Belligerent Duck

The Belligerent Duck, or simply Duck, is a Crusader Industries Mercury operated by pilot Alexandria Dougan and hacker Mas Houlan, outlaws with outstanding warrants from the UEE Advocacy. The crew and his ship fled from Terra into Banu space (Bacchus) in 2948.

Dougan had renamed the ship, previously called Razor's Edge, to infuriate the infoagent she had won the ship from.

Identification
Easily identified by the unique white design painted on its hull and the stylized "eye" painted on it's main hatch. Favored by the duo for its potent combination of firepower, speed, and maneuverability, the "Duck" has become nearly synonymous with their exploits. The Mercury's proclivity to data running, its built-in onboard encryption protocal, and any number of home-brewed booby traps, make successful extraction and seizure difficult by design.

Field Report
A generous traditional cargo capacity plus data banks with on-board encryption protocol, and liberal use of maintenance access bays are Dugan and Houlan's bread and butter. A roomy, fully loaded and modular interior hull means Dougan and Houlan can hole up inside the Mercury for long hauls. The ship can land in even the most precarious zones. Dougan and Houlan are even suspected of smuggling contraband in and out of QuarterDeck.

Assessment - Engage ship at your own risk.

Escape Route in 2948
Terra - Stanton - Pyro - Cano - Davien - Ferron - Idris - Garron  - Bacchus.

The ship was reported in Banshee, turned out it was a canard.

2948-08-22
"Dougan and Houlan have reportedly robbed a laboratory facility on Terra owned by well-known weapons manufacturer Behring Applied Technology. They are presumed to be somewhere within Terra, or a connecting system. They should be considered dangerous and should not be engaged under any circumstances."

- Advocacy Alert

The outlawas have garnered 46 warrants between them. They used their ship to escape from a private hangar in the Behring complex. A Behring Security Sabre pursued, hailing with the threat of shooting down the Duck. Dougan was able to distract the Sabre with missiles forcing them to fire flares, buying Houlan enough time to use distortion cannons to disrupt the Sabre's power supply. Maxing out the thrusters for all they were worth, Dougan sped the Duck away from Behring’s headquarters. However, rather than angling up to leave the planet, she angled the ship towards the nearby mountainous island range. There, she lowered the ship down into a small alcove cut into the beach beneath a rocky outcropping. Diverting power from the Mercury’s shields and thrusters, Houlan booted up their reg-spoof so that they would be able to fly around incognito. Having to scrap the planned rendezvous, they contacted allies via mobiGlas and prepared to go on the run from the Advocacy, heading for Banu space.

2948-08-23_16:47
"ALERT! The Crusader Mercury designated: Belligerent Duck was reportedly spotted leaving the planet Terra. Planetside infoagents put the ship en route to Hadrian."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-23_21:34
"Thanks in part to your assistance, interceptors engaged the culprits and cut off their route to the Hadrian jump point. Unfortunately the Mercury escaped."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-24_14:02
"ALERT! The Crusader Mercury designated: Belligerent Duck has been identified by Citizens at Port Olisar, near Crusader in the Stanton System. It is thought to have left the station within the last two hours."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-24_17:55
"Due to tips like yours, Advocacy agents, assisted by Crusader Security, got the drop on Dougan and Houlan preparing to QT near Stanton. Due to some confusion in the ranks, the Duck escaped into a field of space debris."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-24_18:10
"ALERT! The Crusader Mercury designated: Belligerent Duck was recently engaged by bounty hunters in the Pyro System."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-24_21:53
"Keep up the good work Citizen! A strike team engaged the Duck near Pyro IV but lost the signal when a couple of roughnecks intervened."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-24_22:05
"ALERT! The Crusader Mercury designated: Belligerent Duck was spotted by Advocacy forces in the Cano system. A single unit has been tailing the ship on an apparent course to the Davien jump point."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-25_01:57
"ALERT! The Belligerent Duck succesfully made the jump to Davien. Local authorities and Advocacy officers will be waiting."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-25_02:12
"ALERT! The Crusader Mercury designated: Belligerent Duck was engaged immediately upon entering the Davien system, but managed to elude Advocacy forces yet again. Last reported by Citizens flying near Davien III, but this is so far unsubstantiated."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-25_17:50
"We no longer have eyes on the Belligerent Duck. Watch the skies, Citizens."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-25_18:02
"ALERT! Several known associates of the culprits put their ship in the Ferron system, with one source on record saying they were "probably out in the cuts". Keep watching the skies, Citizens."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-26_01:47
"Thanks for the topper, friends. Was able to reach out to an old contact in Tram and get him to feed the Advos some, shall we say, misleading intel. Apologies in advance to whoever's Mercury it was that just got impounded on our account. Hopefully they rest easy knowing they've helped a friend in need."

- << AUTHENT_ OVERRIDE>>

2948-08-26_02:07
"ALERT! The ship impounded in Tram WAS NOT the Belligerent Duck. Mas Houlan and Alex Dougan still at large. The mistake has been traced to a serial spoof, and the Advocacy apologizes to the crew for any inconvenience. Our infoagent in Tram, upon more comprehensive questioning, has informed us of the culprits' probable course to the Banu protectorate, most likely Bacchus. We believe they'll be heading for Garron, and may be traveling through a connecting system."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-26_19:47
"Remain vigilant, Citizens. Thanks to you, we successfully tracked the Duck through Idris. Advocacy forces are amassing in Garron at this very moment to intercept the culprits."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-26_20:03
"ALERT! The culprits were engaged and took significant damage upon entering the Garron system, but the ambush was stymied via distortion charge. The culprits are thought to be somewhere within the systems. All units in pursuit."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-27_15:00
"Thanks to your tips, the culprits were intercepted in Garron. We maintain a steady gain, tracking them toward the Banshee jump point."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-27_15:27
"ALERT! Contact was temporarily lost with the culprit's ship due to a botched linked jump to Banshee. It is believed the target is somewhere within the system."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-27_18:52
"Looks like the Advos just collared a random Banu at a bar in Kasseli (sic!). Pegged him for Mas. Wow. That's not gonna end well for any of them. Keep em open, friends. Duck's skippin' around the horn on a double take."

- << AUTHENT_ OVERRIDE>>

2948-08-27_19:10
"ALERT! The Banu apprehended in Banshee earlier today was in fact NOT the culprit, Mas Houlan. The Advocacy extends their sincerest apologies to Mr. Min and his family. Investigating reports of culprits sighted in the Lier system. Thus far, unsubstantiated. Remember, false reports are considered obstruction of justice. Be part of the solution, Citizens. Think about it."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-27_21:15
"Please remember that providing false information is akin to aiding a criminal. Please keep these tip lines clean as the manhunt continues. Thank you."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-27_21:26
"ALERT! A local patrol near Garron IV just sent out a call for backup upon reportedly spotting the Belligerent Duck."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-27_23:51
"Thanks to your tips, Advocacy officers and local militia had the culprits completely surrounded, leaving a rest stop in the orbit of Garron IV. However, thanks to the untimely intervention of a Meridian Transit Starliner packed with travelers, the Duck managed to slip away again, presumably into the Banu protectorate. Keep your eyes open though, Citizens, as the culprits may still be hiding somewhere in Garron."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

2948-08-28_01:16
"We owe you yet another one, friends. I have to admit, jacking the grid and rerouting that Meridian bird was one for the books. Now just pray to the Banu god of merciful what-have-you that the diversion and a reg-spoof buys the Duck the time she needs. See you in the great wide yonder."

- << AUTHENT_ OVERRIDE>>

2948-08-28_02:21
"ALERT! After an exhaustive search of Garron and several connecting systems, it seems probable that the culprits have made a successful jump to Banu space. Alexandria Dougan and Mas Houlan are presumed to be hiding somewhere in the Bacchus system. We implore you to stay vigilant as the Advocacy explores extradition options. Any relevant information should be relayed to the Advocacy as well as local law enforcement agencies. Engage with extreme caution."

- UEEA Good Citizen TipLine

Rewards
These titles could be achived by playing the Link broken minigame. Players could get both forum badges by report one sighting to the Advocacy and/or warn the Duck on the next sighting. It was not possible to report the location or warn the duck at the same time.

Players received a  Mystery Crusader Mercury Skin. It was later revealed as the Crusader Mercury Nightrunner Skin.
 * Title Bug Skipper.png Bug Skipper: Warned the crew of the Belligerent Duck during the manhunt.
 * Title High Jacket.png High Jacket: Alerted the Advocacy to the position of the Belligerent Duck during the manhunt.



Starmap Object
The Belligerent Duck was also a visible "celestial" Starmap object.