not too many on the market either
Tsume Xiao: Well, it was actually contracted out to a military as well.
Tsume Xiao: Small changes were made and an auth script was added, but it served as the TFM Falcion.
Tsume Xiao: And then the IB Falchion.
Tsume Xiao: and then the T.F.M Falchion.
Tsume Xiao: and then the D.E.K Falchion…
Duckky Darwin: XD
Tsume Xiao: Cause the leader kept changing his groups.
Tsume Xiao: or one would fail so he restarted another.
Duckky Darwin: benny?
Tsume Xiao: Mmmyep.
Duckky Darwin: heh
Duckky Darwin: well anything else you want people to know?
Tsume Xiao: Yes
Tsume Xiao: I know people’s first reaction to it is often “That thing is huge!”
Tsume Xiao: But it is, compared to its design basis, small.
Tsume Xiao: an F-22 is 18 meters long,
Tsume Xiao: the XAF Enigma is 15.
Tsume Xiao: The AN Talon is about 5m
Duckky Darwin: yup
Tsume Xiao: the Ordo Praeda is about 3.5
Tsume Xiao: Its large size does not affect its hit box.
Tsume Xiao: It does however make it slightly more visible.
Tsume Xiao: As you can see, after the T.F.M Iteration, benny wanted it smaller.
Tsume Xiao: The smaller ones cant have the sitting upright animation, and have to hide the avatar inside it, hence why the canopy is solid.
Duckky Darwin: i see
Tsume Xiao: I just feel bad cause I look at the scripts and cry D:
Duckky Darwin: lol
Tsume Xiao: They aren’t horrific by any means, just far from as good as I can do now
Duckky Darwin: too many people use the leaked AM fighter and Uriel cause they don’t know where to buy one
Duckky Darwin: and the Aster may look cool but it’s too damn slow to fight ; ;
Tsume Xiao: Anything else? :D
Duckky Darwin: nah I’m good unless you got more
Tsume Xiao: Not on that :p
Duckky Darwin: alright then, thanks for your time then, lemme know if you update so I can spread the word.
Tsume Xiao: Alright.

Another view of the Enigma (I’m actually in this pic ^.^)

The fighter can be found on Xstreet SL at http://uncensored.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&file=item&ItemID=821726

That’s it for this episode – stay tuned next time for…something…probably involving planes…time will tell. Oh and if any commanders or merchants that I’ve missed or that have new fun stuff and want them featured feel free to IM me in world, I’m lazy and wouldn’t mind my work coming to me for once. (fat chance of that one I know :D  )