Industrial espionage on an epic scale
So if killing the game creator in their own game isn’t our top magic MMO moment what is?Well for that one we have to go back into the depths of space with EVE Online and an event that, whilst not hauling as much loot as the EIB fraud, does show way more commitment than some people are prepared to put into any game, let alone achieving the what these perpetrators managed to get away with.
Now previous to this epic moment, the Guiding Hand Social Club was a notorious but not particularly famous mercenary corporation that specialised in theft and corporate infiltration, but then again, not being well known would be in your favour if you were in that line of business. What makes this event special is that it took over a year of planning and gradual infiltration into the target corporation, making the GHSC assassination and heist stand out way above any of the less delicately weaved plots we know about.
Way back in April 2005, the Mirial, the CEO of the less-than-reputable Ubiqua Seraph corporation arrived in the Haras system in her Navy Apocalypse, a stupidly expensive Battleship-class vessel. Accompanying her was her trusted colleague, Arenis Xemdal, flying the even more expensive Imperial Apocalypse. Little did Mirial know, but she would soon be dead and the Ubiqua Seraph corporation would be in ruins.
Mirial was the target of the GHSC contract, which asked for her frozen body to be delivered to the client, meaning that she would be pod-killed, a particularly nasty death as her harmless ejection pod would be attacked and her frozen body scooped up. Whilst not a massive blow to Mirial’s stats, the pod-kill would mean that she would lose several incredibly expensive implants, plus the fact that pod-killing is just not the done thing… but then, the GHSC was under contract and they always deliver.
But this wasn’t just about a straight assassination, this was about bringing Ubiqua Seraph down as a corporation, destroying it from the inside out, wiping out it’s assets and making off with all the ISK in the company accounts and to that end the GHSC had been infiltrating the ranks of Ubiqua Seraph for months. Multiple GHSC members were placed at key positions all through the corporation. GHSC had people in every position of power and had gained the trust and access to all of Ubiqua Seraph’s hangars and accounts.
All that was needed was to pull off the biggest, most meticulously planned assassination and theft in the GHSC’s and EVE’s history and the job would be done. The ambush was nearly exposed when an Ubiqua Seraph pilot spotted one of the ambush squad near Mirial’s ship but ultimately she was overwhelmed and her Navy Apocalypse destroyed. The trickiest part was to come though, as some players will log out when their ship is destroyed, escaping a chance of a pod-kill, but the GHSC managed to capture Mirial’s frozen body and deliver it their client.
But to add insult to injury, at the same time as Mirial was under attck, GHSC operatives were systematically stripping Ubiqua Seraph of every available asset. Company hangars were emptied into waiting ships, funds moved from company accounts and GHSC agenst then fled with all the wealth of the Ubiqua Seraph Corporation. To rub a bit of salt in the wound, a note was left in each hangar from the GHSC, just to make sure everyone knew who did the job.
Finally, on the EVE forums, where members stay in character when they post, Istvaan Shogaatsu posted the following message:
Greetings, everyone – it has been some time since I last stood behind a podium and made a public announcement, so you’ll have to forgive me if I’m somewhat out of form. The reason I stand here before you is to announce that my mercenary outfit, the Guiding Hand Social Club, has completed its most ambitious contract to date.
Our target was assigned to us many months ago – Mirial of Ubiqua Seraph. Our task was to carry out that which the GHSC has now become known for – to utterly demolish Mirial and bring all who followed her to their knees in one fell swoop. For those many months, we toiled, secreting our operatives among her ranks, steering her organization through a number of insidiously engineered events meant to engender trust and divert their attention from where it should have been.
Early this morning, our hard work bore fruit. Executing a meticulously planned, thoroughly flawless concerto of simultaneous corp-hangar heists, attacks in open space and facility invasions, the Ubiqua Seraph came to know the wrath of the GHSC first-hand. The result shatters any previous records for sheer scale of such an endeavour:
Hostile assets acquired:
- Modulated Deep Core Miner II BPO
- Covert Ops Cloak II BPO
- Armageddon BPO
- Prophecy BPO
- Malediction BPO
- Arkonor Crystal II BPO
- Scordite Crystal II BPO
- Numerous lesser tech II BPOs
- A few billion ISK in minerals.
- 717 million taken from corporate wallet.
- Two billion taken under the guise of a loan from the executor.
Our net gain from this massive heist is roughly estimated at over 20 billion ISK.
Hostile assets destroyed:
- One Amarr Navy Apocalypse.
- One capsule, belonging to Mirial, known to possess a head full of +4s.
- One dream.
Total damages inflicted are estimated at close to 30 billion ISK.
Further information pending - stay tuned. Thank you all for your time.
The final estimate for the damage to Ubiqua Seraph runs at around 30 billion ISK… not a bad haul for the 1 billion initially agreed on for the contract.
After the assassination, there were numerous calls for the EVE developers, CCP to make changes to the game or to actively step in and remove the assets from GHSC. CCP didn’t intervene and rightly so, because this is what they created a game world for, so people can act as they see fit. If that means you get screwed over, then that’s how it is. However, the down side is that the GHSC has been involved in several dubious operations that have seen many players leave the game for good… but then again, if a game goes beyond just grinding and levelling up, surely that’s a reason to play it?
