With the second stage of the Dangerous Games Wildcard competition complete, the third and final stage can now begin.

This phase of the competition will focus on trade, with pilots being asked to gather as many conductive fabrics as possible for their chosen faction. The group with the most conductive fabrics at the end of the week-long event will be declared the winner.

At the close of the Wildcard competition, the faction that has garnered the most support over the course of the campaign will enter the Dangerous Games and compete for the right to be recognised as an official power.

With the end of the competition looming, each faction is eager to secure as much support as possible, and is doing all it can to attract pilots to its cause.

The event begins on the 16th of June 3302 and will run for one week.

A spokesperson for the Crom Silver Boys, a notorious crime syndicate, has released a statement confirming that its appeal for narcotics was eagerly received by the galactic community.

Given the illicit nature of the operation, the exact number of participants is not known. But reports from the Herthe system indicate that hundreds of pilots contributed to the campaign, delivering controlled substances for the criminals' drug-production scheme.

With the criminals' targets met, production of crom silver fesh is scheduled to begin immediately. The new narcotic will follow the closely guarded recipe for wolf fesh, the psychoactive drug formerly produced in the Wolf 1301 system. The Crom Silver Boys have promised to release the new commodity to the market at Chorel Survey as soon as possible.

Jimmy 'Ice Pick' Falcone, spokesperson for the Crom Silver Boys, released a brief and slightly perplexing statement:

"Crom silver fesh will soon be available to pilots who have proved we can trust them."

Pilots who contributed to the initiative are now free to collect their rewards from Walheim Enterprise in the Herthe system.

The 'Rewired' news feed is known for its prodigious output, sometimes releasing hundreds of stories a day. But balancing such productivity with thorough fact checking is a tall order, and the feed's critics sometimes claim that at least half its output consists of redactions, corrections and apologies.

But despite these jibes, only the most obdurate critic would deny that Rewired has broken major stories in the past, its guerrilla style approach allowing it to react faster than some of its larger, more established rivals.

The channel's latest report will interest many of the galaxy's independent pilots:

"Word is that Broo Tarquin will now work with pilots who can bring him 50 units of Fugin Tea, instead of the 100 he used to ask for. And Didi Vatermann's only asking for 50 units of Lavian Brandy, which is a damn sight less than the 200 she previously insisted on. Seems it just got a whole lot easier to spec your ship."

At 7.00 am tomorrow morning (GMT), the monitoring of powers' activities will go offline for a short period while the latest data is assembled. Pilots who operate for one of the powers should deliver any cargo or vouchers before this time to ensure their activities are registered.

This report presents the latest data on the security status of the galaxy's minor factions.

Here are the latest factions to experience a lockdown:

• Revolutionary Wolf 865 Revolutionary Party

• Tamba League

• Ross 318 Energy Co

• Purple Vision Services

• Volungu Public Company

• Onyayp Collective

• Social Lalande 2682 Alliance

• Ross 41 Confederacy

• Lalande 28607 Syndicate

• Neritus Law Party

When a faction experiences a lockdown, the security rating of the system it controls temporarily increases and the system's wealth temporarily decreases. Bounty hunting activity can shorten the lockdown period.

Here are the latest factions to experience civil unrest:

• Avalon Organisation

• Pomeche Electronics Corporation

• Alliance of BD+47 2112

• Ekuru Silver Allied Industry

• Amphisatsu Creative Commodities

• Eotienses Silver Universal PLC

• Wogama Dynamic Co

• Allied T'u Tu Focus

• Movement for Uzumeru Partnership

• Yawa Commodities

Civil unrest is the result of illegal activity. When a faction is affected by civil unrest, the standard of living in the system it controls temporarily decreases, as does the system's wealth. Combat missions and activities can bring civil unrest to an end.

Jaques Station hit the headlines two weeks ago when it was reported that the galaxy's most famous travelling starport had disappeared. Jaques, the starport's owner and operator, had announced plans to jump from Gliese 1269 to Beagle Point. But when contact with the starport was lost, many feared the ambitious enterprise had resulted in disaster.

Fortunately it seems the starport is still intact, even if its whereabouts remain unknown. Several outposts throughout inhabited space have reported receiving messages over the past 24 hours, suggesting that the cyborg and his travelling starport survived the attempted journey to Beagle Point.

Unfortunately, however, the messages are extremely fragmentary, giving no clear indication of where the starport might be. One of the more complete messages reads as follows:

"...witch-space...drive engines...station infrastructure intact but...we are..."

We will continue to bring you up-to-the-minute reports on this issue.

Starport personnel across the Lave cluster are preparing for an increase in traffic, as pilots from the Buckyball Racing Club and the Elite Racers compete in their latest event. The 'Old World Hustle', which combines point-to-point rallies and zero-gravity aerobatics, runs from the 11th to the 19th of June 3302.

Despite being held in low esteem by authorities, both the Buckyball Racing Club and the Elite Racers are privately acknowledged as providing a boost to commerce in systems where their events take place, particularly by the proprietors of station bars and the purveyors of outfitting services.

"Insurance claims are good for business," said a salesman at the Lave Station shipyard, before hastily adding "although of course a pilot's safety is our primary concern."

Commander furrycat

The first stage of the Dangerous Games 'Wildcard' competition is over, and the second is about to begin. For this heat, pilots have been asked to head to the Bjorti system and deploy their hardpoints for a bounty-hunting contest. The faction that accumulates the most bounty vouchers during the week-long event will be declared the winner.

The Dangerous Games Wildcard competition will run for a total of three weeks, and the victor will go on to vie for the right to be recognised as an official power.

The event begins on the 9th of June 3302 and will run for one week.

Mehet Ltd has announced that its campaign to clear the Mehet system of agitators has been a success. Hundreds of pilots responded to the appeal, taking to their ships to eliminate the criminals operating in the system.

Following the success of the operation, Mehet Ltd released a brief statement to the media:

"Thanks to the brave Commanders of the Pilots Federation, Mehet is now free from the depredations of criminals and agitators. On behalf of the people of Mehet, we would like to express our gratitude."

Rewards for those who contributed to the initiative are now available for collection at Schwann Dock.

This report presents the latest data on democratic activity among the galaxy's minor factions.

Here are the latest factions to hold elections:

• Crimson Allied Incorporated

• Workers of Kagudi for Equality

• NLTT 10055 Purple Allied Int

• Marquis du Wepawegana

• Social Umastae Liberals

• Green Party of Torno

• Union Party of Scythodio

• German Pilot Lounge

• Nambi Co

• HR 706 Emperor's Grace

Elections occur when two minor factions with a similar political structure resolve a conflict over ownership and influence within a system.

At 7.00 am tomorrow morning (GMT), the monitoring of powers' activities will go offline for a short period while the latest data is assembled. Pilots who operate for one of the powers should deliver any cargo or vouchers before this time to ensure their activities are registered.

A flight recording has surfaced revealing the destruction of a Fuel Rat rescue vessel.

Two Fuel Rat pilots responded to an emergency call and refuelled an apparently stranded Python. One Fuel Rat jumped out of the system, but the Python pilot made his move before the second could follow. The footage shows that the attack was swift and came without warning, and resulted in the destruction of the Fuel Rat vessel.

The attacker claims to have been collecting a bounty set by another Commander, who has denied the claim. Regardless of the ultimate truth, both pilots have since been the target of manhunts. The long-term consequences of this incident remain to be seen.

Commander Rorican