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 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.

-o-

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.

-o-

GGG - Issue Seven - 210.45.1

New IMP Viceroy Gives Ultimatum to HLQ
by Cornelius Merryheart, exclusive for the GGG

Githyanki, a former Patrol Commissioner who came out of retirement to become the new Viceroy of the Imperial Services (IMP), has quickly demonstrated how the affiliation will work under his rule. Choosing to bypass any of the diplomatic avenues open to him, he has launched a public ultimatum to House LiQuan (HLQ): to deliver Demetrius Liquan to the IMP to face trial for murder and to remove the contested status of the Dolphinus System claim. The alternative, according to the Viceroy, is "the full wrath of the Imperial army and navy". House LiQuan replied with excuses and evasiveness, meaning, like everyone expected, that they have no intention to do what the Viceroy asked.

Did Viceroy Githyanki really expect the HLQ to comply with those demands or was the ultimatum just a formal warning that he intends to wage war on them? Why did he choose to issue an ultimatum and threaten House LiQuan with war instead of using his position in the Triumvirate to address the HLQ offenses? Wouldn't a non-violent response be more appropriate to deal with the LiQuan problem without allowing them to play the role of victims? Doesn't he fear that such moves could reignite the civil war? We asked these and other questions to the Viceroy, and he gave the same answer to all of them: "No comment."

But there is still hope that a war can be avoided. We learned from Thomas S. Jackson, Supreme Commander of the Confederate Forces (CNF), that there are undergoing attempts to resolve the IMP-HLQ disagreement in a manner acceptable to both affiliations. Understandably, he couldn't give us any details on what must be a delicate negotiation involving two allies of the CNF.

In what seems to be a side effect of this situation, the IMP have also announced they would be stopping their wars against the KRL (despite their recent and still unrepentant involvement with piracy), the COH (despite their alliance with the RCF rebels) and the OPS (despite their ties to slavery). As retired FET member Peregrine Lanner sarcastically commented, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for that gives them freedom to point their war machine somewhere else."

-o-

What is the real connection between RIP and RCF?
by Ringo Baxter, exclusive for the GGG

The facts: Several of the Halo Periphery assets previously owned by the so-called Real Confederate Forces (RCF) are now flying the colors of the Regular Independent Privateers (RIP), including starbase RIP Freedom Town (57224), previously known as RCF New (57224), and platform RIP Freedom Defender (41585), previously known as RCF Arinna Defender (41585), both in the Hitite System.

Optimistic explanation: Following the successful IMP campaign against the RCF on planet Alalus, resulting in the total destruction of the starbase RCF New Darkfold (26477), the RCF leaders realized they couldn't avoid the loss of their remaining assets in the Halo Periphery and decided to sell them all to the RIP, who happened to have enough spare cash after the sale of a starbase in the Solo System.

Pessimistic explanation: After the reported demise of their leader GT Spugman, the RIP secretely fell under the control of the RCF. Both affiliations are working together and the reflagging of assets is just a ruse to avoid attacks from the IMP, who at the moment don't seem interested in waging war against the RIP.

What's your theory?

-o-

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-