Last night, over a period of four hours, a suspected Thargoid attack occurred in Anlave, Ceedex, Ackacked and Sodagre (0, 3). An alert passenger on the liner, the Queen Dream, photographed the attack as the liner approached Newton, Anderton (Anlave). The passenger wished to remain anonymous.

  Each attack was simultaneous, and each attack consisted of two warships of Thargoid design. The governor of Sodagre told the News, "I thought the thargoids were supposed to be at peace with humankind. This attack was totally unexpected, and the cost will run into hundreds of millions."

  The governors of the other three systems were unavailable for comment. A spokeswoman for the President of the Federation said, "It is understood that there have been reports of Thargoid attacks in four frontier systems. However, we don't think it is the Thargoids despite the resemblence of the ships to that of Thargoid designed craft. We are still investigating."

  It is quite possible that these investigations will look towards the Vebein system. However, the Demons were contacted and told the News, "We checked the stargate records, and it seems like a ship with a drive similar to the Thargoid ship that was captured in the '50s tried to enter the system. It was destroyed when its entry coordinates were changed such that it exited hyperspace only 200 meters from the surface of Vebein."

  Meanwhile, the AJN is on alert. An AJN spokesbeing told the News, "We agree with the Federation on this one - it looks like an attack that was made to look like the Thargoids. We are monitoring the situation very closely"

Frontier News Issue 15

  Two days ago, in a surprise attack, a crack squad of troops made up of a team comprised of members from the AIS 27th Tactical Division and the Federation's 4th Peacekeeper Division, swept into the PDRP's headquarters and arrested the leadership of the terrorist group. The troops swept in during an early-morning raid on the headquarters and seized the leadership after a brief, but violent gun battle. The element of surprise worked for the team who took no casualties despite the armed response from the PDRP. Three PDRP members were killed in the raid, and a further five were seriously injured.

  The leadership, comprising of ten senior PDRP members were taken off Valhalla and remanded in custody in the Goldstein High detention centre. The group is wanted in connection with the PDRP-sponsored violence in the last few weeks, leading to the injury of several peacekeepers, and the death of one soldier. A cache of embargoed weapons was also seized during the raid.

  Lt. Paul Slusarcyzk, leader of the joint team and a member of the AIS 27th told the News, "The mission was very successful. We were fully prepared for casualties on our side, but fortunately we caught the PDRP completely by surprise. Although their resistance was quite strenuous, it was too little, too late, and we arrested the lot of them. Hopefully this will help defuse the Valhalla situation significantly".

  Both President Stonecipher of the AIS and President Winters of the Federation praised the peacekeeper's decisive and well-executed operation. In a speech delivered to the Alliance parliament, President Stonecipher said, "This shows that if the Alliance and Federation work together, results can be achieved. We need to be working together, and put the Phekda incident behind us".

AJN Fleet - The Asp

  It looks like AAAI, who bought the Asp Mk.2 design and branding lock stock and barrel from the Federation Navy, are intent on reviving the Asp line properly. The Asp Mk.2 (usually just known as the Asp, since the Mk.1 never left prototype stage), has always been a superior combat craft. AAAI announced last week that they are going to build on its success, and start producing a new version.

  An AJN representitive told the News, "The Asp is actually a very good design, and we would be mad not to make an incremental improvement here. New technology could make the Asp Mk.3 into the AAAI's combat flagship"

  AAAI, based at New Rossyth in the Alioth system declined to reveal any more details about the ship. However, it is likely the new version will have a similar planform to the existing Asp and will incorporate many of the current model's features - fast, manoeverable, and versatile. It is likely that the new version will be operable by a single crewmember. Undoubtedly, the drive systems will be from the AAAI's "Rangemaster" line of Class 3 military drives.

Fiendishly Difficult ELITE Quiz

Deceit, Harmony & Pleasure

The Elite Purity Test

...and the Unmusic website

  May's Frontier News "Fiendishly Difficult ELITE Quiz" question is now online. It's a little easier than last month's question (there's a bit of a big giveaway in the question if you're diligent). There were no correct answers for last month's quiz, but Dave Bett got tantilizingly close with his answer. He got every element except one...the link to Ian Bell. Check out the quiz page for further details of the answer which involved the Cuban Missile Crisis and Ian Bell, co-author of the original Elite.

  The final chapter of Part One of "Deceit, Harmony and Pleasure" is now online on AliothNet's Out on the Edge section. James Winston finds a change of career headed his way... one that will bring yet more adventure as Part Two commences...

  A new feature, the Elite Purity Test, is under construction. This rather interesting quiz is available on the unmusic web page. The author is taking suggestions: email ElitePT@unmusic.freeserve.co.uk to make a suggestion. In the meantime, take a look at it and see how many questions you can answer 'yes' to! The beta version contains over 100 questions already.