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March 17th 2021
Welcome of OP.NET, the show for the independently minded security professional. As always, I just want to say that this show is not affiliated with the official Merc Guild in any way. We’re here to help those blazing their own course through the ‘verse. I’m Conva Maynard and guess who’s back with me today? That’s right, my trusted partner, Skiv.
Good to have you back, big guy. Skiv just returned from Yulin and has plenty of thoughts about must-stop spots. Best of all, he spent some time with the Ndafwa Security Souli, so whether you’re looking to work in Banu space, or just visit, you won’t want to miss his insights.
But first, let’s visit Stanton, where a recent violent incursion by an outlaw pack calling themselves XenoThreat forced the government to mobilize the Civilian Defense Force. The people of Stanton responded and helped send the would-be invaders back to Pyro. Joining us to discuss the successful operation is the Advocacy’s Special-Agent-in-Charge Rowena Dulli, who coordinated the CDF response.
Know we disagreed a bit during your last appearance over certain CDF policies.
That was quite the situation you faced in Stanton. You mind breaking down what happened? Figured our audience would appreciate the firsthand account.
It’s crazy how bold these criminals are getting. Got to say, I had my doubts about the CDF, but it was pretty impressive how you managed to send those outlaws packing.
You’re from Stanton, right?
So this victory must’ve meant a lot.
Would imagine so. Now, after we booked you on the show, I put out a call to anyone who participated in the CDF action in Stanton to send me their experiences and any questions they may have. You mind if we go through a few of these?
Great. Well, first of all, there was a lot of hate for XenoThreat and everything they stand for. Most folks were happy that they got asked to help kick those bastards outta the system.
Folks also loved the hefty payouts for helping. Lots of positive comments about that too.
Not everyone had a good experience though. One responder claimed an inadvertent friendly fire incident resulted in them receiving a CrimeStat that landed them in a rehabilitation facility.
I’ll see what they say and let you know.
From these comms, it sure sounded like a hell of a dangerous situation in a lot of ways.
How familiar was the Advocacy with XenoThreat prior to their assault on Stanton?
But not enough to keep them out of Stanton?
Let me throw you another question from someone who was there, do you believe the CDF is sustainable?
[ beat ]
This person wrote a few very dense paragraphs about their thoughts and experiences, so let me just summarize. Sure, it worked this time, but what happens if the next operation doesn’t go as well and leads to massive casualties among CDF members?
You said it yourself, this was a highly organized, military-style operation meant to terrorize the people of Stanton and disrupt the system’s flow of trade. There’s no doubt XenoThreat and other outlaw groups took note of the CDF’s tactics and will be adjusting accordingly. Since the CDF is only a loose coalition of “willing” participants, what happens if that “willingness” evaporates. Who’s left to come to a system’s defense then?
But none of those forces were around to stop what happened in Stanton? Isn’t that why the CDF was deployed?
And if, say, no one showed up from the CDF, how long before additional Advocacy or Navy forces could have helped?
Next time?
Anything else you’d like to share?
Better to be prepared than be sorry.
We need to take a quick break. We’ll be back with more questions for SAIC Rowena Dulli in just a moment, and later on in the show, Skiv will fill us in on his adventure into the Banu Protectorate. Don’t go anywhere, there’s more OP.NET coming your way.