Militia Control Tower Attacked As Front for Piracy
Amamake, Heimatar – A control tower in Amamake belonging to The Candy Van corporation came under attack from 14 - 15.01.113 by Concordokken. alliance and Electus Matari amidst allegations that The Candy Van is a front for Heretic Army's industrial operations. Heretic Army, meanwhile, has alleged that the alliances involved in the attack were engaging in piracy and claim that The Candy Van is an innocent member of the militia under their protection.
Tactically, the incident was fairly straight-forward. The control tower was driven into reinforced mode and combat reignited a day later once the automated defenses expired. Ultimately, the tower was successfully defended by Heretic Army forces but a dispute has since arisen as to whether the attackers chose their target correctly.
The tower in question is owned and operated by The Candy Van, which is a member of the Tribal Liberation Force (the Minmatar capsuleer militia). The Candy Van received defensive assistance from Heretic Army, an organization with a long track record of attacking members of the militia, even when elements of the alliance were members of it.
Heretic Army spokesperson Jones Bones and The Candy Van CEO Carlos Esteban both say that no warning was given and that the attack was unprovoked. Militia pilots from groups such as Ice Fire Warriors and Valklear Guard, however, had been engaging with The Candy Van pilots for at least six months before the attack in the belief that they are a front company for Heretic Army.
NeoNxGreen of Concordokken. stated "Concordokken. attacked the corporation's [tower], The Candy Van, which is in the minmatar militia, due to the fact that the entire -10 pirate group of Heretic Army uses it as a safe and parks their booster ships in it."
Electus Matari diplomat Elsebeth Rhiannon made a similar statment: “Heretic Army are known pirates who have a long history of trying to con people into believing they have a good motive behind it... Intel clearly indicates The Candy Van is a shell corporation placed in the Militia to avoid consequences to the Heretic Army industrial operations... We are currently not on a concerted campaign against the Heretic Army; we shoot them as targets of opportunity the same as we do any pirate in Republic space. So, as you can see, for Electus Matari this was a routine operation against known pirates and nothing newsworthy."
It is known that The Candy Van use Heretic Army's kill record system rather than maintaining their own. Heretic Army have also been documented referring to The Candy Van's tower as "ours" though their diplomats deny this is the case.
Heretic Army maintain that they defended the tower on The Candy Van's behalf and that, while they have formed an informal association, The Candy Van itself is guilty of no crimes. The stance of Heretic Army's opponents, however, continues to be that The Candy Van's kill records are irrelevant if it supports pirate factions financially or through assets.
GalNet References
Heretic Army Kill Records
Minmatar Militia Kill Records
The Candy Van Kill Records
InterGalactic Summit Statements
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