Black-Bart

LHS 3447 is familiar to many independent pilots, being a popular starting point for those embarking on careers as traders, bounty hunters and explorers. But many of these pilots have bemoaned the relative inaccessibility of the system’s starports.
The Pilots Federation, in association with LHS 3447 Dynamic and Co, has announced plans to address the issue by constructing a new Orbis starport in LHS 3447. According to a spokesperson for the organisation, the new starport will orbit LHS 3447 B 1 a, making it particularly valuable to miners exploiting the LHS 3447 AB belt.
“The Pilots Federation is all about building a better future for the people who keep the galaxy moving. This new starport will give those people a valuable new trade and resupply hub, in addition to giving the system’s economy a boost.”
The campaign to construct the starport, which will be named ‘Bluford Orbital’, begins on the 25th of February 3302 and will run for two weeks. Pilots who want to support the first phase of the campaign are invited to deliver metals to Worlidge Terminal in LHS 3447.Update from Galnet News

The recent Federal operation to search for survivors from Starship One was eagerly supported by the galactic community, resulting in the safe recovery of thousands of escape pods, many of them containing living survivors. As the task of identifying the pod’s occupants continues, Federal President Zachary Hudson has made a surprising announcement: one of the escape pods taken to Leoniceno Orbital contains former Federal president Jasmina Halsey.
“When we started searching for the remains of Starship One it was with the aim of discovering what happened to the ship. I never imagined we would find survivors, and certainly not that one of them would be Jasmina Halsey.”
Asked about Halsey’s condition, Hudson said:
“The medical team at Leoniceno has described Halsey’s condition as critical but stable. It appears her escape pod was damaged and she sustained some injuries, so she’s being kept in an induced coma until her wounds have healed. This is likely to take weeks. If her condition changes I will be immediately notified.”Update from Galnet News

For years, the sparsely populated Orulas system has been dominated by the Orulas Blue Hand Gang, a ruthless criminal organisation. This cold-blooded band has been making life intolerable for the system’s inhabitants, but the local government appears reluctant to take a stand. Some have speculated that this is because the authorities receive regular kickbacks from the criminals.
But one resident has had enough. Rose Trebek, a former soldier and veteran of countless military campaigns, has established a defence initiative to clean up Orulas – the Joint Security Taskforce.
“I’m sick of these scumbags running my system,” said Trebek, “and I’m sick of the government looking the other way. It’s time to take care of these punks. But we can’t do it alone.”
“Our intelligence indicates that the Blue Hand is ferrying its spoils in big convoys to various fences. They trade mostly in escape pods, which they sell to shady pseudo-scientific outfits conducting illegal human experiments. We need pilots to swoop in, bust open the convoys, and recover as many pods as they can. We also need volunteers to sweep the system, taking out any Blue Hand ships they encounter. That should make things easier for the Commanders targeting the convoys.”
Trebek has the resources to offer generous incentives to those who support the campaign. But she has stressed that the operation will not be straightforward:
“If you’re not an experienced combat pilot, frankly you can’t help us. These Blue Hand dirtbags are the real deal. I don’t want your death on my conscience.”
The campaign begins on the 25th of February 3302 and will run for one week.Pilots who want to participate are advised to make their way to Wilkes Orbital in the Nespeleve system.Update from Galnet News

Doctor Elana Lorax, a leading contributor in the field of xeno biology, has released a statement to the media:
“Before we reached for the stars we destroyed countless species on our homeworld. Similarly, the colonization of Tau Ceti, Delta Pavonis, Achenar and many other systems resulted in the mass extinction of native life.”
“But humanity has yet to learn its lesson. The cry for meta-alloys is not unlike the lust for beaver-pelt top hats in ancient times. Thousands of barnacles have been destroyed, and for what? Defunct stations can be replaced. If the barnacles are destroyed for their meta-alloys we will lose their secrets forever.”
Doctor Lorax continued: “With a little patience we could unlock the secrets of the barnacle. Xeno biologists and chemists could learn to synthesize meta-alloys, given time. Unfortunately it seems humanity is going to destroy another unique lifeform for short-term, and short-sighted, gain.”
Commander CorrigendumUpdate from Galnet News

In a system near the NGC 1333 nebula, over 1,000 light years from the nearest starport, a pilot by the name of Commander Santander has reported discovering two occupied escape pods. The Commander was surveying a previously uncharted system and cruising near the surface of a rocky-ice body when the readings were detected. The crash site could be clearly seen from high altitude, so Santander went to investigate in his SRV. Fortunately, his Asp Explorer was equipped with a cargo rack.
In a transmission, the Commander said: “I don’t know how long they’ve been on this rock, or if the pods are working. I can’t do much for them here – my ship is fitted for exploration, not search and rescue. I’ll get them to port and let someone else open them up.”
Commander CryptomancerUpdate from Galnet News

Princess Aisling Duval’s recent emancipation effort has been criticised following revelations that over seven million slaves were purchased directly from slavers in the systems surrounding Uibuth. These purchases were made by independent traders supporting the princess’s liberation programme.
One Commander, who refused to take part in the programme, said: “I can’t see how funding slavers is going to stop the slave trade, unless Aisling expects them to retire now they’re wealthy.”
Commander Dissident SmithUpdate from Galnet News

It has been over a month since personnel at Obsidian Orbital reported that meta-alloys had been used to alleviate the starport’s ongoing technical issues. Since then, there has been widespread speculation that the meta-alloys might hold the key to eradicating the technological plague that has blighted so many starports in recent months. But the only attempt to verify the theory was brought to an abrupt end with the mysterious disappearance of Professor Ishmael Palin, who had been researching the meta-alloys.
A member of the technical team at Irens Dock in the Manite system, one of the latest starports to experience technical issues, commented on the situation:
“When I heard the news from Obsidian Orbital I expected people to start taking meta-alloys to the other affected starports, but that hasn’t happened. Maybe people are being cautious – after all, we don’t know for sure that the meta-alloys can help. But if you ask me, it’s worth a shot.”
The latest data on affected starports follows.
Starports where services have been suspended:
Ackerman Market, Eravate
von Bellingshausen Port, Almar
Haack Gateway, Halbangaay
Gabriel Enterprise, Harma
Gurragchaa Gateway, Warkushanui
Gaiman Dock, 49 Arietis
Weyn Dock, 64 Arietis
Korolyov Hub, Arawere
Lobachevsky Outpost, Pic Tok
Carter Port, Rhea
Starports experiencing technical issues:
Irens Dock, Manite
Bloch Vision, Loperada
Skvortsov Orbital, 63 G. Capricorni
Tall Enterprise, Ngalia
Love Ring, Evejitaka
al-Din Prospect, Alpha Centauri
Robigo Mines, Robigo
Saunders’s Dive, Wolf 1301
Alexander Freeport, HIP 18843
Coats Hub, Warkushanui
Bond Hub, Varati
Hinz Hub, Ngobe
Tsunenaga Dock, Iapodes
Li Qing Jao, Sol
Ray Gateway, Diaguandri
Vizcaino Enterprise, Nganji
Talos 2, PeregrinaUpdate from Galnet News

Federal President Zachary Hudson has announced that the search for survivors from Starship One has been met with an overwhelmingly positive response. Mere hours after the campaign began, thousands of escape pods had been delivered to Leoniceno Orbital, many of them containing living survivors. In the wake of the initiative’s success, President Hudson released a statement to the media:
“I have been overwhelmed by the response to this campaign, which has resulted in the rescue of thousands of individuals, and I am delighted to confirm that some of the recovered pods are indeed from Starship One. We are not yet in a position to release the identities of those we have rescued, but we hope to be able to do so soon. In the meantime I would once again like to extend my gratitude to those who contributed to the search.”
The recovery of so many escape pods will almost certainly prompt speculation that former Federal president Jasmina Halsey may be among the survivors.Update from Galnet News

Verity Gavroche, public correspondent for the Canonn Interstellar Research Group, has been speaking to Dr Arcanonn about his teams’ ongoing research:
“I realise the public might think our research has stopped because the barnacles and the Unknown Artefacts have not been in the news, but I can assure you that we are still hard at work. Many Commanders have undertaken expeditions to distant nebulae in the hope of uncovering more barnacles. We’ve also been working hard to map all the barnacle sites in the Pleiades. In fact, a new site was recently discovered on Pleiades Sector IH-V C2-16 C4.”
“We are also trying to understand why the barnacles appear in the Pleiades. Are the raw materials in the nebulae important for their growth? Perhaps the ancient cloud the Pleiades is moving through has long held the ‘seeds’ for Barnacle growth, and they’ve only now taken root? We don’t know, but we will continue our research.”
Commander Lord ZoltanUpdate from Galnet News

Benjamin Gorrister, founder of the Carmack Intergalactic Mining Association, has announced an initiative to discover the location of pristine metallic rings. With nearly 300 locations identified so far, the CIMA is currently leading the way in data collection on pristine metallic rings. In a statement, Gorrister said:
“In memory of George Washington Carmack, who triggered the greatest gold rush in human history, we are offering rewards to all Commanders who provide us with the location of new pristine metallic rings. Each new discovery will be rewarded with 100,000 credits. We will give an additional 30 million credits to the pilot contributing the most information, 20 million credits to the second-place contributor, and 10 million credits to the third-place contributor. May the best prospector win!”
The event will run for 42 days, starting on the 21st of February 3302.
Karen Keish
Theta Wave NewsUpdate from Galnet News