23 FEB 3302
Verity Gavroche, public correspondent for the Canonn Interstellar Research Group, has been speaking to Dr Arcanonn about his teams' ongoing research:
"I realise the public might think our research has stopped because the barnacles and the Unknown Artefacts have not been in the news, but I can assure you that we are still hard at work. Many Commanders have undertaken expeditions to distant nebulae in the hope of uncovering more barnacles. We've also been working hard to map all the barnacle sites in the Pleiades. In fact, a new site was recently discovered on Pleiades Sector IH-V C2-16 C4."
"We are also trying to understand why the barnacles appear in the Pleiades. Are the raw materials in the nebulae important for their growth? Perhaps the ancient cloud the Pleiades is moving through has long held the 'seeds' for Barnacle growth, and they've only now taken root? We don't know, but we will continue our research."
Commander Lord Zoltan
23 FEB 3302
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.
23 FEB 3302
In a system near the NGC 1333 nebula, over 1,000 light years from the nearest starport, a pilot by the name of Commander Santander has reported discovering two occupied escape pods. The Commander was surveying a previously uncharted system and cruising near the surface of a rocky-ice body when the readings were detected. The crash site could be clearly seen from high altitude, so Santander went to investigate in his SRV. Fortunately, his Asp Explorer was equipped with a cargo rack.
In a transmission, the Commander said: "I don't know how long they've been on this rock, or if the pods are working. I can't do much for them here – my ship is fitted for exploration, not search and rescue. I'll get them to port and let someone else open them up."
Commander Cryptomancer
23 FEB 3302
In this weekly report, the latest GalNet data is assembled to present ten minor factions experiencing civil unrest or lockdown in their systems.
Here are 10 of the 760 minor factions in lockdown:
Freedom Party of Banisas
Partnership of Ross 5
Kamchairra Society
Bureau of Yeng Front
Blue Travel Interstellar
Croman Dynamic Incorporated
29 Arietis Future
Allied Kui Xenab Regulatory State
LFT 214 People's Co-operative
Tata Limited
Lockdowns increase the security rating for a system but also have a negative effect on the system's wealth. Increased bounty hunting activity can shorten the lockdown period.
Here are 10 of the 750 minor factions experiencing civil unrest:
Hez Pef Jet Transport Company
Segontiaci Imperial Society
Liberals of Jumukulayon
Revolutionary Nysa Future
Wolf 412 Labour
Anum Empire Assembly
Picaurukan Life Industries
MCC 868 Netcoms Services
Tun Dynamic Corp.
Gommat Defence Party
Civil unrest is caused by illegal activity within the system as well completing contracts from more nefarious sources. The wealth rating and standard of living will suffer when a system contains civil unrest. Combat missions and activities can be utilised to end civil unrest.
Data is correct at time of publishing.