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Federal Congress Grants Emergency Surveillance Powers

Vice President Jerome Archer has successfully proposed a new public surveillance law designed to prevent future terrorist attacks in the Federation.

The Domestic Counter-Terrorism Act was debated in Congress before being approved by a majority vote. It is considered to be emergency legislation that replaces all previous laws regarding monitoring civilian activity and intercepting personal communications.

Vice President Archer, who personally drafted much of the new statute, announced:

“This will allow the government to actively seek out any terrorist agents and sympathisers lurking within our communities. We will never again allow so many families and friends to be taken from us.”

Shadow President Felicia Winters responded:

“Nobody wants another ‘Nine Martyrs’, and it’s vital that security is increased across the Federation. But this is an outrageous violation of civil liberties. For this administration to grant itself access to every citizen’s private life makes it resemble a dictatorial regime.”

VP Archer later confirmed that he is already working with the heads of security services on practical applications of the new law. As a former director of the Federal Intelligence Agency, he is expected to make rapid progress.

New Federal Vice President Selected

President Zachary Hudson has announced that the new vice president of the Federation is Jerome Archer, replacing the deceased Brad Mitchell.

Archer was previously serving as the Secretary of Security. Prior to becoming a congressman, he was a director of the Federal Intelligence Agency and had a long career in law enforcement.

His predecessor, VP Brad Mitchell, died in the NMLA bombing of Li Qing Jao station in the Sol system. The attack also killed several members of the Federal Cabinet along with many government officials, who were attending a meeting at the starport.

Addressing a gathering of Congress, Vice President Archer said:

“My primary focus in this office will be to increase security throughout the Federation. I vow to build vigilance into the fabric of our society, and prevent such atrocities from ever happening again.”

During the congressional session, President Hudson announced new appointments for other deceased members of the Cabinet. He also successfully obtained approval to increase funding for counter-terrorism operations run by ACT and the Federal Navy.

Xenological Samples Delivered to Colonia

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

The Holloway Bioscience Institute has rewarded pilots who delivered living matter extracted from space-dwelling organisms.

Many shipments of seed pod tissue samples arrived at Jaques Station, from where they will be transported to the Holloway Biology Centre on Colonia 7 G. These will be used to replenish stocks used in the facility’s experimentation programme.

Dr Roy Casimir, chief researcher at the centre, expressed his gratitude:

“These vital supplies mean that we can resume our studies on the incredible organisms that float through the void. Here at Holloway we’re making many breakthroughs in the field of xenobiology, some with intriguing commercial possibilities.”

The Holloway Bioscience Institute now plans to establish experimental habitats for vacuum lifeforms in the following systems:

Eol Prou PC-K c9-221

Eol Prou LW-L c8-99

Eol Prou KW-L c8-301

Eol Prou PC-K c9-154

Pilots who contributed to this initiative can now collect their rewards from Jacques Station in the Colonia system.

Xenological Samples Required by Colonia Scientists

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

The Holloway Bioscience Institute in Colonia is offering high payouts for delivering samples from space-dwelling lifeforms.

The Holloway Biology Centre on Colonia 7 G is the organisation’s primary research laboratory, which specialises in xenological studies. Jaques Station, which is also in the Colonia system, has agreed to serve as the delivery point for this initiative.

Chief researcher Dr Roy Casimir outlined the requirements:

“There is still a huge amount to learn about the fascinating structures that grow within the vacuum of space. As our stock of specimens is running low, we require fresh tissue samples from living organisms to continue our experimentation programme.”

“I appreciate that our facility is located a considerable distance from the core systems, but we’re willing to offer generous reimbursement for those who make the journey.”

Pilots are requested to extract any type of tissue sample, including pod mesoglea, from any type of seed pod. These are to be delivered to Jaques Station in the Colonia system.

Holloway Biology Centre Opens

Following months of setbacks, the Holloway Biology Centre has finally opened in the Colonia system. The research centre will focus on the study of newly catalogued lifeforms.

Dr Roy Casimir, chief researcher at the Holloway Bioscience Institute, held a press conference at the opening ceremony, and discussed the delays that followed a successful campaign to found the centre in February this year:

“Our study of the lifeforms discovered over the past year formed the basis of the research centre’s designs. As the volume of scans provided by the galactic community continued to grow, it became apparent that we lacked the laboratory space required to study it all.”

“As a result, the Holloway Bioscience Institute committed to several months of investment and redesign, to ensure that a wide variety of material could be analysed. We are confident that this decision will prove more than worthwhile, and our scientists are excited to work in this state-of-the-art facility.”

The Holloway Biology Centre is located in the Colonia system on Colonia 7 G.

Blight Mutates into New Pathogen

The pathogen introduced to crops by the contaminated EX7 fertiliser has displayed signs of self-sufficiency, potentially threatening crops in thousands of systems.

Lead Researcher Mason Chu of the Vandermeer Corporation stated:

“A successful initiative to destroy contaminated Rockforth fertiliser means it no longer poses a threat to cropland. But our research suggests that the blight can survive independently of the fertiliser.”

“This new pathogen is aggressive, highly resilient to market pesticides and hard to quarantine. If not adequately contained, the blight could become a full-blown scourge that cripples food supplies wherever it spreads.”

“We are testing a number of potential treatments, including some radical methods suggested by teams from Neomedical Industries. If fortune smiles on us we may be able to combat the pathogen directly.”

In related news, there has been much speculation about the Scythe of Panem, the extremist group that engineered the blight. Some insight was offered by Zander Lachance, a representative of the Coalition for Onion Head Legalisation:

“Actually, we’ve known about the Scythe of Panem for several years. They were always obsessed with getting payback for the mass destruction of Onion Head crops in 3301. But over the past year they attracted some aggressive anti-capitalists, who started pushing to inflict serious economic damage as vengeance for Kappa Fornacis. Seems the new crowd were more persuasive than we realised.”

“It’s a shame that these actions will reinforce the negative stereotypes around Onion Head. We only hope that those of us who advocate its therapeutic many beneficial uses won’t be tarnished with the same brush.”

Blight Traced to Synthetic Contaminant

A tri-superpower group has identified the cause of the blight that has ruined crops on multiple worlds.

Gino Borstein of the Federal Intelligence Agency delivered a report on behalf of the cross-superpower taskforce:

“Working with the Rockforth Corporation, we have confirmed that the EX7 fertiliser was deliberately contaminated with a chemical compound shortly after mass production began.”

“The contaminant has a unique synthetic composition specifically designed to introduce a highly aggressive pathogen that quickly destroys plant matter. Our investigations have uncovered several potential leads, and we expect to identify the contaminant’s point of origin soon.”

Vox Galactica journalist Adalyn Cross commented:

“Taken at face value, this seems to absolve Rockforth of causing the blight. But there may yet be culpability issues, considering the company’s cavalier attitude towards regulatory checks. Commentators have pointed to the requests made by the Interstellar Association for Agriculture as evidence that the company placed profit above safety.”

“The question is: who is behind this attempt to eradicate the food supplies of billions of people? Are we dealing with a terrorist attack on an interstellar scale? Or was this an attempt to ruin Rockforth, perhaps committed by a dangerous corporate rival?”

In related news, additional cargo checks have been implemented at starports following the blight’s rapid spread. Researchers have theorised that contaminated goods ferried by unsuspecting traders are to blame for introducing the blight to non-agricultural systems.

Xeno-Research Campaign Ends

A campaign from the Holloway Bioscience Institute to build a xenological research centre has concluded successfully.

Chief researcher Dr Roy Casimir told the media:

“Thanks to Nahuaru Crimson Bridge Int we now have sufficient materials to build a planetary outpost where our scientists can study lifeforms identified by the galactic community.”

“We are also grateful for the exploration data provided by many pilots, which will help us create a new research catalogue.”

Pilots who took part in the campaign can now collect their rewards from Williams Vision in the Nahuaru system.