The National Holiday

Cover
Adventure summary:
Your friend Milan Hunt would like to introduce you to his home system and tell you about a landmark event.
Find out about the Battle of Wangai, during which Powerplay forever shaped this system and its inhabitants.

Learn more about a facet of the game you may not be familiar with: the BGS.

The recap

Ship:

Combat

Vaisseau

Cargo hold:

4 Cargo T

Cargo

Difficulty: Competent

Duration

1 h

Max distance

18 LY

The National Holiday

During your many travels, you made friends with Milan Hunt, a former fighter pilot who offered to show you around his home system: Ekono.


This system is similar to the famous Cubeo system, where Aisling Duval's center of operations is located. The very place where the famous programmes of the Princess are manufactured.


Milan has often told you about his squadron: Elite United Worlds and the system's national holiday. You have a little time on your hands, perhaps you could learn more about this system and how it works.



The BGS, or Background Simulation, in Elite Dangerous is a dynamic system that simulates the economic, political and social state of the galaxy. Here's how it works:


Factions: Each star system has local factions, including a dominant faction. The BGS manages their states (war, famine, election, etc.), which influence security, available missions, and market prices.


Influence: Player actions, such as completing missions, trading or fighting, affect faction influence. A faction with more influence can take control of a system.


States: Factions can enter different states, such as war, outbreak or boom, each with specific effects on gameplay.


Expansion: When a faction accumulates enough influence, it can attempt to expand to a neighboring system, potentially initiating conflicts with other factions.



The Ekono system



Welcome to my home.


The Ekono system is under the direction of my squadron: Elite United Worlds.

It's a great responsibility and a great honor.


We serve the Empire and have pledged to support Princess Aisling Duval in the powerplay fight which is sometimes fierce.
 

There's a shipyard like Cubeo's back home in Ekono, where they refurbish admiralships. Follow me, it's near Lundmark Terminal!




The Powerplay represents politics on the scale of the human bubble. Aisling Duval leads one of the Powers to which you can pledge allegiance. Some powers are allied into Superpowers (the Empire; the Federation and the Alliance) while others are independent, or form more informal alliances.


This activity requires a great deal of coordination over a vast territory, and a certain sense of secrecy! The pilots who coordinate the activities for Aisling Duval often to speak of it as '4D chess'.

If you pledge allegiance to a Power, consider joining their private communication channels (often Discord). It's a great way to make friends... and opponents!


You dock at Lundmark Terminal and discover this station.


Once you've completed this step, move on to the next. 

The Governor


The shipyard is an imposing military installation at the entrance to Lundmark Terminal.


Once in the station, Milan introduces you to the governor of the Elite United Worlds faction:


Arantza Mayo, at your service.


What, did you expect to see a man? jokes the governor. 

That's not what counts when you're running a patronage like mine: it's all about having the right friends. If you're a friend of Milan, welcome.


We'll see each other often if you work for our faction. For now, you'll have to excuse me: I have a party to prepare.
Will you help us?


Although Ekono is the birthplace of Elite United Worlds, the national holiday is celebrated in the Wangai system, in memory of the 3309 victory.


Precisely, the Lundmark Terminal market has everything Wangai locals love: fish and algae (for sushi no doubt?), and notably: beer!


Why not deliver some supplies there?



Minor factions are at the heart of the BGS, which represents the local politics of each system.


In each system, a faction's influence determines its power and wealth. A highly influential faction can even colonize a neighboring system. Conversely, a faction with no influence will be expelled from a system it has colonized.


Elite United Worlds has the particularity of being a Player Faction: it was created at the request of a group of players to represent their squadron in the BGS.

It's native of Ekono, so it can't be retreated from there.


Buy at least 1T of fish, algae and beer and bring them to the Wangai system.


Once you've completed this step, move on to the next. 

Festive refreshments


What a strange system! Nothing but three stars and a station. Not even a planet!


And yet, millions of people live within this system: a configuration that generally favors very high political stability.


Milan is already waiting for you : 



There you are!


The boys will be happy with the delivery, CMDR. Unload quickly.


I'll introduce you to my friends and we'll toast the heroes of the battle of Wangai!




Land on Harvia Station and sell your commodities to the market.


Once you've completed this step, move on to the next. 

To the Heroes of Wangai


A drink in hand, you listen to the speech by CMDR Ellay, Praetor of the squadron Elite United Worlds Council.


There have been three major events in our history.


The first was our first expansion outside Ekono, which was a most challenging task at the time.


The second was our decision to stand up to the Bikestealers at San Guerets, from where, after a long fight, we drove them out.


The third was to eject the Bikestealers from Wangai. The Bikestealers expected us to lie down and let ourselves die like other squadrons before us. What we proved is that against all odds, they'll never win in the end.


I'd like to toast everyone involved, even in the smallest way. You are amazing.


At the bar, the Praetor Rico Nero tells you about the battle of Wangai of 3309 in her deep voice, a drink in hand:


Back then, we were just a small group of motley CMDRS more interested in profit than politics.


The Bikestealers thought they were the kings of the world: even Aisling Duval's powerful community avoided them. They stole everything they could. Ships, stations, even your flight suit credits if you let them. Locusts! But not only that, they were building an empire, a big one. They shamelessly crushed any small squadron they came across. Many CMDRS died or lost their ships in gravity wells.


That's when it hit us. We were no longer pilots, we were the last line of defense. We had to stop them. So we counter-attacked!

We learned how they worked, and here in Wangai, we beat them at their own game.


Now the other squadrons see that Goliath is weakened: attacks are coming from all sides. I like what we've started...

You're young, so remember: the best captains are those who know when to follow orders and when to take up arms.



Squadrons are groups of CMDRS who play together and share a common goal, whether it's defending a Power; winning in CQC; or just sharing good times.


Elite United Worlds is an imperial squadron active around the Ekono system, led by Senator CMDR Ghostmist and her dedicated Praetors, who love to share their discoveries and battles.

You can join them in-game: on your ship's right-hand panel, open the squadron screen and search for 'EUWC'. You can learn more at Inara.


For this epic battle in the Wangai system, the squadron earned a nickname among Aisling's followers: 'Elite United Worms', in reference to the worms in the film Men In Black who drink their coffee while shouting 'Wangai!'


What about the Bikestealers? That squadron exists too, but that's not its real name! No hard feelings: they did nickname Elite United Worlds 'Scheißhaus' - a reference to the EUWC area code, no doubt!



Once you've completed this step, move on to the next. 

Change of plan


Out of the corner of your eye you see your friend Milan chat with a CMDR and a few words of their conversation come to you: 'the Cows... the dairy... in the rings... damned pirates...'.


Milan nods to him and calls out to you: 'The party's over for us comrade, it's time for sauerkraut!'


He explains as he pushes you towards the docks: in the neighboring system, the United Imperial Dairies faction is harassed by pirates and its level of security is plummeting.

They are allies of Elite United Worlds and need help to restore order.



We hunt down wanted ships, collect the bounties: it's a quick way to reinforce security.


We learned that from one of our members who speaks German.

Since then, we've been calling bounty vouchers sauerkraut!






The BGS and powerplay are group activities, and each group has its own ambitions, ethics and preferred modes of play.

Diplomacy is the linchpin of these groups' activity: negotiating an alliance to secure victory, or on the contrary challenging a group and entering into a war of attrition... 


On Discord servers discussing Elite Dangerous, there's usually a diplomat role dedicated to this purpose.


Even more than victories, diplomatic skills often determine how much fun players have as part of the team.
Dissipate misunderstandings, and if you're opponents, fight! but keep it fun: that's the rule.



In the Cowini system, there are Hazardous Resource Extraction Sites, where the presence of pirates is almost guaranteed. Head to this system, track down and shoot down a wanted ship, then land on the nearest station to collect the bounty.



Once you've completed this step, move on to the next. 

Peace restored


Once things are back to normal, you enjoy the beauty of the Cowini system. Its terraformed planets, its hospitality and its cows: genetically modified by the Empire, they're almost cubic, can withstand zero-G and yield a delicious milk - and purple too!



Rare document on cubic cows



Can you see the Wangai fireworks from here?
'Oh no' says Milan with a laugh, 'this is our VIP travel agency for Bikestealers. When the cabins are full, the ship self-destructs!'


The end justifies the means, they say... In any case, Cowini's cheeseburger alone justifies all the efforts in the galaxy!


After proudly restoring order for United Imperial Dairies, a sound rings through the station:


United Imperial Dairies's jingle


Well done CMDR, you're now ready to join a squadron and take part in the BGS!

You can automatically finish this adventure by logging in to the site with your Frontier account.


You can also share your snapshots on discord in the channel #trophées !

Podium

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And…

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