Tractor-Tow OXZ

Confiscation = Public Safety

EXCLUSIVE: The 'CPS Act' – A Shadow Decree from the Office of Galactic Security.

By the Principal Voice, Xexedi Enquirer.

Unimpeachable sources within the Office of Galactic Security - that enigmatic and overlooked ghost-department nested deep within the Galcop Administration - have leaked definitive proof of an imminent legislative earthquake. The measure, already treated as a fait accompli by insiders, is the Confiscation of infracting vessels in the interest of Public Safety Act - or, the CPS Act.

The Mechanisms of Seizure

The leaked dossier reveals that the CPS Act grants unprecedented powers to Galcop enforcement units and, crucially, to private contractors holding specific Enforcement Licenses. Under this new law:

Immediate Confiscation: Any vessel designated as an "infractor" (a classification expected to be broadly defined to include severe traffic violations, smuggling, unlicensed armed transport and piracy) is subject to immediate seizure upon apprehension.

Privatized Enforcement: The Office of Galactic Security (OGS) will issue licenses to independent spacers and security firms, effectively deputizing them to act with the same authority as regular Galcop police vessels regarding asset seizure.

Asset Forfeiture: Confiscated ships will not be returned upon payment of fines; they become the property of the Galcop Administration, to be auctioned, scrapped, or repurposed for state use.

The "Ghost Department" Role

While our high-profile Galcop Worlds Council provides a democratic veneer, the Office of Galactic Security operates as the executive engine driving such draconian measures (lately manifested in the form of the CSDDA and its new-hatched SDD-Network), drafting the security legislation, defining "public safety" criteria, and overseeing the licensing bureau that will regulate the new private enforcement contractors.

Sources suggest the Act is being fast-tracked through Galcop Parliament on Lave, leveraging ongoing public concerns about Thargoid incursions and the perceived overstretch of regular Naval forces, to say nothing of Police impotence in anarchic systems. By outsourcing enforcement and asset recovery, the Administration aims to flood the spacelanes with incentivized hunters without expanding the official budget.

Implications for the Space Community

For the average trader or independent pilot, the CPS Act represents a paradigm shift. The line between "bounty hunting" and "asset stripping" blurs, as licensed contractors may now target vessels for confiscation rather than mere destruction or capture of the offending crew. The **Xexedi Enquirer** warns that the definition of "infractor" could be expanded quietly, turning profitable trade routes into hunting grounds for licensed privateers acting under the banner of public safety.

As one source inside the Office grimly noted: "The law is already written; Parliament merely needs to nod. The ships are already being assessed, counted and databased."

By Any Other Name

Tuners, our esteemed Editor - of whom we hear lamentably little these days - could not have laid the facts out better - we couldn't have done a nicer job of informing you.

So, those "unimpeachable sources" in the OGS, just one more on the list of too-scantly overseen 'Sealed Vaults' adroitly constructed inside our beloved Galcop Administration, saw fit to leak to 'dependable public information outlets' notice of their carrying into Law by Government Act what the same sources refer to as 'Confiscation of infracting vessels in the interest of Public Safety'. As ably noted, the law, once passed in Parliament, will be known as the 'CPS Act'.

And we, dear Tuners, will wager our last alien item that this unprecedented measure is a done deal. They are out there and they are doing what they do NOW.

We've talked about Harvesters; we've talked about those contractors favoured with Galcop's seal of approval; we've talked about the suite of new assets (mainly weapons) being bestowed upon a new 'vigilante Police' tasked with bringing final order to 'disorderly systems'.

Now we must ask - Where is this going?

Some ancient poet once announced: 'A Rose by any other name is still a Rose'. A pirate is a pirate, paint him how you will.

Ear-to-the-Ground Morsels

Indulge us as we quote from a recent despatch:

Some crews - and this your reporter had from several horse's mouths - are noticing there can be profit in it. Some tell they are turning themselves into hunters using SDDs only. Most are styling themselves 'Harvesters' - including two of yours truly's old friends - yet another burgeoning shibboleth among SDD-packing 'commanders'.

Galcop Administration are smirking like fat felines. They get a free Police Force demanding no wages or great expenditure, merely ongoing production and licensing. Licensing fees, with taxes and penalties, swell the Comptroller's coffers and the spacelanes become safer for all (except perhaps real offenders). Win-win, they brightly assure us.

And from another:

But PT is the most frightening. It scares the Giles out of us because it will never be seen, detected, or known about by its victims, whose vessels will silently fail, ceasing to respond in an instant. That's no warning and no bang, Tuners. Nothing on a viewscreen, port, or scanner.

A picture starts to form of a Harvester 'standing off' near a Station or a Witchpoint marker, targeting, then launching a Ptera, and sauntering off for a snack while far out in the blackness a group of hapless ships become ghosts. On re-seating itself, our gallant commander yawns as the list of the incapacitated skitters greenly down the main display. It's 'mop up' time again. Charming image to lay us down to sleep on, is it not, Tuners?

No one among yous will accuse this unimpeachable source of not seeing it coming...

So to the none-too-subtle Galcop litany: first 'Defence' Rider Drones, then their awesome and unseen Pteranodon missile, not forgetting the icing on their cake: the NPB non-laser weapon. And, Tuners, all free to us IF we can make the grade. And who could not, with just a little effort and persuasion? Because, let's face it, they want applicants; they need candidate-recruits for their new model army - call it, as they are doing, a Police Corps extension.

Or, as DCC Dor Reval today coyly admitted to your faithful sleuth, 'perhaps a necessary evil.'

But we can't have neutralized 'infractors' littering the spacelanes, can we? Crippled hulks require disposal. And to solve the problem, says Dor, Black Labs once again to the rescue with a 'Tractor-Tow' (fully autonomous) AI package. And yet another sub-Division: Licensed Salvage Contractors. Where will this end?

Salvage contracting would appear the most lucrative of the lot, and one we ourselves might choose given the leisure and inclination. Reval tells that it will certainly pay and both sides, or parties, to the License Agreement stand to benefit immeasurably.

"Contractors will bring in the hulks, with generous remuneration and further incentives, and Galcop will refit them, the ships being now Police Property, to expand the vehicle pool and to be deployed, eventually, crewed by experienced volunteers, on enforcement duties in the most unruly systems. Win-Win."

Now, Tuners, how often have we heard that phrase? And how often will we hear it again?

--Tea Mereso, retained freelance, Xexedi Enquirer.

Notes for Operators

First, it should be remembered that the Tractor-Tow AI system is not physical or solid. It relies on multiple inputs in the form of feedback pulses per microsecond. The Tractor is maintaining a continuously adjusted and precise bombardment of gravitons to keep the tractored hulk 'tethered' and following in the wake of the Operator's vessel.

It may be likened to a sheepdog or steer, as these animals were (and perhaps still are) employed in ancient pastoral societies.

Care is needed in the steering and manoeuvring of your ship. Warnings will be issued if you fall outside sustainable parameters.

Guiding a hulk to Station is a slow - some might find painfully slow - procedure. Much patience is required to do the job of a licensed Salvage Contractor well. Never engage Torus or injectors! - you will break the Tractor Lock.

But on successful completion of a towing run, cash rewards will be substantial. Your fee is calculated based on the rationalized market price of the ship-type you bring in. A generous proportion of half this value goes into the Contractor's account.

And our graviton beam technology can handle multiple disabled vessels.

Requirements & Procedures

Your vessel is expected to be fitted, at the very least, with a forward NPB Neutralizer - without this weapon, there will be no neutralized ships to tractor.

The Tractor-Tow package is to be mounted on your AFT weapon-facing.

On neutralization of the selected target(s), approach, come to a stop, switch to AFT viewscreen, yaw 180 degrees until the hulk is centered in your weapon reticle. Fire a short burst of the Tractor's graviton beam until Tractor Lock is announced by the system's AI.

Turn 180 degrees again and begin a SLOW acceleration to 90-100 Lm/s. Verify on scanner (and preferably visually) that the locked hulk is being tractored with your vessel. Try not to exceed 200 Lm/s during your return tow-run and avoid sharp manoeuvres.

On entering Station Aegis, the AI will release the towed hulk for tug-operations. Upon docking, your payment will be reported and your fee transferred.

Recommended OXPs

The soundest choice if you intend to neutralize and then 'salvage' Offenders is:

PT-BVRM Pteranodon

The ultimate standoff missile, Galcop's PT-BVRM 'Pteranodon' engages prioritized targets at full-system ranges. The PT fires neutral particles on proximity, causing mine-like irradiative effects on ships inside sensor radius, partially disabling the victims. Mostly non-fatal to crew. Not a killer weapon; it expects followup action by its operator.

Police Player

The most notable observed effect of this tiny tweak is that ships of class Pirate no longer openly threaten or attack the player's ship. You are essentially transformed into a police vigilante, or proxy copper. Best results with an Asp or Viper!

|Witch-Charger

This emergency capacitor conducts potential energy from the Witchdrive to shore up shield resistance when hull integrity is critical. If the ship remains under fire, the unit's last-ditch replenishing action will finally drain all fuel. But it represents a highly desirable trade-off between short-term mobility and survival.

NPB Neutralizer

Galcop's Neutral Particle Beam weapon causes catastrophic internal damage - frying computers, disabling power, knocking out weapons and critical systems - while throwing off little energy as surface heat. A direct hit leaves the target a drifting derelict without triggering fatal explosions of fuel or ordinance.

Small Ships

Flyable and essentially unaltered versions of the Asp Mk II, Constrictor, Fer-de-Lance, Gecko, Krait, Mamba, Sidewinder, Viper, Viper Interceptor, Worm, and Transporter. Those ships originally sans Hyperdrive now have one; those without cargo space remain without. Newly rationalized prices applied.

GETter HUD v.1.6 - available only here!

FE Shipyards' premier trader/vigilante HUD now integrates realtime tracking of this OXP's closest High Offender in-system. Unzip the file to your Oolite AddOns folder.