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214
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Intergalactic News
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Diary of an Explorer

Diary of an Explorer

‘My ship, Morovec’s Dream, a survey cruiser design is perfect. She glides through turbulence of a gas giant as though we were in deepest space. She can pull 3.4g thanks to the hi-spec engines – no mean feat for a fifty huller. When alone on the bridge during dark watch I sometimes find myself talking to her. Not crazy stuff, more sounding off about the mission and thinking aloud. Yeah, I may throw in the odd question but who doesn’t ask questions inside their own head. Some of the crew think I’m losing it, but I’m not, ain’t that right?.... hum, maybe they have a point.’

He rose from the captain’s chair – not the original one that came with the ship, this was something that he had rigged himself. The seller called it an integrated, reinforced lazyboy. It was the recline option that sold him on it, that and flip open arm rests, chilled drinks and snacks on one side, a suite of controls on the other. With swivel settings, retinal projector and perfect acoustics he had the capability of being the eyes and ears of the ship. With vibro setting switched on it really felt like he was free-falling from space – and while sipping a cold-one to boot.

The navy may have weapons that can punch a crater a hundred kloms across and the merchants may boast about being able to pack a fleet of survey cruisers in their bays, but for Captain Pickering, nothing was ever going to compare to this, though if pushed on the subject, it was probably the freedom he enjoyed most – no tight delivery schedules or dying horribly with nobody to mourn you.


His latest task, if that is the most suitable word for the work, was to scope out one of the outer moons in the Corosin system. The affiliation were pumping quite a bit of stellars into the operation overall. Words like gold-rush and collidium grab were being thrown about. He had opted to go for one of the ice moons with an atmosphere consisting of the usual suspects, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. He could have opted for one of the pretty biospheres or even one of the active worlds – fire and brimstone and all that, but this suited him fine.

The Dream reached the world and Pickering from the mid-recline position ordered the ship into a parking orbit and activation of Geological Probability Indicator (GPI) procedures. There was an audible groan from the crew – generally pointless days changing the orbit, breaking the surface down to strips and determining its geology. It was as much fun as filing reports or sorting laundry – neither of which he did very often. Occasionally such an operation resulted in the discovery of something valuable, but so what, it was not as though the discoverers ever got a share. There was nothing for the donkeys doing the work though no doubt a big fat bonus for the people at the top.

Captain Pickering seemed to share the crew’s enthusiasm for the whole GPI’ing shenanigans as he ordered only a basic planetary scan for uncommon and rare ores, pretty much the bare minimum to avoid a reprimand. He had been through this before – some weasel hauling his ass into an office and ranting on about missed opportunities, maximising fiscal investment in outposts and some other bureaucratic crap. The captain told him straight – nobody in their right mind is going to be lugging frozen methane from the back of beyond for a measly hundred stellars per k. Time spent bean-counting is time lost looking for the good stuff.

Following the GPI’ing came a surface scan. Nothing particularly exciting – ice, mountains and a bit of open crust. Intriguing though was the discovery of tectonic activity. What could be causing this – the gravitational interactions between the giant and the other moons? This raised the question about the mountains – were they true mountains or simply the exposed regions of crust surrounded by ice? How deep was the ice? What sort of tectonic activity – a hot molten core fuelled largely by radioactive decay or simply slush continuously squeezed by tidal forces?

‘Undertake an orbital scan,’ ordered Pickering. ‘Check for a local magnetosphere and see if it lies with the magnetosphere of the giant. I want to know about ionisation in the upper atmosphere. What is keeping that atmosphere in place?’

The data started to scroll across the main viewer while the primary image of the moon broke down into multiple segments, each with colour overlays around the limb of the world. A pulled back version revealed the interaction between the moon and its primary. Pickering hummed and stroked his chin, interesting, though nothing unusual. The data was stored for further analysis but for the nightwatch he ordered the active crew to continue with a low pass scan. Despite its size the world had a thick atmosphere – no light elements though.

The next stage was pretty routine, the crew knew the drill and after a short choppy descent through the atmosphere, they were preparing in the cargo bay – such as it was – not much larger than the airlock, though substantially more reassuring for anybody not locked into their suit.

Pickering’s instructions as always were simple – check out the high ground, valleys and any generally scan anything that seems unusual or interesting. It was actually a bit more professional that the orders would imply. The group of nine quickly split into three teams of three. Teams of three was seen as the optimal number for dead worlds. One to do the testing, another to handle the equipment and generally give advice, solicited or otherwise and the third was on point. While the likelihood of something carnivorous appearing out of the dust on a toxic moon 200 degrees below freezing was less than slight, landslides, explosive outgassing, storms and even pirates were not unknown. It always paid to have someone watching the horizon. It was also their task to keep chatting to the others on point. Pickering encouraged chatting between points. He thought it better than scheduling in check times as by that time the entire team could have been knocked unconscious by some hazard with only minutes to save them. Better to have continuous feedback and communication between the teams and the ship especially when interfering ground rock meant that direct communication between a team and ship was intermittent. This exploration’s topic was socks and how despite hundreds of years of advancements, finding a pair when in a hurry was impossible and speculation as to who may be nicking them from the scrub room. This of course moved onto the grooming habits of Pickering – though as he hadn’t worn socks or in fact any footwear for years ruled him out as a suspect. Rumours that his last pair had to be air-locked were still doing the circuit.

By this point, having completed a basic exploration and moved onto specific investigations, the teams had spread out over a twenty-five kilometre baseline with the ship in the middle. It was therefore over the headsets that those on the opposite side of the ship heard the initial rumble, feeling it as a gentle shove underfoot less than a second later. Communication ceased for a moment then exploded in a burst of questions directed at those that encountered the quake first. That was when the dust struck – moving at over two hundred kilometres per hour and due to the density of the atmosphere, hitting like a tidal wave.

One group down and the one close to the ship running back like they were being chased by Pirate Large and a tub of petroleum jelly – this survey was definitely turning sour. With just over seven minutes before the storm reached the last team there was little time to find cover.

Point ran a short distance to an outcrop and scanned. On the horizon in the direction of the ship a wall of grey spread from horizon to horizon though the thick murky atmosphere meant that it was without detail. Shit, shit, shit. The other direction was downhill and terminated in a fault, the edge of a deep ravine which judging from the far side was about six kilometres across and over four down. There was also nothing to suggest that the near side was any less precipitous that the far side. In both other directions there was only dust and gritty ice. The other two were screaming, asking which direction. Less than two minutes till impact. A quick glance back over and point was pointing and moving towards the ravine. Gravity was low and maybe they would get lucky. The other two turned from looking at point and though slower to react already had considerable ground. The low gravity and dense atmosphere hampered them as each step sent them into a slow arc, wasting valuable seconds before they could get the next foot down. It wass like running in a nightmare. Point saw one dig their heels in close the edge, sliding towards it while staring back. The other, more panicked misjudged their last step, maybe hitting a frozen lump or rock rather than the gritty sand that compressed under each step. The unexpected boost sends him, arms cartwheeling, out over the void – a good ten metres out before disappearing out of sight.

Point took a desperate gamble and veers slightly to the right, taking three steps up a large broken boulder and leapt, crossing the last fifteen or so metres to the edge. From this extra height the first one over the edge was be seen slowing disappearing into the fog below – poor bastard. For point however the situation looked more promising, there were some outcrops and the descent, was only around thirty metres. Low gravity and a tough suit should do the job.

That’s when it hit. Point saw the storm front sweep overhead – dust, snow, ice and clouds like a jet exhaust. It’s was going to miss. Then it descended in front, heading down into the ravine but also eddying back on itself. Point stared down in horror as the dirty cloud suddenly came up from underneath.

They found one survivor wedged a few metres below the edge of the cliff, having found a narrow recess in the rock and used explosive pitons as an anchor while the storm blew itself out. Of the five missing members there was no trace. The landscape has also changed – new dunes more than sixty metres existed were it was flat ground before.

Pickering formed the entire crew up in the cargo bay. The extra room in the normally cramped space was a reminder of the perils faced by explorers. He gave a few words of consolation – trite even to his own ears. Nobody looked up or moved when he finishes. He felt he should say a little more, ‘Fuck it, we can stay here for a few days and give them a send off we will never remember. Break out the Hanf Tequila. I call first dibs on their socks.’ It was as though the air returned to the bay, animating the crew. As they dispersed, the names of the lost were on peoples lips and laughter erupted as anecdotes got shared – a temporary dressing for the pain they all felt. The anaesthetic would be soon be being applied.

‘It has its rough spots being an explorer, but like I said, no schedules and the occasional bloody good wake are reasonable compensation in a hostile universe.’


Features of the Story  [Recruit]

Generally surveying a planet for the first time is broken down into three stages.

Stage One
A quick pass, looking at the map on Nexus and sending a ship there to perform the basic scans:
Scan Planet
GPI Planet
Scan Planetary Economy (if sentient life present)
Scan Planetary Population (if sentient life present)

Stage Two
If GPI'ing the world reveals anything interesting, it is worth GPI'ing small areas. There are a couple of ways of undertaking this. The first is a few overlapping squares using the GPI area order. This is handy for large worlds for narrowing down where rare ores may be present as rare ores tend to exist as only a few deposits.
If time is available, simply GPI'ing entire rows, essentially looking at the mineral composition of every single sector on the world. Make sure that the ship has as many sensors as possible.
If it is something of a dead-world or out of the way, it may not even be worth scanning for basic ores. At the end of the day, shipping metals, basic elements and hydrocarbons is often not worth it as they are relatively abundant throughout the Peripheries.
Deposits have a central maximum based in a specific sector, though they can often be exploited at lower yields from adjacent sectors. The higher the dispersion of the mineral deposit, the lower the yield degradation with distance from the central point.
Once you have narrowed down some sectors through the rise and fall of the yield across a world that have reasonable ores, the last stage is to land in sectors where the yields are high and prospect. This will give you the unique mineral resource ID which can be used by outposts and strip-mining vessels to tap the ore.

Stage Three
GPI'ing will only account for minerals that are associated with recognizable geology, in many cases minerals will form under anomalous conditions such as meteor strikes, hydrothermal intrusions, quakes and deep underground. In these cases, the GPI will not reveal them. This is where the player has to get hands on. This is also the stage where the player issued surface exploration and investigations (using the 'Surface Exploration' and 'Special Action' orders). These orders require the personal services of the Game Master. As such they have to be paid for per action (See Game Mastering in this issue if IGN).
Each sector type on a world will have a unique description – this can be determined through the use of Surface Exploration order. Once you have this, you can then perform all manner or investigations. For example, on the world in the story above, having got the description of the thick atmosphere, gritty icy surface, orders are given to investigate the rock. This could be a simple instruction, send the crew out to sample the icy grit from numerous locations and report on its composition and whether there are any minerals worth exploiting.
Generally speaking, a player will perform the following actions using the :
Surface Exploration (while landed in each type of sector)
- this gives a basic description of the sector
Special Action (while landed in a type of sector) - Subsurface Scan
- reveals information about the geological history of the sector and may indicate the presence of anomalous minerals
Special Action (while landed in a type of sector) – Investigate XXXX
- where XXXX is something that piqued the interest of the player from the surface exploration text.

More advanced are the use of special actions to look at the world as a whole before venturing down:
Special Action (while still in orbit) – Orbital Scan
Special Action (while still in orbit) – Low Pass Scan

These will give global information such as the interaction of a moon with its primary, the seasonal weather patterns of the world and maybe even revealing the occasional anomaly. Again, features revealed by these actions can be further explored. While theoretically a player can investigate forever on a single world, always finding something new, it is almost always the case that each level of investigate is less likely to reveal a new resource or if it does, the resource is likely to be either smaller or in some other way less valuable. Simply put, big resources stand out.

Dangers
Investigations do not always run smoothly. On hostile worlds, that are those with extreme environments (often with an orbital message indicating that bases on the world will be subject to damage on a regular basis), it is probable that the crew will be at risk during the course of the investigation. This is because investigations generally require members of the crew to leave the ship, possibly exploring tens or even hundreds of kilometres out from the vessel. Storms, quakes, hostile creatures are all dangers to be aware of. Many of these can easily be countered by the presence of an experienced exploration officer, though the more hostile the environment the better the officer should be.

 
News
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*** Inter Galactic News ***

Claims settle in Solo and Faery

With the NHS bringing in almost a million troops into Solo and the GTT choosing it's moment to contest Faery at the same time, it seems the DTR and it's alllies either found it hard to find enough troops to respond or quite simply decided it wasn't worth the hassle as there were far more important matters to deal with in the Senate. Who knows what other life threatening topics they have to discuss, such as the correct biscuit to have with afternoon tea. The end result is that Solo and Faery, both systems with significant incomes, are now under control of Empire based affiliations.

GTT move to clear out the Dewiek Pocket Pheriphery

Having resorted to bribery to get other affiliations to move out of the DHP, with rumoured multi-million stellar amounts being offered, the GTT now appear to have cranked the pressure up. An AFT base has been attacked and a few of the nearby ships have been blown up and damaged by GTT warship class ships patrolling the area. As we write this report, information we have seen shows that the GTT have already taken 20% of the AFT base and fighting continues. We approached the GTT to ask why they are resorting to force and were told that they have had to move significant military power into the DHP to deal with ANT forces, so now they are mopping up all the resistance of other affilaitions that were asked to leave and decided not to.

BHD relics and trophies

Pope Akhenaten of the Brotherhood has been touting more and more wares that are unique to the BHD. If you are missing a holy relic and have no idea how to fill that little space in your living quarters then you know where to go. From robes to candles, literature to wine and novelty ornaments, it's never been easier to bring a little bit of the Brotherhood home and exchange your stellars for spiritual well being.

*** Affiliations ***

AFT Association of Free Traders (54) - Marion Tweedy
BHD - Brotherhood (63) - Akhenaten
CIA Combined Intelligence Agency (64) - Laton CIA
DNA Displaced Natives Asylum (66) - DNA people
DTR Detinus Republic (58) - Morley Decker
DWK Dewiek Packs (19) - <Unknown>
FCN Falconian Republic (70) – Graspien
FEL Felini Tyranny (49) - Kr'Shan
FLZ Flagritz Republic (47) - Kayxaer
FET Frontier Exploration & Trade (56) - Cu Chulainn
GTT Galactic Trade & Transport (52) - Xavier Fox
HEX Hexamon (23) - Hexamon
KRL Krell (30) - Namica
KRT Krell of the Reverence Temple (37) - Cyn
KST Kastor Kastorians (12) - Kastor
MOH Mohache (73) – Listens
NHS Noble Houses (41) – Roy Roberts
NLF Naplian Liberation Front (38) - NLFHQ
SMS Stellar Mining and Smelting (53) - MikhailM
WMB Wimble Nations (25) - zz

* Leader MAY be inactive, affiliation may be active
** Only known contact, please update us if this is incorrect.

NPC / FoC: ARC, CIV, CGT, FRE, HBO, HEF, IND, ISP, JCN, MEK, MRC, PIR, PRV, TCA, TRN, KAS
Inactive: ANT, COD, BHD, DEN, DOM, GCE, HVE, IDC, IMP, RIP, RCF, SKW, TAG,

*** Submissions ***

By private message to The Editor or via Mica if you prefer to remain anonymous.
 
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*** Inter Galactic News ***

Solo claim swings back and forth

The situation in Solo appears to be getting even more heated. First the NHS dropped 600,000 troops to contest the system and then the DTR answered with enough troops of their own to trump the NHS claim. The NHS found yet more troops, taking the contesting claim up to 750,000 and once again the DTR answered, bringing Solo back under DTR control. Now the NHS have had a look down the back of the sofa and found yet more troops, taking the contesting claim to a massive 900,000 trained troops. We wait to see if the DTR have an answer to this. We can only guess where all these troops are coming from, but what is clear is that the established affiliations clearly have far larger armies than many thought.
 
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*** Inter Galactic News ***

NHS attempt to claim Solo away from DTR

In a shock move the NHS have contested the Solo claim with a huge garrison of 600,000 trained troops. In a move that nobody saw coming, especially as it was unknown the NHS had such a large force of troops to draw upon, the NHS seem to be provoking a response from the DTR. Currently there has been no word from the DTR in how they are going to deal with this claim jumping, although rumours are that they are pretending the Solo claim doesn't really matter to them and so action is unlikely. However this may be a smokescreen and we may yet see the DTR's powerful fleet cause havoc in the system of Solo, which has for a long time been an important junction and fought over by many different factions.

DNA Chairman TonTon resigns

The following communication has been leaked from the DNA to the GTT's PD.

Greetings CEO Fox.
It regrets me to have to inform to you that the DNA nation state will be renouncing its claim on Aladdin system following a ceremony planet side, shortly.
However, it gives me great pleasure to have to inform you that these ceremonies are being planned by Vladimir Tavikovitch, the South Road Traffic Coordinator. He is also responsible for all DNA and .ore. assets in the Outer Naplian (Capellan) periphery so if there are any further issues, please take it up with him.
For any and all other matters, please forward your request directly to the DNA directorate services at NexusID: DNA people.
The Foreign Ministry objects one last time to your illegal claim jump of Aladdin, but we realise it is time to de-escalate.
Normally i would sign off with Naambta, but doing so would be hypocritical. Let me say good riddance instead.
I hereby resign in protest!

Chairman TonTon,
Foreign Minister, DNA
cc: Directorate Services personnel coordinator - !urgent resignation!


DTR threaten WMB with fines for multiple breaches of DTR Law

Lady Sylvansight of the DTR has issued a fine of 1,000,000 stellars to the Wimbles for multiple breaches of DTR Penal and Territorial Law. This seems a very brave move of the DTR to risk upsetting the huge and warlike WMB when they also have the rival NHS Solo system claim to deal with. No word has been recieved yet that the Wimbles are going to pay, but if the formidable WMB warfleet is seen heading for the DTR home systems we will know what their thought are on the matter. The DTR and WMB fleets going head to head would be a sight to behold.

*** Affiliations ***

AFT Association of Free Traders (54) - Marion Tweedy
BLG Bolg Organisation (22) - Akhenaten
CIA Combined Intelligence Agency (64) - Laton CIA
DNA Displaced Natives Asylum (66) - DNA people
DTR Detinus Republic (58) - Morley Decker
DWK Dewiek Packs (19) - <Unknown>
FCN Falconian Republic (70) – Graspien
FEL Felini Tyranny (49) - Kr'Shan
FLZ Flagritz Republic (47) - Kayxaer
FET Frontier Exploration & Trade (56) - Cu Chulainn
GTT Galactic Trade & Transport (52) - Xavier Fox
HEX Hexamon (23) - Tranquility
KRL Krell (30) - Namica
KRT Krell of the Reverence Temple (37) - Cyn
KST Kastor Kastorians (12) - Kastor
MOH Mohache (73) – Listens
NHS Noble Houses (41) – Roy Roberts
NLF Naplian Liberation Front (38) - NLFHQ
SMS Stellar Mining and Smelting (53) - MikhailM
WMB Wimble Nations (25) - zz

* Leader MAY be inactive, affiliation may be active
** Only known contact, please update us if this is incorrect.

NPC / FoC: ARC, CIV, CGT, FRE, HBO, HEF, IND, ISP, JCN, MEK, MRC, PIR, PRV, TCA, TRN, KAS
Inactive: ANT, COD, BHD, DEN, DOM, GCE, HVE, IDC, IMP, RIP, RCF, SKW, TAG,

*** Submissions ***

By private message to The Editor or via Mica if you prefer to remain anonymous.
 
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*** Inter Galactic News ***

DNA and GTT clash over Aladdin system claim while Pirates look on.

The GTT have this week launched an attack on the DNA outpost in Aladdin, in what appears to be little more than a turkey shoot. Around 100,000 GTT Naplian Startroopers attacked the DNA position to remove the rival system claim. Reports indicate the DNA garrison were taken by surprise and lost control of the base in the first few hours of the fighting. The base has since been reflagged from [Free Naplian Capital] Peaceful Protest to [Loyal Naplian Capital] DNA claim Ended so it's fair to say there was a clear message being sent by the GTT. We have been waiting for the DNA leadership to comment but so far they have been unusually silent. No doubt when they have crawled out from under their desks they will have something to say on the matter.

While this attack was going on several pirate ships were also seen in Aladdin, according to the GTT in what may be true or may be a diversion, with reports of a pirate GP and scout being destroyed while a 150HH pirate warship slipped away and escaped from incoming anti-pirate patrols.

Secret meeting of the EEM

A recent communication intercepted by one of our top reporters today made us aware of a meeting of the EEM. This is underway in a top secret location called Black Pool, which sounds suspiciously like the lair of a pirate band. After pulling in many favours, we were able to identify some of the attending members. On the bases that they won't be named we were able to find out some slight information of the subjects to be discussed at the meeting and one thing is for certain, there could be huge impacts to the lives of everybody living in the galaxy. Details to follow. When the shadowy figures of the EEM come together with the top political players in a pirate base the possibilities are endless!


You are never more than 6 systems from a RAT ðŸ€

A new saying has arisen in the bars and spaceport of starbases throughout the many peripheries; you are never more than 6 systems from a RAT.

It is understood that this saying originated in Yank and spread by trade vessels to peripheries far and wide. Many starbases have heightened their security and added additional sensors and locks to various entry points including foul and grey water outfalls. Beer and drug stocks are undergoing increased proofing to avoid the critters gaining entry and consuming the stockpiles.

Will this present as a new plague of proportions never before seen or is this some simple urban myth being spread for the amusement of some mischievous entity? Who knows, but to be certain... check the shadows.

 
This year we will again be returning to the Briardene Hotel. They were welcoming, the bar didn't run out of beer pre-covid and there was room for quiet chats. Along with Wetherspoons there is the Victoria just down the road (Sam Smiths - last time beer was around 2 shillings per pint and a full round was less than £10).

Mostly drinking beer and talking toot though we have a good few things on the agenda.

Bookings are done directly with the hotel. Book by phone and say that you are with KJC Games

Briardene Hotel
Telephone: +44(0)1253 338300
All staff should be able to deal with the booking but if there are any problems ask for Tracy (manager) as she dealt with all our foibles in previous years.
 
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*** Inter Galactic News ***

Dog days are over

With the fall of the DEN and the implosion of their home territory as the AFT, DTR and GTT moved in, it was unlikely the Dewiek would rise again. The DWP gave the species a little hope with the Dewiek Pocket Periphery kept under lock and key. But news has reached us of the AFT's penetration of this private area of space that's been locked down. With a base and claim in one of the three visible systems it seems that the end of the Dewiek is near. A once noble and aggressive race, determined to make an impact on the galaxy is now little more than a species that lives under the command of others. A sad end to a once powerful species that used to control a significant part of known space.

Pirate activity continues

Yet more reports of pirate activity have been received, one from the WMB, losing a freighter in Solo and another from the FET who reported they had engaged and hit the attacking pirate ship with several weapons before it managed to make off with it's prize. Hopefully the pirate ship took significant damage and will now be out of action for some time. The Corewards periphery seems to have been plagued with pirates recently and many travellers would welcome a break from attacks.


MEK incursion into Corewards

The FET and GTT have mounted a joint venture into Nog-Kesri to tackle a MEK force. It isn't known where they have come from, with the only other MEK ships seen so far being located in the Orion Spur. The lack of a known link between where they have appeared in Corewards and the Orion Spur has caused some concern among planetary populations as who knows where they could turn up next! Fortunately the combined FET/GTT task force dealt the MEK a heavy blow and the threat has been eradicated. But we all know this is unlikely to be the last we hear of the MEK in Corwards and we would encourage ship captains to keep a keen eye on thier sensor screens when travelling near Nog-Kesri.

 
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*** Inter Galactic News ***

  • CIA freighter fights off overwhelming pirate forces

  • Fin Saine media broadcast, What is Hot in the galaxy?!?!

  • MEKlan forces attack in Corewards Arm


  •  
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    *** Inter Galactic News ***

    Aladdin faces ongoing DNA/GTT tension

    The tensions between the DNA and GTT in the Coptuv system recently spilled over into the DNA system of Aladdin. A significant party of GTT ground troops has reinforced one of their bases in the system and claimed it, forcing the system claim into turmoil as the DNA finds itself under threat of losing the system. With the DNA chairman asking for help, several affiliations have been seen sending ships to evacuate any in the local population that want to escape the GTT. But so far not a shot has been fired and despite the AFT, FEL and DTR assistance no reisistance to the claim jump has been encountered so far. It remains to be seen if the DNA and it's friends will scatter before this hostile take over or put in a last minute counter claim to thwart GTT intentions.

    Increasing pirate activity

    Recent reports indicate a new surge in pirate attacks with the AFT and GTT reporting ships lost. Knowing how some don't like to advertise losses we wouldn't be surprised if this is the tip of the iceberg. Reports passed to us show the ship PIR Scavenger running ID 43174 and another ship of the same name running ID 68668 have both been in action with successful boarding attempts. It's unknown whether these are seperate ships or the same ship reregistered, but our information suggests that it would be hard for these pirates to cover the space where these attacks happened with just one ship. One thing is for sure, be on your guard as open space is not as safe as it once was.


    GCE ships loitering in deep space

    After the fall of the GCE and a lot of their assets being shared or purchased it was thought that the affiliation was no more. Yet deep space scans indicate that there is still a significant number of GCE warships holding station in deep space between Coptuv and Yank on the transport route into the Corwards Arm. Nobody knows what these ships are up to and why they are still flagged GCE, but our best guess is that are captains either awaiting new orders or owners after the fall of the GCE command structure.


    *** Affiliations ***

    AFT Association of Free Traders (54) - Marion Tweedy
    BLG Bolg Organisation (22) - Akhenaten
    BHD Brotherhood (63) - de Molay
    CIA Combined Intelligence Agency (64) - Laton CIA
    DNA Displaced Natives Asylum (66) - DNA people
    DTR Detinus Republic (58) - Morley Decker
    DWK Dewiek Packs (19) - <Unknown>
    FCN Falconian Republic (70) – Graspien
    FEL Felini Tyranny (49) - Kr'Shan
    FLZ Flagritz Republic (47) - Kayxaer
    FET Frontier Exploration & Trade (56) - Cu Chulainn
    GTT Galactic Trade & Transport (52) - Xavier Fox
    HEX Hexamon (23) - Tranquility
    KRL Krell (30) - Namica
    KRT Krell of the Reverence Temple (37) - Cyn
    KST Kastor Kastorians (12) - Kastor
    MOH Mohache (73) – Listens
    NHS Noble Houses (41) – Roy Roberts
    NLF Naplian Liberation Front (38) - NLFHQ
    SMS Stellar Mining and Smelting (53) - MikhailM
    WMB Wimble Nations (25) - zz

    * Leader MAY be inactive, affiliation may be active
    ** Only known contact, please update us if this is incorrect.

    NPC / FoC: ARC, CIV, CGT, FRE, HBO, HEF, IND, ISP, JCN, MEK, MRC, PIR, PRV, TCA, TRN, KAS
    Inactive: ANT, COD, DEN, DOM, GCE, HVE, IDC, IMP, RIP, RCF, SKW, TAG,

    *** Submissions ***

    By private message to The Editor or via Mica if you prefer to remain anonymous.
     
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    *** Inter Galactic News ***

    Tension in the Corewards Arm

    With the DNA obtaining several ex-GCE bases in the Coreward Arm it has found itself in the middle of an asset grab of serious proportions and aggression. Our reporters witnessed several GTT troop carriers heading for the Corewards system as the DNA published information suggesting they were accidental owners of the system and that the assets were to be moved on. As the GTT ships started to arrive the bases were quickly passed to the CIA, thus thwarting the GTT intentions as they were hardly likely to start dropping troops on their allies bases. This shrew move by the DNA seems to have calmed matters in the Coreward arm temporarily, although the shift in relations between the GTT and DNA has taken a negative turn. When asked what their next move might be the GTT refused to comment.

    GCE collapse

    The GCE are no more, save for some scattered light freighters. The affiliation which enjoyed a sharp rise and profiltable relations with many has ceased trading. Rumors point to the GTT buying up GCE assets before stripping the rival corporation of anything of value. Although our reporters at the SSS have been quick to point out that any GCE assets not in GTT systems have been taken over by both the DNA and FET. So it seems many different affiliations were able to profit from this development including a new group called the HSH who appear to have taken over the GCE war fleet. No doubt many in the peripheries will be watching with interest where these ships are used, who the HSH are and how they were able to get thier hands on so many warships so quickly.


    Secudus trials

    In the Cluster Secudus has continued his trials, claiming to root out terrorists working against the Empire. With tends of thousands of beings being sent to the camps or worse. There is no sign of these actions stopping as the NHS clamp down on the locals and bring them under the harsh control of the Empire.


    *** Affiliations ***

    AFT Association of Free Traders (54) - Marion Tweedy
    BLG Bolg Organisation (22) - Akhenaten
    BHD Brotherhood (63) - de Molay
    CIA Combined Intelligence Agency (64) - Laton CIA
    DNA Displaced Natives Asylum (66) - DNA people
    DTR Detinus Republic (58) - Morley Decker
    DWK Dewiek Packs (19) - <Unknown>
    FCN Falconian Republic (70) – <Unknown>
    FEL Felini Tyranny (49) - Juris
    FLZ Flagritz Republic (47) - Kayxaer
    FET Frontier Exploration & Trade (56) - Cu Chulainn
    GTT Galactic Trade & Transport (52) - Xavier Fox
    HEX Hexamon (23) - Tranquility
    KRL Krell (30) - Namica
    KRT Krell of the Reverence Temple (37) - Cyn
    KST Kastor Kastorians (12) - Kastor
    MOH Mohache (73) – Listens
    NHS Noble Houses (41) – Roy Roberts
    NLF Naplian Liberation Front (38) - NLFHQ
    SMS Stellar Mining and Smelting (53) - MikhailM
    WMB Wimble Nations (25) - zz

    * Leader MAY be inactive, affiliation may be active
    ** Only known contact, please update us if this is incorrect.

    NPC / FoC: ARC, CIV, CGT, FRE, HBO, HEF, IND, ISP, JCN, MEK, MRC, PIR, PRV, TCA, TRN, KAS
    Inactive: ANT, COD, DEN, DOM, GCE, HVE, IDC, IMP, RIP, RCF, SKW, TAG,

    *** Submissions ***

    By private message to The Editor or via Mica if you prefer to remain anonymous.
     

    Free Ship when you sign-up
    Complete missions for in game rewards
    Control everything, up to an entire empire
    Dedicated human moderators
    Player and Moderator driven plotlines
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    Over 20 years of content development
    Persistent Browser-Based Game (PBBG)

    I’ve played on and off for approximately 10 years, over a 20 year spell. After some interesting debate on the in-game forum, I did wonder what, exactly, has kept drawing me back to the game, when for so many others I’ve generally lost interest after a few months.

    Ultimately, I think it is a combination of automation (that allows the game to handle thousands of positions to interact on a daily basis) coupled with Special Actions (that allow the story arc to develop in a way that could not be catered for by a set of predefined list of available orders).
    -Zigic