Galnet News

The normally peaceful Wilkes Orbital has been the focus of considerable attention in recent weeks. First, the starport was at the centre of a campaign to drive the Blue Hand Gang from the nearby Orulas system. Then authorities at the station announced that the escape pods recovered in the operation contained Professor Ishmael Palin and the other members of his research team. Now it seems that the majority of those recovered from the criminals, including Professor Ishmael Palin, have been infected with a strain of Cerberus Plague, the deadly pathogen that claimed millions of lives last year.

Governor Lawrence, the principal administrator of Wilkes Orbital, has released a statement to the media:

"The situation is certainly serious, but it's important to keep things in perspective. At present, the disease is confined to those who were rescued from the Blue Hand Gang, so it should be perfectly possible to keep it contained. The pertinent task is to cure the infected."

Governor Lawrence was asked how he intended to proceed.

"This is a new strain of the Cerberus Plague, one we've never seen before. But it seems that Ceremonial Heike Tea, which was used to cure the original strain of the plague, is also effective against this version of the disease. We have therefore issued an open order for Ceremonial Heike Tea with which to cure the infected. Any surplus tea will be stockpiled in anticipation of further outbreaks, although I should stress that such a scenario is extremely unlikely."

The appeal for Ceremonial Heike Tea begins on the 17th March 3302 and will run for one week.

For decades, the Revolutionary Party of Vennik has been terraforming the planet Vennik 1, slowly transforming it into a habitable world. With the ambitious project about to enter its final stage, the organisation has placed an open order for terrain-enrichment systems with which to prepare the planet's surface for agricultural development.

A spokesperson for the Revolutionary Party of Vennik released a brief statement:

"Terraforming a planet takes decades, so we're delighted to be entering the final stage. Our aim is to establish an agricultural economy on Vennik 1 so it can contribute to the production of food and medicine in the Vennik system. With the support of the galactic community, we will soon be able to reap the benefit of our efforts."

The organisation has promised to reward those who deliver the much-needed commodities to Nixon Enterprise in the Vennik system. The campaign begins on the 17th of March 3302 and will run for one week. If the final target is met earlier than planned, the campaign will end immediately.

This report presents the latest data on democratic activity among the galaxy's minor factions.

Here are the latest factions to hold elections:

STF 1774 Central Ltd

Antai Energy Group

Karadjari Creative Holdings

Chih Zhua Imperial Society

BD+04 4988 Bridge Co

Bureau of Njambalba

Ba Bhuti Allied Company

Eta Draconis Gold Vision Co

Aeolus Collective

Partnership of LHS 417

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

Following the extraordinary rescue of former Federal president Jasmina Halsey, whose escape pod was recovered from the wreckage of Starship One, questions have been asked about her possible return to power. According to an anonymous source within the Federal government, several senior-level politicians have voiced the opinion that, should she make a full recovery, Halsey ought to be allowed to serve out the remainder of her term.

Simon Newell, a legal advisor to the Federal government, spoke to the Federal Times earlier today.

"There's no direct precedent for this situation, so it's hard to be certain. I know some members of government believe Halsey should be reinstated, but my feeling is that such an outcome is unlikely. When Halsey disappeared she was already facing a vote of no confidence, and her presidency was officially terminated so a new president could be elected. My suspicion is that if there were a legal challenge, the law would uphold the vote of no confidence recorded at the time."

The first season of the Galactic Combat Championship has come to a spectacular finish. Competitors in the five-week tournament included Adle's Armada, Blood Brothers from Alrai, Ronin of Amarak, Triadius, Contrail, and the Balkan Intergalactic Guerrillas.

Fifteen matches of three rounds were fought every weekend for five weeks, concluding with a spectacular eight vs. eight, winner-take-all match in front of a live audience. Despite many exciting moments, near wins and losses there could be only victor, and that victor was Adle's Armada.

The Armada was a favourite going into the tournament, but few expected them to win every match. The leaders of Adle's Armada gave praise to their competitors: Commanders Poaarctica, Breakfastmelon, Philip J Fry, Truesilver, Finegan, Memoocan, Thatdamnranga and Cosmic Booty.

The second season of the championship is due to start soon, and will is likely feature more groups and match modifiers than the first. Fans of the tournament are already placing bets on the season two winner.

Commander S!LK

A spokesperson for the Canonn Interstellar Research Group has issued a plea for a final push in the campaign to establish a research outpost at Thompson Dock:

"The response from the community has been incredible, but we need more palladium!"

"I know you're tired, but this project is too important for us to give up. I've been living on a particularly strong blend of Varatian coffee, and I understand the local suppliers have made it freely available to all miners. It's great stuff if you don't mind a few heart palpitations."

"We really want to hit the next milestone so we can get a commodities market at the station. If we can do that, Dr Arcanonn will be able to do what he does best."

"So please come and mine for the Canonn between now and Thursday afternoon. The rewards are huge, and the camaraderie among the miners is fantastic."

Commander Lord Zoltan

When the dissident organisation known as Emperor's Dawn was first brought to public attention, a number of high-profile Imperials were discovered to have connections to the group. One of them was Damon Clarke, a prominent industrialist and a member of Princess Aisling Duval's inner circle. According to a report published by the Imperial Herald, one of Clarke's companies had previously sold weapons to Emperor's Dawn, and the revelation plunged Clarke into scandal.

The prominent patron denied all knowledge of the transaction, but his declarations of innocence were undermined when he fled Imperial space. From that point on, no further information regarding Clarke's whereabouts or actions was released to the public.

But now an undisclosed source, which claims to be close to the Imperial Internal Security Service, has shared news of Clarke's fate. A section of the anonymous message is reprinted below:

"As you know, Clarke fled Imperial space when his connection to Emperor's Dawn was discovered. But he didn't get far. The IISS caught up with him in Apathaam and brought him back to Achenar.

"Clarke was looking at a death sentence, but the IISS offered him a deal: give up his contacts in Emperor's Dawn in exchange for a more lenient sentence. Clarke jumped at the offer, and gave up everyone he knew. His information earned him a commuted sentence: house arrest at his home on Capitol. He even got to keep his car. A pretty good deal."

"So time passes and Emperor's Dawn gets its ass handed to it by the Empire. But a few of Clarke's former contacts survive, and they're none too happy about him selling them down the river. With IISS agents stationed at Clarke's home, it wasn't easy for them to get to him, but in the end they succeeded. Poisoned his food, I gather. Nasty way to go."

The Imperial Internal Security Service has declined to comment on the matter.

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.

Various media outlets throughout inhabited space received an anonymous communiqué this morning. "The galactic community is in peril," the message began. "They just don't know it yet."

The transmission asserts a connection between Core Dynamics, the destruction of the Antares and Starship One, the Emperor's Dawn insurgency, and setbacks in Unknown Artefact research. It also claims that the deaths of Federal Vice-President Nigel Smeaton, Sean Richards, Arnold Lowe, Susan Monroe, Elaine Boyd, Emperor Hengist Duval and the disappearances of former Federal president Jasmina Halsey and Professor Ishmael Palin are similarly connected.

The message concluded: "Many of those who have tried to connect these seemingly disparate events have been silenced, along with their sources. That is why I have chosen to remain anonymous. So far, only pawns have been revealed in this shadowy game. We must discover the king."

Neither the Federation nor the Empire has chosen to comment on the transmission.

Commander Corrigendum

When Professor Ishmael Palin and his team disappeared en route to Maia b1ba, research into meta-alloys was brought to a near standstill, with only the Canonn Interstellar Research Group continuing to investigate the mysterious material. But recent reports indicate that research has continued in Professor Palin's absence under the helm of Lea Tantaga, a molecular chemist based at Obsidian Orbital.

"We've known for a while that the ongoing technical issues are the result of molecular interference from the Unknown Artefacts," said Tantaga. "What we now know is that meta-alloys can be used to neutralise this interference. In their raw form, the meta-alloys aren't all that effective. And the process of using them to create materials that can counter the artefacts' dangerous self-repair mechanism hasn't yet been perfected. But we're definitely on the right path."

In response to this development, authorities at starports affected by the technological plague have opened their markets to the sale of meta-alloys, no doubt hoping to receive further quantities of the much-needed material and return their outposts to normality. But the harvesting of meta-alloys continues to prove controversial, with some opining that the so-called 'barnacles' from which the materials are derived – and which are destroyed in the harvesting process – should be protected.