The recent Federal operation to search for survivors from Starship One was eagerly supported by the galactic community, resulting in the safe recovery of thousands of escape pods, many of them containing living survivors. As the task of identifying the pod's occupants continues, Federal President Zachary Hudson has made a surprising announcement: one of the escape pods taken to Leoniceno Orbital contains former Federal president Jasmina Halsey.

"When we started searching for the remains of Starship One it was with the aim of discovering what happened to the ship. I never imagined we would find survivors, and certainly not that one of them would be Jasmina Halsey."

Asked about Halsey's condition, Hudson said:

"The medical team at Leoniceno has described Halsey's condition as critical but stable. It appears her escape pod was damaged and she sustained some injuries, so she's being kept in an induced coma until her wounds have healed. This is likely to take weeks. If her condition changes I will be immediately notified."

It has been over a month since personnel at Obsidian Orbital reported that meta-alloys had been used to alleviate the starport's ongoing technical issues. Since then, there has been widespread speculation that the meta-alloys might hold the key to eradicating the technological plague that has blighted so many starports in recent months. But the only attempt to verify the theory was brought to an abrupt end with the mysterious disappearance of Professor Ishmael Palin, who had been researching the meta-alloys.

A member of the technical team at Irens Dock in the Manite system, one of the latest starports to experience technical issues, commented on the situation:

"When I heard the news from Obsidian Orbital I expected people to start taking meta-alloys to the other affected starports, but that hasn't happened. Maybe people are being cautious - after all, we don't know for sure that the meta-alloys can help. But if you ask me, it's worth a shot."

The latest data on affected starports follows.

Starports where services have been suspended:

• Ackerman Market, Eravate

• von Bellingshausen Port, Almar

• Haack Gateway, Halbangaay

• Gabriel Enterprise, Harma

• Gurragchaa Gateway, Warkushanui

• Gaiman Dock, 49 Arietis

• Weyn Dock, 64 Arietis

• Korolyov Hub, Arawere

• Lobachevsky Outpost, Pic Tok

• Carter Port, Rhea

Starports experiencing technical issues:

• Irens Dock, Manite

• Bloch Vision, Loperada

• Skvortsov Orbital, 63 G. Capricorni

• Tall Enterprise, Ngalia

• Love Ring, Evejitaka

• al-Din Prospect, Alpha Centauri

• Robigo Mines, Robigo

• Saunders's Dive, Wolf 1301

• Alexander Freeport, HIP 18843

• Coats Hub, Warkushanui

• Bond Hub, Varati

• Hinz Hub, Ngobe

• Tsunenaga Dock, Iapodes

• Li Qing Jao, Sol

• Ray Gateway, Diaguandri

• Vizcaino Enterprise, Nganji

• Talos 2, Peregrina

Federal President Zachary Hudson has announced that the search for survivors from Starship One has been met with an overwhelmingly positive response. Mere hours after the campaign began, thousands of escape pods had been delivered to Leoniceno Orbital, many of them containing living survivors. In the wake of the initiative's success, President Hudson released a statement to the media:

"I have been overwhelmed by the response to this campaign, which has resulted in the rescue of thousands of individuals, and I am delighted to confirm that some of the recovered pods are indeed from Starship One. We are not yet in a position to release the identities of those we have rescued, but we hope to be able to do so soon. In the meantime I would once again like to extend my gratitude to those who contributed to the search."

The recovery of so many escape pods will almost certainly prompt speculation that former Federal president Jasmina Halsey may be among the survivors.

Benjamin Gorrister, founder of the Carmack Intergalactic Mining Association, has announced an initiative to discover the location of pristine metallic rings. With nearly 300 locations identified so far, the CIMA is currently leading the way in data collection on pristine metallic rings. In a statement, Gorrister said:

"In memory of George Washington Carmack, who triggered the greatest gold rush in human history, we are offering rewards to all Commanders who provide us with the location of new pristine metallic rings. Each new discovery will be rewarded with 100,000 credits. We will give an additional 30 million credits to the pilot contributing the most information, 20 million credits to the second-place contributor, and 10 million credits to the third-place contributor. May the best prospector win!"

The event will run for 42 days, starting on the 21st of February 3302.

Karen Keish

Theta Wave News

The Earth Defence Fleet has announced that its initiative to develop the economy of the Okinura system has been a resounding success. The organisation devised a two-pronged strategy in support of its goal – placing an open order for polymers with which to upgrade Fisher Terminal, and setting aside privateer bonds for combat pilots who help to eliminate agitators operating in Okinura. It seems that both operations were enthusiastically received by the galactic community.

As the campaign drew to a close, Shadow President Felicia Winters released a statement to the media:

"I wish to extend my gratitude to the men and women of the Earth Defence Fleet, and to the many independent pilots who supported this initiative. Let this achievement herald the beginning of a new era of prosperity for the people of Okinura."

The process of upgrading Fisher Terminal is expected to begin soon.

Last month, the Imperial Inquisition launched a campaign to develop the outpost of i Sola Prospect on Brestla A1. The campaign was a resounding success, making i Sola Prospect the first planetary outpost to boast a complete range of services, including a comprehensive shipyard. But authorities in Brestla have now announced that they intend to increase the cost of services at the state-of-the-art facility – a decision that is sure to disappoint some sections of the galactic community.

"It costs a lot for manufacturers to ship such large payloads from their core systems", said a spokesperson, "and unfortunately some of these costs must be passed on to the consumer. We are therefore increasing the prices of all outfitting and shipyard services at i Sola Prospect by 20 per cent. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."

The price increase will be implemented immediately.

A Federal investigation team has released the results of an official inquiry into the destruction of Starship One. The 600,000-word report confirms that the abnormal energy signature detected just before the ship made its last jump was almost certainly caused by mechanical failure. The report goes on to assert that the failure began with a power surge in the ship's central power plant – a relatively common occurrence in a high-capacity hydrogen reactor – which overloaded several other core systems.

Despite examining every piece of available evidence, investigators could not find any proof that the ship was sabotaged. They ultimately concluded that the ship's destruction was the result of a complex, multi-stage engine failure.

The LHS 2936 Alliance Combine has announced that its recent campaign for osmium has been a success. According to a company spokesperson, the osmium will be used to create specialist alloys with which to improve the organisation's manufacturing facilities, thereby helping the company regain its competitive edge. In a statement, the company's spokesperson thanked those who had responded to the request:

"We would like to extend our gratitude to all the pilots who contributed to this campaign by delivering osmium to our base of operations at Fraser Orbital. The process of manufacturing the specialist alloys needed to improve our manufacturing facilities has now begun. A new era of profitability for the LHS 2936 Alliance Combine lies ahead."

In the early hours of tomorrow morning (7.00am GMT), the GalNet monitoring of powers' activities will go offline for a short period while the latest data is assembled.

Any pilots who operate for one of the powers must deliver any cargo or vouchers before this time to ensure their activities are registered.

Authorities in the Maia system have reported that Professor Ishmael Palin, the scientist conducting research into the Unknown Artefacts, has disappeared. The professor recently announced plans to set up an independent research outpost on the planet Maia b1ba, but it has now been confirmed that the ship carrying Palin and his team did not reach its destination. Seneca Toule, a security officer based in Maia, released a brief statement to the media:

"Professor Palin's ship transmitted a status report not long after it left Obsidian Orbital, but since then no further reports have been received. All attempts to contact the vessel have been unsuccessful. A search is underway, however, and I am confident we will soon find some indicator of what has happened to Professor Palin and his team."

It has been several weeks since Professor Ishmael Palin, the scientist researching the Unknown Artefacts, appealed for help in establishing a new research outpost on Maia b1ba. The appeal was enthusiastically received by the galactic community, resulting in a huge influx of deliveries to Obsidian Orbital, Professor Palin's base of operations. But since then there has been no news about the new research base, prompting some to wonder if it would in fact materialise.

In a statement released today, Professor Palin explained the reasons for the hold-up, and reassured the public that the research base would go ahead:

"I know the galactic community is eager to unravel the mystery of the unknown artefacts. The fact is that my team and I were sidetracked by our recent breakthroughs with the unknown artefacts and meta-alloys. I can assure the public, however, that the new research outpost will go ahead – in fact, and my team and I will be departing for Maia b1ba imminently."

The professor's ship, containing a wealth of valuable research material, is expected to set off in the next 24 hours.

Imperial Senator Denton Patreus has confirmed that the Emperor's Dawn 'shadow' cells discovered two weeks ago in the Dakshmandi, Ipilyaqa and Ch'i Lin systems have been destroyed. Thousands of independent pilots responded to the senator's call to arms, resulting in the total destruction of what are thought to be the last remaining Emperor's Dawn outposts. Following the victory, Senator Patreus released a statement to the media:

"The galactic community has once again shown that it will not let itself be cowed by extremists. To all those who contributed to this campaign, I wish to offer my sincerest gratitude. I know that in the past I have been guilty of prematurely dismissing Emperor's Dawn, but on this occasion I think we can safely say that this insurgent organisation, which has tried so hard to undermine our way of life, is no more."

The battle was viewed rather differently outside the Empire, however, with one commentator stating:

"The Imperial propaganda machine would have you believe the Empire won by a landslide, but the truth is they had to work hard for victory."

Over the past week, hundreds of pilots have been searching for signs of Starship One, the Federal presidential vessel that disappeared in May 3301. Two factions had a stake in the search – the Azaleach Partnership, which was acting on behalf of Federal President Zachary Hudson, and the Daurtu Jet Comms PLC, an organisation about which very little is known.

Today, the Federation announced it had received a sizeable quantity of debris. In a statement, President Hudson expressed his satisfaction at the outcome:

"I would like to thank the galactic community for its enthusiastic participation in the search for Starship One. Thousands of tonnes of debris have been delivered to the Federal research outpost at Leoniceno Orbital, which we will now subject to comprehensive spectral analysis. As for Daurtu Jet Comms PLC, I do not know what interest it has in Starship One, but I would remind them that the Federation takes a dim view of those who meddle in its affairs."

Although Daurtu Jet Comms PLC offered larger rewards for wreckage than the Federation, it is understood to have received only a modest amount of space-borne debris. Given the failure of the organisation's appeal, we may never know why Daurtu Jet Comms PLC was looking for the lost presidential ship.

In the early hours of tomorrow morning (7.00am GMT), the GalNet monitoring of powers' activities will go offline for a short period while the latest data is assembled.

Any pilots who operate for one of the powers must deliver any cargo or vouchers before this time to ensure their activities are registered.