Senator Offers Deep Discounts on Military Surplus

Following on from the cessation of hostilities in Durius, civic management teams operating on behalf of Senator Patreus have declared that they will be holding a fire sale to clear out any excess equipment which the citizens of Durius no longer require.

It is hoped that the sale will generate some much needed capital for the impoverished region, although how many of the credits will be directly spent on the Durius system remains unknown. When asked to comment on the matter, Senator Patreus's office said that a fair repayment schedule has been organised. They went on to state that most of the credits accrued would be left in the hands of the Citizens of Tradition, who will continue to manage the day to day running of Durius for the foreseeable future. It is not clear at this stage whether this will cover the repayments.

Any pilots interested in saving themselves some serious credits on small non-Imperial ship upgrades are advised to head over to the Speke Prospect outpost in Durius immediately. Sale only while stocks last!

Vive la Révolution de Lave

Word circulated recently on the GalNet boards that a coalition of pilots of French origin (a country from ancient Earth, whose descendants still speak an archaic dialect) were planning to launch a violent coup aimed at gaining control of Lave station.

As home to one of the galaxy's finest flight schools, Lave holds deep sentimental value to many pilots from all walks of life.

Lord Ryan of Ugain was the first to hit back:

"My family emigrated from Lave to the Empire back in the days of Walden! We won't let the system succumb to tyranny again!"

Commander Ulysses Wolf, an Imperial Explorer, also hit back:

"We won't just stand by and let it happen!"

Many other pilots also voiced their discontent, suggesting that if a French Coalition did attempt a takeover they'd have more than just local Alliance Forces to deal with. President James Gibson of Lave couldn't be reached for comment.

Mistaken Identity Leads to Outrage Amongst Explorers' Association

In a surprising twist to a story published earlier in the week, it would appear that the man previously believed to have been Commander Erimus Kamzel of the DSS Beagle, was in fact an imposter who had stolen the Commander's identity in order to try and sell millions of credits worth of bogus data.

According to the real Commander Kamzel's support team, the last communiqué from the intrepid explorer had come just days before the imposter had carried out his plan to impersonate the Commander. The communiqué in question stated that the Commander's trusty ASP, the DSS Beagle, had received significant damage while in the outer reaches of the galaxy.

Lincoln station security services believe that the imposter managed to intercept the message to Kamzel's team, at which point the thief decided to take advantage of the uncertainty surrounding the fate of the DSS Beagle in order to steal millions of credits.

It is believed that Commander Kamzel is currently on his way towards the Scutum-Centaurus arm, at which point he will attempt to send an encrypted signal to his team in case a rescue operation is needed.

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.

The Silver Comet

The bounty hunter gossip columns are abuzz with a reported sighting of the fabled 'Silver Comet'. A long-standing superstition states that "anyone who sees the Silver Comet will die," and it seems this latest sighting will only serve to reinforce the myth. The report came from Quiness by pilot Johanna Meister, Deadly rank, who has since disappeared - last sighted in the Alioth system.

The Federal Navy dispatched a task force to investigate the mysterious comet's appearance in Quiness, although so far they claim to have uncovered no evidence to support Commander Meister's claim.

This news hasn't stopped independent hunters from getting curious. Silhar Bradeus, head of the Bounty Hunters Guild, has offered a hefty reward for any information on the Silver Comet or the location of missing pilot Johanna Meister.

Dulos Announces Its Intention to Secede

A record number of people turned out to vote on the matter of an Independent Dulos this weekend, so much so that local station services found themselves struggling to contain the sheer number of visitors to the system.

While the battle was hard fought, with impassioned last minute campaigning coming out from both sides, in the end the Defence Party of Dulos managed to garner a staggering 75% approval rating for their move towards an Independent Dulos. The Federal representatives, the Green Party of Dulos, have said that they will not be contesting the vote.

This news will come as quite a blow for President Halsey, whose heavy-handed rule of Federal Frontier systems has seen a number of far-flung provincial governments start to question the value of maintaining ties with Sol.

Doubtless this most recent defection will be watched with great interest by powers throughout the galaxy, although exact details regarding a roadmap towards true independence for Dulos has yet to be announced. 

Previously Unknown Explorer Returns from Outer Rim

Lincoln station played host to a rather eclectic delegation of scientists this weekend, as word spread of the return of Commander Erimus Kamzel from his lengthy expedition to our galaxy's Outer Rim. Commander Kamzel's journey, which started in Sol, saw our intrepid explorer travel a staggering 144,000 light years before he was able to return home.

Part of the journey saw Kamzel pass through the Galactic Core, where he was able to collect great swathes of data on areas such as the Greae Phio Stellar Forge, the Phipoea Nebula and the Dryad Chrea Stellar Remnant.

Perhaps most exciting of all, Commander Kamzel is believed to have mapped out a whole host of previously unexplored areas of space beyond the Scutum-Centaurus Arm. Federal, Imperial and Independent scientists from institutions all over occupied space are now engaged in a hot bidding war to see who will be the first to get their hands on Commander Kamzel's records.

Kamzel has issued a statement saying that he believes his discoveries should be shared freely with all humanity, to which effect he has released a series of video logs that can be viewed right now by searching your local video network for Distant Suns.