Pator – Sanmatar Maleatu Shakor publicly expressed frustration after yet another in a series of delays plagued negotiations with Thukker tribal leaders. For months the Sanmatar’s staff has been moving forward in trying to assemble a new Council to represent the seven Minmatar Tribes. “It was my fervent hope that this process would go more smoothly,” said Shakor, “but dealing with representatives of the Thukker tribe in particular has imposed a number of difficulties.”

Amongst the problems that the Sanmatar’s staff have had to deal with is a lag in communications. While FTL transmission technology makes interstellar communication relatively simple, the demands on the time of a Thukker caravan master are many. Be it in dealing with coordinating fleet movements, overseeing the maintenance of generations-old vessels, or engaging in protracted commercial negotiations that impact the livelihood of their entire caravan, Thukker tribal leaders take a very active role in the day-to-day administration of caravan affairs.

A further difficulty is in simply identifying who amongst the Thukker chieftains is best suited to speak for the Tribe as a whole. Over the last several months Trust Partners CEO Einnar Aeboul has emerged as the leading voice for the tribe, but internal support for him is far from universal. As masters of their own fleets, Thukker leaders tend towards fierce independence. Issuing a sharp retort to Sanmatar Shakor’s expression of frustration, caravan master Jagnus Drur hotly replied, “the Brutor may bow to the rule of a single strong man, but we Thukker are masters of our own destinies.”

While some progress has been made, staff members within the Shakor administration expressed little confidence that a final agreement on the final form of the Tribal Council would be forthcoming in the near term.