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Black Phriday

Within minutes of the Copyright Defense Act becoming law Ultima issued a public 24-hour clemency. Delete or registrar all Ultima IP and no action would be taken. A large number of citizens took this offer and were glad they did when it expired.

Exactly twenty-four hours later, Friday at 13:00 galactic standard hours, agents hit the streets. Hundreds of teams going from preplanned target to target. Standard operational procedure called for the team to arrive on target, present a warrant and either confiscate and destroy illegal "warez", or arrest Exchange members on site. Normally it took the 3 man Ultima teams less then 5 minutes a location. Walk in, present the paper work, the flash of a DEMP gun or a set of flex cuffs and they were gone. Things were going according to plan until one team went to a very large and profitable Crossbones Exchange distribution center. The team presented their warrant, the Exchangers presented assault rifles. Tensions were high and everyone knew the stakes at hand; when a Corper moved for his Comm all three were gunned down.

Ultima responded with its normal tact, two Longboat class Assault shuttles were dispatched from orbit with a full Ultima Corps MAAS platoon—30 men in cutting edge powered armor with high energy weapons. Over the next 45 minutes the distribution center, 220 Exchange members and 30 bystanders were destroyed. Three MAAS units were damaged and 1 Corper was killed.

This event galvanized any fence sitters and the Crossbones Exchange knew that they were now in a shooting war.

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