The Fortress/News/Archive 7

TFN Archive for Top News

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Operation Ridleybank.

• This article was written by Danny Lee
• This article was wrritten in Nov 21, 2006

When The Fortress heard about the invasion of Ridleybank in November 5th, they were ecstatic.

Team Anaconda and Cold Cell quickly moved in to Stanbury Village during late October to get ready for the invasion. To their horror, they found Nichols mall under zombie infestation.

After taking emergency control of Cold Cell for this mission, commander Danny Lee quickly deemed the mall a strategic objective, and had the two teams try to retake the mall. The mall was clear in about Nov 1~3, and the team restocked on ammo, First aid kits, and syringes.

November 5th arrived. Quickly moving in between the Stuart Library, Woodland tower, and the Dibbings building, The Fortress applied pressure from the south, aiding in the Second Battle of Blackmore Building while they fought. Taking down zombies, reviving, and barricading buildings, Anaconda and Cold Cell finally pulled out on Nov 20, 2006 with an impressive total of 116 kills, barricading 32 buildings, reviving 17 dead survivors, for only 18 casualties.

Danny Lee gave a short speech, ordering the bittersweet retreat.

“Men, you have fought valiantly, but now it is time to pull out. We are running 30% casualties, and as Jensonson (Our leader) said, time to go back home.

Everyone who is alive right now is hereby ordered to move back to -CENSORED- once you gain sufficient amount of AP.

The dead, either shamble over to Shackleville, or stay in the Ridleybank revive zone until revived.

I also hereby relinquish emergency control of team Cold Cell.”

Here are the list of names of people who participated in the assault in Ridleybank.

Anaconda

• Berserkas
• Daniel181
• Guard33x
• Necrotic hunter
• Fallout10mm
• Mondie
• Matt Akist
• Blair Wells
• Perrinthewolf

Cold Cell

• Cameron Mitchell
• Dennis Albrum
• Studz
• Daishii
• Glacial
• Charlie Mon

In Memory of KsTxGirl

• This article was written in Nov 16, 2006
• This article was written by Daniel181, in his unique perspective.

KsTxGirl, you will be missed.

When the Fortress was young, a strong woman was there to kick the living crap out of all the new recruits in the Fortress. She taught them how to survive, how to live, how to die and how to kill anything that moved without breathing. She whipped us into shape and made sure we were ready for a life in the Fortress. The woman responsible was KsTxGirl.

Everyone in the Fortress feared the woman's whip; her lashings were too much for some. She made sure you knew when you were doing something wrong. But underneath this hard exterior was a friend to us all, a kind person caring for everyone. She loved every person in the Fortress and they loved her.

During my time in Boot Camp, I was lucky enough not to be whipped by her as I was a good boy. My time in Boot Camp was short but I did enjoy it. I made many friends and experienced some losses. But during it all, KsTxGirl was there, screaming at us all, telling us what to do. She was someone to look up to, a real role model. The Fortress was hers in a way. She has left a mark on us all.

Some time ago KsTxGirl vanished from The Fortress. She was nowhere to be seen. One day she re-appeared. Unknown to many she wasn't breathing. She had turned to the darkness.

A few weeks after KsTxGirl had left, people from the Fortress began seeing people who looked like KsTxGirl. Indeed, KsTxGirl has many sisters, each one hotter than the last. Commander Shrimper of Team Battlehawk said,

"I take good care of those girls"

That is one lucky guy… All those girls… and just him.

I'm sure many people would agree when I say KsTxGirl is a legend and idol to the people in the Fortress. She will be missed.

Happy Birthday Fortress!

This article was written by danny lee

This article was written in August 22, 2006

On the 20th September 2005, a building in Central Malton was barricaded to EHB for the first time. It signified the completion of a massive project - The Construction of Fortress Four. Since that day, the building, and its surrounding structures, have remained at EHB for over 90% of the year! This has become the first home of The Fortress. Fortress Head Jensonson announced,

"To celebrate the creation of Fortress Four, we will be hosting a party. Here are a few things to know about this party.

It will be a Bring Your Own Cheese party.

Everyone will be asked to change their Fortress profiles and descriptions to suit.

We will be inviting practically every Fortress member that is, and ever was!

The forum will open a special Party topic.

All combat duties will be postponed and you will have free leave.

Karaoke, The FAFTA Awards, Stories...

Entertainment - Dancing and acting zombies performing a stage musical.

Many surprises!

Unlimited punch.

That's just a taster of what's to come, but don't expect the party to last just 24 hours as it may just go on and on!"

The members eagerly wait for that day, and expectations are high. Some members were found buying condoms at the local mall.

Zombies aren't welcomed there! Don't show up!

The Shadow Debate

This article was written by danny lee

This article was written in August 19, 2006

The recent debates about the Shadow Wolves have gone from a small question into a full blown heated debate. Necrotic hunter, a newbie in The Fortress was accepted into The Shadows even before he was assigned to a Combat Team. The members congratulated necrotic hunter for his amazing promotion, but raised questions about The Shadows' manner of accepting members. Senior members have complained about not being accepted into the Shadows and feel excluded.

Some of The Fortress veterans were offended by all the secrecy. Long-time member Fishel declares,

"...the main thing behind the Shadows is distrust. Guests can't see our tactical, hell, I don't think recruits can either, but we can't even see the Shadows' forum. It seemed as us loyal Fortress soldiers are not to be trusted. We have fought and died for this group, and I find not being trusted a helluva way to repay us."

The main focus of this debate has been The Shadows' power. When the members join The Shadows, they don't lose their Combat Team status, or the ability to run for Council. The debate was started again in the Council forum, but the Shadows have shut it down. Fortress Councilor CameronMitchell has issued this statement:

"Firstly let me state that I never for one minute doubt the fact that the Shadows play an active and important role in the Fortress and I know that they DO share information with the rest of the Fortress.

However when we tried to discuss it we were effectively told that, (although we were Council members, a Commander and an LT respectively, plus longtime members in good standing of the Fortress), we were not allowed to know what the Shadows actually did, and in fact were not even allowed to talk about it, mind your own business.

This is very annoying as you can imagine, and does make you question the value of actually having a council at all."

With a scent of distrust in the air, a common view is that The Fortress should adjust the Shadows' powers.

Shadow debate is finished!

This article was written by danny lee

This article was written by August 29, 2006

In August 7 of 2006, Duke Ulrich and Necrotic hunter were admitted to the Shadow Wolves. Necrotic Hunter was assigned to the Shadows even before he was in a combat team. This statement from Shrimper was the first post to of the huge debate that went for 19 days.

Ok, I don’t want this to sound like I’m stirring things up, but there was a discussion involving the Shadows back in June and I made some comments/criticisms about such organizations.

Jensonson answered my points in his usual professional and succinct way. But, after these recent changes I must raise issue again. This is a quote from Jensonson on June 21st 2006.

“Shadow Wolf is indeed an Elite group of The Fortress members that are selected based on their style, characteristics and achievements. Shadow Wolves are self-sufficient, self-motivated individuals that bring about a positive influence to Malton and The Fortress without the need for prompting. Their essential day to day work integrates smoothly with the combat teams and other Fortress resources but in a subtle, understated way.”

Now this is not meant to be disrespectful at all to Duke and Necrotic but due to their lack of service within the Fortress how do they match the above description of a typical Shadow?

Unless they are reincarnations of retired members.

The members stated many flaws on the Shadow' system. Team Anaconda's Assault Officer "Danny Lee summed up the demands.

-Shadows off battle teams

-Shadow forum open to commanders and possibly Lt.

-Council control (degrees of control should be negotiated.)

-A fair requirement for joining Shadows

What really flared up the conversation happened at the Council forum. When Fortress Councilor Seebee opened up a discussion in the Council forum, The Shadow shut down the discussion due to security reasons. With members feeling they were mistreated, Shadow Wolf Angelwitch quit the Shadows.

"Damn, you leave for a vacation and everything goes to hell...

Let me rejoin the Fortress forum by stating the following:

1. I have on multiple occasions said that I don't want to be a Shadow and I don't know why anyone would given their snotty, elitest attitude and all else. That hasn't changed.

2. I was not asked to be a Shadow but was assigned. I hereby resign. YOU CAN'T MAKE ME BE ONE!!

3. The council was created to be the voice of the people and we can and will use that voice to discuss issues. If you shut it down in the Council forum, we will do it in public. I wholeheartedly disagree that one of our members feels it's his right to just close a discussion because it's a secret shadow thing. YOU CAN'T FORCE US TO SHUT UP. Try me and see what happens... it won't be pretty.

4. The Council doesn't need authority over the Shadows. Could we trust them anyway? Besides, who REALLY gives a damn what they do? The Shadows DO provide intel and assist in many ways as necessary so it's not like they don't do anything (except maybe LePaige). Why do we really care who they report to? What's the worst thing that can happen? REALLY??

5. As for their divided loyalties, if they are disloyal to a commander, then the commander can kick them off the squad and no other commander will be willing to take them on. The Shadow can decide if that's a risk he or she is willing to take.

Honestly? I think everyone is (as I believe Jensonson mentioned) just feeding their stupid egos with all this debate. Ignore them. Let them have their secret talks behind closed forum doors and play their silly games. I don't want any part of it. And at the rate things are going, I'm not sure I want any part of the Fortress. I didn't join this group for this crap. I joined to be a part of a working, elite survivor team which exists to help kill zombies and help humans. That's not what this is anymore. I just got back and am tired of it already."

Shadow Wolf Scooter followed suit and quit also.

Going to the extreme, some members agreed to form up a break away organization if The Fortress didn't resolve this issue.

Thankfully, The Head Jensonson issued a order in time that satisfied everyone.

"I was hoping that the situation would bring itself to a conclusion, but since the open and public discussions have not resolved anything - partly due to a certain censored post - and the refusal of certain parties to speak, I would like to add my input.

The Shadows are either a part of this group and able to function in the council and combat groups, or they are not; in which case they should be removed from the Fortress altogether.

Like the Assault Squadron, and the Commune, the Shadow Wolves have run independently of the tactical command structure but also worked effectively and efficiently with the combat teams throughout their spans.

Anyway, this topic is about 1) whether the Shadows should answer to the council and 2) whether there should be Shadows on combat teams.

I think that on the incident where a council topic was closed, a Shadow overstepped his mark. The council is certainly allowed to talk about any issue relating to The Fortress and is there to speak for the people.

However, the actions of this member should not result in a Shadow witch-hunt. Many Shadows have not spoken on this issue, and this is because they do not know if, or how to respond to a mass attack from all directions. They have done nothing wrong and tried to continue with their daily Fortress lives.

So, back to the council issue. If Shadow council members close unresolved posts in the council quarters, then they should not be on the council - simple as that. This is not an incident that will happen again.

If Shadows will not answer to the council (and they have done on PK/alt laws and others) on the issue of the role of Shadows, then they should also not be part of the council.

Therefore I am demanding that the only shadow councillor, Fet, chooses his role. To obey the Fortress Council and allow freedom of speech, or to resign from the council with immediate effect.

And so moving on to the issue of the role of Shadows in combat squads. The new Shadows were hand-picked by old Shadows to join their group, and had not volunteered. There has been plenty of discussion on the reasons for this but at the end of the day it was the choice of the Wolves. However, every new member was given the choice to stay in their combat groups (as it was not their choice to become Shadow) or to quit. All members chose to stay with their combat teams. I think this is a commendable comment on the state of our combat squads.

However The Fortress seems to demand that all the new Shadows do not work in combat teams, and therefore either choose to retire from their combat team, or from the Shadows.

I think this is unfair on the newly promoted Shadows as this dilemma has been forced upon them but now they must all review their positions.

New Shadows must choose to leave their combat teams, and to move into the Shadows full-time, or to quit the Shadows and continue in combat squads.

With these two issues resolved we will have a united group of Shadows working together under Fortress policy, as do the other tactical groups.

I apologize for all the discomfort this brings on the parties affected and hope you solve your own personal dilemmas with relative ease. If you do not reply in-topic or to me personally, I'll PM you personally for you to make a choice."

With that statement, the Issue of The Council debate incident and the Combat team issue were settled for good, thereby effectively ending the debate. This is one of those revolutionary events, and the members saw history in motion.