Galnet News

Angels Flock to Follow the People’s Princess

For months, Aisling’s Angels have been working hard to support their mistress in her quest to bring about meaningful social change in the Empire. As part of their efforts, millions of slaves have been set free, retrained and rehomed in accordance with Aisling’s wishes.

When she lost her bet against Zemina Torval back in April, many within Imperial society thought Aisling’s followers would finally realise that she was backing a lost cause and give up. Instead the opposite happened as thousands of Imperial citizens, their hearts touched by the efforts of the people’s princess, rallied to her cause. This has turned Aisling into one of the most influential celebrities in the Empire today, to the delight of her powerful backers.

With this new-found support, the people’s princess has found herself once again going up against Senator Zemina Torval, as the two powerful senators clash in a bid to gain influence near the Empire’s core systems.

Early last week, the two camps worked to rally support amongst senior patrons in Caspatsuria. When it became apparent that the Caspatsuria citizens would only be swayed by their wallets, a wise change in direction by the Angels PR team saw a last-minute burst of activity launch across Grovichun’s social media networks. Supporters of both Imperial powers are currently engaged in talks with the respective local authorities in a bid to set up new command centres from which to spread their own particular forms of Imperial life.

Chaos in the Kumo Crew

Leading a piratical group is tough. The Kumo Crew is growing, but not without a struggle. Archon Delaine has always been a strong leader, and keeps the worst excesses of his lieutenants in check. In truth he leads a disparate group of criminal organisations, and recently infighting and infiltration has been rife within the Kumo Crew since Delaine began accepting new members, causing the Kumo to falter in their bid to take over the Pegasi system.

Rumours coming from Harma suggest that the Pirate King is furious at the chaotic, incompetent and downright treacherous actions being carried out in his name. So much so that Delaine has dispatched the Kumo Crew enforcers to deal with the matter personally. Those who find themselves blocking the Kumo Crew’s spread throughout the Pegasi sector will pay the price for their defiance.

Kappa Fornacis Calls Federal Freedom Into Question

It has been some time since the Kappa Fornacis Farmers Union has dared to draw attention to itself beyond its home system. However, following a reported trade deal with one of Senator Zemina Torval’s corporations, the farmers of Panem look a good deal more confident.

Georgio Algeria, spokesman for the Kappa Fornacis Farmers Union, had this to say on the subject:

“Even with a new President, they won’t win. What we have is great, and you can’t keep greatness down. That Hudson guy is too uptight. He needs to chill, and I’ve got just the thing for him!”

“Everything in moderation, my friends. Sims are cool. Hudson’s kids don’t need to win no prizes for proving who’s the best at killin’. They need to chill, to care about each other, get in touch with their roots.”

“The Empire’s cool with us. Slavery’s not cool, but at least they’re doing something about it. These Fed kids signing up to the Navy. Bombing our children. How is that not slavery? Which is better?”

Simguru Offers to Share Tomorrow Today

Simguru Pranav Antal made an appearance at the original Utopian commune in Antal today, to address rumours that the Utopians had entered negotiations to ally themselves with Shadow President Winters’ supporters.

“It is only right for us to honour what came before us. Sol is the birthplace of our race, the shining jewel of our galaxy. At least, it is now that it has been restored to its former glory.”

“In that respect, the Federation is like an elderly relative, full of wisdom and useful life lessons, but ultimately unable to guide its children in finding their truth.”

“In Utopia we respect our elders, but we do not allow their love of the past to obstruct our path to the future. Members of the Federation are free to come to Utopia to study, to shape, to share in everything we have to offer. After all, the abundance of Utopia was created for all of mankind, and we wish for nothing but peace with our other selves.”

“An alliance though? No.”

“While it is our duty to be concerned with the workings of the lower worlds, the Utopians will not allow ourselves to become tangled in the petty politics of those whose only true worry is for their own personal power.”

“Our goods are for sale, but our integrity is not.”

As a reminder to all budding entrepreneurs working hard to scrape some credits from the black, Utopia is currently looking to source a large supply of metals. Traders and miners interested in acting as suppliers to Utopia are being asked to deliver metal to Lobachevsky Station in Antal.

For Some, President Halsey's Disappearance Is Not "Case Closed"

While the Federation considers President Halsey’s disappearance an open and shut case, some groups still doubt the official story. The Knights of the Black, whose members have sworn to defend all human systems against alien aggression, is one such group.

According to the group’s founder, “We aren’t entirely convinced Halsey’s disappearance is the work of an alien species, but we also aren’t convinced that it was an accident. Remember that Felicia Winters insisted, even from the beginning, that Starship One was lost due to mechanical failure. Zachary Hudson seemed awfully convinced of sabotage until he became the President. To me, it seems the Federation is covering up something.”

He went on to say, “Such a well-orchestrated strike against any of Humanity’s leaders would be a clear sign of an alien threat, which we take very seriously.”

Though the Knights aren’t actively searching for Starship One, they claim, “We’re keeping our eyes peeled.”

The Savage Side of Imperial Slavery

On the edges of Imperial space, the line between savagery and civilisation blurs on an almost daily basis. Never has this been more apparent than this weekend, during which hundreds of supposedly honourable Imperial commanders crossed the border to smuggle massive quantities of Imperial Slaves to sell in black markets controlled by the Kumo Crew.

Exactly what the Kumo Crew plans to do with the Imperial Slaves is unknown, although given how much the Kumo Crew were paying for them it’s almost certainly not going to be pleasant.

Under Imperial law, citizens are not permitted to sell their Imperial Slaves for service to non-Imperial citizens, nor are they allowed to sell Imperial Slaves on worlds outside of Imperial space. Those found breaking the law run the risk of being forced into service themselves, although in reality Imperial frontier security services tend to turn a blind eye to the practice.

GalNet reached out to the Imperial Slavers Association and received the following statement:

“The sale of Imperial Slaves outside of the borders of Imperial space is strictly prohibited by order of the Senate. Any members of the ISA found engaging in such activity will be removed from the guild and reported to the appropriate authorities.”

Federal President Hudson Looks to the Future

In a speech to business leaders today at the Banqueting Hall in Quenisset on Mars, President Hudson hinted at a raft of new policies to motivate the Federation’s youth.

“As I said when I was the Shadow President, we are entering dangerous times. The Empire have been expanding recently more than they have for centuries. We have failed our own frontier worlds for decades and it is hardly surprising they are leaving the Federation as they are. We need a stronger military, a military that gets respect from our youth. We need better soldiers, better fighters, better pilots. We need to be more outward-looking.”

“Our youth has become flabby. Lying inanimate, plugged in to their sims hour after hour, day after day, living in dream worlds that never have existed and never will exist. They need to take part in the real world, and so we will be creating programs to allow them to do just that. Programmes that will excite them, engage them, train them. We will fund these programmes in full, the first of which will be announced to Congress on Tuesday 16th.”

“The Empire needs to know the Federation is strong. We were strong, and now we will be strong again!”

Commentators have already been speculating about the introduction of conscription, but this was denied by Hudson himself “I believe in carrot, not stick”. Congress has already agreed to a substantial rise in military spending, and naval shipyards throughout the Federation are at maximum capacity. Cynics have also noted that the Core Dynamics share price is at an all-time high - Core Dynamics has been a backer of Hudson for a long time, and many say this is his payback.

Only The Strong Survive The Frontier

A week ago the Hand Gang of Gandii and the Camorra of Krisha issued a call asking for allies of the Kumo Crew to aid them in overthrowing the authorities in their homelands. The results were... disappointing for the two criminal families.

Recruitment was slow, with both crews failing to attract more than a few hundred freebooters to their cause. Their failure to recruit new blood proved to be particularly problematic for the Camorra of Krisha, who soon found themselves severely outgunned by the far more influential Krisha Systems Corporation.

By the end of the week, both crews found themselves fighting for their very survival. Finally, after a fierce battle for control of Babbage Station, the Hand Gang managed to establish themselves as a credible threat to the people of Gandii, a fact which inevitably led the New Gandii Democrats to revaluate the wisdom of holding out on Archon Delaine.

As for the Camorra of Krisha, their assault against Fincke Depot ended in total failure. Krisha Systems were able to force the Camorra into a full scale retreat late Thursday evening, so much so that by Friday morning very few members of the Camorra were left to be found in Krisha. Those that remain are being hunted by their former allies, while those that are smart have already slinked off to join more capable crews.

Winters Sends Envoys to Utopia?

In a move that many will see as being directly at odds with her predecessor’s hard-line stance against the spread of sim addiction in the Federation, emissaries of Shadow President Felicia Winters have been spotted meeting with representatives of Utopia aboard Tanner Settlement in Polevnic.

GalNet reached out to the Shadow President to ask why her support staff were seen visiting the Utopian headquarters, but a spokesman brushed it off as routine.

Political pundits have been quick to point out that visiting Utopia could be seen as a move to support sim fans – given Utopia’s strong connection to the sim gaming industry, though there are other rumours, fuelled by the call for a large order of assorted Metals to be delivered to Antal, has led economists to speculate that the Utopians may be looking to broaden their efforts into other markets.

Controlling the Credit Crops

A little over six months ago, the newly discovered naturally occurring plant known as Onionhead was made illegal throughout all of Federal space. Not long after, in an attempt to stop the spread of Onionhead, the Federation launched a violent campaign against the innocent farmers of Kappa Fornacis, led by the vocal Georgio Algeria. Federal marines invaded the farmers’ fields, and Federal battle cruisers rained fire from the skies.

The now wealthy farmers managed to create a new strain of Onionhead, and so the spread started, working alone and with others, including the East India Company – an Imperial trade organisation in which Senator Zemina Torval is a major shareholder.

In an attempt to warn the Imperial Senator away from Kappa Fornacis, President Hudson responded by directing a number of prominent Republican Party supporters to begin permanently establishing themselves in Autahenetsi, to change public opinion as a deterrent to farmers, smugglers and Imperials alike. Although at time of press, neither the East India Company nor Senator Zemina Torval appear to be particularly intimidated by the Federation’s efforts.