Corporate Defection Causing Unrest at Border

CALDARI BORDER - A surprise announcement by prominent Caldari State scientist Hirento Autinen has seen simmering tensions between the faction and their Gallente Federation counterparts rise to boiling point.

Autinen shocked authorities with his plan to leave Kaalakiota for the new pastures of Chemal Tech, which would be a sickening blow for the Caldari company and state combined.
During his leaving statement Autinen added fuel to the fire with several acerbic remarks about his former employer – claiming that the sheer ruthlessness of the business methods used by the Corporation were far beyond what he considered to be reasonable.

News of his decision spread rapidly and angry exchanges between Caldari Navy and a group of Gallente businessmen attempting to secure Autinen's secure passage are rumoured to have led to an attempt to spring the operative from his current whereabouts.

The dispute happened just inside the Caldari border, where the Caldari Navy prevented a Gallente convoy from proceeding – citing the cause as the recent attacks on Gallente ships by the home guard in Kassigainen and subsequent orders which followed them. After a vehement argument over comms, parts of which were leaked to the Galnet, the convoy admitted defeat and returned to friendlier space.

Various sources indicate that Chemal Tech hired freelance capsuleers to retrieve Hirento Autinen from the Kaalakiota Corporation Factory in Sirppala and safely escort him to the Vale system in Gallente territory without the possibility of heightening tensions between the two factions.

However, other sources suggest that Caldari agents within the Gallente Federation hired outside assistance in an attempt to prevent the mercenaries hired by Chemal Tech to complete their mission.

Ignoring the confusion surrounding his departure, Autinen and his convoy managed to make it safely to their destination despite minor losses.

This was not the end of the matter as shortly after effecting his escape, a leaked document from Chemal Tech seems to indicate that a third faction, the Minmatar Republic are also involved. It has been reported that several members of the Chemal Tech R&D Department – headed by Rayle Ottin, the person apparently responsible for hiring the mercenaries to retrieve Autinen – have been making frequent trips into Minmatar space over the last couple of weeks.

The coded document has yet to be cracked but three corporation names are clearly readable - Kaalakiota Corporation, Home Guard and Republic Security Services.

The relationship this document has with the defection of Hirento Autinen, and any current disputes between Kaalakiota Corporation and Chemal Tech are unclear. However, it is safe to assume that the matter will be taken further in the highest of political echelons.