On the 17th of March, 2021, the iHub in GE-8JV fell. In these unusual times,  it is hard to know the importance of such structures, as both PAPI and the Imperium have suggested that some losses like this one are not significant. However, for many, this iHub falling is a most notable event.

In a Galaxy Far, Far Way

Let me set the context. Back in February of 2017, Brave made some big announcements: they would be leaving their home in Fade, due to continued pressure from Pandemic Legion (a member of PanFam). Brave’s destination would be Catch. More importantly, Brave would be joining The Legacy Coalition, led by Test Alliance Please Ignore (TAPI).

At that time, Brave had been battered and their member count had been reduced to below 4,000. Every turn they made seemed to only lead to another crisis or disaster. The situation was dire for Brave and they needed to find security with other friendlies from the terrors of Pandemic Legion. It was common knowledge that Catch was far from the “best space,” not even close. But, it would be safer space for Brave and allow them the opportunity to be a part of a coalition that would be able to assist them. Catch would also provide a constant stream of content, given its position and importance in freight logistics.

Playing a Game of Catch

Catch was not to be occupied solely by Brave. Other members of The Legacy would share the region. Brave would set their capital system to GE-8JV, and that would be their home for the next four years.

From their new home in Catch, Brave would go on to grow greatly. Brave currently stands at 13,500 members, despite being in a war for almost a year. In other words, they have tripled their size since moving to Catch in 2017. During this time Brave would also go on to defeat Pandemic Legion in battle. Capital fleets were made. Life was good for Brave in The Legacy.

But, these four years also saw other changes within the Brave organization and culture. When they entered Catch, they were the “small guy” that had been beaten on for years. As such, they declared very loudly that they were more principled than other groups. “Fun per hour” was a core principle, as was “keeping it classy.” But what people say and what they do can be in conflict at times.

Weaving A Tangled Web

In 2020 Brave joined a “war of extermination” in which the intent – by definition – was to stop people from playing Eve. Had Brave been wronged in some way? The answer to this ultimately turned out to be a resounding “no.” The “war of extermination” had been started, as everyone has slowly come to understand, in order to increase the rental holdings of The Legacy. Somehow, Brave had gone from “fun per hour” to trying to make people stop playing the game so that they, and their allies, could rent out more space.

You may think that stark statement could not be further from the ethos promoted in Brave. There was, however, more to come.

Brave is, of course, a part of The Legacy, and The Legacy is the lead coalition in the mega-coalition PAPI. With odds of 3:1, PAPI set about burning the homelands of The Initiative (INIT), a member of The Imperium. When burning down INIT, Brave maintained in local that this was all meant for “gf.”  Good fights; good fun. However, these same comments from Brave members contributed to INIT’s decision to move to the region of Curse, in striking range of Catch and other regions controlled by The Legacy.

You might think that Brave would be gracious in both victory and defeat. But Brave were less than that. In fact, Brave were very vocal in what they thought of INIT. Brave took great glee in destroying the home of INIT. This bravado was also carried over to Brave’s declarations that Catch would never fall to a “dead alliance.” This may seem a little odd given the virtuous declarations of Brave in the past and the motto to “stay classy.”

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul

We also see that many of Brave’s recent membership gains have come at the expense of other The Legacy corporations. Since November of 2020, nine corporations have joined Brave, all of them coming from another member of The Legacy alliance.

So, four years after moving to Catch, Brave has gone from “fun per hour” to assisting in the creation of the largest rental blue donut New Eden has ever seen. In so doing, they have all but abandoned their former home of GE-8. The Keepstar remains, as do many structures belonging to Brave. However, Brave has shown its intent to continue to follow The Legacy in its war of extermination. Reminds me of an old song: “Where you lead, I will follow. Anywhere, that you tell me to.”

This leaves the fate of GE-8 still somewhat uncertain. But, given the many unkind words Brave cast in the direction of INIT, it is not unreasonable to think that INIT will be looking to unseat Brave from their traditional home of GE-8. It would be foolish to make predictions too far into the future. Will INIT use cyno jammers? Will they perhaps use some novel doctrine? Will they just wait for PAPI to be so committed elsewhere that they can strike uninterrupted?

What we can say for certain is that with the fall of the GE-8 iHub, Brave has entered a new chapter in its history. They have chosen a direction and have signalled quite clearly that they consider their future to be with The Legacy, pursuing rental schemes. All their efforts are to be focused on Querious and “exterminating Goons.” This seems to be about as far from “fun per hour” and “new player friendly” as you can get, but what would I know? Time will tell how this plan works out for Brave. But for now, at least in actions, Brave has left Catch.