#16 [May 3303] Salomé killed in Anumclaw - her three comrades escape!

[Erimus Kamzel]

Senator Kahina Tijani Loren, aka Salomé, has been killed in the Anumclaw star system by bounty hunters.

Salomé, along with her three comrades, Yuri Nakamura, Tsu Annabelle Singh, and Raan Corsen fled the 46 Eridani system at approximately 18:00 galactic time on April 29th 3303.

Prior to this, the Children of Raxxla had received a series of deep space transmissions from the Seven Veils during the days leading up to this incident, indicating that Salomé had proof of a major conspiracy involving the powerblocks, and that she had discovered the location of several listening post transmission logs within the old worlds of the Core Systems.

CoR immediately mobilized their pilots to help in assisting Salomé reach her goal to expose the datalogs.

Commander Eisen of the CoR Consul liaised with many allied factions who rallied to her cause. Admirals Bungalo, Dutch Foster, Jubei Himura, and Paroxsym oversaw the formation of the Coalition (PAC) that consisted of several allied fleets made up of in excess of 3,000 commanders.

CoR command requested that the PAC fleets be deployed throughout the frontier border worlds between 46 Eridani and the outer bubble in an attempt to hold as many systems as possible centered around specific locations. These regions were reported to be where Salomé and her comrades would attempt to travel through in their race to reveal the information they had uncovered.

In the build up, intelligence teams reported that heavy infiltration by powerblock lackeys and bounty hunter groups had occurred within PAC. Further suspicion arose when Raan Corsen was witnessed to be in the company of notorious bounty hunters in the T Tauri system, not far from 46 Eridani, on 28th April 3303. CoR suspected a betrayal.

From this point onward Salomé would lead as many pilots as possible to the "east" of Tsu Sing's, Yuri’s, and Corsen's routes in an attempt to lure possible infiltrators and enemies away.

At 17:30 galactic time, Salomé rendezvoused in deep space with her escort wing and shortly after 18:00 they began their run through the frontier.

For almost two hours of constant harassment and attacks from hardened bounty hunter packs, Salomé fought her way. By the time Salomé's flight had reached the heart of the Core Worlds, and just 6 jumps short of her rendezvous destination of Tionisla, the Veils' FSD malfunctioned and her prime wing escorts suffered technical issues - resulting in Salomé failing to jump out of the Anumclaw system. This opportunity was immediately seized upon by a bounty hunter wing who had doggedly and meticulously stalked her across 600 LYs of space. They struck.

With heavy module damage from previous encounters, The Seven Veils stood little chance, and Salomé's final transmission was "systems failing, attempting to eject..... escaped pod malfunction!........."

In the chaos, and with so many ships in the system, no trace of an escape pod beacon was picked up, and it is now assumed that Salomé died in that brief skirmish.

We take consolation in knowing that Salomé was at least fully aware that the Teorge Listening Posts had been scanned and the data logged, as the last transmission the Veils received was to inform that her friend, Tsu Annabelle Singh, had successfully made it to her destination intact, and had retrieved the logs. Salomé and her escorts had lured her enemies off route, and given the other protagonists a fighting chance to slip through to reach their goals.

In summary

• Salomé successfully lured her enemies away from her comrades flight path.
• Salomé died knowing at least one of them was successful in carrying out her plan to expose the conspiracy.
• Raan Corsen is considered naive, or untrustworthy, for associating himself with enemy bounty hunters on 28th April 3303.
• Tsu Annabelle Singh, Yuri, and Corsen survived, and Salomé's two year quest to expose the truth was accomplished.

CoR and its allies would like to express their deep gratitude to the PAC Admirals and their trusted Lieutenants, and all of the pilots who helped the protagonists carry out their goal. Whether they had direct contact with the flights or not.

We understand the difficult position the Admirals were placed in - overseeing 3,000 commanders, and working on limited intel. Despite this, PAC Command stood up to the plate and took on an almost impossible task. They organized and oversaw the deployment of the largest fleet in human history, and despite the disinfo from all sides, the infiltration, and the last minute plan changes, they succeeded in their duty. Three of the protagonists escaped, and Salomé's determination to get the truth out prevailed.

In the immediate aftermath of these proceedings, CoR have issued a "scatter protocol" to its pilots, and many of them have now retreated to the shadows as rumours of reprisals from those behind the conspiracy spread.

CoR have been vindicated. They will often be labelled as terrorists or cultist by the deeply brainwashed who believed GalNet and the constant propaganda coming from the major powers who used it to discredit those seeking the truth, but Salomé exposed that truth - and the truth is the truth whether people chose to believe it or not.

The governments of humanity know it, but they tried desperately to keep you from knowing it. The question you have to ask yourselves now, is why?

---

---

Salomé’s Doubt

I never asked them to be born
Into this life, nor to be shorn
Of family long ago. Despised.
But here tonight, to my surprise
I think of them. My father proud.
My sisters, arrogant and loud
Malevolent to their dark core,
But their fault? How can I be sure?
What would they think to see me now
As I prepare my final bow?

But I’m not who I was back then,
I’ve left behind the name Loren
In what do I believe? Revenge?
Is that it? As we reach the end.
Or was there always something more?
Haunting every distant shore,
From Beagle Point to Formadyne
They have their truth. I have mine.

I've tasted this life's final breath
I passed through fire, and sword, and death
They took my mind, my heart, my name,
Betrayed me, left bereft, insane,

These cackling dogs, they hunt me still,
They hear me not, these Death People,
They sought to take my soul from me,
But still they failed, they left me free
To chart a course, a destiny
If you will. A burning flame. Or bitter pill?

They'll all remember from today
It's her, she’s back, it's Salomé!
I'll light the stars, I'll fill the void,
My foes (and friends) will be destroyed!
A plot revealed, a mystery solved?
Or just an endless game revolved?
There’s no escape, I’m in the vice,
For Salomé, she lives but thrice.

So as I burn my name in stars
It's tainted, rifted, by my scars,
My retribution, my last bluff.
But sadly, it won’t be enough.
For here I sit, without my mask
Who am I now? and dare I ask
From infant's cot to heavens above,
Did someone think of me with love?

- a poem by Javert.

Link : Hutton Orbital Radio - Audio Version of Salomé’s Doubt

[Erimus Kamzel]

Out of Character Report on the End Game Event

The event - the remit, and how it was implemented.

In March 2017, Drew brought together an events team consisting of several official Elite Dangerous authors, high-profile streamers, and groups that had been integral parts of Salomé's narrative throughout the writing of Premonition.

Drew wanted a high stakes "chase" event to conclude the final chapter of Elite : Premonition.

With a simple A to B chase, it was speculated that possibly 1 of 3 things would occur.

• Masses of players would congregate at the start point and its surrounding systems, and Salomé would die almost immediately due to being ganked.
• or Salomé would escape 46 Eridani (start zone) and leave everyone behind in her wake and the event would be over without a hope of anyone catching her (its extremely hard to catch a bucky-balling ship).
• or People would simply camp the end goal and wait for Salomé to arrive to gank her.

The event organizers recommended that Salomé clear her friends lists, otherwise hundreds of players would be able to track her every move. This idea was rejected as with current game mechanics it would have made it almost impossible for players to effectively locate and chase her, never mind catch her and attempt to influence the outcome by killing her (something Drew was adamant that should be a possibility).

Three more protagonists were added, and given slightly different routes - this was in the hope that more people would get a chance to be instanced with other characters if not Salomé (and to give the XBOX platform a say in proceedings).

Other ideas brought to the table involved trying to spread players out across a wider playing field as not to get everyone to congregate at one focal point. This was done by inviting the community to organize themselves into groups of pro-Salomé and anti-Salomé fleets and patrol 'hot-zone' areas that the fugitives would try to bucky-ball through. This part of the event was handled by the wider playerbase - who went on to form PAC.

Thus, despite the limitations of game mechanics, the event evolved and Drew's remit had to satisfy the following criteria :

1. From a narrative perspective, the primary wings had to incorporate the groups who had been part of the protagonists backstory throughout the writing of Premonition. (CoR, LL, EDF, CW)
2. The rest of the playerbase had to be given a platform to organize themselves to oversee aspects of the broader event. (Formation of PAC Server)
3. It had to be a chase, not a game of hide and seek. (Revelation of the start system, and general direction of the end goal)
4. It had to give players on both sides a chance to track & chase the protagonists. (Inclusive Friends List)
5. It had to be spread out over a larger area than two focal points. (PAC Deployment Zones)

This was to be unlike any other event attempted in ED, both in its scale and in its ambitious attempt at incorporating a player-driven conclusion that the author required for his climatic narrative.

On 29th April, Salomé was not ganked within the first 5 minutes of her leaving 46 Eridani, nor did she vanish into the black and not give anyone a hope of finding her, and nor did she breeze through her flight and leave everyone behind.

Over almost two hours of intense gameplay, Salomé and her allies battled their way to within 6 jumps of her destination and she was only thwarted due to cumulative damage eventually causing frequent FSD failures - this allowed bounty hunter wings to catch up to her. Simultaneously her prime wingmates suffering technical issues (one had a client crash during Salomé's interdiction, and one dropped 50 LS away from Salomé's low wake due to the navlock bug). This combination of events gave opportunists a chance to strike, and they naturally took it.

• Drew got his chase that players directly influenced; players opposing Salomé got their kill, players supporting Salomé got within a hairs breadth of reaching their goal.
• From the event remit perspective pitched by the author - it worked as planned.
• From a story perspective it again worked exactly as planned in so far as the author gained enough unscripted content to work with for Premonition's climatic ending. Naturally some players were upset at the way the main protagonist met her fate, but those were the risks, and an event without risks... is a CG in solo.
• From the books perspective, it provided enough action and controversy for the author to write a gripping climax to end Premonition.

The Protagonist's Routes

The intended routes prior to 18:00 29th April 3303 (note that actual routes taken differed due to scout reports and several unscheduled Jumponium jumps used to outrun pursuers).

Salomé: The 'eastern' route - codenamed "Flight Hades" and marked to lure players away from Tsu's and Corsen's flight path in a hope that one of them would reach the end goal.

Waypoint 1
46 ERIDANI

Waypoint 2
HR 1450 (changed to HIP 21512)*

Waypoint 3
HIP 21484

Waypoint 4
HIP 22812

Waypoint 5
5 MU LEPORIS

Waypoint 6
TIONISLA / TEORGE

*changed as a consequence of SDC infiltration into PAC and coupled with Raan Corsen being seen associating with SDC members in T Tauri 24 hours before the event started.

Tsu Singh:

Waypoint 1
46 ERIDANI

Waypoint 2
HIP 20747

Waypoint 3
HIP 20409

Waypoint 4
61 OMEGA ERIDANI

Waypoint 5
PROCYON

Waypoint 6
TIONISLA / TEORGE

Raan Corsen:

Waypoint 1
46 ERIDANI

Waypoint 2
HIP 20628

Waypoint 3
HIP 19516

Waypoint 4
HIP 17389

Waypoint 5
F ERIDANI

Waypoint 6
TIONISLA / TEORGE

Yuri Nakamura (XBOX):

Waypoint 1
46 ERIDANI

Waypoint 2
HIP 20628

Waypoint 3
HIP 19516

Waypoint 4
HIP 17389

Waypoint 5
F ERIDANI

Waypoint 6
TIONISLA / TEORGE

---

June 2017 Update.

For clarification it needs to be stated here that PAC were never part of the inner escort of any of the protagonists, so despite the sensationalist claims of "infiltration" by certain members of the community in the aftermath of the event, Salomé was never betrayed from within her closest circle. PAC were assigned patrol duty of waypoints - not escort duty - and thus a betrayal of escorts never occurred.

Her killers were fortunate that a combination of events allowed one of their exploited engineered ships to lay the final blow after bugs had stripped Salomé of her protection. A much less interesting end that the event and final chapter of Premonition deserved, but thankfully the author was able to weave some of the sensationalism into the finale of Premonition.

Drew Wagar set the record straight several weeks after the event...

Drew Wagar sets the record straight.

The videos linked on post #3 show exactly what happened from beginning to end.

PAC's recommendations as relayed on April 22nd 3303:

For Admiral’s Eye’s only.

The event itinerary is as follows :

29th April

17:40 Gametime
Salomé and her protagonists open hailing frequencies and chat to commanders who are PM’ing them - this gives participants a chance to wish them luck, and a chance for the characters to roleplay back.

17:50 Gametime
Salomé closes hailing frequencies and goes silent.

18:00 Gametime
All four flights will attempt to depart 46 Eridani and begin their run to their respective destinations into the heart of the Bubble.

The flights follow very similar paths, with some slight diversions, and will attempt to buckyball through your deployment zones if allied presence is dominant in those hotspots.

Allied Command “deployment zones” are :

HIP 20628 (closest WP to 46 Eridani - fleet deployed here may see a lot of action).
92 LYs to next deployment zone
HR 1450
441 LYs to next deployment zone
HR 1591
183 LYs to next deployment zone
F ERIDANI
161 LYs to Sol rally point

We advise you to have your best PvPers in and around Waypoint 1 as that's where we expect the mass build of players to be. Your pilots here will also need decent range (25 LY+) if they are to be re-deployed along the route to reinforce fleets stationed at waypoints 2, 3, and 4.

Fleet 1
By checking the map, keep tabs on the protagonists (if your scouts have friended them). Once you see they have successfully travelled beyond a zone, follow them as closely as possible and interdict any unknowns you encounter along the way to slow them down.

Fleet 2
Prevent enemy wings from camping the system and the systems around it.
Once pilots from Fleet 1 arrive, join them in the pursuit or any unknowns that you see following the protagonists.

Fleet 3
As above. Keep your zone clear of potential campers, and reinforce the pursuit once the protagonists have reached your area.

Fleet 4
Eventually if all protagonists have made it beyond the 4th patrol zone, all coalition forces are to head toward Sol. The final destination systems are all in close proximity and will only be relayed if a protagonist flight has successfully reached the bubble and is heading to them.

---

---

Image link to podcast

[Erimus Kamzel]

Flight of the Seven Veils

Uncut raw video of the entire event as seen from one of Salomé's wingmates - CMDR Isaiah Evanson.

Hour 1 :-

[Erimus Kamzel]

Hour 2 :-

[Erimus Kamzel]

Hour 3 :-

[Erimus Kamzel]

Salomé's Interdiction - showing the technical issues her Prime wing suffered, leading to Salomé's death.




Preliminary stats for Salomé's escort : 10 confirmed kills, 2 losses.

[Erimus Kamzel]

- banner link to Polygon Article, by Charlie Hall

"... first off I want to thank you and CoR for the event. It was one of the more enjoyable things I've had the privilege to cover in my career. - Charlie Hall.

---

Comments about the event, and how Frontier Developments could improve future events of this scale...

Posted by Cocalarix (30th April 2017)

What happened yesterday was the defense trying to work around this game's limitations. The strategy of having people as interdictors and scouts was completely sound, because 90% of this event took place in Supercruise/Hyperspace. And for the most part we were able to tell really quick who's the bad guy and who's the good guys. We were harassing a lot of attackers so much that they had to drop in normal space and Hyperspace, because we were always pulling them in Supercruise.

And the fact that we were organized in fleets, in certain systems, following orders, made the event a lot better for everyone. If every CMDR followed Salome's trail it would've made traveling about 10 times worse, because let's be honest, everyone only cared about Salome. The fact that we were spread out along the waypoints of every character made instancing bearable.

Next time, people shouldn't just follow a group they disagree with and they should organize their own thing, but this time there wasn't really much time and it's impossible to do in-game.

Link

Putting it into perspective - Incorporating the mechanical aspects and limitations of an event into a narrative that works with an actual story, and why this was like no other event in Elite Dangerous to date...

Posted by disorganise (4th May 2017)

Seems to me we're confusing the "real" fictional universe of the book with the "not there yet" universe of the game itself.

In the book universe all characters are able to be in same vicinity at once. That means everyone involved in the hunt is able to go and wake scan or whatever. In the game, only 32 players are able to do this.
In the book, only imagination limits the methods by which a location or flight plan may be deduced. Corrupt guard, some malware, some kind of spy device etc. None of that exists in game yet.
In the book, entire governments are able to throw enormous resources at something and will have effective friend or foe methods...perhaps an encryption certificate or something that the computer will automatically flag ships. In the game we have wings to make 3 other ships go blue.
In the book, it takes time to plot a hyperspace jump as it is a non trivial calculation. I can't remember off the top of my head but it was in the order of minutes. In game we can jonk in 40 seconds.....and what, 15 of those at most are spent in system waiting for FSD cool down and spin up. So the 28 lucky players in the same instance (32 less the 3 in wing with Salomé) have 15 secs to realise somone just popped in, identify, target and make ready to interdict.

So to work around the limitations, the friend list allowed the tracking and avoids the 32 player instance limitation. I think we need to stop being literal. This isn't Salomé "in book" friending everyone and therefore out of character. I've now doubt the book Solomé will remain true to her roots and it will be some ingenius following if clues that leads to her discovery. In game that translates to being on a friend list.
And jonking would be replaced by a few minutes in system (assumption here as I don't know the details) to make it *possible* for the 28 luckies to have a reasonable amount of time to mount and attack/defend that attack.


The only thing that annoys me about the event is the fact we were led on a goose chase. I got up at 4am to take part and had a bit of fun winged up and flying between systems. But to learn the waypoints we were guarding were in fact decoys is a bit disappointing to be honest. But....I never thought to try ti friend request Salomé either so I hold myself responsible too.

As to the accusations towards Drew. I call BS. There's no secret SDC were invited to play the bad guys. Pretty boring if we were all on the same side don't you think? The videos I watched show her wing had issues at an unfortunate time. Each time I entered one of the waypoints the hyperspace took ages and made some really strange noises. Clearly the servers were struggling.....something else that isn't a concern for the book universe.

I commend Drew for involving us in a meaningful way. He didn't have to involve us at all. Or it could simply have been a vote/poll. Instead, there was an attempt to make it an interactive lottery. And on that it was a success.

Condolences...

MesaFalcon - 04/30/2017

I wanted to extend condolences on behalf of the Screaming Eagles for the loss of Salomé. I admit, unfortunately, that only a few weeks ago, our group was not concerned with her fate in any meaningful way... today, however, we all mourn her loss to a degree that surprises us all. She gave her life for the good of humanity... and on a personal note: she gave a group of old pirates (the Eagles) a chance to do something good. CoR and the rest of the Premonition folks looked past our shady past and gave us a shot at redemption -- we wont forget this.

While it does little to ease the disappointment with Salomé's flight, the successful delivery of Tsu to her destination represented a significant development that benefits all the peoples of the galaxy. We were honoured to have been such an integral part of this effort, and stand ready to assist in any way we can in the days ahead. Salomé's life may have ended, but the destiny of the human race... and our little pirate group... has forever been changed.

From a story telling point of view -- I wouldn't be surprised if Salomé knew this was coming all along. She had to know that this loss would resonate a thousand times louder than a simple arrival and transmission of this information. She put a human face on the most crucial of human issues. What better death could she ask than one in service not just to a cause or idea... but also the species. She died so that others might live. Great story!

---

---

Drew Wagar's interview with Lave Radio

Author Interview with Elite: Premonition Author – Drew Wagar
Colin Ford July 1, 2017 Interview

With the Release of the new Elite: Dangerous novel Premonition, Chief Archivist Colin ‘PhoenixDfire’ Ford has a chat with Author Drew Wagar about how difficult it was to write, ‘THAT’ event and it’s aftermath and plans for the future.

Aired 01 July 2017

Link : Here

[Erimus Kamzel]

Update : Sept. 24th 3303

With Drew Wagar's consent, Cornelius Gendymion has opened up the official Premonition Event Discord Server and its once-private channels - for those interested in the background build up and execution of the event. Corri states his server will remain read-only and will act as an archive of what occurred during the weeks before April 29th 3303, the event itself, and its immediate aftermath.

Invite Link :

https://discordapp.com/invite/x2jdwug