This week, the worst case scenario over Phekda appeared to be unfolding. The Imperial Seventh Protectorate did indeed arrive. Although its strength is somewhat low and the current AJN presence in the Phekda system could easily and quickly remove them, the Alliance is hoping that this option does not have to be used. The feeling from Alioth is that a confrontation with the Empire is not wanted. No shots have been fired, but the AJN Fearless has already intercepted the force. It is understood that the skipper of the Fearless, Cpt. Kevin Smith, has requested that the Imperial force makes no hostile moves and leaves the system as early as practicable. In the meantime, diplomats from the Alliance are travelling in the fastest ship they could find to Achenar to attempt to persuade the Empire to leave Phekda alone by diplomatic means.
The situation however is not as simple as just meeting an Imperial force in an Alliance member's space. The Federation have also decided to join in, and a much more significant force arrived less than two hours after the small Imperial force showed up. The Federation has shown no shyness in making agressive moves. The Federation starship, FSS Francis, opened fire on the AJN Ajax without warning or provocation. The sudden attack and ensuing battle resulted in the damage of one of the Ajax's engines. 20 crewmembers are reported to have been seriously injured in the attack. In response, the AJN Sovereign quickly joined in along with the Titican 47th Fighter squadron to defend the Ajax. The two starships and the fighter squadron quickly disabled the FSS Francis and took the entire crew prisoner. The Alliance has warned the Federation that if any further hostilities are seen or any more Federation ships arrive in Phekda system space, the AJN will be ordered to destroy any Federation military vessel seen in Phekda space. The Alliance has also warned the Federation to leave Phekda within 48 hours. Currently, AJN ships are under order to only fire if fired upon.
Meanwhile, the AJN Ark Royal has left Alioth for Phekda just in case things get uglier. It is likely it might break out into a three way free-for-all, just as the Alioth Uprising in 3229. In the meantime, the Alliance Reserve Force has been called for active duty in case a diplomatic solution is not forthcoming. The Federation have accused the Alliance of teaming up with the Empire against Federal interests. The Alliance denies that this is true. The Federation accusation is especially worrying, as it looks as though they are trying to garner popular support amongs their own citizens for an all-out war.
Although AJN officers are bound by the order not to fire until fired upon, bounty hunters who reside in the Phekda system have shown no such restraint. The bounty hunters appear to have sided with the Alliance, and there have been several clashes between these independent ships and Federation fighters. So far, no ships have been destroyed in these confrontations, but it is only a matter of time.
An AJN spokesbeing said, "We don't understand it. Neither the Empire nor the Federation have anything to gain. They must remember that the Alliance is willing to defend its members. Hopefully, a diplomatic solution will be found - after all, the Alliance is proud to have not been involved in any hostilities since the Alioth uprising."
Earlier today, the Alliance Science Council reported that the deep space probes carried by the research ship, Excelsior, have reached the enigmatic object known as the LRA-2. The ASC still will not reveal in which system LRA-2 was found due to concern that INRA might attempt to disrupt the research. Of course, everyone knows what happened when INRA intercepted the Thargoids.
So far, the LRA-2 has not disappeared like the original LRA (Liazeda Radio Anomaly), which disappeared along with the AJN Lion, the Excelsior's sister research ship. This time, the Excelsior is keeping a 20 AU margin between it and LRA-2, and has launched a number of unmanned deep space probes towards the object. One of the probes has now managed to land on the object's surface and is now performing non-destructive analysis. Several more probes orbit the object, which is massive enough to have a gravitational pull of approximately 0.1 G's.
Scientists are largely of the opinion that the object represents an unknown alien kind of transport system. The object is definitely not Thargoid in nature. The deep space probes currently analysing the object, which is steadily emitting a L/MF broadcast on a frequency of 206 kHz. The probes carry a hyperspace system, a fuel scoop, and a computer system capable of navigating back to Alliance space if the object transports them away from their current location.
Families of the crewmembers of the Lion are anxious to find out more about the object, and whether it can shed light on the eventual fate of the AJN Lion.
It looks like the Elite Club will be slightly delayed by medical
complications of all things. In Issue 3 (28th Jan) we reported that Andrew
Gillett, webmaster of the Elite Club, had slated a possible time frame of
one month, but made no promises. That month has now elapsed, and the Elite
Club won't be appearing just yet.
Gillett reports that most of the work is complete, however, he is about to spend a week away from it all, having his tonsils removed. We had thought this procedure had been done away with back in the 22nd century, but alas some conditions still require a tonsilectomy! Gillett said in alt.fan.elite that he expected the website to be available shortly after he returns, so a good time to start looking for the Club will be around the second week of March.
The staff at the "News" wishes Andrew a speedy recovery, and advises that he avoids crisps or burnt toast for a while (one staffer reported "it feels like eating razorblades"). In the meantime, we'll all be waiting with bated breath for the Elite Club to be inaugurated!
A new IRC channel has been opened for commanders to swap their stories. Join in the fun, usually after 2300 GMT on most days on the channel #alt.fan.elite on irc.vapo.net. You'll need an IRC client (mIRC is pretty good), and some free time!
As its name suggests, most of the alt.fan.elite regulars will be there. You might even see some alioth.net staffers around from time to time. You are encouraged to drop by some time! Unfortunately, vapo.net didn't have a webpage by our publishing deadline, but you can always try www.vapo.net to see if they put any network information up. The channel #alt.fan.elite is quite active, so join up!
Vapo.Net is not as populated as Dalnet or EFNet, so there should be fewer netsplits and fewer drop-outs (both people and computers...)
More quality journals are appearing all the time. The Frontierverse have more excellent chapters from Wolfsheart's journal, "Why Did The Groigan Dance?"
In the new episodes, the intrepid Imperial operative meets with a quite nasty experience whilst going undercover. Go to the Frontierverse to read the latest installments.
The Frontierverse also has a new journal, by Johnathan Stott. Called "The Kerensky Saga", this follows another dastardly Imperial operative, who goes around annoying the Feds and blowing stuff up.
Pritchard's journal has also been updated on Matt Fossa's site. Commander Pritchard continues his journey...Alioth bound. The twelfth chapter of the series is now available, starting Part 3. What will happen as he moves towards Alioth to help his new allies?