A group calling itself the 'Children of Liberty' has made a public statement concerning the Alliance and what they call its “rampant hypocrisy”. The group claims that a "huge gulf" exists between the Alliance's professed goals and values and the reality present in many of its member systems.

"For an organization that purports to be devoted to the ideals of liberty and self-determination", the release stated, "the Alliance certainly tolerates a great deal of despotism and tyranny within its own borders. It's about time the Alliance addressed the rampant hypocrisy of allowing dictatorships – as well as other restrictive, undemocratic forms of government – membership into their supposed bastion of freedom and liberty."

The statement went on to list a number of Alliance-sponsored autocracies in various systems, and called on the Alliance and its supporters to sponsor serious democratic reform in said systems by backing democratically-aligned factions over autocratic ones.

Commander Virgil Kyle

Even though the ceremony won’t start until midday, well-wishers have been lining the procession route throughout the night to ensure they have a good position. The weather here is clear and warm for this auspicious day, and billions of people are expected to watch the event live through syndicated entertainment feeds. Even the people of the Alliance have been getting into the spirit of the celebrations by adding shiny accessories to their usually dreary ‘fashions’.

The Imperial Navy is out in force, with the Naval Infantry in their finest dress whites providing security and a spectacle along the route. This reporter was lucky enough to walk the route with the elite guards who had been selected to escort the procession. When asked what this task meant to her, Sergeant Jenner replied:

“Well, obviously this is the greatest honour of our careers. I’ve served in the Naval Infantry for over 30 years and this is simply amazing. Most of the troops will admit that, although they signed up for combat duty, being assigned ceremonial duties of this nature makes them proud.”

It's time for another weekly report on the struggles of the foremost political powers in the galaxy. While several regions saw a more peaceful week, there have also been some big developments. Read on to find out who benefited, and who is tumbling down the rankings.

Arissa Lavigny-Duval has expanded her influence into another system with close to no opposition and fortified her space against some well-coordinated undermining by her enemies, all while providing the core of the fleet attacking Archon Delaine, showcasing her ability to project her power over the whole of inhabited space. With her administration rising to the challenge and recovering from recent turmoil, Arissa's territory is set to return to its previous growth.

Aisling Duval maintains her #1 spot in galactic rankings. This is partly due to her continuing growth at a time when some of her rivals are seeing internal difficulties, and partly because the Princess enjoyed a very peaceful week, with few reports of hostile activity in her space and no opposition to her expansions. With vast resources and an efficient PR machine at her disposal, Aisling is set to keep her galactic poll standing for the foreseeable future.

Zachary Hudson has lost standing this week, in part due to somewhat lacklustre expansion efforts, which saw one of his three attempted expansions stopped by hostile wings. However, the efforts of Hudson's supporters to fortify his vast territory have been remarkably successful, again showcasing the President's ability to withstand heavy undermining of his systems.

Felicia Winters has seen her space come under heavy assault this week. While Winters' supporters are by now extremely proficient at defending her space against enemy undermining action, two setbacks have hurt the Shadow President's ranking this week. The attempt to expand her influence into the system of Liburodo has been stopped by overwhelming enemy action, and Edmund Mahon's expansion into Lugh has contested Felicia's hold over several other systems, further taxing her administration.

Zemina Torval lost the support of several financial interests a few weeks ago, and continues to suffer from the after-effects of that, making another rise in the rankings unlikely for now. At the same time, however, Torval makes good use of limited resources, easily expanding to another system and fortifying much of her space. While the Senator continues to see only moderate enemy action in her space, she has once more suffered due to a focused strike against Tanghpon, which successfully undermined her control of that system.

Denton Patreus had a very successful week. While his supporters are still directing much of their attention to Operation Davy Jones, the Senator managed to expand his influence into two more systems, and successfully fortify and even outdo Archon Delaine in the hotly contested system of Cuchua, which both men have attempted to prepare for future expansion.

Edmund Mahon saw his quick rise to galactic prominence suffer some push-back this week. While his attempt to expand into Lugh was successful and his supporters successfully fortified his systems, the massive surge in enemy activity against the Alliance politician's forces may signal future difficulties, and his expansion into Lugh could trigger more conflict with Felicia Winters and Zachary Hudson. For now, however, Mahon's #3 standing is well deserved, and he enjoys a steady growth in support not enjoyed by his rivals.

Li Yong-Rui expanded into no fewer than five new systems this week. This, along with his successful fortification efforts, easily justifies his rise in galactic standings. Sirius Gov has so far seen few attempts by its rivals to stop its efforts, and it's not entirely clear how the corporation will cope once it's seriously challenged, but it's clear that Li Yong-Rui's organisation will not be returning to the bottom of the galactic ranking any time soon.

Archon Delaine is still in a difficult position, but his supporters have managed to limit the damage done by the Imperial attackers this week. While Operation Davy Jones succeeded in undermining the Kumo Crew's control of five key systems, better organised fortification efforts have actually left the pirate lord with more resources at his disposal than he had the week before. With no new expansions and the continuing assault by huge numbers of Imperial pilots, the pirate band is still in danger, but five weeks into the offensive they continue to resist and to test the resolve of their attackers.

Pranav Antal has spread the vision of Utopia into four new systems this week. This is an unprecedented surge for what has been one of the galaxy's less prominent powers. Utopians appear to credit this unexpected push to a new group of Commanders who are currently unidentified and not in communication with the rest of Pranav Antal's forces. If that force, nicknamed by some “The Many”, continues to support the Simguru, then Antal's rise to #9 in galactic rankings might yet be sustained. Further rise may be compromised by an ambitious attempt by Utopians to establish a commune in the distant colony of Sothis, which is sure to tax the organisation's scant resources.

Continuing this GalNet exclusive series, political commentator Marcus Macmillan writes about some of the movers and shakers in 3301. In this third article he looks at Alliance Prime Minister Edmund Mahon.

Politicians from the Federation and Empire often underestimate their counterparts in the Alliance. This is in part due to their relative sizes, since of the three superpowers the Alliance is by far the smallest and least powerful. However, it should be remembered that the Alliance was born from defeating both the Federation and the Empire on Alioth, a topic I’m certain the esteemed Sima Kalhana will cover in her Sunday posting sometime soon. The other superpowers also see the Alliance’s complex interlocking of systems, committees and power-sharing as a limit on the Prime Minister’s influence.

Edmund Mahon is a career politician and knows the Alliance political system well. He has a strong academic background as well as a lifetime of service. While some of his counterparts lacked leadership or the ability to drive the disparate elements of the Alliance, he is known to be able to work within the system and actually get things done.

Some would argue, and I count myself among them, that Mahon is probably the greatest leader the Alliance has seen since its inception. He isn’t much to look at, but his drab exterior belies a cunning mind and a will for the Alliance to bring its values to more systems. He is also an expert at ensuring that the concerns of individual systems are properly represented within the Alliance, something that is seen as very attractive for new member systems.

In this weekly digest the latest GalNet data is compiled to show the economic states for a short list of minor factions and the star systems they inhabit*.

The following 10 of the 4204 minor factions are currently enjoying an economic boom:

• Family of Euryale

• Hajo Order

• Ditibi Services

• Witou Empire League

• Meinjhalara Transport Services

• Alliance of Cileni

• Miquitagat Empire Assembly

• Social LTT 7453 Free

• Revolutionary Party of Lu Wang

• Independents of Kappa Fornacis

When in boom the wealth of the system is increased for the duration and all trade missions have doubled effects on influence. It can also positively increase the minor faction’s influence. Boom can be entered by consistent trade profits and completed trade contracts. Booms tend to last until they run out or some other indicator takes precedence, such as famine.

These minor factions are suffering an economic bust:

• NLTT 12619 Confederacy

The wealth of a system diminishes while in bust and the minor faction’s influence is also lessened. The effect of trade contracts and actions do not contribute to boom while a bust is active. A bust generally has to run its course before ending.

* Data is correct at time of publishing

Some months ago, Archon approaches Captain Anopheles of The Code and says: 'Ano, you're my kind of guy. Your crew has been making waves as the most successful of all the pirate crews. Come over to me and make an alliance. I have my tech guys making some sweeeeeeeet tech and I'm running my own space. You can be one of my trusted lieutenants if you bring your guys over."

That sounded good, so Anopheles took his boys over to Harma. Discontent started almost immediately when they learnt that running a couple of systems was less about scantily clad slave girls serving you rum and more about being a bureaucrat.

When the new weapon was revealed, that was the last straw for The Code as it wasn’t what they’d expected.

Captain Anopheles met with Archon and they have a frank and lively debate with added knives. The Code gave him two weeks for things to get better. Arechon refused to change for them, so The Code left.

The Code are going back to basics and going to be roaming the space lanes as "independent asset redistributors". In short, they have left the desk behind and have picked up their grappling hooks again.

In a joint press conference, Victoria Wolf VI, First Merchantress of Wolf 406 Transport Co, and Commodore Helena Stone of the Alliance Defence Force have announced the launch of Operation Augeas. This is a campaign to rid BD-22 3573 of criminal elements troubling local miners and traders. The Federation has acted swiftly after receiving the results of the investigations led by Commodore Stone. The local absolutistic factions, however, need to be dealt with more bluntly.

Wolf and Stone, who besides their main responsibilities also have seats on the board of the Alliance Elite Diplomatic Corps, explained that they have secured the funds to pay out a bonus for all bounties cashed in Planck Orbital.

Stone was eager to point out that this is not a military operation. The ADF will observe the situation and only intervene in case of escalation as “the system does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Alliance”.

Alliance and Sirius Corp Pilots Celebrate Agreement

After several decades as a Freelancer member of the Pilots Federation, Commander DarkStar decided to unite a fleet of former Imperial and Federal pilot. Working closely with Commander Equin0x, he united them into forming a freelancer fleet to patrol the frontier and assisting in their economic development. The long term aim is to help free them the superpowers.

CMDR Equin0x commented to GalNet:

"The superpowers exploit the populations of the frontier colonies to gain cheap labour and materials, in conditions that are near to, if not actual slavery."

Up until now the Nova Fleet constituted a loosely bound alliance of like-minded individuals occupying distant and relatively uncontrolled areas of the frontier. The fleet has recently grown with a sudden influx of new membership, and now this growing collective has now attracted politicians' interest in both Imperial and Federation space.

A spokesperson for the Nova Fleet talked to us about their objectives:

"The Nova Fleet will bring prosperity and security to the frontier of the human civilization. We will avoid political entanglements with the superpowers and their lackeys. The truth of our intentions can be seen from the pilots who once served Federation, Empire and even the Alliance who’ve joined us! We should not be underestimated. We will bring security to the frontier, even if that means to fight against the Empire, the Feds or bloody aliens!"

Their influence and fame seems to spread fast, and with over 100 ships, their number of associates grows even faster.

The commanders of the Alliance and Sirius Corporation are today celebrating the one month anniversary of the Inter-faction Mutual Benefit Agreement (IMBA). This agreement declared that pilots of both powers shall aid one another wherever possible towards goals of mutual profit, in the expansion of business and in actions against mutual enemies.

Pilots of both factions have been bringing commodities unique of their region to the capital of the other power as a sign of goodwill and of respect of an agreement between natural allies.

Prime Minister Mahon gave a speech today to the assembled graduates of the esteemed Alioth University, the same establishment he graduated from as a student. While his opponents sometimes deride his ‘matter of fact’ presentation, few could argue against the Prime Minister’s passion for the values he holds dear:

“The Alliance of Independent Systems is built upon a single defining principle and that is one of freedom. The freedoms we enjoy range from our personal freedoms as inscribed in the Bill of Human Rights to the freedom of societies and even planets within the Alliance.

“But we should not accept this grace blindly or assume that its existence continues by mere chance. The birth of the Alliance came from removing the burden of the Federation and the Empire who for centuries fought each other for our resources and we were caught helpless in the middle.

“Both of those organisations proudly describe their origins as being freedom from the tyranny of others. And yet now they are the tyranny and it is our duty to oppose them, while also ensuring that we don’t become them.”

The speech then turned to the minutiae of the Alliance’s democratic process. But pundits were quick to comment that this was a bold statement from the Prime Minister and that perhaps the recent successes in the Old Worlds region show a more robust future for the Alliance in galactic politics.

During a press conference in Alioth earlier today, Prime Minister Edmund Mahon has expressed his gratitude towards the independent pilots who supported his initiative to strengthen the economical bonds with the Old Worlds in the Lave cluster. Mahon assured his declared intention to keep the cluster open for traders of all affiliations and has announced an open trade agreement that will grant any trader safe passage.

To ensure the safety of trader ships in the sector, he has commissioned the Alliance Defence Force to establish a permanent presence in the sector, to counter the growing threats to civilian traders from piracy and crime. The Council of Admirals has announced that the deployment of such forces will begin soon.

During a press conference in Alioth earlier today, Prime Minister Edmund Mahon expressed his gratitude towards the independent pilots who supported his initiative to strengthen the Alliance's economic presence in the Old Worlds cluster. Mahon declared intention to keep the cluster open for traders of all affiliations and has announced an open trade agreement that will grant any trader safe passage.

To ensure the safety of trader ships in the sector, Prime Minister Mahon has commissioned the Alliance Defence Force to establish a permanent presence in the sector, to counter the growing threats to civilian traders from piracy and crime. The deployment of this new Alliance strike force is expected to take place within the next few weeks.

Simguru Pranav Antal made an appearance at the original Utopian commune in Antal today, to address rumours that the Utopians had entered negotiations to ally themselves with Shadow President Winters’ supporters.

“It is only right for us to honour what came before us. Sol is the birthplace of our race, the shining jewel of our galaxy. At least, it is now that it has been restored to its former glory.”

“In that respect, the Federation is like an elderly relative, full of wisdom and useful life lessons, but ultimately unable to guide its children in finding their truth.”

“In Utopia we respect our elders, but we do not allow their love of the past to obstruct our path to the future. Members of the Federation are free to come to Utopia to study, to shape, to share in everything we have to offer. After all, the abundance of Utopia was created for all of mankind, and we wish for nothing but peace with our other selves.”

“An alliance though? No.”

“While it is our duty to be concerned with the workings of the lower worlds, the Utopians will not allow ourselves to become tangled in the petty politics of those whose only true worry is for their own personal power.”

“Our goods are for sale, but our integrity is not.”

As a reminder to all budding entrepreneurs working hard to scrape some credits from the black, Utopia is currently looking to source a large supply of metals. Traders and miners interested in acting as suppliers to Utopia are being asked to deliver metal to Lobachevsky Station in Antal.

In late 3300, the small Federal system of Dahan found itself being used as a staging area for a prolonged military campaign against the independent nation of Eranin. Eventually, Eranin managed to force back the Federal invasion. Although not before heavy losses were incurred by both sides.

This week that region once again became a hotbed, though this time of political activity, as both Federal and Alliance campaigners turned out in force in an attempt to exert their influence over the sector.

Mahon supporters flooded the hallways of Dahan Gateway and Whitson Hub, choosing to focus their efforts on systems whose affections for the Federation could be called into question following the events of late last year. President Hudson’s supporters went head to head with the Alliance campaigners to support the Federation’s position aboard Dahan Gateway. With many an impassioned debate taking place between the two groups along the station’s promenade.

Mahon supporters were successful in convincing many of the system’s residents that life within the Alliance did indeed sound better than having to send a large slice of their income off to Sol for little apparent return. Although in the end, typical Alliance bureaucracy (in the form of a lack of resources) means that Mahon’s supporters will be unable to capitalise on what appeared to be a sure-fire success.

Therefore the real winner of the week’s campaigning currently looks set to be Shadow President Winters.

Liberal and Republican Party members have been working around the clock to recruit new supporters in the Federal system of Aulin, with the liberals managing to just about take a lead in what has historically been a republican led state. Contracts are currently being drawn up to allow Shadow President Winters to set up a new command centre aboard Aulin Enterprise, and unless the republican party does something extraordinary to stop it, Friday will see the rise of a new liberal command centre in Aulin.

Members of Congress from across the Federation have made their way to Mars today, in response to Shadow President Hudson's call for a Vote of No Confidence Against the current administration.

For months now, the Shadow President has been involved in an intense lobbying campaign against President Halsey and her administration. The Shadow President has pointed to the loss of dozens of member states to the Alliance, a rampant increase in crime rates, and a defanged Federal Navy as some of the more devastating effects of Jasmina's time in office.

However, now that President Halsey no longer appears to be a concern, Congress could decide to allow Acting President Winters to assume the office of President in Jasmina's stead. Felicia Winters has always been very popular amongst Congress, even before her ascension to the office of Secretary of State. Now that she's assumed the role of Acting President, it's could be possible that her peers will elect to see what kind of leader Felicia will be.

Members of Congress will be permitted to cast their vote at any time in the next 12 hours. Last-minute lobbying efforts from both sides are expected to be extremely intense, although pundits believe that Shadow President Zachary Hudson will almost certainly carry the day.

After a series of skirmishes between independent pilots and pirates, as well as the drawn out battle against the Sobek Boys, 78 Ursae Majoris was facing a security threat in the run-up to Federal President Jasmina Halsey’s planned visit. News of the catastrophic accident that is believed to have consumed Starship One, and taken the President’s life, has been spreading through the galaxy, but 78 Ursae Majoris has now been secured.

The system saw a huge influx of independent pilots as Andrew Bailey, Mayor of Townshend Hub and local leader of the Alioth Independents, declared the security and military campaign. Independent pilots were tasked with eradicating criminal elements in and around Alliance territory, along with being enlisted in a military campaign against the Sobek Boys, a criminal syndicate operating from the Sobek system. There was a lull in fighting the Sobek Boys however, as the objective took a few days to actually reach a completion mark. Some might think there might be more behind as to why this objective wasn't touched in the starting days. Ivan Shevchenko, a known mercenary and fighter pilot, has given us his opinion on the matter:

"There is a large difference between fighting traditional asteroid belt pirates, and a well organized militia force. And that isn't something I say lightly, having been in the conflict areas. The Sobek Boys' ships were well armed and heavily reinforced. A whole gang of pirates running around with that kind of gear is bad for any system or region of space. But that could also be the reason as to why nobody was really wanting to fight them. Nobody wants to be tangled up against that kind of firepower, even I don't and I own one of the best bounty hunting vessels you can get. On the other hand, independent pilots could've also been distracted by the other directive Mayor Bailey put out to stopping pirate activity. At the same time though I have to say, who knows. I suppose in the end though, all of us who helped put a stop to the Sobek Boys and pirate activities in and around 78 Ursae Majoris did a very good thing for the Alliance and its members."

- CMDR Shevchenko

Over the course of the weekend hundreds of tons of Bio-Waste were dumped in and around stations in 78 Ursae Majoris. This system is currently undergoing preparations for President Halsey's arrival as part of her planned grand tour. A group calling themselves 'The Canonn' claims responsibility for this act.

An anonymous spokesperson told GalNet that they are "a movement of like-minded Commanders seeking the truth about the recently discovered 'Unknown Artefacts'." They state that they are "prepared to use whatever levers are at their disposal to increase the political pressure on the Federation government to force them to come clean." The spokesperson echoed growing fears that the artefacts could be some new weapon of mass destruction.

Parallels were immediately drawn to Dr. Arcanonn and his recent demands to the Federation government following research into the Unknown Artefacts discovered to be transported in Federation convoys. We asked Arcanonn if he was connected to this terrorist group. He denied any responsibility for the group's actions but declined to answer any further questions on the subject of his potential involvement.

However he did go on to say:

"It is clear that we are not the only ones who are growing tired of the Federation's cover-up over these artefacts and some Commanders would seem to be taking more direct action. Obviously, I do not condone such methods but I can certainly sympathise with their frustration."

"In the spirit of seeking to put an end to these disruptive acts I urge all citizens, Federation, Alliance and Empire alike, to petition your government to make public any information that they have on the origin and nature of these objects before these demonstrations escalate. I also appeal to Chief Xeno-Chemist Lyran Betar to contact me so that we can pool our resources and research into these potentially related items, in the search for answers for the common good of all humanity."