Galnet News

Notorious conspiracy theorist Ricardo Bentonio has issued an appeal for cartographic data with which to substantiate an extraordinary claim. According to a recent press statement, Bentonio has unearthed ancient records that prove the 29th of February 3302, which appears on all galactic calendars, should not exist. He has convinced Kruger 60 Free to fund the one-day appeal, believing that the cartographic data will prove him correct.

Bentonio elaborated on his theory at a press conference:

"We're not just talking about computers shutting down or ship systems failing. We're talking about the end of life as we know it! We're talking about the very fabric of space-time collapsing in on itself, and the entire universe coming to an end!"

Despite Bentonio having been widely derided as a tin foil hat-wearing crackpot, it's likely that the financial incentives he is offering will earn him some support. Pilots who want to contribute to the initiative are invited to deliver cartographic data to Jones Estate in the Groombridge 34 system on the 29th of February 3302.

For the past six years, the Federation has used a pair of customised Saud Kruger Narwhal Liners (upgraded variants of the successful Beluga Liner) as the personal vessels of the Federal president. Last year, one of these vessels was lost in a tragic accident. Today, the remaining vessel will be retired.

Bexley Jones, a spokeswoman for President Zachary Hudson, said: "It is of the utmost importance that the ship bearing the callsign 'Starship One' can function as a mobile base of operations for the president, providing him with everything he needs while off-planet, in addition to offering total safety. Given the Beluga's primary designation as a passenger vessel, we have decided that it is unable meet these demands."

Jones confirmed that the remaining Narwhal will be replaced with a pair of modified Farragut Battle Cruisers, a mainstay of the Federal Navy. The formidable vessels are equipped with an extensive array of heavy weaponry, and are capable of transporting multiple Federal Corvettes and a large F63 Condor squadron. "In these dangerous times, it is essential that the presidential vessel be able to offer comprehensive military support, and the Farragut Battle Cruiser can do just that," said Jones.

Last month, the eminent scientist Ishmael Palin issued an appeal for meta-alloys, the rare material produced by the 'barnacles' of the Pleiades Nebula. The request was enthusiastically received by the galactic community, but the professor's research into the meta-alloys was brought to an abrupt halt when he and his team disappeared en route to Maia b1ba.

Since then, certain sections of the galactic community have raised questions over just what has happened to these meta-alloys. Many cited the tremendous effort involved in collecting and transporting the materials, and some have even called for them to be made available on the Obsidian Orbital commodities market.

Authorities at Obsidian Orbital have not yet commented on the situation, but an anonymous report has emerged that appears to shed some light on the situation:

"The truth is that most of the meta-alloys were sold on the black market to various private companies. It seemed a little weird to me, so I did some digging and found out that almost all the companies were fronts for some big conglomerate I'd never heard of. I don't know what they plan to do with the meta-alloys, but I thought the public should know."

The legitimacy of the report has not yet been confirmed, but if it is genuine, it raises the questions of who purchased the meta-alloys and why.

Each week, GalNet presents a list of 10 of the 1,210 minor factions currently expanding into new systems.

Natural Fjorgyn Liberty Party

Law Party of Gundji

United Nang Ta-khian Confederacy

The 9th Legion

Bureau of Tetrian Liberty Party

Justice Party of Anekaliti

Movement for Villeachi Independents

Independents of Parenni

LP 580-33 Services

Crimson Energy Exchange

Expansion occurs when a minor faction reaches a sufficient influence rating and there is a populated system within striking distance. The act of expansion is a costly one, and the wealth and development rating suffers during the period of expansion.

Data is correct at time of publishing.

The recent Federal operation to search for survivors from Starship One was eagerly supported by the galactic community, resulting in the safe recovery of thousands of escape pods, many of them containing living survivors. As the task of identifying the pod's occupants continues, Federal President Zachary Hudson has made a surprising announcement: one of the escape pods taken to Leoniceno Orbital contains former Federal president Jasmina Halsey.

"When we started searching for the remains of Starship One it was with the aim of discovering what happened to the ship. I never imagined we would find survivors, and certainly not that one of them would be Jasmina Halsey."

Asked about Halsey's condition, Hudson said:

"The medical team at Leoniceno has described Halsey's condition as critical but stable. It appears her escape pod was damaged and she sustained some injuries, so she's being kept in an induced coma until her wounds have healed. This is likely to take weeks. If her condition changes I will be immediately notified."

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

Here are 10 of the 15,698 minor factions involved in a civil war:

Guroji General Commodities

Noblemen of Guroji

HR 2622 Crimson Brotherhood

HR 2622 Co-operative

Hurusalki Jet Netcoms Company

United Hurusalki Independents

Social Zapakhere Future

Zapakhere Party

Kokaangin Blue Natural and Co

United Kokaangin Movement

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 7,061 minor factions at war:

Revolutionary UGP 145 Free

Uhlan Blue Public PLC

Confederacy of HIP 82088

HIP 82738 Syndicate

Ba Nefes Empire Party

Cliocassi One

LHS 3295 Legal Holdings

Baltah'Sine Unionists

LHS 229 Electronics PLC

Andhrimi Crimson Travel PLC

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.

Doctor Elana Lorax, a leading contributor in the field of xeno biology, has released a statement to the media:

"Before we reached for the stars we destroyed countless species on our homeworld. Similarly, the colonization of Tau Ceti, Delta Pavonis, Achenar and many other systems resulted in the mass extinction of native life."

"But humanity has yet to learn its lesson. The cry for meta-alloys is not unlike the lust for beaver-pelt top hats in ancient times. Thousands of barnacles have been destroyed, and for what? Defunct stations can be replaced. If the barnacles are destroyed for their meta-alloys we will lose their secrets forever."

Doctor Lorax continued: "With a little patience we could unlock the secrets of the barnacle. Xeno biologists and chemists could learn to synthesize meta-alloys, given time. Unfortunately it seems humanity is going to destroy another unique lifeform for short-term, and short-sighted, gain."

Commander Corrigendum

For years, the sparsely populated Orulas system has been dominated by the Orulas Blue Hand Gang, a ruthless criminal organisation. This cold-blooded band has been making life intolerable for the system's inhabitants, but the local government appears reluctant to take a stand. Some have speculated that this is because the authorities receive regular kickbacks from the criminals.

But one resident has had enough. Rose Trebek, a former soldier and veteran of countless military campaigns, has established a defence initiative to clean up Orulas – the Joint Security Taskforce.

"I'm sick of these scumbags running my system," said Trebek, "and I'm sick of the government looking the other way. It's time to take care of these punks. But we can't do it alone."

"Our intelligence indicates that the Blue Hand is ferrying its spoils in big convoys to various fences. They trade mostly in escape pods, which they sell to shady pseudo-scientific outfits conducting illegal human experiments. We need pilots to swoop in, bust open the convoys, and recover as many pods as they can. We also need volunteers to sweep the system, taking out any Blue Hand ships they encounter. That should make things easier for the Commanders targeting the convoys."

Trebek has the resources to offer generous incentives to those who support the campaign. But she has stressed that the operation will not be straightforward:

"If you're not an experienced combat pilot, frankly you can't help us. These Blue Hand dirtbags are the real deal. I don't want your death on my conscience."

The campaign begins on the 25th of February 3302 and will run for one week.Pilots who want to participate are advised to make their way to Wilkes Orbital in the Nespeleve system.

LHS 3447 is familiar to many independent pilots, being a popular starting point for those embarking on careers as traders, bounty hunters and explorers. But many of these pilots have bemoaned the relative inaccessibility of the system's starports.

The Pilots Federation, in association with LHS 3447 Dynamic and Co, has announced plans to address the issue by constructing a new Orbis starport in LHS 3447. According to a spokesperson for the organisation, the new starport will orbit LHS 3447 B 1 a, making it particularly valuable to miners exploiting the LHS 3447 AB belt.

"The Pilots Federation is all about building a better future for the people who keep the galaxy moving. This new starport will give those people a valuable new trade and resupply hub, in addition to giving the system's economy a boost."

The campaign to construct the starport, which will be named 'Bluford Orbital', begins on the 25th of February 3302 and will run for two weeks. Pilots who want to support the first phase of the campaign are invited to deliver metals to Worlidge Terminal in LHS 3447.

Responding to the suggestion that more meta-alloys be shipped to stations experiencing technical issues, Dr Arcanonn of the Canonn Interstellar Research Group has issued a statement:

"Many teams from the Canonn Interstellar Research Group have already started collecting meta-alloys. Some have been doing so for many days. But one thing bothers me. The community painstakingly collected and shipped thousands of tonnes of meta-alloys to Obsidian Orbital for Professor Palin. Where did they go? Surely the engineering teams at Obsidian Orbital didn't use them all up?"

"I want to urge personnel at Obsidian Orbital to help us by releasing their remaining stock of meta-alloys to the commodities market. Once the existing supply runs out, we will return to the barnacle sites to collect more."

"Since one of the affected stations is in my home system, I'm as eager as everyone else to deal with these malfunctions. It seems we have the means to fix the problems, so let's do it."

Commander Lord Zoltan