Expected & Unexpected Results

The first 48 hours of "Operation: Atlas' Bane" has been going well...almost too well. We have racked up a 500+m isk loss on EARTH Federation, while only losing a bait Battlecruiser last night. We have performed two large fleet battles while not losing a single ship...unheard of in our previous contracts within the OEC (before LSD was formed). We have interdicted numerous other vessels and I expect our Client to be most pleased after reading our battle reports. The reason I suggest it is going too well is the fact that EARTH is now opening its wallet to hire some mercenaries of their own.

Maelstrom Crew has began operations in the vicinity of Beke and gearing up with a war declaration contract of their own against the LSD. While this is not totally unexpected, we had hoped our business would not be cramped in such a fashion. Still, that is the rules of the Cluster, and I know several LSD pilots are looking forward to grappling with a more competent combat force. If I remember right, MCREW used to be part of a larger alliance, but now they seem independent. I once had a lot of pride keeping up with all the mercenary news going on in the Eve Cluster...but tragically I am out of the loop these days running this alliance.

We still have a contract to perform, and our focus will be on EARTH as that is what we were hired to do. Maybe MCREW Fleet Commanders can give EARTH more success. Our inside intelligence operation suggests the conflict could dynamically alter in the next 48 hours...changing the scope of the contract on preset conditions. Once that triggers (if it does), EARTH may actually find out why someone took a contract on them, and we would move to a second phase away from them.

Expectations are always hard to manage, but with the dedicated cadre in the LSD it is easier to manage the chaos of a full fledged war contract.