Volume 21

All the news that's fit to print, first!
From the Editor's Desk
With the war over many fighters (myself included) have gone back to the grind of improving our combat skills. One has to wonder what is the next great challenge for the universe. Love, Soul, flying Spaghetti Monsters? Enough waxing, here's your news.


General News
Capital class ships received a boost this week to armour and hull for all factions. A new discovery of a heavy metal called Whineum allowed engineers to retrofit these larger ships hull and armour. Ships affected were the Gauntlet, Doomstar, Boa UC, MoonCrusher, Scorpion and Liberator.
New management at the Office of Bounties and Demolitions came up with a new system to keep paperwork to a minimum by actually recording when a bounty should be given up on. Mr. I. Livhionthehog is the new manager. Kudos to him. (Ed. note A useful bureaucrat, well wonders never ceaase)
The Z series Federation "accidents" appear to have improved on themselves and have become more aggressive. The Scout ships, dubbed the Z-FS series actively seek out and destroy ships, terrorizing clusters the Z ships inhabit. It is believed they have not developed the capabilities to make wormhole jumps, but I'm sure it is only a matter of time.
Additionally, the wildlife of the universe appears to be getting smarter. No longer will monsters like Medusae and Famous Pirates (yes they are monsters too), allow a stronger pilot to bait them into attacking only to run away. They now take running charges at pilots so as to not let their prey run away. Some battle savvy pilots had been sitting on the perimeter of their vision so as not to provoke them too much, but no longer does this seem a viable strategy.

The recently discovered Union Keldon Core sprang up many Starbases this week. They were too numerous to mention, but are available on GNN.

The "Fishing Hole" in Olphize, which for some reason has garnered a lot of attention from rookie pilots, has been highly successful. Look for a Mooninite near you and give him a friendly tap. It's not like he's running home to Beethti to hide.

Ex-pirate, Union patriot and all around shady guy Arisen called it quits and up and retired to a secret part of the Galaxy. Friends have wondered about his disappearance, but it's rumoured he decided to become a star witness for some Mafia trials and has been taken into protective custody and eventually the witness execution program.



The Keldon Report - by Frozen
People are starting to feel safe again around Keldon. When the war ended at first no one could really believe it, but not everything is getting back to normal... if something like that exists. There were many parties on the streets of the cities on Keldana I and II. Many Keldons and other races that leave there went on the streets to celebrate the end of the war.

Shini a member of ORB, offered his help in fighting monsters around Keldon. If someone has problems with some strong monsters, such as Medusas or Space Crystals he is the right one to contact. Inspired by how others also offered their help such as my alliance partner and friend Kalle, or Kornel, who is also a good friend and will surely come and help if he is needed. The interesting thing with this is that so far no one has asked for help... as far as I know. This opens up the question Is Keldon really so safe? Well, as a pilot who spends most of his time in Keldon I can say YES. Keldon is one of the safest places in Pardus. Not only that monsters don't appear so often, but even if they appear they are removed buy one of many skilled fighters around Keldon, a haven for every trader. I want to mentions at this point that the Paladins are not only active in defending the Empire from pirates but also from monsters who threaten the lives of our traders.

Help Wanted
If you think you have what it takes to be a report for This Week In The Empire, send your resume to me, Meanguy, and I'll have a look. We can always use a few good reporters.

LONG LIVE THE EMPEROR, may his claw forever hold us safe.