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!

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 particularly his non-exec directorship of Core Dynamics.

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.

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 taskforce 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.

The Future of LHS 3447 Party, in partnership with the LHS 3447 Dynamic and Co Corporation, would like to take this opportunity to thank customers both old and new for their continued patronage.

The last week has seen an unprecedented number of traders pass through the system, with reports indicating that profits are up over 500% across the board. The biggest winners were the shipyards in Dalton Gateway, who saw profits soar an unprecedented 65 fold after selling a record breaking 2364 ships in just 5 days. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a large portion of those profits can be attributed to unprecedented sales of the ever popular Lakon Type 9 Heavy and its little sister the Lakon Type 7.

Members of the local community flocked to social media to praise the leadership of the Future of LHS 3447 Party, not only for increasing trade across the board, but also for their continued commitment to making LHS 3447 a hub of Federal activity for the surrounding sector.

The people of Dulos have finally begun preparations for the referendum that will decide whether or not the system retains its Federal status. At the moment the federal vote, represented by the Green Party of Dulos, is lagging behind by almost 30 points. If things don’t change by Monday, the Dulos Defence Party will win by a landslide, leading the system to declare itself an independent state.

Polling suggests that the movement for independence has enjoyed strong support amongst the local populace, a sentiment which is becoming more and more common among systems positioned outside of the Federal core, though in the last few days Federal supporters have become more active.

Of course not everyone is eager to leave the Federation behind. The independence movement in Sugrivik has failed to sway local voters to their cause, despite a significant amount of credits being spent by Purple Netcoms Holdings in an attempt to persuade people to back their play for independence.

When asked for comment in regards to the Dulos referendum, President Halsey’s office issued a statement saying that the President trusts the people of Dulos to do the right thing.

Breaking news from the Tanmark system would seem to indicate that Admiral Vincent’s bombing of Panem has only slowed the spread of Onionhead.

News has reached GalNet that a new strain of Onionhead, which is believed to have been cultivated in secret somewhere on Luca, with assistance from farmers from Panem in the Kappa Fornacis System has begun turning up on the local markets.

A dedicated reporter managed to track down Georgio Algeria on Panem, and it seems his group have been part of this -

“I said we would be back, and here we are. You cannot spoil our happiness. We are still cool. We have more friends that you realise. And now we are rich!”

Due to a quirk of Federal Law, the new strain does not fall under the statue banning sale of Onionhead, as Lucan Onionhead is a different strain. Federal Labs are reported to be rushing the tests through in order to make it illegal as soon as their processes allow.

Following Aisling Duval’s passionate outburst on “The Breakfast Show”, it was announced today that her charitable organisation, Stop Slavery Stupid, will be increasing subsidies for various emancipation programs being run from slave rehabilitation centres in Cemiess.

Stop Slavery Stupid have said that they will be using this new windfall to offer a more competitive rate of compensation to citizens willing to set their Imperial Slaves free.

This renewed commitment to liberate Imperial Slaves has been met with a great deal of derision from business leaders throughout the Empire. When asked for an official comment, The Chairman of the Cemiess Workforce Acquisitions Agency had this to say -

“Aisling and SSS doubtlessly mean well, but unfortunately her youthful enthusiasm and kind heart is getting in the way of her common sense. It’s pretty clear Aisling doesn’t understand the ramifications that would occur should she succeed in abolishing such an integral facet of our society. Never mind the fact that no one affluent enough to afford slaves would be foolish enough to simply sell them off at a loss. Hopefully our young lady Duval will give this up before she manages to bankrupt herself in an attempt to pursue this fruitless endeavour.”

In a follow up to yesterday’s announcement, the marriage of Emperor Hengist to his childhood sweetheart, Florence Lavigny, has now been postponed indefinitely. The news marks the first time in over five hundred years that an Imperial wedding has had to have been delayed for any reason.

As well as costing the Imperial Treasury a small fortune, the delay comes as a serious blow to Arissa Lavingly’s claim to the throne. Experienced commentators have noted that whilst Arissa currently enjoys the support of Chancellor Blaine, a well respected and staunch supporter of traditional Imperial values, he has previously stated that the next Emperor should follow the Duval line.

After days of widely circulating rumours that ships belonging to major dignitaries had not yet departed for tomorrow’s wedding, the palace this morning confirmed that there will be a delay to the start of festivities. Chancellor Anders Blaine made an announcement on the steps of the Imperial Palace saying -

“It is with deep regret I have to announce that his Grace, the Emperor Hengist Duval, remains too unwell to participate in the wedding ceremony tomorrow. As such, it is with great sadness that I must declare a temporary postponement of the intended revelries. Hopefully this will be a delay of just a few days. I will make announcements each day once we know more.”

The Chancellor refused to take questions, and returned inside the palace moments after his announcement.

Although there is anger amongst some lesser dignitaries that they weren’t told in advance, the markets did not notably change in reaction to this news, suggesting that the true state of the Emperor’s health has come as no surprise to those in power.

Aisling Duval, once thought to be second in line to the throne, has objected to the finding of the Marriage Council that her objection had no merit. She has said on a leaked private chat -

“The rotten marriage council is made up of my grandfather’s cronies. How can they block my objection now it is clear he is in a coma? Marriage is about love!”

The ruling of the Marriage Council was apparently made before the announcement of the coma, and under Imperial rules, an objection cannot be lodged more than once by the same person.