Imperial Sentinels Charged with Piracy
Dateline Flakey Q6 3215.141
Following what is being described by the Asteel News Grid as ‘an anti-pirate operation’ 256 Imperial Sentinel space crew and officers have been arrested by a joint MSN/GFAN military operation in the Flakey system.
According to GFAN sources, the Imperial Sentinels were using their military-grade ships to rob the undefended system and terrorise incoming merchant ships. A joint task forces intercepted the Sentinel ‘fleet’ and inflicted heavy losses on it, crippling the two mercenary Heavy Cruisers, and a number of armed merchant ships.
The Imperial Sentinels, a quasi-official paramilitary force funded by corporate interests and public subscription, suggested that the MSN/GFAN attack was “… an underhand and cowardly ambush of perfectly legitimate ships going about their lawful business. We will be fighting these illegal arrests and suing for criminal damage in the courts of the GFA and the MAFC. There is no doubt as to the outcome.”
Fleet ‘Maneuvers’ Cause Crisis on Wolf359
Dateline 3215.150
News is coming in from Wolf 359 of the arrival in high orbit over Wolf359 of a joint Earth-Xyon warfleet comprising several dozen capital ships. The Government are officially announcing that this is a goodwill visit and not at all related to the rumours that the Wolf home fleet was undertaking an attack on the Roach war criminals on Zubat.
Unofficial sources suggest, however, that this is a front for much more serious concerns. It may be that strong political pressure is being brought to bear on the current Government, itself no stranger to controversy over the last decade. It would seem that the xenophobic Knight Protectors of the Great Kingdom, under the leadership of Master Guardian Lady Cyndy Zhang have been instrumental in convincing the Wolf Government that a ‘punitive expedition’ be launched to exterminate what KPGK supporters have been openly calling ‘evil alien war criminals’. This view has considerable popular support among the average Wolfer in the street, according to recent polls.
However, at the recent Asteel Summit, our reporter suggests that there were angry scenes in the meeting chamber and off the record briefings suggest that the Xyonist representative at the meeting was ‘incandescent’ when told that Wolf intended to take unilateral action to ‘end the Roach infestation’.
Internally, the crisis is looking increasingly like the final straw for the current government, and former political prisoner and conservative opposition leader Lord Guy St Just is being widely touted as the person most likely to be invited by His Majesty to form a provisional government following the no confidence vote in Parliament.
‘Discovery of the Millennium’ Hinted At Mystery
Dateline Mystery Q0 3215.155
Security has been heightened around the former forerunner homeworld of Mystery. The IFF has moved all nonessential civilians out of the system, and there are, according to our reporters, a number of very worried faces in the orbital research base in high orbit.
According to our sources, this near panic has been caused by a discovery or discoveries by the New Atlantis Project (NAP) team who have been exploring and cataloging the huge undersea ‘city’ in the equatorial ocean. Dr Verma, the team leader said to our reporter “..who are you? Oh INN, well look, I haven’t got time for this PR nonsense, we’re dealing with the discovery of the millennium, perhaps the most important discovery in the history of humanity. What? No, I can say with some certainly that we have not found a ‘majordomo unit’. No I can’t say more, not until its all been peer-reviewed. Now off you frack there’s a good reporter.”
Whatever it is they have discovered, it is sufficiently important for the Martian Second Strategic Fleet to move out of its pre-assign position on the M25 of the Mystery system and burn in-system. Last time they did that it was to destroy an asteroid containing an active forerunner space-traffic control system. Typically the MSN Press Office would say no more than “… we are responding to a request for assistance from IFF”.
Four Killed in Undersea Attack
Dateline Mystery Q0 3215.150
Colleagues are mourning the deaths of four security personnel manning armed submersibles providing aquatic security for the New Atlantis Project. The project was attacked by a a number of exceptionally large and aggressive mega-xenomorphs reportedly over 50 metres in length.
Along with a number of other armed submersibles, the IFF security staff acted with considerable personal bravery to buy time for the evacuation of archeologists and civilian staff from the site.
The four were killed when their craft were bitten in half by the gigantic creatures. Their sacrifice prevented greater loss of life, as the remaining submersibles were able to finally neutralise the creatures with torpedoes.
A service of remembrance is being held in the Research orbital.
FWOQ Win T301 Space Battle
Dateline T310Q1 3215.127
The long period of tension and military stand-off came to an end in blaze of violence, as the Venerian colonial fleet and the main fleet of the Federated Worlds of the Outer Quadrants (FWOQ) finally came to blows over this out-of-the-way colonial world.
The FWOQ forces, under the veteran Admiral Hermione Xen were escorting merchant ships carrying vital defence supplies to the Alliance on T301. The Venerian forces had been blockading the system orbital, and attempted to prevent the arrival of the arms shipment.
In the ensuing fracas, the Venerians had a heavy cruiser crippled and were forced to withdraw from the system. The Venerian Quadrant Governor Klaus-Peter Dechau said “… this is blatant warmongering and war-profiteering by the FWOQ. We have protested to President Jackson in no uncertain terms, and will be seeking a diplomatic way forward to ensure the rights of the Red Hat colony are no trampled on by FWOQ bully-boy tactics.”
President Jackson said, in a speech to the Senate “We have acted successfully to restore balance on T301. It will be for the 301ians to determine their future without conflict. Our position is clear, military adventurism by the Red Hat Colony is off the agenda. My advice to them is – ‘play nice from now on’.”
Not Roaches Any More
Dateline Zubat Q0 3215.150
According to a report from the joint Xyon / Venerian / MDF research team on Zubat, our boffins have managed to translate what the aliens call themselves. Apparently its ‘The Chosen’ – a reflection of what is emerging as a highly religious society. Researchers have established that the Roach …er .. Chosen’s war on humanity was some sort of Crusade, though exactly what humanity did to become the target of a bloody crusade is not yet clear.
Meanwhile there have been widespread public protests on many worlds in Q0, including Earth, Asteel, New Mars and Agama in favour of ‘payback’ and the extermination of the Chosen colony on Zubat. Counter-demonstrations and statements from major religious leaders and politicians urging peaceful engagement have also occurred, but the anger of the ‘eye for an eye’ mood among many billions of people is unabated.
The troubles have been particularly bad on Earth, itself going through some political instability following the death of the Emperor, and the Government has moved to introduce curfews in the main megacities and ramp up policing, in some places with the aid of military units. This is the first time this has happened on such a widespread scale since the New Venus rebellion of 3093.
Some (mainly opposition) politicians in every polity have been pushing for an ‘Extermination Policy’, though many believe this to be opportunism, and the debate has heated up as rumours continue that a major power has been planning to exterminate the Chosen unilaterally.
Colonial Referenda and Memberships- from our colonial correspondent
The following colonial worlds are planning referenda: Merchant Q4, Bela Q6, Y26 Q7
Referenda have been held on the following worlds:
World
date
Result – voted to apply to join:
Dobird Q8 T127 UOX
R44 Q4 T127 SSR
News in Brief
New First Citizen of Earth is to be Jianyu Zhang, nephew of disgraced Lee Zhang
Earth and Xyon officially deny major fleet crisis whilst mobilising fleets.
64 Transhuman ‘troublemakers’ arrested on Dyme Q7
Martian Fleet at Mystery ‘moving to high alert’
‘Only Isolated Cases’ of Dino flu according to Yndyan Govt
Fiddle reports 64 deaths from Dino flu
Organian Legion of Heroes captures pirates ship.
Violent protests on 116AL crushed by police.
Maggia crimelord found guilty on Gorgon
