As reported in last week's Frontier News, Phekda requested
an emergency join of the Alliance in light of threats from both the Federation
and Empire. The system has now been formally granted provisional membership.
Since Phekda does not yet meet the requirements for Alliance membership,
but is under threat, the Alliance has accepted Phekda on a probationary
basis for the next two years. If the system's government meets the requirements
within two years, the system will become a permanent member.
Provisional membership grants the system the normal Alliance privileges, including the "NATO" clause. This clause, named after an alliance that was created on Earth between allied coutries, says that an attack on one AIS member is taken as an attack on all. Currently, this is the most important part of AIS membership for Phekda.
Meanwhile, it is not yet known whether the Imperial Seventh Protectorate has stood down and returned to base. If the force is still on its way, it will arrive in approximately one week. Due to the definite threat of Imperial "protection" and the possible threat of Federation attack due to the Federation accusation that Phekda aided the Empire in last week's attack on Eta Cassiopeia, several AJN capitol ships have entered the system, along with a number of militia squadrons from several AIS members. The vessels AJN Fearless, Sovereign, Ajax and Repulse are currently patrolling the area, with the Ark Royal ready to depart at a moment's notice.
The "News" finds it very suspicious that both the Empire and
Federation have found a way to "legitimize" an attack on the system since
only a couple of weeks ago, the system was found ripe for the easy production
of military fuel.
This week sees two AJN ships repaired and back on the move.
The AJN Rochester, repaired after a prime mover broke free and collapsed
the aft pressure bulkhead, has been fitted with the latest drives from
AAAI to give them a test run. The Rochester will be crewed by AAAI engineers
under the command of Captain Chuck Albright, to give the new prime movers
a good workout before the ship is returned to the AJN. The new drives are
smaller and more powerful than the ones the Rochester was originally fitted
with, giving the AJN obvious benefits when the ship is returned to service.
The Rochester will receive a four week long workout of the new engines to
check that performance is up to specification, and to shake out any problems
that may be encountered.
Meanwhile, the AJN Indomitable has been repaired and has undergone
a comprehensive refit. The Indomitable was damaged after colliding with the
AJN San Tropez during a training mission. The San Tropez suffered the greater
damage of the two, and is still being repaired at Vosper Thorneycroft Shipyards
in Titican. The Indomitable has been released directly back into AJN
service under the command of Captain Jane Rosenberg.
It looks like Reaper, the leader of the Demon's Gate, has gotten into trouble with the Federal Police in a place called Scotland, somewhere in the Sol system. The Demons, notorious for forcefully ejecting the Federation from the Vebein system, are probably the most organized group of pirates since the Sirius Templar were laid to waste in the 3260's.
Three of the Demons decided to lob a few snowballs at a Federation police officer for a bit of fun. Unfortunately for them, the police officer underwent a total sense of humour failure and charged them with "assaulting a police officer". It probably wouldn't have been so bad, but an accurate ballistic firing of a snowball knocked the officer's hat off. The whole scene was captured by a security camera (see our 'Big Brother' story in this issue).
The leader was fined CR 40, whilst his accomplice was fined CR 20.
The third Demon, who was engaged in distracting the officer apparently was
not charged. It is interesting that the Demons are having difficulty paying
these paltry fines (not even enough to buy one tonne of military fuel each),
leading the "News" to believe that the Demons may be undergoing some kind
of financial crisis. It is likely that the three will not be allowed to
leave the planet until the fines have been paid, which is standard practise
in most systems. They might even face the humiliation of appearing in court
over the violation.
We have to wonder what this will go on under their Federation
criminal record.
Unlawful discharge of a snowball, maybe?
As was reported in Issue 4 of the Frontier News, there have
been some strange goings-on in the Federation system of Eta Cassiopeia.
First, Imperial Clone Agents were found to have deeply infiltrated virtually
every part of the news and police organizations in the system. The
Federal Naval Intelligence Bureau (NIB) had even gone as far as to
accuse the AIS Chief Webmaster of being an Imperial agent (which is of
course, patently untrue).
However, in a bizarre twist, Eta Cassiopeia's presence on the Galactic Information Network (which contained the accusation against the AIS's webmaster) seems to once again have been infiltrated. However, this time, the content has been replaced with photographs of what can be described only as scantily clad women bearing...well, just about everything. This all goes under the title of the "NIB 'art' Gallery".
Quite what is going on at Eta Cassiopeia is unknown at present.
Whether someone has just broken into one of their network routers or
maybe the Federal webmaster has gone round the twist remains to
be seen. Whatever has happened, it appears that the whole system might
just get an "R" rating from the visual classification board!
The four youths involved in the Alioth Bravo-17 relay break-in have had their day in court. The youths, claiming to be "The Red Dragon Syndicate" in a message broadcast from the relay, were sentenced for the crimes of grand theft spacecraft, damaging Alioth public property and network misuse.
The ringleader of the group, Mark Westley, a 17-year old from the Gateway system, received a sentence of 5 years imprisonment. The remaining group members each received a 3 year sentence. The four each plead guilty to the charges brought against them. Justice Kay Wilson said whilst passing judgment on the youths, "This is an extremely serious offence, and I could have sentenced you all up to twenty years each. However, since this is your first offence and you have shown remorse, I will be lenient on this occasion".
The case was heard at the 17th District Court, Edinburgh (Turner's World). The youths will serve their sentence at the Alioth state penitentiary on Ghandi. Meanwhile, the Imperial Courier that was stolen has been reunited with its owner, a trader from the Gateway system.
Over the last week, a significant debate on the role of government and security has been brewing on the Galactic Information Net. The debate, sparked by the increasing addition of security tracking devices (mainly in the form of cameras), particularly in the Federation.
The main proponent of allowing these devices is Matt Dibb of Ethliaess (1, -7), who asks "Does it matter if the Government can track you?"
Opposition to this position is quite strong. Dibb's statement begs the question of why this is even being considered - especially when Dibb himself recognised that there were elements in the police (let alone the government) who were downright corrupt. You only have to look at the appaling government restrictions in the Eta Cassiopeia system to see why the government should not be allowed to use "big brother" techniques such as this. Quite simply, governments can't always be trusted.
The practise, which is prohibited by the AIS, is often sold to a gullible public on the ticket that it will cut down crime. However, it doesn't really do such a thing - it is trivially easy for criminals to avoid being recognised by these devices. Once again, the law abiding citizen finds their freedom being chipped away piece by piece. Instead of providing effective and well-trained policing, governments resort to tactics such as the widespread use of security cameras because it is cheap and easy. However, security cameras cannot chase after the pirate who has hidden his ident well. A Police Viper can.
Dylan Smith, the Alliance Chief Webmaster told the News, "These cameras are a horrific invasion to people's privacy. In many Federation systems, you can't even steal a discreet kiss with your girlfriend on the park bench without some peeping tom watching you with his IR security camera".
Once again, the Frontierverse has more journals written by Imperial commanders. This week sees further updates to both Commander Cacti's story and the Wolfheart's story, "Why Did The Groigan Dance?".
A serious case of mistaken identity plagues Cacti in his new ship, and a mission against the Federation is told in Wolfsheart's story. A must-read for any commander in the galaxy, even if you're a Fed!