GTT-DTR Crisis
by Ringo Baxter, exclusive for the GGG
James Stryker, CEO of the Galactic Trade and Transport (GTT), announced this week the capture of a Detinus Republic (DTR) agent operating inside the outpost GTT Ves Gralock (76578), on the gas giant Bork's Dilemma, Rebellion System. Under interrogation, the agent known as Grey Man revealed to be working for Angus Sivar, DTR Minister of Defence. Approximately a week earlier, the same outpost had been sabotaged to change its flag from GTT to IND, an action that now has a prime suspect, the DTR agent Grey Man, who died during his interrogation by the GTT security staff.
We contacted Michelle Diaz, DTR Speaker of the House of Lords, to try to get their version of the incident, but received no reply. Cassius Jerusalem, DTR Foreign Minister, made a public statement apologizing for the incident but also suggesting that this could be just a case of inactive agents from the time of the war now resurfacing due to stricter security measures. Mr. Jerusalem also stated that to the best of his knowledge "not a single DTR agent or operative has run operations inside any IMP-bloc starbase since the end of the war", adding that he would resign from his office immediately if proved incorrect on this situation.
We talked with Mr. Stryker to get a better sense of how the GTT is reacting to this incident. "I naturally assumed the reflagging of the outpost to have been the handiwork of the COK or RCF and you can imagine my surprise when the crackdown revealed the presence of a hacking specialist on the payroll of the DTR. It appears the agent, Grey Man, has been there for about two years and no evidence was turned up implicating the DTR in the nefarious goings on at that outpost in the recent past. The evidence does not completely exonerate them either."
Regardless of the agent being responsible for the reflagging of the outpost or not, the mere presence of a DTR agent inside a GTT outpost can be seen as a very serious matter. Mr. Stryker is certainly not taking it lightly. "Under certain circumstances, using agents at someone else's base could be considered an act of war. If the GTT had proven DTR complicity in the act of flagging our base over to IND, there would have been serious consequences for that. It would probably be a stretch to consider the mere having agents at someone else's base a breach of the peace treaty, but employing such agents is counter to the spirit of the treaty. The sudden revelation of the DTR employing agents against the GTT has seriously undermined their reputation with us. This is a dark cloud that will hang over GTT-DTR relations for a long time to come."
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Great Trade Race (TM) Suspended
by Cornelius Merryheart, exclusive for the GGG
The Great Trade Race (TM) has been suspended due to lack of interest. We don't have enough sponsors to generate attractive prizes and we don't have enough markets to build an interesting challenge to competitors. We are sorry that we could not offer the sort of entertaining and profitable event we envisioned. We blame nobody but ourselves, for our excessive optimism and for thinking that all the cries of "we need more trade" and "nobody sells to my market" would translate into some enthusiasm for a tournament like the Great Trade Race (TM). We were surprised that only a couple of entrepreneurial minds offered to sponsor the competition, while some of the big affiliations sitting on large piles of money remained totally silent on the matter, but we were even more surprised that very few starbase governors wanted to use this opportunity to sell and buy items of their choosing. Again, the fault is ours for misreading the current situation and for thinking that all the people complaining about the state of galactic trading would actually want to do something that could generate some sparks. Our deepest thanks to the few individuals who offered to participate in the Great Trade Race (TM), especially those willing to sponsor it and those volunteering their markets.
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