He does not know what is happening and probably cannot find this manifesto. Nobody, including him, knows what he wants to do or what he will do. He will soon morph into an archetype listed below. At this stage he is only dangerous if he finds another captain unprepared or inadvertently tells everyone where your ship is located without fearing your reputation. He is unconcerned with or does not recognize the struggle as others prepare for the "FINAL BATTLE".

This role is one of quiet growth. The starship captain sets out through a wormhole or black hole or uses a booster rocket to find a galaxy to call his own. Then, with patience and careful planning, the captain will trade off the top to maximize profits. The Harvester is not one who trades all the goods out of an area for the Harvester understands that long range planning is his greatest strength. When the prices are not giving the returns he desires, the Harvester will wait or mix in some gambling to offset the bad trading day. The Harvester generally will maximize his ship size so that if all else fails, he can sell his antimatter at a Trading Post for a modest profit. Harvesters tend to be quite useful during the "FINAL BATTLE" as they have resources and galaxy terrain knowledge.

This role is one of the Defensive Harvester. This starship captain will make his area as difficult or dangerous as possible in order to encourage others to leave. This can be done by setting out fighters to hide ports or notify the captain of intruders. The judicious use of starbases in offensive and defensive mode prevent ease of trading. Invaders who wish to leave their fighters can still trade under the baleful eye of autoattack starbases, so defensive starbases are a necessity to stop these risk taking individuals. An Implacable Harvester understands these facts and uses them to great advantage as his galaxy becomes a mined funnel of death. To the Implacable Harvester, the "FINAL BATTLE" is the normal state for his galaxy. The Implacable Harvester usually will use a starbase or bunker as a base for operations and most likely won't move it much. The Implacable Harvester tends to take note of his surroundings and know where chokepoints and dead ends are located as well as hard to reach spots behind some Black Holes for example. Sometimes, the Implacable Harvester has even been known to move planets and ports into denser constructs to be hoarded more effectively.

This role is one of pure luck or chance. The starship captain has devoted his career to the big return. He will usually trade some to get his stake and then he will spend his time and energy gambling his credits away. In general, he comes out ahead because of his faith in the odds. The Gambler is a bit aggressive at times and may attack you if he thinks the odds favor him. Other captains tend to not trust his seedy type in their galaxy and may encourage him to move on to other galaxies. The Gambler takes his chances every day and may be influential during the "FINAL BATTLE" if he has any resources left to contribute. Often, The Gambler will pass out on the bridge in a fit of gambling and be found at a Trading Post sleeping it off. At such times The Gambler is vulnerable. Some Gamblers have been known to place their starbase in the same sector as a trading post or even build a bunker nearby. It must be said that these examples are successful.

This role is quite simple. Through proper planning in saving up booster rockets at low prices, the captain will travel about the universe trading without concern for the recovery time of a galaxy. He travels about overgrazing and maximizing his profit. He may use convenient wormholes or not carry fighters and use black holes for transportation to another area. In either case, when he comes to your galaxy there may not be a single port untouched when he leaves. The Reaver tends to save up resources for the "FINAL BATTLE".

This role is one of interaction. Through coercion and proper outright extortion, the captain will make his money the old fashioned way. This captain generates fear due to the fact that he has friends and people whom he owes as well as owe him. He hangs out and may behave as other types while spending his quality time making the life of other captains, whether on their own or in alliances, rather complicated. He normally will use messages whether through mail or across the subspace radio rather frequently as he generates revenue. Normally, he coordinates a faction during the "FINAL BATTLE". Shared bases or clouds of fighters are usually on his list of desires as well as convenient temporary wormholes to good trading areas.

This role is simple. The captain spends his time building lots of capital through trading and hunts down others with the intent of mass mayhem and destruction. He may appear to be a Reaver, but he is just trying to find someone to kill. He normally will inflict losses on all captains he encounters. Battle Reputation Points offset his aggression and his position is precarious as the game proceeds in that he is using his resources as he travels and not saving for a "FINAL BATTLE".

This role is one that makes others cringe. He is the point captain of invading Reavers. He is the information gatherer of the Politician. He is the harbinger of the Mercenary's arrival. When this type of captain comes to your galaxy, his main goal is to collect information for someone bigger who has not yet arrived. Due to his normally small size, he has nothing to lose and even gains information when destroyed. Normally, this type of captain does not win. However, he usually enjoys the journey in his own way and is familiar to the winner of the "FINAL BATTLE".

This captain has one thing on his mind. He is out to destroy the chances of another to win. He is the dedicated foe of solo captains and alliances as he is a Scout with the Heart of a Mercenary and the Soul of a Reaver. He wants his enemy to pay. Using the territory of the enemy to fund his activities, he leverages the resources against the captain who claims the area destroying the profitability of the luckless captain. This captain is impossible to stop as he has no desire to win, he only wants YOU to lose. He is the Tsar-maker during the "FINAL BATTLE".

This captain is out to just make others hurt. He enjoys hanging out in the spiral galaxies and killing New Captains who fear the rest of the universe as they are inexperienced. He looks for the easy victim or those who cower under Neutral Fighters. He is dangerous because he kills for shear enjoyment. He takes pleasure in the killing of your ship on as many consecutive days as he can manage. 

This captain tries to keep others "in line". He is usually peaceful, but can be extremely deadly if one takes an aggressive action against a fellow ship. He prefers to use cheap scout fighters and homing devices to find his prey. Some confuse him with a Hunter type of scout, but that is before the kid gloves are removed. He is not afraid to take on a more powerful opponent, but knows when he is clearly outmatched and has little chance of winning. He controls usually more than one ship through reputation or deed, but a maximum of only 4 or 5 is needed. This captain can also be a good leader, and can boost spirits from way down in the dumps to upbeat, cheerful, and kind. In the "FINAL BATTLE", this captain usually is the one who will boost his strength by allying with others of lesser talent by exerting his will or forming pacts with others of greater proven leadership. If you are a coward or unsavory, an Enforcer may be arriving in your near future. If you are a team captain, one is definitely nice to have around for tasks. 

Some captains manage to come up with combination strategies that may include some previously described. These unique strategists are the cream of the competition. Their danger is not measurable. 

This type of captain is rare. This type understands that variety is the spice of life. You will find this captain switching roles frequently and with cruel cunning. The goal of this captain is unpredictable and therefore the most dangerous. You can avoid a Ripper, flee a Terrorist, hide from a Scout, avoid the Mercenary, ignore or avoid the mechanization of the Politician, stay off the turf of the Implacable Harvester, and perhaps even ignore a regular Harvester or New Captain - but you cannot plan for the arrival of a Kirellii Savant. The reason is quite simple. A Kirellii Savant realizes there is a time to harvest, gamble, extort, placate, and a time to kill in the many fashions available in the universe. Beware. 

Now that you have met your foe, let me now set the scene for your conquest. The Universe is a collection of galaxies and depending on your strategy each will have its own value. Upon Universe creation, certain things should be noted. What is the average galaxy size? Where are the big competitors likely to gravitate? How important are the wormholes? Does my galaxy have a Black Hole or a Trading Post? What is the distribution of the variety of ports? What are the port sizes? Where are the planets located? How useful are the planets? Are there Neutral Fighters for captains to hide under? How many sectors do the government own? How easy is the galaxy to defend or traverse? What does the commerce report say? As you become a seasoned captain, the answers to these questions should be apparent. In addition, their importance should be something you consider and perhaps because of strategy - discard. I will not force feed you all the answers and of course there is more than what I have said. Remember, you must be the deciding factor in your quest for Universal Domination. Good Hunting - Captain. 

It's said - In the beginning there was the light of inspiration, and Universal Truth existed only for the One. Then darkness was added and the Universe as we know it started to form. At this time, space surrounded what has been lost in the darkness. At the heart of darkness was The Maze. Great powers came to be in this darkness and a balance was struck. The Phoenix held The Maze and The Jolly Roger /~ lurked in the light. This may seem to be quite fanciful to you now, but in that time Black Holes and Pulsars were much more common and indeed had even trapped travelers for eons. There were others who stalked the darkness who have been lost in the fog of time, but they were a force then and exist even now. These others were lords of the dark and became the Dark Lords. In those times, weapons were not as strong as now and motherships could even fight back in times of desperation. Some even self-destructed their ship to cause damage as their drives went critical. It was during this time that the One smiled and declared it good. Tsars were created and Tsars died, but none could hear them as each ship existed alone and could not speak except to the One or through messages. At this point, their came the first Big Crunch - not to be confused with the lesser ones. Captains were held in a limbo of sorts and the silence of light pervaded all again. The One in frustration recreated the Universe and expanded it further so that more could exist and space was once again vast. Captains emerged and for the first time the space radio connected them into a league to combat the One. This first Alliance fought bravely against the enemy named Evil. But as in many stories, the fight was in vain and they lost. It was not the spirit which failed them, but the knowledge that all had been created with a greater purpose. It was in this time, that the Evil One created The Pyramid of universes so that the most destructive could be separated from the rest and added to a small universe called 255. In 255 (which is one bit off for the numerologists out there), captains could live longer in between the small crunches at the pleasure of the Evil One. Again, all was good. It is to be noted that in this time, certain names came to be known and fledgling alliances were created. The Evil One has kept a list of them for use in his plans which in current times is called The Bulletin. Who knows what will follow, but I get ahead of my tale. In a challenge and to name those who fought in the darkness, Katrina Kirellii asked for a new arena of existence to be created. This place was called 245 and the birth of the Clone Wars was the result. At this time, for reasons still not fully known, another Big Crunch occurred. This period of light was short and now, as you can see, darkness has returned. Some may note that the multitudes of universes have now been made into one. This, according to Katrina at least, was done to prevent the movement of captains between the universes. Now, the stage is set and the Final Battle may be at hand. If a new Tsar is not chosen who will last, the chaos will return. Even now, the Evil One ponders on how the struggle and consequential destruction may be sown further...

*Update* - Pulsars have disappeared, hyperspace crystals are no more and booster rockets abound, many Galaxy types have become scarce for reasons unknown. Bunkers are available and signs have lost value so that they are mere graffitti. Technology that allows moving Ports and whole Planets is commonplace. It is said the Evil One is no more - while others say Katrina Kirellii created this being as a ruse. Even others say Katrina is the Evil One. Facts are confused, but Truth is out there for brave captains to find. Listen - you must fight the darkness. Contact Katrina and tell h<message lost>