Interstellar Starbase Syndicate celebrates its first birthday

CATCH – The Interstellar Starbase Syndicate has recently celebrated its first birthday and as part of the celebrations the ISS has returned to neutral standings with all its former enemies. The Interstellar Correspondents spoke with ISS Chairman Count TaSessine about the past 12 months and the future of his alliance.

Last June ISS began as one of the first neutral entities in this universe. Its stated goal was to provide “general access to 0.0 for as many people as possible.” From there, as the number of capsuleers within its ranks increased, ISS began a program of deep space development in order to create infrastructure in virgin regions of space, which has culminated in the construction of several outposts.

Count TaSessine commented on the complexities of ISS neutrality: “Alliance politics do not interest us, and we try not to get involved with them." Count TaSessine went on to explain what political neutrality means to the ISS "we don't get involved in alliance wars. But we are not neutral to the degree that we ignore pirates or don't shoot back at them."

Count TaSessine explained that this neutrality has given the ISS freedom to move towards their goals. With thousands of starbases and seven outposts and sixteen hundred members ISS has grown far beyond its initial idea. ISS has accomplished this mammoth task by engaging the capsuleer community. Shares in the individual outposts were marketed to capsuleers in exchange for ISK to help pay for the production of the outposts. Furthermore the shares entitle the owner to a percentage of the profit which the outpost makes. The first such outpost to be built in this fashion was the ISS Marginis.

As for the future of ISS, Count TaSessine was cryptic but did say that for the time being, a period of consolidation would begin to ensure that the outposts are producing a good profit for its investors. This is also indicated by the first of the birthday celebrations, the reset of standings. By resetting negative standings they have increased the possible market for their outposts and ensure that capsuleers who may have mistaken ISS as an easy target or not accepted their neutrality now have a second chance.

The ISS has not stopped with the standing reset in order to celebrate their birthday; Count TaSessine announced a planned “Outpost Race”. A race intended for capsuleers to test their spirit and setups in a race from the ISS Marginis in KDF-GY to the ISS Borealis in P-2TTL. Though details are not yet concrete, Count TaSessine has promised a "huge prize for the winner.”

Finally Count TaSessine wished "to thank the capsuleer community, the investors in our outposts, the traders who use them everyday and our friends the pirates who make our lives interesting every day."