Far Frontiers Gateway sector

[Murph]

331-2507 Gateway News Service- Sutekh

Ms. Elizabeth Lorraine Cheval, the head of the RSMM has announced that the RSMM is fully supportive of the Thevins Corporation in this time of need, and that she will ensure that all Thevins Corp cargoes are handled with priority one care.

She also wanted to announce that she was getting married, The lucky groom was just notified of his good fortune, with the wedding being held at the Royal Residence on Sutekh after the new year. The so far unnamed groom is an employee of Cheval Enterprises and has been for many years. When asked if the groom's identity was going to be publicly announced, Ms. Cheval said that it would be once he was officially notified of his change in status.

Ms. Cheval is known as a take no prisoners, hard nosed, driven corporate executive who has the nickname "Lady Hammer" for her business methods. Her previous husband was divorced and exiled from Sutekh after running afoul of planetary security. He was caught divulging corporate and family secrets to other companies. We are told that his whereabouts are not positively known, but there is some speculation that he is living on New Drakkensburg.

 

[Murph]

332-2507 Gateway News Service- New Texas

The New Texas Rangers, supported by tactical teams raided three locations overnight pursuant to warrant issued over the raid on the Van Doople ranch and the attempted murder of Natasha Alvarez.

The Rangers and Tactical teams hit the targets at the same time with the assistance of drones, and police robots were able to keep the violence to an absolute minimum. A very brief firefight broke out in the Jackson Avenue location in the capital but the suspects were quickly neutralized, with no fatalities, and three wounded suspects.

At the other locations, liberal use of stun devices took care of most resistance from the wanted subjects. A total of 29 persons were taken into custody and they are being held in the maximum security section of the New Austin jail. Each was stunned, and then sedated while a full medical work up was completed. Three were found to have implanted devices which investigators suspect would terminate the suspect upon interrogation. Doctors were able to safely remove the devices in 10 hour operations, although one did detonate spraying nanites across the operating room.

We are being told that these people are suspected of being involved in the plot to kill the Alvarez and van Doople families. Two of the arrested parties have been positively identified as members of the Black Sun Mercenary Group according to a source close to the investigation. When we asked how they determined where the wanted suspects were located, we were told that is classified information, and nothing can be revealed regarding this matter.

Our source said that large amounts of weaponry, ammunition, explosives, along with computers and data chips were found on scene, to include data on the security at the van Doople ranch. A spokesman for the New Texas Rangers gave a short press conference, and said that this is an ongoing investigation, and as details which can be released to the general public are made available to him, he will brief the media.

 

[coliver988]

"And if you think the customs crews are bad, just wait till you get to meet the Orbital Quarantine Service people. Words that strike terror into the hearts of spacers everywhere: “We are going to need a small blood sample…”." from one of the PDFs posted

I've only briefly played with the idea of quarantine and medical issues with all the world-hopping Travellers can do. But think I made higher-law level worlds have stricter systems. Anyway - nice touch!

 

[Murph]

Thank you!

 

[kilemall]

"And if you think the customs crews are bad, just wait till you get to meet the Orbital Quarantine Service people. Words that strike terror into the hearts of spacers everywhere: “We are going to need a small blood sample…”." from one of the PDFs posted

I've only briefly played with the idea of quarantine and medical issues with all the world-hopping Travellers can do. But think I made higher-law level worlds have stricter systems. Anyway - nice touch!

2300’s orbital quarantine command has some good protocols for that sort of thing.

 

[Murph]

334-2507 Gateway News Service- Friedland

Kaiser Otto and the Kaiserin held their annual Winter Fest at the Palace where all the children from St. Stephan's Children's hospital were invited to the palace for gifts, cake, treats, and a day of festivities. This is the third year where the Kaiser and Kaiserin have made this dream come true for the children who are in the hospital.

The Kaiserin has made St. Stephan's Children's Hospital her personal patronage, and ensures that on each holiday the children are welcomed with special meals, entertainment, and every little comfort. She made a point of this even when she was just the Crown Princess in memory of her brother who passed away at an early age to disease.

The Kaiser and Kaiserin always dress characters out of Karl May Westerns to the delight of the children. This year the Imperial Band joined with Veedback to play many children's songs and holiday favorites. Veedback has quietly supported this endeavor for many years now, with this being the first year they have joined the Imperial Band on stage.

For those children who cannot come to the Palace, the Kaiser and Kaiserin make a special trip to St. Stephans to visit each and every one of the children. For the children who are at the palace along with their families, there is set up a complete emergency center in case of need.

This years theme was "Old Shatterhand" the main character from the very popular Karl May Western stories. The Imperial kitchens outdid themselves this year, with tables groaning under the weight of the food, with something for everyone, including those on special diets. While not as flamboyant, and well dressed as his late father, the Kaiser has risen to new heights of popularity with his ability to connect to all the citizens of Friedland. It would not be too much to say that in the 200+ years of the Imperial Family's reign, Kaiser Otto might be the most popular Kaiser yet.

In more news from Friedland, sixteen people were arrested attempting to firebomb the local offices of the Thevins Corporation. The Imperial government has issued a stern warning that hooliganism will not be tolerated, and anyone attempting to damage private property will be dealt with in the fastest and most harsh manner consistent with Friedland law. It is known that the Kaiser has requested to be kept informed of the status of the Thevins Corporation incident, and all findings related to that case.

 

[Murph]

336-2507 Gateway News Service- Enkidu

The Jumpspace Institute held a press conference on the disaster which destroyed their test vessel, and caused gravitic anomalies across the system. Dr. BIaly Piontiowski told us that they were testing a new drive called the "skip" drive which uses an innovative propulsion method developed from an artifact found 20 years ago.

Theory said that the new drive should allow ships to "skip" through hyperspace at a much faster rate with a lower fuel consumption. The drive was tested in innumerable computer simulations which showed, based on the data, that the drive "should" work as anticipated, since the learned professors had been doing some calculations and reading on the ancient documents.

We were told that the development team was just positive that the new drive would work as theorized, but apparently there was a decimal point misplaced somewhere in the calculations of the new engine. The new engine was both smaller and more fuel efficient than current ships engines, using only 1% fuel per jump in theory.

What occurred as the drive was activated, is described as a "Quantum tunneling event, which concentrated gravity and created a temporary black hole that ripped a fissure in the space time continuum, utterly destroying the test vessel, and sending out gravity waves across the system from an area of gravitic and quantum instability".

We had to ask what that meant in smaller words, and were told: "The drive she no work, then the ship she go boom!" essentially. Dr. Piontiowski told us that the gravitic anomaly also caused damage to their computer systems, and wiped out years of work. Fortunately most was backed up off site. But in light of this disaster, the Jumpspace Institute is not going to be going forward in development on this drive system since computer control is far too primitive to be able to control all the variables which have to be calculated and updated in microseconds to keep the drive stable.

So we are being told that the Institute will go back to working on attempts at Jump 4 technology instead of "miracle drives".

 

[Murph]

338-2507 Gateway News Service- Sutekh

The crew of the Silver Dawn have arrived on Sutekh, being immediately whisked off to one of the royal vacation homes where they are allowed to spend time "communing with nature", protected from intrusive reporters by Royal Security. No reporter in their right mind would attempt to get past the security systems on Sutekh. It would be a career, if not life ending event.

We are told that the crew has responded favorably to being on the surface of a planet after so long. Even the two that were suffering the worst with Temporal Adjustment Syndrome have shown a marked improvement. All of them are under constant medical and psychiatric supervision, with carefully planned outings to the surrounding villages. All villages and towns are kept under 5,000 persons as part of the careful planning on the part of the Cheval family who have insured that the vast majority of the planet remains unspoiled wilderness.

Because Sutekh's own plant and animal life was much more primitive than the Terran strains in the Standard Terra forming package, Terran lifeforms came in and has pretty much extinguished most native plant and animal species. Since both the Terran and native life contains the same "handedness" for DNA, Terran life can consume native plant and animal life. But in the 200 years of settlement, there are large stands of untouched timber, and much of the planet has never been visited, or at least not for very long. Gravity is .03% higher than Terra, but it is barely noticeable.

The crew has been treated like welcome guests, and we are being told that doctors think that it will be another two or three weeks before they are able to withstand long periods of debriefing by both Sutekh and New Texas personnel, nor extensive meeting with attorneys. We have been told that the improvement in the crews mental state since they arrived is cause for cautious optimism. We were told that there is no time frame on when the crew will be transferred to New Texas or any other world they desire to settle on.

A spokesman for the Royal Sutekh Navy has told us that the ships computer has finally been able to be interfaced thanks to data that arrived from New Texas, and the Xanadu computer team which arrived with them. What we at GNS are being told is that this data represents a literal treasure trove of astrographic observations, with some system observations as the ship passed close or through systems on its way back to the Far Frontiers sector. The primitive nature of the sensor system, while the very best that were available at that time, do not come close to providing the level of data that current sensor tech can, but we are told that the data that is on the system is just amazing. It will take years to fully assimilate all of the data contained in the ships computer.

 

[casquilho]

When asked if the groom's identity was going to be publicly announced, Ms. Cheval said that it would be once he was officially notified of his change in status.

Quite an interesting concept here.

Maybe a PC who has a SOC over 10? LOL

 

[Murph]

Quite an interesting concept here.

Maybe a PC who has a SOC over 10? LOL

She is very imperious, used to getting her way, and utterly ruthless. She is really not a nice person, probably the closest of the children to her father in terms of attitude, but with less compassion, a dangerous thing.

 

[Murph]

For those who got the newsletter, there is a lot to unpack, several continuing stories, some dirty deeds done dirt cheap, and the very dark seamy underbelly of things is going to be exposed. Also some light hearted fun things in the upcoming one. Several of the PC's have gathered and are going to be "doing things" as only PCs can. Hope you all like it, and I am trying to keep it entertaining but real.

 

[Diveguy]

For those who got the newsletter, there is a lot to unpack, several continuing stories, some dirty deeds done dirt cheap, and the very dark seamy underbelly of things is going to be exposed. Also some light hearted fun things in the upcoming one. Several of the PC's have gathered and are going to be "doing things" as only PCs can. Hope you all like it, and I am trying to keep it entertaining but real.

It's one of the emails I look forward to seeing - a great few minutes of reading, picturing the setting and twists, and wondering what comes next.

Well worth the time.

Best comparison I would say is you've found a modern take on the radio serial, or the old movie vignette - a brief episode that ties in to the previous and next, but doesn't require a binge session to enjoy.

 

[Murph]

Thank you. I try and keep it at a manageable level. I go back to earlier newsletters, and update stories so that there is some sort of either closure, or further developments. I get reader input on things they want to see, I need to clean up a couple of the earlier documents on various planets, etc to bring them up to date.

 

[Murph]

343-2507 Gateway News Service- Enkidu

Dr. Guilio Lazardo from YoYoDyne Systems said that he was disappointed in the failure of the test, but as he said: "The ship she-a go boom, and so we need to get back to the drawing board." To his many detractors he said for them to: "Laugh-a while you can Monkey-Boys, we are going to break the Jump 3 barrier!" YoYoDyne has been a major partner in the Jumpspace Institute for decades.

 

[Murph]

And older one.

 

[Murph]

346-2507 Gateway News Service- Kormoran

Researchers have been working on unraveling the mystery of both the glowing hallway and the "waste disposal units" with little success. The researchers are increasingly puzzled by the why and how of the units since they can detect no emissions from the unit when it activates, or at least not with the best TL 11 equipment they have on hand. At this time there are roughly 60 full time scientists, technicians, and support staff living in the caverns. Nor are they able to explain how what they are calling the food materializers make meals, after a person's hand is placed on a pad, a meal appears which has three different selections.

They have taken to calling them "human biocompatable meals 1,2,3, and 4" But each meal tastes different to each person, with the person who "orders" the meal finding it indescribably delicious and satisfying, whereas a different person finds it palatable, but not to the same level. Two of K'grech staff have tried the meals, and report the same thing, meals of extraordinary taste, but to the other K'Grech they were merely good.

As research has gone on, one of the female staffers who was suffering with an iron deficiency, obtained a meal with a higher proportion of bio available iron. So scientists are speculating that the device is able to determine the optimal taste and nutritional requirements for each person using the device. So far examinations of the meals bears this out.

The meals are in rectangular slots on the tray that are 30 cm long, 15 cm wide, and 5 cm deep. Each meal contains three entrees, which are colored red, green, blue, yellow, purple, brown, white, black, orange, the colors of the visible spectrum, but the color does not relate to the taste of the meal in the slot. An eating tool comes with it that resembles a Terran "spork" in many ways. Doctors have observed each person on a long term basis, and those eating the meals appear to be in slightly better health than those eating normal rations. Yet another mystery from the Alien base. Researchers are wondering what miracle of science they will uncover next.

 

[Murph]

352-2507 Gateway News Service- Gateway

In a widely covered event the first live launch of the new Swordfish MK II missile took place in the Outer Belt area. The GNS New Avalon launched the missile at a target 500,000 kilometers away. Tech reps from Interstellar Business Machines Weapon Systems division were on board along with a large selection of notables such as the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of War, and several members of Parliament. The new missile is supposed to have fixed all the flaws of the prior Swordfish produced by General Products Weapon Systems Division, and was infamous for "own goals" on a distressingly regular basis.

The launch went off flawlessly, with the missile showing good telemetry, when the "curse of the swordfish" struck. 50,000 kilometers down range, the missile suddenly swerved, and turned around and targeted the battleship. As panic ensued among the visitors, the captain of the battleship who had unknown to most activated his anti-missile systems before the test, was able to shoot down the errant missile before it entered attack range.

It must be remembered that Captain Ramirez was the unfortunate who had a swordfish target his own ship when he was captain of the cruiser Orion. He was behind the scenes outspoken in his opinion that the Swordfish was not ready but the Ordnance Service and Weapon Systems Division assured everyone that nothing could go wrong.

Apparently the Deputy Prime Minister and two of the MPs had to retire to their cabins and have a change of attire after this exciting few moments. As one wag among the crew said who was present at the time: "First you say it, then you do it!" Which brought out chuckles among those in the know.

Interstellar Business Machines representatives had no comment when asked about this unfortunate test. The members of the Ordnance Service claimed that this was merely a minor setback and should be corrected in time for the next series of tests. We were told; "Every weapons system has its challenges, which unfortunately the Swordfish has found itself in the glare of publicity which was not completely justified." The Weapon Systems Division is in need of a contract and soon, having sunk so much money into "improving" the Swordfish.

 

[Murph]

351-2507 Gateway News Service- New Canberra

The twins of the late Harold and Mrs. Diana Thevins-Wang were greeted as they were formally presented to the assembled family at the Thevins Compound. Diana told us at GNS that she has named the pair: Harold Jr. and Harriet in honor of her late husband. The two were in perfect health and both were obviously yet another set of apples in the eyes of the grandparents. A little good news amidst all the tragedy.

And as a celebration, Sir Bingo directed that a "Six Fosters Party" be held. A good time was had by all, with plenty of the amber nectar being made available. Reports are that there was merriment, and plenty of chundering afterwards by the revelers. As usual we are being told that as the combatants slowly sank to the ground, Dr. Jacqueline Thevins was heard to say rather plaintively: "Is there no one here who can keep up? Wimps! Wimps! I am surrounded by Wimps!"

The next morning, we are told that one Justin Thevins-Wong's day glow purple Croc was seen floating in the fountain, with the other being seen on the top of a Coolibah tree, with no one knowing exactly how it got there. The various revelers were found sprawled across the lawn, and patio looking somewhat worse for wear, except for Dr. Thevins who was up at the crack of dawn eating a hearty breakfast which sent several of the defeated drinkers off to chunder.

 

[Murph]

356-2507 Gateway News Service- Marduk

Bjorn Spiccolli, the famed hunter arrived in Outer Slobbovia today, with the intent on getting a Marduk Damnthing. The Marduk Damnthing, which makes it different from the other Damnthings across the sector is that it is large, aggressive, but it has poison fangs along with venomous spines around its neck, along with a large maw with very sharp teeth. It is known to hunt in packs at certain times of the year, and there are few weapons that can take down at Marduk Damnthing, one of which is the New Texas Arms 12mm Express, or the BEI 12mm Big Boy Thumper. Both are double rifles, and fire the massive 12mm express round which is designed for hunting the most dangerous game.

Mr. Spiccolli is renowned as a hunter, and his private hunting starship is fully equipped for expeditions to harvest wild game. This is not his first time on Marduk, his last attempt to get a Damnthing ended up with him almost dying due to wounds and poison, which took him several months to fully recover. This time, he tells our sister publication The Outer Slobbovia Times Express that he has ready to add one of these exceptionally dangerous creatures to the trophy wall on his ship. He has already gotten bored with the game on New Africa since much of the dangerous game was imported from old Earth. After this hunt if it is successful he will head back to Canyon for a Night Raptor hunt. But to make it more sporting, he will be using a small caliber rifle, and no grav belt.

Mr. Spiccolli has been featured in Big Game magazine, as well as several other publications for his ability to bring down the most dangerous of game. He told the Times Express that this time, the Damnthing will be his! Since the males are much larger than the female Damnthing, but have less venom, he has gotten a permit for both from the government of Outer Slobbovia, and several other governments.

 

[Murph]

364-2507 Gateway News Service- Dustball

The 12th Squadron, the Star Merc unit which was contracted by the government of Dustball to provide system defense and customs services has stopped a suspected slaver vessel which was headed out system with 500 K'grech and 12 humans on board in what are being described as slave holds.

We are told that the humans were captured because they were at the location where the K'grech were being held due to have stumbled across the slavers encampment. The slavers managed to disable their mining crawler which belonged to the Hard Luck Dustball Mining Company. One of the humans was Stacy Matoshi, the daughter of Hammerhead Matoshi.

Apparently she led an attempt to rescue the K'grech from the holding pens along with her crew, but were captured in the attempt. They were loaded on as extra slaves on the slave ship. As the 3,000 ton ship headed out, the 12th Squadron's ships ordered it to heave to and be boarded, right as a revolt broke out inside of the ship led by Stacy Matoshi. As a result the slavers were not able to "space" the slaves, in three of the four holding cells, but 125 slaves were jettisoned.

Marines from the 12th Squadron boarded, and took the sixteen surviving crew prisoner. The ship was returned to Dustball where it was landed at Dry Gulch port and medical staff arrived to help the rescued captives. Stacy Matoshi suffered a broken arm, and had been badly beaten by the slavers, so she was whisked off to the hospital.

New Texas Intelligence was able to break into the ships computer and discovered that the K'Grech were being taken to a location on Sulawesi for sale in the mines. The humans were to be taken to New Drakkensburg for sale. Since the government of Dustball considers slavery a capital crime, the slavers will be tried for that offense. The whole Matoshi clan descended on the hospital where they tried to have a "Six Fosters Party" in Stacy's honor, but doctors made them leave after the first round.