Intergalactic Summit

Dear fellow capsuleers,

Due to the unfortunate reaction of the Intaki Assembly to the previous tourney events I will be relocating the Orbital Strike Tournament to another venue. I'm currently scouting locations and in discussions with planetary authorities in several systems, but I would like to keep the finals in the Gallente/Caldari warzone since participants have already committed assets to this area. I feel that I will be able to finalize the region of the tourney in approximately 24 hours. The specific system will be announced 1 half hour to 1 hour before the final match.

The tournament has resulted in two fantastic teams of freelance clone soldiers, one from Unclaimed and one from Rise of Legion, that will face off in approximately 54 to 58 hours. There is still plenty of opportunity to bet on the outcome of the match and the betting pool has almost exceeded 1 billion ISK. We are hoping to arrange a live broadcast of the match for your viewing pleasure; however, holoreels of the finals will be made available after the match in case this isn't possible.

You are not limited to betting and being an observer though. Arrangements have been made for Capsuleers to provide off site support through orbital strikes. Please be aware that only tactical strikes will be authorized. While it would be spectacular to see the impact of larger orbital assest being put down range, I think it would be best to keep some sections of the finals area intact. If you are interested in providing support you will first need to be authorized with either the Minmatar/Gallente milita to arrange support for Rise of Legion or the Ammar/Caldari milita to arrange support for Unclaimed.

I will be also rewarding successful orbital strikes that result in confirmed kills of clone soldiers involved in the finals match. The pilot with the first confirmed clone soldier kills from orbit will receive a payment of 500 million ISK. If that pilot is able to survive to the end of the match on the ground they will receive an additional 500 million ISK. If their ship is destroyed before the ground engagement ends the second 500 million will be awarded to the capsuleer who lays the final blow. I strongly suggest using either hybrid or tactical laser ammo as emp strikes rarely result is little more than shield depletion of forces on the ground.

Please also note that this match will take place in low security space, so don't expect Concord or local government forces to come to your assistance should you be engaged while in the area.

If you would like more information please contact me or read my other communiques regarding the event. Best of luck to all the participants on the ground and in orbit!

Sincerely,

Kane Spero
Organizer of the Orbital Strike Tournament

Well, I respect that you've taken the issues of local planetary governments into consideration.

I guess it was only a matter of time until capsuleers figured out a way to turn orbital bombardment of terrestrial planets into a sporting event.

Remind me to never hope again, okay?

I would say that terrestrial environments provide the closest aproximation in terms of war games and real battlefield scenarios, but I do see some merit in the excitement of using exotic low gravity environments for competitions in the future.

Tiberious and Malcolm, this should be a time of excitement and not a moment to lose hope! These events not only help improve the various experimental weapon technologies being used, but also allow for fantastic advancements to defensive and medical technologies! I was reviewing a holoreel of one of the matches and a clone soldier was cleaved almost in half by an Amarrian laser rifle. Any normal soldier would have expired but he was repaired almost completely after being injected with a cocktail of prototype medical nanites. While the scarring was significant, the soldier easily refreshed his clone after the battle.

I approve of this decision. In my opinion, Intaki Prime should be the last planet chosen for any violence to take place.

Peace,

-Ché Biko

No inhabited planet should be chosen, if you absolutely must sate your fetish for violence and death. Why the organizers of this tournament considered this a good idea, I will never understand.

As President of the Intaki Prosperity Initiative, I thank you for your generous offer and appreciate your decision to relocate the tournament. The funds will be put to good use.

So.

Rather than bombing a major homeworld, you decided it was appropriate to hold your godawful tournament on the outskirts of a city that just recently suffered massive death and destruction via orbital bombardment.

You are either clueless, an idiot, or a monster.

Perhaps you are all three.

Just because something might be profitable ("Come see the orbital bombing tournament just outside the city of Rilnais, which recently suffered from a real life orbital bombardment!" is undoubtedly good marketing copy under the auspice of "No such thing as bad publicity") doesn't mean it has class or merit.

I will never understand the "Profit First" motivation. You are intentionally aggravating the only recently created traumatic memories of an entire city for profit. You seem to see nothing wrong with this.

The fact that they let people like you have pilots licenses is what drives me in what I must do.

Its in the interests of population control and promotion of better lifestyle to choose a populated planet. Truth is many planets have populations rapidly outgrowing their economy and resources. Those populations are suffering deprivations of an ever decreasing standard of living. But by suddenly reducing the population burden by significant amounts and stimulating the economy with rebuilding efforts - the net effect is normally a significant increase in income and lifestyle within a few months of the event.

Further orbital strikes are the human way of handling excess population. The lack of warning time for the actual event lessens stress and worry while the method ensures complete and painless annilhilation for 99.9% of the affected. Also unlike other common methods like "The Lottery", the orbital strike method of population control normally harvests complete family units and neighborhoods - greatly lessening the amount of emotional pain by loved ones and friend left behind. More importantly for the sponsoring politicians there are fewer survivors from the selected population to grow dissatisfied with the results and to bring complaints to an office already busy with details of a coupe.