Several reports filtering in from the Edge are indicating that the cunning and notorious pirate, Allistar McKay, has been killed. The most reliable reports so far say that he was claimed by an Asp Explorer whose commander is still not known.
McKay was notorious for terrorizing traders in many frontier systems over the years, and continually slipped through all attempts by the AJN to arrest or eliminate him. He also successfully evaded both Federation and Imperial law enforcement organizations, often landing at a spaceport in Sol or Achernar to thumb his nose up at both organizations. Like many notorious criminals, he was well known in spacefaring circles, and many bounty hunters were on his trail, looking for the ultimate bounty. Finally, one of them has caught up with him.
Aaron Maddox, Alliance Chief Constable told the news, "We certainly won't be shedding a tear for this pirate - he was a one-man crime wave. His death just goes to show that piracy doesn't pay". The 3295 edition of the Combateer's Almanack shows that most pirates only have a life expectancy of about one year in their life of crime.
The News attempted to interview the Elite Federation leadership to try and discover the identity of the commander of the Asp. The Elite Federation, always a shady and secretive organization, declined to be interviewed saying only that bounties awarded were solely between them and the successful bounty hunter.
A secret Imperial communication was leaked to the Frontier News
this week on the subject of last week's attack by the Federation. It turns
out that the Federation did indeed attack a significant military target,
but the Imperial forces were far from asleep at the wheel.
The defenders apparently got news of the attack shortly before it was launched. Imperial forces at the base in the Olcanze system moved the target material off the base. Although the Federation decisively levelled the base and destroyed several ships, this will only be a minor loss to the Empire. It is still not known for certain what was stockpiled at the base, or if indeed it was about to be used in a surprise attack on the Federation.
One thing is for certain - the Federation launched the first agressive shot across the border for over thirty years, and the Empire is not going to forget this in a hurry. There are reports from the Federation border systems that although trade remains brisk, there is a high level of nervousness amongst citizens.
The Imperial press office was silent on the subject of the
Emperor claiming last week that the base that the Federation attacked
was a civilian installation. However, this is normal behaviour for the
Empire who continuously show disdain for the independent press. The Imperial
Herald as of this week was still claiming that the base was a civilian
installation. Federation military spokesbeings were unavailable to comment
on this latest news.
Not content with antagonising the Empire, the Federation has
now also set its sights on the Alliance, but this time with a diplomatic
offensive. The Federal Naval Intelligence Bureau (NIB) has accused Dylan
Smith, the Alliance's chief webmaster, of being a senior Imperial operative,
working for Imperial Covert Operations. Eta Cassiopeia's news agency
has been shut down after Imperial operatives had been found to have deeply
infiltrated the organization. There is currently a complete news blackout
on Eta Cassiopiea - highly ironic since the NIB's press release trumpets
the Federation's valuation of freedom in almost the same breath.
Unfortunately, Smith was unavailable to comment on this accusation since he is currently on vacation. James Winston, the TSCA's commander and Smith's immediate superior told the News, "This is typical of the behaviour we expect of the Federation. The Alliance is a fairly loose-knit organization, and these kinds of accusations against senior Alliance officers are often used by both the Federation and Empire to try and spread paranoia amongst Alliance members."
Winston also went on to advise Alliance member systems to ignore the accusations, stating security in the AJN is always a paramount concern. The TSCA administration does not believe that Smith is involved with the Empire in any way. The AJN is carefully watching the Federation/Empire situation, as it is feared that it may now affect the Alliance due to the suspicious timing of this accusation relative to last week's Federation bombing of an Imperial base. Winston added, "In all probability, this is just a storm in a teacup, and the Federation are probably trying to just deflect public attention away from the utterly lamentable state of their intelligence organization". It is also highly significant that the Federation accusation was announced by the Strategic Propaganda Division.
The Foreign Office at Edinburgh (Turner's World, Alioth), has
advised Alliance member citizens to take extra care if travelling through
Eta Cassiopeia (2,0), since there have been reports of Federation authorities
holding Alliance citizens without charge.
Reports just in from the Alliance Science Coucil have indicated the sudden appearance of an object identical to the one that was found in the Liazeda system in 3276. The first object found remains enigmatic to the day after it suddenly disappeared, along with the science vessel, the AJN Lion, and its thousand crewmembers. The object, named the Liazeda Radio Anomaly, was a large object with a gravitational pull of around 0.1G, broadcasting an unknown signal on the L/MF band of the radio spectrum. When the Lion arrived to investigate, both the LRA and the Lion suddenly disappeared whilst probes were being deployed to investigate the object.
A new object in a system yet to be disclosed has appeared quite suddenly. Vic Dobbins, the Chief Science Officer of the ASC told the News "We are investigating the new object, but we're going to take a much more cautious approach this time."
The ASC won't reveal the system in which the object (now named LRA-2) was discovered over fears that INRA will also be investigating. Speculation that the object is part of an unknown alien transport system has been the most convincing so far. The object is certainly neither Thargoid or human in origin. The ASC is hoping that investigations into the LRA-2 will reveal what the fate of the Lion was. The Lion has been missing since April 3276.
The AJN Excelsior, an ASC research vessel, has been dispatched to the area. This time, the vessel will remain well clear of the object, and deep space probes will be launched to examine the object.
Police in Alioth today arrested four teenagers after the Alioth Bravo-17 Galactic Information Network relay was attacked and broken into. The four youths broke into the relay and transmitted a message, which was unfortunately broadcast in a popular discussion group, before the police could arrive and shut the relay down. The message claimed to be from the group "The Red Dragon Syndicate", the youths claiming to have taken over important trade links with the Federation. Additionally, the group claimed to have bombed Ghandi and New Rossyth.
The arresting officer, Constable John Haynes told the news, "This couldn't be further from the truth. The youths were just a group of bored teenagers looking for trouble". PC Haynes was the lead ship of a group of three Vipers on patrol in the area.
The youths, all from Old Blackelk, Hope (Gateway), hyperspaced into Alioth earlier in the day in a stolen Imperial Courier. They have been remanded in police custody, awaiting a hearing by magistrates which is expected next Thursday. The crimes committed could net them each a jail sentence up to 20 years. Bravo-17 is expected to be down for approximately 12 hours whilst repairs are carried out, and in the meantime, other relays will handle the network load.
At long last, the final part of James Winston's exploits in the Sirius Templar affair have been published. Winston, the commander of the Turner Space Combat Academy has had many duels with adversity, and this part of his diary was written when he took his first command of a large starship. The command was not with the AJN - but when Winston was still a bounty hunter. It's well worth a read, and it gives a deep insight into the experience which eventually led to a bounty hunter becoming a senior commander with the Alliance Joint Navy. More of Winston's exploits will be published in the future.
Additionally, two more chapters of Mic Healey's diary from the early 33rd Century have been published, giving the reader an idea of how the populated galaxy has changed in the last 90 years or so. These are definitely worth reading, and have photographs that capture many of the changes that have happened over the years.
Not content with two new journals, a third Commander tells his story on the Galactic Information Network. Commander Chacos has the first four parts of his story "Why Did The Groigan Dance?" at the Frontierverse. Chronicalling the exploits of an Imperial operative doing his evil deeds, this covers the story of the infamous Jonathan Bush, aka Wolfsheart. Hopefully more parts will be forthcoming.