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Remembering the Antares Incident

Continuing GalNet’s exclusive series highlighting key events in human history, historian Sima Kalhana remembers the Antares Incident.

In last week’s article about the Sirius Corporation, I described the Antares iIncident as one of the corporation’s greatest failures. Until the recent disappearance of Starship One, this was considered the most infamous spacegoing accident of all time.

The Highliner Antares was to be the first of a new type of fast, comfortable liner, making a trip in hours rather than the weeks that were common at the time, and offering a previously unseen level of luxury – something we are accustomed to in the top-class liners of today. It was the first ship to use a production version of a new type of hyperdrive, a predecessor to the modern fast hyperdrives.

The Antares vanished during its maiden voyage in the Sirius system in 3251, with many celebrity guests on board. The event is poignantly remembered in this quote from the Federal Times:

“Your reporter watched the departure of Antares on her maiden voyage, the monolayer streamers glinting in the harsh light of Sirius as she moved gently away from the orbital habitat and out to launch range. Spacemen talk of a graveyard of lost ships, a place where all who lose their lives in the colossal drive to colonise the galaxy rest in gentle luxury.

“We can be sure that the great Highliner Antares is now in their company.”

The exact cause of the accident was never properly determined. The final report indicated that it was most likely caused by the unlucky failure of a single component during the start of the jump, causing a small fire in a key part of the drive that resulted in a massive explosion and consequent misjump at the same time. There were, of course, a great many fanciful explanations, too.

Since the accident, no confirmed wreckage of the ship has ever been found, although several claims of discovery have been made over the years. Combined with the lack of a definitive cause, this has led to considerable speculation and many conspiracy theories concerning what actually occurred.

The final safety report into the incident found there were insufficient safety precautions within the internal drive systems. This delayed the commercial introduction of these drives for several years, damaging the Sirius Corporation, and ultimately resulting in the fitting of many additional safety features to these new hyperdrives. It was later speculated that the deaths of those on the Highliner Antares effectively saved the lives of many more in the subsequent decades, as the number of ships that went missing was measurably reduced, and the new drives proved to be much more reliable than the earlier, slower drives they replaced.

Meet the Powers – Li Yong-Rui

Sirius Gov CEO Li Yong-Rui is the focus of this seventh article from political commentator Marcus Macmillan about the movers and shakers in 3301.

In this week’s historical article from Sima Kalhana, she wrote about the founding of the Sirius Corporation. The Li dynasty’s involvement with the Sirius Corporation can be traced back to the company’s founding almost 800 years ago.

By the age of 25, Yong-Rui had earned doctorates in physics, politics and economics. He was hired by Sirius straight from college. He then quickly made his way up the ranks, and at the tender age of 35, Yong-Rui was made Vice President of Forecasting.

He has a proven track record in business, but has also demonstrated significant insight in the fuzzier elements and in particular how to provide effective government. With these skills he was considered the ideal candidate for Sirius Corporation’s new Sirius Gov division.

The Sim-Archive of Antal Opens to Visitors

For the first time in the history of Utopia, the famed Sim-Archive, located in Antal, is being opened to outside visitors.

The archive is a vast collection of memories stored as sims, allowing others to relive the experiences of Utopian pilgrims in the form of vivid virtual reality experiences. In the past, those sims have been used to educate Utopians and to reform dissidents within the community.

Today, pilots from across the galaxy can buy Utopian sims from the more limited, public section of the Sim-Archive. In a brief statement, Simguru Pranav Antal urged all-comers to travel to Antal.

"What we are offering to our brothers and sisters throughout the galaxy is an opportunity to learn, to experience, to live through the memories of thousands. From childlike wonder, through crushing terror, to unrestrained joy, the sims we offer are not just a means of entertainment, but the purest, most direct tool for achieving empathy and consensus."

A Week in Powerplay

It's time for another weekly report on the struggles of the foremost political powers in the galaxy. While several regions saw a more peaceful week, there have also been some big developments. Read on to find out who benefited, and who is tumbling down the rankings.

Arissa Lavigny-Duval has expanded her influence into another system with close to no opposition and fortified her space against some well-coordinated undermining by her enemies, all while providing the core of the fleet attacking Archon Delaine, showcasing her ability to project her power over the whole of inhabited space. With her administration rising to the challenge and recovering from recent turmoil, Arissa's territory is set to return to its previous growth.

Aisling Duval maintains her #1 spot in galactic rankings. This is partly due to her continuing growth at a time when some of her rivals are seeing internal difficulties, and partly because the Princess enjoyed a very peaceful week, with few reports of hostile activity in her space and no opposition to her expansions. With vast resources and an efficient PR machine at her disposal, Aisling is set to keep her galactic poll standing for the foreseeable future.

Zachary Hudson has lost standing this week, in part due to somewhat lacklustre expansion efforts, which saw one of his three attempted expansions stopped by hostile wings. However, the efforts of Hudson's supporters to fortify his vast territory have been remarkably successful, again showcasing the President's ability to withstand heavy undermining of his systems.

Felicia Winters has seen her space come under heavy assault this week. While Winters' supporters are by now extremely proficient at defending her space against enemy undermining action, two setbacks have hurt the Shadow President's ranking this week. The attempt to expand her influence into the system of Liburodo has been stopped by overwhelming enemy action, and Edmund Mahon's expansion into Lugh has contested Felicia's hold over several other systems, further taxing her administration.

Zemina Torval lost the support of several financial interests a few weeks ago, and continues to suffer from the after-effects of that, making another rise in the rankings unlikely for now. At the same time, however, Torval makes good use of limited resources, easily expanding to another system and fortifying much of her space. While the Senator continues to see only moderate enemy action in her space, she has once more suffered due to a focused strike against Tanghpon, which successfully undermined her control of that system.

Denton Patreus had a very successful week. While his supporters are still directing much of their attention to Operation Davy Jones, the Senator managed to expand his influence into two more systems, and successfully fortify and even outdo Archon Delaine in the hotly contested system of Cuchua, which both men have attempted to prepare for future expansion.

Edmund Mahon saw his quick rise to galactic prominence suffer some push-back this week. While his attempt to expand into Lugh was successful and his supporters successfully fortified his systems, the massive surge in enemy activity against the Alliance politician's forces may signal future difficulties, and his expansion into Lugh could trigger more conflict with Felicia Winters and Zachary Hudson. For now, however, Mahon's #3 standing is well deserved, and he enjoys a steady growth in support not enjoyed by his rivals.

Li Yong-Rui expanded into no fewer than five new systems this week. This, along with his successful fortification efforts, easily justifies his rise in galactic standings. Sirius Gov has so far seen few attempts by its rivals to stop its efforts, and it's not entirely clear how the corporation will cope once it's seriously challenged, but it's clear that Li Yong-Rui's organisation will not be returning to the bottom of the galactic ranking any time soon.

Archon Delaine is still in a difficult position, but his supporters have managed to limit the damage done by the Imperial attackers this week. While Operation Davy Jones succeeded in undermining the Kumo Crew's control of five key systems, better organised fortification efforts have actually left the pirate lord with more resources at his disposal than he had the week before. With no new expansions and the continuing assault by huge numbers of Imperial pilots, the pirate band is still in danger, but five weeks into the offensive they continue to resist and to test the resolve of their attackers.

Pranav Antal has spread the vision of Utopia into four new systems this week. This is an unprecedented surge for what has been one of the galaxy's less prominent powers. Utopians appear to credit this unexpected push to a new group of Commanders who are currently unidentified and not in communication with the rest of Pranav Antal's forces. If that force, nicknamed by some “The Many”, continues to support the Simguru, then Antal's rise to #9 in galactic rankings might yet be sustained. Further rise may be compromised by an ambitious attempt by Utopians to establish a commune in the distant colony of Sothis, which is sure to tax the organisation's scant resources.

Cerberus Plague Breakthrough

Medical personnel at Hart Station were unanimous in their praise for the many Commanders who delivered medicines to the Bast System as part of an ongoing effort to help those afflicted with the Cerberus Plague. A spokesperson at Hart Station released the following statement:

“We are immensely grateful to the 765 independent pilots who delivered medicine to the primary care facility here at Hart Station. Through their charitable efforts, we were able to bring relief to thousands of patients, and also to devote time we would not otherwise have had to our ongoing search for a cure. What’s more, we think we may have made a breakthrough in that area. So to all those who contributed, we just want to say a heartfelt thank you.”

Apparently, patients at Hart Station who were offered Ceremonial Heike Tea showed some improvement in their health. When other patients experienced similar recoveries, the local team ran tests and sent samples to Carl Simmons, Chief Medical Officer of Newton Dock in BD-02 4304, who is leading research into a cure. He offered the following brief statement:

“Patients were offered the tea simply to lift their spirits, but it apparently contains ingredients that can actually cure those afflicted with the pathogen. The tea is quite rare, however, and is only found in Heike, so I suspect it will be quite a challenge to gather the quantities that we need.”

We can only hope this news signals a turning point in the fight against the Cerberus Plague.

The Sirius Corporation – The First of the Mega-corporations

In this latest edition of GalNet’s series relating key points in human history, popular historian Sima Kalhana addresses the rise of the first mega-corporation.

Apart from a few isolated backwater systems, the presence of mega-corporations is ubiquitous throughout civilised space. Massive as many of these organisations are, none of them compare to the wealth and influence of the Sirius Corporation.

The rise of the largest corporation in history started in 2339 when the Sirius Corporation launched the first completely corporate colonial mission arrived in the Sirius star system. The continual state of conflict between the Federation and the Empire catapulted the Sirius Corporation into an economic powerhouse as they became the lead supplier of fuel, then later drives and other technologies.

Within a century, its products were integrated into military and civilian production. It also developed an envied trusted status with both superpowers and indeed supplied both sides during their conflicts. This in part was due to strict information restriction protocols and an open promise that it would favour neither side during any conflict.

The Sirius Corporation developed its own code of strict laws to ensure fair dealing as well as the good governance of its workforce. Its influence reached such a state that the so-called ‘Sirius Convention’ was applied not just during deals with the corporation, but between independent systems as well.

Throughout the years, fuel and drive production has remained their core business, although judicious expansion into other markets has driven its astronomical growth. The Sirius Corporation now operates several product-oriented divisions including: Sirius Catering, Sirius Mining, Sirius Power, Sirius Luxury Transports, Sirius Industrial and Sirius Atmospherics. Most recently they launched a new venture, Sirius Gov, to provide governmental services for population management on all scales.

Its history has been marked with some failures, most notable of which is the Antares incident which I will examine in the next article. However, its successes have far exceeded those failures and the Sirius Corporation remains the most powerful corporation in known space.

The Code Leaves Archon Delaine's Crew

Some months ago, Archon approaches Captain Anopheles of The Code and says: 'Ano, you're my kind of guy. Your crew has been making waves as the most successful of all the pirate crews. Come over to me and make an alliance. I have my tech guys making some sweeeeeeeet tech and I'm running my own space. You can be one of my trusted lieutenants if you bring your guys over."

That sounded good, so Anopheles took his boys over to Harma. Discontent started almost immediately when they learnt that running a couple of systems was less about scantily clad slave girls serving you rum and more about being a bureaucrat.

When the new weapon was revealed, that was the last straw for The Code as it wasn’t what they’d expected.

Captain Anopheles met with Archon and they have a frank and lively debate with added knives. The Code gave him two weeks for things to get better. Arechon refused to change for them, so The Code left.

The Code are going back to basics and going to be roaming the space lanes as "independent asset redistributors". In short, they have left the desk behind and have picked up their grappling hooks again.

A Week in Powerplay

It's time for another weekly report on the struggles of the foremost political powers in the galaxy. With ongoing hostilities throughout inhabited space, who has benefitted from the chaos, and who has lost favour?

Arissa Lavigny-Duval has mustered enough resources to continue expansion despite her focus on the Imperial offensive against the Kumo Crew. Arissa claimed HIP 32812 and Phracani almost entirely unopposed. At the same time, hostile wings have continued to undermine her territory, and while their efforts were largely contained, this disruption helped to push Lavigny-Duval into turmoil.

Aisling Duval claims the #1 spot in galactic rankings this week, after another round of rapid expansion. While Aisling's supporters succeeded in securing her systems against enemy incursions, the effort to claim HIP 95256 was stopped in a surprise opposition push that is variously blamed on either Mahon's pilots or other Imperials.

Zachary Hudson has for several weeks experienced severe efforts to undermine his control, but his supporters have consistently succeeded in fortification. However, while Hudson claimed two new systems, this week the President's enemies successfully undermined Hanggardi, pushing the administration into turmoil.

Felicia Winters saw her efforts to claim HDS 1065 and Potamoi fail, as Federal space continues to see heavy, regular infiltration by hostile Commanders. At the same time, the Shadow President managed to expand her influence to three new systems, and to counter undermining efforts by the means of well-coordinated fortification.

Zemina Torval saw another drop in support this week, reflected in the successful enemy undermining of Tanghpon and the failure of her expansion attempts into HIP 23824 and Mandhrithar. At the same time, remaining Torval associates made good use of their now-limited resources, securing Jamariges and shoring up vulnerable border systems.

Denton Patreus has had his supporters focus their efforts on just one system this week, expanding into Vaka and abandoning attempts elsewhere. This is likely due to many combat pilots pledged to the Senator focusing on the offensive against the Kumo Crew, which continues to take the pressure off Patreus' once-threatened systems.

Edmund Mahon expanded quickly this past week, just as he has for the last month. This allowed him to greatly expand his influence and climb the galactic rankings, but it presents the Alliance politician with a new problem. With Mahon's territory so spread out, fortification efforts are becoming increasingly difficult, and several systems have fallen into chaos following heavy undermining.

Li Yong-Rui has seen a growth both in territory and enemy action similar to Edmund Mahon's and with similar results. A combination of rapid expansion and increased undermining by hostile wings has thrown some of the Sirius Gov’s systems into a state of turmoil. While the situation is not as severe as for Mahon, thanks to extensive fortification, Li Yong-Rui’s troubles as a symptom of the same issues, an increasingly large territory policed by a stretched security force.

Archon Delaine put up a stern defence against the combined Imperial offensive into the Pegasi Sector for the past two weeks, but the first cracks have shown in the pirate crew's fortifications. Half a dozen of Archon's systems, including He Xians and San Muss, have been successfully undermined by Empire-aligned wings. While the pirate crew remains resolute in the face of the massive assault, securing two more systems this week, the pressure seems to only be increasing.

Pranav Antal successfully expanded into HIP 116213 after several failed attempts in the past. Speaking about the system a month ago, the Simguru called the planned new commune "an enlightened defence against the uncivilised horde". This provocative expansion was possible by the peace Utopia continues to see, with their space considered to be, in the recent weeks, one of the safest places in the galaxy, thanks to the relatively small organisation's non-threatening attitude towards its neighbours.

Commander Cadoc