On December 15, 2018, at slightly before 01:00, The Initiative again took the…err…initiative in J115405, also known as Rage. Following up on its very successful attack on the Keepstar named Fort Knocks, The Initiative was looking to destroy the second Hard Knocks Keepstar. This Keepstar had the name of “Unassailable Wealth”.
Reducing this Keepstar to its final timer had been a relatively quiet affair. The Keepstar Doomsday device pulsed every 10 minutes or so, with a steady stream of bombs emanating from its heart. The resistance by Hard Knocks in the form of an actual fleet was lacking, as were their valued allies.
By 01:18, the Keepstar erupted into a ball of flame and twisted metal. The wormhole community felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. It is feared something terrible has happened. And something terrible had happened…well, for Hard Knocks, at least.
As the blast wave filled the night sky, containers and ships were spewed forth. Hundreds of items appeared, countless hours of effort jettisoned for the victors to claim as their own. By 01:40, the Keepstar grid had been cleared of the debris by Initiative members. It was another prize well-earned. While the former possessions of Hard Knocks were being looted by Initiative members, there was a special display given to observers of this win. The Initiative fleet made an impressive display of piloting, or organisation, by arranging their ships in the formation of their alliance logo. Yet again Initiative demonstrated its competence in a manner many elite groups could only view with at least a little envy.
Initiative has declared that it intends to purge all traces of Hard Knocks from J115405. Towers, citadels and even the customs offices, everything would be destroyed. Many of the remaining structures are also poised to die in the very near future.
Perhaps most interestingly is what the future holds for Hard Knocks. The shock waves of this incursion by The Initiative are even being felt by other wormhole residents. The safety that wormholers felt in spooky space has been rocked. Could it even be that other nullsec or lowsec entities will now look to wormhole space for the ever-sought-after content? It is entirely possible that the Hard Knocks nullsec rental empire will now find itself under threat. Especially given that Hard Knocks has been claiming that it can only field 100 pilots or so. Does an alliance that can only field such numbers really deserve to hold an entire region full of renters?
Only time will tell what the future of Hard Knocks truly holds. There has been rumours that they will fold into another entity. But at this time there is no significant change in their numbers according to Dotlan.
In all of this I can only but wonder if the fate of Hard Knocks is tied into their lack of faith in Bob. For we all know that Bob is cruel and unforgiving to those whose wills are tested and found to be wanting.
