The Universe

Lumberer Votes YES while Teach Votes NO to unity. Stardate 3203.097 News has just arrived that after world-wide referenda the independent worlds Teach and Lumberer, both in the distant outer sectors, have voted on the issue of joining a polity. Lumberer has voted to become part of the Commonwealth, while Teach wishes to remain independent for another year at least. Independent observers of the votes suggest that the Venerian Republic and the Wolf Commonwealth have both approached these colonieson the issue of membership. What our correspondent asks is why?

Tozawa in Surprise Benefit Gig. Dateline 3203.098, Dink Q8 The famous Martian Classical Rock performer 'Ozzie' Tozawa gave an unannounced and surprise impromptu benefit gig at the provincial We Made it City on Dink Q8. Local fans were reported as ecstatic,a nd tickets were reported as changing hands at over 1,000 credits apeice. The gig was marred by a shooting at the stage door, where an associate of Tozawa's, the famous Martian military historian, Wolfgang Von Schlumberg was gunned down by an assassin. COPs report that with the help of some off duty marines, the assailant was quickly apprehended, and was apparently a psychotic stalker, who had been pursuing the controversial Von Schlumberg for many years. For a full report from the Dink Musical Express, see here.

Imperial Ground Forces Battle Bugs Dateline 3203.116 Avatara Q2 Reports are coming in of major combat operations conducted by Imperial Ground Forces against a sudden infestation of previously unidentified dangerous raptors in the Rictus Mountain of Avatara III. Mobilised in response to a request for help from a remote mining operation, the local GF forces repsonded to assist a small group of civilians beseiged by large numbers of highly dangerous predatory creatures. Spokeperson for the Imperial Forces said "..this wasn;t just another bug hunt - these things were smart, fast and resourceful. We lost several people before we managed to get them all". Xenobiologists are assiting the troops with their invesitgation of the mines and surrounding foothills to weed out the last of these creatures. Official Colonial Government Spokesperson said "The miners uncovered a cache of buried pods or eggs or something. We would like to reassure citizens that this is definatley a one-off and we have the situation completely under control".

Rescue on Calvin Dateline Calvin Q8 3203.136 Merchant and military ships from the MAFC, based at In The Clear and Jiggeroo conducted a successful operation to lift starving and stranded colonist survivors off the planet. The colony, which failed some time ago, left behind a number of survivalists who failed to make it after a di8sasterous harvest.

Zemo cracks down on DAFT Dateline Douglas Q6 3203.142 Heinrich Zemo's Social Responsibility Government on Dougas has passed new emergency power laws allowing arrest without trial, especially of offworlders - in the wake of intelligence reports of a dire terrorst Treat from groups such as DAFT. Zemo gave an empassioned speech blaming offworlders for the poor performance of Douglas, and the way in which Douglasers have been disrespected and sneered at in the past. He was especially critical of Clewgists - a religious community with a long history on Douglas. He inferred that there was a communist-Clewgist conspiracy to undermine 'honest Douglasers' and bring in foreigners to steal 'our jobs' and corrupt our families. He hinted that Clewgists also had links with terrorists. Following the passing of the new law a number of 'subversive elements' were arrested.

Doughnut Delight Dateline Quadrant 7, Stardate 3203.109 The local Xyon Q7 colonial government on V6 has been deeply embarrassed by revelations that a senior member of the administration Member of the Knesset Jenni Doughnut was involved in a tawdry liaison with a common street prostitute, known only as Delight. A spokesperson for the Shaliach said "this is a purely personal matter for Ms Doughnut - she may have acted with poor judgement, but it is a matter of indifference to the colonial government so long as she is able to conduct her duties satisfactorily.". However this has not proved enough for local media and opposition groups, who are outraged and are calling not only for the resignation of Jenni Doughnut, but are trying to get a vote of confidence taken in the Knesset, and some are even suggesting the rot goes further and are demanding the resignation of whole cabinet.

People Protest against Police Brutality Anatman Q4, 3203.114 Rioting has broken out in ten major towns across the Equatorial Continent of Anatman, Q4, as a result of widespread resentment against police methods. On one night, it was estimated that over 11,000 people were on the streets fighting the police, looting and committing other illegal acts such as arson and littering. The chief of police said "Its been a rough few days, but we've called in reserves and cancelled all leave, and I am confident that my department can contain the troubles." The governor said "I have every confidence in the Chief of Police, and as a precautionary measure I am moving elements of the Militia into the affected regions. We will not be blackmailed by the criminal elements of society." The local media are less supporting of the government's line and many are saying that the police chief must go.

Cops Bust Illegal Immigration Ring Mesa Q7, 3203.129 There have been a large number of arrests in a major anti-corruption exercise by the local police on Mesa, Q7. Four senior government officials have been arrested, along with nine accomplices. Major seizures of records and documents have taken place, as well as a number of private bank accounts frozen. The accusations of corruption relate to illegal immigration.

Conflict Grows on Fun Joint Q6, 3203.117 Major fighting has broken out between newly arrived colonists from Mannor, 911RPU and Macross. In recent octants, tension has built up over rivalries arising over the best settlement sites and rich mineral deposits - each is claiming certain attractive areas of the Central Continent. An arms build up - each aiming to protect what they see as their legitimate claims - has meant the importation of large quantities of weapons onto this planet and the outcome is unlikely to be resolved quickly. Most of these weapons are quite old assault rifle and hand grenades - but a few armoured vehicles are reported to have been delivered. Fighting so far has been sporadic, but increasing in intensity. Each group of colonists are appealing to their worlds of origin for support and financial backing - and this has been forthcoming, at least from public donations. So far, none of the protagonists has a clear edge - but all of them are spending most of their precious resources on guns and mercenaries and the crisis show no sign of going away.

Arcadius Cracks Down. Dateline Nebok Q7 3203.105 The Arcadius regime, governing the independent world of Nebok has instsiuted a number of 'special camps' for outlawed berserker sympathisers. Apparently, according to Nebok State Media, the numbers of covert Berserker Sympathisers are much higher than previously thought - and a special criminal intelligence report says that they could be ready to launch a coup in as little as 45 minutes. As a result, the regime has declared state of emergency. Under this parliament has been suspended 'for the duration of the emergency' and the security forces have special powers to protect planetary security - including imprisonment without trial, and unlimited powers of stop and search. Protests from the opposition parties have been muted as a number of their senior people were arrested under the new powers as a result of 'intelligence received' by the security services.

Ancongo Mindwiped Dateline Binni Q0, 3203.171 In a heavily guarded courthouse in Bradly City, in the heart of the former FRB, ex-President Ancongo, known as the 'Butcher of Binni' was found guilty on multiple counts including genocide, illegal war, muder, rape, embezzlement, corruption and tax evasion. The sentence, under Binnian Law, is mandatory involuntary mind wipe. The sentence was carried out 20 days ofter sentencing. A martian spokesperson said "We are see this as the end of a dark chapter for Binni - never again will Binni be terrorised in the name of Ancongo".

IFF Grateful to Earth Dateline New Venus 3203.190 In a statement to the press, the newly formed Interstellar Forerunner Foundation publically expressed its gratitude to the Earth Empire for its move to directly fund the Foundation. A spokesperson for the IFF said "The scientific community cuts across all political boundaries but in the past such boundaries have, nevertheless, been an issue with regard to the best use of funding. With this first move towards direct funding the best interests of humanity will be served by allowing the IFF 'hands-on' control of the resources that its work requires. We hope that this first move encourages other polities fo contribute similar measures." The funding of the IFF has been somewhat controversial, as the contributing polities have been reluctant to hand over their national efforts to IFF control - preferring instead to use the IFF as merely an information clearing house. The controversial new Director, Professor Stone, is reported to be challenging this orthodoxy - but is facing some considerable political resistance. An Earth Government spokesperson said "Earth fully accepts its tardy appreciation of the role of the IFF, but is heartened by the tone of the recent correspondence from Professor Stone, and the positive nature of a recent face-to-face meeting with one of his representatives on Sol." Earth already indirectly funds the work of the IFF via its OFFICE and FEAR research organisations.

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The Universe(of Starship Marine, Cruel Void and Hellfire) is © Jim Wallman 1996-2007. You may freely use this material in other games, works, websites etc for your personal entertainment - with appropriate credits as to authorship and copyright. It may not be resold or distributed with any publication for sale without the express permission of the copyright holder.