Pirate and smuggler activity has increased significantly since the arrival of the GTD Intrepid and Admiral Po

By Zed Horton

I had the pleasure of sitting down over coffee with Bronson Graves, who has been at the forefront of security efforts in Antares for many years. I began by asking him what he believes is behind this sudden increase in criminal activity.

GRAVES: "Well, first of all, it's defiance. Plain and simple. The pirates and smugglers are thumbing their noses at Admiral Po. Challenging him. But also, it serves a very practical purpose, and that purpose is twofold. First, it gives them safety in numbers. If there's more activity, then there's more chance your individual operation will not be the one hit by Admiral Po's forces. And second, it's propaganda. The pirates know full well the distrust the people of Antares have for the GTA, and they'll be doing their best to make Admiral Po look like an ineffective fool."

HORTON: "Interesting. So what in your opinion should Admiral Po do to counter these latest outlaw tactics?"

GRAVES: "I'll say what I've been telling him all along. First, he shouldn't get drawn into their games. The pirates would love this to get personal and throw the Admiral off his game. For Admiral Po, this should be strictly business. He can use the increased activity to counteract their attempts to discredit him. He'll have plenty of targets to choose from, and if he delivers consistent results, he could easily turn the momentum back on them. A few well-executed ambushes would not only go a long way towards curbing the outlaw activity, but help rebuild trust with the people of Antares, too."

HORTON: "And in your opinion, what would be the best way to go about this?"

GRAVES: "We in the business of system security learned a long time ago that it is simply a gross waste of resources, personnel, and time to go pirate-hunting. In a system with literally hundreds of ghost platforms, outposts and drop sites of various sizes and configurations, both in space and interplanetary, and not one but two dense, vast asteroid belts, Antares is the quintessential system for any budding pirate, bar none. Po's strategy might make sense in Delta Serpentis, but in this system, it's like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. First, he needs a strong and flexible rapid response force to deal with pirate raids as and when they happen. Our own forces can serve as a model. Of course, escorts on priority convoys are important for keeping critical supplies out of pirate hands, and dummy convoys acting as bait for an ambush go as far back as Earth's wet navies. Admiral Po should have greater scope to try such tactics, as he is here specifically to deal with these pirates. And second, he needs to liaise with our existing informant networks and establish his own." 

HORTON: "And would you care to elaborate on that?"

GRAVES: "Indeed. The war in the shadows is just as important as the war in the open. Again, the increased activity will present opportunities here. There will always be some crew looking to replace losses or expand the scope of their operations. Admiral Po may well find a heightened chance of success by installing his own moles within the various pirate and smuggler crews. There is a constant battle between the security forces and the pirates to adapt to each others' tactics when it comes to planting spies. Admiral Po's crew will be clean of such malign influence, and his tactics will be new to the pirates. If he can set up his own network of informants quickly, I believe he can make significant progress. It doesn't matter whether it's his own people or a turned pirate - making one pirate rich is a very effective use of resources if it leads to bringing down the whole crew. These people are motivated by greed, and as such, this is very exploitable."

HORTON: "Thank you. So in closing, do you have any final words of advice for Admiral Po?"

GRAVES: "He needs to hit the ground running and make an immediate impact. So far, he's stumbled, and badly. He needs to learn the unique culture of Antares. He needs to work with us as partners. So far, he's made a lot of noise going on the offensive, with very little to show for it. All that his attempts to smoke out pirate nests have done is given us an uptick in pissed-off pirates to deal with."

A man of great depth and character. I believe Admiral Po would do well to meet with him and discuss plans for a co-operative effort against the enemies of Antares.
