Galnet archive

Shades of the Antares Incident

At a press conference held earlier today, Acting Federal President Felicia Winters made a personal appearance to address the rdisappearance of Starship One after failing to re-enter normal space following a routine hyperspace jump.

“The disappearance of Starship One has us all on edge. Tensions are high, and the rumour mills are making all their usual noise about terrorists, aliens, conspiracies and cover-ups. I’m afraid the truth will likely get you all far fewer viewers, but it is the truth that the people of the Federation need to hear from me now.”

“I’m told the early investigations from telemetry and uplink data suggest an explosive drive failure destroyed Starship One in hyperspace, catapulting all three of her protective Guardian Wing out of hyperspace. Wreckage is likely spread across interstellar space. I’m told there are parallels with the loss of the Highliner Antares way back in 3251 when she was lost with all hands on her maiden voyage.”

“I know I remember where I was when the Highliner Antares disappeared, and I fear we will always remember where we were the day Starship One was lost.”

“While we don’t know what caused this incident – yet – we do know that Starship One’s engines experienced an unexpected surge of power just seconds before making its last jump.”

“The search efforts will continue, of course. Our hearts and hope go out to the friends and families of President Halsey and all those lost yesterday in this terrible incident.”

Securing the Borders in the Ceti Sector

The return of Onionhead to Panem may be a blessing for the farmers of Kappa Fornacis, but for their neighbours, the Fornacian dream has turned into a living nightmare.

“It’s not right,” one concerned resident of the nearby BD-18 394 system told GalNet. “Sure, they’re doing alright over there in Kappa F, but what about us? What do we get? I’ll tell you, smugglers and pirates, that’s what.”

Crime has spiralled out of control throughout the Ceti Sector, with many locals echoing the sentiment that the Farmers Union of Kappa Fornacis should be held responsible for attracting such unsavoury characters to what was once a peaceful area.

In an attempt to clean up the sector, the Independent Autahenetsi Labour Party are currently offering a range of bonus payments to any Bounty Hunters who sign up to act as Federal Ceti Sector Security Services Agents at Artyukhin Ring in Autahenetsi.

Arissa Addresses Problems in Persephone

Speaking from the site of her new palace on Kamadhenu, Princess Lavigny-Duval today addressed the recent problems faced by residents of Persephone in the face of a plague outbreak which was brought to the system by the refugees from Quivira.

“I understand the concerns of the citizens of Persephone, and I am sorry for their plight. However, the illness affecting the refugees, many of whom are malnourished and woefully lax in terms of adequate vaccination cover, is not something that should concern the locals.”

“Of more concern to locals should be the increase in pirate activity, which I have been reliably informed is up by almost 600% since Patreus decided to start throwing his weight around.”

“The people of Quivira certainly need help, but it is their patron’s responsibility to help them, not mine. I’m sure Aisling is more than capable of handling this problem herself. However, if she wishes for my help I will of course be happy to oblige. We are family, after all.”

Extraordinary Transmission Contesting Dr Arcanonn

After recent terrorist activities in 78 Ursae Majoris, GalNet received multiple reports about a single transmission regarding Dr Arcanonn, that has been broadcast via various radio stations throughout known inhabited space simultaneously without their approval.

GalNet was provided with a recording of the audio message:

“It doesn’t matter who I am. My message is clear and simple. You have all been deceived by a charismatic individual calling himself a scientist, full of misled ambitions, going by the name of Dr Arcanonn. He is taking advantage of the picture in your head of him being peaceful and reasonable for the greater good, but your support is being utilized and shamefully exploited. But who am I to trust? What do my words of prudence, my voice of sanity matter?”

“Just look at his last statement, indirectly acknowledging terrorism, clearly showing that he is willing to do everything to achieve his own goals.”

The voice goes on, describing the researcher’s various unsafe attempts to solve the artefact’s secrets and describing the Doctor’s demands for information as a masked attempt to sow the seeds of discord between them. The message closes with a call to stop the group’s support:

“Don’t let yourself be fooled. Open your eyes and see the clear truth unfolded in front of you. I’m asking for your sanity! Don’t let history repeat itself! Remember!”

It is still unknown how the coordinated transmission was achieved, as it presents a serious effort.

The respective station owners are also researching how that broadcast was routed into their programmes and deny any previous knowledge or even support to allow this transmission.

Anti-Federation Terrorists Linked to Artefact Research

Over the course of the weekend hundreds of tons of Bio-Waste were dumped in and around stations in 78 Ursae Majoris. This system is currently undergoing preparations for President Halsey's arrival as part of her planned grand tour. A group calling themselves 'The Canonn' claims responsibility for this act.

An anonymous spokesperson told GalNet that they are "a movement of like-minded Commanders seeking the truth about the recently discovered 'Unknown Artefacts'." They state that they are "prepared to use whatever levers are at their disposal to increase the political pressure on the Federation government to force them to come clean." The spokesperson echoed growing fears that the artefacts could be some new weapon of mass destruction.

Parallels were immediately drawn to Dr. Arcanonn and his recent demands to the Federation government following research into the Unknown Artefacts discovered to be transported in Federation convoys. We asked Arcanonn if he was connected to this terrorist group. He denied any responsibility for the group's actions but declined to answer any further questions on the subject of his potential involvement.

However he did go on to say:

"It is clear that we are not the only ones who are growing tired of the Federation's cover-up over these artefacts and some Commanders would seem to be taking more direct action. Obviously, I do not condone such methods but I can certainly sympathise with their frustration."

"In the spirit of seeking to put an end to these disruptive acts I urge all citizens, Federation, Alliance and Empire alike, to petition your government to make public any information that they have on the origin and nature of these objects before these demonstrations escalate. I also appeal to Chief Xeno-Chemist Lyran Betar to contact me so that we can pool our resources and research into these potentially related items, in the search for answers for the common good of all humanity."

Unrest on the Frontier

New reports from the frontier suggest that a horde of militant nomads is currently sweeping their way through the Pegasi Sector. The group, who call themselves the Kumo Crew, are led by the vicious Warlord Archon Delaine.

A talented tactician, and a brutal fighter, Archon famously assumed leadership of the Kumo Crew at the tender age of 15 after violently beating the previous leader to death during a clan moot.

So far, the Kumo Crew have shown no interest in taking direct control over any of the regions they’ve plundered. Instead, they’ve taken to sending regular raiding parties to collect tithes on behalf of the Crew. Systems who agree to their demands are spared, while those who refuse are burnt to the ground.

All attempts to stop the spread of the crew throughout the Pegasi Sector have so far met with failure. The Kumo Crew are described as being well armed, psychotic and thus extremely dangerous.

Silver United Succeed at Securing Zaonce

After months of being terrorised by malicious criminals intent on turning the Old Worlds into some kind of ‘New Caribbean’, residents of the Lave cluster finally banded together this past weekend to crack down on the lawless scum that had been pillaging and plundering their way across the sector.

Inspired by the recent help freely given to the people of Reorte by the Alliance Elite Diplomatic Corps, Silver United Solutions decided to offer a set of substantial rewards to any pilot brave enough to help remove the criminals known as the Jet Gang from Zaonce.

The initiative was an overwhelming success. 5,535 pilots were temporarily deputised during the course of the weekend, leading to the Zaonce Jet Gang (and many other local pirate crews) being crushed by the raw power of the makeshift fleet.

To celebrate their success, Silver United Solutions has organised a special discount on all Faulcon DeLacy ships being sold from Ridley Scott Station, Zaonce. A limited number of Pythons have been made available for the duration of the sale.

Hostage Crisis in Eotienses Turns Bloody

A tense hostage situation in Eotienses on Tuesday morning turned bloody as East India Company members failed to negotiate the liberation of an Imperial trader from the Code, a well-known pirate group. The Imperial trader, unaffiliated with either group, was destroyed after an attempted escape, resulting in tens of millions of credits in property loss as well as small-scale skirmishes between the two organizations throughout the night. EIC members later went on to admit that poor communication and victim anxiety led to this tragic outcome.

Though it is unclear exactly what the hostage believed, Commander Trillen is quoted as saying: “The members of Code appeared to be getting a little jumpy and I started to worry that things were not going to end well. I contacted Commander Egg90 asking if he was ready to run if $@%# hit the fan, but I think he misinterpreted that because at that very second he boosted and was destroyed by the members of Code.”

After the destruction of the trader, chaos broke out as both sides opened fire on one another. The fighting was reported to have lasted for several hours with both sides suffering major losses, and damages are currently estimated in the hundreds of millions of credits.

Galnet News reached out to The Code, who had this to say: “The approximate ship destruction estimate is currently sitting at 3 EIC deaths for every 1 Code death. The Code apologizes for the destruction of all these EIC vessels, but we will destroy anyone who gets in our path of riches and plunder.”

Dick McKinley - Galnet News