Galnet News

Admiral Denton Patreus has announced that the Imperial appeal for construction materials has reached a successful conclusion. A spokesperson for the Morai Nobles, which helped to coordinate the campaign, confirmed that scores of Imperial pilots supported the initiative to construct three new Majestic-class Interdictors by delivering supplies to van de Hulst Vision in the Morai system.
As the campaign concluded, Admiral Patreus issued a statement:
“Once again, the galaxy’s Imperial pilots have shown themselves to be industrious and resourceful.
It is individuals like you who make the Empire what it is.”
“Construction of the new ships will begin at once.”
Pilots who contributed to the initiative are now free to collect their rewards from de Hulst Vision.Update from Galnet News

The United Research Council, one of the galaxy’s largest independent scientific organisations, has announced an ambitious new research programme.
The programme, which is expected to last approximately six weeks, will initially encompass all systems within a 30 light-year radius of the Coritab, Darian, Freng and Lunduwalaya systems. Other systems may be added to the list as the programme progresses.
The Alliance, the Empire and the Federation have all agreed to grant the Council exclusive access to these systems for the duration of its research programme. Civilian and military traffic will be free to traverse the region, but pilots pledged to one of the galaxy’s major powers will be unable to lay claim to these systems while the project is active.
Professor Ray Miller, director of the organisation, elaborated on the nature of the exercise:
“The programme is in most respects unremarkable – we will be monitoring radiation levels, recording the positions of celestial bodies, and so on – but it is also highly sensitive. The passage of a single ship will not disturb our experiments, but large-scale activity could prove highly disruptive.”
“We thank the galactic community in advance for its understanding.”Update from Galnet News

A pair of independent pilots by the names of Noctrach and Ihazevich has discovered the remains of what appears to be a starship on planet 9a of the Pleiades Sector AB-W B2-4 system. The discovery represents the culmination of a galaxy-wide hunt coordinated by the ‘Granger Gang’ – a band of miscreants led by the smuggler and bounty hunter Otto Granger.
The event began with a cryptic message delivered by Granger to news feeds throughout the galaxy. This was followed by a series of enigmatic clues, inserted into news channels at a number of starports.
Solving these clues led pilots to the three members of the Granger Gang: Otto Granger, Mahina Dillon and Logan Khol. When confronted, Granger and his companions claimed to have made a discovery of profound importance, but they refused to reveal the nature or location of this discovery.
Instead, each member of the gang said they would issue a request for a specific commodity, promising to reveal further information if they received what they asked for. Logan Khol’s subsequent request for narcotics was enthusiastically received by the galactic community, and when his targets were met, a further clue was released:
“The latitude was -26 and it was a cold moon in the Pleiades sector with the letters ‘AB’ in its name.”
Although the Granger Gang planned to release further clues, they were quickly rendered redundant. Within hours of Khol releasing his information to the public, Commanders Noctrach and Ihazevich discovered the mysterious wreckage.
Commentators throughout the galaxy have been quick to offer their opinions on this remarkable discovery.
“I’m familiar with every starship design of the past fifty years, and most of the older ones, too,” said Augustus Sym, an Imperial veteran and former test pilot based in the Achenar system, “and I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s no doubt in my mind – that is an alien ship.”
Others have adopted a more cautious stance, while acknowledging that the find could be significant. Professor Ishmael Palin, a leading authority on xeno-biological research, said:
“I have always been open to the possibility of intelligent non-human life, and this wreck may indeed be an alien vessel. But I will withhold judgement until further evidence is released, or at least until I have an opportunity to inspect the site myself!”Update from Galnet News

Technical personnel at New Dawn Station in the Ceos system have announced a breakthrough in the ongoing fight against the so-called technological plague.
Tag Arthurs, head of the starport’s technical team, released the following statement to news feeds:
“Although our understanding of meta-alloys remains incomplete, we are now able to apply them much more efficiently. Consequently, we now need much smaller quantities of meta-alloys to return a malfunctioning starport to functionality – half as much as we used to, in fact.”
“We’ve also determined that the week immediately following the first signs of Unknown Artefact-related interference is a critical one. If an affected starport can be supplied with meta-alloys within that week, it is far less likely that the situation at the starport will worsen.”Update from Galnet News

News feeds throughout the galaxy have received a mysterious message from an as-yet undetermined source.
The message, which is reprinted in full below, appears to contain an oblique reference to a particular location, but the nature of the communiqué makes it hard to determine exactly what it refers to.
“We’ve found something. Something incredible. Something the whole galaxy will want to see. The truth.”
“We could show it to you, but that wouldn’t be much fun. So instead we’re going to play a little game.”
“It begins on the 28th. We’ll be waiting for you.”
The Federal Security Service, aware that the message will pique the interest of the galactic community, said:
“Frankly, I suspect this is some kind of hoax, but there will inevitably be some who attempt to unravel the mystery. All we can do is urge them to exercise caution.”Update from Galnet News

Independent auditor BigSix has reported various anomalies in the accounts of MetaDrive Inc., a company based in the Chi Orionis system specialising in hyperdrive research.
Reviewing the company’s financial records, assessors found evidence of a series of payments to undisclosed suppliers but none of the corresponding checks and balances.
“It’s a big mess,” said the senior auditor of BigSix. “The company is being placed in receivership. It needs a buyer, and quickly.”
Femi Dakarai, the chairman of MetaDrive Inc., was not available for comment.
Following the news, shares in MetaDrive Inc. plummeted. But a short time later, Sirius Corp unexpectedly volunteered to prop up the company.
“We’ve been interested in collaboration for a while,” said the marketing manager of Sirius Corp’s hyperdrive research division, “and were in talks over licensing MetaDrive’s exciting new technology. We have no desire to see them go under.”Update from Galnet News

Following the success of the Total Recall race in April, the Buckyball Racing Club has once again been contacted by a leading manufacturer of SRV tyres to help improve its public profile. Pilots from remote settlements throughout human space have claimed that the latest TrakMark tyres are not fit for purpose, resulting in damage to SRVs after just a few kilometres. It’s up to the Buckyball Racing Club to prove them wrong.
The race, which starts in the Cernobog system, runs from the 27th of August to the 4th of September.
Commander Alec Turner
Buckyball Race OrganiserUpdate from Galnet News

The 80 DD-D 774-CE-2 faction, an independent organisation based at Jaques Station in the Eol Prou RS-T d3-94 system, has issued a request for exploration data. The request is part of an ongoing initiative to establish a permanent community in the Colonia Nebula.
A spokesperson for 80 DD-D 774-CE-2 released the following statement:
“If we’re going to settle in the Colonia Nebula then we need to know more about it, which is why we’re currently offering highly competitive rates for exploration data. After all, pilots will be making the trek out to Jaques anyway – might as well make some credits en route.”
80 DD-D 774-CE-2 has promised to reward pilots who deliver exploration data to Jaques Station in the Eol Prou RS-T d3-94 system. The campaign begins on the 25th of August 3302 and will run for four weeks.Update from Galnet News

In his keynote speech at a recent conference, Karl Devene, head of the Federal Astrocartography Department, warned would-be explorers of the dangers of venturing into the void:
“While there are some very well-organised expeditions, many are poorly prepared and have no goals beyond pursuing ridiculous myths echoing back from the edge of inhabited space. It is dangerous and irresponsible to venture into uncharted areas without proper discipline.”
“What we need is sound astrocartographic data – not a bunch of amateurs traipsing all over the place and making a complete mess of the whole situation.”
“I will be making deputations to various authorities to curtail these activities and leave exploration in the hands of the professionals.”
“If humanity finds itself in a first-contact position, do we really want some grubby, ill-prepared spacer to be our envoy? I think not.”Update from Galnet News

Arque Commodities has announced that its campaign to clear the Arque system of agitators has been a success. Hundreds of pilots responded to the appeal, taking to their ships to eliminate the criminals operating in the system.
Authorities in the Arque system have extended their gratitude to those who participated in the operation.
Rewards for those who contributed to the initiative are now available for collection at Austen Town Station.Update from Galnet News