Recent Attacks on Cargo Lanes
Authorities from the Nal Hutta Glorious Bilbousa Spaceport issued a travel advisory yesterday following one of a recent string of unprovoked attacks on the region's trade routes. In the official statement they issued a series of harsh threats to the attackers, although it's unclear that the local defense forces are equipped to handle the problem. In footage retrieved from an orbital utility satellite, a gunship marked "Aperture" can be seen shooting at a freighter making its way toward the planet's surface. The freighter's engines are hit with a series of ion charges, and the radio picks up a demand for 400,000 credits to be sent to someone only identified as Nentan. In a later portion of the clip, the same vessel can be seen engaged with a frigate with the colors of the Trade Federation. The gunship seems heavily outmatched this time and as its hull begins taking damage, a strange-looking escape pod shoots out and immediately jumps into hyperspace. As explosions engulf the vessel's comms array, a strange recording was broadcast to the rest of the system. A subset of that message was as follows: Critical Systems Error! Relaying Transmission: Ag------o- a----- br------e ra-s----u-d--t--S--t--- '--a-------a--- -o -e-e--e-f----e- i-s----tio--.---e Port authorities indicated no success determining the meaning of the message and concluded that it was likely just the result of energy discharge, but reports were given from Alderaan about a similar message which sounded slightly different in a matching incident there two days ago. It's also still unknown who is behind the attacks beyond the name "Nentan". No group has come forward to claim responsibility and the investigation into the wreckage revealed no clues.
Naboo Annexed by Trade Federation, Political Families Assassinated
[-Theed Royal News-] [URGENT NEWS BULLETIN] The view opens to a full fleet of Trade Federation capital ships opening fire on Naboo's orbital defense cruiser as viewed from the ground. Flashes of light come from both sides of the battle, but it is eerily silent thanks to the camera's position on the ground, zoomed in from great distance. A panicked reporter is then shown standing in front of one of Naboo's elegant plazas. A crowd of residents run by, nearly knocking her over, but she regains her composure and says shakily, "Naboo is under attack! I repeat, Naboo is under attack! Just moments ago, the Trade Federation appeared with a full fleet and announced the annexation of the planet! Local defense forces are coordinating a response, but we will have more on this situation as-" A large explosion is heard nearby, and the feed turns to static. ... A shaky camera shows a full battalion of Trade Federation battle droids marching in unison down Pergola Way on Theed from an angle overhead, perhaps from inside a building. At the head of the battalion are a Vurk, a Feeorin female, and a Gamorrean. A hushed voice whispers into the camera, "Here on the ground, Trade Federation forces have swiftly taken control of the city. They are marching for the palace as we speak. Defense forces have been overwhelmed and have fallen back to the palace where they will make their last stand against this sudden invasion." A commotion is heard behind the camera and the feed quickly cuts out. ... The same reporter's voice is heard, a growing sense of unease in it now. There is no video feed, only audio played to a rotating image of the planet Naboo. "Our queen, Jecid Dannaa, has been captured. The palace, overrun. One of our contacts saw the Viceroy of the Federation leading the Queen as her prisoner onto a vessel, then leaving the system. Other members of Naboo's elective aristocracy residing in Theed have been placed under house arrest, and citizens ordered to stay off the streets. It's been... I can't..." Abruptly, the feed cuts out again. ... Screams are heard in the distance. Shaky camera footage partially obscured by greenery shows a well-dressed young adult running out of a large home's foyer. A battle droid emerges from the foyer. "Roger roger. Executing execution orders," it states monotonically before opening fire. Whispering is heard, perhaps the same reporter as in previous broadcasts. "They've executed every member of every aristocratic house in Theed. Politicians, family members, children. Our entire system of government is... " The voice becomes quiet as a clanking noise grows louder. A single blaster shot is heard, the camera falls to the ground, and the transmission ends.
The New and Improved Tarintha Learning Center
I've made some changes and improvements to the TLC on Ithor. - It will now be a single pay, unlimited use area. No more having to pay to enter multiple times! - The initial price to use the facility has been dropped! - There is now a tier system in place for donations. Three tiers with 3 levels of benefits! Please let me know if you run into any issues with the area. Happy Mudding!
Updates to NPC targeting, restring, mindtalk, and shuttle ejection
- Armor and containers in non-layering wear slots can now be restrung. Because jewelry is technically considered armor by the code, this means you can now restring most jewelry. - Introduced a new object flag, "restringable", allowing restring on non-top-layer items worn on a layering spot. - Player-controlled mobs will now target other players using the same keyword as their master would use. For example, if you have dubbed someone, you should order your NPC to target them using the dub. Previously, it would require you to use the player's real name, creating confusion or the potential to abuse this to confirm who people are without having their greet. - Non-player-controlled mobs will always be able to target players by name, even if they're wearing restrung covering armor. This primarily impacts progs; you should no longer have to remove restrung armor in order to get them to work on you. - Mindtalk has been updated to require a confirmation by the recipient. If you attempt to mindtalk and are successful in your skill percent check, you'll always see the same message ("You attempt to establish mental contact") regardless of whether the target is online or capable of receiving the mindtalk. If the target is capable of mindtalking, they will be prompted to 'mindtalk accept' or 'mindtalk deny'. If they accept, the sender will be notified that the channel is now open. If they deny, the sender will not be notified. People with an active mindtalk will also be notified when the channel is closed due to the other person dying or logging out. - Ejection is once again not allowed from public taxis unless a threat is present. This includes hull damage or being targeted by any ship.
