Comm-Link:Tracker - Run for the Border

Today my friends, is a good day to hunt. I’m Garret Coliga. Welcome back to TRACKER, your official Guild guide to the world of bounty hunting. Today’s latest news, tech and tips are brought to you by our sponsor Talisman. Their new granular mesh plating provides lightweight E-rated stopping power you can depend on every time. Honestly folks, they make some good armor. If you stop by a showroom, make sure to mention that Garret sent you for a special TRACKER discount. Talisman, takes the hits.

People, have I got a HotSheet for you today. I cannot remember the last time I was this excited about a fugitive. In fact, I’m gonna just go ahead and call it: this is a hot HotSheet.

First up though, an old Guild favorite, Randle Conk. Same M.O. as usual. He jacked a ship, gave the Advocacy the slip, and is out there waiting for one of you skilled folks to cash in. The main difference worth noting this time around is old Randle boosted himself a 350r. That’s right, he’s going to make you work for those credits. For those of you who haven’t tangled with Randle yet and are wondering why the ship he stole makes such a big differences, let me just fill you in on the little fact that Randle has placed 5th and 3rd the two times he raced the Murray Cup. He is fast and he is good. A 350r in the hands of Randle is like a knife in the hands of a Vanduul. Basically, good luck. His last reported location was near Davien II.

For hunters interested in sinking their teeth into something slightly meatier, there’s a contract out on a Squig Bently. Squig earned his rep as a black market trader, but it seems he may have moved on to corporate espionage. Shubin has posted the rather high bounty themselves for the theft of trade secrets. No clues as to his current whereabouts, but if you’re looking for approach tips, start by looking in the worst bar you can find and, if you spot him, try to remember to stay upwind.

Which brings us to the big one. A juicy ole bounty posted by Nebula Bank. This, folks, is something new. The target, Adrina Flanders, is on the run for taking money out of her very own bank account. How can there be a bounty on her for that? While true that there is nothing illegal about taking money out of your own bank account, the issue here lies with how many times she did it.

Allegedly, Adrina walked into the Nebula Bank Shanghai branch on Earth right as it opened, shut down her account, and withdrew the full amount in Imperial Credits. She must have had a fast ship waiting, cause only a little while later she’s the first in line at a Nebula Bank in the Croshaw system doing the same thing. Thing was, the data from the Sol branch was still working its way through the jump thanks to some ill-timed communication satellite maintenance. Either she was lucky, or someone tipped her off to the repair schedule, but either way, the Croshaw bank had no idea that when they gave Adrina the full amount that was supposedly in her account, they were handing over money that was no longer hers. The farther away from Sol she got, the slower the info moved. Fast forward six systems later and Adrina is still withdrawing that same money from her account, all while managing to be one step ahead of the Advocacy fleet that is blazing its way towards her.

It seems that while there are plenty of protocols in place to protect against data-lag fraud, no one considered the possibility of a single individual successfully pulling this kind of run on a personal account. It’s safe to bet that in the next few days we will be seeing all sorts of new regulations to correct this oversight. Now, I want to take just a moment to point out the planning and the skill involved with this heist: coordinating refueling stops, charting jump points, timing info loads. This is a six-system bank job we’re talking about. If that’s not a record, it’s got to be damn close. When Miss Flanders finishes serving her time at QuarterDeck, I wouldn’t be surprised if FTL offered her a courier job.

Now, hopefully any respectable bounty hunter at this point is thinking that finding her shouldn’t be that hard. UEE funds are fully traceable so there’s no way she’d be able to disappear with that kind of credit haul on hand. Well never fear, Nebula Bank does indeed know where all its money is. Safely in the hands of some very innocent-seeming Banu traders. It appears that Miss Flanders had set up, well in advance, a major purchase of goods. She flew into the Banshee system, made the trade, and was on her way into Banu space just as the Advocacy arrived. Their pursuit of course stopped there since UEE agents are barred from chasing fugitives into the Banu Protectorate. On top of that, because the Banu made their side of the trade in good faith, it’s going to take some tricky diplomacy for Nebula to get their creds back. Either way, one thing is for certain, Nebula Bank is very eager to see Adrina Flanders come to justice.

And that is today’s HotSheet. Remember to consult your local Guild or Law Enforcement office for a complete list of available bounties and double-check any bounty before confronting a fugitive, as bounties may have been cleared. All cases must be performed by licensed Guild Members in good standing.

Now for today’s more in-depth look, I thought it would be a perfect time to refresh everyone on the DOs and DON’Ts on pursuing a fugitive that has entered Banu space. We have the Guild’s resident Banu expert, Dom Salange, on hand along with UEE Assistant Diplomatic Liaison, Hendrick Talbert, to answer any question you might have. It should be informative all around. We’re going to take a quick break for some brief messages from our sponsors. So stick around if you can. If you can’t, you take care and watch your back. TRANSCRIPT BREAK