Elite Dangerous: The Prison Ship Mystery Just Became a Community Goal

Elite Dangerous
Prison Break in Redonesses

Author:

Watty
Category:

Elite Dangerous
Date:

Oct 6, 2026

A ship destroyed in combat near an asteroid in Elite Dangerous

Two weeks ago we wrote about a prison ship that vanished mid-jump, and said GalNet stories like that usually turn into something you can fly. This one took ten days. There is now a community goal running in Redonesses, and it closes on 8 October.

The ship turned up, and it had been ambushed

On 22 September the missing megaship was found adrift in Redonesses. Pilots who went to look reported disabled defence turrets and a lot of drifting debris. One commander summed it up over local comms: "This doesn't look like a mis-jump to me. More like an ambush." The Independent Detention Foundation acknowledged a "disturbance" aboard during the transit window and declined to say more. Redonesses is held by the Clan of Redonesses, which nobody failed to notice.

Then the prisoners took it

On 1 October the Foundation admitted a mass breakout. A large number of prisoners left the reformatory by escape pod, and the Clan of Redonesses is helping them avoid recapture. The Foundation believes the prisoners who had control of EVE-597 chose the system deliberately, because the faction running it is sympathetic to them.

Their spokesperson was blunt about what they want: "These prisoners are our responsibility. We would rather recover them alive, and it is safer for everyone if the criminal pilots trying to prevent convict recapture are dealt with."

"A GalNet story about a ship that failed to arrive has turned into conflict zones you can fly to. That is the whole arc in under three weeks."

The Exiles

What the community goal wants

Combat, and nothing else. Sign up at Sword of Iustitia in Redonesses, then fight in the system's conflict zones and hand in combat bonds. A single bond is enough to qualify for the rewards: the Mamba Crossfire Blue and Vulture Crossfire Blue paint jobs, plus credits scaled to the tier reached and how much you put in.

When we checked, it sat at roughly 8% of its target with two days to run, so the upper tiers are far from certain. It ends on 8 October, which makes this one of the shortest windows Frontier has given us in a while.

Flying it with the squadron

Conflict zones are a lot less punishing with a wing, and a system full of criminal pilots backed by a lawless clan is not the place to learn them alone. If you want company, come and say hello in our Discord, and our Elite Dangerous hub has more on flying with the squadron. New commanders welcome, no gatekeeping.

Further reading: Elite Dangerous: Community goals | GalNet archive | The Exiles Elite Dangerous hub