For background on this, my associates and I are direct supporters of the CDF initiative. Every year, Lanning and Associates makes several large donations to UEE sanctioned structures that support the expansion, operations, and maintenance of the CDF program. As a long time friend of the CDF, I've had the rare chance to interview Mr. Leyland Muiri, who is a high ranking officer within the CDF command structure. Mr. Muiri's responses were quite interesting and pointed out key areas where the CDF initiative needs critical support. A transcript of this interview has been posted to spectrum to help rally support for the CDF initiative, as well as publicize some of the key issues that the CDF faces. Sion: Good afternoon Leyland, first off thank you for taking the time to sit down with me to talk about some of the inner workings of the CDF initiative. For those who are unaware, the CDF or "Civilian Defense Force" is a joint initiative between the UEE Navy and the corporations that own the Stanton System. Due to the increasing threat coming from the Vanduul front and the immense resources required to run an independent system, the CDF initiative seeks to deputize civilian militia volunteers to shore up the thin spread of law enforcement across the corporation controlled Stanton system. As a point of clarification the CDF did not start in Stanton and has been an existing structure within the empire since the founding of the CDF headquarters in the Bremen system. The CDF has been around since 2944 and has been a controversial program due to the nature of putting civilians in combat situations with limited training and command structure. Despite these challenges, CDFs have become more common as the UEE military is forced to focus its attention on the Vanduul Front. Before we get into the questions, Leyland what can you tell us about yourself? Leyland: Thank you for having me Sion, well I've been with the Stanton CDF since its founding during the first Xenothreat incursion. At this point, everyone on spectrum knows how dangerous Xenothreat is and the hostage they executed when they first broadcasted their manifesto. Prior to taking a more prominent role in the CDF, I was a member of the Bounty Hunter's Guild for 22 years and performed field work across multiple systems, including Pyro. Since joining the CDF, I've helped our UEE advisory officers with the in-system logistics. We've successfully repelled 3 Xenothreat incursions so far. In addition to stopping these incursions, we have also assisted with elevating the security of the Stanton system by keeping the local gangs in-check. In my opinion, the CDF initiative has been and continues to be very successful. Sion: Apologies for being so direct, but I am sure that you've read the scathing interview article written by Drake Interplanetary CEO Anden Arden about the Stanton system. He calls the system a "veritable pit of vipers." In addition to this, the popular spectrum holocube streamer "Mahli" was viciously attacked by a Stanton gang who staged an armed raid on the Orison platforms -a place that is considered a top vacation zone and one of the safest areas in Stanton. While you state that you believe that the CDF initiative is successful, the trending metrics show that crime is actually INCREASING in Stanton -even with the CDF's presence. What are your thoughts on this? Leyland: Sion, the thing people need to understand is that the violence has always been there. One of the things that Microtech, Hurston Dynamics, and all of the corporate settlers underestimated about the Stanton system is how deeply rooted and established the local squatter gangs were before they "took control." These mega corporates though that they could just use their vast resource pools and connections with the UEEN to muscle out the existing gangs. It doesn't quite work like that. These gangs have been around a long time. They know the system, they have established routes, they have hidden outposts all over the system that are constantly producing and distributing contraband. Many of these facilities are fully automated, such as the one that started the infamous "Jumptown Wars." The settling corporations learned just how resilient these gangs are, and how far these gangs are willing to go in order to keep squatting in the system. In my opinion, the CDF has improved things and the reason why the system is getting all of this bad publicity is because all of these issues that have been lurking beneath the surface are coming to the front page of spectrum for the first time. Trust me, I've lived with these problems, they are not new and they were a lot worse prior to the CDF being established. Sion: Leyland, in your opinion, how do you feel about the support that the CDF is getting from the mega corporations that have stewardship over the system? Do you feel that the CDF is getting support that it needs from the system corporations? Are there any corporations that stand out to you as more supportive than others? Are there corporations that are actually placing more obstacles in front of the CDF than aid? Leyland: Well that's a loaded question Sion. There really is a lot to unpack here. First off, one of the biggest problems that I see with how the corporations run things is that there is too much focus being placed on controlling system as a whole and not enough being concentrated with the landing zones that have been established by these corporations. There is no shortage of CDF system wide patrols around Stanton. We cover everything from the rings of Yela to the Aaron Halo on a weekly basis. It just seems very strange to me that we have all these space focused patrols, yet there are still areas within the ArcCorp controlled Area 18 and Hurston Dynamics controlled Lorville that CDF personnel are restricted from accessing. Let me get you some examples. For instance, in area 18 ArcCorp has contracted BlacJac security to act as a supplemental law enforcement group. However it is well known that BlacJac has some corruption issues and that some of its personnel have connections to the Otoni Syndicate. While the CDF has suspicions on where the bad actors are, ArcCorp still regularly refuses to grant us in-city bounty hunter permits. This allows these criminal elements to hide within the deeper layers of the Area 18 undercity and support local gangs. If these areas were to be opened to us for CDF missions, we could do a lot of good in taking out the trash. Maybe that's just the ex-bounty hunter in me talking. Area 18 is not the only place with issues. The Xiphopod issue in the lower areas of Lorville are becoming a serious problem. Entire areas of the worker's district are being closed off due to uncontrolled nesting and spawning of these nasty things. With the right permit, I know a few CDF buddies who know their way around a firestorm cannon. We can get down there to solve the problem... or at least mow the grass every now and then. Additionally, in Microtech, data center raids by local gangs and data theft have become so frequent that data center operators are now carrying sidearms and gemini's for protection. Hiring some CDF muscle to guard these data centers and protect intellectual property can go a long way towards increasing the security of New Babbage. Sion: Oh wow, I really didn't know that the landing zones had that many issues. That did cover some of the challenges and barriers that the CDF faces in respect to some of the corporations that curate the system. Are there any corporations that have been supportive of the CDF? Leyland: If I were to rate the support the CDF is getting from the major corporations, I would definitely have to put Crusader Industries at the top of the list. As you've heard, Crusader has been having some serious problems with the 9 Tails Gang. The 9 Tails is one of the most organized and prominent gangs within Stanton. They are very flashy, very violent, and very geared. CDF intel indicates that the 9 Tails are being bankrolled through Xenothreat in Pyro. The two gangs have sort of an agreement. At the end of the day, the 9 Tails is a drug running organization and is the top producer of some of the most dangerous contraband in Stanton. This ranges from your run of the mill Altruciatoxin that you might find a teenager shooting up in New Terra to some of the rarer and harder stuff like Maze. Xenothreat forges links in the drug trade by allowing 9 tails passage through Pyro. In return the 9 Tails gang carry out flashy raids on the Crusader Corporation's cloud platforms to further push the Xenothreat message through terrorism. We don't think that the 9 Tails really cares about Xenothreat manifesto -you know "anti-corporate, humanity first, kill all aliens." They carry out the raids as part of a "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" relationship with Xenothreat. To help combat the 9 Tails, Crusader Industries has given us full access to their habitation platforms on the gas giant. They also intel share with us so we can best determine which ones are at risk of a raid. In further discussions between CDF and Crusader leadership, Crusader indicated that in the near future they will also be enlisting the CDF to help with checkpoints and surprise raids on cargo barges around the planet that are suspected of being a part of 9 Tails drug operations. Crusader was on board with the CDF from day one. When the first Xenothreat raid hit, the Xenothugs took over a Genesis Starliner and executed a number of corporate executives. This was all over spectrum and is the poster child story for "crime in Stanton." Most of these executives were part of the Crusader Industries family. When a civilian aerospace company known for commercial passenger ships builds a spaceframe that holds a size 7 gun, you know the kid gloves are off. Sion: Leyland, we are at time. We appreciate your insights.