Galnet News

The war-torn region of Volungu has been under intense scrutiny over the last few days, as a centuries-old feud between the Faveols and the Blossoms threatened to reignite and engulf the region in a wave of bloodshed.

According to sources in the Patron’s Principles’ home system Liaedin, the attack on Volungu was carried out by a group of younger family members. Having never experienced war themselves, and inspired by the recent influx of Imperial combat veterans to the region, the young Faveols foolishly chose to attack their neighbours in a misguided quest for glory.

Federal pilots, eager to maintain the peace, flocked to Volungu in their thousands. Now, just a few days later, the threat from the Patron’s Principles has been neutralised. Their leadership has apologised and an uneasy peace has settled on the system once more.

The President’s office has today announced that President Halsey will soon be setting off on a tour of the Federal frontier systems.

The purported aim of the trip is to build stronger links between Sol and its many offspring. For years, Federal frontier systems have complained that the Mars Congress has consistently failed to provide adequate support for fledgling Federal colonies.

During the tour, local leaders will be given a chance to meet with President Halsey to discuss what Sol can do to better support local governments, frontier enterprises and Federal residents.

Some of the destinations announced include Hip 53688, Tinia, 78 Ursae Majoris, Su and Furuhjlem I-645. Other destinations are expected to be added at a later date.

At a conference held ahead of today’s closed meeting of the Senate, Senator Arissa Lavigny addressed her supporters in a speech streamed live from the Lavigny family home on Topaz.

“The last few weeks have been difficult for us all, but I am pleased to announce that our trials are almost over.”

“Evidence collected by members of the court, which includes members of Emperor’s Grace loyal to the house of Duval, has provided my investigators with irrefutable proof that the leadership of the HR 706 Chapter of Emperor’s Grace did, with malicious aforethought and intent, act to commit treason most foul against our beloved father.”

“Today I will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the HR 706 Chapter of Emperor’s Grace has allowed itself to become intimately entangled with a villainous network of psychopaths, sociopaths and other assorted scum. Among them, the organisation which provided the would-be-killer for use in this foul conspiracy.”

“This stain against our Empire’s honour will not be allowed to stand. Justice will be done this day.”

“Hail to the Emperor, bask in his glory.”

Several weeks ago, Imperial Palace security uncovered an attempted plot to poison Emperor Hengist Duval. Princess Lavigny-Duval and Chancellor Blaine both launched their own investigations into the matter.

The Chancellor’s men managed to locate and question the would-be-assassin, but they were unable to extract any useful information.

Fortunately, members of the Imperial Court had more success. They identified several criminal syndicates operating in the areas around Nehet and Mictlan that were rumoured to have ties with a secretive underworld wetwork firm.

After smashing more than a few pirate dens, Imperial investigators learned that funds for the hit had been channelled via Silver Allied Network through Silver Universal Plc to an unknown group in HR 706.

Senator Lavigny’s request to pursue her investigation into HR 706 was originally met with refusal by members of Emperor’s Grace, who even went so far as to lodge an official protest with the Senate. Emperor’s Grace would later find themselves forced to acquiesce under orders issued by Senator Patreus.

Now it looks like Emperor’s Grace had good reason to want the Princess kept out of the system, as late last night, new information came to light which has implicated the leadership of Emperor’s Grace in the attack on the Emperor. Senator Patreus is disavowing any knowledge of the incident, although he has so far refused to allow any members of Emperor’s Grace to be removed from HR 706.

Senator Lavigny will be formally presenting the evidence against Emperor’s Grace to the Senate tomorrow.

This weekend saw the outbreak of a skirmish between Imperial and Federal forces in the small but significant system of Volungu. Reports indicate that the conflict was started by the Patron’s Principles, an Empire-aligned organisation based in the nearby Liaedin region.

For years Liaedin was caught in almost constant civil war as the Faveol and Blossom families fought to gain control of the region. The two sides eventually settled their differences, with the Imperial Faveol family ultimately being given governorship of the system.

Now it looks as if the feud could be starting up again, as the Faveol family-run Patron’s Principles have made the seemingly rash decision to attempt to expand their influence beyond Liaedin’s borders.

President Halsey has denounced the move by Patron’s Principles, calling it ‘a reckless abandonment of years of hard-won peace’. The Federal Navy has launched a small fleet to repel the invasion, and has requested that any Commanders interested in securing Volungu should sign up for active duty aboard Jemison Refinery.

When asked for comment, Chancellor Blaine’s office stated that the Patron’s Principles were acting without the support or knowledge of the Imperial Senate. Imperial sources close to the region noted that members of the East India Company have been dispatched to the area to try to resolve the matter peacefully.

After 3 weeks of intense activity in the Lave Cluster, the Alliance Elite Diplomatic Corps (AEDC) has managed to return control of Reorte to an Alliance aligned faction.

Earlier this month, a local pirate group had attempted to rename the cluster as the "New Caribbean". While local residents were not in favour of the move, the Alliance military was initially slow to take the pirate threat seriously.

However, undercover agents working on behalf of the AEDC have been working tirelessly with local community groups in order to prepare the ground for a swift battle to retake control of Davies High.

As planned, the conflict ended swiftly and caused little disruption to the daily life of residents. Pilots from the pirate faction fought fiercely to defend their position, but the combined might of Alliance forces proved too strong, and locals woke this morning to find the "Pro-Alliance League" restoring order to their community.

Alliance approval in Reorte now stands at a staggering 93%!

Elsewhere in the cluster, groups loyal to the Alliance of Independent Systems are visibly taking the pirate threat more seriously. In Lave itself, news of their neighbours' long anticipated victory boosted the ruling "Workers of Lave Liberals" by over 20% in a flash opinion poll this morning! The combined influence for Lave's Alliance factions now appears to be over 80%.

The burning question on everyone's lips in the Old Worlds is now:

"When will Leesti return to the fold?"

It is likely that after reclaiming Reorte with minimal fuss, the experienced negotiators of AEDC are planning something similar in the cluster's most important high-tech trading system.

Shadow President Hudson returned to Mars today, where a throng of eager reporters waited to get the latest scoop on the Shadow President’s campaign to remove President Halsey from office. Instead the Shadow President had some choice words to say about the Merchant Marines and their unsanctioned operations in Empire space.

“I hear there’s been a lot of nasty accusations flying around Congress the last few days. Some have even used words like agent provocateurs, rebels, terrorists. All used to describe the brave men and women fighting to preserve our safety out there in the black.”

“Well, I have another word for you.”

“Heroes.”

“The Empire is ramping up for war, we can all see that. It’s only a matter of time before they set their eyes on Sol. Will we just sit here and watch them come? Is that how the birthplace of civilisation is going to be fall?”

“Obviously I can’t condone Federal forces operating in Imperial space. Certainly Congress didn’t authorise any such action. However, I can’t help but respect those brave fools for what they’re trying to do.”

“Get home safe, Commanders. We’ll be waiting for you when you do.”

Warning: A Travel Advisory is issued for system NGC 6124 SECTOR DW-N C6-10.

This system should be avoided, but not due to solar storms.

Explorer Lance 'Spacecat' D. (last name withheld) warped in-system only to find himself inside the corona of the system's 'B' star which is abnormally close to the 'A' star. He only survived the experience thanks to quick reflexes, an auto field maintenance unit and the ruggedness of his scorched type-6, now nicknamed the 'Sundiver'. He reprimands the system's previous explorer (name withheld) for NOT issuing such a travel advisory.

Just when it looked like the trail was turning cold, a new clue has been uncovered in the investigation into the attack on the Emperor.

According to forensic accountants working on behalf of Princess Lavigny-Duval, the evidence suggests that rogue members of Silver Allied Network channelled funds for the attack through Silver Universal Plc. The credits were then sent to an account in the HR 706 system.

Sources close to the investigation informed GalNet that the clue was actually uncovered several days ago, but certain groups within the Empire had been slow in granting the Princess’s fleet unrestricted access to the system.

Whatever the truth, Princess Lavigny-Duval has finally sent word for her fleet to begin dismantling all crime syndicates operating in HR 706. It is believed that Emperor’s Grace has lodged a formal complaint with the Senate over Senator Lavigny’s incursion into their system, but so far the complaint has gone unanswered.

Imperial citizens interested in aiding the Princess with her investigation are being asked to report for active duty aboard Laming Orbital.

Reports coming in from Eotienses indicate that a group of Federal Commanders, known as the Merchant Marines, are currently engaged in a series of unauthorised attacks against Imperial traders in the employ of Senator Patreus.

In a statement released to GalNet, the Merchant Marines had this to say:

“The Merchant Marines have launched Operation Papercut. We plan to blockade the Eotienses system in an attempt to stop Imperial traders from supplying Parkinson Dock with industrial materials. The group fears that High Tech production could turn Eotienses into a catalyser for the Imperial war machine already fuelled by Denton Patreus.”

“The Marines intend to interdict all traders in the system and thus halt economic growth. Traders will be given a single warning to leave the system. Any further action will result in more aggressive coercion.”

GalNet reached out to President Halsey’s office to request an official statement in regards to the Merchant Marines' actions. At time of press, the President’s office had not yet chosen to reply.