Hello, my name is Johann Landier, and I’m a writer and political analyst for EN24. The thoughts, advice, and opinions written here are mine and not meant to represent anyone else’s.
On 10 December the destruction of the M-OEE8 Keepstar owned by Circle of Two set off a series of announcements and diplomatic maneuvers that now appear to be leading to New Edens next major war. Circle of Two along with close allies TEST, and Drone Walkers had been engaged in a two and a half month war defending Tribute against the invading forces of Pandemic Legion, Northern Coalition, and friends (PanFam). Shortly after the Keepstars destructions a series of announcements by the Alliance Leaders of TEST (Sapporo Jones), Co2 (GigX), and Drone Walkers (Triget) indicated that no defense would be made of Vale of the Silent and that all three alliance were moving south in preparation for taking new space starting on or around January 1st. With these announcements close to 14,000 capsuleers began evacuating the regions they had won during the World War Bee conquest’s earlier in the year. Remarks from Progodlegend (TEST Military Command) indicated that none of the alliances had the desire to fight a protracted battle against PanFam and it’s overwhelming Supercarrier and Titan superiority would likely not go in favor of TEST or it’s allies. Instead TEST, Co2, and Drone Walkers would be looking for a new home were all the alliances could grow and gain strength to prevent further such evictions. Over the last two weeks New Eden has been rife with rumors and speculation on where the three alliances would head and what this meant for their future.
On January 1st we will begin the official invasion of Stain wagon coalition space. This includes Paragon Soul, Esoteria, Impass, and parts of Feythabolis and Catch. There are reasons for this: Stainwagon supported goons in WWB, they’ve made a lot of enemies, etc. etc. —Progodlegend
Today the speculation ended when Progodlegend announced that TEST, Co2, and Drone Walkers would be targeting Stain Wagon and their space in Paragon Soul, Esoteria, Impass, and parts of Feythabolis and Catch. Further announcements and leaks have indicated that a flurry of diplomatic agreements meant that TESTCO and Drone Walkers would be joined by several other alliances in the area (Vanguard Coalition, The Phoenix Federation, and Mercenary Coalition) in their invasion. The joining of forces between former Imperium Alliance’s FCON of Phoenix Federation and Circle of Two against Stain Wagon has drawn anger and public condemnation from Imperium Leader ‘The Mittani’ and as the Imperium is Stain Wagons only significant ally it remains to be seen how the Imperium will involve themselves in the looming war.
I spoke with Triget (Drone Walkers Alliance Leader), Seraph IX Basarab (Co2 Alliance Diplomat), and Vily(TEST Military Command) about their reason for the move and targeting Stain Wagon. According to Triget moving with TESTCO made sense due to political realities and history his long history with TEST (Triget previously led Tribal Band Alliance when they were part of the HBC ; after Tribal Band closed many of the members and corporations migrated to TEST):
Seraph IX Basarab statement on behalf of Circle of Two gave a more personal reason for targeting Stain Wagon and their space:
The decision to fight Stain Wagon was not certain from the start. However when they allowed Goons to deploy through their space with the intent at attacking Co2 and TEST, it was all but a declaration of war. We have no ill sentiment toward Stainwagon. I personally consider it an unfortunate and inconsiderate action toward Stainwagon for Goons to use them for their petty grudge against us. It really shows a lack of forethought for one’s allies. – Seraph IX Basarab
Lastly, Vily provided some insight as to the diplomatic and military strategy that went into the decision:
We chose SW as our target because they hold 5 1/2 regions of space for an alliance with the capabilities of a single region holder and they have strong backing from goons but no other allies. They seem like chill dudes but this is the strong taking from what we see as the weak. We asked throughout the universe before any decision was made and there were no open doors for space the size we needed, so we went and found the lowest pole on the totem and we have organized enough to insure victory. Now we go forth to acquire it because when presented with the choice of fight of die we will always fight! — Vily
As the clock clicks closer to January 1st it appears that the war machine for TEST, Co2, and Drone Walkers is in full swing and the Winter War is about to start.
