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Sirius Corporation Discusses Thargoid Abductions

Sirius Corporation has revealed a long-running project to rescue people who were captured by the Thargoids.

CEO Li Yong-Rui made this statement during a press conference:

“Shortly after the early reports of Thargoid Interceptors collecting inhabited escape pods were received, Sirius has explored several possible countermeasures. Various remote recovery methods had been designed, although only a few prototypes were ever constructed.”

“Now that the Thargoids are conducting widespread, systematic abductions of living humans, we believe that this research may prove crucial to saving millions of lives. Sirius Corporation is willing to bypass the commercial potential of our work and share it directly with Aegis. I have personally requested a meeting with Professor Tesreau to provide details and discuss options.”

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Corcoran, who oversees the Alliance’s contributions to Aegis, was invited to comment by the Old Worlds Gazette:

“The Assembly has no knowledge of this project, since it falls outside of our strategic defence pact with Sirius Corporation. My concern is whether this comes with an expectation of a reciprocal data exchange. Li Yong-Rui’s offer sounds like an altruistic gesture, but sometimes the true price of information is unclear. I intend to discuss this with the other Aegis coordinators before any decisions are made.”

Aegis is currently gathering resources for an upgraded pulse wave xeno scanner, which can locate human captives held on Thargoid Titans. There has been speculation that Sirius Corporation’s research may prove useful to the anticipated next step: rescuing those abductees from their confinement.

Wallglass to Probe Rackham’s Past

The Federal Times has hired the Wallglass Investigations Agency to prove that presidential candidate Zachary Rackham was once a pirate lord.

Financial journalist Bryanna Blanco has long claimed that the business magnate obtained his initial fortune via piracy. Wallglass, an independent firm that is much respected in the intelligence community, is seeking evidence to validate this accusation.

Harlan Turk, Rackham’s running mate in the election, has lobbied for Congress to halt the investigation. He asserted: “The Federal Times is breaching the impartiality rules of journalism, and violating the security measures afforded to all presidential candidates.”

Political ICE-caster Sura Oyekan also voiced her objections: “This is an outrageous attack on the reputation of a respected public figure, a great man who has contributed so much to Federal commerce and culture.”

There was a more speculative approach from independent journalist Flint ‘Firemaker’ Lafosse:

“Hiring the Wallglass Investigations Agency to dig up dirt on Zachary Rackham is a smart move, albeit an expensive one. They’ll already have insights from their own detectives Gunnarson and Wolfe, who infiltrated the Jokers’ Deck gambling circle and found Rackham was a member. Or was he really there to quietly fund the coup against Archon Delaine by two of his own arch-corsairs? I think we all know the answer.”

“Wallglass might also have access to the finance systems of Rackham Capital Investments, which were originally acquired by a hacktivist group known as the Collective. These nameless geniuses stole a billion credits – the same amount suspiciously won by Rackham in the Federal Grand Lottery – and distributed it to former employees whose pensions had been illegally withheld. Bravo!”

“The latest rumours are that Wallglass has tracked down fellow pirate Taja Gavaris, the ex-CFO who attempted a corporate takeover. Allegedly she fled Federal space after Rackham counter-blackmailed her, but if anyone knows where the bodies are buried, it’s Gavaris. I’m expecting some juicy revelations soon.”

Thargoid War Update: August 3309

Vox Galactica’s Jade Sanderlyn reviews developments in the ongoing war against the Thargoids.

“There have been some impressive territorial gains against the Thargoids in recent weeks. The number of systems controlled by the Titans’ invasion fleets has tumbled, allowing many millions of people to return to their homes. This is largely thanks to coordinated action by independent pilots and anti-xeno squadrons.”

“However, I take no pleasure in reporting that the ‘unsubstantiated rumours’ I discussed last month are true. The Thargoids’ increased interest in capturing escape pods has been verified, with the appearance of a new vessel designed for this very task. Scythe-class hunters are now launching attacks en masse, using a combination of unique hull-breaching munitions and recovery drones to abduct living people.”

“It’s believed that the Scythes were responsible for the disappearance of thousands aboard the Dedicant. There’s a horrific irony that most of these abductees were members of the Order of the Far God, finally getting their wish to be saved by their ‘angels’. From the logs found aboard the megaship, adrift in the HIP 19600 system, there was nothing holy about the experience.”

“It’s fair to say that these latest revelations are further proof of the fluid nature of the war. They prove that the Thargoids are still adapting their tactics to the current challenge humans provide. What purposes they may have for human specimens remains unknown. But the psychological impact of that mystery – not knowing what they’re doing with the people they capture – will weaken the morale of many anti-xeno fighters.”

“Another discovery this month was a planetary site in the Wregoe BU-Y b2-0 system. This contained both Guardian ruins and crashed Thargoid vessels, and is only the second of its kind ever recorded. More intriguingly, Thargoids active in the region are not attacking human ships on sight.”

“Several pilots told me that this is still normal Thargoid behaviour near some of our populated nebula colonies. But xeno-peace activists feel that this discovery presents an opportunity. The Holloway Bioscience Institute is already planning an independent research expedition to the area. We’ll be watching what happens there very closely.”

“This is Jade Sanderlyn for Vox Galactica. Now more than ever, stay safe out there.”

Alien Abduction Evidence Increases

Newsfeeds and ICE-casts have reacted to Aegis’s theory that the Thargoids have purposefully captured tens of millions of living humans.

Eyewitness testimonies provided by independent pilots have given credence to this theory. Citizens’ Chronicle featured the following account from Imperial auxiliary Commander Luca Redondo:

“It was a sickening sight, watching Scythes hunt down survivors. A part of me wanted to start blasting the escape pods rather than let those poor people be eaten, or experimented on, or whatever the hell the Thargoids want them for. There was nothing my squadron could do to save them, not without risking the refugees we were carrying. I don’t think I’ll be sleeping well for a long time.”

Many reporters have interviewed people still waiting to hear from those who once lived in Thargoid-occupied systems. Vox Galactica has published several such stories:

“My ex-husband took our kids to visit his family last November, just before the Maelstroms arrived. Their last message was so happy, telling me their adventures, promising to call me tomorrow. But there was no tomorrow. Just static from the entire system. Every day since then I’ve contacted the refugee centres, repeating their names over and over. It’s my whole life now. There’s nothing else.”

An editorial in The Federal Free Press called for greater pressure to be placed on Aegis and the authorities:

“It’s outrageous that this was kept out of the public domain for so long, with the Thargoids taking prisoners for months. Why was this suppressed by those in power? We owe it to those millions of people to do everything we can to rescue them.”

An alternative viewpoint was outlined by Timothy Culver, a prominent xeno-peace activist, on his ICE-cast channel:

“Humans have been capturing and experimenting on Thargoids since we first encountered them, so we certainly don’t occupy the moral high ground. But I also believe that they are primarily seeking to understand us. I urge everyone to study Commander Rakowski’s recent report, which proves that not every Thargoid vessel sees us as an enemy.”

Distant Thargoid Encounter Raises Questions

An independent explorer has reported an unusual incident involving a Thargoid vessel, hundreds of light years away from the ongoing invasion.

Commander Renia Rakowski told her story to Vox Galactica:

“I’d been gathering exploration data for weeks without seeing another soul. Boring, I know, but I like a quiet life. As I jumped out of the Wregoe GA-X B3-0 system, my ship rocked violently and I panicked, thinking the hyperdrive had failed. I barely saw it at first, black against the black of space, until its outline glowed. A Thargoid interceptor. Just like on the newsfeeds, but right outside my canopy.”

“I’ve never been in combat before, and my ship carries no weapons anyway, so I thought this was the end of me. My heart was drumming as I stared at the alien, and it stared back like some giant lidless eye. A writhing light lashed out, this rasping howl came over the comms, and then… it left. I wasn’t dead, which was quite the surprise.”

“I watched it gliding away, its petals rotating and revolving, sort of beautifully I suppose. It actually turned its back on me, like I was some insignificant speck unworthy of attention. I’ve never been so glad to be boring.”

Commodore Emil Varga, the Alliance’s military liaison to Aegis, provided a follow-up statement:

“This incident took place a considerable distance from the Maelstroms. Initially, we feared this was evidence that new Titans had arrived and were performing a flanking manoeuvre. However, if the interceptor had been part of the invasion fleets, it would have opened fire immediately after hyperdiction occurred.”

“The immediate area around Wregoe GA-X B3-0 contains no barnacle sites or records of Thargoid activity that we’re aware of. Universal Cartographics confirmed we have some basic exploration data for that part of the Wregoe sector, but no previous Thargoid encounters. Civilians are warned to stay away from that region until we know more.”

Cultists Blamed for Dedicant Tragedy

President Zachary Hudson has accused the Order of the Far God of being directly responsible for the fate of the Dedicant megaship.

“Our assessment of these Thargoid-worshipping extremists has been proved correct,” he told The Federal Times. “Hijacking the Dedicant to deliver it to their alien gods is an act of treason and mass murder.”

“I have ordered the Proactive Detection Bureau to root out every deluded individual with sympathies for this twisted cult. Automatic life sentences will ensure that these traitors never again put innocent people at risk.”

The declaration brought political pressure on all three presidential candidates to state their intentions for the Far God cult should they be elected.

Vice President Jerome Archer: “I will be pleased to continue President Hudson’s policy on dealing with these religious fanatics: stricter controls, increased surveillance and tougher sentences.”

Shadow President Felicia Winters: “Regardless of their misguided beliefs, thousands of former citizens also lost their lives during this Thargoid attack. I am lobbying for an independent security review into these tragic events.”

Zachary Rackham: “Hear me out. There’s a simple solution to all this. When I’m president, only criminals will pay tax. That’ll be a far more effective deterrent than imprisonment!”

Dr Alfred Ulyanov, an expert on the Order of the Far God, observed that the cultists had no way of communicating with the Thargoids: “The deeply distressing logs found on the Dedicant prove that the arrival of the Thargoids was unexpected, and certainly not the rapturous experience they believed it would be.”

The Federal Intelligence Agency is continuing to investigate the Dedicant in the HIP 19600 system. The Alliance’s amnesty programme with the Federation has been officially halted, but the Far God religion remains legal in most Allied territories.

The Fate of the Dedicant

*Pilots’ Federation ALERT*

The lost megaship Dedicant has been located in HIP 19600, with signs of Thargoid attack and all inhabitants missing.

The Dedicant was being prepared by Federal authorities to deport imprisoned members of the Order of the Far God when it unexpectedly jumped into hyperspace. Pilots who helped decipher its fragmented distress call were informed of the recent discovery by the Imperial Navy.

Executive Agent Jalen Locke of the Federal Intelligence Agency issued a statement:

“We can confirm that the Dedicant has been discovered adrift in the HIP 19600 system. There is evidence that the Thargoids penetrated the hull in multiple locations, and thousands of escape pods were launched. Unusually, there are no bodies onboard and we have not been able to locate any of the escape pods. The whereabouts of all three FIA security teams and over 8,000 Far God cultists cannot be determined.”

“A series of personal logs, portraying some harrowing experiences, are helping us to piece together what happened during the Dedicant’s disappearance. We are liaising with military intelligence to learn more.”

In related news, Aegis made an announcement on all public channels:

“Independent observers have detected a new type of Thargoid vessel operating within the Maelstroms. Little is known of their capabilities as yet. They have been provisionally classified as a ‘hunter’ due to their size, which is similar to the Glaive.”

“Aegis has only corroborated sightings of these ships in close proximity to the Thargoid Titans. However, we have received reports that they may be active elsewhere. Pilots are advised to exercise maximum caution if they encounter these vessels.”

Thargoid War Update: July 3309

Vox Galactica journalist Jade Sanderlyn reports on the latest news emerging from the front lines of the conflict.

“Events in the war continue to move quickly, sometimes outpacing the ‘speed of news’. In my last update, I mentioned that the Thargoids had occupied over a thousand systems. But by the time that was published, the number had reduced considerably. According to my sources, anti-xeno squadrons and independent pilots are reclaiming systems at a higher rate than Thargoids can conquer them.”

“This incredible achievement suggests we are finally gaining the advantage in this war. The hopelessness that many have felt over the last nine months is now tempered with optimism. Our naval forces are proving that the alien fleet is not undefeatable.”

“My sources also passed on some unsettling stories from pilots working beyond the frontline systems. A few of them seem to think that the Thargoids’ interest in occupied escape pods – which is well documented – has recently increased. Apparently, there have been claims that Thargoid vessels went out of their way to abduct escape pods launched from ships damaged in battle.”

“These are little more than unsubstantiated rumours, of course, and not something I would usually include in a factual report. But we know so little about the Thargoids that even circumstantial changes in their behaviour might be significant. And I can’t be the only one who finds such tales chilling.”

“Otherwise, the most significant news this month was Azimuth Biotech’s corporate convention and the launch of its AX module redesign. Aegis clearly has the lead in both public sentiment and government support at this time, but it seems like Azimuth has no intention of ceasing its contributions to the war effort anytime soon.”

“This is Jade Sanderlyn for Vox Galactica. Stay safe out there.”