USD and Myrmidons sign Peace Treaty.

Al Raqis,

After long and bitter fighting and brutal armed clashes between the USM Forces and the Myrmidons, the war official came to an end yesterday with the signing of the Peace Treaty on Saturday. Last Monday, the USD and Myrmidons agreed to a ceasefire and started extensive peace talks that resulted in a Peace Treaty both sides agreed on.

This marks the end of a brutal war that has ravaged Al Raqis for some time now and marks a new chapter in the relations between the 2 powers. The Myrmidons have already reduced their military presences on Al Raqis and removed the blockage of the planet. The USM is going to follow suit.

These where the steps that are necessary to ensure peace on Al Raqis.

We all can hope that this peace will last.

Myrmidon Attack: A Report from The Constable's Office

My Fellow Offworlders,



Yesterday a large fleet of ships entered the Mu Draconis system. We now know that these ship belong to The Myrmidon Order who intended to forcefully establish a base of operations on the planet of Al Raqis. Fortunately, messages concerning the intent of said fleet were received and those space craft which were able to put up resistance as the Myrmidons entered orbit, did so. It is due to the sacrifice of these crews that the Myrmidon Order were unable to land their full invasion force.



The Myrmidons did however, mange to land an assault group at Al Raqis North Lowport, the area known to many of you as 'Splintered Rock'. They no doubt have numerous reasons for assaulting this area. The Lowport provides a perfect staging area for landing an invasion force, it is also close to the spice refining facilities. However, it seems on this occasion their main target was the newly reconstructed outpost of The Federation forces. This felt the full force of the Myrmidon assault and was badly damaged. Were it not for the intervention of the United Systems Directorate from their nearby base I'm afraid to say the Federation Outpost may well have been completley in Myrmidon hands.



Forces of The United Systems Directorate were able to push back the Myrmidon assault and drive them from the Lowport area. The Myrmidon assault force retreated to the desert and remains at large. All citizens should be vigilent. Of the utmost concern is that regular offworld spice shipments have been halted by these events. I am appealing to any Merchant Ship Captain with a vessel landed at Al Raqis North Lowport to contact me. Special Licenses to carry spice will be issued to any captain brave enough to run the Myrmidon orbital blockade. Spice must be delivered to the Universe!



Long Live Emperor Palpatino!



Constable Werribee

UFS and Orions battle again on Al Raqis/USD changes stance..

Splintered Rock, Al Raqis,

The conflict between the UFS and the Orions continues. On Friday, the UFS launched an attack on a Mining platform above Splintered Rock, alongside heavy street fighting in the town. After a pitched 2 hour battle, the Orions lost their mining platform for 7 UFS Fighters shot down. Experts say that this was a crippling defeat for the Orions and that it seems that things are not turning to the favor of the UFS.

Shortly after the battle, a indecent between the USD and the Mydrion Order put a strain to the relations between the 2 factions. According to official reports, the Mydrions attacked a USM Soldier that was out on patrol with his officer. The attack happened, when the USM Trooper hurried to the crash side of the UFS Fighters to give them medical aid.

After dispatching several attackers, he managed to take cove in a nearby cave system where he was later extracted from and bought into the medical facilities. For his heroic actions, the High Command is currently considering to award him with the "Lighting Star" medal for heroic actions during the crisis.

As of now, the Military Leadership has pressed the High Council to finally take actions and step out of the neutrality, which would result in a full involvement of the USD in the ongoing conflict on Al Raqis.

How these actions will look like, is currently unknown, but one thing seems to be clear: the time of neutrality is over.

Brooding conflict on AL Raqis between the Federation and the Orions.

Splintered Rock, Al Raqis,

Yesterday, the peace and tranquility of the Landing pads was disrupted by the sounds of weapons fire when the Myrdion Order and troops of The Federation clashed together when the Federation refused to leave the planet after the Orions had demanded it. The origin of this conflict seems to be vague, but stems from the fact that the Federation plans to increase its presence in the Mu Draconis system and the Orions declared their "benevolent protector" status over Al Raqis. Rumors say that the Orions even managed to sing treaties with the local Government,which can only mean the various house and not the Imperium.

The Orions released a statement stating that they will not allow the Federation to land on the planet and will do security checks if anyone is part of the Federation. The United Systems Military forces in this sector have been set to full alert after yesterdays clash and several ships are on its way, with the "USM Vanguard" already in place. According to reports, the 3rd Fleet is on its way, which include the Prometheus as the flagship.

Right now, the USD adopted a stance of "armed neutrality" making sure that its forces have access to the landing pad as well as ensuring the protection of the USD citizens already on the planet.

For now, peace has returned to Al Raqis, the question is, how long this peace will last.

New Record Spice Harvest.

Al Raqis, Mu Draconis Syste,

The last 3 months saw new record heights in the spice harvest, with House Tairis and the United Systems Directorate dominating the business. The Guild is pleased to report that spice production has increased to new highs over the past orbit. The early cycles of the orbital period were dominated by the spice harvesting efforts of the Khayal Alramady and Tri-V Corporation.

Several cycles into the orbis the Khayal Alramady activities started to decrease and this must be associated with the massive dust vortices and magnetic storms that were recorded over the Khayal Alramady settlement by Weather Control during this time. No further spice deposits were received after the storms subsided and few of the tribal members of Khayal Alramady have been seen since. Until further reports are received it is assmued that the city of Khayal Alramdy suffered catastrophic damage during the storms and the Khayal Alramady themselves are no longer a viable spice harvesting force.

Tri-V Corporation was also ceased its spicing operations during this orbis. The Corporation is reported to have restructured itself and it now holds major refreshment concessions on the planet Paquin.



The decline of Khayal Alramdy and Tri-V was balanced by the rise in spice harvesting by House Tairis and the United Systems Directorate. These two forces have allocated a large amount of their resources to prospecting and the orbital period ended with record highs in spice production due to their harvesting efforts.

Throughout the orbis the United Federation Starfleet Scientists also managed to secure a significant amount of spice for research purposes. The Spacing Guild and House Orion also assigned several agents to Al Raqis to ensure that their needs were met.

Al Raqis: 15 people die from terrosit missle attack at splintered Rock.

Splintered rock, Al Raqis,

yesterday, a civilian transport carrying nuns and orphans to their new frontier home in the Pollux system, was shot down by a Anti-Aircraft missile that was launched from a hidden Missile site. The Space bug 101 was experiencing engine problems and requested an emergency landing on Splintered rock.When they entered the atmosphere they were met with surface to air missiles from Khayal Alramady.

A terrorist group calling themselves "Maruders" confessed the attack with the word: ""We will smite the invaders from our skies. There will be more in the days to come. We are here. We will not be ignored. We will win. We are the Marauders. Expect us."

This marks a new twist in the conflict between the Fremen and the Imperium and is the first attack of this kind where innocent civilians where killed.

A official statement of the Al Raqian authorities is eagerly awaited by everyone.

The United Systems Directorate wants you!

Like any great nation, we need people that help protect it, build and support it. That means we need you, as researchers, miners, engineers and soldiers of the United Systems Directorate. Join us and help expand our great nation, help to keep peace and freedom for everyone and help us to make live better for each one of us.

We need:

Trader/Spacer: The group for everyone who wants to conduct commerce and wants to transport goods from one point to another.

Prospector: The Prospector looks for minerals and resources and is also responsible for mining them or overseeing others mine it.

Engineers: Building better worlds and a better life for everyone. So work hard, work smart, your future and the future of your fellow citizens depends on you.

USD Scientist: Explore the vast universe, help research new tech and expand the horizon of knowledge.

USD Diplomat: The official representative of the USD are in this group, a very powerful and prestige role to have.

USD Military: Soldiers, Marines, Pilots, Medics, we need you, help us fight for freedom and peace.

For more information, please contact Delta Sweetwater or Darkwolf Randt (In world)

Join today.

Murder on Al Raqis.

Al Raqis Raconteur

AL RAQIS KEEP, Al Raqis - Mr. Kamm, CEO of Imperial Logistics Corporation, was murdered last night at the Magistrate's Keep during a cocktail party. Magistrate Al Jofar summoned investigator Nephyxtemet Ceriaptrix, who quickly determined the identity of the murderer.

Reiko Soyinka, Lady of House Morloch, stands accused of murder. She walked away from custody, assisted by her paxman and a squad of Morloch guards.

New information indicates that Mr. Kamm may have had some connection to an outsystem pirate and smuggling cartel.

Political Issues Create Al Raqis Shipment Delays

Al Raqis Raconteur

HIGHPORT - Upset local business people gathered at the House Kira manor, complaining about recent shipping delays.

"We have contracts that stipulate schedules, and these are not being met." said one angry owner.

Allie Reiland, representing House Kira, assured that ships were coming in, "But, the unstable political situation in Al Raqis' system makes many nervous. Ships are taking more precautions, causing these delays."

Many question these remarks but others speculate House Veles may be the source of the concerns.

Scientist: Al Raqis Not Always Dry

CNS news services reports:

AL RAQIS - In a controversial report, offworld scientists working near Al Raqis City report that Al Raqis was not always a desert world.

"There is more water locked into local rock strata, as much as 100 times more, than fits our models for a planet that was 'once a desert, always a a desert.'" says senior scientist.

Other scientists disagree, "That report is sham science backed by no data. I expect we'll find core sample contamination skewed results."

With the report, amateur 'water prospecting' has increased.

Splintered Rock Bar "Waters End" Attacked by giant insect. Are Arachnids a danger for mankind?

Splintered Rock, Al Raqis.

on Thusday the Waters End Bar was the location of a frightening insect attack. Reports say that a at least 8ft tall spiked insect came though a vent and attacked the people inside the bar, wounding the constable, resulting in a chaos and injuries by misguided gun and laser fire. The attack occurred during the evening when lots of people where visiting the bar.

During the attack, USD personal was at the bar, among this personnel was Lt.Col.John Collins, the local Commander of the USD outpost on AL Raqis. He was unavailable to be interviewed about the event, we will try to get a full interview with him as soon as possible.

The Insect escaped the scene after attacking the Constable, being chased away by laser fire, its whereabouts are unknown.

All people wounded during the attack are already out of the hospital there are currently no follow up reports regarding the insect. Eyewitness reports speak of a 8ft spiked insect that resembles a Thrull Drone.

There had been an encounter with this insect several weeks ago, where Doctor Thomas Issac shoot those 2 images of the creature:



It is not certain what kind of species that insect belongs to, but the danger it represents seems to be clear. This is only one of many of Thrull or Arachnid related incidents that have been recorded in the USD sectors as well as outside of it. The big question that everyone is asking now: are those giant insects a danger for mankind?

Dr. Freeman, expert for exobiology: "Both Thrulls and Arachnids are no danger for us, we should just need to be aware that we share this galaxy with other species as well. That means that we have to be careful with our expansion so that we do not intrude in already colonized space"

Not everyone shares that view like in the case of Professor William Holden: "These insects are incredible well adapted to live even in the harshest of environments, they can very well spread over large areas of space and be a real threat for colonists. We are still not sure how the Arachnids do it, but we think they send out Spore balls that can reach far away planets. Just imaging if such a spore ball lands on a planet like Nauri Prime, it would be devastating!"

Indeed the numerical advantage these insects have is often one of the main concerns and fears of the USD Citizens throughout the outer arm.

Images of a so called "Warrior Bug":


How high would the chances of an attack on the core worlds? "The chances for that are very, very slim" says General Case, Commander of all Core Forces. "We have an array of satellites, monitoring stations and regular patrols as well as orbital defense systems that would make it hard for any kind of Spore Ball to reach any of the core planets. Even most planets of the border have defense installations that would prevent a sudden attack"

Indeed, the orbital defense systems where improved after the recent Kaefer war and would make it nearly impossible to mount a sudden attack, but what if the creatures are already on the planet, how would our combat troops preform?

Images of a Standard USD Soldier:


"We have dealt with giant insects before and we can handle them very well. Not only do we have regular light infantry, we also have power armor and tanks and we can even call in air-strikes and other heavy stuff" says Major James Grimmon, 5th Battalion, 6th Infantry.

"Its nothing we have not done before, we go in, find the Hive and either use gas or napalm to destroy it. Flamethrowers also work wonders. We learned a lot from fighting the Plasmides on Hope. Our Power Armor makes short process of any type of bug. I remember that on Echon 5 we encountered Arachnids, we where outnumbered 5:1 but that was not really a problem. We had Tanks, rocket launchers, flamethrowers, pulse rifles, lasers and importantly, Power Armor armed with miniguns. Together with the air support we had no problems taking them out. After a 2 hour firefight we had killed most of the bugs and we only had 2 casualties." says the Major.

Close up of the Infantry Power Armor


So, clearly, the fears of a sudden Thrull or Arachnid invasion are unfounded. There is no real threat coming for these giant insects and we should try to understand them and only in rare cases we should make use of our superior weapons technology. Mankind will not be extinct anytime soon.

Director and Head of JN Corp arrested.

Acriborea. 

Officials of the CI5 reported today that the director and Head of the JN Corporation, Jonathan Rayback was arrested today on charges of illegal arms trafficking, funding of a terrorist organization, conspiracy against the state, illegal waste disposal and corruption. The arrest followed after a 2 year long investigation by the CI5 and local police authorities in which a network of 20 people was uncovered that where engaged in various illegal activities. "We crushed a powerful Syndicate today that has put the lives of many people in danger." said Major Heideger, director of the CI5. 

Jonathan Rayback

Rayback became head of the JN Corp. 10 years ago and quickly rose to one of the financial successful companies in the USD controlled Sector. JN Corp is the head company of one of the most powerful Consortium's in this sector, having companies like Militech, Cybertech and others under its umbrella. 

Rayback´s arrest is only part of a coordinated strike, with him at least 25 other people where arrested, among them several close associates of him.  

"We have collected enough evidence against them to jail them for a long time. They planned to destabilize this whole sector so they could benefit from the arms sales. They even planned to trigger revolts on planets far away from our space so our forces would have been busy fighting wars aboard." said District Attorney Jennifer Paxton.

Apparently the tentacles of this Consortium reached as far as the planet Al Raqis and it seems that the shuttle crash last week might be connected to this case. The next weeks and moths will shed more light into this mystery and hopefully this swamp of corruption and crime can be dried up very fast.  

Grack Braff,

GGN News. 

Update on Researchlog.

From Doctor Thomas Isaac

Recent investigations into the structures of the Sandworms have revealed that the Worms do not posses a bone structure as seen in the cut-away drawing that was included in the research log. After speaking with a local inhabitant of Al Raqis, I was told that the Worms posses a exoskeleton. 

If that assessment is correct then it creates a row of new questions that have to be investigated. The cutaway drawing also has to be corrected to from the error.

Singed

Doctor Thomas Isaac, project Lead.