Guristas Leader Escapes Security Patrol
Late last Monday afternoon a security detachment from the Taladigi Transport & Trading Company tracked down and engaged a prominent Guristas pirate leader, in response to recent attacks on their shipping.
Following the loss of a large convoy, which was a major part of a Caldari Navy contract, the previous week TT&T has made numerous attempts to fulfil the contract using much smaller and faster cargo shipments. However, despite their best efforts, over the course of the week the majority of the vessels and escorts moving the cargo to the destination have been destroyed. Unable to withstand any further material loss, and with the looming threat of a contract termination from the Caldari Navy, TT&T security officers attempted a new strategy in their efforts to rid themselves of the Guristas menace.
Contacting local pod pilots, TT&T security chief Kilroy Eckheart requested assistance in tracking down the location of the pirate leader, Gulwort Hilack, who had allegedly been drawn to the area by deliberately leaked information concerning the departure of an extremely valuable convoy. His call was answered by a several capsuleers who began a system by system search of the area Hilack was last seen in, quickly finding the Guristas commander and his wingman in the Korama system. A small fleet of TT&T security vessels, led personally by Eckheart, entered the system shortly thereafter.
The TT&T task force quickly engaged the two pirates, but were unable to lock them down before they warped to another point in the system. This game of cat and mouse continued for over 90 minutes, as the Guristas ships slowly picked off the more vulnerable members of the TT&T force, including the ship and pod of Eckhearts close friend Maxin Haliday. Eventually, the pirates made a run for the gate, breaking through the few blockading vessels left after the majority of them had been drawn into the pursuit. Analysis of communication intercepts has indicated that a third Guristas vessel, presumably a Buzzard-class covert ops frigate, was also in the system, feeding Hilack the information that allowed him to successfully destroy and evade the vessels in pursuit.
Sources within the Caldari Navy have stated that, due to this failure from TT&T to secure their own shipping, their contract with the corporation has been terminated. Although this cancellation is now likely to mean the Guristas will move on to other areas, freeing TT&T from the responsibility of eliminating the threat, Kilroy Eckheart was reportedly “livid with rage” over his defeat in the field. This and the alleged murder of TT&T hangar worker Narga Forbs, an employee with full access to the shipping schedules, just days later indicates that the matter is far from closed.
