Galnet News

The second heat of the Dangerous Games Wildcard competition is over. For this event, pilots were asked to deploy their hardpoints and gather bounties for their chosen faction in the Bjorti system. The group that accumulated the most bounty vouchers during the week-long event would be declared the winner.

The final tally indicates that victory goes once again to the EG Pilots, which received the largest amount of bounty vouchers. Whether or not the EG Pilots will win the Wildcard competition remains to be seen, as it will not be clear which faction has received the most support until the end of the campaign.

The Dangerous Games Wildcard competition will run for a total of three weeks, and the victor will go on to vie for the right to be recognised as an official power.

A spokesperson for the Crom Silver Boys, a notorious crime syndicate, has released a statement confirming that its appeal for narcotics was eagerly received by the galactic community.

Given the illicit nature of the operation, the exact number of participants is not known. But reports from the Herthe system indicate that hundreds of pilots contributed to the campaign, delivering controlled substances for the criminals' drug-production scheme.

With the criminals' targets met, production of crom silver fesh is scheduled to begin immediately. The new narcotic will follow the closely guarded recipe for wolf fesh, the psychoactive drug formerly produced in the Wolf 1301 system. The Crom Silver Boys have promised to release the new commodity to the market at Chorel Survey as soon as possible.

Jimmy 'Ice Pick' Falcone, spokesperson for the Crom Silver Boys, released a brief and slightly perplexing statement:

"Crom silver fesh will soon be available to pilots who have proved we can trust them."

Pilots who contributed to the initiative are now free to collect their rewards from Walheim Enterprise in the Herthe system.

Every year, thousands of people disappear into the vastness of space. Some simply venture out too far and lose their way. Others are abducted by pirates and sold into slavery, their identities irrevocably erased. Others still may suffer more mysterious fates.

For many, these disappearances are a fact of life – an inescapable consequence of living among the stars. But Pranav Antal, leader of the technologically progressive enclave Utopia, is unwilling to simply accept such losses. The simguru, as he is known, has launched a campaign to gather exploration data with the aim of discovering why so many of those who traverse the depths of space vanish.

"The purpose of this campaign is to acquire concrete information about these disappearances so we can do more to prevent them. But I must stress that even if we are able to locate missing individuals, it is likely that they will be too far from our base of operations to make rescue possible. This is an intelligence-gathering operation only."

Utopian representatives have promised to reward pilots who deliver exploration data to Terry Port in the Garoku system. The campaign begins on the 16th of June 3302 and will run for one week.

The 'Rewired' news feed is known for its prodigious output, sometimes releasing hundreds of stories a day. But balancing such productivity with thorough fact checking is a tall order, and the feed's critics sometimes claim that at least half its output consists of redactions, corrections and apologies.

But despite these jibes, only the most obdurate critic would deny that Rewired has broken major stories in the past, its guerrilla style approach allowing it to react faster than some of its larger, more established rivals.

The channel's latest report will interest many of the galaxy's independent pilots:

"Word is that Broo Tarquin will now work with pilots who can bring him 50 units of Fugin Tea, instead of the 100 he used to ask for. And Didi Vatermann's only asking for 50 units of Lavian Brandy, which is a damn sight less than the 200 she previously insisted on. Seems it just got a whole lot easier to spec your ship."

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

Here are the latest factions to hold elections:

Nijuna Company

Official Omagatae Defence Party

Hyperion Allied Incorporated

Tsohoda Patron's Principles

Sopdu Legal Commodities

Tun Netcoms Services

Irukama Patrons of Law

Kuanes Resistance

Melici Progressive Party

Nahuaru Crimson Bridge Int

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

At 7.00 am tomorrow morning (GMT), the monitoring of powers' activities will go offline for a short period while the latest data is assembled. Pilots who operate for one of the powers should deliver any cargo or vouchers before this time to ensure their activities are registered.

This report presents the latest data on the security status of the galaxy's minor factions.

Here are the latest factions to experience a lockdown:

Revolutionary Wolf 865 Revolutionary Party

Tamba League

Ross 318 Energy Co

Purple Vision Services

Volungu Public Company

Onyayp Collective

Social Lalande 2682 Alliance

Ross 41 Confederacy

Lalande 28607 Syndicate

Neritus Law Party

When a faction experiences a lockdown, the security rating of the system it controls temporarily increases and the system's wealth temporarily decreases. Bounty hunting activity can shorten the lockdown period.

Here are the latest factions to experience civil unrest:

Avalon Organisation

Pomeche Electronics Corporation

Alliance of BD+47 2112

Ekuru Silver Allied Industry

Amphisatsu Creative Commodities

Eotienses Silver Universal PLC

Wogama Dynamic Co

Allied T'u Tu Focus

Movement for Uzumeru Partnership

Yawa Commodities

Civil unrest is the result of illegal activity. When a faction is affected by civil unrest, the standard of living in the system it controls temporarily decreases, as does the system's wealth. Combat missions and activities can bring civil unrest to an end.

Jaques Station hit the headlines two weeks ago when it was reported that the galaxy's most famous travelling starport had disappeared. Jaques, the starport's owner and operator, had announced plans to jump from Gliese 1269 to Beagle Point. But when contact with the starport was lost, many feared the ambitious enterprise had resulted in disaster.

Fortunately it seems the starport is still intact, even if its whereabouts remain unknown. Several outposts throughout inhabited space have reported receiving messages over the past 24 hours, suggesting that the cyborg and his travelling starport survived the attempted journey to Beagle Point.

Unfortunately the messages are extremely fragmentary, giving no clear indication of where the starport might be. One of the more complete messages reads as follows:

"...witch-space...drive engines... station infrastructure intact but...we are..."

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

This report presents the latest data on the economic health of the galaxy's minor factions.

Here are the latest factions to experience an economic boom:

Luyten's Star Co

Workers of Tau-1 Gruis Democrats

League of HIP 3142

Labour of LHS 3531

Dilga Vision Group

LHS 3749 Group

Bactrib Patrons of Law

Futhorc Patron's Principles

Naunei Limited Independent

LP 320-359 League

Boom is usually the result of consistent trade profit and completed trade contracts. When a faction experiences a boom, the wealth of the system it controls temporarily increases and trade missions completed in the system have double the effect on influence. The faction's influence may also increase. Booms typically last until they naturally expire.

Here are the latest factions to experience an economic bust:

Sowiio Emperor's Grace

Cubeo Silver Advanced Industries

CD-66 2585 Purple Cartel

HIP 50661 Corporation

Jet Energy Industries

Piorimudjar Gold Boys

Integrated Gundiae

Sanda Confederacy

People's Party of LTT 1345

Kausalya Boys

When a faction experiences a bust, the wealth of the system it controls is temporarily reduced and the faction's influence is temporarily diminished. Trade actions do not contribute to boom while a bust is active. A bust typically has to run its course before ending.

Starport personnel across the Lave cluster are preparing for an increase in traffic, as pilots from the Buckyball Racing Club and the Elite Racers compete in their latest event. The 'Old World Hustle', which combines point-to-point rallies and zero-gravity aerobatics, runs from the 11th to the 19th of June 3302.

Despite being held in low esteem by authorities, both the Buckyball Racing Club and the Elite Racers are privately acknowledged as providing a boost to commerce in systems where their events take place, particularly by the proprietors of station bars and the purveyors of outfitting services.

"Insurance claims are good for business," said a salesman at the Lave Station shipyard, before hastily adding "although of course a pilot's safety is our primary concern."

Commander furrycat