Volume 33

All the news that's fit to print, first!
From the Editor's Desk
This issue will be my last. Frozen has agreed to take the job until he's killed or find's someone better. It's been a great run for over half a year, unfortunately I'm being torn in different directions and can't continue. Thanks to all those who have enjoyed TWITE and to all those who have contributed especially. Good luck all Imperials in the future. I'm sure Frozen will do a great job as the new editor/owner of TWITE.

General News
The long mysterious Pardus Cluster has been found! Imperial scientists diligently worked on wormhole opening technology until this could be done. Hooray for the Empire! Dangerous creatures and a mysterious race called Lucidi protect the cluster long lost to all civilized beings. Several explorers have been to the edge of space, but so far none have made it past the Lucidi outposts.
Bounty Link III manufacturer Getem-Hertzem-Killzem (GHK) have finally perfected the software to distinguish government from freelance work. The upgrade was provided free to all current customers and will not change the price of this beautiful piece of semi-intelligent circuitry.

The Keldon Report - by Frozen
First I want to say thanks to Meanguy for trusting me with the job as the new TWITE editor. I will do my best to not disappoint him and the readers. I'm currently looking for new reporters. Everyone who is interested should PM me (Frozen)

Now to the report:
Lerain the Conglomo pilot who is responsible for the Urlafa development is back from vacation. He was away for some time and everyone could see that as Urlafa's population wasn't so height during that time. But now his back and Urlafa fill probably regain it's population. Lerain is looking for traders interesting to help develop the sector and make some money, interested pilots should PM him. Lerain is also helping me manage The Emperors Hand. Right now the starbase is buying metal and ore from the buildings around it. That way the building owners don't have to travel far away to sell their product and also pilots who need building materials don't have to waste time going around and searching for it in the buildings as they can get them at the starbase for a good price. If all goes good The Emperors Hand will be an easy and cheep way to get building materials.

AWG news:

The AWG will start on Monday. So far 6 alliances have applied. Every alliance who whish to apply should do that until Sunday...



The Imperial Soapbox - by Viscount Fezdan.



I have been unable to meet the deadline for this fine publication of late. The life of a Guardsman is never easy, and my duties were many. I have been granted some small respite and have used this time to record a terrific interview with one of the newest and most suprising Imperial Guard.

(interview begins)

The last month has been extremely busy for the Empire and the Imperial Guard.. It is not suprising then that a most remarkable event has gone largely unnoticed in the Galactic News. For those of you who missed it, Belgarath (a high ranking Federation pilot) has turned his back on the puppet-masters in the Federation and has sworn service to the Emperor in the Imperial Guard. So Belgarath, on behalf of all Imperial subjects, welcome to the Empire.

Thank you very much!

How have your first few weeks of service been?

Busy. My first days in the service of the Emperor was to rid a known notorious pirate from Ska space. It was a good entry in the Galactic News Network. I have always held pirates in contempt so when i received the orders I jumped at the chance. Then came the call from Conglomo and I was off to The North Pardus Rim to engage another pirate who was eventually brought down, unfortunately not by me I hope this has taught them the folly of disobeying the Emperor's Law.

While I believe that defecting from the Federation is what all sane pilots should do, many have contacted me wanting to know why you have done so. Perhaps you could put the speculation to rest. Why did you leave the Federation?

I was approached by a certain indivudual within The Imperial Guard who is no longer with us and he showed me some startingly new evidence showing that the federation did indeed have some sort of involvement with the Usube incident. I did a little digging myself and what I found seem to support that evidence. Well after that there was no way that I was going to stay any longer within the ranks of the federation, so I resigned my commision immediately

I agree about Usube, I have yet to see any uncontroversial evidence that clears the Federation. I would like to commend you on your integrity and courage in taking the stand that you have. Speaking of integrity, not so long ago I was involved in a discussion concerning law enforcement and during these I got the distinct impression that Federation command were not interested in it. Can you confirm our suspicions that the Federation suffers from lawlessness?

Not really, the federation are lawful, however they do not have the manpower to deal with such unlawfulness when it happens. So it really amounts to the same thing I suppose.

Interesting that they fail to muster sufficient manpower - being the largest faction in the galaxy that is. I also find it interesting that the Federation often accuses the Empire of being totalitarian, while presenting themselves as a bastion of freedom. To me the facts seem to point to something very different, what do you think? Have you found that your liberty has been taken away since joining the Empire?

Not at all. Since joining The Empire and The Imperial Guard, I have absolute freedom. The Emperor has called on me a couple of times to rid The Empire and Imperial holdings from unscrupulous pirates. But thats what being an Imperial Guardsman is all about. I find pirates offensive and coarse. Wherever pirates are within Imperial territory, god willing I will be hot on their trail with a full complement of missiles.

What do you see as the main differences between the Empire and the Federation?

Where the federation represent chaos and disorder due to lack of cooperation and disorder. The Empire represent the exact opposite. The Empire are efficent and our reputation as a faction to be feared is spreading through the entire galaxy.

I have to admit to being a little nervous when I first saw your Nighthawk Deluxe in the Imperial Guard hangar, these ships are generally hostile towards the Imperial Guard. Now I find it strangely comforting that your ship, born of Federation design, helps to secure the Empire’s interests. Will Imperial scientists be able to strip it down and garner its design secrets?

As soon as my duty to The Emperor is finished, or I get some shore leave, Imperial engineers and scientists are more than welcome to look at my ship and its specifications. They just need to put it back together right because I will never be able to get a new one again.

I'm sure all due care will be taken, thankyou for your time Belgarath

My pleasure

(interview ends)

Well that's about it for this week. Next week, duties permitting, I will be giving my views on faction planets - who really owns them?

A Rookie Pilot's Journal by Soulblade - This was submitted months ago, and now that Soulblade is a successful veteran pilot, here is his story. This is the final part of this saga.

Part 4

At Keldana II, I was feeling a little bolder, and decided to check out the bulletin board for missions. Kick-start my Empire career perhaps. Shuffling through the list, helplessness grew as I glossed over mission after mission. Transport packages here, there… everywhere, and I had nary a clue as to where these places were. The onboard computer came with a Map Pack, but all it could give was how nearby sectors were linked, no exact planet or starbase coordinates. I would later come into possession of the solution – the Cassandra Map, but before that, there wasn’t much I could do.

I finally picked out an assassination mission. Nothing better than clearing the galaxy of one more filthy Space Maggot. And this one was close by too! Ignoring my weapons instructor’s advice on the inadequacies of mining lasers as weapons, I set out to coordinates [11,22] looking for the vermin. And sure enough, the oversized maggot was there waiting to be cleansed.

Engaging the enemy head-on with all (or rather, one) lasers blasting, I promptly received a reply via slime mail all over Swallow’s hull… Yeah right, since when has slime hurt anything? Of course, corrosive slime is a whole different matter. I was down, but not out. I kept up the ‘bombardment’… miss… miss… miss… miss… hit! No prizes for guessing who got hit though.

Suffice to say, my first ever mission ended in disaster. Quick and painful trip back to Keldana I (all hail the Emperor for our marvelous cloning technology), minus a mining laser and temporary loss of half my stats. Lesson One - escape pods, always! These will let you keep your equipment AND your stats. Lesson Two - retreating is ALWAYS an option. I’ve heard some of the tougher critters can actually hold you back from running, but that’s not a problem with the weaker ones. At this point, I decided against replacing my laser, and instead make trading runs to get a ship upgrade. Swallow just doesn’t seem to cut it for critter-cleansing, and I vowed to get even with that wretched maggot soon…