Recently, there has been a lot of political intrigue across the galaxy. In a stunning move, the New Republic has withdrawn from the Galactic Alliance. In their formal notice to the alliance, posted by High Ambassador Xitwa, the Republic cited a lack of reciprocal trust, cooperation, and respect from other Galactic Alliance members. They have given a three-month timeframe to the rest of the alliance during which they will maintain their obligations. However, during that time the Republic will look to review and change or renew agreements with the member groups prior to their exit.

 

The accusations of broken trust refer directly to recent statements by Corey Vildras, of the Duchy of Tolonda, noting that the Duchy planned to leave the Alliance just after obtaining greater access to Repbulic technology. Although getting access to Republic technology and then leaving the alliance in order to use the entities for their own gain has been a recurring theme for the life of the Galactic Alliance, previous attempts were not brazen or foolish enough to have their plans get leaked to New Republic Intelligence sources prior to actually obtaining the desired gear and leaving.

 

There are rumors swirling that Duke Vildras needed to sell the Republic technology in order to pay off debts incurred running the Duchy.  These rumors also hint that he may have had a hand in the death of Chani Mournfire, in order to avoid refunding her investments into the Duchy.  These rumors are in direct opposition to the article he paid a competing news agency to post on his behalf regarding Mournfire's death.

 

Upon hearing the report of the Duchy’s plan to abscond with technology, the Republic instead of approving the request for additional technology access, instead froze all Duchy access. This act, and the reactions across the alliance appears to have been the straw that broke the back of the fractured alliance. The Duchy is also allegedly leaving the alliance, with an eye towards joining the Galactic Concordiate instead.

 

Krath has also announced their exit from the Galactic Alliance. Over the past few years, with significant leadership changes and a few well publicized differences regarding sentient rights and force use policy, Krath’s place in the alliance had been a point of contention. However, their membership always hinged on their ferocious opposition to the Empire, and technological sharing. Krath’s Modular Taskforce Cruiser being potentially the most significant technology in the alliance not controlled by the New Republic. However, when hostilities in the Hosnian system broke out, Krath forces provided nearly no support to the Alliance forces. The lack of military support, combined with the New Republic also freezing Krath access to technology, doomed the relationship. With their waning desire to combat Imperial forces, it is no surprise to see Krath also leave the alliance as well.

 

There are rumors of a fourth faction leaving the alliance, but that has yet to be confirmed by our sources. Deputy Secretary General Evan Bluvius of the Triumvirate Coalition feigned ignorance of the spiraling condition of the alliance prior to Krath’s public declarations.

 

This turmoil has managed to find its way to the opposite side of the galactic war, as well. When I spoke earlier of sentients using the Galactic Alliance for access to technology and then abandoning the Alliance, one such individual was Helen Hawk, formerly of the eXiles. Most recently, she had been part of Tresario Star Kingdom. However, it is reported that she is currently in the custody of New Republic Intelligence. Kevin Wolff, formerly an Admiral and trusted advisor to the Tresario throne, and more recently the head of the Bounty Hunter’s Guild, has captured Ms. Hawk and handed her over to the Republic for the bounty on her head. House Tresario sees this act as a betrayal and has formally declared war against the hunters. Marshall Wolff, speaking to Shili Free Press Reporters, noted that the Agreement signed between House Tresario and his guild only protected members of House Tresario, an honor which Ms. Hawk was never afforded. Therefore, of the charges leveed against him, Mr. Wolff claims to only be guilty of perhaps one charge, the trafficking of persons charge. These charges against Mr. Wolff appear largely inaccurate, and may be motivated by King Rexar’s fears surrounding Mr. Wolff. When the throne was vacated by former King Jude Vatz, Mr. Wolff was King Rexar’s biggest rival to become the monarch. Wolff also noted that between this incident, and the Empire still not having fully paid the compensation negotiated for acquiring Raysho during the Hosnian situation, the hunter’s guild has started to question the value of bounties posted by Imperial Union members.

 

In other Imperial Union news, the Galactic Empire has named a new executor, the second in command of the Empire. Graeda L`annan has been appointed to replace the previous executor, and former emperor, Guinar Ndengin. Executor L`annan has led a distinguished career within the Empire spanning nearly a decade of leadership positions, including both Lord Admiral of the Navy and Lord General of the Army, as well as being named the Countess of her homeworld of Baraboo. This appointment will likely result in some shuffling of the high command both to replace the position she vacated, and potentially in reaction to some of the lessons learned on the battlefields of Hosnian.

 

So, it seems the galaxy has been a busy place these last few weeks, and we expect more reactions and aftereffects shortly.

 

I also would like to tease some news of our own. Following some discussions with the New Repbulic, we at Shili Free Press have been granted building permits, and licensing agreements to construct a new permanent broadcasting facility in the Shili system. We anticipate beginning construction on these facilities within the next two weeks. Our new facilities will allow us to register officially as a corporate entity in the galactic registers, joining the recent explosion of chartered businesses.

 

So, until our next report, hopefully from our new upgraded studios, this is Lahasa Fy, Shili Free Press, hoping everyone stays safe out there.

Krath to leave in less than 24 hours, Emperor Kell says

Several hours ago, Emperor Lazarus Kell and his Imperial Council had reached a decision that will undoubtedly affect Krath space for years to come. After calling in an emergency session of the Council earlier this week, Emperor Kell had issued a public proclamation to every Krath household. In case you missed it or were not tuned to the Krath state channel at the time of the broadcast, we provide a direct transcript below:

“It is with a heavy heart that I must on this day announce the withdrawal of The Krath from the Galactic Alliance. For many years we have seen members come and go from the Alliance, in all that time under my leadership as well as under previous leaders of Krath we have worked towards supporting our friends in the Galactic Alliance to the best of our abilities. In recent times, however, we have witnessed the slow degradation of what once made the Alliance strong. Instead of focusing on our roots of military cooperation we have been consistently caught up in political posturing and bickering over cultural differences. With that in mind and after extensive discussions in the highest councils of Krath, we have decided it would be for the best to take our leave from the Alliance and adopt a neutral stance in the galactic conflict. To our former allies I would say we bear no grudges and for those who would still call us friends we would do the same.”

The statement came as a surprise to many, albeit the message it contained was hardly unexpected. Although the official stance of the church and state has always favored the GA in the Galactic Civil War, the cultural divide between Krath and other member states was obvious at a glance. Even though public figures often emphasized the importance of a unified military resistance against the Galactic Empire and its puppet states, it would seem the constant pressure on Krath to fall within the cultural norm has finally taken its toll. Citizens of Krath will undoubtedly remember the time we were lambasted over the state’s decision to make an example of the most notorious criminal our Empire had ever seen: Varro Belle.

Shortly after the execution, tensions flared between the Krath and the New Republic on the justification of the extreme punishment. The fallout resulted in a diplomatic crisis that caused the abrupt career decline of the then contemporaneous Secretary General of the Galactic Alliance (Natalis Oro, New Republic). This led to her spearheading an extremely caustic anti-Krath smear campaign amongst the Republic’s citizens. From that point on, the communications between the Republic and the Krath began deteriorating. Slowly but steadily, this divide increased in size, eventually becoming a full-on communications breakdown. This was only one of many policies and actions that would be taken to threaten Krath sovereignty from the Alliance as a whole.

With the newly-imposed trade embargo on Krath by the Republic, coming in the late days of this year, it would seem that Emperor Kell and the Imperial Council had had enough. Calling an emergency session, he’d decided that if Krath had to choose between two evils, it would not choose at all. With other states already announcing their departure from the Alliance as well, it is clear that we can expect major political shifts in the months to come.

One thing remains certain though, the Imperial Treasury has sarcastically assured all citizens of the galaxy that the Nova Crystal remains stable and is still backed by the Krath government.

Sevarcos – “Credits are nothing!” “Tents are forever!” says Eidola Chief Tent Executive Fleuf Naze. Indeed Fleuf is working to change the economic landscape of the galaxy, looking to fill the void left by the decreasing relevance of the Nova Crystal with his own superior alternative currency. Reports indicate that Fleuf recently purchased the Trade Federation’s entire reserves of tents to pitch all over Eidola space, providing significant economic stimulation.

The mysterious Fleuf has been unclear regarding his intentions, leading many to speculate that he himself has no idea what he wants to achieve. In the past few months, Fleuf has been seen participating in a variety of schemes such as attempting to corner the galactic market by working to produce one million tents, hiring the services of a market research firm to determine if the camouflage tent market was lucrative enough to enter, and attempting to sell off 5,700 of his tents at one million credits apiece to raise prices. However, most analysts agree that Fleuf has focused the majority of his recent efforts on the creation of his new tent-based religion. This new philanthropic organization has been seen in many sectors across the galaxy, labeling those who did not pitch tents as “heretics” and attempting to re-educate sentients who refused to buy tents to pitch.

 

 

But darkness has gathered on the horizon to blot out his light, for there are those in the galaxy who didn’t want Fleuf’s vision of giving every sentient the privilege of living under a Fleuf-pitched tent to succeed. Some of these beings have the financial means to stop this grand plan, and recently an anonymous 300 million credit bounty was placed on Fleuf’s head. This surprising revelation has resulted in a variety of questions, including but not limited to: Why are the galactic elite targeting this simple tent merchant? What exactly is it about his indiscriminate tent pitching that has rubbed the wealthy of the galaxy the wrong way? And who is willing to spend such a significant amount to capture an individual who is only trying to help?

A source close to Fleuf has reported that he may be intending to use a portion of his vast tent reserves to erect a temporary living facility for the miserable Ugnaughts of Drup II, who have so far been largely ignored by the local government representatives. This may explain why Fleuf is being targeted as the galaxy’s powerful and wealthy have repeatedly refused to help this struggling minority, preferring to keep all of their money safely stored in their pockets and GCB bank accounts. As an example, even the Pirate Queen Syn herself refused to give Fleuf a measly 1.7 billion credits to use for the production of additional tents to house the homeless Ugnaughts left over in Sevarcos from the Drup Situation. Syn reportedly said: “There are so many tents in Eidola space that our homeless live a life of luxury with at minimum a main home tent, a beach vacation tent, and a ski chalet tent, not to mention some of the temporary tents which can be sustained for over 4 hours!” This lack of generosity is rampant in the upper echelons of the galaxy and could very well explain why this this tent pitching do-gooder is being targeted.

The large bounty on the galaxy’s foremost religious tent-erecting Duros has drawn widespread interest from the galaxy’s elite and not-so-elite bounty hunting groups, including Exanthium Kerensky’s Dha Werda Verda. While Kerensky, a former Eidola member, swore that she would never target the Eidola Pirates, evidently the lure of a 300 million credit bounty was enough to compromise her morals. After some deliberation (and her first choice of hunter vanishing under mysterious circumstances), she directed the recently appointed second-in-command of her organization, Mikel Blaine, to capture the harmless zealot.

Fortunately for Fleuf, Governor Argon Nightwish of the Eidola Pirates caught wind of the rapidly approaching kidnapping attempt. Upon hearing the disconcerting rumor, Argon vowed to stop this wannabe bounty hunter from succeeding in the capture and probable execution of the galaxy’s foremost tent pitcher. After a council of war with himself lasting several minutes, Argon decided on a master plan to stop Blaine’s tent-blocking scheme.  Argon lured Blaine to Sevarcos, and from there onto an Eidola ship, under the pretext that Fleuf was using the ship to collect raw materials for use in his grand production plan, leading Blaine to believe that the only thing standing between himself and success was a single locked door. But it was not to be for the foolish bounty hunter, as Fleuf was half a galaxy away and it was, in fact, Argon himself waiting for him behind the door. As Blaine worked tirelessly to break through the door, the pirate sat in silence preparing himself for the battle ahead by taking shots of Corellian brandy. After several hours of failed attempts, Blaine was shocked to finally break down the door and see an inebriated Argon in his heavy battle armor bringing his famed twin blasters to bear, rather than the Duros he was expecting. The fight was intense but ultimately short, with Argon emerging victorious.

 

 

When asked about the confrontation, Argon said: “Who? I did what? Of course I’m glad he wasn’t able to reach Fleuf, but is this even worth discussing?” Indeed, throughout the interview Argon repeatedly questioned why this event was even newsworthy. Appearing far more serious than he did initially did, Argon was quoted as saying: “They said they would not take bounties on Eidola due to past allegiances… but they did. I know they need targets to chase and the available options are limited, but you have to draw a moral line somewhere. Yeah, I shot the guy, and I have no doubt he deserved it. Perhaps it’s time for Dha Werda Verda to simply fade like so many of the other forgotten bounty hunting groups. It’s a difficult sector to be in and I’m not at all convinced they have what it takes.”

Argon’s killing of Blaine is only one in a long line of Eidola’s protection of its own, and history has not been kind to those who attempt to penetrate Eidola’s defenses. Speaking of the latest Eidolon to be targeted, Navarchos Carl Warrington, a close ally of Argon, has been reported as saying: “We don’t know why he is running around pitching tents all over the place, but he is our tent-pitcher and we don’t take kindly to people trying to deflate him.”

For now it seems peace will reign and Fleuf will be able to continue his efforts, but for how long? It can only be assumed that the significant bounty against Fleuf is still available to collect, and it is only a matter of time until someone else makes an attempt. In the meantime, we urge the gentle beings of the galaxy to continue their financial support of the religious movement by generously giving to Fleuf’s tent making and acquisition endeavors; even a small donation of credits or goods could go a long way toward helping build a brighter future for the galaxy’s destitute citizens. Donations can be made directly to Eidola for redistribution and will be used exclusively for the greater good of the galaxy.

 

 

High Council Ends Infestation

ARGAI, CRONESE MANDATE, TION CLUSTER

Golan II - Port Argolis Security Checkpoint

Marked for immediate release.

Year 18 Day 80 - Today saw the successful end of a five day operation by senior members of the Tion Hegemony High Council, according to a spokessentient from the Office of the Lady Hegemon.

Upon notification that Kray Voh, infamous bounty hunter and proprietor of Ever Light Transportation, was scheduled to arrive in Argai to gather an order for an Athakam MedTech customer, the High Council formulated a plan to capture the Yam`rii.

An arrest warrant was approved by a quorum of the sitting High Councillors on Day 75, as agents swarmed the Argai system, home of Athakam MedTech, to secure the system and wait-out the arrival of the acknowledged criminal.

Once the Yam'rii was in custody deliberation over trial and execution occurred, with immediate execution of Kray Voh being voted as the course of justice. Summary of charges include: attempting to kidnap a Tionese citizen, attempted bounty, operating illegally within Tionese space, offering bounties of top Tion officials, and criminal threatening of the Lady Hegemon.

The affected customer of Athakam MedTech was contacted post-operation by the Rector Superior of Athakam, who authorized a swift refund and arranged transportation for the delivery of the customer’s goods, including the care of a sand panther cub that Mr. Voh had in his possession.

The Tion High Council would like to offer support to any victims of Kray Voh’s schemes. If anyone having hired Ever Light Transportation believes they will have been affected by this apprehension, please contact Fleet Admiral Crislyn Anessa Waryn.

-- END HIGH COUNCIL RELEASE --