The Fortress/Archive 4
Archived Journals Jul/Aug/Sep 2006
August End of Month Review
 Filed by The Ears |
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The exclusive to The Fortress, Pitman Enigma, has brought about joy and chaos in abundance. Members that took the challenge were thrilled with the twists and turns, the puzzles and surprises, but it also brought about a near revolution from inside. Some members speculated it could be the end of the group entirely, but although it may have been near to critical point, The Fortress has survived and become stronger from it. The proof? Official UD stats claim that our group has cracked the 70's mark for the very first time, although official member stats are much higher - an eye-opening factual count will be revealed next month, following The Fortress' own anniversary party. Other landmark figures include 150 members on our forum, and 20,000 posts. The Fortress is ever changing, ever improving and next month there will be one hell of a hangover following the party :/
The Shadow Revolution
 Filed by Veteran Assault Officer Fishel |
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It was an unassuming first post in an unassuming topic. Jensonson was simply reporting that Roci Ara had rejoined the Shadow Wolves, and Belakor was leaving the organization. Then, the next post was a dark warning of what was to become. Scooter461 was the Lieutenant of Team Battlehawk, and was suddenly now a Shadow. This reporter, due to stringent secrecy on the part of the Shadow Wolves, was unable to find out exact details for the reason why Scooter was chosen, but nethertheless, he was. Then, just as suddenly, a Conflict Trooper joined the Shadows. And then, in a stunning move, the Shadows, who were supposed to be an elite organization, picked a Boot camp recruit, before he had any combat experience. Jensonson himself was even shocked by the sudden move. Shrimper set off the debate. He questioned whether such green recruits should be in the elite organization. What was to follow may be the most important topic in Fortress history.
Argument began to break out over the purpose of the Shadows. Skull Kid agreed with Shrimper, and confronted Charlie Mon, over his comments of, "It's Jensonsons group and if he wants to assign Duke and Necrotic to the wolves let him", stating that The Fortress was a democracy. Skull Kid countered and the debate continued but Skull Kid seemed to be fighting a losing battle, and finally dropped the topic. All seemed well until several venomous comments were launched at Skull Kid, being outright flames. Shrimper returned to the topic, and brought forth the attention of one of the most important people in this story, Seabee. He began to raise questions about the Shadow's accountability to the Council. And then, Swinky brought up the second main issue in this debate. With a Shadow both being in a combat team, and the Wolves, who would he be loyal too? Next, came the anger at the Shadows arrogance, and elitism. Many weeks of anger at the Shadow Wolves began to boil over, and the true feelings of many a member came forth. Some questioned if such an organization was even useful in such a 2-D game. The topic was closed for a short time, but was reopened. The debate grew hotter, and hotter, until it reached the critical level.
Seabee, who is a member of The Fortress Council, brought the issue to the council, asking questions about the Wolves. In a shocking move, the topic was suddenly closed by the Shadow Wolves. This was the spark that set off the explosion. Outraged that The Council was apparently rated beneath the Shadow Wolves, the people became angry, and violent. A member even began to talk of armed revolution. And then, just when the leadership of The Head, or the answers of a Shadow were needed the most...silence. Voice after voice, yet no answers. Rage began to fill the air. The Fortress was on the brink of collapse. Lepaige antagonized the revolutionaries even more with his condescending comments. Then, a post by AngelWitch started a chain reaction.
You Can't Make Me Be One.
AngelWitch, who had suddenly become a Shadow herself, in an amazing speech, quit the Wolves in disgust. After her, Scooter and Duke followed. In a topic in the Tavern, Fishel made a statement, demanding answers. Now! Finally, Jensonson spoke. It was a simple speech, not even addressing any issues. But, before the populace would finally revolt, Jensonson spoke again.
In a shocking move, Jensonson both reprimanded the Wolves for closing the topic in the Council and created a new rule, making Shadow Wolves have to choose between Combat Teams, and the Wolves. With that said, the furor began to die down. As of writing this article, there is still ongoing discussion of what role the Shadow Wolves are to play in the future of The Fortress, but one thing is certain. The Fortress is no longer divided, and will stand for many more years.
July End of Month Review
Filed by The Ears |
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The Fortress continues to grow with Boot Camp spawning new recruits daily and the combat groups steadily building in quality - 30 full-level Assault Officers with six months loyalty! Our revive clinic does great business and our strength and depth continues to develop.
This month, The Pitman Enigma was released. A set of cunning puzzles and drama, exclusive to Fortress members only.
Only 52 combat-ready active members recorded this month but Boot Camp is holding back at least 20 others.
Staying Vigilant!
The Big Bash Response
 Filed by Jensonson |
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The Shadow Wolves first reported that the Big Bash - a rampage of allied hordes in South and Southwest Malton - was getting perilously close on July 12th. The Fortress was fully prepared for the oncoming invasion and pushed Fortress status to Red.
The Fortress prepared a battle plan and decided to fight on the move, separating their combat teams and creating roaming bases. Many operations from the respective combat squads ensued but the force of the Big Bash offensive, combined with local feral problems, resulted in an unstoppable avalanche that The Fortress was powerless to stop.
However, The Fortress was relatively untouched - remaining 75% combat-active at all times. The Commanders created a clean up set of operations that were put into action in July. Operations' Clean Sweep, Restore Humanity and Young and Restless resulted in excellent suburb recovery. Team Anaconda alone restored 171 buildings in the second half of July. It is not a coincidence that red suburbs became habitable, and the survivor ratio suddenly returned to 45% from 40%
The restoration effort continues but The Fortress has learnt a valuable lesson. Never to underestimate the sheer weight of numbers we are up against. Always, to Stay Vigilant!
June End of Month Review
Filed by The Ears |
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It's fourth of July fireworks and UD celebrates its first birthday! Hip hip...HURRAH!
This month we're mostly concentrating on the stats from our Fortress training school, Boot Camp.
Boot Camp has successfully elevated an impressive number of newbies into the ranks of the Fortress combat squads. SaraStormsong was the first recruit, back on the 14th March, to qualify into Team Federation, and plenty of others have followed.
There have been....wait for it, hold your breath - this figure is impressive...TWENTY-FIVE players tutored, trained and qualified to do The Fortress' good work in Malton since mid-March. They now know how to successfully work and survive in Malton - fulfilling one of our initial promises to all new members.
And on top of this, we have another twenty-five recruits currently sitting in Boot Camp and working through the program. Good luck to them all - one day you could be a Fortress Commander.
Monthly figures look like this: The Assault Squadron (4), The Shadow Wolves (6), The Combat Squads (30) plus Commune (57) and an estimated 60 combat-ready active members (i.e. not including any Boot Camp trainees). Another strong month for The Fortress and we join the DEM as a Strategic Partner. Looking forward to another strong month in July.
