[Galactic News Network]

06/06/2185
June 5th, 2010

The duel of the century is on hold tonight as senior Facinus representatives refused to accompany colonialist forces to the predetermined duel site, suspecting a trap. “There were no journalists there, no witnesses, and planes were screaming overhead,” said Facinus separatist Janus Pagasi. “They had tanks and armor units nearby; they clearly meant to capture us.” General Partinax, for his part, said at his daily press conference, “It’s not in our interests to meet the enemy unprepared. However, we acknowledge the lack of trust between us, so we must guarantee that no unfortunate accidents will befall the Facinus delegation. Media were present today; tomorrow, they will be more clearly visible so we can get this over with.”

Tags: Facinus, General Partinax, Janus Pagasi, Taetrus, Vallum, Vallum Blast

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[Galactic News Network]

06/05/2185
June 5th, 2010

Stories of civilian casualties on Taetrus pour in at this hour, following an attack on the city of Iratiana. Mass accelerators have destroyed apartment blocks, hospitals, train stations, and markets, killing dozens or hundreds with each hit. Colonialist forces appear unswayed. “Military emplacements on the continent of Eluria were built in easily defensible population centers during a civil war a few decades ago,” explains War Minister Septimax. “Consequently, bombardments cause high loss of life. If I can give any advice to the people of the wildlands, it is to get into bombardment shelters and as far away from military targets as possible.” General Partinax’s response was more direct: “We have a saying that hopefully translates appropriately,” he said. “There is no such thing as a turian civilian.”

Tags: Diluvian Wildlands, General Partinax, Iratiana, Taetrus, turian, Turian Hierarchy, Vallum, Vallum Blast, War Minister Septimax

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[Galactic News Network]

06/04/2185
June 3rd, 2010

As reports of strafing runs and bombardments filter in from urban centers across the Diluvian Wildlands, all eyes are on General Partinax. Negotiations have ended in agreement upon a barrier room duel between the general and Kihilix Tanus in two days’ time. In this duel type, combatants armed with pistols enter a room with an opaque retractable wall dividing them. When the wall is dropped, the duel begins. Representatives from both sides will monitor the proceedings, which will be recorded on visual media. Per turian custom, the records will not be made available for public distribution. The general’s staff must now locate a neutral meeting place that is unlikely to be an ambush site for either side — trust is difficult to come by in this conflict.

Tags: Diluvian Wildlands, Facinus, General Partinax, Taetrus, turian, Turian Hierarchy

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[Galactic News Network]

06/03/2185
June 3rd, 2010

Citadel space is abuzz with the news that highly esteemed General Partinax has accepted separatist leader Kihilix Tanus’ challenge to duel. General Partinax has survived seven duels, five to first blood and two lethal; Tanus’ record is unknown. Negotiations continue at this hour as the general’s staff narrows down a list of weapons. The general favors a turian sword called a mexta, saying it’s harder to cheat in swordplay than with firearms. Tanus, on the other hand, favors a type of pistol duel known as a barrier room fight. Despite the excitement, the duel may only minimally impact the war strategy. General Partinax says the air campaign will continue during the duel: “The prize here is the life of one enemy, not the entire course of the war.” It may not be merciful, but the general says it is the only condition upon which the Hierarchy would permit him to risk his life.

Tags: Facinus, General Partinaxt, Kihilix Tanus, mexta, Taetrus, Turian Hierarchy, turians

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[Galactic News Network]

06/02/2185
June 2nd, 2010

The separatist group Facinus released a video today condemning the colonialist air campaign against targets in the Diluvian Wildlands. “The cowards of the Hierarchy have betrayed the turian people, first in their appeasement of the humans, second in their oppressive taxes to support their agenda to weaken our empire, and third in the bombardment of their own kind to support their archaic institutions,” said Kihilix Tanus, nominal leader of the separatists. “Their General Partinax is a craven murderer. This bloodshed could be avoided with a simple duel between the two of us, yet he would hide behind his conscripts.” Asked for comments, General Partinax said simply, “I don’t hide.”

Tags: Diluvian Wildlands, Facinus, General Partinax, Hierarchy, Kihilix Tanus, Taetrus, turian, Turian Hierarchy, Vallum, Vallum Blast

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[Galactic News Network]

06/01/2185
June 1st, 2010

The Taetrian capital of Vallum came under attack again today as a turian male crashed an aircar bomb into the kinetic barriers outside the Sevnis, a building serving as emergency government headquarters. Packed with explosives, the aircar struck the barriers and exploded, killing the driver. That driver was Alsadrus Tertius, a former sanitation worker with ties to the radical separatist group Facinus. Sevnis guard Titrinus Machaera counts himself lucky. “He [Tertius] clearly didn’t know about the barriers. If he had, he’d have aimed for the gates and maybe gotten some of us guards or the crowds outside.” War Minister Uvalum Septimax did not downplay the incident. “We face a determined enemy,” he said, “and we cannot afford to relax our vigilance.”

Tags: Alsadrus Tertius, Facinus, Sevnis, Taetrus, Titrinus Machaera, Uvalum Septimax, Vallum

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[Galactic News Network]

05/31/2185
May 30th, 2010

Earth’s summer movie blockbuster season has fired up, and the downloads are hot! Winning the weekend was the wholesome dairy-powered superhero Milk Sheik, who kicked his way up to 4.15 billion creds; a strong showing by the cerebral Dark Goddess netted it 3.87 billion, breaking records for a suspense vid; third went to big-budget horror Akuze with 3.4 billion; fourth was the Asariwood musical comedy romance espionage simulstim biopic Make It Look Real: The Lili T’Nigus Story, which sang, danced, spied and smooched its way to 2.96 billion. Reviews of Make It have been glowing, launching Oscar buzz based on the sim’s elusive “YWNBWITFM factor,” extranet slang for “you would not believe what’s in this [expletive] movie.”

Tags: Akuze, Asariwood, Dark Goddess, Make It, Make It Look Real: The Lili T'Nigus Story, Milk Sheik

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[Galactic News Network]

05/30/2185
May 30th, 2010

It’s been called the biggest blow to reporting in decades: the Cerberus witch hunt. More than 300 human journalists, editors, technicians, and other media personnel have been fired over the past month on suspicion of working for the human-survivalist group. “The discovery of one cell using steganography was a disaster,” says former GBC news anchor Kyung-Soon Paek, “We thought if a terrorist cell wanted to send an encoded message across the galaxy, they’d want it in military signals or a galactic news broadcast to guarantee priority messaging in the comm buoy system. But all the media got for its investigations was paranoia and a lot of good people smeared.” Counter-terror expert Luis van Graal agrees. “Cerberus is well-financed. They’re probably using quantum entanglement communicators and laughing at the rest of us.” Emily Wong, who survived a 25-person firing at the Future Content Corporation, had a different take: “With all the sudden vacancies, if there weren’t Cerberus operatives in the media before, there certainly could be now.”

Tags: cerberus, Emily Wong, FCC, GBC, Kyung-Soon Paek, Luis van Graal

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[Galactic News Network]

05/29/2185
May 29th, 2010

As the air campaign rages on Taetrus, it is a lonely time to be a peace activist. A HCC News poll found that nearly 93% of respondents of all species said the colonial government had the right to go to war with the Diluvian separatists, and 54% said it would be reasonable for the Turian Hierarchy to use weapons of mass destruction in response, despite that action violating Citadel convention. Still, the turian embassy on the Citadel is surrounded by protesters who say what the Hierarchy is doing is too much. “Practically every turian joins the military — it’s mandatory,” says protestor Sarai Bridei of Universe Without War. “There’s no distinction to them between military and civillian targets. Hospitals, schools, houses of worship — they’re all fair game, but they won’t let you see it on camera.”

Tags: Diluvian Wildlands, HCC News, Sarai Bridei, Taetrus, turian, Vallum, Vallum Blast

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[Galactic News Network]

05/28/2185
May 27th, 2010

The colonial forces on Taetrus continue to hammer the separatist government of the Dilvuian Wildlands. The Constant Lightning Offensive is flying more than 2,100 attack sorties in a [Earth standard] 24-hour period, relentlessly striking the Diluvians’ command and control centers. Dozens of bridges across the swampy terrain have been destroyed, cutting Diluvian armored and artillery units off from any resupply. Reports of dogfights in the air have been confirmed by colonialist general Partinax, but he claims such engagements should be over shortly. “All enemy airfields have been rendered incapable of operation,” he said. “Diluvian air command has been turned into a crater. Any enemy fighters presently in the air were there when the air campaign started and will not find fuel or rest for their pilots anywhere.”

Tags: Diluvian Wildlands, Facinus, Partinax, Taetrus, Vallum, Vallum Blast

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[Galactic News Network]

05/27/2010
May 27th, 2010

Mass cannons pounded the Diluvian Wildlands on Taetrus today, devastating the region’s urban centers in what colonial forces call the Constant Lightning Offensive. Though no journalists were allowed to photograph or film the area, audio files from eyewitnesses told the story of a brutal bombardment. Early warning radars and other scanners were the first targets, followed by power stations, naval yards, telecommunications nodes, and airfields. There is no word at this time if Diluvian army units have been hit, but anti-air batteries would obviously be among the first targets; given the tremendous firepower used today, it is likely some were hit. Some reports say that anti-air missiles were launched in the north, bringing down a gunship, but the colonial forces deny it, and the report cannot be confirmed at this time.

Tags: Diluvian Wildlands, Facinus, Taetrus, Vallum, Vallum Blast

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[Galactic News Network]

05/26/2185
May 26th, 2010

The astronomical team that launched the TR-15 Letus probe is being blasted by the scientific community for falsifying results about the neutron star Turix. “The data they were posting was too good to be true,” said Dr. Aurana T’meles, who reviewed their work. “When they claimed to have sent the probe through the relay leading to Turix, we all wondered how and why the Protheans could have built a corresponding relay so close to such an energetic star. Then came questions about isolating the probe’s signals from the radiation, claims of unprecedented dark energy control — I would almost go so far as to use the word ‘hoax.’” Letus team lead Dr. Akil Carinii apologized for what he called “sloppy record-keeping” but insisted his findings were authentic. “The galactic community has but scratched the surface of all the functions of mass relays,” he said, “and my team will continue to try to solve their mysteries.”

Tags: Dr. Akil Carinii, Dr. Aurana T'Meles, Prothean, TR-15, TR-15 Letus, Turix

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[Galactic News Network]

05/25/2185
May 25th, 2010

Primarch Idus Valen held a press conference today to announce the beginning of the air campaign against the Diluvian government and Facinus separatists. “Over one week ago I gave clear and specific demands to produce the leaders of Facinus and renounce separatism,” he said. “These demands were not met, and the Diluvians will now pay the price.” He went on to say that to respect the dead, Taetrian and Hierarchy forces would not allow press cameras or communicators in the battle zone and would arrest or eject any violators, including those using satellites or starship scanners. The gathered human reporters walked out in protest of this policy, which is considered the right of the deceased on turian worlds, but is viewed as dictatorial by humans.

Tags: Diluvian Wildlands, Facinus, Primarch Idus Valen, Taetrus, Vallum, Vallum Blast

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[Galactic News Network]

05/24/2185
May 24th, 2010

The weekend box office went to comedies and romantic comedies once again this week, as the so-called “Taetrus effect” has spoiled appetites for action fare across Citadel space. Check and Mate, the story of asari maidens’ tribulations at Earth’s World Chess Championship, won the number one spot, taking in 2.05 billion credits. Second place was salarian family fare We Meet Again, Doctor Fear at 1.6 billion, milking the gag of a captured secret agent with a wrist-mounted time machine that can only take him fifteen minutes back. Third went to the badly timed Bullet Train, which eked out 160 million credits, a 40% drop-off from the previous week. Fourth was the disastrous C-SEC at 97 million. The action flick’s revenue stream came primarily from Tuchanka, where a labeling error mis-categorized it as a comedy.

Tags: box office, Bullet Train, c-sec, Check and Mate, We Meet Again Doctor Fear

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[Galactic News Network]

05/23/2185
May 22nd, 2010

Reports from Taetrus indicate that the human crew of the MSV Atlanta have been arrested for spying. The crew, including five reporters from the Earth cable news channel Mirror, was accused of attempting to photograph dead turians — a misdemeanor in times of peace, and a graver offense during wartime. Said Hierarchy Navy spokesman Commander Iustinix Sylvatus: “The charge does not translate well, but their intent was clear. They were using their ship’s scanners to monitor the battlefield and report on it. We cannot allow this, as it gives away vital intelligence and compromises the memory of the dead.”

Tags: Commander Iustinix Sylvatus, MSV Atlanta, Taetrus, Vallum, Vallum Blast

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[Galactic News Network]

05/22/2185
May 21st, 2010

Turian clawball legend Neno Raxirian has joined the Hierarchy forces heading to Taetrus. The 39-year-old is on the 14th citizenship tier, making him eligible for conscription. Raxirian says he’s volunteering. “There’s a time and a place for clawball,” he said in an interview with GBC News, “and there’s a time to serve honorably.” That he has done — in a brief service stint during his adolescence, he received a citation after his unit came under fire. Is this seeking out past glories? Raescir Rockets fans know his performance has slipped of late — the team has only 9 wins this season, backed by 7 losses. Raxirian denies the stats have any relation to his decision. “I don’t think anyone could look at the Vallum Blast and say they don’t want to help. For me, funding a charity isn’t enough. I want to be there. I want to act now.”

Tags: clawball, GBC News, Neno Raxirian, Raescir Rockets, sports, Taetrus, Vallum, Vallum Blast
Posted in Official News | 27 Comments »

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[Galactic News Network]

05/20/2185
May 20th, 2010

The Citadel Council announced that it will hold a galactic employment summit in thirty [Earth standard] days’ time to seek answers while grappling with a downturn in the galactic job market. This announcement comes just days after figures for planetary unemployment were released. Colonies, as a rule, were havens for job growth, with their median unemployment rate at 4.4%, rather than the 13.1% that homeworlds suffered. Some planetary leaders such as Palaven’s Primarch Enterus say growing vorcha populations are inflating these numbers and the figures are much lower. Others, such as Thessia’s Matriarch Tiala, point out the opposite: “Vorcha are the great undocumented,” she says. “If all of them were included, we would see the true unemployment figure, which would be staggering to those unused to species-specific variations in the data.”

Tags: Citadel Council, council, Matriarch Tiala, Primarch Enterus

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[Galactic News Network]

05/20/2185
May 20th, 2010

The Citadel Council announced that it will hold a galactic employment summit in thirty [Earth standard] days’ time to seek answers while grappling with a downturn in the galactic job market. This announcement comes just days after figures for planetary unemployment were released. Colonies, as a rule, were havens for job growth, with their median unemployment rate at 4.4%, rather than the 13.1% that homeworlds suffered. Some planetary leaders such as Palaven’s Primarch Enterus say growing vorcha populations are inflating these numbers and the figures are much lower. Others, such as Thessia’s Matriarch Tiala, point out the opposite: “Vorcha are the great undocumented,” she says. “If all of them were included, we would see the true unemployment figure, which would be staggering to those unused to species-specific variations in the data.”

Tags: Citadel Council, council, Matriarch Tiala, Primarch Enterus

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[Galactic News Network]

05/19/2185
May 18th, 2010

Last night, to the relief of many colonists on Taetrus, the sun finally set on the Vallum Blast. For the last two weeks, suspended dust in the atmosphere promoted the formation of high altitude ice particles that reflected the sunlight at all hours of the day and night. The result has been the so-called “doomsday glow” in the sky that was so bright that citizens as far away as Dilix could read a paper book by its light at midnight. Civil authorities repeatedly reassured Taetrians that this was not due to any type of nuclear fallout. Though Taetrians can finally get some sleep without closing their blinds, the effects of the dust will linger — the global atmospheric transparency has dropped by a grade and this dimming is expected to continue for another month.

Tags: Dilix, doomsday glow, Taetrus, Vallum, Vallum Blast

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[Galactic News Network]

05/18/2185
May 17th, 2010

The Vallum Blast has governments re-examining a critical question: do major metropolitan areas need kinetic barriers? The technology exists: emitters designed to shield asteroid-prone colonies can be mounted on high-altitude balloons and tuned to allow slow-flying planes and starships in while shielding cities from ships flying at hyperlethal speeds. Some turian cities on Palaven have them already. But the cost is substantial: covering a sprawl such as Earth’s Los Angeles could initially run as much as 848 million credits, with an annual cost of 74 million to monitor and maintain the emitters. Less wealthy cities would have to do without, bumping them up on the list of potential targets. Experts say the easiest solution is to upgrade ship VIs so that bypassing the safety protocols is even more difficult. “The hype is that anyone with hacking skills can turn a ship into a relativistic weapon,” said Taetrian professor of computer science Arayna Hanus. “Fortunately, hard-coding prevents this in 99% of cases.”

Tags: Arayna Hanus, Los Angeles, Palaven, Taetrus, Vallum, Vallum Blast