Galnet News

The results are in and Zachary Hudson is the overwhelming choice for the new President of the Federation.

A record number of attendees appeared in Congress on Mars to take part in yesterday's Vote of No Confidence against the Liberal Administration, with almost every member of Congress appearing in person to cast their vote.

In the end, a shocking 66% of Congress voted to remove the Liberal Administration from office, a clear indicator that the collected Federal worlds feel a change in leadership style is necessary. Surprisingly, a large number of known Liberal supporters voted to remove their own leadership from power. Most commentators agree that this is a reflection on Halsey’s actions and the current unpopularity of Federal government among frontier systems. Winters needs to build her own supporter base before she can bring power back to the Liberals.

President Hudson will be officially sworn into office later today, after which he is expected to spend the remainder of the week finalising his administration. Most of the previous Shadow Cabinet are expected to be included, although as always some change is inevitable.

The Federal Republican Association has gained a massive swell of support over the last year. Now that President Hudson is officially in office, we can expect a much more aggressive stance on decision-making coming from Mars once the new administration is fully established.

The Federal Navy has today released its official report into the disappearance of Starship One. As expected, the 600,000 word document provides a detailed analysis of the inner workings of Starship One.

The report confirms that the abnormal energy signature detected by Guardian Wing Alpha, immediately prior to Starship One’s last known jump, was almost certainly caused by mechanical failure. The report includes an in depth comparison with the failure of the Highliner Antares and concludes there were remarkable similarities in the unusual failure mode, and it is still unclear why the automatic shutdown systems did not operate (most of which were not present on the Antares). The failure began with a power surge in the central power plant – something not especially unusual in a high capacity hydrogen reactor – causing several other core systems to overload.

Despite going over hours of evidence, including video feeds detailing the last several days of life aboard all four ships of Starflight One, investigators were not able to identify any signs of foul play. In the end, the team has concluded that the cause of Starship One’s loss was a complex multi-stage engine failure.

Members of Congress from across the Federation have made their way to Mars today, in response to Shadow President Hudson's call for a Vote of No Confidence Against the current administration.

For months now, the Shadow President has been involved in an intense lobbying campaign against President Halsey and her administration. The Shadow President has pointed to the loss of dozens of member states to the Alliance, a rampant increase in crime rates, and a defanged Federal Navy as some of the more devastating effects of Jasmina's time in office.

However, now that President Halsey no longer appears to be a concern, Congress could decide to allow Acting President Winters to assume the office of President in Jasmina's stead. Felicia Winters has always been very popular amongst Congress, even before her ascension to the office of Secretary of State. Now that she's assumed the role of Acting President, it's could be possible that her peers will elect to see what kind of leader Felicia will be.

Members of Congress will be permitted to cast their vote at any time in the next 12 hours. Last-minute lobbying efforts from both sides are expected to be extremely intense, although pundits believe that Shadow President Zachary Hudson will almost certainly carry the day.

After a series of skirmishes between independent pilots and pirates, as well as the drawn out battle against the Sobek Boys, 78 Ursae Majoris was facing a security threat in the run-up to Federal President Jasmina Halsey’s planned visit. News of the catastrophic accident that is believed to have consumed Starship One, and taken the President’s life, has been spreading through the galaxy, but 78 Ursae Majoris has now been secured.

The system saw a huge influx of independent pilots as Andrew Bailey, Mayor of Townshend Hub and local leader of the Alioth Independents, declared the security and military campaign. Independent pilots were tasked with eradicating criminal elements in and around Alliance territory, along with being enlisted in a military campaign against the Sobek Boys, a criminal syndicate operating from the Sobek system. There was a lull in fighting the Sobek Boys however, as the objective took a few days to actually reach a completion mark. Some might think there might be more behind as to why this objective wasn't touched in the starting days. Ivan Shevchenko, a known mercenary and fighter pilot, has given us his opinion on the matter:

"There is a large difference between fighting traditional asteroid belt pirates, and a well organized militia force. And that isn't something I say lightly, having been in the conflict areas. The Sobek Boys' ships were well armed and heavily reinforced. A whole gang of pirates running around with that kind of gear is bad for any system or region of space. But that could also be the reason as to why nobody was really wanting to fight them. Nobody wants to be tangled up against that kind of firepower, even I don't and I own one of the best bounty hunting vessels you can get. On the other hand, independent pilots could've also been distracted by the other directive Mayor Bailey put out to stopping pirate activity. At the same time though I have to say, who knows. I suppose in the end though, all of us who helped put a stop to the Sobek Boys and pirate activities in and around 78 Ursae Majoris did a very good thing for the Alliance and its members."

- CMDR Shevchenko

It has now been 5 days since Starship One lost contact, and the search and rescue teams have yet to find any trace of the missing ship or her crew.

According to Lieutenant Barringer of the Federal Transport Safety Administration:

“Starship One’s disappearance appears to have been caused by a major malfunction in the Frame Shift Drive’s safety systems. It looks like there was a major power surge, followed by four separate system failures in quick succession according to the data we have, resulting in a catastrophic explosion. We do not believe this explosion would have been survivable by anyone on board.”

“The FTSA has seen each of these failures in commercial and military hyperdrives in the last few years, but each one has resulted in the drive shutting down and the ship failing to enter hyperspace.

“There are strong similarities with the loss of the Highliner Antares in 3251, but since then we have many more safety systems designed to prevent such failures. At the moment it looks like this was a terribly unlucky tragic accident. We have not found any evidence of tampering, and all the systems passed their automated pre-flight checks.”

“Our condolences go out to the loved ones of those lost.”

There is blood in the water and the politicians have begun hunting their prey.

Yesterday, Shadow President Hudson placed a motion before Congress asking that they issue a Vote of No Confidence against President Halsey’s administration. The motion was accepted, and the vote has been scheduled to take place on Monday afternoon.

According to historic procedure, if a Vote of No Confidence in the encumbent President succeeds, then the Shadow President gets the chance to form an administration, which in turn is then put to a vote. If this fails, then a full congressional election is triggered.

The Shadow President succeeding in these circumstances is not unheard of, but pretty rare. The last occasion was when the increasingly unpopular Eugene Cooper was ousted by the charismatic Antonia Madison in 3264 following a mid-term Vote of No Confidence.

Following Shadow President Zachary Hudson’s call to have Congress issue a Vote of No Confidence against President Jasmina Halsey, Acting President Felicia Winters held a press conference outside Congress to address the Shadow President’s concerns about the future.

“Let me start by saying how truly saddened I am by the loss of my long time friend, Jasmina. I know that were she here instead of me, she would be deeply disappointed with the fear-mongering being bandied about by members of the opposition. Nevertheless we have to bow to process.”

“In order to allow a right and proper number of representatives from the frontier worlds to attend, Congress will meet on Monday to formally vote on the future of the Federation. Should I be chosen to continue to serve, I promise that you will get the kind of president that you deserve.”

Shadow President Zachary Hudson has continued his criticism of Halsey’s administration, finally moving to the feared vote of no confidence. In his address to Congress, Shadow President Hudson has made it clear the situation needs a resolution.

“These are uncertain times and, with no disrespect to Jasmina’s memory, we need to put an end to this weak administration and bring our beloved Federation back on track. We cannot allow ourselves the luxury of wallowing in this state of horrendous disarray for even a moment longer.”

“Had Jasmina returned, it would have made no difference. She was away trying to raise support from the frontier as she knew this vote of no confidence was coming. I call for it now. Let’s get it out of the way and move on, here on Mars and throughout the Federation.”

“We are not some Imperial dynasty. We do not allow the whims of our dead to dictate terms to the living.”

“As such, in her absence, and without any ill intent towards Secretary Winters, I am issuing a call for a vote of no confidence against the current administration.”

Shadow President Hudson today called an Emergency Session of Congress to address concerns surrounding Starship One’s disappearance.

During the meeting, the Shadow President openly mocked the idea that Starship One’s disappearance could have been caused by simple engine failure.

“Jasmina and I weren’t close – heck, we hated each other, and that’s the truth of it. But the idea, the very notion, that our best and brightest out there on Starship One would have let that bird fly with a busted engine... No way. Those guys are military. We need to be looking for who did it. We need to nail them NOW. The assassin is busy covering their tracks while we speak. This dithering inaction and woolly thinking is typical of this administration. Let’s face it Halsey had enough enemies like those onionhead guys, numerous frontier systems she has annoyed, and the elephant in the room – the Empire.”

Acting President Winters took a more levelled approach.

“I appreciate the sheer gamut of emotions my esteemed colleague must be feeling, but at times like these, level heads must prevail. We have found no evidence of foul play as yet. Our engineers are sifting through copious amounts of data and so far it does look like a very unusual catastrophic failure rather than sabotage.”

Despite claims that the disappearance of Starship One was due to a failure in the ship’s Frame Shift Drive, rumours abound about a more sinister, possibly extraterrestrial explanation.

Alex Snoori, host of the popular interstellar talk show Beyond Top Secret, had this to say to his listeners.

“It’s an outrage, that’s what it is. Do you think those Martian fat cats that rule over us want you to know the truth? I don’t think so.”

“Learn your history, people. It wasn’t all that long ago that our ancestors were being plucked out of the black right into the belly of bugs. Wake up sheeple, you don’t want to be sitting around dressed up like mutton when they come for you. Do not let the government tell you lies. You’re smarter than that.”

“There’s been a lot of hullabaloo about strange things being found out there recently. Weird, pulsing, alien things. I don’t know where they came from, but I do know that they’re creepy, and gross, and almost certainly dangerous. You think it’s a coincidence that the President went missing just weeks after those THINGS turn up? Don’t be so naive. WAKE UP sheeple, you’re being lied to.”