The summer slump is over
Business has been hectic for many in nullsec over the last week or so. Events are firing off all over the place and it seems, that at least for now, the summer doldrums are over.
Test went north in order to find “content” and “good fights”. After an intriguing journey up that left everyone wondering where they were going to they arrived in the system MTO. Their intention was to settle a long standing grudge with Sort Dragon, the leader of the Dorkness alliance. Dorkness is the leading alliance of Guardians of the Galaxy coalition. Test was met by the mega-bluetral landlord coalition of PanFam and pets. With Test facing such numbers where its enemies have capital superiority, its quest seemed somewhat doomed.
Then The Imperium declared it was on the move in order to seek action and even possibly vengeance. Again, all of Eve was left guessing as to where they would go. Never in the history of The Imperium had the destination been such a closely kept secret. Once the move operation was completed, The Imperium settled in the lowsec system of Hakonen. All of the more vocal Eve “experts” were wrong in their analysis. With the arrival of The Imperium, dynamics in the north changed at an instance.
Test seeing this move by The Imperium then felt that they needed to move again. Test had setup their forward operating base in DRF space. This meant that there were potentially political issues that were in play here. Test had committed to not performing certain aggressive acts in order to not draw the DRF into having to get involved in one way or another. So Test decided that it needed to move in order to ensure that they kept its word to the DRF and did not complicate matters to their kind host. Test then fooled everyone again by moving to the lowsec system of Obe. Obe happens to be right next door to Hakonen, which is the staging area of The Imperium.
So now we have Test and The Imperium right next to each other with both setting their sights on targets in the northern bluetral landlord coalition. Test have made it very clear that it is not friendly with The Imperium, but instead has a target of greater importance. The Imperium have stated that it is in the area for their own purposes and do not need or necessarily desire to work with Test.
There is so much more to the actions in the north. Dorkness running around while Sort Dragon is seemingly claiming that they are leading the military efforts of PanFam. Initiative is sending shock waves through PanFam as well with very aggressive and successful actions of its own. PanFam is sending fleets to Delve to try and relieve the pressure that they are experiencing from The Imperium. The situation is in a complete state of flux.
But there is still more happening, and this time in the south-east.
Here we go again
Co2 joined The Imperium many years ago. The group initially performed very well, and was keen to earn its place. But as Co2 grew, its leadership’s true nature became more apparent through constant bickering with other coalition members, demanding ever increasing amounts of moons, doing their own thing, and expecting rewards from campaigns they were always first to leave from. This all culminated in the betrayal of The Imperium by Co2. Co2 not only flipped sides during the casino war, but also supplied the Money Badger Coalition with very valuable information about titans and super carriers.
To the rest of Eve, at least in the main, this would tarnish Co2 in a way that they would be unlikely ever be able to recover from. But there were some willing to work with Co2 in the belief that they were somehow mistreated by The Imperium.
A similar pattern seems to be present with their membership in The Legacy Coalition, led by Test. Although this time Gigx, the leader of Co2, has been far quicker in showing his true colours. There have already been a number of instances of “a difference of opinion” displayed by Gigx. Call to Arms (CTAs) have been extended by Gigx in order to kill his own line members that were simply trying to make a living.
Then there was the moment when Gigx declared war on The Imperium earlier this year: a move that seemed ambitious and ultimately, given the progress of Co2, one can say vastly over stated. Co2 suffered at the hands of PanFam with some major losses to their capital fleets. Gigx’s hot-headed nature means that he is often prone to being baited and then fully committing, where a more prudent leader would know to cut their losses. Some hail this as strong leadership, while others consider it more foolish. Co2 has also been observed offering assistance to PanFam, The most notable instance was during a conflict between The Imperium and NC where Co2 arrived to offer NC assistance.
As already stated, Co2 has a history of an interesting view of wealth distribution and accumulation. So it was no surprise to see this post pop up on Reddit. Of particular note is the comment from Tarkinius, the leader of FCON and the Phoenix Federation. Tarkinius explains at some length, something they are renowned for, the situation from his perspective regarding Co2. It is worth noting that the sentiment of Tarkinius is one echoed from over a year ago by The Imperium. Tarkinius does not blame Gigx for wishing to increase his wealth but does not like the apparent lies associated to the actions of Gigx.
Many do consider Tarkinius and FCON to be rather weak. Given the actions of Gigx it would seem that he should be considered one of these number. There is a fair amount of evidence to support this as well. FCON by its own admission was quick to alter its relationships in the south when news broke of Test and Co2 coming down. Most recently, FCON has taken in alliances and corporations that found themselves in difficulty with Triumvirate. But then FCON performed a masterstroke of joining the DRF after Triumvirate reset everyone else. Triumvirate still has the DRF as blue, so FCON had secured safety when Triumvirate was making noises of being restless and in search of “content”.
In Tarkinius’s plea for the south to look to the north for content, it could also be said “you have content on your own doorstep, why move?” But the history of FCON has always seemed to have them choosing the path of least resistance, as has been mentioned frequently by FCON admirer Grath Telkin of PL fame. So it is likely that FCON will try all that they can to ensure that they do not have to fight. But with such a public statement from Tarkinius you have to contemplate if this is a last ditch attempt for him to encourage Gigx to see reason.
The path to war
There is a certain amount of history between Co2 and the DRF and not always cordial. While living in the north Co2 would frequently cause diplomatic incidents that had to be patched up by The Imperium.
So now we have a Triumvirate that is hungry for war and resetting all but the DRF. The DRF’s newest members having a dispute with their neighbour Co2. A dispute that seems to have been initiated by Co2 at that. PanFam is quite distracted in the north so is unlikely to become involved. The Imperium is on a little outing to blow off the cobwebs. Finally, we have Co2, which has always insisted on its strength, and has an opportunity to finally prove it. It should be remembered that Co2 have done nothing of note for years aside from self-destruct Machariel fleets and turn traitor when suitable.
This all means that there is a war all primed in the south should the potential participants be willing to do so. They can of course remain “bluetrals” (thank you, Querns—I love this term!) and look to third party on fights many regions away. A potential issue is that the rest of The Legacy Coalition may be sucked into a war with the DRF over the actions of Co2.
It would seem that Gigx at least is sure of his course of action:
[CO2] gigX – Yesterday at 2:42 PM @[FCON] Tarkinus CO2 is reseting all your shit, keep sucking dick now
We will continue to keep you updated on the developments of this issue should it be noteworthy.
