Unknown Collective Logistics Hub
Deep Space

Commander Jenkins stood stiffly as he observed his officers at work. A backbone of the Collective’s efforts against the dastardly Dark Brotherhood, the Capital Enterprises holdings on this station were crucial for the war. By all appearances it was just another of dozens of waystations within the Outer Rim, another place spacers met, traded and refueled, had a bite and moved on. But Jenkins knew the truth, a grim smile on his face as he watched a bulk freighter with a large CE emblazoned on the hull depart from its moorings. Maintaining the facade of a legitimate corporation helped keep the enemy from brazenly attacking their holdings in the open, and with the ever-shifting routes to other Collective locations throughout the Rim, it was almost impossible for them to be intercepted.

His steely eyes flicked to the chrono on the bulkhead, brow furrowing in annoyance. One of the convoys was due to have checked in almost ten minutes past. The Commander didn’t appreciate tardiness; it made the whole system slow down, and made his unit look as if it couldn’t perform. He’d joined as a lowly tech and had worked his way to this position through hard work, efficiency, and eliminating those who’d been too stupid to do the job. Incompetence on the part of a shipping convoy, while not his fault, might look badly on him. He reached to the nearest console and brought up the fleet, checking the expected manifest. It was in code, of course, but he was able to easily glance over and determine the true meaning.

“Mostly foodstuffs and repair parts,” he murmured, glaring at the clock once more.

“Lieutenant Prondu, begin logging convoy 3-1-B as unacceptably late, no sightings yet. Our station will not be held responsible for their bumbling.”

A flash on the sensors showed hyperspace arrivals inbound on the shipping lanes from which the convoy was meant to come from.

“Ah. Finally. Wait, where is their fighter escort? Why is that...are those tugs pulling that freighter in!?”

“Sir! All craft are reporting damage, they claim they were jumped by...umm...sorry repeat? Yes, okay, copy that. Uh, they claim to have been hit by a group of ‘rainbow pirates’, Sir.”

“By what!?”

---

Estle City, Selen

The crowds in Sinchi Plaza had been quiet as the summons had been issued over the city’s speakers and emergency systems. People had been streaming in from the other two Rings slowly, cautiously. Not long past the riots had meant large groups were dangerous, but rumors were spreading that the instigators had been ‘dealt with’, whatever that meant to the general public. The fires and fighting had stopped, at least. The statue of the blindfolded woman some called the Lady of the Night looked down on them, carved smile seeming almost warm in the morning chill. Snow was trying to fall over the city, signs of the winter season upon them.

Officials from the Citadel, wearing better cold gear than many below had, stood above near the statute’s dias. They were hunched over datapads and shouting back and forth, a short man with a tail waving down at the crowd gathering. He looked up and even through his beard the people could see a grin crack open. Others followed his gaze, spotting the incoming shuttles which hovered over the crowd, turning and lowering into the areas that security had kept clear.

Landing ramps dropped, and people craned to see what was inside. Droids and people alike, wearing the uniforms they’d seen so often in the riots, came spilling out two at a time, carrying crates between them. They dropped these at the edge of the security areas, kicking or popping off the lids and grinning as they began to throw pilfered rations, CE printed on the packaging, into the crowds.

The figure near the statue glanced up at it and gave it a lazy, two fingered salute of some kind, and turned to head back up to the Citadel.

Clan News

Helllllo Arcona! Welcome to the last report of the 2018 run!

Obviously, the past month was taken up by the Rites of Supremacy, in which you all showed Arconan spirit and rocked it! We’re so proud of everyone who took a few minutes out of their day each week to knock out the Phase competitions, and the Event Long ones as well.

In Clan news, keep an eye out for the Sins Episode IV epilogue! This is nearly done, obviously Terran and Satsi were busy competing in the Rites, so there’s been a slight but understandable delay. Congratulations to those who topped in the episode, with First Place going to Qyreia, Second to Zujenia, and a tie for Third between Skar and Timeros!

Now, about Arcona and the Collective, a topic that we’ve been wrestling with for the past year. Galeres has focused on the shipwrecked survivors from the initial post-Nancora assault, running several competitions regarding what is becoming an insurgency. The recent RoS has had some impact on this as well, seeing as what was likely the nearest Collective Stronghold (Merodian station) was wiped out. This leaves the Collective presence on Selen in a bit of a bind; will raiding the countryside alone provide them the resources to fight? Will Galeres wipe them out? We’ll see.

Port Ol’val is less of a smoking wreck than it was a year ago due to the rebuilding efforts of Rhylance, Lucine, and Zujenia, as well as Voidbreaker and all the Qel-Droma members who’ve worked to make the Shadowport functional again. Expect the finale round of A Shadow Port in Shambles come the new year!

On the Clan fictional level front, aside from the next Sins episode, post-Rites is going to see us focusing on an aspect we’ve left on the wayside this past year. The Arconan fleet was designed to be a quick strike, raiding force. The Dajorra system needs supplies. The math is pretty simple. Expect fiction updates revolving around the idea of taking what’s needed and competitions related as such. We’ll be asking for feedback to better craft these competitions and updates to the liking of the membership, so please don’t hesitate to contact your summits!

Brotherhood News

The Rite of Supremacy is the big news this go around. The competition saw the six Clans of the Brotherhood fighting the Collective over an artifact and their not-so-hidden Meridian Station, which, coincidentally, was in Arcona’s backyard. How this affects our own story, and the Clan’s fictional direction, has yet to be seen. You can read more about the results here including a breakdown on some participation numbers. Long story short...we took second place to our friends in Odan-Urr by less than 100 points, so never think your efforts don’t matter!

In other news, the site got a recent facelift. Older layouts that some of you may have been using (I was, alas, farewell, Odyessy) have been removed due to maintenance reasons (I loosely quoth the James: It was a pain). The site’s changes are to encourage new joins and make it more mobile friendly, so give it a chance!

Ghosts of Sithmas Past is LIVE! Get your Sithmas spirit on and await the haunting Spirit of Sithmas who looks suspiciously like Atyiru in a wig?

Competition Spotlights

• Ghosts of Sithmas Past of course of course!
• Jumpaosaurus Rex A flash game being ran by our old mate Mako.
• Monthly Fist Challenges Single player gaming challenges from the FIST Office.
• So Much Shipping, Oh My! Ships Ships Ships, competition series with a wide range of comp types involving Ships!
• Star Wars Holiday Puzzles MORE PUZZLES!
• Autumn Puzzle Series Weekly puzzles (doubled up right now due to the RoS), get it get it!
• One Epic Year of Trivia Weekly trivia comps ran by our own Rhylance!
• Selen Development Project The SDP returns with some fresh competitions! Get to the world building and make Selen a place to live.
• Speed Dating 2 Our friend Ethan over in COU is running another co-op competition!
  

Proconsul Prattle

Good day, campers!

First up, let me just say how proud I am of all of you. We came in second in the Rite of Supremacy, just barely edged out on Participation by our COU brethren. Many of you competed in every single bin, and we had a number of members garner multiple novae. On top of all that wonderful news, our very on Q took First Hero, which is just an amazing honor. Congratulations to him, and to everyone. Arcona Invicta!

Next up, Sins of the Past. As Kord said, Atty & I took a brief break from finishing writing Sins so that we could focus on the RoS. Now that results are in and the concluding fiction should be out shortly, we'll be jumping back on that post haste. While I don't have a release date for all of you, we'll be providing one soon. Keep your eyes, lekku, or other sensory organs peeled for that.

Lastly, go check out the amazing Sithmas Competition Series our lovey Summit have put together. It's open to the entire DJB, but I'm counting on Arconans to take home the top three placements in every competition. Go get it!

AsktheRyn

• Zujenia asks,

  • What has Kord noticed needing to be reformed in Estle City as he strolls through? Any organization he dawns there should be? whether an actual necessity can be in question.
    
    • Needs one helluva a paint job. Probably needs more people working on beautifcation, make the place look good again.
      
  • Has Kord visited the local clothes shops? Some of his clothes have been rather destroyed over the past year or so. Any favorite haunts?
    
    • I’d say Threader’s would be his go-to, used clothes are more comfortable.
      
  • Has the Collective jumped into the mess in Estle? Is there any suspicions of traitors in the clan?
    
    • They’re present, ever since the end of the Nacora conflict (go read report fictions!)
      
  • #ButKiffarThat! Terran, how's it been trying to keep the Ryn steady and upholding the responsibilities of Consul?
    
    • Kord: <_<
      
    • Terran: You kids and your In Character questions…
      
  • How'd you think RoS went?
    
    • Kord: We done pretty good, I think.
      
    • Terran: Honestly, pretty great. I'm a bit saddened that we didn't have one or two more Arconans participate. That's all it would have taken to secure first place. Nonetheless, I'm incredibly proud of everyone who put in the time and effort to earn us Second.
      
  • What are some things you are looking forward to seeing the clan progress towards?
    
    • Kord: More regular competitions advancing the Clan story.
    • Terran: Ditto. I'd especially love to see more competition proposals from rank and file members that advance the sory.
      

• Mako Henymory asks,

  • Which do you prefer on a cold night, Honey, Syrup, or melted chocolate?
    
    • Honey goes best with whiskey
      
  • Who was your favorite Nighthawk Captian
    
    • I plead the fifth :P
      

• Wally asks,

  • What are your plans to Make Ol'val Great Again?
    
    • Banners, a wall, maybe suppress any voting.
  • When is Dark Forge making a comeback?
    
    • Ahahahahhaahahahahahahahahah

• Atty/Satsi/Ruka/Abbey asks,

  • Status of Korenia? Are the two maybe bonding over missing their kid/being in close proximity while working again?
    
    • Discussions are taking place. We’ll see.
  • How do you feel your summit is doing? Your elders and vets? JMs?
    
    • Pretty happy with most of our summit. At least one of our Elders jumped out and slapped his, uhh, power, down during the RoS so I’m quite proud of him. I think we’ve got a solid batch of up and comers in the Journeymen.
      
  • What you wearing to the wedding eh? Kilt? KILT?!
    
    • I really need to shop one.

• Tali asks,

  • Why? Kord plz, why? Why? Whyyyyyy?!?!
    
    • You know why.

• Rhylance asks,

  • Is Kord excited about the upcoming birth of our Tali's baby-lek?
    
    • Yup, nervous, excited, 95% certain it won’t have a hairy lek.
  • Have you received any messages from @TerranKoul or @AttyDJB about a couple members conspiring against you? If so, they are completely false.
    
    • I’m not that worried. I have a man on the inside.

• Donny asks,

  • When do you think we will see a new development within the Clan fiction outside of Sins?
    • Intending to start that kicking up next month.
  • Anything where we interact with the Brotherhood as a whole and establish where Arcona is fictionally with the greater storyline?
    
    • We are at least using Brotherhood resources for some intelligence as a way of tying the INQ into things. As of now I have no idea what’s happening after Meridian, wait and see what the the RoS finale gives us!
      
  • Are there any plans for a competition against another Clan or smaller House vs House / BT Vs BT whatever in the upcoming future?
    
    • I still intend to have us Clan Feud at the very least. I’m annoyed with myself for not having one this year that wasn’t co-operative and I apologize to everyone for that.
      
  • Are we wrapping up the internal storylines sometime soon since we've destroyed Selen and our own resources about 4-5 times now and as a Clan fictionally should be scattered to the winds?
    
    • That is addressed above in Clan News, both Houses are working on their fictional advancements and the Clan will be moving ahead as well.
      

• Jael asks,

  • I gotta question. How do you think porg pizza would taste?
    
    • Depends on the sauce, I find garlic parmesan is a good pairing with chicken, maybe some bacon too.
      

• Lucine asks,

  • Does the Shadow Sloth have any fun holiday plans? How about you, OOC?
    
    • He...will...spend it alone or with Zuji, maybe with Shay as well if they can get away. OOC, uhh, bartending lots of christmas parties, I hope.
      
  • Are you getting tired of me asking if there have been any interesting attempts on your life?
    
    • Nah, spices things up
  • Any interesting attempts on your life recently?
    
    • Not any that stand out.
      
  • What sort of working relationship do you anticipate having with the new director of the DIA? What future fictional plans are in the works for the Clan?
    
    • Kord believes he can trust Lucine to do right by Arcona, as it provides her protection, beyond that? She’s got her own agenda and he’d be an idiot not to realize that. The DIA will, of course, have something to do with the future of the Clan.
      

• Alethia asks,

  • Kord walks into a room. Alethia, Lucine, and Satsi are there, chatting and laughing. All three of them look at him and smile. What part of this is most terrifying to Kord and how does he react? An ordered list of reasons why this is terrifying is also acceptable
    
    • ‘Ladies. Drinks? Need anything? Great, Imma go.’ Those three getting along is the scariest part of this situation.