It is said that a Beacon burns most brightly in the darkest depths of night - as a new darkness descends on the galaxy we offer a place for hope to shine again.

We will not lie and claim to be unbiased as other publications do, our aim is to give an opportunity to all the Humans and Aliens who oppose the darkness that has infiltrated the Empire of Man to tell their side of the story. It is up to you as readers to hear both sides of the story and decide who you believe is telling you the truth.



Imperial sanctioned piracy to support Caliphate war efforts



Attacks on merchant ships is something that the Beacon team take very seriously, especially when these attacks are perpetrated by governments and/or chartered affiliations that normally would combat piracy within their own borders.

It has already been reported on public channels that the Caliphate were able to get Imperial (IMP) and Galactic Trade and Transport (GTT) warships to open fire on Hexamon (HEX) merchant ships in corewards prior to the recent conflict in Zewt due to the IMP and GTT having incorrect combat settings.

While the CEO of the GTT has resigned following the events in Zewt, in a bizarre twist the Imperials appear to be blaming the HEX for speaking out about these attacks and have sanctioned a shoot on sight policy against any HEX ships in Corewards and non claimed space.

This week saw the first instance where this sanction to commit piracy outside the borders of Imperial space was enacted. The perpetrators were sadly the GTT who sent a squadron of 10 warships to blockade a world with a HEX base. A group of merchant ships heading to the base were engaged resulting in the destruction of 3 of the ships. We were not told how many crew were lost by the HEX but our condolences go out to their families.

It is a sad turn events to see such great and honourable affiliations like the IMP and GTT turn to common piracy to support the actions of the Vizier. Hopefully common sense will return and random attacks on merchant vessels in neutral space will come to an end.

Finally, before going to press we were notified that a number of affiliations have had their bases in Corewards scouted out by pirate forces. It may or may not be related to the current conflict, however It will be interesting to see if an attack does materialise on any of these scouted bases and which affiliation employs pirates to do their dirty work for them.


Withdrawn from Caliphate politics - The Frontier Exploration and Trade (FET)



The Frontier Exploration and Trade (FET) is one of the oldest imperial chartered affiliations. They were created during the founding of the empire from a band of blockade-runners which ran supplies during the siege of earth.

When the Empire entered the Capellan periphery the FET were quick to establish themselves and support the Imperials in their fight against the Confederacy. When the Imperial/Confederacy war ended the FET began to build closer relations with the Confederacy and establish themselves in Darkfold.

However Since the Caliphate has been formed there has been much speculation on the the relationship between the FET and Caliphate and what may or may not be going on. The Beacon reached out to Zuvoro Norozov who is the Oyabun of Norozov Holdings to get a better understanding of the FET, their relations with the Caliphate and views on current events:

- What do you think the FET's primary role and purpose is - what motivates/focuses you?

This is very difficult to answer fully. The FET Cartel is made up of numerous individual and independent members. Each one has their own motivations and focus. Some would like to be involved in supporting the Empire in military terms,others don’t. It's proved nigh impossible to explain to other affiliations the nature of the cartel and that one members actions/comments are not necessarily FET policy as a whole.

- The FET were originally part of the Imperial block but moved and joined the Confederacy, what at the time was the reasons the FET joined the Confederacy block?

This is a mis-understanding and I admit a view held by some members of Imperial Services. After years of on off conflict the Imperial Bloc and Confederacy finally unified under his Imperial majesty Lysander. FET took the opportunity to locate some of its major bases within Confederate systems. At the same time former FET bases within IMP systems were transferred to the BHD. Even today FET still has a few major bases within IMP systems. We just expanded into new areas is all. Yes I admit once we did so we did cooperate in operations and support with our new allies in the Confederacy.

- The FET has since split from the Caliphate and returned to the Imperial block, what were the reasons for this change?

Again a mis-understanding. The Cartel has withdrawn from politics and military operations.The Oyabuns had a discussion on the cartels role and we finally admitted we just are not very good at politics and frontline warfare. We just got peoples backs up as we were always a bit to vocal in planning meetings. We still have assets in both Caliphate and Imperial space and remain officially friendly all all the affs comprising those blocs.

- As a member of a Trading affiliation that falls under a Governmental flag do you believe that there is a place for trading affiliations that are neutral and do not fall under governmental flags?

I'm a great believer in freedom of choice, so yes there is a place for Independent trading affs.

- Do you believe that affiliations like the AFT and GCE are collaborating against the empire of man with Aliens?

If supporting system claims for alien affiliation is seen as collaboration, then yes they are. But then again all government type affiliations alien and human claiming systems expect such support in return for permitting others to establish assets within said systems.
If trading with alien affiliations is deemed as collaboration then no I do not agree. Trading affiliations are businesses and who they trade with outside Human space is of no concern of anyone else. How else are they to generate enough income to help pay troop wages to support claims in Human systems otherwise?

- Do you believe there is an Alien Alliance which the empire needs to be worried about?

Currently the alien affiliations are in the ascendance and do seem to be working together, so technically the Empire does need to be concerned about them. In all my years living in the peripheries I've seen various affiliations rise to prominence then fade away, sometimes very rapidly. It's the same with the Alien affiliations.They to will fade eventually so the Empire just needs to keep them in check to maintain the balance of power.

- Do you believe that the Aliens that have got involved were right to get involved with the AFT base? were they trying to help or being opportunistic?

Truthfully, in my opinion the aliens were being a bit opportunistic here. As I've mentioned earlier they are in the ascendance and have been expanding their holdings throughout known space. They were bound to overstep the mark at some point. And now they've been hit.

- Will the FET be getting involved or could potentially get involved in the fighting in Coreward?

Hard to say. Some Oyabuns may want to,other not. But again if some do that's their choice. Of course this will probably drag the whole cartel into being a target as other affs cannot understand the cartels organisational structure.

- What can be done to defuse the current situations (War on Neutrals and the recent alien/human fighting) or is war inevitable?

War is always inevitable. After this is a frontier area of space(hence peripheries)of several big power blocs. As for war on Neutrals well I'm afraid that's life. It doesn't matter how often an affiliation (or cartel) expresses it's neutrality, if someone takes notice of you and decides to attack they will. Not good I know,but what can you do?


Escaped from Caliphate control - an Interview with Jake Lange



Following our article last week on the collapse of Garcia Enterprises (GCE) we reached out to Jake Lange who was formerly part of the GCE to find out his views on these recent events:

- Can you tell us a little about the GCE before the Caliphate got involved?

GCE is a close knit group of affiliated operating companies focused primarily on exploration and trade. The heads of each operating company form the board of directors, and work closely as a team to accomplish larger goals. Because the larger affiliations dominate the core peripheries, GCE was largely forced to operate on the frontiers. It invested heavily in the Coreward Arm, but had smaller operations in many other areas too. That was one of the wonderful things about GCE - it had access to most areas of space. That access was key, because it had to find its opportunities on the margins, here and there.

GCE was a great company to work for - the team work and creativity led to many great opportunities for the company, and hard work turned those opportunities into a reasonable profit for GCE. I had a lot of fun working as part of that team. It's a real shame to see it break apart as it has over the last few months.

- Should all affiliations be under a Governmental flag or is their room for neutrals?

I believe in freedom. Individuals should never be forced to bend a knee to a government, even a benevolent one. Naturally, the same goes for affiliations, for if an affiliation is forced under a government flag, so too are the individuals in the affiliation. A rejected government certainly has the right to kick you out of its space, but that's all it has the right to do.

There are many governments that welcome neutral affiliations in their systems, so there is certainly room for them. The problems, of course, is that you can be left without allies if a more powerful affiliation decides that t wants what you have. If you are willing to live with that risk, you have the right to take it.

-Is there any truth in the Caliphates claim that the GCE were collaborating against the empire of man with Aliens?

Is that what they're claiming now? None whatsoever. GCE didn't collaborate against anyone.

- What do you believe were the motivations for the Caliphate to go after the GCE?

The Caliphate wants the Arridian Spur, and GCE has a base in the gateway to it. If the Vizier can control Zewt and Arridian, it will make anyone else's expansion in the Spur much more difficult without his blessing. So the Vizier concocted an excuse to attack us. I think that also allowed the Vizier to avoid having his build up of forces in Coreward questioned or challenged before it was complete. Now he's using the xenophobia of the old Conferderacy as a rallying cry for his allies. I wonder what part of Coreward he's promised to the GTT?

- Can the GCE function as it once did under CAL Control?

I certainly hope so, but with the Vizier breathing down their neck and controlling their decisions, it is hard to see how. I couldn't operate under those circumstances and left quickly. The former CEO, Jeremiah Philips, couldn't either and I understand he's resigned as well. It will be very hard to rebuild what was lost. That said, the most common traits in GCE directors are ingenuity and determination. If anyone can pull GCE through this adversity, they can. Plus, I think most other governments understand that GCE has been acting under duress.

- What made you decide to leave and join the Hexamon?

Simple, I could not accept the Vizier's chains. It's funny, though. When the Caliphate's creation was announced, and particularly after rumors of the disagreements between the FET and the Vizier surfaced, I lobbied the GCE board that we should ally with the Caliphate. With peace breaking out between DTR and IMP, it seemed a perfect opportunity to diminish GCE's rigid neutrality policy without having to take sides. If the Vizier had been more statesman than thug, he would have gained far more than his war fleet could ever gain him.

That's why I left. Why did I join the Hexamon? The Hexamon had hired my exploration team to explore a couple planets. The we started trading. As a result, I got to know the Hexamon better than most humans, I think - their interest, goals. I was surprised to realize how much in common we had. Of course, when the Vizier's mercenaries attacked GCE in Halo, the Hexamon were one of the few affiliations that rallied to help. That meant a lot to me too. Over time, I've learned that the Hexamon are loyal, honest, brave and intelligent. They desire peace and an opportunity to prosper through hard work rather than conquest, though they push back hard when threatened. When the Hexamon asked if I and my team would join them to act as trade representative, I thought it was too interesting an opportunity to pass up.

- What are your views on the current conflict surrounding the AFT base in Arridian?

I am happy to see AFT standing up for itself. Given the Vizier's desire to destroy what he is not given, I think the AFT's sale of their base in Arridian was a wise tactical retreat.

Who Are Beacon?
Based in Yank, Halo and Corewards the Beacon team is a mixture of Human and Alien traders who fly under a number of different flags. Able to gather stories and information from all over the galaxy they have unrivalled access to the events of the day.

Can others Submit?
While we have a team of writers we are happy to accept submissions from others outside the Beacon team. To send a submission send a PM to “The Beacon”.