Zemina Torval is making a push to prepare AF Leporis this cycle after Denton Patreus‘ expansion there last cycle was defeated. It’s a good earner for either of them – though if Torval takes it, it will remove 6 command capital (CC) from Patreus’ income which may cause some tension.
Meanwhile, Torval has an expansion looks at present likely to succeed, but if it does it will cost her significant CC. Her best options are either to self-snipe it or possibly even a full self-turmoil.
Li Yong-Rui is hauling hard to prepare Betel. Despite GalNet‘s assertion that it will cost him -80CC, SAGi’s calculations show that it will, in fact, make a profit of around +50CC, and clearly Yong-Rui’s tacticians agree. Although Betel is close to AF Leporis, the two are 33ly apart so their control bubbles will not interact.
Duval, Lavigny-Duval, Mahon, and Grom have yet to take any real action, and their preparation lists are still headed by terrible loss-makers – clearly not intended by the leadership of those communities. It is expected these powers will make a more positive move later in the cycle.
Duval’s expansion to the ex-Winters system of Reieni appears to be cruising to an easy victory, currently leading by 230k merits. However, the enemy can ‘snipe’ – earning but not turning in their merits until later. The true result will not be known until the cycle tick at 07:00 galactic standard time on Thursday.
Similarly, ALD‘s expansion in the ex-Winters system of Hyades Sector IC-K b9-4 appears to be doomed, with GalNet showing a massive lead of 140k merits for the opposition. However, ALD is a combat-expansion power, so in this case, both sides can snipe, and the true state of play is not known to either side until the last minute.
Winters, rebuilding after her brutal series of turmoils, is preparing Skardee, a profitable system that will also take significant CC from both Torval and Lavigny-Duval should it succeed.
Looking over at Hudson, currently in turmoil, it is clear that they are suffering from widespread negative activity from within. They are seeing the same problems Winters had in turmoil, preventing them from shedding systems strategically.
The other powers have not shown any commitment to a strong preparation in any system, nor are they showing signs of Fifth Column activity. Typically they will either decide not to prepare anything this cycle or will make a late surprise push that is hard for their enemies to counter.
As always, the last day of the cycle is expected to see some dramatic changes, so keep your eyes on the GalNet power boards.
Sagittarius Eye Breaking News team