Space Exploration and Logistics Services

February Newsletter

What’s New!
One year ago SEALS started out with 66 members and was working towards its first capital construction
project with five blueprints. Now we are producing Oracs! Lets work to increase production capacity

The Alliance frigate fight club has been revived and is up Last Month Snapshot.
and running! Acop is managing this bare knuckle brawl
POS beacon was put into position, and the
where armor chunks, and nanite fluid fly. Rankings are
station is up and running in XHQ-7V.
based on a ladder system so get out there and fight your
fellow alliance members for standing. Just remember its only 2 Orcas were produced this month.
unnamed T1 gear so no prototypes! 425 million in profit for the Alliance.

Chumly Incorporated now has 5 BPOs for constructing

Obelisks.
Member news.
Zeller Price trained Adv. Weapons
THE FLEET HAS ARRIVED! Upgrades 5 on 1/29/09. “BLAM!”
Kip Blackbird trained Refining
Efficiency 5. “Grind Grind Grind.”
Backley attained Mining Director 5 and
Cybernetics 5. “Put those rocks there.”
Trenjeska attained Spatial Awareness
and Iron Will 5. “So studious!”

Screen shot of the fleet traveling to

Nul sec to drop off the station.
Submitted by Kip and Victoria
Blackbird.

On Tuesday January 27th SEALS put together a convoy of about 20 ships to move a POS beacon into
position in XHQ-7V.
With superb leadership from Zepher we got down to KBP7 with no hostile actions. Several KOS pilots
were spotted and with some clever escape and evade tactics we avoided them following us. Great job
everyone!

Background image: Alexandria by guchi http://guchi.deviantart.com/

 Operations outcomes.
1/17/09 mining op: 114,988,471 isk in player profits.
Mineral Quantity: Tritanium 22,456,60; Pyerite 7,300,735; Mexallon 1,850,990; Isogen 127;
Nocxium 5; Megacyte 4

1/10/09 mining op: 255,501,452 isk in player profits.

Mineral Quantity: Tritanium 30,194,592; Pyerite 14,867,752; Mexallon 3,891,621; Isogen 59;
Nocxium 7; Megacyte 1; Zydrine 1

Letter from the big Kahuna, Zepher8062.

The Scales of Friendship

Sev3rance, one of the leading 0.0 alliances and well known for its NRDS policy, is foregoing an ugly war.
Counter Errorist Unit declared a state of war against the enormous alliance on January 11th, 2009, only
days after Sev3rance’s previous war with another pirate corporation ended. This puts the SEALS alliance at
a very weary state. It has no decision whether to help -7- with their problem or to simply stay out of it. Both
have advantages…..as well as complications.

On the one side, we can help -7-… Support them on their fronts by sending down a large stationary fleet to
defend their borders. Such an action would be most honorable. It may even possibly score SEALS a few
Kudos points as well. The offensive side would consist of SEALS declaring war on any aggressing alliance or
corporation that attacks -7-. Thus any war targets encountered by a SEALS member, both High Security
Space and Low, would be considered a Shoot-On-Sight target. Possible reciprocation of this could include a
systemic war declaration on SEALS and massive counter-offensive enemy fleets. SEALS could lose the fight
horribly, but is it such a noble and courageous act that a loss would have no dishonor? The stories, passed
down the depths of space, of the time SEALS Alliance came to the aid of another and gave it all for a friend
in need. Has a nice ring to it, eh?

Now, contrary to that stance, SEALS may also decide to stay out of the conflict, considering it to: “Not be
our Fight.” This would protect SEALS from any attention… basically keeping the fight away from them.
Recourses could be focused on more intra-alliance items, pilots would have no worry of incoming aggressors,
even the cost of a war declaration would not be present. In advocate depiction, this could be viewed
negatively and possibly hinder the reputation of the alliance. Simultaneously the lifestyles of the current
SEALS Alliance members must be brought into consideration. They would be dragged into this even if they
are not prepared. Would they be ready to assist?
Background image: Alexandria by guchi http://guchi.deviantart.com/
Regardless to which one is the smartest thing to do, SEALS must decide which one is the right thing to do…
If the decision is passed to proceed with Sev3rance assistance, the fleet must be prepared to deploy by the
first week of February… Maybe even Sooner.

Corporation member news.

EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA!

Hostile takeover of RC botched! Leads to Chumly merger.

Due to changes in the ownership and management organization of Rock Crushers, which has its
headquarters at Federal Freight Storage at Blameston 6, some of its members are moving over to Chumly
Incorporated, which is headquartered at the DED Assembly Plant orbiting Raneilles 3. Moral took a blow
inside Rock Crushers due to activity levels of the prior and current CEOs being low. Tensions were
building. Then an executive decision inside Rock Crushers led to outright strife: leave SEALS.

A rift opened up between management and members at this point: work out the differences with the new
management or use union powers and move to another corp. Sympathetic members of this union decided
to move within the alliance to a different corporation. After discussions with other member corporations
this union of Rock Crusher workers reached an accord with Chumly Incorporated's board of directors. 5
members and 2 alts of those members have moved over to Chumly’s member roles. There are currently
about 11 inactive members in Rock Crushers.

With Rock Crushers being sold to a third party with an unknown background, Mr Blackadder, for a
whopping 700 million isk, further involvement with SEALS needs to be assessed by Leadership.

Upcoming Operations and Events.

Ongoing Alliance frigate fight club. Challenge someone and fight!

Now that the station is up in XHQ-7V more null sec mining ops will be run. Check the forum and Eve mail
for times.

Screenshot of the Month.

Background image: Alexandria by guchi http://guchi.deviantart.com/

Submitted by Trenjeska. Congratulations Trenjeska! This is of the fleet moving the station down to
XHQ-7V.

Background image: Alexandria by guchi http://guchi.deviantart.com/

EVE fan fiction of the month.

Highway to Heaven by Acop

“Tim, remind me to stop you next time you say you've found the perfect job for us,” Roger said in a
tired voice.

“Yes captain,” Tim replied in an equally unconcerned tone.

“And stop calling me captain, you know I've said it....AURA knows how many times.”

“Fourteen times” the computer replied immediately. The captain sighed, laid his head to rest on his
palm, as Tim replied with a barely audible “roger Roger.”

Tim knew he was pushing his luck, as the trip had lasted long enough already, and they were only half
way there. The captain started tapping his fingers against the chair's armrest.

“What were you thinking anyway, transporting that stuff in a ship like this?” the captain asked in a
slightly annoyed tone.

”How would I know that this scrap heap wasn't certified for moving antimatter charges? I was just
happy that it wasn't another shipment of enriched uranium” Tim replied, trying his best to remain calm.

“The pay out barely covered the expenses of replacing the crew.”

“Yea yea Tim, that was my mistake, but do you have the slightest idea what would happen if someone
decided to put another hole in the cargo bay for us? You don't just “clean up” after an antimatter leak.”

Tim reached for his coffee mug at the control panel, but did not answer.

”Let's just say you wouldn't be around to worry about it. We aren't pod pilots yet you know, and we'll
never be if keep having to replace the Iteron.”

”Well we could start replacing the armor plates before they fall off by themselves. Should be cheaper”
-”Just mind your piloting and I'll mind our budgeting. Besides, the shields still work.”

”Emphasis on ‘still’. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that this ship is of Gallente design,” Tim replied.
A bright light filled the room as the jumpgate activated for the 10th time that day.

Background image: Alexandria by guchi http://guchi.deviantart.com/

 “Not even a sentry gun in sight, you really outdid yourself when picking that assignment,” the captain
said in a cold voice.

“Yup, doing my best as always.”

”And you're sure we have to go this way?”

“Unless you want to to take a 40 jump detour.”

”Just get us into warp.”

A low beeping sound began to appear from the control panel in front of Tim while a small LED lighted
up his coffee mug.

“What's that? Another hull leak?” the captain asked.

“No, my coffee went cold”

“Huh?” -”Just kidding” Tim replied. “It's an incoming distress call. One of those prerecorded ones.
Apparently someone got desperate enough to push the red button”

A few moments went by as the captain sat scratching his black bearded chin, clearly thinking the
situation through. “Is it nearby?” he finally asked.

”Who knows?” Tim replied in the his usual non-caring tone.

”Well, find out. You're the tech guy here.”

”Gee, thanks for the promotion. . .what do you want to know this for anyway? I thought you wanted to
stay out of trouble and get this job over with.”

”I've got a plan.”

”I feared that much,” Tim replied.

”Look, if there really are survivors in there, we'll scoop the escape pods and let them reward us nicely.
If there aren't any, we can claim what's left of their ship and cargo.”

”Did it occur to you that this ship went down for a reason?” Tim asked, as this trip was getting further
and further off track. It wouldn't be the first time they got themselves into trouble.

”That's why our tech guy is scanning the site for life signs. If it looks clear, we'll head in and take a
closer look.”

Background image: Alexandria by guchi http://guchi.deviantart.com/

 ”Yes captain,” Tim ducked as a handheld datapad passed a few inches above his head.

”I'll get you next time.” the captain said in a less annoyed voice. Apparently the prospects of a shortcut
to wealth weighted more heavily in his mind than the disobedience of his pilot. ”Just get us into warp
when you're sure it looks clear.”

The warpbubble had collapsed as planned and left the small Iteron II a few AU from the jumpgate. In
front of them, about 50km away, a small cloud of debris filled the otherwise empty landscape.
“Well, that's our signal,” Tim said, sounding like he couldn't quite believe his sensors, and for a good
reason. The debris floating in the distance did in no way resemble the remains of a ship. None of the
pieces resembled structures known from common ship designs. Much of it looked like interior parts of a
ship, but was as anonymous as the rest of the objects. Judging by the amount of scrap metal littering the
scene, it could very well have belonged to a battleship.
“Looks like that ship got...minced,” the captain said, staring at the mess in front of him. He continued:
“Do you think we'll find any survivors in there?”
”For all we know, that transmitter could have been running for weeks. I really wouldn't count on it.
Although it seems strange that it survived this. Whoever did this didn't seem to leave much intact at all”
Tim replied. “Can we move on now?”
”Yes” The captain said with his unusual enthusiasm. ”Set course for that wreck.”
”That's not what I . . ..”
”Do I need to remind you how the chain of command works on this ship?” Tim found the comment
rather comical due to the fact that two links could hardly be defined as a “chain”, but the captain's look
made Tim keep that comment to himself. The sub-warp drives were activated with no further discussion
and the old cargo ship started closing in on the wrecked ship. The captain sat quietly at his seat, looking
calm, while Tim tried to do the same. He knew he wouldn't be able to relax until the ship got back on its'
original route. The wreck was getting closer and started taking up more and more of their view.
Tim spotted something not too far away. ”Is that an armor plate?”
”Indeed it looks like it. A pristine sample too – doesn't even look like it's been hit,” the captain said.
”Shall I reel it in?”
”Yes, warm up the tractor beam. This won't be the last piece.”
”This is close enough anyway. Setting drives to idle.”
Background image: Alexandria by guchi http://guchi.deviantart.com/
 The ship's strong magnetic field projector gently started pulling the armor plate within reach of the
ship's cargo bay, where the cargo managing drones soon would take over.
“I thought you said you stopped the ship Tim?”
”I did. We aren't moving at any speed worth mentioning.”
”Well, we're still moving towards the wreck.”
”Look, the sensors aren't lying unless the stars started moving all of a sudden.” Tim replied with a slight
touch of annoyance.
”So you're saying the wreck is moving towards us?”
”No, space is just messing with your perception again, just take a look at the radar.” Tim said, while
pointing over his shoulder at a black flickering screen behind them.
”The screen that used to be our radar you mean.”
”Used to...?” Tim turned his seat around to look. “But it worked just a minute ago. Aura, run a check on
the radar system.”
The captain leaned forward over the control panels to get a better look through the front window.
”Definitely coming closer,” he mumbled to himself as the computer answered Tim's request with a: “Radar
functionality ceased. Vital hardware was not found.”
”Very close . . .” He turned his head and looked at Tim.
”Emergency warp. NOW! Get us out of here.” Still trying to catch up with the events of the last 20
seconds, Tim finally realized what was going on. Glancing through the front window he could still see the
wreck in the distance, but it looked less dense than before. Suddenly, something passed the front window,
covering the cockpit in darkness for a second, before disappearing down below the ship.
”Why aren't we moving?!” The captain yelled. Tim did not know the answer, but he feared the worst.
He had already given the computer the instructions to initiate emergency warp, yet the ship was still
lingering in space, surrounded. A slight vibration went through the ship's hull. A few seconds later, an
alarm started ringing from the control panel.
”We're losing pressure in the engine section and the warp bubble still isn't forming for some reason. The
core isn't draining correctly.”
”Start the sub-warp drives. We really can't stay here!” Tim executed the order as fast as he could,
setting the ship's speed to maximum. The hull shook more violently than before. A flash of light caught

Background image: Alexandria by guchi http://guchi.deviantart.com/

their attention from outside the window. It was flying directly away from them, along the ship's center
axis.
”You installed missile launchers and never told me?” the captain asked with a voice filled with disbelief.
”No I'm afraid that was our main drive taking off.” Two more lights took off from the ship, seemingly
closing in on the first, despite its uncontrolled course.
“Main cargo bay is decompressing! We have blast doors closing everywhere, but we're still losing
pressure! It seems like mid-ship is being completely picked apart.” Tim was more right than he'd have
wanted to know. Most of the rear engine block had already been detached by the pack of rogue drones
which was now working on the plating covering the cargo bays. Regularly, one of them would start
dragging the loosened pieces back to the nest in the debris cloud beyond the ship. They were effective
workers and would soon start reaching more vital parts of the ship. The cockpit went dark.
”Great, there goes the power and our last engine just left us. Captain what do we do?”
”Start transmitting our distress call and help me getting the escape pod hatch open.” The captain was
already trying his best to force the door open, but it was nigh impossible without the hydraulics. The two
pilots' time was running out as the metallic menaces had forced their way into the cargo hold and had
started breaking everything down to a transportable size. They needed everything they could get in
order for the swarm to survive in this desolate region. Laser cutters were working everywhere.
“Come on Tim, it's moving!” In a corner, two drones had found their way to a large sealed container,
carrying the symbol of an eagle. It was not designed to withstand the focused photon beams which had
already torn through the container, exposing its contents to the beam.
“Good, now get inside and let's get this thing launched!”
The canister did not withstand the laser much longer than the contained had done and it was no longer
intact. The power circuit maintaining the magnetic field was cut and the suspended content was no longer
contained. Soon after, it made contact with the inner surface of what was once a battleship sized
antimatter hybrid charge. It took less than a second before the casing was gone, and the rest of them
followed soon after, dissolving into pure energy. Tim and Roger knew nothing about all this happening in
the cargo bay. With their attention focused at shutting the hatch from the inside, they didn't have time to
notice themselves disintegrating as their valuable cargo invaded the escape pod.
Search teams did a short, but unfruitful search for the lost cargo.
This concludes the last voyage of the transport ship: Highway III

Background image: Alexandria by guchi http://guchi.deviantart.com/