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Two Dead in Tragic Accident

Two people died in a crash when a personal transport collided with a Lakon Type-9 Heavy transport vessel. The small ship, a type used to run between orbital facilities, was destroyed in the impact. The small vessel was ferrying two transport safety officials to the Laphria Shipyard in the Artemis system. They were on a knowledge sharing mission.

The Transport Safety Authority issued the following statement from their headquarters on Mars:

“This type of accident is always a terrible tragedy for those involved and the Laphrian authorities have promised full disclosure and co-operation with our investigation.”

They also reported that the pilot of the Type-9 was being treated for shock. She saw the transport break open only metres from her large window as she approached the station.

Elaine Boyd from the Federal Times asked for the identities of the dead and was told that they wouldn’t be disclosed until the next of kin had been identified. She pressed further asking if one of the dead men was Arnold Lowe, a senior investigator in the Starship One disappearance. She was told ‘no comment’ and no further questions were taken.

Five Killed in Shuttle Accident

A Sirius Corporation shuttle was destroyed this morning when its docking computer failed on approach to Patterson Enterprise in the Sirius system. While such failures aren’t unheard of, they are rare, especially among smaller craft.

Elaine Boyd from the Federal Times asked a Sirius Corporation representative how the company was able to determine the cause of the accident so quickly. She was told:

“The telemetry from the shuttle provided clear evidence of a stall in the computer’s operation as the vessel approached the docking port. The boost protocol should have been disabled but was instead activated, causing the shuttle to crash into the station.”

The representative stated that the crash would be investigated further, and in particular why the software failed in this instance.

Everyone onboard the shuttle was killed including Sean Richards, a senior consultant engineer who helped to compile the incident report on the recent disappearance of Starship One. Richards had also formed part of the task force some 50 years earlier with the Antares enquiry.

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 – Zachary Hudson

Continuing this GalNet exclusive series, political commentator Marcus Macmillan writes his opinion of some of the movers and shakers in 3301. In this fifth article he analyses Federal President Zachary Hudson.

Republican President Zachary Hudson became President after the disappearance of President Halsey and a vote of no confidence in the Senate. He has always been supportive of the military, and has recently announced his support for CQC Championship as a training and recruitment tool for the Federal Navy. He is also approving additional funds to begin upgrading and expanding the fleet to counter the threats he sees beyond the Federation’s borders.

In common with most of his party, Hudson believes it is the government’s duty to be as small a burden on the individual as possible. An extensive programme of tax reduction is already planned for most households within the Federation. This has proved popular, but not for those who relied on government support before his election.

He is also an advocate of personal freedom at any cost, although that is balanced by the requirement for citizens to be responsible for themselves.

For fun, the President regularly goes hunting on the many frontier worlds offering holiday activity.

Meet the Powers – Felicia Winters

Continuing this GalNet exclusive series, political commentator Marcus Macmillan writes his opinion of some of the movers and shakers in 3301. In this fourth article he considers Shadow President Felicia Winters and her sudden rise to power.

With the disappearance of President Halsey and the earlier the murder of President Nigel Smeaton, Felicia Winters found herself thrust in charge of the Liberal Party. She inherited a political party in crisis and has had to work quickly to try and restore people’s faith in her party.

As someone born and raised on Taylor Colony, Felicia Winters learned early on that when presented with difficult choices, humanity can’t always be trusted to do the right thing. She sees it as her duty to push for the right choice, even if it's the hard choice.

Felicia Winters has already proved to be a versatile opponent, and in many opinion polls is running level with President Hudson. Many voters are growing concerned by the President’s aggressive rhetoric and are turning to the Liberal Party to counter what they see as a road to war.

For Some, President Halsey's Disappearance Is Not "Case Closed"

While the Federation considers President Halsey’s disappearance an open and shut case, some groups still doubt the official story. The Knights of the Black, whose members have sworn to defend all human systems against alien aggression, is one such group.

According to the group’s founder, “We aren’t entirely convinced Halsey’s disappearance is the work of an alien species, but we also aren’t convinced that it was an accident. Remember that Felicia Winters insisted, even from the beginning, that Starship One was lost due to mechanical failure. Zachary Hudson seemed awfully convinced of sabotage until he became the President. To me, it seems the Federation is covering up something.”

He went on to say, “Such a well-orchestrated strike against any of Humanity’s leaders would be a clear sign of an alien threat, which we take very seriously.”

Though the Knights aren’t actively searching for Starship One, they claim, “We’re keeping our eyes peeled.”

The Federation Unites in the Face of Tragedy

Despite some fear that the recent change in leadership would lead to further destabilisation of the Federation, it seems that on the whole, the majority of Federal worlds are content to wait and see what kind of President Zachary Hudson turns out to be.

Political pundits and sociologists alike had expressed concerns that since the disappearance of former President Jasmina Halsey, the Federation would almost certainly go through a period of internal strife while the landscape of Federal power adjusted to the new reality.

To everyone’s surprise, the situation on the ground has actually stabilised since President Hudson assumed office. It would seem that in the face of tragic loss, personal politics have been put aside, and the overwhelming majority of Federal organisations have chosen to stand united for the good of the Federation.

How long this new coalition will last remains to be seen, but for now at least, Federal residents can rest easy knowing that for this brief moment in time, the Federation stands united for the good of all mankind.

Zachary Hudson Becomes the New President of the Federation

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.