27 FEB 3302
Last month, the eminent scientist Ishmael Palin issued an appeal for meta-alloys, the rare material produced by the 'barnacles' of the Pleiades Nebula. The request was enthusiastically received by the galactic community, but the professor's research into the meta-alloys was brought to an abrupt halt when he and his team disappeared en route to Maia b1ba.
Since then, certain sections of the galactic community have raised questions over just what has happened to these meta-alloys. Many cited the tremendous effort involved in collecting and transporting the materials, and some have even called for them to be made available on the Obsidian Orbital commodities market.
Authorities at Obsidian Orbital have not yet commented on the situation, but an anonymous report has emerged that appears to shed some light on the situation:
"The truth is that most of the meta-alloys were sold on the black market to various private companies. It seemed a little weird to me, so I did some digging and found out that almost all the companies were fronts for some big conglomerate I'd never heard of. I don't know what they plan to do with the meta-alloys, but I thought the public should know."
The legitimacy of the report has not yet been confirmed, but if it is genuine, it raises the questions of who purchased the meta-alloys and why.
27 FEB 3302
Each week, GalNet presents a list of 10 of the 1,210 minor factions currently expanding into new systems.
Natural Fjorgyn Liberty Party
Law Party of Gundji
United Nang Ta-khian Confederacy
The 9th Legion
Bureau of Tetrian Liberty Party
Justice Party of Anekaliti
Movement for Villeachi Independents
Independents of Parenni
LP 580-33 Services
Crimson Energy Exchange
Expansion occurs when a minor faction reaches a sufficient influence rating and there is a populated system within striking distance. The act of expansion is a costly one, and the wealth and development rating suffers during the period of expansion.
Data is correct at time of publishing.