Federal Search Efforts Continue

It has been almost 48 hours since the disappearance of Starship One. Early reports indicated that the ship was lost with all hands, and in this instance GalNet is pleased to announce that the early reports were mistaken. Three ships from Starship One’s Guardian Wing made contact with Navy HQ shortly after the initial disappearance. Unfortunately, they were not able to shed any light on the ultimate fate of Starship One.

Despite thousands of Federal scouts combing the sectors along Starship One's secured route, designated Spaceflight One, no trace of the missing ship has been found.

Specialist teams from Core Dynamics and the Sirius Corporation are currently attempting to analyse the wake and uplink data captured by the President’s Guardian Wing escorts in the moments before all four ships jumped. Theories involve either a rare misjump or some sort of catastrophic drive failure. Unfortunately, results so far are inconclusive as to what may have happened to President Halsey and her team.

One member of the crew of one of the President’s Guardian Wing, who wished to remain nameless, spoke exclusively to GalNet about the last moments before the President’s disappearance.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. One minute everything was fine. Pre-jump checks? Normal. Engine power? Normal. Our drives were slaved to Starship One, as is normal. The entry to hyperspace seemed normal at first, but then there was a terrible shock wave and our ship started tumbling. We exited hyperspace uncontrolled and in deep space – something I’ve never seen before. Our ship had taken damage. We couldn’t reach Starship One via comms, but managed to make contact with the other two members of the Guardian Wing. We first searched the deep space around our positions, then jumped to the destination point rendezvous as quickly as we could. Nothing. Not even wreckage. ”

The Federal Navy are requesting that any pilots interested in helping to search along the Starflight One route should sign up for active duty as a member of the search and rescue team aboard Leoniceno Orbital in Azaleach.

The Nevermore Not Ready for Duty

Core Dynamics has been put in the deeply embarrassing position of having to further postpone the maiden voyage of the FNS Nevermore. Representatives of Core Dynamics have confirmed that this most recent delay is due to faulty sensor and turret targeting arrays.

The faults first came to light when engineers began running the FNS Nevermore through its standard weapon diagnostic checks late last week. According to Core Dynamics, the FNS Nevermore’s weapon systems gave engineers the all clear, but upon attempting to fire on the target drone ship, the FNS Nevermore instead released a massive volley into Hudson Dock.

The dock’s defence systems then returned fire, causing the Nevermore’s automated battle systems to kick in, resulting in an all-out fight between the two stellar titans.

It took engineers three hours to regain control of the ship. During this time dozens of people were killed, and hundreds of millions of credits in damages were done to both structures.

Commander Lokquine, a member of Hudson Dock’s Shipyard Union, had this to say on the matter:

“Well honestly, what do you expect to happen when you build a ship like that out of so much Copper? I told them they should have used Gold, cheap << censored >>.”

Core Dynamics is now looking for traders to help bring a variety of Metals to Hudson Dock to assist in the repair efforts.

Full Scale Attack on Polahukuna Postponed

Following the declaration of war by President Halsey earlier today, the Federal Navy’s attack on Polahukuna has been postponed indefinitely. Instead the newly built Capital Ship , the FNS Nevermore, will be diverted to help with the offensive against Lugh.

Unfortunately, due to the actions of Operation Arm Chop , the FNS Nevermore is not yet equipped with a full contingent of fighters. As a result, the FNS Nevermore will not be able to set off for Lugh until the construction of its personal fleet is complete.

Core Dynamics estimate that it will be another six or seven days before the FNS Nevermore will be able to join Federal forces in their attack on Lugh, until which time it will remain safely harboured in Hudson Dock.

Core Dynamics Completes Work on New Capital Ship

Core Dynamics, in association with the Federal Navy, are pleased to announce the latest addition to the Federal capital ship family, the FNS Nevermore.

Core Dynamics Farragut -Class Battlecruisers represent the cutting edge in military technology. A single FCB can carry several squadrons of Federal Fighters and multiple Federal Corvettes across hundreds of light years without any difficulty. These deep deployment capabilities, coupled with extraordinarily heavy firepower, practically guarantee that a single FCB will completely overpower all but the most well-equipped opponents.

The construction of the new ship would not have been possible without the help of Commander Sam Ishum, who braved the blockade of BD+03 2338 to single-handedly deliver 86,000 tonnes of copper to the Core Dynamics workshop at Hudson Dock.

When asked for comment, Commander Ishum had this to say:

“As the sole proprietor of Toad's Independent Trading Services, I am happy to have helped with the building of the new Core Dynamics Dreadnought, the FNS Nevermore. I look forward to working with them on future projects."

To celebrate the launch of the FNS Nevermore, Core Dynamics has supplied Hudson Dock with a large number of discounted Federal Dropships.

GalNet Galactic Trade-Labour Report

An influx of semi-professional miners from Sol has caused a significant increase in the demand for Mineral Extractors in LAWD 26. In order to meet that demand, the Union of Toofla Progressive Party is currently offering excellent rates for all Mineral Extractors sold to Stone's Legacy. As if that wasn't generous enough, in order to attract new potential trading partners the Union of Toofla Progressive Party are also selling off large amounts of gold at bargain basement prices. Furthermore, the Union of Toofla Progressive Party has guaranteed that they will discount the price of locally sourced gold even further if they manage to secure their place as a major player in the local markets.

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The Sirius Corporation released a statement today announcing that thanks to the tireless work of hundreds of explorers, 8 new colonisation candidate systems have now been identified. Sirius scientists hope to discover many more potential sites as they continue analysing the petabytes of data they've received over the last week. Explorers interested in helping with the Sirius Corporation's colonisation project only have a few hours left to make their submissions to Universal Cartographics on Nourse Orbital in Lambda Andromedae.

* * *

Despite heavy interference from pirates and imperial mercenaries, Core Dynamics are still looking to source a large supply of copper for use in the construction of the new Federal Capital Ship aboard Hudson Dock in BD+03 2338. It is believed that Core Dynamics have requested additional funding from the Federal Navy in order to hire private security to protect traders bringing copper into the system. At time of publication the funding had not yet been approved.

Overview of the Past Week's Developments

Tensions have been running high aboard Effinger Port this week as doctors, nurses and scientists worked around the clock to find a cure for the Volungu Blight. A cure was eventually found, but it was too late for the thousands of families in Volungu, Furbaide, Liaedin and LHS 3505 who lost loved ones over the past two weeks.

An assassination attempt was made on Éamonn Uí Laoghire as he addressed the crowds after his second attempt to gain an audience with Alliance representatives in Alioth. While engaging with the huge numbers that had gathered to hear him speak, Éamonn was targeted by a single shot that was fired from a nearby building. The shot missed the ambassador but killed a member of the crowd.

Over the last week hundreds of independently-minded contractors delivered over 500,000 tons of land enrichment systems to Cassie-L-Peia in Tanmark. Specialist farmers from Kappa Fornacis were then able to stimulate the mass growth of Lucan Onionhead clones. Production of Onionhead is booming in the area.

The Sirius Corporation is currently offering sizeable monetary rewards for explorers who bring usable exploration data containing potential candidate sites for a number of new colonial outposts to their offices aboard Nourse Orbital in Lambda Andromedae.

The Federal Navy, in conjunction with Core Dynamics, has declared their intention to commission the creation of a new capitol ship. The new ship will be built in the recently recaptured shipyards of BD+03 2338, and the Admiral's personal contingent will remain in the locale in order to protect the construction of the new vessel.

Core Dynamics Assist Federal Navy in BD+03 2338

Core Dynamics is pleased to declare the launch of a new stage in their partnership with the Federal Navy. While the exact terms of the agreement must remain secret for reasons of galactic security, GalNet can reveal that the joint cooperation effort will involve the construction of several new Capital Ships, the first of which has just started being built in the newly recaptured shipyards aboard Hudson Dock in BD+03 2338.

Rumours suggest that funding for this project is coming from an unidentified corporate super PAC, who is believed to be the same group that were previously involved in helping Shadow President Hudson gain office.

Pilots interested in helping with the construction of the new vessel should seek out Core Dynamics representatives aboard Hudson Dock to find out what materials the company’s engineers are currently looking to source.

Building a New Ship - BD+03 2338

Despite Admiral Vincent's strong words during a press conference three days ago, President Halsey has refused the Admiral's request to send additional forces for the attack on Polahukuna.

In response, the Federal Navy, in conjunction with Core Dynamics, has declared their intention to commission the creation of a new capitol ship. The new ship will be built in the recently recaptured shipyards of BD+03 2338, and the Admiral's personal contingent will remain in the locale in order to protect the construction of the new vessel.

Underground Racers Spotted in and around Sol

Word has spread that a group of CMDRs piloting Core Dynamics' Eagle Fighters were spotted conducting high speed races near the Sol system. Traders visiting Ashby City in Luyten's Star report that they spotted the pilots engaging in dangerous manoeuvres through the docking slot and around the station. Similar reports came from the Altair system where patrons of the Solo Orbiter Station were met with several colorfully-painted Eagles upon arrival.

"The pilots made it clear they meant no harm. Their hardpoints were retracted and subsystem scans indicated that the spacecraft were not equipped for combat."

Rumour has it that this underground racing circuit began around the Earth-Moon system in nearby Sol. It seems that for now the Federation are willing to turn a blind eye to these events, as Federal Security Forces have made no attempts to intervene.

- Reported by CMDR FatHaggard

Congressman Had Early Knowledge of VP's Death?

The press furore over the death of the Federal Vice President has been given a new burst of life, after a recording of a local constituency meeting was released on the scurrilous news channel 'The Low Down'.

In the otherwise low-key meeting held in a village outside Quenisset, Mars, on January 12th, the local mayor offered his condolences to the family and friends of a local businessman murdered during a robbery earlier in the week. George Fallside, the local Congressman, was present at the meeting. The Congressman, who was clearly distracted by social media at the time of the meeting, followed the mayor's speech by offering his condolences to the Vice President's family.

This was an hour after the VP's death, but half an hour before the news of his death broke. The Congressman was not available for comment, but an aide has said:

"Is it a big deal? He clearly misheard what was said."

On 'The Low Down' they followed up by emphasising the Congressman's links with the military, and in particular his non-exec directorship of Core Dynamics.