[Galactic News Network]

08/04/2185
August 4th, 2010

The Mother’s Star, the largest natural gemstone-cut diamond in the galaxy, was blessed by Earth’s Pope Leo XIV today. The Star weighs in at 2,105 carats and was found on the asari colony world of Sanves. The diamond is undergoing a galactic tour to be blessed by major religious leaders of Council space. Tomorrow it will be taken back to Thessia for the final leg of its journey. After an incantation by asari atamna (a collection of high priestesses), it will be placed in the crown jewel collection of the republic of Ulee.

Tags: atamna, Pope Leo XIV, Sanves, The Mother's Star, Thessia

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[Galactic News Network]

08/03/2185
August 3rd, 2010

Footage of an incredible confrontation made its way onto the extranet and attracted more than 225 million views almost overnight. The reluctant star of the latest extranet craze is human veteran C-SEC officer Tarmiel East, captured on a security camera during a dramatic confrontation with suspected krogan drug-runner Hunjon Sard. The routine stop quickly became a fight for survival in a knock-down, drag-out street brawl that East managed to win bare-handed. Details are sketchy, including how the video made it to the extranet, but C-SEC Commissioner Serjeck Hankiloran refused comment, saying only that the matter was under investigation.

Tags: c-sec, Hunjon Sard, Serjeck Hankiloran, Tarmiel East

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[Galactic News Network]

08/02/2185
August 2nd, 2010

A controversial vid is making its way across the extranet, causing PR trouble for the corporatist forces on Garvug. The vid shows Sonax Industries soldiers executing nearly a dozen krogan, alleged guerilla sympathizers who defy their captors to literally their last breaths before they are pushed into a mass grave. When the vid first hit the extranet yesterday, Sonax’s stock price dipped dramatically, but at this hour it seems to have recovered and even jumped up 0.4 credits per share. “What we’re seeing here is a deeply disturbing trend,” says senior news analyst Hannibal Brown. “Were this a vid of krogan killing humans, Systems Alliance politicians would be saber-rattling left and right. But the perception is that all krogan are warriors, or at least able to defend themselves. Their execution is being treated as the cost of doing business on Garvug.”

Tags: Garvug, Hannibal Brown, Sonax Industries, Systems Alliance

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[Galactic News Network]

08/01/2185
August 1st, 2010

New statements by Binary Helix representatives regarding unusual ordnance on the planet Garvug are pointing to a lack of unity among the corporatist alliance. “Our corporation profits from robust alien ecosystems,” said deputy oversight director Grigori Petrenko, criticizing Sonax for its use of what they speculate to be chemical warheads. “Dropping nerve gas is not only useless but counterproductive. The concentrations necessary to kill a krogan or vorcha will kill everything else downwind.” Sonax supreme commander Lira Speight responded mere minutes later, denying the criticism was based in fact. “Petrenko was speaking hypothetically and quoted out of context. Chemical weapons are militarily and politically unfeasible, and so we aren’t using them in our munitions,” she said. “This isn’t the 20th century.”

Tags: binary helix, Garvug, Grigori Petrenko, Lira Speight, Sonax Industries

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[Galactic News Network]

07/31/2185
July 31st, 2010

The corporatist forces on Garvug struck back against guerilla positions today, conducting over 150 house-to-house raids and bombarding 33 targets in the mountainous regions outside of Dhazil. Insiders say most of the gunships flying attack sorties were Guanghui Solutions forces. All but one flight of Sonax ships remained grounded, and Binary Helix only fields logistical support staff. Sonax supreme commander Lira Speight denied rumors of a rift between her corporation and the eco-engineering subsidiaries, saying, “Our command structure is centralized, but our capacity to fight is not. Today is an object lesson in that fact.”

Tags: binary helix, Garvug, Guanghui Solutions, Lira Speight, Sonax Industries
Posted in Official News | 13 Comments »

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[Galactic News Network]

07/30/2185
July 30th, 2010

Corporatist forces on Garvug are reeling today as the Sonax Corporation’s command ship Excelsior was destroyed in geosynchronous orbit over the planet. Comm traffic at the time of destruction suggests the Excelsior was destroyed by a warp bomb hidden in a supply ship’s cargo payload. The ship had a crew of several hundred, none of whom are expected to have made it to escape pods after the blast. It is known, however, that Sonax’s supreme commander Lira Speight was on another ship doing troop review at the time. A video uploaded from the surface of Garvug minutes later revealed guerilla commander Hailot Wrund, apparently missing an arm. His statement was brief: “You humans have an expression: ‘Tag.’”

Tags: Garvug, Hailot Wrund, Lira Speight, Sonax Industries
Posted in Official News | 33 Comments »

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[Galactic News Network]

07/29/2185
July 29th, 2010

Comedian Cal DiCosimo has issued an apology today for his comments about deceased vacationer Kristal Sorenson. DiCosimo, recorded on a headcam video at a nightclub, said, “You know what’s wrong with our news? Hundreds of people are getting exterminated on Taetrus every day, and what are our journalists reporting? One rich little human girl who fell down a gravity well.” After the comments garnered millions of extranet hits, DiCosimo issued his apology: “My remarks were intended to be pointed at members of the news media, not the family and friends of the deceased. I am sorry if I hurt anyone in their time of grieving, and I wish to pay my respects to a very heroic young woman who saved the lives of her family.”

Tags: Cal DiCosimo, Kristal Sorenson, Taetrus
Posted in Official News | 26 Comments »

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[Galactic News Network]

07/28/2185
July 28th, 2010

The story of the Sorensons, a family whose ship became trapped by the gas giant Archanes’ gravity, has ended with heartbreak. Though the family’s daughter Kristal managed to repair the malfunctioning booster rocket in time, she had no time to get used to the pressure differential between the ship and her hastily-donned pressure suit. Decompression sickness gradually caused her to become disoriented and she lost consciousness outside the vehicle. Unable to mount a second EVA to rescue her before the ship reached the point of no return, her mother, Freja, fired the rocket and flew the ship to safety. A ceremony honoring Kristal Sorenson’s sacrifice will be held tomorrow on her home planet of Eden Prime.

Tags: Archanes, Eden Prime, Freja Sorenson, Kristal Sorenson
Posted in Official News | 43 Comments »

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[Galactic News Network]

07/27/2185
July 27th, 2010

A family’s space tourism flight around the gas giant Archanes has turned into a nightmare. After an ion engine malfunction, their emergency booster rocket went offline and the ship was caught in the giant’s orbit. Their plaintive distress signal to the Systems Alliance indicates that their orbit is steadily decaying and that they expect to reach the point of no return in the next two hours. The six members of the Sorenson family have qualified for unassisted spaceflight, but now those logged hours are being put to the test. A nearby manned Helium-3 station is walking them through a repair procedure for the booster. While viewers everywhere hold their collective breath, the eldest daughter, Kristal, is performing the extravehicular activity needed to make the necessary repairs.

Tags: Archanes, Kristal Sorenson, Sorenson, Systems Alliance

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[Galactic News Network]

07/26/2185
July 26th, 2010

Citadel Council observers were on hand in the city of Vallum today as Hierarchy forces destroyed the captured, weaponized FTL plotters found a month ago (Earth Standard) in the Diluvian city of Madra. “These are symbols of a type of war no civilized galaxy wants and no civilized galaxy should suffer,” said Taetrian Primarch Idus Valen, who was given the honor of detonating the plotters at a bomb range at Fort Urix. Asked if the plotters’ creator, Vamire Squaron, was the only person with the knowledge and intent to create weapons such as these, Valen seemed to agree but gave a noncommittal response. Asked how the plotters represented a type of war different than one involving conventional weapons of mass destruction such as a dreadnought’s main gun, Valen responded, “I’m sorry, but that’s all the time we have.”

Tags: Diluvian Wildlands, Facinus, Fort Urix, Madra, Primarch Idus Valen, Taetrus, Vamire Squaron
Posted in Official News | 10 Comments »

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[Galactic News Network]

07/25/2185
July 26th, 2010

There’s a new development tonight in the quest for justice for the victims of the Vallum Blast. Vamire Squaron, the pilot who allegedly launched the hypervelocity craft that caused the impact, was found dead in the Diluvian city of Madra. “I got an anonymous tip that there was a body inside… I didn’t even recognize him at first,” said Private Faros Riten, who was tasked with house-to-house searching. “I put him on the flatbed, and everybody started congratulating me.” At a crematostation, the body’s genetic structure was compared to Squaron’s medicard record and was confirmed with 99.97% accuracy. The cause of death was determined to be cardiac arrest, an unusual diagnosis in a 41-year-old turian. Asked if he felt any closure, Riten replied, “Don’t worry about me. Worry about the people that lost someone.”

Tags: Diluvian Wildlands, Facinus, Faros Riten, Madra, Taetrus, Vallum Blast, Vamire Squaron
Posted in Official News | 55 Comments »

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[Galactic News Network]

07/24/2185
July 24th, 2010

Law officers on Irune announced a breakthrough in the case of deceased inventor Ora Thubb today. Three Turian men — two dead and one alive — were dropped off at a police station along with personal digital assistants containing evidence about planning Thubb’s murder. The police are crediting Spectre involvement with bringing the investigation so far forward. Major Loz Atad says two turian Spectres handed the alleged criminals in, making it clear they had been pulled off of Taetrus to solve this problem. “The message was unmistakable,” he said. “Turians and volus are partners.”

Tags: Irune, Loz Atad, Ora Thubb
Posted in Official News | 18 Comments »

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[Galactic News Network]

07/23/2185
July 23rd, 2010

Tonight: Has the galactic media forgotten the war on Garvug? Corporate forces have held the colony capital unopposed by state forces for months, yet still the krogan and vorcha underclass strike back with shooting sprees and skycar bombs. Neither can get close to the fortress-like enclaves where the corporatists have established high-security zones for their troops, but it is clear that no civilians are protected, a fact that hurts the corporate bottom line. Incursions into the countryside looking for the elusive Hailot Wrund have borne little fruit. Still, Sonax Industries supreme commander Lira Speight is confident. “There is a wedge between the vorcha, who will carry out suicide attacks, and the krogan, who will not,” she says. “Every day we find bodies from their infighting. Their numbers are dwindling. Ours are not.”

Tags: Garvug, Hailot Wrund, Lira Speight, Sonax Industries

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[Galactic News Network]

07/22/2185
July 22nd, 2010

The story of Ora Thubb, the wronged inventor who vanished under suspicious circumstances, came to a grisly end today when divers found his body in Irune’s Hovita Cove. The waterlogged body had been hacked open in an effort to sink it, a somewhat redundant measure given the low buoyancy of a body in Irune’s ammonia-heavy seas. Just prior to the discovery, Thubb’s widow received a call from kidnappers telling her to bring five hundred thousand credits to the Dulez Bridge, a call that police say must have come after Thubb was already dead.

Tags: Eupolmos Device, Hovita Cove, Irune, Ora Thubb
Posted in Official News | 32 Comments »

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[Galactic News Network]

07/21/2185
July 21st, 2010

A mass arrest of over 200 alleged slavers in the Salarian Union city of Aegohr on the planet Nasurn is being credited tonight to Spectre Tela Vasir. “There are cases that can’t be talked about and ones that can”, said Supervisory Special Agent Yalson Sao. “We are pleased to say Ms. Vasir — may all her eggs hatch — was instrumental in breaking one of the ringleaders of this operation”. The term “breaking” may not be entirely figurative — the batarian in question is recovering in an Aegohr hospital with injuries to three eyes and several small joint fractures. Vasir herself declined lengthy comment, attributing her success to “good intel.”

Tags: Aegohr, Nasurn, Salarian Union, tela vasir, Yalson Sao

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[Galactic News Network]

07/20/2185
July 20th, 2010

Many citizens have returned to life as usual on Belan, but refugee camps are still filled to capacity by those left homeless by the Kingu comet. The Salarian Union has received much praise for their relief efforts, but Belanese government officials claim aid from the Turian Hierarchy has dropped sharply since fighting started on Taetrus. A Hierarchy spokesperson responded, “Our people have never set Belan aside. While some of our efforts shifted to Vallum after its attack, and needed to remain there in case of further attack, assisting in the rebuilding of Belan always was, and remains, a priority for Palaven.”

Tags: belan, kingu, Palaven, Taetrus, Vallum

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[Galactic News Network]

07/19/2185
July 19th, 2010

A suspicious disappearance on Irune has provoked outrage in the Vol Protectorate as Ora Thubb, the inventor of the Eupulmos respiratory aid, has gone missing. The volus inventor made news recently by demanding payment for his design, which is in heavy use by the colonialist army on Taetrus. Ambassador Din Korlack says the Protectorate wants to believe the best of their turian allies, but added, “as the Earth-clan say, this doesn’t pass the smell test.” Local law enforcement officers on Irune say their leads are promising, but the disappearance is straining relations between the two species’ embassies on the Citadel. This is of great concern to the Taetrus war effort. According to one report, volus-owned companies have supplied more than 60 billion credits of material to colonialist forces, about 45% of the war’s public cost so far.

Tags: Din Korlack, Eupolmos Device, Irune, Ora Thubb, Taetrus, vol protectorate

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[Galactic News Network]

07/18/2185
July 18th, 2010

Systems Alliance Prime Minister Amul Shastri met with Dalatrass Narra on Betau, the first day of the salarian New Year. Originally marking the end of winter in the southern hemisphere of the salarian homeworld of Sur’Kesh, Betau is traditionally a time of repaying debts and petitioning favors — and today was no exception. The two spoke about Earth’s superconductor supplies, Sur’Kesh’s soil-enriching burngrass, and the inflation of the galactic credit. Shastri gave Narra an Arabian horse with implant reins and genetic material cloned from Magnolia, one of George Washington’s steeds. In return, Narra, knowing Shastri’s love for flying, presented him with a classic Tess Auburn 2166 aircar with gwaskin upholstery.

Tags: Amul Shastri, Dalatrass Narra, Sur'Kesh, Systems Alliance

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[Galactic News Network]

07/17/2185
July 17th, 2010

Turian medical units on Taetrus are at the center of a patent controversy tonight. A volus claiming to be the inventor of the much-vaunted Eupulmos respiratory device says his design was appropriated by the turian military without payment or permission. Similar appropriations have occurred throughout the history of the turians and their client race; the volus have extensive patent laws, and the turians barely recognize the concept. “This inventor should take pride in the success of his product,” said colonialist liaison Tertinus Septinas, “not shake us down for a fee every time it is used. The flat sum we’ve offered is quite generous.” The Eupulmos designer, Ora Thubb, says he’s soured forever on turian culture: “I thought the turians had a meritocracy. What’s the point if your contributions get brushed off?”

Tags: Eupulmos Device, Ora Thubb, Taetrus, Tertinus Septinas

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[Galactic News Network]

07/16/2185
July 16th, 2010

General Partinax answered critics today over the bombing of the historical Kasatum fortress. The general said that, despite what Facinus forces claimed, there were no hostages within the fortress. By using miniature duct-crawling drones equipped with an ultrasonic device similar to ground-penetrating radar, the army was able to scan and locate all individuals inside. They deduced from positioning and audio data that none were hostages. Only then was the go-ahead for the bomb given. “We were lucky,” the general noted, “but that doesn’t take anything away from the skill and preparation of our people on the ground.”

Tags: Facinus, General Partinax, Kasatum, Taetrus