The colony ship's destination

The destination of this cryoship is a barren world, the eleventh planet of a G-class star 5.9 light years from Amarr. They codenamed the system "The Old One". Nothing to do with current-day "Old Man's Star".

Taking into account a bit of slack, let us say 0.1 light years, there are still 15 systems between 5.8 and 6.0 light years from Amarr.

Of these, eight have a G-class star, namely Unkah, Raren, Hutian, Luromooh, Arayar, Gammel, Basan and Ana. Only Gammel in the Bleak Lands has eleven planets, the other candidates have less. So, that must have been their destination. However, the eleventh planet is not barren, but a lava world.

Usually lava worlds are found closer to their star, where the heat from the star in combination with tidal forces sometimes prevents the planet from cooling down. But it is not impossible to have lava worlds as outer planets, especially if there is a gas giant nearby or if the world is heated by a lot of internal radioactivity.

In those early days of astronomy, planets were detected either by tiny dips in the star's brightness as a planet passes in front of it, or by tiny wobbles of the star due to the gravitational pull of the planets - these wobbles are revealed by the Doppler shift in stellar spectral lines. Planets are much fainter than stars, so direct imaging of exoplanets took a while to develop, following breakthroughs in phased array telescopes. But if you can collect even a tiny bit of light from the planet, you can also make an educated guess at what planet type you have.

In general, the number of planets was under-estimated, rather than over-estimated, as small planets in far orbits are much harder to detect than, say, a gas giant in a close orbit. So, I guess it is unlikely that in those days the number of planets around their "The Old One" star was overestimated. It is more likely that they got the type wrong.

This must have been an unwelcome surpise when they woke up at destination...

Cargo manifest

The Lamp's mainframe completed my decryption job after priority computations about metaliminal storm predictions finished. It did not take long to break the primitive cypher.

The documents show that they were indeed preparing to start a colony and this was a one way mission. 

Cryosleep pods are listed in several classes. The manifest contains a few very expensive ones that basically serve also as a medbay, probably for their "prophet" and his family. Then 1858 regular ones, I guess the mainline colony members. Livestock ones for cattle... and three thousand small cryojars, for human heads!? Why did their bring frozen heads - surely not with the idea to revive them? Infomorph scanning and restoring were not available then. My guess is that it was for some blood ritual, part of their heresy.

The cryoship was large, to accomodate such a big group of people. It had energy and spares to last them well over sixty years in space, and half a year of supplies to get them started when they would reach their destination. The bulk of the cargo is machinery, building blocks, vehicles, and habitat prefab modules. They also have containers with cult objects, among them one that they must have cherished, the "Globe of Destruction". I have not yet heard of that relic, and will have to look up possible matches.

There is also a summary description of the cryoship itself. It seems to have been capable of landing (but not taking off again). They must have planned to dismantle it and re-use its parts in their colony. I'm not an expert in archaeological engineering but it seems to me built in a way that it can be taken apart piecewise with the equipment that they had with them on board.

Finally, there are tables with navigational data. Those I will try to use to see to where they were headed -  my initial guess is that it should be about six light years from Amarr; much further out would take them too much fuel given the duration they planned their cryosleep, and closer by they could have saved mass and fuel in their designs.

An ancient voyage

The old shipping records found in the library of the monastery of the Tetrimon Order of Saint Jamyl in Neyi prove to be of great historical value. They are listing preparations for a long voyage in cryoship, away from Amarr. 

Fast travel was only possible via jump gates. But these were still few, and well guarded. Access was restricted and strictly controlled after a foiled attempt in 21304 by fundamentalists to blow up Hedion gate. These fundamentalists were part of a heretical movement that believed it was sinful to go to other star systems and that we must remain in the one system that according to them God had destined us for. 

There were heretics with the very opposite view, too. Namely that they had to go away from Amarr, and start a new society in some promised world in order to freely pursue their false beliefs. These groups commissioned cryoships to go off into space without using the limited system of jump gates active then. This was often under false pretenses - economic or exploration. We had not invented warp drives yet, so journeys to other stars could last decades, during which most of the colonists would remain in cryosleep.

I think these papers reveal the preparations for such a journey by followers of a Sani Sabik self-proclaimed prophet fleeing the purges of Emperor Queron the Iron Fisted. 

A lot of it is in some sort of code - probably a primitive one based merely on some mathematical problem that takes a non-polynomial time to solve on a classical computer available in that age. I have digitized the texts, tables and ledgers, and submitted this as a easy decoding job to the Lamp's mainframe. 

Epikouria Chronicles XIV

Brother Hugo's latest letter came as a quick answer to my own missive informing him of the Vanguard. He appears happy that I "saw the light" about the Originals and the sinfulness of their experiments with infomorphs. He also mentions the so-called "digitals", sentient artificial intelligences that have been given citizenship by the Originals.

I remember my successful collaboration with Glitter Edifice - a prohibited artificial intelligence, a 'warmind' - and hope Brother Hugo does not read those log entries... 

Anyway, he writes that he has secured the collaboration of a Holder to bring into Epikouria crates of weapons and a battalion of Kameiras, belonging to the Holder's own House forces. They are bolstering the revolt of the White Paladins, by offering them training and assisting them in raids. For now, it is still a sort of guerilla uprising - on any open field they are no match for the Originals' armed forces. 

It has somewhat soured the relation between the Originals and the Starborn, even though the latter claim they have nothing to do with this local matter. I do not think they know of Brother Hugo's interference in local politics... Anyway, the Starborn say they are doing their part by providing customs offices, but if people use private launchpads then there's little they can do against that.

Nevertheless, even Brother Hugo has marked a reduction in the amount of industrial activity the last month or so. This could be due to reprisals by the Originals revoking mining rights - there has been a sharp reduction in the amount of resources mined and extracted from the planets. Also industrial stations have been taken down.

This may have other reasons: Brother Hugo notes that the Starborn seem somewhat restless of late, perhaps itching for new wormhole conquests? Publius and Isidorus are seen less often on station. I think this is due to their efforts for the Blessed Exchange, bringing them outside Anoikis more often, but Brother Hugo thinks something else is afoot.

Links to keep track of the letters of Brother Hugo:

I. First Contact
II. Diplomatic Talks 
III. Refugee crisis
IV. Setting up a new home station
V. Epikouria under siege
VI. Prince Seraghis visit

VII. A suspicion of heresy

VIII. Pop-up church

IX. Intercultural fair

X. White Paladins

XI. Reactionary uprising

XII. Outside interference

XIII. Starborn and the Blessed Exchange

The Paper Age

I am happy to hear on Amarr Certified News today that the insurgency in Eredan has been quelled as well! No doubt in a couple of days traffic will flow as usual along the silk road connecting Amarr to Jita.

I had to head out the other way, today, towards the Kingdom, to Neyi IV. There, specialists from LUMEN's library are working on a restoration project for the old books and scrolls in the monastery of the Tetrimon Order of Saint Jamyl, along with the Order's own experts. It is a long project, as the monastery has been in decay for a long period before Baron Redwolfe discovered it. 

Most civilizations discover and use paper at some stage in their development. It usually signals a major transition, a turning point between a primitive and ignorant planet-bound society, and a digital society entering its space age. Paper and printing allow for ideas and knowledge to spread much faster than before, and it spurs discoveries and innovations. The Paper Age, usually lasting only a few centuries, is an inflection point. 

It is not only books that appear then, but also administration paperwork. That is an often undervalued part of the historical record, at least in popular accounts. But the true historian will value what others would find boring lists and ledgers and reports. During the Paper Age, the level of civilization is usually proportional to the amount of paperwork it produces and archives.

The library collaborators working on the restoration projects contacted me because they found a trove of old shipping records from the dawn of our space age, at the very end of our own paper age. These are records from an ancient shipping company called "Red Star Shipping", that we now know was a front for the Sani Sabik.

Vanguard

After the insurgency in Mehatoor has been quelled, the Angel Cartel gangsters have taken their racketeering and piracy to Eredan, and their corruption is now endangering freighters journeying between Amarr and Jita.

At the same time, Upwell convoys are targeted by a group of warclones, calling themselves the Vanguard. More lawlessness! 

This latest scourge is the result of the unholy and unnatural experiments of the Deathless, meddling with Jove artefacts out in his Fulcrum station in Zarzakh. In blatant disregard of the laws of God and humankind alike, these warclones exist as infomorphs without a body. They are stored (and perhaps live) in a virtuality they call "the garden of souls". If this sounds to you a lot like the sleepers in Anoikis, then you are right! The technology for both is similar, Jovian. 

The Deathless' pirate haven, Fulcrum, probably had an old store of these infomorphs, left in the freezer so to speak. The Deathless uses these disembodied infomorphs as a personal army, incarnating them into clone soldiers when and where he needs. That is the essence of the breacher pods that he developed for his ships.

Creating a disembodied or "ghost" existence is unnatural and sinful. It reminds me of the complaints of brother Hugo about the Originals in Epikouria, about the freedoms they take altering their bodies and minds. And not only the Deathless, but also Upwell is guilty of this sin. Upwell does not want soldiers, they wanted a controllable and easily transferrable workforce, via the so-called "Upwell workforce clone transfers". You can find them for example in Metenox moon drills. Many unlucky subjects of the Empress who chose "a new life with Upwell" ended up in a work clone in some forlorn factory, stored in infomorph stasis in between different jobs...

Now, both the Deathless and Upwell face retribution for their sins. A group of infomorphs -the Vanguard- appears to have fled from the Fulcrum, stealing a ship that stores the garden of souls and can be used as a basis of operations. This mobile operating base is their home, and they call it "Avalon". From there, they are raiding Upwell structures and convoys.

I will write to brother Hugo telling his about this development in Imperial space, as he might not have heard about it out in the wormhole. He can hold this up to the Originals as an example of how such sins lead to disaster ultimately. Divine justice cannot be escaped.

Ms. Yubari's conversion

Last night we held the conversion ceremony for Ms. Yubari. After her physical recovery, she started studying scripture and working on her spiritual recovery. She decided she wanted to convert and join the ranks of the faithful. 

The arch-heretic obsesses over Ms. Yubari, and even attributes a role to her in his latest cult. He imagines her as mother of a future anti-emperor. I think that Ms. Yubari's conversion to the real faith dealt a major blow to the promissae matris cult, more impactful than any purge by the Ministry of Internal Order. I made sure during the ceremony to impart on her the importance of raising her children in the true faith. I am confident she will instill in them deep devotion to our blessed Empress Catiz. 

The arch-heretic messaged me in Mehatoor local, and I feared he would try to stop Ms. Yubari's conversion or sabotage it. Luckily nothing of the sort happened, and we had a serene ceremony. We gathered in the recently consecrated chapel dedicated to Saint-Emperor Amash-Akura. Ms. Yubari participated in its design and was instrumental in its realization - another clear sign that she wants to be in closer communion with God. 

It was good to see fellow LUMEN pilots present for this joyful occasion. In times when the Empire is once again beset on all sides by its enemies, such moments give strength and hope.

Suppression blitz

LUMEN and our allies responded very quickly to the threat of Angel Cartel insurgency. That dangerous situation appeared only yesterday, and already today our suppression activities have fully secured the system.

Pilots were busy day and night, relentlessly removing Angel safe spots in space. I have never witnessed such a swift suppression before! The newest generation of pilots to join our ranks have certainly proved their mettle.

Not only Mehatoor was fully secured, but also Raa came under full insurgency suppression. It will not quite stop the insurgency from spread to other bulwark systems adjacent to Mehatoor, but at least the main base of the militia and the center of operations for a lot of our work for the Blessed Exchange is secure.

I hear reports that the Angels were helped this time by Minmatar Militia. They saw an opportunity in corrupting Mehatoor, of course. While not actively working together, they had a common cause: to inflict damage to the Empire. And so, having no conscience to rein in their hatred for us, they helped the very pirates that are a scourge in their own republic. It was to no avail, the forces of the light overcame those of darkness today.

Sleuthing

I have had no success in finding the Antiquarian. I feel like an unlucky private detective... 

I asked around in the AIR station in Manifest, but new capsuleer pilots are strangely tight-lipped. Was I equally untalkative when I was fresh out of Hedion University's capsuleer academy? I do remember it was all very overwhelming - but I put that down to the fact that I have been living on an asteroid monastery before my piloting days. Now I see that being overwhelmed and uncertain is more general than I thought.

Anyway, the Antiquarian is not someone you would forget, should you meet him. He has a fairly expressive face, somewhat more round than the average Amarrian, and wears a strange cybernetic monocle. It looks antique but no doubt has modern sensors in it. His face is strongly scarred, giving a stern and resolute impression. He definitely looks as if he is a very tough negotiator and will always get the better part of the deal. On the few scarce pictures of him, he wears a warm padded leather coat, which makes me think he was raised on an ice planet.

I did get some confirmation that he has been parading around, orbiting the station in strange ships, but not offering anything for sale. He might have been heading towards Haven. I will look for Amarr agents of Imperial corporations that I have good standings with, and see if they can help me locate him.

But perhaps this will have to wait a bit...  While I was away, a crisis is brewing in Mehatoor. The dark clouds of an Angel insurgency are once again amassing on the horizon. They are bringing their corruption already to Raa, at our doorstep. If their tentacles reach into Mehatoor over the next few days, this may hamper the virtuous works done to fulfil the Empress' vision of the Blessed Exchange. Many of the goals to be reached need to take place in and around Mehatoor, but brigands on the road make this more difficult. As before, LUMEN will step up to restore order, but we will need all pilots...

Completed AIR station

After a slight delay - I completed my contributions to perform remote repairs in the warzone and this took more time than I thought - I finally proceeded to Manifest. I traded the Augoror repair ship back to folks in the militia, and made my way to Exordium via shuttle.

The AIR trade station has been completed! No more scaffolding and welding bots. Compare today's view with that of just over a month ago:

It must be one of the very few large building projects that I have ever known to finish in time. It must have been way over budget then. There is a sort of Heisenberg relation for major infrastructure works - if you reduce the time it takes, the budget grows, or vice versa. 

Unfortunately, the station's interior is just as cramped as it was, despite the fact that also there the scaffolding has been removed:

Well, it is all relative, of course. But in Amarr stations there is definitely more sense of open space and solemnity. Among the various corporations that opened offices, I did not find the antiquarians. But that is not to be expected, a reclusive collector such as him would not advertise. I will start my search in earnest tomorrow.

Epikouria Chronicles XIII

It is always nice to run into old friends in space! I noticed Isidorus Orissus in local as he was doing anti-piracy patrols in Sifilar - he is making his contribution to the efforts for the Blessed Exchange. 

Sansha pirates roam the asteroid belts there, and they can be quite tough, even bringing battleships to harass mining fleets. So, I saw an opportunity to help Isidorus via logi support. I used the Inquisitor-class hull that we have at the ready in Mehatoor. It is nimble enough that large Sansha ships cannot track it with their guns. 

Isidorus is a leading member of Publius Cornelius Felix's colonists, who moved from our own wormhole holdings in Seclusion to Epikouria. In fact, he is Publius' right hand man, his main lieutenant. 

The only news that I have been getting lately is from brother Hugo, and of course this is colored by his interpretation. It is nice to be able to get a view from the "top", so to speak, in stead of the "lower" layers of the colonists. This is not meant in any derogatory way - especially since in his organisation, Publius does not have a fixed or hereditary hierarchy. In stead, he uses the very Caldari concept of merit. This is a bit worrisome, but I think it will be viewed favorably by the Originals in Epikouria.

Isidorus does not have a reputation of being a chatterbox, and he was indeed focused more on combat than being verbose. Nevertheless he conveyed the message that the colonists are doing fine. They have spread to various other systems in Anoikis. And, following the call of the Empress, they have been working hard to contribute to the Blessed Exchange. He has shared some internal confidential memo with me, showing their dedication to the cause.

((ooc info: As this was marked 'for authorised eyes only', Theo would set viewing permissions to LUMEN officers and above exclusively: adept rank, praefecti and upwards - for others this is not IC knowledge!))

I am delighted that Publius and his fellow colonists are fully devoted to the Blessed Exchange, but I am also somewhat worried about their focus on "technological innovation". This part at least seems to agree with brother Hugo's claims of transhumanist tinkering with minds and bodies. But, overall, the picture I am getting is much more positive than what brother Hugo relays to me, and gives me confidence that Publius and his companions are still strong in the Faith!

Exordium antiques

The Antiquarian is in Exordium. Well, he was spotted there a little while ago. As a famous collector he was happy he could show off his most prized old-timer ships and drones under the cover of heightened CONCORD regulations: in Exordium, piracy among capsuleers is suppressed.

If anyone has obtained clues that can point to the location of the Avetat and Ametat, it will be him. I do not know yet what kind of person he is, or if he would even be willing to cooperate on such an important quest. So, the first step would be to meet up! 

I will travel to Exordium again to see if he is still there. Perhaps he has set up an antiques shop in Manifest!

Slave influx

Once again there is an infernal ruckus coming from the arch-heretic Nauplius' hangar. This time it is not a new offshoot of his sedevacantist movement, like the Promissae Matris cult with their chants. I made some inquiries, and it turns out that he has created a freelance job to purchase a million slaves!

These kind of jobs are offered specifically to capsuleer pilots. Often they are contracts to deliver stuff at a certain location. In this case, slaves to Mehatoor. 

The sudden influx of one million slaves has caused not only overcrowding and station-wide malfunctions of the waste disposal system, but it is also a cause of great worry in veteran pilots of the Societas. They remember a time when the arch-heretic sacrificed a million slaves to the blood god (a deity in the heresy that he was adhering to at the time), I think by blowing up the freighter that carried them. 

It has also caused some distress in ms. Yubari. She was working on composing a prayer, as part of her conversion to our faith, and now her prayer is a supplication that these slaves may be treated well and not harmed.

Personally, I am surprised that the freelance job was concluded so quickly. I wonder how many contributors there have been to this, and how many pilots consider going into the slave trade. Perhaps this is only a stunt to attract more people into slave trade and into a more violent sort of reclamation and there will be no repeat of the massacre that took place? 

Industry

Industry is another area that I have never ventured into. We have outstanding captains of industry in LUMEN. There are veterans of the "Bounding Bunny Brigade" for example, but also folks like Drabar Corinnine who builds large ships and the most beautiful freighters. And of course there is Dranghoul's company "Long and Short" which is supplying all sorts of ships in Mehatoor. 

From time to time I get nice glossy advertisements of golden ships sold by Long and Short. Very tastefully done, much nicer than the pushy ads from the Federation or the violent ones from the Republic. 

As I want do as much as I can to follow the Empress' call to action for the Blessed Exchange, I have tried my hand at building Dragoon class ships and Infiltrator drones. It is very hectic at the Navy Anchorage in Mehatoor - it is a new station, large and expansive, with plenty of hangars and a vast industrial district. No need to set up factories yourself, all you need to do is bring some blueprints and the necessary building materials, and then have it be picked up at your hangar and brought to a factory in the industrial part. You pay for the factory, and after a while receive the fabricated goods back in your hangar. It goes much more smoothly than I expected!

To make things even easier, alliance contracts are up with the blueprints and the materials required to help push forward the Blessed Exchange campaign.

Now I still need to figure out where these Dragoons are actually needed...

A better match

Even though it was more adventurous than expected, I am glad I have completed my part for the mining contribution to the Blessed Exchange. I prefer to leave the harvesting of ore to professional miners, who have the know-how and the proper tools and a love for ores and minerals.

Another way to push the goals of the Empire has presented itself. This time it is right up my alley, as they say: hacking relic or data sites. The sites are in low-sec regions, and luckily the sites are the regular ones that do not have incessant waves of republic security service frigates homing in for a kill. 

Although Concord offers no protection in low-sec parts of the Empire, many systems are relatively empty of pilots. And if you see pilots in system, check whether they are mining, or are in a slow battlecruiser or battleship. If you remain attentive, you can elope those rather easily in a nimble magnate, should they decide to warp to you. 

I did not use the Indagatrix, because in my experience it disturbs any mining fleet that would be present too much. They are afraid of the Anathema-class ship's ability to activate a covert cynosural field, and will often reship to scare the covert frigate away. A good old Magnate-class ship does not cause them as much anxiety, and is a more than capable exploration vessel. So, I sold the Pioneer mining ship - may it be used by a new pilot to get more Raspite for the Empire - and with the proceeds I bought a exploration-fitted Magnate.

I had no trouble completing the hacking assignment: as slow as I am at mining, at scanning and hacking I am fast. 

The Empress' champion

Whoever claims mining is boring, is wrong.

I have been mining raspite in fleets offering boosts and compression. Our very own alliance pilots (including Lunarisse) regularly offer these services in their orcas or porpoise-class ships to all present. I have also been helped by Brother Grimoire - of galnet streaming fame - and a kind pilot who goes by the name of Fury Bastaria. 

During one of those fleets, while I was peacefully mining raspite in my pioneer, minmatar terrorists struck. None other than one of the founders of the terrorist organisation Electus Matari decided to assault random miners. Det Resprox picked pilots who had recently enlisted in the Amarr Militia and who had not yet resigned from their soldiering. That made them legitimate targets for the terrorist in his Navy Thrasher.

He overplayed his hand though, by staying too long, hovering like a bird of prey hundreds of kilometers off the asteroid belt. None other than a true hero of the Empire came to our aid: Lord Kelon Darklight, recipient of the Cross of the Sacred Throne Order! He is one of those elite pilots that make little girls swoon and grown men tremble...

He was Empress Catiz's champion during the Succession Trials. This is a battle to determine the new Emperor or Empress, after the previous one left the Golden Throne. Each Royal House picks a champion (in old days could even be an Heir) to fight. Through the outcome God shows us who the successor to the Throne has to be. Ten years ago, Lord Kelon and his retainers defeated his opponents and ushered in the current era of the Empire.

Next time you go to the Emperor Family Academy station in Amarr, perhaps on a shopping visit, take a look at the four Avatar-class titans outside the station. One of these titans is named after Lord Kelon Darklight.

It was this living legend that came to the miners' rescue. Of course, Det Resprox was no match for House Tash-Murkon's champion - the terrorist was soundly defeated. 

So, yes, in conclusion, mining turns out not to be boring at all.

Out of my comfort zone

Mining. 

I have never done it before, although I learnt the theory in capsuleer training. It is simply not something I needed - not for my quest, and not for money as I have more than enough to pursue my quest.

But now the Empress calls for faithful capsuleers to mine raspite. And so, for the first time since capsuleer training, I mined. I got myself a pioneer class ship, and had to fast-track learning mining destroyers for that. 

It is very different from the Indagatrix. The ship is cheaper and dirtier. The ore dust goes everywhere, I think I will still find it in my monk's gown and in my living quarters for months to come. 

Mr. Firth declined to come along, claiming there is probably nothing I can do wrong while mining in bulwark systems. I wanted to run the pioneer without crew, but there is a mining crew union that insists on taking on crewmembers to help with managing the mining hold. 

-to be continued-

Call to action

We are all called to action by the Empress - to contibute in any way we can, within the boundaries of ones abilities, to the great goal of the Empire.

I had hoped for research assignments, but in stead I found heavily guarded and criminalized intel sites, combat missions for agents of the Empire, and mining. None of which I am any good at.

At least for the combat missions, I figured out a plan. I had only done level IV hauling missions before, so I turned to my good friend Gaun Arel, who has helped me often in the past when force was needed. He kindly agreed, always a paladin looking for a righteous quest. 

We met up in Dresi, and I did have some trouble finding an agent that was working today. They are all overworked from having too many faithful capsuleers take up missions all at once. But in the end, with a bit of insistance, a tired mrs. Dahyaron Lahara, agent for the Emperor Family, agreed to give me a level IV security assignment. 

The Indagatrix is not suitable for this, but during last year's "secret santa" someone gave me a tanky Stratios-class cruiser with armor repair systems, both in-ship and remote. 

The Stratios managed to tank the incoming fire using its armor repairer, and by moving relatively fast and staying far enough from the pirates. Gaun was clearly well trained for this sort of missions. The light of justice shone bright from large battleship lasers and his Paladin-class marauder melted the pirates without even a scratch on his armor. It was a sight to behold! 

Mrs. Lahara was pleased with the outcome, and I was pleased to have contributed to our common goal today.

Raspite mining

Mehatoor has not been that busy since the pirate incursions - there were at some point nearly 200 pilots here. At first I thought it was because Amarr is now only 8 jumps away.

But then it became clear they were all mining a new kind of ore, grade X Raspite. 

I had missed the morning news, and when I caught up with that, I found out that the Empress has called upon us all to work towards a glorious goal: the creation of a new trade hub, in Amarr. I have never very much liked Jita and its noise and its scammers and other shady figures... I am sure we can organize this in a more orderly manner here in the Empire.

And now Empress Catiz has ordained that it shall be so. Through the Deaconry of Economic Oversight, we shall set up a Blessed Exchange. 

Every Emperor or Empress puts their own mark on our history, and Empress Catiz I is definitely focusing on the economy - recently the opening of a trade consulate in Jita, constructing new gates to shorten trade routes, and now announcing a trade hub that might one day even eclipse the fabled Jita! Her Imperial Majesty's interests still bear the hallmark of House Tash-Murkon, and we stand all to profit from this. 

I am happy that also so many independent capsuleers heeded the Empress' call. The Raspite field was cleared in the blink of an eye...

Construction sites

The mystery of the construction site that I saw in Mehatoor, and a similar one I found in Kemerk, has been solved. I had already noticed that the finished gate from Yulai to Manifest had what looked like the remnants of such a construction site layout around it. My guess was that there would be also new gates in Mehatoor (and Kemerk).

This turns out to be right. The Empire will get new jump connections.

Sources tell me that the Mehatoor gate will connect to the Akes system, bringing down the Mehatoor-Amarr trip to 8 jumps through highsec (from the current 13 via highsec, or 10 via lowsec). 

If this turns out to be true, this is a substantial shortening of the supply lines from Domain to the warzone headquarters! And it will modify the "silk road" connecting Amarr to Jita, also shortening it by five jumps. I can imagine the pilots involved in hauling will throw a party.