Saboteurs and special interests exerted their dangerous influence across the powers last week, threatening Dictator Yuri Grom, Shadow President Felicia Winters, and CEO Li Yong-Rui with loss-making expansions and difficult decisions.
While the Shadow President was able to take control of HIP 50489 despite significant opposition, with over 1 million merits achieved by both sides, she was not able to maintain control of her critical consolidation vote. Powers and their organising commanders rely on votes to prepare or expand to manage their available command capital, preventing bad expansions while shoring up defenses. Winters saw a drop late Wednesday from 68% of commanders voting to consolidate to only 46%, forcing expansion attempts in HIP 53719, LHS 1928, Ao Kang, and LTT 5131. HIP 53719, the Federal Liberal Command’s intended expansion, represents a solidly profitable sphere for her forces. Her latter three active expansions are all unwanted, contesting neighboring friendly or neutral powers while causing serious harm to her economy.
Dictator Yuri Grom faces a similar challenge. Ngaledi, a frequent threat on Grom’s preparation list in recent months, was forced into expansion when the Dictator’s consolidation vote dropped from 93% to 53% If expanded to, Ngaledi will cost Grom 74 CC per week. Expansion triggers of 2.5:19 heavily favour Grom’s internal fifth column.
The rise of Ngaledi as a threat to the EG Union’s domain coincided in April with a defeat for the Diamond Frogs in the system. While the Diamond Frogs, a major anarchist faction local to the region, no longer dominate Ngaledi’s itself, they have maintained control of two large orbitals: Coke and Wankel Port. Cmdr Tuxide of the Diamond Frogs committed to maintaining the system as a haven for anarchists: “We’re not gonna allow black markets to get shut down in Ngaledi…it’s not just us.”
Should Grom’s commanders be forced to take the system against their will, critical black markets at the Diamond Frog ports will be closed, ending a burgeoning illicit trade in low-temperature diamonds.
SiriusGov was forced into turmoil last week in a perilous attempt to block a fifth column expansion in HIP 13653. Their turmoil puts V774 Tauri, a highly profitable system, at risk of revolt.
Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval and President Zachary Hudson’s forces added their break-even expansions in Tenchih and Onduwatya to their domains. Both expansions were unopposed. Princess Aisling’s forces will make another attempt to take Simyr, this time with better triggers — though the opposition is still strongly favored.
Archon Delaine’s Kumo Crew was not able to follow up last week’s victory in Tai Quambis with a win in Atata and have no expansion this week.
Forces pledged to Prime Minister Mahon, President Hudson, Senator Patreus, and Simguru Antal also successfully consolidated last cycle, leaving their pilots with no expansions this week. Both Duval and Antal’s forces noted significant increases in tonnage for sabotage preparations on their lists.
Struggles elsewhere did not interfere with the restructuring of Senator Zemina Torval’s domain. Her “scrap” operation proved a significant victory for her forces and her allies: nine loss-making control systems dominated by special interests were forced into revolt. Many of the Senator’s lost systems were added to her domain by fifth columnists and special interests last year. Their loss improves Torval’s standing CC balance by 807 CC, including reduced overheads. Senator Patreus benefitted as well, regaining 109 CC from formerly contested systems. Despite this success, Torval remains in turmoil, this time with a more mixed outcome. One profitable system, HIP 98621 is at risk alongside a loss-maker, Kappa. Massive gains to her economy last week will make the loss of either unlikely.
Sagittarius Eye Breaking News team