TCA and HLQ: Ten Facts and Three Hypotheses
by Tess Olsen, exclusive for the GGG
Fact 1: The Terran Colony Annihilators (TCA) have a history of antagonism against humans, among other species. Fact 2: The ship TCA Inquest (71372) had been parked by the Plague Stargate for a long time with no signs of activity. Fact 3: A fleet of over two hundred warships flagged DEN, IMP, GTT and FCN entered CNF space, with permission from Commander Jackson, to engage and destroy the TCA ship. Fact 4: The ship TCA Inquest (71372) was reduced to debris by the combined warfleet. Fact 5: Before the attack, the TCA ship that had been immobile for at least a couple of years, started slowly moving towards the stargate in an apparent attempt to avoid the battle. Fact 6: Just before the TCA ship started moving, an HLQ ship was seen initiating a close approach to the TCA vessel, in a manoeuvre used for tight-beam communications. Fact 7: The Meklan (MEK) are believed to be the ground troops of the TCA. Fact 8: Prince Aldahan LiQuan, leader of House LiQuan (HLQ), has been meklanized (with some added safety modifications). Fact 9: Prince Aldahan LiQuan, by his own admission, knew about the impending attack on the TCA ship. Fact 10: A couple of weeks after the battle, the HLQ announced that Prince Aldahan LiQuan had been abducted by the TCA.
Hypothesis 1: Prince LiQuan, of his own free will or not, is helping the TCA. The TCA ship was alerted by the HLQ about the impending attack. After that, the relationship between the HLQ and the TCA has been strengthened and the reported abduction was staged so Prince LiQuan could go into a journey of discovery with the TCA without raising suspicion.
Hypothesis 2: Same as Hypothesis 1, with the difference that the TCA did not really warm up to the HLQ and the Prince's plans backfired. The TCA are either curious or annoyed by the HLQ interest and interference. Prince LiQuan was actually abducted by the TCA, either to be studied or to be reintegrated into the TCA's Meklan army.
Hypothesis 3: Prince LiQuan, despite his meklanization, continues to be in full control of his mind and actions. The TCA ship trying to flee from an imminent attack and the proximity of an HLQ ship was purely coincidental. The reported abduction of Prince LiQuan is also not connected to any of the other events involving the TCA or the HLQ.
Or a combination of the three hypotheses. Or something else. You decide.
(Note from the Editor - The GGG contacted the HLQ for more details on the reported abduction of Prince LiQuan, but they refused to release any information: "These questions will not be answered at this time pending the results of the investigation.")
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Johnny Alpha, a New Mercenary-Pirate
by Kaspar Khan, exclusive for the GGG
So there's this new independent starcaptain, Johnny Alpha, apparently an affable individual, silver-tongued and full of swagger, and everyone seems to like him. But then he posts a public advertisement offering his talents as a hit man for hire in the Halo Periphery. "We offer simple to understand terms based on the number of ship hulls destroyed and whether the targets are armed or not." Now all the people who were helping him in his first steps as a struggling free trader are suddenly realizing they've just been fooled and that the guy is no better than a pirate. And the cheeky mercenary seems to have already found an employer, as the Johnny Alpha signature was exposed in at least a couple of shady operations.
+ Ships IND Reaper (18552) and IND Rainman (22386) show up where they weren't welcome, and DTR Speaker of the House of Lords Michelle Diaz tells them to explain themselves. No word from the starcaptains but Johnny Alpha comes forward to say that one of the ships had been his at certain point, that he sold it to someone else, and that he wasn't disclosing the identity of the buyer. The last time we heard that excuse it came from the Krell (KRL) and they were the ones running the ships they claimed to have sold.
+ An unannounced and uninvited IND ground party docks at a DTR starbase in the Yank System, and Admiral Bridge, the man in charge of that facility, tells them to explain themselves. Johnny Alpha comes forward to say it's his ground party but they were just delivering some prisoners back to the DTR. Not only a lame excuse (everyone knows you don't need to land to deliver anything to a facility that has a hiport) but it also connected Johnny Alpha to another piece of skulduggery, as at least one of those prisoners was identified as being captured by pirates not long ago. When asked to explain the provenience of those prisoners, the mercenary resorted to childish insults (I believe "kiss my shiney mutant ass" were his precise words).
Now it seems clear that we have a new mercenary-pirate operating in the peripheries. And it may not be a coincidence that he has been loitering around DTR facilities. What remains to be seen is how freely this Johnny Alpha will be allowed to proceed, especially when the location of his headquarters is known by so many parties. Will the DTR strike at his starbase IND Persepolis (56017) on planet Indar in the Persian System and his 325-hulls orbital platform IND Immortal Guardian (57220)? Or will Johnny Alpha continue his mercenary career unchallenged?
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