GGG - Issue Six - 210.44.1

New Viceroy Murdered
by Cornelius Merryheart, exclusive for the GGG

Less than a month after being appointed Viceroy of the Imperial Services, Kyle Blackthorne has been killed by enemies of the Empire. An explosion surprised everyone and claimed the life of the new Viceroy at the undisclosed location where he awaited his transfer to IMP Jax (2990), the Imperial Services headquarters in the Capellan System.

We talked with Ms. Lee Holloway, Secretary to the late Viceroy, and she gave us some details. Apparently, an assassin was able to breach security and detonate an antimatter device in close proximity to the Viceroy, with both the victim and the murderer perishing in the explosion. "The investigation team have turned up small fragments of bone and teeth all in very poor condition, due to the apparent intensity of the fire. Though preliminary indications show a genetic match for the former Viceroy, there is also the body of an unknown, thought to be female. Though there is nothing to suggest who might be responsible at this stage, the team have uncovered what appear to be small fragments of an antimatter bomb and the area is awash with radiation."

We mourn with the Imperial Services and eagerly wait for the mastermind behind this horrid attack to be exposed and brought to justice.

-o-

Affiliation Leader, Hazardous Profession
by Ringo Baxter, exclusive for the GGG

Rising to the topmost position of an affiliation used to be only a great achievement, but nowadays it seems to be also a great danger. In the last weeks, quite a few organizations lost their leaders to violent circumstances. Here are some of the recent deaths of affiliation leaders:

Star Date 210.43.3 - Kyle Blackthorne, leader of the IMP, reported murdered
Star Date 210.41.5 - Skaven, leader of the KRL, reported killed in combat
Star Date 210.35.3 - GT Spugman, leader of the RIP, reported assassinated

-o-

Krazy Kastorian Kanji Nukes CNF outpost in the Barnard System
by Kaspar Khan, exclusive for the GGG

Hated terrorist Kanji continues his crazy crusade against apparently everyone in the galaxy. This time he pointed his weapons of mass destruction against the outpost CNF Ascalon (40851), holder of the Commonwealth claim for the Barnard System. Kanji's ships IND Blunt Smoke (13861) and IND Kultist (21985) fired four rounds of nuclear missiles and caused a reported damage of 3,000,000 MUs on the asteroid Chi CLXVI (8095). The 10,000 troops stationed at the outpost are not expected to have survived, although we have heard a few optimistic rumours that someone there may still be alive to tell the story of this infernal event.

The vicious attack has already been widely condemned, with manifestations of solidarity coming from parties as diverse as the DTR, the IMP and the DEN. As a Kastorian, I am ashamed that this kind of mindless and gratuitous destruction is being generated by someone of my species. I sincerely hope that leaders of the Kastorian Military Junta (KAS) take action to expel Kanji from their space, unequivocally showing that we don't support terrorists.

-o-

GGG - Issue Five - 210.43.1

More Treachery from the HLQ
by Cornelius Merryheart, exclusive for the GGG

We are all used to the dirty schemes and general unpleasantness that emanates from House LiQuan (HLQ). But this week they have outdone themselves and proved once again that they don't care about lives or properties, alliances or treaties, honor or integrity. The only thing that matters to House LiQuan is House LiQuan, and they will stop at nothing to further their ambitions.

The first incident happened in the Dolphinus System. The HLQ had already asked the Triumvirate to make an exception to the Inner Empire claiming agreement so they could claim Dolphinus not for the Commonwealth but for themselves. Permission was denied but that didn't mean much to House LiQuan. They just went ahead and incited the local population to claim the system for the HLQ, a claim that despite representing just a vocal minority from planet Frolic (total population is over 2,500,000 humans, the civilian claim is just from 25,000 people) is large enough to topple the current claim (10,000 troops). Representatives from House LiQuan, cynically, say it's not their fault the locals prefer them to the Commonwealth, conveniently ignoring that it was the recent Demetrius and Jessica LiQuan visit to Frolic that triggered this new claim and shamelessly pretending that Aldahan LiQuan never threatened to do exactly that, stir local populations against other members of the Commonwealth.

The second incident happened in the Mizam System. The HLQ attacked and destroyed a whole celestial body, an asteroid called Ruby, and the Imperial Services (IMP) installations that had been there for years. Around 300 lives were lost and the material damage is estimated to surpass 2,000,000 MUs. Aldahan LiQuan's excuse that he was just waging war against the Dewiek Elder Nation (DEN) is hard to believe, as there were no DEN assets in Ruby and hardly any DEN presence in the system. Mizam, despite being claimed in the name of the DEN, has been controlled by the Konstantin family for many years, since the DEN offered the system as a sanctuary to the Dominion (DOM), which are now part of the IMP. Even if we were to believe that the HLQ were completely ignorant of the IMP presence in the system, how to justify the deliberate destruction of a whole celestial body (in the words of Aldahan LiQuan, "a ripe target for the show of force") without even checking if any citizens of the Empire could be injured in the process?

Now, with a spurious system claim and an attack against the Imperial Services, the HLQ have clearly put themselves in a very bad position. They obviously don't care for the unity of the Commonwealth or for the well being of the Empire. If these matters are treated properly, the HLQ should be forced to make reparations or suffer dire consequences. They should ensure that the Dolphinus System is claimed in the name of the Commonwealth, either by convincing the population of Frolic to withdraw or amend their civilian claim or by placing enough trained troops in the system to successfully claim it for the Commonwealth. They should issue a public apology to the IMP, fully reimburse them for their losses in the Mizam System, and also promise to refrain from further actions that may harm any signatory of the Peace Accord. If the HLQ are unable or unwilling to comply, or if they perform this kind of actions again, they should simply be expelled from the Commonwealth and from the Inner Empire.

The response to the LiQuan treacheries should be swift and forceful. But it should also be conducted legally and with the best interests of the Empire and the Commonwealth in mind. Rushing into a vengeful war against the HLQ could be not only the worst possible reaction but also exactly the kind of reaction the HLQ were hoping to get. They have proved again and again that they don't care for a unified Empire and that they care even less for a unified Commonwealth. Let's not help them destroy what we worked so hard to achieve.

-o-

The Chicken from Yank
by Ringo Baxter, exclusive for the GGG

This is another story I heard from an IND merchant during one of my trips to Mobile Bay. I'm not sure if it really happened but I found it amusing anyway. Take it as a work of imagination or as piece of popular culture if you want.

Some time last year a DTR bureaucrat was ordering lunch at one of the many restaurants you can find in Solo. He had a peculiar request: "I want a roasted whole chicken, but it has to be a chicken from Yank." Ten minutes later, the waiter brought his dish. The bureaucrat looked at the chicken, looked at his index finger, inserted his index finger into the chicken's butthole, pulled it out, looked at his finger again, then pronounced: "This chicken is from Pegasus, I want a chicken from Yank." Ten minutes later, he got another chicken. He looked at the new chicken, looked at his index finger, inserted his index finger into the new chicken's butthole, pulled it out, looked at his finger again, then pronounced: "This chicken is from Dorn, I want a chicken from Yank." Ten minutes later, he got another chicken. He looked at the third chicken, looked at his index finger, inserted his index finger into the third chicken's butthole, pulled it out, looked at his finger again, then pronounced: "This chicken is from Fortoon, I want a chicken from Yank." This scene was repeated another few times when a very intoxicated Falconian, who had been watching everything from the bar, approached the DTR bureaucrat and said: "Excuze me, Zir, I've been drunkz for zeveral dayz now and there'z no wayz I can remember where I live, could you pleaze put your finger up my butt and tell me where I come from?"

-o-

GGG - Issue Four - 210.42.1

Baron Meklan
by Cornelius Merryheart, exclusive for the GGG

The good news is that Aldahan LiQuan, leader of House LiQuan (HLQ), has been submitted to medical exams to determine the risks, if any, of his partial meklanization. The bad news is that the scientists in charge of these procedures failed to answer some very important questions.

According to the reports provided by the CIA, it has been confirmed that there is a firewall in LiQuan's head. But there are some conflicting statements that need further clarification. LiQuan had initially informed that, in case of a breach, his brain would be shut off by the firewall: "The technicians say that they have incorporated a firewall to the brainstem which should stop the nanites from completing the meklanisation process. If nanites are detected in the brain, the firewall will shut down the brain automatically, effectively killing the baron." The CIA doctors, however, make no mention to this failsafe feature and only point to the existence of a barrier to the nanites: "the firewall in the baron's mind consists of many ganglions that are treated at frequencies that will not interfere with typical neurological signals but will deactivate any nanites that attempt to pass along the nerve sleeves and into the brain of the Baron". They also imply that they don't fully understand the process taking place in LiQuan's head, acknowledging the presence of "a large build-up of nerve structures below some of these firewall ganglions", which they describe as puzzling: "They may be nothing more than improving reaction times for automatic actions such as pulling a hand away from a hot surface but the team think that there may be some local processing also involved."

So we still don't know how effective this firewall is, we still don't know if it will really shut down the brain in case some nanites manage to breach the barrier, we still don't know if the nanites can directly or indirectly influence LiQuan's actions, and we still don't know if despite not having a direct connection to the brain the nanites can still communicate with whatever external powers control Meklans, possibly transmitting valuable information about the Empire to the enemy. There are simply too many unknown factors at this point, and at best LiQuan is a very serious risk. He should be kept away from the Emperor and he should be kept away from any sensitive information about the Empire or the Commonwealth.

-o-

FET Exodus
by Ringo Baxter, exclusive for the GGG

Much seems to be changing in the Frontier Exploration & Trade (FET). First, Krazy Kastorian Kanji left the affiliation in an explosive manner, kidnapping the CEO and stealing precious assets and information. Then almost as fast as they were welcoming new recruits, older and more established members started to leave and retire.

We talked with Pahl Kantner, well known former FET trader and head of the Lost Planet Airmen, and asked him what made him decide to retire. He wasn't in a very good mood but agreed to a short declaration: "Ah was dismayed 'n disheartened by the recent turns o' events in the FET. Ah was distressed by the changes in attitude 'n direction o' the new FET. 'Nuff said!"

We also talked with Peregrine Lanner, another well known former FET member, who also decided to retire after a long time in the affiliation. He explained the situation in the FET with more detail: "The expulsion of Kanji pretty much coincided with the arrival of new affiliates with new ideas, perhaps more in keeping with FET's old school profile. I found myself arguing more and more against the suggestions being offered as to how FET should move forward."

The FET attack on the FCN also had, of course, a big impact on the way affiliation policy was perceived internally and externally. Mr. Lanner confirms this: "The Falconiangate incident pretty much sealed things. I am sure CEO Norozov would be the first to admit that the reaction to his mercenary actions against the FCN shocked him. I am not referring to the general anti-FET rhetoric that abounded after the event became public, that was political points scoring and was only to be expected. What made me realise that perhaps the operation had been a mistake was the reaction of our allies and in particular, the IMP Viceroy (at the time). Ike Kreiger is someone I admire greatly and for him to come out and virtually condemn us as being no better than the RIP, well that was the clincher. It was time to leave."

Many now await the next move from the FET. Will they try to reorganize and realign their goals with those of the Imperial Block? Or will they pursue a more daring line of work that seems to draw inspiration from the smugglers and mercenaries who originally built the affiliation?

-o-

GGG - Issue Three - 210.41.1

Interview: Skaven, leader of the KRL
by Tess Olsen, exclusive for the GGG

It must be said that Skaven, leader of the KRL, has some very good moments. Sitting on his command chair and smoking his presidential pipe, he seems to have arranged his surroundings to exude an air of statesmanship where even common objects like a chair or a pipe carry adjectives adequate to his position. Perhaps inspired by all this ambiance, he is sometimes capable of making statements good enough to end up in history books or commemorative plaques.

Skaven: "Almost every revolution against tyranny starts with people who want freedom and cannot match the military might of their oppressors. Many a small spark leads to a fire that gains the oppressed freedom."

Unfortunately, he isn't like that all the time, not even most of the time. There were moments during our interview when I asked myself whether I was talking with a very naive person or a totally delusional individual. For example, when we asked him about the pirate ships docked at and in orbit of a KRL outpost in the Adventure System.

Skaven: "The pirate ships are not under my control. I suppose the pirates found my outpost as easily as the IMPs did. I did not have the pirates or IMPs or anyone else on my enemy list simply because I never thought anyone could find the outpost so easily. Obviously, it is easy to find such a 'secret' base."

And he said all that without even a smirk. No reference to the fact that those pirate ships were the very same ones that he claimed to have sold to an undisclosed third party. No reference to the fact that Skaven himself had previously denied in public the presence of those pirate ships in and around his outpost, saying it was all "quite a work of fiction". I looked into his eyes and honestly could not tell whether he really believed he could fool us all or he believed the lies himself. One way or the other, his story is that he is being framed.

Skaven: "The IMP Block have a long history of splinter factions that could directly or indirectly want to frame the Krell. It would be a small matter for such experts as the IMP Block in matters of black ops and pirates to set up an honest business man like myself."

Despite all the confidence and all the bravado, there is a sense of doom around Skaven. He feels that no matter what he does the fate of the Krell will be the same, and it seems he has accepted his role as the one who will fight until the end no matter what the consequences are. Diplomatic efforts to solve the situation have apparently been discarded a while ago.

Skaven: "The previous Krell warlords have tried to placate the IMP Block's unwelcome exploiters and all it got them was more outposts from the GTT sucking what few resources Inversion, our home world, has left. There is nothing left for the Krell. We have nothing to lose based on the abuses of the GTT."

His rant against the IMP and the GTT went on and on, and we all know from his public speeches how Skaven feels about humans in general and the Imperial Block in particular. Which is unfortunate, because he is in a position to make history and carve a new future for the Krell but prefers to resort to piracy and then let his own people suffer the consequences. In the middle of his cascade of accusations, however, once in a while that spark of a true leader shines through. Skaven can sometimes make you contemplate the situation from a different perspective.

Skaven: "Imagine if Inversion was Earth, what would you do?"

-o-

A Note from the Editor

When we approached Mr. Skaven for an interview, he made two demands: that we paid him a fee and that we printed his words in full. We refused to comply in both cases and I want to explain why. This will hopefully give an insight on some principles behind the Great Galactic Gazette.

We don't pay for information. We don't compensate our sources with cash or goodies. We don't practice checkbook journalism. The information we use is judged on its intrinsic value, not on a price tag that may be attached to it. Now, to be fair with Mr. Skaven, he did ask for a very low sum and he did ask the money to go to the victims of the war in the Storm System. So, although we won't pay Mr. Skaven for his interview, we are setting up an outpost in an unclaimed system just to receive Krell refugees wishing to relocate. They will receive food, shelter and medical attention until they can be transferred to a new home elsewhere.

We don't republish press releases. We investigate, we gather information, we edit it, we add context and opinion, then we publish the result. We call that journalism. If what you want is an outlet for your speeches or press releases, I'm sure there are many options around. Mr. Skaven has threatened to publish his full unedited interview himself if we don't, and he is welcome to do that if he wants. We just doubt it will be such a good read as what you can find here in the Great Galactic Gazette.

Cornelius Merryheart
Editor of the Great Galactic Gazette

-o-

GGG - Issue Two - 210.40.1

FET attack FCN
by Cornelius Merryheart, exclusive for the GGG

Last week a squad of FET warships entered the Acropolis System (162) and attacked two FCN platforms. FET CEO Zuvoro Norozov declared afterwards that he had been paid by an undisclosed client to perform the strike. Consul Armand of the Falconian Republic was expectedly incensed and reacted to the unprovoked attack by withdrawing transit and development rights in Falconian systems to the FET and declaring FET assets illegal in those systems. Mr. Norozov's mercenary adventure unsurprisingly received a very negative reaction from the galactic community. His attempt to paint this operation as the sole responsibility of his Norozov Holdings, a FET subsidiary group, and not something that the affiliation as a whole should be accountable for was also met with skepticism.

We talked with the FET leader and he told us that the job was a lucrative one: "I will not disclose the exact amount, but it was enough to keep the squadron running for a good few months." Also, the contract seemed to include a sliding scale, with more money paid as more damage was inflicted. Mr. Norozov refused to reveal the identity of his client and expressed dismay at the general unwillingness to treat the FET as not responsible for the incident. "I also want to try and make the peripheries at large understand that not all affiliations are big single minded entities and that just because one part of any affiliation does something it doesn't necessarily mean the whole affiliation is involved."

Mr. Norozov seems to be lacking understanding of two concepts: trust and accountability. As members of the Imperial Block, the FET should know that they cannot launch unsanctioned attacks against someone who isn't an enemy of the Empire. And when an affiliation doesn't condemn and rectify the mistakes of one of its members (even more so if said member is their leader) responsibility for those acts will be assigned to the affiliation as a whole.

It's curious that, by deciding to perform this mercenary mission while openly flying the FET flag, CEO Zuvoro Norozov totally disregarded the famous FET mantra: "Never get caught!"

-o-

The Monk, the Flagritz and the Felini
by Ringo Baxter, exclusive for the GGG

I heard this story from an IND merchant during one of my trips to Mobile Bay. I'm not sure if it really happened but I found it amusing anyway. Take it as a work of imagination or as piece of popular culture if you want.

Some time last year a BHD monk was visiting a moon in the Outer Capellan Periphery and stumbled upon a nice beach. The monk was surprised to see many Flagritz enjoying themselves on the golden sand but even more surprised to see a lone Felini swimming in the sea. The tentacled sunbathers didn't seem to be paying much attention to the swimmer, until three large shark-like creatures appeared from the depth and started to approach the Felini. An alert signal echoed through the beach as several Flagritz jumped into the water and headed towards the Felini. They arrived there very quickly, but by then the poor swimmer had already been fighting for his life for a little while. The rescuers were well equipped and attacked the sharks without fear, pounding their heads with little mallets and finishing the job with harpoons. It didn't take long until they were all back at the shore, the Flagritz rescuers, the three dead sharks, and the badly hurt but still alive Felini. The monk was moved by this display of selfless courage and improvised a little speech praising the brave Flagritz who put the old rivalry aside to save a poor Felini from a terrible fate. He then bade farewell to all and started his journey back home. After the monk left, one of the Flagritz asked:

"Who was that?"

"I think he was a BHD monk. Some say they are really nice people."

"Well, he may be nice but he knows nothing about shark hunting. Now put the bait back into his cage and let's go home and eat some shark steak."

-o-