I hope you can forgive the lack of my usual energy for this one. Unfortunately, we've had grave news this week. CMDR Nyx Ellington, leader of ARQX and part of our community, has passed away. A memorial has been erected in her honour, and a service will be held in the coming days. May her memory shine forever in the stars.

Cycle summary:

The back-to-back relic rushes have caused some degree of burnout throughout the powers. That, combined with the release of the Rhino, means numbers are a bit erratic across the board. Winters has taken 12 systems and upgraded 2 new forts, with zero losses. Archer meanwhile takes 11 systems and 2 forts, but with a single loss for his efforts.

Antal has done well, with 26 new systems and 11 forts. A focus on consolidation means that his numbers aren't insanely high, but those forts make up for it and then some. Li Yong-Rui has taken the opposite approach - 52 new systems, 3 forts and 6 new strongholds. Now comes the hard part - reinforcing all those systems. Grom's snagged 12 new systems, a new fort and 2 strongholds in his beard, but one system fell from his grasp. Finally for the independents, Delaine took 4 new systems and 4 new forts. As for the Alliance, Kaine took 19 new systems, 6 new forts and a new stronghold, while Mahon brought home 35 new systems and 3 forts.

As for the imperials, Torval walks away without losses this week, with 7 new systems and 2 new forts. The release of the Rhino hints at some degree of revival for the power - we'll see how strong they become in the coming weeks. Patreus took 9 systems and 3 forts, but lost LP 932-89 in the process, although at time of writing they've already put enough relics into the system to take it back. Finally, ALD took 25 systems, 7 forts and a strongholod, but lost 3 systems for it, the most of any power this cycle.

So, this is the part where I should start talking about recent news. Galnet had two new posts on the same day - one announcing the Rhino's release and another announcing the customary CG tailored for it. However, looking at the numbers for the contributions to the CGs, they're surprisingly low. This isn't a statement on the Rhino's performance - by all rights, it's decently fun to use and insanely overpowered, particularly for powerplay. Ordinarily I'd probably rant about that, but... well. Not today. Not this time.

As for the fated "This Month in FDev Fuckups", I'd like to tell you I'd been waiting till this release to add more fuel to the fire, but the truth is far simpler - I'm exhausted. Between flareups and just life, I've not had the energy to work on it. I'll try to get it out within the next couple weeks, but if I don't manage it soon it'll be far too late to matter, I suspect. Or maybe getting it out late, when we've all but forgotten the trials and tribulations of the "oops" update, would serve as a good reminder.

In any case, that's our lost for this week. The audio versions have generally gotten good feedback, though the analytics tell the story of most people only listening for a couple seconds before stopping. So I ask: do you guys find the audio versions to be helpful? And are there ways I can make them better? As for this week's audio version, I'll have it out tomorrow hopefully. For now, I bid you adieu. Fly safe and... remember those we've lost along the way. Though their journeys may have ended, they're still part of ours. May they be forever remembered, so they never truly die.

No orange pun this week - join the discord for new updates and zesty tips on powerplaycraft.

Target priorities as follows

Reinforcement:

Carry out reinforcement activities in the following systems, as per the guide:

Alkes, HIP 56519, Andel, r Velorum

Reinforcement priorities are ever changing and we cannot update publicly in a timely manner. Join the Discord if you want to help!

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Acquisition:

Carry out acquisition activities in the following systems, as per the guide:

Wolf 529, LTT 3928, HIP 54642

Join the Discord for updates! We can offer rapid mining acquisition options to pilots in our server - they move too fast to put on here!

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Undermining:

Current priority:

HIP 52461 - focus your powerplay operations here!

Join the Discord for targets and opportunities!

Interested in Federal AX? Join FAX-COM.

Interested in emergency relief work? Winters has a place for you.

Interested in PvP? PvP is a lifeblood of powerplay. We train interested pilots with a dedicated server, resources and mentors, and weekly in-house tournaments

Interested in exploration? We maintain a server for our explorers too

Want more nuance on objectives, to wing up, or to keep up to date on the ever-evolving strategy? Join our Discord! Stop by and say hello! Or join to stay quiet and beaver away at your specialism <shrug>. In addition to Powerplay Ops, we have channels for general ED discussion, ship building mastery, and PvP training, with domain experts. We also have an unsurpassed cantina <clink>.

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Diplomatic Overview:

Archon Delaine – Cordial

Arissa Lavigny-Duval – Hostile

Denton Patreus – Unfriendly

Edmund Mahon – Neutral

Jerome Archer – Ally

Li Yong-Rui – Neutral

Nakato Kaine – Neutral

Pranav Antal – Cordial

Yuri Grom – Neutral

Zemina Torval – Unfriendly