Galnet News

The Buckyball Racing Club was formed, one year ago, to provide a schedule of races involving a wide variety of pilots. In its first year the club hosted a total of 28 races, and to celebrate it is hosting one of its craziest yet: the BuckyBubble!

Commemorating the club's most famous race, the A* Challenge, the BuckyBubble starts at Lomas Station in the Wolf 359 system. Racers will navigate a route that passes through 60 systems loosely resembling the shape of a buckyball molecule.

Pilots are invited to join the chaos from the 23rd of July to the 7th of August.

Commander Seneh

With the Federal-Imperial relationship currently on unsteady ground, political commentators have been reviewing recent events and offering their analyses of the current situation.

Most agree that the turning point came in March, when the Federation began construction of a new Farragut-class Battlecruiser in the Beta Hydri system. The Empire made no response to the development at first, but an anonymous Imperial source was quoted as saying: "If the Federation embarked on a campaign of military fortification, it's likely the Empire would respond in kind." A short time later, the Empire started work on a new Majestic-class Interdictor.

Conflict erupted in June, when Imperial forces attempted to take possession of the Federation-controlled Daramo system. The Federation was able to rebuff the offensive in just three days, however, prompting one high-ranking Federal officer to comment: "Hopefully this episode will remind our enemies that they cannot simply take whatever they want."

A few weeks later, the Federation deployed a number of Farragut-class Battlecruisers to the Merope system. The ships took up position near the non-human structures commonly known as barnacles, prompting outrage from various sections of the galactic community. The Federation insisted its intention was to protect the sites, but the Empire remained unconvinced, accusing the Federation of trying to take possession of the barnacles. Shortly thereafter, the Empire announced that it too would despatch a deputation to Merope.

Commentators generally agree that the meta-alloys have now become a focus for Federal-Imperial antagonism. While it has been confirmed that the meta-alloys can counter the harmful effects of the Unknown Artefacts, no other applications for the material have been found. But speculation abounds that there may be as-yet undiscovered uses for the remarkable substance. The fact that the Federation has announced plans to construct a number of outposts in the Pleiades sector – one of the primary locations of meta-alloys – is further evidence that it has a keen interest in the material.

As tensions between the two superpowers increase, only one thing can be stated with certainty: in the competition for control of the meta-alloys, the Federation has taken the lead.

Following the release of former Federal president Jasmina Halsey from the Clearwater Clinic, commentators from around the galaxy are asking the same question: What's next for Halsey?

According to political analyst Emilio Blythe: "If Halsey were to return to politics, it could spell trouble for Shadow President Felicia Winters. Winters's leadership of the Liberal Party has been questioned over the last few months, and Halsey could conceivably retake control of the party."

Meanwhile, members of the religious cult known as The Hands of the Architects are holding onto the hope that Halsey will take on the mantle of prophet, and lead them to 'communion with the Architects'.

Attempts to contact the former president have been rebuffed by her staff.

Jaiotu

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

Here are the latest factions to experience a civil war:

Cubeo Jet Council

Earls of Lovedui

Lovedui PLC

Yembo Interstellar

Duro Patron's Principles

Duro Blue Public Partners

Nationals of Ross 163

Ross 163 Jet Family

Caeritis Vision Organisation

Gabjaujis Empire Party

Civil wars occur when minor factions compete for control of major assets such as starports. When a faction is involved in a civil war, the standard of living, development level and security level in the system it controls are temporarily reduced. Combat activities can bring a civil war to an end.

Here are the latest factions to experience war:

Unionists of Sun Takush

Liberals of Kappa Reticuli

United Nedos League

Vetta Bureau

Balduk Partnership

Raiders of LHS 140

Sinann Silver Raiders

Kalibia State Services

Independent Xevioso Labour

Gliese 724.2 Empire League

Wars occur when a minor faction invades a star system controlled by another minor faction. For the duration of the war, the standard of living, wealth level and security level in the disputed system are reduced. Combat activity between the two warring factions determines the outcome of the conflict. If neither faction succeeds in dominating the other, the war ends in a ceasefire.

Lavigny's Legion, an Imperial organisation based in the Carthage system, has launched a campaign to add three new Majestic-class Interdictors to the Imperial fleet.

At a press conference, Lucius Lavigny confirmed that the Emperor had personally authorised the campaign. According to Lavigny, the initiative is a direct response to the Federation's "ongoing military build-up". The admiral closed the conference with the words: "We must continue to strengthen our fleet and reinforce our garrisons."

Lavigny's Legion has placed an open order for thallium, thermal cooling units and CMM composites for use in the construction, and has promised to reward pilots who deliver the requested material to Marker Depot in the Carthage system. The campaign begins on the 21st of July 3302 and will run for one week. If the Empire's targets are met earlier than planned, the campaign will end immediately.

Authorities in the Carthage system have reported a sharp increase in the number of criminals operating in the area. To ensure these agitators do not disrupt the Lavigny's Legion campaign, a kill order has been placed on all wanted ships operating in the system. Lavigny's Legion has promised to reward pilots who deliver bounty vouchers to Marker Depot.

The campaign begins on the 21st of July 3302 and will run for one week. If the final target is met earlier than planned, the campaign will end immediately.

The third and final heat of the Rise to Power campaign is over.

For this stage of the competition, pilots were asked to recover salvaged precious gems and deliver them to Laura Elizabeth in the Meropis system. Matters were complicated by the fact that the event organisers refused to reveal the precise whereabouts of the salvage site, giving just a single clue to its location.

Once the location was found, a desperate race began as pilots urgently ferried the gems to the Laura Elizabeth starport in support of their chosen faction. Ultimately, it was the EG Pilots who received the most salvaged precious gems and claimed victory. But the celebrations were short-lived, as the EG Pilots waited tensely for the announcement of the overall victor.

Now that the results of each heat have been reviewed, the event organisers have announced that the winner of the Rise to Power campaign is...the EG Pilots.

Trinity Avon, reporting for The Sovereign, commented on what has proved to be an exciting competition:

"The EG Pilots have shown that they has the necessary strength and influence to be recognised as a power in their own right. I for one look forward to seeing what the future holds."

A spokesperson for Bava Blue Travel Systems has announced that hundreds of independent pilots responded to the recent Imperial appeal for exploration data, delivering large quantities of astronomical information to Bauschinger City in the Bava system. The appeal was part of an Imperial campaign to locate further barnacles, the only known source of meta-alloys.

In a brief statement, the spokesperson thanked the many Commanders who supported the campaign:

"We are immensely grateful to all the intrepid explorers who contributed to this initiative. Your data will now be analysed to see if it can reveal the location of further barnacle sites. Of course, this process is not an exact science, so it may take some time. We will keep the galactic community abreast of our progress."

Jaques, the owner and operator of Jaques Station, has issued an appeal for commodities to repair his beleaguered starport.

The station has been in poor shape ever since Jaques made an unsuccessful attempt to travel to Beagle Point. Since then, a number of independent pilots have voluntarily delivered meta-alloys to the station, resulting in the reopening of the starport's commodities market. But to restore the starport to full functionality, a full-scale campaign is needed. In a statement, Jaques said:

"We're very grateful to all the pilots who brought us meta-alloys over the past few weeks. But to get the station back online, we're also going to need power generators, tantalum, structural regulators and energy grid assemblies. So we're asking all pilots to deliver whatever they can."

Jaques has promised to reward pilots who deliver the requested materials to Jaques Station in the Eol Prou RS-T d3-94 system. The campaign begins on the 21st of July 3302 and will run for four weeks. If Jaques's targets are met earlier than planned, the campaign will end immediately.

Recent developments in Unknown Probe research have raised concerns among military strategists.

Today, Captain Alexis Corvus of Task Force Athena briefed the Imperial Senate on the implications of an offensively deployed Unknown Probe.

"The offensive potential of these Probes mustn't be underestimated. A single fighter with a discovery scanner and a probe in its cargo hold could potentially disable dozens of spacecraft. A customized torpedo designed to similarly trigger its payload could be even more disruptive, allowing a hostile fleet to prey on the disabled vessels."

"The zeal with which the Federation has been collecting resources like these probes leads me to believe they have already considered these use cases. Moreover, the stationing of no fewer than five Farragut-class Battlecruisers in Merope suggests this matter is of grave importance to them. If we mean to maintain the status quo, we must act prudently."

Commander Corrigendum