Galnet News

Officials at Kanwar Horizons in the Turbo system have strenuously denied allegations of involvement in an unsanctioned Buckyball Racing Club event known as the 'Turbo Hour Endurance Race', which will apparently run alongside the station's annual air show and starship exhibition.

Station entertainment director Hector LeMans described as "preposterous" claims that the Turbo Blue Netcoms Exchange was secretly bankrolling the race in order to attract larger crowds. "Our air show is wholesome entertainment, and we don't want it ruined by these Buckyballers and their 'high-octane' shenanigans," he said.

LeMans had a clear message for anyone tempted by rumours of free ship resprays for the winners: "I'm sure that authorities in the 49 D Orionis, Unkulcay and Vasak systems would agree that racers will find the same strictly-enforced speed limits and standard market prices for fuel and repairs at our stations as any other law-abiding pilot."

The air show will run from the 25th of January to the 12th of February.

Commander furrycat

This weekly transmission lists some of the systems currently in conflict around the galaxy, based on the latest data.

Here are 10 of the 15,071 minor factions involved in a civil war:

Quan Gurus Crimson Public Ltd

Traditional HIP 22052 Constitution Party

Purple Legal Systems

Ghimal Nobles

Union of Ghimal Independents

CD-70 1960 Organisation

Democratic Party

Hayanzib Purple Council

Hayanzib Allied Corp.

Kinematic Armaments

Civil wars involve conflict between minor factions in the same system over ownership of major assets such as starports. During civil wars, only combat missions and activities help bring the conflict to a resolution. Security, development level and standard of living indicators all drop for the duration of the civil war.

Here are 10 of the 6,570 minor factions at war:

LTT 18486 Jet Energy Company

United LHS 3479 Green Party

Skollanga Silver Organisation

BD+21 1952 General Company

Family of HIP 3509

Leschanatya Future

Merengila Netcoms Commodities

Revolutionary Bugulmara Future

Yab Camalo Purple Dynamic Ltd

He Po Mob

Wars occur when a minor faction invades another star system. For the duration of the conflict, wealth, security and standard of living are all severely impacted. Combat missions and activities determine who wins the war. If no winner emerges, the war ends in a ceasefire.

Data is correct at time of publishing.

According a statement from the Green Party of HIP 112974, the faction's recent appeal for onionhead has been successful. In the statement, a spokesperson confirmed the faction had received sufficient quantities of the drug to establish a new onionhead-trading operation:

"We're hugely grateful to all the traders who made deliveries to la Cosa City, and all the pilots who kept the traders safe by clearing the agitators from our spaceways. May this be the start of a long a profitable relationship between the Green Party of HIP 112974 and the galactic community."

The Green Party of HIP 112974 has confirmed that those who contributed to the appeal could collect their rewards from la Cosa City in HIP 112974.

When the Federal Navy destroyed the Emperor's Dawn base in the Kausalya system in December, many believed the organisation had finally been defeated. The Federal offensive, which was supported by a large deputation from the Federal Navy Auxiliary, was swift and merciless, and resulted in the total destruction of the insurgent outpost. But a statement from the office of Imperial Senator Denton Patreus indicates that, against all odds, Emperor's Dawn has endured.

"The Imperial Internal Security Service has discovered that Emperor's Dawn has 'shadow' cells in the Dakshmandi, Ipilyaqa and Ch'i Lin systems – secret outposts that were apparently designed to protect the organisation's leadership in the event of a military defeat. It is of course vital to the continued security of the Empire and its people that these outposts be neutralised as swiftly as possible. If it is not, Emperor's Dawn could re-emerge to threaten the galaxy once again."

Senator Patreus went on to issue a call to arms:

"Swiftly neutralising these outposts depends on the support of the galactic community, and to this end I have authorised the payment of privateer bonds to any pilots who help with the offensive against Emperor's Dawn. Let us destroy these vile dissidents once and for all."

A remarkable discovery was made last week when non-human structures were found on a number of planets in the Pleiades Nebula. These 'barnacles', as the galactic community has christened them, produce a material known as meta-alloys, the exact properties of which are not yet known.

The discovery was followed swiftly by news that technical personnel at Obsidian Orbital – one of the starports affected by the mysterious malfunctions sweeping the galaxy – had apparently used meta-alloys to return the starport to some kind of normality. Naturally, this prompted speculation that the meta-alloys might hold the key to eradicating the technological plague that has blighted so many starports in recent months.

Professor Ishmael Palin, the former Federal scientist conducting research into the unknown artefacts, is evidently thinking along the same lines:

"The report from Obsidian Orbital is indeed encouraging, but there is still a great deal we do not know, including the cause of the malfunctions, or if the meta-alloys are indeed capable of countering them. That is why I am appealing to the galactic community to deliver as many meta-alloys as possible to my new research base at Obsidian Orbital. Only by amassing a substantial research sample can we know for sure whether or not the meta-alloys can be used to target this mysterious technological malady."

Professor Palin has pledged to reward all pilots who deliver meta-alloys to his base of operations at Obsidian Orbital in the Maia system.

Following the recent discovery of the remains of the Antares, the Sirius Corporation has been subjecting the wreckage to extensive analysis in an attempt to determine exactly what happened to the luxury liner. In a press conference held this morning, a spokesperson for the organisation revealed the initial results of the analysis:

"Our investigation has confirmed the original finding that a cascade failure in the hyperdrive's internal containment systems caused a catastrophic explosion within the drive. The mapped wreckage pattern suggests that the failure occurred while the Antares was transitioning from normal space to hyperspace. The precise cause of the failure remains unexplained, however. We will continue to analyse the available data to see what more we can learn."

This weekly roundup highlights some of the minor factions pursuing the dream of democratic freedom by holding elections.

Here are 10 of the 2,993 minor factions holding elections:

Law Party of Njulngan

Dhang Defence Force

Ross 23 Incorporated

LTT 305 Electronics Network

Omagatae Liberals

Vogulu Empire Assembly

HIP 18187 Blue Legal Partners

Niu Lang O Electronics Company

Ti Wa Blue Allied Company

Vistobici Corporation

Elections occur when two minor factions of a similar political structure resolve a conflict over ownership and influence within a system.

Data is correct at time of publishing.

Recent reports indicate that an independent faction known as the Allied Facece Order has wrested control of the Facece system from the Empire. Details are scarce, but it is believed that the Allied Facece Order took control of the system after achieving several strategic victories against Imperial Naval forces. Chancellor Anders Blaine, who was until recently the system's primary administrator, was approached for comment:

"I want to assure the people of Facece that the current state of affairs is only temporary. The Facece system will soon return to Imperial control, and the rebels who have undermined our authority will be made to answer for their crimes."

In the early hours of tomorrow morning (7.00am GMT), the GalNet monitoring of powers' activities will go offline for a short period while the latest data is assembled.

Any pilots who operate for one of the powers must deliver any cargo or vouchers before this time to ensure their activities are registered.

Authorities in Eravate, Almar and Halbangaay have confirmed that theirs are the latest systems to experience mysterious technical issues, bringing the total number of systems affected by what some are calling 'the technological plague' to 22. All services apart from docking and shipyard access have been suspended at Ackerman Market in Eravate, von Bellingshausen Port in Almar and Haack Gateway in Halbangaay. A complete list of affected stations follows.

Starports where services have been suspended:

Ackerman Market, Eravate

von Bellingshausen Port, Almar

Haack Gateway, Halbangaay

Gabriel Enterprise, Harma

Gurragchaa Gateway, Warkushanui

Gaiman Dock, 49 Arietis

Weyn Dock, 64 Arietis

Korolyov Hub, Arawere

Lobachevsky Outpost, Pic Tok

Carter Port, Rhea

Starports experiencing technical issues:

al-Din Prospect, Alpha Centauri

Robigo Mines, Robigo

Saunders's Dive, Wolf 1301

Alexander Freeport, HIP 18843

Coats Hub, Warkushanui

Bond Hub, Varati

Hinz Hub, Ngobe

Tsunenaga Dock, Iapodes

Li Qing Jao, Sol

Ray Gateway, Diaguandri

Vizcaino Enterprise, Nganji

Talos 2, Peregrina

We will continue to bring you up-to-the-minute reports on this issue.