Galnet News

Delegations have been formed by the Empire and the Marlinist Colonies to take part in the forthcoming diplomatic conference.

Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval will not attend in person, but will be directly represented by Chancellor Anders Blaine. During the conference, Senator Zemina Torval will temporarily assume chancellor duties and act as head of the Senate.

In addition, Princess Aisling Duval and Senator Denton Patreus will be in attendance. They will be accompanied by experienced ambassadors from the Imperial Diplomatic Corps.

The Marlinist Colonies have also finalised their delegation, which includes First Minister Jenna Fairfax and Minister Aaron Whyte. A spokesperson for the Marlinist Parliament said:

“The Galactic Summit offers us an opportunity to engage with the Empire diplomatically, and we sincerely hope our voices will be heard. We also aim to establish mutually beneficial relations with other governments.”

There is widespread speculation on how the Empire will respond to political overtures from its own ex-citizens, who were persecuted for following the democratic ideology of Marlinism. However, most societies within the Marlinist Colonies still remain culturally Imperial in nature, despite their republican governance.

The Galactic Summit is being hosted by Sirius Corporation and will officially commence on Thursday the 25th of February 3307.

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

Jupiter Division ships have engaged in battle with rival Federal vessels in the HIP 54530 system.

Loyalists to former Core Dynamics CEO Jupiter Rochester have built their own breakaway faction in HIP 54530. The FIA suspects that Jupiter Division agents first infiltrated the HIP 54530 Gold Universal Group years ago, and permit locked the system to conceal their efforts to overtake it from within.

The self-appointed Supreme Executive Rochester declared:

“The Federation is choking to death on its outdated bureaucracy – only corporate rule can save it! But first the galactic community must protect my followers, so I can establish a permanent base of operations.”

Director Theodore Sullivan of the Silver Legal Group announced:

“We will not tolerate these criminals illegally controlling this system. Once victory is won, the Federation will be able to bring Rochester to justice.”

Jupiter Division has offered generous rewards to any pilots willing to help secure its presence in the HIP 54530 system. The Silver Legal Group has asked Federal auxiliaries to support its efforts to degrade Jupiter Division’s military force.

The Pilots Federation has agreed to supply all ships participating in this conflict with temporary permits to access HIP 54530. These will expire early on Thursday the 18th of February 3307.

However, neither permanent nor temporary system permits apply to fleet carriers, since they are capable of ferrying vessels which could evade detection and authorisation.

The acquisition of Lakon Spaceways by Core Dynamics has been revoked following revelations of illegal activity.

An inquiry by the Independent Commission for Market Equality stated that former Core Dynamics CEO Jupiter Rochester “exerted unduly influence on Lakon shareholders, including bribery and blackmail”. This led to new appointees to the board of directors, who were paid to approve the hostile takeover.

The inquiry also factored in the recent Federal High Court trial, which proved that Jupiter Rochester was directly responsible for the destruction of Starship One in 3301. In both cases, he set up shell companies to move enormous funds via unregistered banking systems.

Core Dynamics refused to comment on the allegations, but its legal team has terminated the transfer process. The entire corporation is currently in disarray due to several departments becoming an independent faction under the name Jupiter Division.

At Lakon Spaceways, Trent Delaney and several other directors have resigned. During an emergency meeting, a majority of stakeholders approved reinstating Naomi Landseer as chairperson.

With stock values plummeting and industry confidence low, the future of the company remains uncertain. However, Sirius Corporation confirmed that it has made preliminary offers with regards to acquiring Lakon as a subsidiary.

Several departments loyal to the Core Dynamics CEO have seceded to form an independent corporate republic called Jupiter Division.

During the recent trial of Fleet Admiral Vincent, Jupiter Rochester was named as the paymaster behind the sabotage of Starship One. This hastened long-term plans to abscond from Core Dynamics along with many ships and personnel.

In the permit-locked HIP 54530 system, the HIP 54530 Gold Universal Group has been renamed as Jupiter Division. It is assumed to have long been infiltrated by Rochester’s loyalists.

Using the new self-appointed title of Supreme Executive Rochester, he broadcast this statement across all Federal media channels:

“For many years, I helped Core Dynamics become one of the galaxy’s strongest companies, but petty laws and bureaucracy restricted me at every turn. I have always felt that people should not be ruled by politicians, but by those holding true economic power – the corporations.”

“It will be a long time before I can act on my commercial plans, but I will prove that corporate rule is the most beneficial system of governance for the Federation.”

Jupiter Rochester is the eldest son of Shadow Vice President Isolde Rochester, and a key member of the influential Rochester family. As yet there have been no public statements from his mother or siblings.

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

This is an emergency bulletin to alert independent pilots that kidnappers are operating in the vicinity of the HR 6828 system.

The Pilots Federation has received reports of untrustworthy offers being made to Commanders who recently obtained their pilot’s licence.

These involve the owners of Drake-class fleet carriers enticing a pilot to outfit their ship for mining operations, before docking with the larger vessel. It then makes a series of jumps, to a distant star system over 800 light years away, taking the docked ship with it.

The Commander is encouraged to work on mining hotspots in order to produce income for the fleet carrier. However, their own ship’s limited jump range means they are effectively marooned, and reliant upon the fleet carrier to be returned to their starting system.

All pilots are therefore advised to beware of hails directing them to HR 6828 or systems in that area. It is also important to exercise extreme caution when docking with any fleet carrier whose owner is unknown.

The Pilots Federation has requested that this bulletin be shared by all members across public channels. It has also been distributed to major newsfeeds including The Alliance Tribune, The Federal Times, The Imperial Herald and Vox Galactica.

A Federal High Court jury has found Fleet Admiral Lucas Vincent guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and treason.

The court heard how Vincent worked with Core Dynamics CEO Jupiter Rochester to sabotage Starship One and assassinate then-President Jasmina Halsey, in order to increase military contracts.

The Federal Times’s crime correspondent Ethan Takahashi observed:

“Within minutes of Vincent receiving a life sentence, Federal Intelligence Agency teams arrested several co-conspirators in the Federal Navy along with some government officials.”

“Jupiter Rochester himself has evaded arrest by fleeing to the HIP 54530 system, where loyalists within Core Dynamics are establishing a breakaway faction named Jupiter Division. Industry analysts believe that this corporate split has long been planned, but is being accelerated because of the trial.”

“Rochester’s responsibility for the Starship One tragedy raises many questions, especially for his powerful family. It will certainly fuel the conspiracy theory that he is a member of a covert group of powerful figures, who manipulate events to benefit the military/industrial complex.”

“However, a more plausible theory – that Zachary Hudson was responsible – now seems to have been debunked. Nothing presented in court suggested that the president had any involvement in, or knowledge of, the plan to eliminate his predecessor.”

Core Dynamics CEO Jupiter Rochester has been accused of collaborating with Fleet Admiral Vincent to orchestrate Starship One’s destruction in 3301.

As reported by Ethan Takahashi for The Federal Times:

“Financial data was presented to the court showing that Vincent, along with others in government and the Federal Navy, received colossal payments via shell companies created by Jupiter Rochester’s loyalists.”

“The prosecution claimed that Rochester and Vincent were reacting to then-President Jasmina Halsey’s intention to scale back military spending, which would impact Core Dynamics’s profits. They arranged to assassinate her and lay groundwork for Zachary Hudson to be voted into power, knowing that his policies would result in further naval contracts.”

“The defence argued that Halsey’s testimony was unreliable, and that the financial data was obtained via improper methods so should have been inadmissible. It was also pointed out that the Rochester family had many enemies determined to besmirch their reputation.”

“The jury has now been sequestered to determine a verdict. This means they are unaware of media reports that several Core Dynamics departments, known collectively as ‘Jupiter Division’, are transporting ships and personnel to the HIP 54530 system.”

Other sources confirmed that the HIP 54530 Gold Universal Group has officially assumed the name Jupiter Division, suggesting that it was heavily infiltrated by Rochester’s loyalists. The faction has retained control of the permit-locked HIP 54530 system.

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

The engineer Liz Ryder has requested mined materials to help make a previously unique ship module widely available.

The module is a fully engineered lightweight and high capacity Class 2 Seeker Missile Rack with thermal cascade. It was offered in October 3306 to pilots who helped defend the Eurybia system from Imperial forces. At the time, the Empire suspected Liz Ryder of supplying weapons to the NMLA terrorist group.

Ms Ryder has announced that her aim is to make this specially modified weapon available for purchase at all human technology brokers. She added:

“Pilots can help kick-start this project by providing mined commodities, which will temporarily reduce the amount of materials that customers require to obtain the missile rack. As a bonus, the highest contributors to this initiative will be gifted with the module.”

“I’m pleased to be working with tech brokers to add this to the market. Many engineers think we could do more to serve the galactic community, and this is a step in that direction.”

Shipments of bromellite, lithium hydroxide, osmium and samarium can be delivered to Awyra Flirble in the Eurybia system.

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

An Imperial Intelligence detention facility discovered in the R CRA Sector AF-A d42 system has been repudiated by the Empire.

The outpost, named Serene Harbour, was located after its distress call was shared publicly by the Pilots Federation. According to the Commander Andee-X- who first investigated the site, all its occupants were dead as the result of what appeared to be a prisoner breakout.

Unlike the Imperial Internal Security Service, the Imperial Intelligence organisation has no spokespeople or public channels. However, Senator Karl Nerva told the media:

“The claim that high-security prisoners and terrorists are being tortured for information in an unregistered outpost is categorically false. There is no such place as ‘Serene Harbour’.”

“We believe that independent pilots have been duped by a Federal ploy to undermine the Empire, using fake locations and logs for theatrical effect. I assure all citizens that Imperial Intelligence operates fully within the law and remains vigilant against all threats.”

When asked about Commandant Gabriel De Luca, who was identified by surviving logs at the outpost, Senator Nerva replied:

“Captain De Luca was indeed an agent of Imperial Intelligence, but died on active duty several years ago. It’s obvious that this respected hero’s identity has been stolen to add credibility to anti-Imperial disinformation.”

Evidence presented at the trial of Fleet Admiral Vincent suggested financial links to Federal shipbuilding corporation Core Dynamics.

This significant development was covered by Ethan Takahashi for The Federal Times:

“The initial investigations around Starship One’s destruction in 3301 were outlined by the prosecution. When the Federal Attorney’s Office revisited this historical data, traces were found of financial transfers routed through non-Federation banking systems.”

“The FAO brought in the expertise of the Wallglass Investigations Agency, which discovered that these transactions were made via shell companies created by Core Dynamics. Fleet Admiral Vincent, as well as several other naval officers, received billions of credits through these companies that went undeclared.”

“Vincent refused to answer any questions about this evidence, once again claiming that he is the victim of a conspiracy to hand the presidency to Felicia Winters.”

Despite multiple requests from the press, Core Dynamics has not made any public comment. There are unverified reports of large-scale activity taking place at some of the corporation’s centres of operation.