For the past 6 months he has been running the federation as acting president only, now that the inquiry into the death has been completed he is now fully installed as our president.

The inquiry confirmed that President DePrestwich had nothing to do with the assasination of President Thorold. It was a lone act by the insane Dante Gazara, who recently it has been confirmed died in a riot at the prision colony of Ross 128.

Collections of Thargoid body parts were initiated during the peak of the Thargoid Wars and the morphology of those remaining are divided into two distinct types: those parts scooped from the wreckage of a Thargoid ship and those parts retrieved by explorers from other sources. The former are large, blue-green to grey in colour and suggest a body mass ranging from two to five times that of the average 2 metre humanoid.

The latter, described in detail in the Giomanst Encyclopaedia, are black, have fewer leg joints and are of a human scale. Of the two, only the Giomanst specimens have been reconstructed in full. It seems likely that there are several variants and that the two forms may well represent different stages in the life cycle of the Thargoid from neonate to full adult.

Next issue: Thargoid biology.

Both commanders returned without cargo in badly damaged ships and proceeded to create a great deal of local interest. Fleets of entrepreneurial pilots flew directly to the area intent on scavenging alien items from the wreckage but have so far recovered nothing.

Research performed in our offices suggest that the two couriers may well be the same pair who reported a sighting in the region of Gateway a decade ago and who subsequently made a significant fortune from the sale of fake alien technology. Would-be investors are warned to ensure validation of any items they procure prior to sale.

The Achenar Treasure will be put on display in the secure Exhibition Centre at Scott Town on Homeland, Beta Hydri (0,2) and members of the Federation and AIS will be accorded a solemn welcome by the attending exhibition Mentors.

Mentors are trained in the full history of Achenar and will be pleased to inform visitors of the full horror of the genocide, its precedents and the nature of the Imperial High Command that took its place. For those requiring deeper understanding of the annals of the region , recommended scanning includes Ovary Highwater’s root work “Imperial Chronicles, a Federal Perspective” and the sequel “Two Thousand Years Too Long”.

The thieves, identified last night by the Imperial Guard as Solly Hull and Trent Water, both museum workers plus accomplice, Commander [MiR(treas Player or NPC) are believed to have had access to the regional personnel computer codes and to have succeeded in bypassing all of the routine psychological profiling, genetic testing and Soul-Searching techniques used to ensure the loyalty of the Museum Attendants.

The local Captain of Guard issued a statement to the effect that the area had been sealed to all hyper space traffic and requests patience on behalf of all traders for the interruption of their routine schedules while a complete ship to ship search is performed.

Any person or persons attempting to leave before the lifting of the hyper space ban will be assumed to have acknowledged their guilt and action will be taken in accordance with the Laws of Attrition.

The Federal Authorities have so far failed to comment on the case despite the extreme displeasure voiced by the Exalted Imperial High Commander.

A scheduled meeting of the Bi Partite Command prior to the latest round of Sun Diving at Delta Pavonis has been cancelled on a point of principal.

According to the Feds records show that no prisoners have escaped, there were no ships docked at the time for them to escape on anyway!

Rumour has it though that high profile prisoner Clifford Stryker, formerly head of the shadowy mafia organisation known simply as The Company, make be missing and un-accounted for.

We have no doubt that all loyal citizens will avoid such rank profiteering and would instead devote their time and energies to the delivery of medical supplies to the hapless citizens of Sohalia (-1,5). It is well-known that the Alliance is incapable of administering to the needs of its citizens and this month’s fever epidemic is a case in point. At no point was adequate isolation or removal of infected subjects performed as is the practice on Imperial worlds in similar dire circumstances.

Instead, the fever was allowed to spread unchecked to the point where the industrial and mining complexes which are the heart of the system have all but ground to a halt. Reports from the region state that the local authorities are desperately short of medical supplies and will receive with utmost gratitude anyone who cares to help them in their plight.

Those of you who have been watching this space with bated breath will be delighted to hear that our Roving Regular Rig Reporter, Justine Time made it through in one piece – not so much as a minor laser burn to show for it. She may not have made it first past the line, but she’s always first with us.

WELL DONE JUSTINE!

SAD news this month covers the death of another Rig Regular in the unhealthy system of Sohalia (-1,5). Ropey Thomas, one of our roving gastronomes had swanned off to the aptly named Molotovworld to check out the explosive cuisine in one of the planet’s five grenade restaurants when the Plague struck and he was carried out, dead as a doornail. We are all, naturally, in mourning and unable to leave the RIG offices for grief, so further reports on the death and devastation in the plague zone may be less than comprehensive.

Sohalian plague virus

The so-called Sohalian fever is running rife again in all three of the inhabited worlds in the system of Sohalia (-1,5). Symptoms range from the starting signs of a mild head cold with tension headache and run rapidly through to pyrexia together with gastro-intestinal pain, hameorrhagic diarrhoea, haematemesis and death within twelve hours of onset. Both pulmonary and neurological variants have been reported with sudden onset pneumonia in the former and progressive paresis, ataxia and collapse in the latter.

The disease is highly contagious and the infectious period is twenty four hours before the onset of symptoms making it particularly difficult to isolate infected individuals. There is some evidence to suggest that the plague was engineered at the Imperial research laboratories and that Sohalia was used as a testing ground although this has always been strenuously denied by the Imperial authorities.

The last Jjagged Bbanner ‘Day One Sales’ went into the millions of credits making the winner’s prize well worth the effort, nevertheless, it is the kudos and the boost to reputation that really make this a race worth winning.

The group now live a semi-recluse existence near the Lost Gardens of Antipi-Hymbos on Wicca’s World and could not possibly, even in their wildest Dreams (and they are pretty wild) need more money or more publicity. However the notorious ‘Wiccan Ware’ race was instigated in their early years as a publicity stunt by their PR company (‘Everything You Earn is Ours Inc.’) and has grown to the point where to cancel it would be to risk the wrath of a vengeful Galactic lynch mob.

So – the presses are rolling on their latest release (Lost on the Edge) and the race starts in a little under twelve hours time. If you’re anywhere near Old Curie, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain…

What are you waiting for?