GGG - Issue 28 - 211.49.1

Interview: Admiral H.P. Simms, Grand Duke of the Capellan Reaches
by Tess Olsen, exclusive for the GGG

This week Emperor Lysander granted the title of Grand Duke of the Capellan Reaches to Admiral H.P. Simms, popularly known as Lord Simms, for his tenure as former Viceroy and "in recognition of more than a decade in the role and his continuing support of the Empire in the Capellan Periphery". This is obviously an exceptional honor and only the second Grand Duke of the Empire in more than 50 years (the first one being the Grand Duke of the Imperial Frontier). The last person to hold the title of Grand Duke of the Capellan Reaches was Lord Rachmaninov, who for a time after the Rebellion governed Tau Ceti, Pollux and Trinity. Grand Duke Simms, who is now signing his messages just as Capellan Reaches, holds the claim to no less than five systems within the Capellan Peripheries.

GGG: For how long have you been a member of the Imperial Services (IMP) and for how long did you serve as Viceroy?

Simms: I joined the Imperial Services in 194, having been sent out from the Inner Empire to fill the role of Patrol Commissioner. I took over as Viceroy about eighteen months later and served until circa 208/9.

GGG: Why did you decide to step down as Viceroy?

Simms: I had achieved my objective of negotiating an equitable end to a war that I considered neither side could win and felt that is was time for new blood with new ideas to head the Imperial Services.

GGG: Viceroy Krieger seemed to be following your good steps and working towards more peace and more unification, but after his resignation and the assassination of Viceroy Blackthorne, the IMP had a strange shift in policy, with Viceroy Githyanki reneging the Commonwealth and adopting a much more belligerent stance. What are your views on current IMP policy?

Simms: As a member of the Comand Council it would be inappropriate for me to comment on Imperial Policy.

GGG: More than a year has passed since Viceroy Blackthorne was murdered. Yet, no suspect has been arrested or charged with the crime and it seems that the IMP are not able or willing to find and prosecute whoever was responsible for this heinous assassination. How can that be?

Simms: Anti-matter explosions leave very little evidence and the actual perpetrator is believed to have died in the blast, so asking who his employer was is not a viable proposition.

GGG: What changes for you now that you are a Grand Duke?

Simms: I shall continue doing my duty as a member of the Imperial Services, the only real change will be to my signature: Capellan Reaches.

-o-

The Battle of the Wastelands: Who Won and Who Lost?
by Cornelius Merryheart, exclusive for the GGG

As we observed the last Dewiek ships leaving the orbit of Kalahari, the question was already in our minds: who are the winners here? The situation contains enough complications to allow any side to claim victory, depending on which aspect they want to prioritize. As an exercise in galactic politics, we made a list of where each participant scored positive and negative points. Obviously, lists of this kind are subjective and incomplete, and you may have different views on the subject. Here is how we see it.

Dewiek Elder Nation (DEN)
(+) Showed that if they want a battle there will be a battle.
(+) Destroyed 36 ships while losing only 8 ships.
(+) Showed that they can count on the support (or at least the non-involvement) of the IMP even when they attack another Imperial affiliation.
(-) Showed that they don't respect Imperial Space and don't care for legally registered claims.
(-) Were surprised by the level of support the RVN had to defend the Wastelands System.
(-) Didn't achieve their stated goal of changing the claim to the Wastelands System.
(-) Didn't achieve their stated goal of obtaining transit rights for the DEN in RVN systems.

House Ravenstone (RVN)
(+) Showed no hesitation in defending Imperial Space against forces in superior number and technology.
(+) Maintained the status quo of their system claims.
(+) Showed that they have friends that will help in times of need.
(-) Were forced into a fight they would prefer not to fight.
(-) Lost 13 ships and a big chunk of an orbital platform.

House LiQuan (HLQ)
(+) Showed they are there to defend Imperial Space and to support a Noble House.
(-) Lost 19 ships.

Confederate Forces (CNF)
(+) Showed they are there to defend Imperial Space and to support a Noble House.
(-) Lost 4 ships.

Galactic Trade & Transport (GTT)
(+) Showed they are there to defend Imperial Space and to support a Noble House.
(+) Showed they are ready to put honor before profit.
(-) Lost assets in the Dewiek Pocket Periphery as a consequence of siding against the DEN.
(-) Showed that their starcaptains need either better training or more restraint, as their warships shot at friend and foe indiscriminately.

Imperial Services (IMP)
(-) Showed that, under their current Viceroy, their oath to defend space claimed in the name of the Empire is worthless.
(-) Showed that, under their current Viceroy, they will stand idle while an alien affiliation, their allies no less, attack Imperial Citizens in Imperial Space.

-o-

GGG - Issue 27 - 211.48.1

War: Dewiek Against Humans
by Cornelius Merryheart, exclusive for the GGG

This week the Dewiek Elder Nation (DEN) launched an attack against the House Ravenstone (RVN), sending a warfleet of at least one hundred warships into the Wastelands System and opening fire against the platform RVN Kalahari Watcher (10309), in orbit of the planet Kalahari, home to the starbase RVN Port Scheherazade (3173). The invaders were received by a combined fleet of warships flagged RVN, HLQ and CNF.

On the second day of battle, with permission from the RVN, we sent our GGG ship to observe the action. In a somewhat surprising development, we saw the arrival of a sizable fleet of GTT warships that immediately joined the combat, although at certain moments it was hard to tell on which side they were fighting. Space was filled with the debris of at least thirty ships but possibly as many as fifty. Based on our limited sensors, we would estimate that three to four hundred ships are now involved in the battle, most of them over 100 hulls, and the platform seems to be still standing and functional.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Services (IMP) have been totally silent on this matter and apparently ignoring that one of their stated objectives is "to defend the Emperor and space claimed in his name and for the Imperium". Grand Duke Blake Ravenstone urged the IMP to renounce their alliance with the DEN and said that "there is no honest justification" for them "to continue to support an alien affiliation that wages war against Imperial citizens inside Imperial space".

(Note from the Editor: We contacted the DEN with a few questions about the attack but received no reply.)

-o-

War: Felini Against Flagritz
by Tess Olsen, exclusive for the GGG

We talked with Tyrant Mrrshan, leader of the Felini Tyranny (FEL), to learn more about their ongoing war against the Flagritz Empire (FLZ).

GGG: Why are the FEL at war with the FLZ and how long has the conflict been going on?

Mrrshan: The why is simple - when the Flagritz encountered us they believed that we would be their next "client race". They were wrong. For how long, it is sometimes difficult to be certain. By the time in our home system the first incursions into our space were a little under two centuries ago. But the timelines are hard to reconcile with some temporal anomalies when compared with captured data from the Flagritz.

GGG: Could you please clarify what you mean by "client race"?

Mrrshan: "Client race" is their term (or at least how it translates into Galactic Standard). We would probably say "slave race", for the reality is about right for that term.

GGG: From your point of view, who is winning the war?

Mrrshan: I will say it is us, they will say it is them. I suppose it depends on your definition of "winning". We remain a free people and have dealt strong blows to their technology and home systems. They remain shut off hiding behind closed stargates or helpless to breach our defensive lines. Territorially things ebb and flow but our objectives continue to be met.

GGG: For the FEL, what would be acceptable conditions for this war to end?

Mrrshan: For some hotheads, nothing short of xenocide would fully satisfy them. Each species has their share of these. For me, two conditions are paramount: the freeing of those taken into slavery (and their descendants) and ensuring that our territories can remain inviolate from any future risk from the FLZ.

(Note from the Editor: We sent these same questions to the FLZ, as our initial intention was to publish the two points of view side by side, but we received no reply.)

-o-

War: DEN Against RIP
by Kaspar Khan, exclusive for the GGG

There are rumours that the Dewiek Elder Nation (DEN) have launched a large scale attack against the Raiders of the Imperial Periphery (RIP) inside their home system of Sargasso. Adoqhina, leader of the DEN, published a somewhat enigmatic statement saying that a hunt was about to begin and that "the hunters become the hunted", but not mentioning the RIP by name. Samedi, leader of the RIP, published a somewhat enigmatic ultimatum with the threat of "withdraw or bear witness to bloody vengeance you canid Mephistopheles", where "canid" seems to be a reference to the DEN. It's not unlikely that a DEN attack was indeed inflicted on the RIP, as the Dewiek now seem in the habit of bullying small affiliations that they believe not able to fight back.

(Note from the Editor: We contacted the RIP to try to understand this matter a little better but the only reply we got was "I cannot comment at the moment other than to say a situation has occurred with the DEN and we are in discussions with them".)

-o-

GGG - Issue 26 - 211.47.1

The Threat of Piracy
by Cornelius Merryheart, exclusive for the GGG

This week a distress call from a Mohache ship being attacked by pirates in the Sol System generated a quick response from the CNF, the GTT and the IMP. The GTT arrived first and destroyed the PIR Parietal Erg (30110), a Broadsword Class Heavy Cruise that had been reported stolen from the IMP a while ago. A rare victory in the fight against piracy.

While some are celebrating the demise of this pirate and others are making unsubstantiated allegations about who is actually behind the attack, piracy remains a big threat to all. Pirates are everywhere and attacking everyone. And the reason they thrive and prosper in this manner is that the people with the power to fight piracy do little more than staging the eventual hunt, something that may earn them a trophy and some patting on the back but doesn't really help to end piracy.

Too many people seem happy to deal with pirates and to forgive them when they are attacking someone else. One of the first things IMP Viceroy Githyanki did after being elected was to call off the war against the KRL leader Bone, who had recently been caught sponsoring pirates. And when the IND peddler Johnny Alpha was unmasked as a piracy fomenter, FET leader Zuvoro Norozov was quick to offer protection to his whole enterprise.

We urge all affiliations to exercise a tolerance zero policy towards piracy. The pirate you don't kill today is the pirate that will attack you tomorrow.

-o-

Duelling Dewiek
reprinted with permission from the SSS

Following their continued war of words, the Dewiek Elder Nation (DEN) has demanded reparations of two million stellars to be paid by the House Ravenstone (RVN) for what they call the murder of five Dewiek crew members who were killed when a DEN vessel was destroyed in what the RVN call restricted space, an area of space claimed by House Ravenstone for the Empire of Humanity, in which the DEN had no right to be.

Should this fine not be paid, the Dewiek have offered trial by combat:

"The Elder Council offers the House Ravenstone the right to a traditional Dewiek trial if the Charitable Judgement is refused or not accepted within the time given. The purity of this judiciary process should be understandable without further explanation but there are only two possible outcomes: Either the House Ravenstone loses all its claws and fangs so it may never harm another sentient again or falls on its honour and pleads for mercy whereby less charitable terms will be offered."

Long time readers may remember the last trial by combat undertaken by the Dewiek against a human, during which a Dewiek Elder was killed by the Baron LiQuan and his super mega turbo Meklan implants.

The House Ravenstone seems unwilling to accept either offer, while the DEN have, we believe, refused to pay the initial fine the RVN issued for trespassing, and as things stand currently, the two affiliations are at an impasse. Or as Bone Smash of the Krell put it: "Little guy blood is in the water, the sharks circle..."

-o-

Note from the Editor
by Cornelius Merryheart, exclusive for the GGG

Here at the Great Galactic Gazette we try to give voice to sentients who are part of the news. We constantly contact involved parties to hear their side of the story and we print their versions even when we don't agree with them. We are not, however, a channel for press releases. We will respect your statements and we won't change your words, but we will contextualize and editorialize our interviews to provide good and honest journalism. If all you want is to broadcast a press release and refuse to be questioned about it, you should probably look elsewhere for support.

When trying to get an interview, we often find sentients not interested in sharing anything. Some requests remain unanswered and others are returned with answers like "no comments" or "we're not at liberty to discuss this". The worst kind of uncooperative reply is the one that shows contempt for our work and tries to mock us. A couple of examples. When asked "why have the IMP declared themselves hostile to the CWS, an organization they help to create?", IMP Viceroy Githyanki answered: "I do not recognise any such affiliation". When asked specifically about the DEN ships that were fined by the RVN, Osho of the DEN answered: "What sshipss might that be?". Not surprisingly, the authors of this kind of poor attempts of misdirection are often the same ones who accuse us of not being independent or not giving them a fair treatment.

The GGG will continue to publish the stories we consider important and interesting. We will be able to do a better job with your cooperation. You can help us to make good journalism or you can sit in a corner and complain about it. The choice is yours.

-o-

GGG - Issue 22 - 211.29.1

Interview: Grand Duke Ravenstone, leader of House Ravenstone (RVN)
by Tess Olsen, exclusive for the GGG

Most of us still remember the list of noble houses we were forced to memorize in school: House Hayduk, House LiQuan, House Porter, etc. Now there is a new noble house to be added to that list, with House Ravenstone (RVN) being granted affiliation status by the EEM this week. We talked with Blake Ravenstone, Grand Duke of the Imperial Frontier, the man in charge of the new affiliation.

GGG: Why did you decide to start your own affiliation and why now?

BR: Registering House Ravenstone as an affiliation recognized by the EEM is a natural progression of the work we have been doing. It is good for the Empire to have strong noble houses, and we hope that our new status will have a positive impact in the expansion and prosperity of the Empire. The idea of establishing House Ravenstone as an independent affiliation has been suggested on a few occasions, but it was not until now that the conditions seemed adequate.

GGG: Would House Ravenstone be more aligned with the Imperial block or the Confederate block?

BR: Well, we hope to see those distinctions abandoned. We all serve the same Empire and, despite some eventual disagreements, we all have fairly similar goals. The war has been over for several years and there is really no good reason for using labels from the past to keep us from working together for the greater good.

GGG: What about your system claims, don't you fear upsetting the IMP and the CNF by reflagging systems that were previously claimed for them?

BR: The reflagging was done with the agreement of both the IMP and the CNF, and the Emperor himself acknowledges my role as protector of these systems. Also, as you may remember, the systems claimed by House Ravenstone were not claimed by the IMP or by the CNF when we first established our claim. Wastelands and Caribbean were unclaimed, Demon was claimed for the RIP. It was for making these systems part of the Empire that I was awarded the title of Grand Duke of the Imperial Frontier.

GGG: House Ravenstone surprised many people with the purchase of EEM Hypso (4802), a place that is an important part of the history of the peripheries. Do you have any special plans for the starbase?

BR: RVN Hypso has a rich history and we intend to respect that. We will be making some renovations but selected historic locations will be maintained and conserved as a monument to the exploration of the galaxy. The market is currently closed while we reorganize a few things but it will soon reopen for business as usual.

GGG: What are your goals for House Ravenstone?

BR: We are primarily interested in the reunification and the expansion of the Empire, by peaceful means. We hope to be a voice of reason and moderation in the political conversation, but also to take a pragmatic role in resolving important issues and in fostering harmonious relations with civilian populations.

-o-

Cheap Shots
by Kaspar Khan, exclusive for the GGG

+ IMP Viceroy Githyanki declared the orbit and quadrant of planet Midway, in the Straddle System, a restricted zone and threatened to shoot any DTR ships found there. The republican response to yet another attempt to start a war was something along the lines of "sorry, not today".

+ The GTT announced the promotion of Thomasia Payne to the Board of Directors. Rumours that it is just old Bob Bost returning to the affiliation after a sex change operation seem to be unfounded.

+ First it was the allegedly peaceful and neutral traders from the AFT spotted flying 200 Heavy Hulls warships. Then it was the allegedly peaceful and neutral traders from the MOH spotted flying 100 Heavy Hulls warships with high tech equipment. Now we are waiting to see what kind of warships the allegedly peaceful and neutral traders from the WMB will be flying.

+ The Oligarchs of Mithras, in the Persian System, have been hiring starcaptains to blow small chunks of icy rock off small comets and guide them into low orbit to create rain. Perhaps the IMP should release Demetrius "Badaboom" LiQuan from prison and let him share some of his expertise in blowing up asteroids.

-o-

GGG - Issue 17 - 211.11.1

Interview: Black Jack, leader of the Trade Acceptance Group (TAG)
by Tess Olsen, exclusive for the GGG

It's not often that a newcomer to the peripheries succeeds in building his own affiliation instead of joining one of the already established organizations out there. Black Jack did that and created the Trade Acceptance Group (TAG), yet another merchant affiliation claiming to be politically neutral.

GGG: First of all, congratulations on the creation of your new affiliation, the TAG. Why did you choose to start your own affiliation instead of joining one of the already established affiliations?

BJ: I did not want to be tied to a history complete with friends and enemies. All of the major blocks come complete with a full stable of both. Even the AFT has a history of war with the IMP block so is not free from this chain. The GCE comes closest but they are a family owned business and I am in the wrong family. As my own boss, I can decide the direction of the company and how it will fare. I know I will never have the opportunities a large block could offer or the toys they have but that is fine. As a non-aligned business, I have other opportunities someone from the large blocks don't have. And the toys are mostly military equipment and our business has a firm stand on its no-warship policy so that is not really a factor.

GGG: What are the TAG goals and how does the affiliation fit in the political spectrum?

BJ: We want to become a major force in transportation of goods around the stars, modelled somewhat after the Mohache. In the short run, a mid-level organization that can take shipping that is too small for the Mohache to bother with. In some years, I am hopeful our growth will allow us to compete with the Mohache directly. On the political spectrum, we are strictly neutral and will do nothing to break this neutrality. Any base in a claimed system will support that claim without discrimination. No spy missions, no selling of information or positions spotted.

GGG: Where is the affiliation based and how far it extends its trade activity?

BJ: We are based right now on Mobile Bay where our HQ is TAG Pershing. This base is still in the growth stage but we are acquiring modules to expand its size. We have had trade runs in IMP, CNF, DTR and FCN space to date and expect to reach the Cluster and Halo soon to do business there.

GGG: We understand that you managed to pay the new affiliation fee of one million stellars by obtaining a loan from the EEM. How did you get such a large advance without collateral of the same or higher value? And if you indeed had anything evaluated in that high bracket, how did you get it in such a short period of activity?

BJ: We did have collateral in excess of one million stellars at the time of the loan. Our base on Mobile Bay exceeded that amount at the time of the loan. Now I do not pretend to understand the valuation method used by the EEM and, to be honest, I felt their valuation of the base to be excessive, but who am I to tell them that? But their valuation of a merchandising complex far exceeds the value of the 25 modules that go into that complex. The fact that I built almost nothing but merchandising complexes at the start brought in a large weekly income that I used to buy yet more modules for factories that are now producing yet more modules in a (hopefully) never ending spiral of growth. And we now even have a small shipyard area building barges.

GGG: What are the TAG next big projects?

BJ: We are currently looking at other areas of space for a second base to grow the corporation. Though this will be slowed obviously while we continue the expansion of TAG Pershing.

-o-

Cheap Shots
by Kaspar Khan, exclusive for the GGG

+ HLQ ships get attacked by pirates again, Baron LiQuan blames the DTR but offers no evidence for their involvement.

+ Krazy Kastorian Kanji invades an empty CNF hiport in the Inner Empire for the second time, and brags about his ability to steal unguarded property.

+ GTT Trade Director Bob Bost announces his retirement from the affiliation, leaving more space for éminence grise Ike Krieger to expand his influence.

+ Kasius Ven leaves the DTR after a very short stay and joins the BHD, trading the gods of bureaucracy for the gods of arrogance.

+ Allegedly peaceful and neutral traders from the AFT spotted flying 200 Heavy Hulls warships, making people wonder how peaceful and how neutral they really are.

+ RCF rebels create problems for the HLQ among the population of Jericho, Baron LiQuan expected to blame the DTR.

-o-

A note from the editor

At the time we closed our last edition, we had not heard back from Michelle Diaz, leader of the DTR, about the possible GTT-DTR crisis (apparently totally defused now). But I want to register here that Ms. Diaz did contact us later, and we thank her for that. Too often our requests for comments or for interviews go unanswered, and we are very appreciative when starcaptains or affiliation officials take time from their busy schedules to talk with the free press.

Cornelius Merryheart
Editor of the Great Galactic Gazette

GGG - Issue 16 - 211.8.1

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."

-o-

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.

-o-

GGG - Issue 15 - 211.5.1

Interview: Ike Krieger, former IMP Viceroy, now a GTT member
by Tess Olsen, exclusive for the GGG

At first it felt like it would be an awkward meeting. Mr. Ike Krieger greeted us without even standing up from his comfortable chair. But after a few moments the retired general of the Imperial Services, former IMP Patrol Commissioner, former IMP Viceroy, seemed to mellow out a bit and, with a new found smile, offered us a chair. Perhaps we were witnessing the first traces of his new civilian life sprouting out. Or perhaps it was just the effects of Mohache Cigar or the nondescript beverage he had in his hands.

GGG: Why did you decide to leave the IMP?

Krieger: I have spent my life in the Imperial Services. I fought in two wars against the combined forces of the rebels and the Detinus Republic and honestly thought that I would die some day with my boots on and a blaster in each hand, defending the Empire that I love. But then came the peace, my tenure as Viceroy and a feeling that I had done all that I could do for the Imperial Services and that from this point forward I would just be coasting. Yawn. Kriegers are not coasters. We need challenge and excitement, and with peace those can only be found in the corporate world, where incidentally I might make a few stellars as well.

GGG: How did Githyanki, rumored to be retiring, then rumored to be creating a splinter faction of the IMP, suddenly became the new Viceroy in what seems a big change of direction for the affiliation?

Krieger: It is no secret that Githyanki is favored by the Emperor. Anyone who thinks Emperor Lysander is a figurehead is in for a nasty surprise. As an Imperial officer I took an oath to serve the Empire and die for that Empire if necessary. It seemed that if I retired it would be easier for all concerned and much less painful than dying.

GGG: Why did you choose to join the GTT?

Krieger: I am intensely loyal to the Empire. I have certain skills that the GTT are willing to pay me generously for. There were numerous offers to my resume, but I cannot change who and what I am and thus I am self-limited in what offers I could accept.

GGG: You used to have an interest in shipbuilding. Will the Krieger family continue in that line of business?

Krieger: For a general, I do have an intense interest in all things naval. I expect to design and produce multiple types of ships for the GTT and very likely for public sale.

GGG: Do you plan to have a political role in the GTT? Or will the former leader of the Imperial Services be content as just one of the hoi polloi?

Krieger: Ike Krieger is a team player. Rumours that I'll have James Strykers' seat at HQ are totally unfounded! Just another guy? That's for the PR people. In reality a Krieger's ego is too big to be that restrained. You won't print that last part, will you?

-o-

GGG Presents the Great Trade Race (TM)
by Cornelius Merryheart, exclusive for the GGG

As an incentive to free trade in the peripheries, we at the Great Galactic Gazette have decided to organize the first Great Trade Race (TM). It will be a friendly competition in which enterprising starcaptains will use one single cargo ship to buy and sell specific goods in a series of starbases across the galaxy, trying to be the first to complete the full circuit. Besides the profit to be made from the trade runs themselves, there will be a medal and a huge first prize in shiny stellars to be paid to the winner and also prizes for two runners-up. The full rules will be published at a later date.

At this point, we are accepting participants in three categories:

Competitors - Starcaptains can enter the competition with one single ship, of any configuration, capable of carrying 2,400 MUs of normal cargo. All flags (except PIR) are welcome. To be part of the Great Trade Race (TM), send a message to the GGG stating the ship name, registration number and specs (flag, class, number of hulls), as well as the name of the officer in charge.

Markets - Starbase governors are invited to participate by offering to buy and sell goods in packages of 2,400 MUs, with a minimum commitment of selling 24,000 MUs of one item and buying 24,000 MUs of another item. All flags (except PIR) are welcome, as long as the markets are accessible to anyone and the orbits are safe for anyone (except PIR). To be part of the Great Trade Race (TM), send a message to the GGG stating the starbase name, registration number and location, as well as a list of items and quantities you want to buy and sell.

Sponsors - There are four sponsorship quotas for sale, each with a value of 250,000 stellars. The total will cover the prizes and the administrative costs. All sponsors will receive advertisement space in the GGG and in all Great Trade Race (TM) communications. To be a sponsor of the Great Trade Race (TM), send a message to the GGG stating you name, affiliation, and the number of quotas you want to purchase. We will also consider the donation of items to be added as extra rewards for the participants.

-o-

GGG - Issue 14 - 211.4.1

Pirates Everywhere
by Ringo Baxter, exclusive for the GGG

Piracy has been a problem since the early days of space exploration. Starcaptains have learned how to deal with the occasional raiders and to accept their existence in the same way they tolerate stray asteroids or faulty equipment, just as inevitable annoyances of life in the peripheries. Today, however, the situation has changed considerably and piracy has escalated from a sporadic inconvenience to a real threat to our way of life. In the last few weeks, for example, we have seen pirate attacks in many systems of different peripheries, not all of them successful but quite a few resulting in the loss of ships and in major disruption of outposts and even starbases.

One big part of the problem is the change in the nature of piracy itself. Many of these pirate attacks are not the traditional opportunistic theft of a ship that was left lingering for too long in the same unprotected quadrant. Instead of trying to get some quick profit from stolen property, these ruffians aim to destroy assets and disrupt operations of legitimate affiliations. They destroy ships on sight, without any attempt of capture. They blast small outposts from orbit or take them for short periods and then leave quickly. There is obviously no direct profit in any of these attacks, so we are led to believe that their pirate flags are merely disguises: we are actually dealing with mercenaries hired by adversaries that don't want to show their faces or with covert operations conducted by these same cowardly opponents.

Space is vast and it's impossible to patrol every single quadrant everyday looking for pirates. That's their strength, the ability to hide away easily. It's not impossible, however, to apply stern measures against anyone who associates with pirates. That's their weakness, without sympathizers to hire them or to buy their stolen goods or to provide shelter piracy becomes an unprofitable business. A previous surge in piracy was successfully derailed when the affiliation that aided and abetted them saw itself under attack: the IMP-GTT-FET war against the RIP cost them a few vital starbases and a couple of system claims, resulting in the retirement of several pirates who now lacked the support to make their operations profitable. If some of those pirates are back in activity or if we have new pirates taking their places, that's because they have new sponsors. Target the sponsors, the pirates will go away again.

Sadly, affiliations known for their association with pirates are currently being forgiven or ignored. The KRL were caught running pirate ships in the Halo Periphery and as a result were attacked by the IMP, but one of the first things the new Viceroy did was not only to declare a state of ceasefire with the KRL but to reward them with the claim to the Storm System. The RCF have been caught working with pirate fleets in the Halo Periphery, but other than a small CNF operation against them there's apparently no real opposition to these rebels or to their supposed new partners, the RIP. And a recent wave of pirate attacks in the Inner Empire (with the GTT being the main victim with the loss of one major starbase and a whole fleet of starships) was repelled by only two thirds of the Triumvirate, the IMP and the CNF, while the other third, the DTR, didn't even bother to offer assistance.

If the current attitude towards piracy doesn't change the problem will only get worse. We need to stop blaming the victims as if they only lost their ships or outposts because they were not protecting them as they should. We need instead to start being more severe with pirate collaborators and more willing to confront piracy anywhere, even if it seems to be too far away from our comfortable homes. If you are not fighting against piracy, you are already helping the pirates.

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IMP Still Leaking Members
by Cornelius Merryheart, exclusive for the GGG

After losing Grand Duke Ravenstone to the CNF, now the IMP see yet another member leaving the affiliation, none other than former Viceroy and former Patrol Commissioner Ike Krieger. A note from the IMP Capellan Times announced General Krieger's retirement without mentioning his next move, but observant eyes have already noticed that he is now wearing a GTT badge. Meanwhile, IMP Viceroy Githyanki is probably still convinced that the loss of a Grand Duke and the loss of a former Viceroy have no connection with his political skills.

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GGG - Issue Nine - 210.47.1

GTT Starbases Changing Flags to PIR
by Kaspar Khan, exclusive for the GGG

First it was starbase GTT London (2012), in the Storm System. In the midst of a battle against the KRL in week 210.39, leaders of the GTT were surprised to see their starbase suddenly flying the PIR colors. According to CEO James Stryker, an agent sabotaged base transmitters to flag it as pirate, "a dirty trick by someone lurking in the background".

Then, in week 210.46, it was starbase GTT Finkley Downs (4707), in the Yank System, that changed its flag to PIR. Again, according to Mr. Stryker, the result of a terrorist act: "an operative succeeded in tampering with base beacon, setting status to pirate". This time, however, with a starbase on the busy Mobile Bay planet, the GTT suffered automatic and immediate attack from several positions standing ready to act against pirates, including KAS, DTR, HLQ, and IDC.

It seems that the GTT are being targeted by one or more factions that favor covert operations, and they will have to strengthen up security at least in their most visible starbases to avoid a third and most embarrassing event of this kind.

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Former COH Leader Executed
by Tess Olsen, exclusive for the GGG

The Confederate Intelligence Agency (CIA) announced this week the sentencing and execution of the former Emperor of the COH, for crimes against the Confederacy, including the destruction of the moon Coombes in the New Sussex System and the consequent loss of thousands of civilian lives. According to their report, the prisoner was placed inside an outpost which was then blasted from orbit with a few missiles.

We contacted the CIA leader, Duke Laton, asking him a few questions about the event, including why it took several years for the Emperor of the COH to be tried for his crimes, but we received no reply. We wonder if the timing of this trial is connected in any form with the recent CNF declaration of war against the COH (officially for their alliance with the RCF) or with the upcoming trial of HLQ second-in-command Demetrius LiQuan also for the destruction of a celestial body (although the cases seem to be different in several aspects).

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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?"

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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

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