On the 27th of January, YC 118, the Upwell Consortium and the capsuleer alliance The OSS [OSS] clashed publicly over the attack of the new citadel construction site in the PF-346 system of the Syndicate region.
The war of words was sparked by the recent destruction of a citadel construction site by OSS forces. On the 26th of January, The OSS forces attacked one of the five Upwell Consortium citadel construction sites, leading to its destruction. In retaliation, a public press conference called by the Upwell Consortium saw a representative of the company accuse so-called “Renegade capsuleer corporations” of the destruction, while attributing the failures in security to sabotage committed by the Serpentis corporation.
The Attack on the Site, as Recorded by The OSS Forces
The representative went on to claim the damage done was mainly to construction and scientific equipment, as no citadel prototype had been deployed for construction yet. She then claimed the Upwell Consortium and its members had taken steps to punish The OSS, confiscating donations its members had made to the project while barring them from present and future participation in the endeavor.
However, the representative did praise capsuleer forces who aided in the search and rescue efforts following the attack while commenting that the entire affair had been but a minor setback to the operation. Reassuring investors, the representative claimed that the Consortium will be renewing its efforts to construct and deploy the new citadel line up.
Afterwards, the Upwell Consortium representative declined to answer any questions.
The full press statement can be found here.
Following this, an OSS spokesperson took the stand in the same station to rebuff the accusations, giving the alliance’s account of the entire incident. In the statement released to the press, the spokesperson denied that any sabotage was committed, instead blaming Upwell Consortium for not communicating with the alliance and ignoring its attempts to establish a working partnership between the two, as the system fell within the alliance’s zone of operations.
After being repeatedly ignored, The OSS decided to take matters into its own hands, leading to the regretful incident. Afterwards, The OSS personnel assisted in the search and rescue operations. Yet even after the incident Upwell personnel have declined to make contact with the alliance, preferring instead to make inflammatory public statements.
The OSS spokesperson went on to claim the alliance will allow Upwell’s Department of Friendship and Mutual Assistance to investigate it fully while calling Upwell Consortium to establish direct communications for the future of the project while offering full protection from the Serpentis corporation.
Finally, the spokesperson gave the alliance’s condolences for the loss of life in the incident before ending the press conference and declining to answer any further questions.
The full press statement can be found below:
First and foremost, The OSS would like to make it clear that we regret the loss of life during the incident, I would like to point out that OSS rescue crews were instrumental in ensuring survivors made it safely to medical care, and also prevented Serpentis Ships from looting the site.
The OSS strongly denies any involvment with the alleged hacking of the site by The Serpentis Corporation, whilst this type of allegation has been directed towards us before, by another Capsuleer group following the destruction of their Erebus Class Titan, no proof has ever been presented. We remain confident that any competent investigation will exonerate us in this regard.
Following the announcement that a site was to be erected within our Area Of Operations, representatives made every effort to contact The Upwell Consortium to discuss the security of the site, as this region is heavily populated by Pirate groups, both Capsuleer and others. We are well aware that The Intaki Syndicate are unable to effectively police the Region, and whilst ISP Security Commander Elteroumie may “say what goes and what don’t go” he should be aware that this only applies to the Stations in the areas, as he and his forces have all but abandoned the space to us to police, which I assure you all we do on a daily basis, destroying countless Pirate ships, as well as hostile Capsuleers that would otherwise pose a threat to law abiding citizens.
On approaching the site, our forces made every effort possible to liase with the site foremen, but were ignored. As The Upwell Consortium have failed to purchase any Building Permits with us, and failed to respond to any contact, we were left with no choice but to halt the building process, and evacuate as many of the staff as we could feasibly save.
The OSS expresses disappointment at Upwell’s hasty words, and would like to speak with them directly, so as to work out this impass. Building Permits for this region are available, and we are happy to negotiate prices for the permit, and ongoing protection of the site from The Serpentis Corporation. Continued failure to file the correct permits will result in building work being prevented.
Should the Department of Friendship and Mutual Assistance require any assistance in their investigation, our doors are always open, you can contact myself, or OSS Diplomat Spring Heeledjack
Our thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives yesterday, we hope that this situation can be resolved amicably. Thankyou, there will be no questions taken
As it stands, it seems the future of the PF-346 site is uncertain, as the Upwell Consortium and the OSS look poised for an all out war. If no solution is found soon, other entities may intervene in the feud, such as the Serpentis corporation, which is already at war with the Upwell Consortium, and the Station Owners Council of the Intaki Syndicate. The latter are able to revoke The OSS’ docking rights in the region, which can threaten its entire base of operations.
EVE News 24 will continue to update you as the situation unfolds.
Salivan Harddin is a member of Reikoku, Pandemic Legion, and covers battles across New Eden
