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Freelance Report: A Year of Buckyball Racing

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

Galactic News: Knives Drawn

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.

Galactic News: EG Pliots win Rise to Power

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."

Freelance Report: Moon-Landing Anniversary Race

The historical re-enactment society Ex Luna Scientia has partnered with the Buckyball Racing Club to organise a commemorative race celebrating the 1,333rd anniversary of the first landing on Earth's Moon.

The Fly Me to the Moon race will run from the 19th to the 21st of July and will start at Lem Dock in the Chaac system. The finish line is at Moon Prospect in the Turot system, where participants will compete in surface racing in their rovers.

The race is open to everyone, from regular Buckyballers to first-time racers. The race committee has suggested that, due to the risks involved, all participants take out full insurance coverage.

Commander Aken B

Community Goal: The Rise to Power Continues

The first stage of the Rise to Power campaign is over, and the second is about to begin.

This phase of the competition will focus on what has been euphemistically referred to as commodity reallocation, with pilots being asked to gather as many technical blueprints as they can for their chosen faction. The only condition is that the technical blueprints be obtained unlawfully...which is to say stolen. The group with the most technical blueprints at the end of the event will be declared the winner.

The Rise to Power competition will run for a total of three weeks, and the victor will go on to join the ranks of the galaxy's major power players.

The event begins on the 7th of July 3302 and will run for one week.

Galactic News: EG Pilots Victorious

Last week saw the start of the Rise to Power competition, a three-week campaign to determine which of the galaxy's largest factions wields the greatest degree of power and influence. The winner of the competition will be in a position to compete with the galaxy's major power players.

The first Rise to Power event required pilots to gather Gilya signature weapons for their chosen faction and deliver it to Gohar Station in the Jaradharre system. The week-long event saw plenty of conflict, with pilots doing everything in their power to disrupt their rivals' operations.

The final tally indicates that the EG Pilots are the winner of the first Rise to Power heat, having received the largest quantity of Gilya signature weapons. But whether the EG Pilots will claim ultimate victory remains to be seen.

Community Goal: The Rise to Power Begins

For much of the past month, the galactic community has been captivated by the Dangerous Games, a semi-official competition organised by some of the galaxy's largest factions to determine which wields the greatest degree of power and influence.

Three events have taken place so far, with pilots from across the galaxy fighting fervently to support their chosen group. With the 'Wildcard' stage of the competition over, it is time for the main event to begin.

Trinity Avon, a reporter for The Sovereign, explained how the Rise to Power will work:

"There are six factions taking part: the EG Pilots, the Alliance Elite Diplomatic Corps, the Border Coalition, GalCop, the Interstellar Communist Union and the Social Eleu Progressive Party. Over the next three weeks, there will be a series of campaigns in which each faction will try to rally as much support as possible. The faction that dominates its rivals will join the ranks of the galaxy's most powerful."

The first Rise to Power event requires pilots to gather Gilya signature weapons for their chosen faction and deliver them to Gohar Station in the Jaradharre system. The faction that accumulates the most Gilya signature weapons will be declared the winner of the first heat.

The event begins on the 30th of June 3302 and will run for one week.

Galactic News: EG Pilots win Wildcard Competition

The third and final heat of the Dangerous Games Wildcard competition is over.

For this stage of the competition, pilots were asked to fill their cargo holds with conductive fabrics and deliver them to Tartarus Point for their chosen faction. Hundreds of pilots participated in the event, eager to help their faction secure a place in the Dangerous Games. But ultimately it was the EG Pilots that accumulated the most conductive fabrics and once again claimed victory.

With the competition over, the results of each heat have been reviewed to determine which faction received the most support over the course of the campaign. The final result indicates that the winner of the Dangerous Games Wildcard competition is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the EG Pilots.

The EG Pilots will now enter the Dangerous Games, competing with the Alliance Elite Diplomatic Corps, the Border Coalition, GalCop, the Interstellar Communist Union and the Social Eleu Progressive Party for the right to join the ranks of the galaxy's most powerful.

Trinity Avon, a reporter for The Sovereign, commented on what has proved to be a dramatic competition:

"Each faction has enjoyed its share of success, but ultimately there could be only one winner. The EG Pilots have proved they can attract considerable support, but does that mean they can go toe to toe with the likes of the Alliance Elite Diplomatic Corps and the Social Eleu Progressive Party? Only time will tell."

The Dangerous Games will begin on the 30th of June.