CHOMPStation2/news_articles/starfire_report_2564.html

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<p>Starfire Report - 08/16/2564</p>
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<p><b>Swarmers Escape Station</b></p>

<p>A mysterious group of swarmer robots struck NLS Southern Cross last night. Occasionally encountered in unexplored reaches of space, little is known about swarmers. Swarmers typically appear without warning and begin repurposing all available metal into more swarmers and a new structure. Xenoarchaeologists conjecture swarmers may be construction robots left from an extinct civilization but have uncovered little to confirm this hypothesis.</p>
<p>Swarmers within settled space tend to be rare due to most governments destroying the robots with extreme prejudice before they can tear down important installations. The appearance of such robots expectedly resulted in a swift response from VirGov once made public, a government taskforce deploying and thoroughly inspecting NLS Southern Cross despite NanoTrasen’s protests.</p>
<p>Crew testimony suggests these swarmers were somehow different than the variety encountered throughout unsettled space. While the swarmers did begin disassembling Southern Cross, they apparently built and escaped through a special gateway. No trace of a gateway was recovered; NT insists the swarmers were ordinary and completely eradicated shortly after embarking on the station.</p>
<br>
<p>Writers</p>
<p><b> Mirkracresh Kalzar </b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 08/03/2564</p>
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<p><b>Firefight Breaks Out Over Southern Cross</b></p>

<p>Unknown factions battled across NLS Southern Cross late last weekend. Confirmed details remain sparse but crew accounts describe a fight between hostile entities to obtain an object guarded in the station’s vault. Crew insist NanoTrasen instituted penalties over the loss of the object while NanoTrasen insists no such object exists and the intentions of the hostile parties remains unconfirmed.</p>
<p>The anti-NT terror group known as the Syndicate claimed credit for the attack, stating it was a targeted assault meant to damage NT assets and send a message that no NT facility will be safe from damage so long as the company continues to exist. Details from the crew contest this claim, suggesting some of the assailants possessed supernatural abilities and fought against both NT crew and members of the Syndicate.</p>
<p>VirGov officials condemn the Syndicate attack and the group as a whole, stating the organization is nothing more than a terror organization using profit as a justification to kill and maim unarmed civilians. Throughout the chaos surrounding the terror attack, questions about the hostile non-Syndicate elements have been swept aside and ignored. Perhaps we shall never uncover the identity or intentions of the unconfirmed group.</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b> Mirkracresh Kalzar </b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 07/23/2564</p>
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<p><b>Medibot Pain Awareness Added (Sponsored by NanoTrasen)</b></p>

<p>The medibot received a software update several days ago. A classic NanoTrasen product commonly deployed on stations with high risk of workplace injury, medibots have long been seen as an important staple to fighting off the dangers of injuries in space. Thanks to this new update medibots are better than ever.</p>
<p>”Everybody’s always thinking about the next big product but sometimes you just need to improve the essentials,” an NT mechatronic engineer responded to my correspondence. “So we thought, why not make them more like crew? We couldn’t really fit in thoughts and feelings but it was pretty simple to make a panic response. So now they can feel pain and feel like the rest of the crew.”</p>
<p>This new response is easiest observed by tipping a medibot over. The medibot will then cry for help until either somebody helps or it manages to upright itself. Apparently that’s not just a simulation; the medibots are now programmed to actually experience distress when tipped over.</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Arielle Wood</b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 07/13/2564</p>
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<p><b>NLS Southern Cross Nearly Crashes</b></p>

<p>An anomalous asteroid struck NLS Southern Cross late last week, nearly forcing the station into a crash course with Sif. After the strike the station entered an unstable orbit but miraculously corrected itself before drifting beyond the point of no return. The exact reasons why the station became unstable and how it stabilized itself remains unknown.</p>
<p>Testimony from the crew suggests the asteroid contained a “fractured being” which demanded being “made whole again” or it would fling the station to the planet below. If these accounts are to be believed, Southern Cross’ crew scrambled to reunite the unknown being against the actions of a supernatural antagonist. Once whole, the being corrected the station’s orbit before departing.</p>
<p>NanoTrasen denies the stories of the crew as absurd. “The fact is the station’s orbit temporarily became unstable. Considering the asteroid wasn’t nearly massive enough to achieve that is pretty solid evidence of anomalous behavior.” an official NT spokesperson responded to a request for interview. “The crew’s stories are likely a result of hallucinations. The actual cause of orbital destabilization was likely subspace phasing behavior. We have discovered that particular property is common in Sif-bound anomalies.”</p>
<p>The full interview can be found on our exonet site.</p>
<br>
<p>Writers</p>
<p><b> Mirkracresh Kalzar </b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 07/07/2564</p>
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<p><b>Bioweapon Strikes NLS Southern Cross</b></p>

<p>A mysterious infested ship struck NLS Southern Cross several days prior. Containing some sort of biological material, the ship crashed into Southern Cross’ docks and infested the station with the unknown substance. Details of the ship’s contents remain vague and speculatory.</p>
<p>While the crew put up a valiant fight against the threat, the threat proved too powerful to overcome and had to be destroyed with NanoTrasen’s Vir-based bluespace artillery installation. Reserved for serious threats with the potential to spread throughout the system, bluespace artillery is a form of powerful explosive weaponry capable of targeting almost any location within a system. The artillery strike destroyed the threat but likely eradicated any evidence which may have offered clues about the threat’s origin or nature.</p>
<p>Speculation abounds about the mysterious ship but the most popular idea suggests the ship was plagued by a dangerous infection and quarantined. If this is the case, the ship has likely drifted in orbit since the quarantine and impacted the station by chance. Other stories suggest the ship may have been a targeted attack but no concrete evidence backs this claim. Despite the lack of evidence, this particular story has resulted in public unrest due to similarities to the mechanical ship attack last month.</p>
<p>VirGov officials have stated that the risk of infected ships crashing into Sif is extraordinarily low.</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b> Mirkracresh Kalzar </b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report – 06/30/2564</p>
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<p><b>Disappearances Amidst Anomalous Measurements</b></p>

<p>A swathe of Southern Cross crew went missing without a trace several days ago, necessitating resleeving for the missing personnel. Details on the disappearances are scant and whether or not the missing crew still live remains unknown. An official NanoTrasen inquiry has turned up no leads.</p>
<p>Testimony from the few crew present during the disappearances suggest an unknown visitor appeared with an anomalous item. Further details are conflicting and unclear. While most eyewitness accounts mention an agent or creature visiting the station, the details diverge about anything more specific. Some reports mention a sphere of lightning while others mention a rift to a different reality. No signs of an anomaly or visitor are anywhere to be found though an empty crater was discovered at the alleged location of the anomaly.</p>
<p>”We’ve been unable to find anything conclusive. Resleeving of course means the lost crew have no memories of the event.” stated an official NT spokesperson. “We’re offering a monetary reward to anybody who can provide information that somehow leads to the missing crew. Without a stronger lead it’s unlikely we’ll ever determine what happened.”</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Mirkracresh Kalzar</b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 06/25/2564</p>
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<p><b>SolGov Denies Transhumanist Bill</b></p>

<p>Earlier today SolGov officials struck down a bill which would allow transhumanists to be recognized as a separate species if passed. Despite the heavy push for such a bill over the last several years the motion was rejected by an 80% majority vote. While applauded by the heavily populated core worlds of SolGov space the decision has caused further unrest in mid worlds and frontier worlds. Frontier worlds have taken the news particularly badly, resulting in riots which have already led to martial law in several systems with talk of possible USDF deployment.</p>
<p>For those of you who don’t keep up with pop culture, transhumanists are a broad, loosely defined group of “humans with non-human modifications.” They’re not really a formal or united group that agrees on anything (this includes the word “transhumanist” so have fun with that); rather, the term tends to be used and defined by other humans to lump together anybody who may fit this very loose definition. I don’t really have the time to go in-depth here; the complexities of the subject and the various resulting controversies could easily eat up my entire year’s worth of column space. The gist is “transhumanism” <b>usually</b> consists of anybody with a human origin who’s somehow added semi-permanent non-human parts to their body to anybody with a human origin who resides in a non-human non-synthetic body (notably, some extremists lump in anybody with even tiny non-human modifications but these people don’t understand how viral infections would thus mean humans do not exist).</p>
<p>The movement to allow transhumanists (I really need to emphasize I’m not using “transhumanist” as a pejorative, there’s simply no other word I can use while writing in Galactic Common) to legally identify as a separate species has been contentious. Largely opposed by the general public of SolGov’s core worlds (and thus the majority of SolGov’s population), the movement formally began several years ago through the demands of TranshumanismInterstellar (THIS). THIS meanwhile is a transhumanist lobbying group with roots in transhumanism exonet discussion boards. Just as infamous for its bad acronym as for its demands, THIS has aggressively pushed for a transhumanism species law through demonstrations and occasionally violent rallies across SolGov frontier and occasionally SolGov mid worlds.</p>
<p>As expected, THIS has decried SolGov’s refusal to pass the transhumanism species bill and released an official statement: “Once again SolGov refuses to acknowledge transhumanists for what we are. We have transcending [<i>sic</i>] the limits of humanity and become something better. It is becoming apparent that SolGov will not listen to peaceful protest. If this is the case then we must make them know we will not be peace until we achieve the same rights as every other species in the galaxy.”</p>
<p>Various transhumanist groups have been quick to decry both SolGov and THIS. “Yeah, it really sucks that the bill didn’t pass. Yeah, it really sucks that we get treated as less than human but SolGov won’t let us be something different. But violence and rioting aren’t the answer. There’s enough shit in the world, we don’t need to add to it and if we’re going to add to it we probably don’t deserve what we’re asking for.” a representative TheTranshumanTree responded to a request for an interview. An art-sharing exonet site, TheTranshumanTree has become known for strongly advocating firm but peaceful political activism.</p>
<p>”Look, THIS doesn’t speak for all of us, they don’t even speak for most of us. And… well, I don’t speak for all of us either so take my words as you will. The only thing most of us usually agrees on is wanting to be accepted or recognized as normal. A lot of us have supported the whole transhumanist species thing but that’s not always because we actually want to be our own species. It’s more… it seemed like the only thing which might get us accepted as something so a lot of us supported it. But the rioting and violence that’s started up… I don’t support this and I firmly believe most of us don’t support it. Just… well, if there’s on take away message I can give to your readers it would have to be this: don’t look at the extremists and assume that’s who we are. Most of us are ordinary people just like everybody else and just like everybody else we want to be accepted and just like everybody else we want to be able to live ordinary lives. We’re people to. Remember that.”</p>
<p>For now, only time will tell if the current flames of violence will die out or burn deeper. Tensions in many frontier worlds have been running high for decades and this latest controversy from SolGov has given more fuel to the extremist sects stalking the frontier (despite most of said groups sharing no relevance with the greater transhumanist movement). SolGov has never invested resources in frontier territories; as long as SolGov remains a distant non-provider, violence will breed.</p>
<p>The full TheTranshumanTree interview can be viewed on our exonet site.</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Eshi Sali</b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 06/17/2564</p>
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<p><b>NLS Southern Cross Renovations (Sponsored by NanoTrasen)</b></p>

<p>Thanks to the crew’s recent performance in preventing the destruction of NLS Southern Cross, NanoTrasen has decided to expand the station with a third-floor addition to the civilian sector. Previously just a featureless roof, the aft section of Southern Cross’ third floor now comes with a large civilian area.</p>
<p>The new expansion comes with extra dormitories, another level to the bar complete with a dance pad and small arcade, and a botanical garden on top of the old café. Several upstairs overlooks came with the new area due to strangely common requests for this feature.</p>
<p>”We’re always looking for ways to reward employees for being productive,” commented an official NT spokesperson. “They resolved that disaster with the rogue AI ship so cleanly we ended up under budget on the usual cleanup costs. We decided to pass that along to the crew with these new renovations. After all, happy employees make productive employees.”</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Arielle Wood</b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report – 06/14/2564</p>
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<p><b>Anomalous Artifacts Impact Station</b></p>

<p>Unusual objects smashed into NLS Southern Cross last night, causing widespread structural damage to the station. After impact the objects catalyzed a variety of unusual effects, releasing aggressive Aetolian giant slimes and triggering widespread explosions. The origin of the objects remains unknown but comments from a xenoarcheologist suggests a precursor origin is most likely due to the unusual abundance of precursor artifacts within the Vir system.</p>
<p>Crew testimony suggests a mysterious being manifested on the station to prevent the objects from dealing irreparable harm. Referenced as a “wizard,” the individual allegedly gathered the objects to being “a ritual” meant to prevent the destruction of the station. Said event was allegedly disrupted by a crew member, resulting in widespread devastation, destruction of the artifacts, and the death of the unknown individual and many station crew.</p>
<p>”These reports from the crew are ludicrous. Wizards don’t exist outside of children’s books and they certainly don’t appear on space stations to prevent the end of the universe. It’s well established that certain anomalous artifacts cause hallucinations and degradation of mental states. It seems pretty obvious that one of these objects had those properties and resulted in the crew hallucinating a wizard.” an official NT xenoarcheology spokesperson was quick to respond to a request for a video interview. “Look, we don’t know why there were anomalies orbiting Sif. They were probably leftovers which missed us last time this happen but maybe they weren’t, anomalies like to subvert expectations. What we do know is they hit the station, caused chaos, then eventually exploded.  That’s not terribly strange when you get a lot of active anomalies in a confined space.”</p>
<p>The full interview can be watched at our exonet site.</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Mirkracresh Kalzar</b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report – 06/08/2564</p>
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<p><b>Mechanical Ship Infests Station</b></p>

<p>A mysterious unknown ship docked near NanoTrasen’s NLS Southern Cross a couple days ago. Constructed of a hull merged with some sort of organometallic substance, the ship appeared to be less of a traditional ship and more of an advanced robotic entity capable of twisting and perhaps assimilating other metallic structures. Upon docking, the ship began spreading itself throughout the station, twisting everything into what crew could only describe as “warped, durable metal which spread and boxed you in.” The dangers and intent of these structures remain unknown; trapped crew described “walls closing in to crush you” but no casualties were reported from the environment. </p>
<p>Crew testimony supports NanoTrasen’s official report of an anomalous ship “infesting” the station with unusual structures. “We think it was some sort of AI experiment which went horribly wrong. We’re still investigating but we’ve been unable to piece together where it came from or why it targeted us. Everything left behind crumbled apart when we tried to study it.” an official NT spokesperson offered a short correspondence over exomail. “Apparently it wrecked the engine before power was up so the crew launched the supermatter core into the ship. Risky but it worked, whatever that ship was wasn’t immune to a supermatter explosion. Surprisingly it was a pretty good call, we might not have a station anymore if they didn’t come up with that idea. The actual damage ended up being minor. We’re considering renovating some civilian areas as a reward for going above and beyond.”</p>
<p>While the incident seems to have resolved cleanly, the nature of the mysterious ship has stoked fears raised by the AI attack almost two months prior. Extremist anti-synthetic groups have used the event as an excuse to stage protests in New Reykjavik and demand the abolishment of synthetics being included in galactic sapient rights law. While the recent incident garnered more of a response than typical, said protests remain at the fringes of the wider public.</p>
<p>VirGov officials have condemned the protests but declined to comment on the Southern Cross incident.</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Mirkracresh Kalzar</b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 06/02/2564</p>
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<p><b>NanoTrasen Hides Anomalous Assault</b></p>

<p>Yet again we’ve received tips of anomalous activity at NLS Southern Cross and yet again NanoTrasen has attempted to bury all evidence related to the incident. Unfortunately for the megacorporation, an internal memo threatening a $15,000 fine for the release of information regarding this event ended up in the hands of VirGov’s SolGov Intergalactic Legal Compliance office yesterday morning. Unfortunately for NanoTrasen, SolGov launched an official inquiry this morning and released a statement that it shall be thoroughly investigating NanoTrasen’s operations in the Vir system over the coming months.</p>
<p>Despite the threat of a fine, we here at the Starfire Report managed to get our hands on several recordings and eyewitness reports of the events three days ago. The appearance of seemingly supernatural teleporting beings appeared in all forms of evidence, often referenced as “demons” in eyewitness testimony. Video captured blood and gore spilling from disposal outlets as well as unusual ritualistic structures placed around the station. Crew described attacks from twisted lifeforms (specifically not the beings referred to as “demons”) worsening with the amount of blood strewn about the station.</p>
<p>If these events seem absurd or made-up, you’re not alone in expressing this skepticism. The evidence we obtained has been very difficult to piece together and even consistent themes seem outlandish. Either some element of truth exists despite the absurdity or somebody managed to put together a hoax so elaborate that several dozen station crew fell for it. The only aspect we’re confident about is NanoTrasen refusing to share the full story. The corporation did not respond to several requests for interviews and maintains nothing unusual transpired. Threatening a $15,000 fine however tells a different story.</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Eshi Sali</b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 06/01/2564</p>
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<p><b>NanoTrasen Freedom of Information Suit Settled</b></p>

<p>So if you’re the sort to closely follow legal proceedings you might know we here at Starfire have been engaged in a lawsuit with NanoTrasen for a couple years now. But if you’re not a lawyer, well, now you know. We can’t get into the details other than to say we settled and settled favorably since the terms of settlement involve us not reporting on the details of the case.</p>
<p>What we can tell you is part of the settlement requires NanoTrasen to provide free access to our station which is the main point of this article. If you’re a new NT reader checking us out for the first time, welcome! We are the Starfire Report, an independent news agency committed to covering stories in the Vir system and beyond. We are not part of NanoTrasen and will disclose if any stories are sponsored by NanoTrasen.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for access to our channel (maybe you’re reading this on a friend’s device), just ask NanoTrasen for a Starcaster and you’ll be given one free of charge. We look forward to keeping you informed and up to date.</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Eshi Sali</b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 05/09/2564</p>
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<p><b>NanoTrasen Asset Protection Deployed</b></p>

<p>Panic struck NCS Northern Star late last night as an explosion rocked the station shortly after Central Command received an anonymous tip warning about a covert Syndicate attack. Unprepared for an actual attack (“We get about thirty of these tips daily. Usually it’s just spam from bored teens,” stated Northern Star Chief of Security), NanoTrasen rapidly deployed a reserve Emergency Response Team and an Asset Protection team just returned from anti-piracy raids.</p>
<p>Details of the assault are vague at best. Eyewitness testimony describes a NanoTrasen-branded drop pod smashing through the ceiling and releasing a dozen heavily-armed men, a Dark Gygax, and a Phazon. “’We’re not going to let those ERT fucks beat us to the punch!’ They kept chanting that while running down the hallway, shutters dropping as everything vented through the hole in the ceiling,” remarked the eyewitness (who requested anonymity out of fear of Asset Protection). “Running and shooting. I couldn’t hear the gunshots soon after the shutters went down but I did hear a couple more dull booms. I just assumed it was the guy with the RPG.”</p>
<p>The Emergency Response Team chose a different approach. “I went for the cameras. It’s a bad idea to go in guns blazing, Syndicates usually expect that and you end up with casualties,” Lt. Karora shared over a communicator call. As part of NT’s mysterious PCRU division, Karora specializes in reducing the risk of NT crews opening fire on ERT units. “Plus CC’s message was rushed and incoherent, it was a good indicator they didn’t know what we were dealing with. The recordings were pretty clear, some idiot brought a Durand over from Southern Cross during crew transfer and shot a missile before clearing out. Nothing nefarious at all, just incompetence.”</p>
<p>”But then Asset Protection ran into view and opened fire. Ballistics, lasers, grenades. The Durand was a pile of scrap in seconds but they just kept firing. They didn’t stop and check until half the docks were gone. Then they left. The whole thing has been a massive embarrassment. That’s thousands in damage because somebody took a joyride in a combat mech.”</p>
<p>Asset Protection had only one comment to share with us. “A fucking Durand!”</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Mirkracresh Kalzar</b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 05/02/2564</p>
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<p><b>The Mysteries of the Void (Guest Piece)</b></p>

<p>Despite its ubiquity in every facet of modern life, the riddles and nature of outer space and the wider universe continue to defy our understanding and demonstrate how little we truly know about the mysteries of existence. We dig up ancient civilizations with physics-defying technology and simply chalk it to “redspace” as if that explains their nature. We gather phoron to warp time and space in inexplicable ways without pausing to consider what scars we tear into the fabric of reality.</p>
<p>What shall we do when things beyond comprehension crawl through the holes we tear and further fray the fabric? Cover it up like NanoTrasen’s attempts to hide demonic incursions into the crew of NLS Southern Cross? Shall we continue hiding it as evidence piles too high to ignore, as the foundations of daily life erode and collapse? Just today Southern Cross was visited by a faction wielding reality-bending technology so potent we would call it magic. Just today NanoTrasen once again denied the anomalous events even as crew insist otherwise. Once again eye witnesses are regarded as madmen as those with wealth throw a shroud over truth.</p>
<p>But you, dear reader, shall likely brush me aside like every other inconvenient truth you walked over today. Until, of course, a demon manifests on your doorstep.</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Zumma</b></p>

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 <p>Starfire Report - 05/01/2564</p>
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<p><b>What Happened to Culinary Arts? (Guest Piece)</b></p>

<p>You’d think everybody would have food straight in this day and age but we still don’t. I don’t know what it is with space-farers but they just cram everything they can find into a microwave and hope it spits out delicious meals. I don’t care how good the result looks, it’s just not going to taste as good as anything made by a proper chef.</p>
<p>The crew on Southern Cross are some of Sif’s worst offenders. Earlier today some guy created a burrito bigger than a teshari by just cramming shit into a microwave until it’s ready to burst. The thing is so massive you could smash a windshield with it. Given it came out of a microwave I bet the inside is frozen enough to do so.</p>
<p>Come on people, microwaves aren’t the future. Make some real food already.</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Ino Stern</b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 04/29/2564</p>
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<p><b>Spiders Swarm Ullran Expanse</b></p>

<p>Invasive giant spiders swarmed the Ullran Expanse in record numbers late last night. Estimated to number in the thousands, the swarm devoured all indigenous wildlife and assaulted personnel within NanoTrasen’s secretive Ullran outpost. The full extent of the damage to the local ecosystem remains unknown and will likely be a major component of next month’s VGA State of Sif Address in New Reykjavik.</p>
<p>The cause of the spider surge remains unknown but was quickly brought under control by an extermination effort from Southern Cross crew. Led by NT’s PCRU division, Southern Cross personnel engaged in a bloody, hours long war which left the Ullran plains covered in gore and spider remains. Eyewitness testimony suggests the swarm has been eradicated; tentative surveys throughout the day suggest giant spider numbers have dropped back to the pre-swarm population.</p>
<p>”As the only permanent installation in the Ullran Expanse, we saw it as our duty to ensure the spider infestation could not spread and wreck further havoc,” stated an NanoTrasen spokesperson. “We take Sif’s ecological record very seriously. Negligence by unreputable corporations gave giant spiders a foothold on Sif. Allowing them to overrun the wilds just isn’t an option. If that means we alone have to stand against [the spiders], then so be it.”</p>
<p>The cause of the infestation remains a source of speculation. Several sources directly involved in the eradication state an experimental weapon designed by the Syndicate attracted the spiders as a targeted attack against Southern Cross and a blunder by the PCRU squad prevented the device from being destroyed before activation. The NT spokesperson dismissed these rumors as “ludicrous” and stated the PCRU was not involved due to preemptive knowledge of the situation but because they were the only squad in the Vir system at the time of the attack.</p>
<p>Myelamine prices have hit an all-time low on Sif.</p>
<br>
<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Mirkracresh Kalzar</b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 04/26/2564</p>
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<p><b>Volcanic Ash Settles</b></p>

<p>A massive cloud of volcanic ash finally dispersed today. A recent volcanic eruption resulted in an ash cloud thick enough to blot out all sunlight over the Ullran Expanse. While the ash has not completely settled out, enough has washed to the ground to once again allow sunlight to reach the earth.</p>
<p>The ash cloud has been unusual in persisting almost entirely over the Ullran Expanse and nowhere else on Sif. NanoTrasen has declined to comment on whether or not testing in their Ullran facility may have been linked to this atmospheric anomaly.</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Eshi Sali</b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 04/26/2564</p>
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<p><b>Ullran Outpost Renovated (Sponsored by NanoTrasen)</b></p>

<p>Due to employee feedback, NanoTrasen has decided to fully renovate its Ullran Expanse installation. Formerly several distinct buildings haphazardly scattered about, the new outpost is an interconnected unit kept secure behind a chain-link fence.</p>
<p>The new outpost features a plethora of improvements for leisurely activity. From extended sleeping quarters to a boxing ring, new pool, and sauna, crew are certain to be pleased with the renovations. Ships now land inside to avoid the cold and fishing is now just a short walk from the southern airlocks.</p>
<p>”We take the emotional wellbeing of our employees very seriously,” commented an official NT spokesperson. “What better way to show our appreciation than to provide better facilities for taking a break? We’re certain this will improve morale and boost productivity.”</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Arielle Wood</b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 04/19/2564</p>
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<p><b>Rampant AI Strikes</b></p>

<p>A swarm of unbranded hive bots swarmed NLS Southern Cross late last night, reportedly due to either a container crashing into the station or an unidentified ship docking with it. NanoTrasen crew valiantly fought off the rogue swarm; an official NT spokesman insists the mysterious swarm has been completely destroyed and there is no risk of further attack.</p>
<p>Eyewitness testimony from Southern Cross crew suggests the hive pursued a group of unlawed cyborgs to Southern Cross but offered no unanimous answers as to why a hivebot swarm targeted a group of cyborgs. Some suggested the cyborgs were an advanced form of hivebot, others stated the hivebot swarm acted at the behest of a corrupted AI seeking to take prisoners. Another common theme was the aid of an outside agent but no crew could provide details about this unknown entity.</p>
<p>This attack has fueled concerns about the dangers of replicating low-intelligence AI. Occasionally used in pirate extortion tactics, hivebots are aggressive autonomous robots which can self-replicate in environments with abundant steel and can be difficult to eradicate. Evidence of hivebots mounting largescale attacks without directive from sapient life is rare. The possibility of a hivebot swarm developing advanced intelligence with the capability of travelling between planets is a cause for alarm.</p>
<p>SolGov is expected to release a statement regarding the hivebots later in the week.</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Mirkracresh Kalzar</b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 04/07/2564</p>
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<p><b>Grayson Class Action Suit Settled</b></p>

<p>A decades-long class action lawsuit against Grayson Manufactories Ltd. has finally reached an out-of-court settlement. For those of you not in the know, Grayson was implicated in a scandal fifty years ago over their standard line of workhorse ore refineries. Due to a flaw in the phoron compressing chamber, processing phoron with a Grayson refinery produced trace amounts of an unknown highly neurotoxic gas. Studies since this discovery have determined the gas is a chronic toxin at the levels workers were exposed to, now known to trigger neurological disorders and neural degradation over long term exposure. The gas is particularly nefarious by almost entirely lacking unique exposure symptoms; the only telltale symptom of exposure is an auditory hallucination where all footsteps sound like walking over a metal hull. This particular symptom has fueled countless conspiracy theories about all planets secretly being ancient hollow spacecraft.</p>
<p>According to the lawsuit, Grayson allegedly produced faulty refineries with knowledge of the toxic byproduct and attempted to cover up its knowledge of the flaw once discovered by the general public. The terms of the settlement remain private but do not involve Grayson publicly admitting fault for the millions of workers irreversibly harmed by faulty phoron refineries. If you have been diagnosed with a neurological disorder and have worked in a phoron processing facility with a Grayson refinery, you have up to 30 days to claim compensation from Grayson’s exonet site. Persistence is recommended as the site has been down due to heavy traffic since the settlement was announced last week.</p>
<p>Emboldened by the settlement, workers at NanoTrasen began organizing a class action lawsuit due to reports of similar symptoms at NT facilities. Curiously, tests conducted at NT facilities over the previous several days found no trace of the neurotoxic gas. Workers stated the hallucinations had subsided but were present just last week. Accusations abound that NT rectified the issue just before the Grayson case settled to prevent a similar lawsuit but no record exists of NT recently upgrading its refineries or of its refineries having ever produced the gas.</p>
<p>NanoTrasen insists it has always used a proprietary refinery design which never produced toxic gas. Workers claim otherwise, dredging up years of accusations from Grayson that NT’s mining equipment not only violates Grayson patents but copies Grayson designs down to the smallest detail. Unfortunately for workers, medical records of nonspecific neurological symptoms are the only hard evidence the lawsuit possesses. Without more evidence, the lawsuit shall likely collapse by next month.</p>
<p>Conspiracy theorists claim Grayson deliberately utilized a faulty refinery design to ensure NanoTrasen would steal a faulty model. Like all legal battles against trans-stellar corporations, accusations abound while documentation goes missing.</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Eshi Sali</b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 03/22/2564</p>
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<p><b>Anomalies Smash Outpost</b></p>

<p>Once again we see NanoTrasen’s Ullran Expanse installment featuring in our column. This time it’s due to a peculiar meteor shower allegedly made up of mysterious anomalous artifacts which smashed directly into the outpost while leaving the vast empty expanse of the surrounding plains untouched. At least if the crew are to be believed, NT is remaining tight-lipped and will only confirm “objects” destroyed the installation.</p>
<p>According to the crew, a ship of vox lost the objects in some sort of attack and needed to retrieve them to make repairs and leave. Said vox crew was apparently secretive and openly suspicious of Southern Cross’s crew, enough so one Cargo Technician to request advice on how to submit a Hurt Feelings Report. Given both NanoTrasen and SolGov’s track record with vox (the latter doesn’t even offer vox basic sapient rights!), this is both expected and likely warranted.</p>
<p>Why NanoTrasen refuses to comment on this incident is anybody’s guess. Were they planning to steal something from the vox? Are they embarrassed they failed to steal anything? Did they launch the attack which stranded the vox on Sif? I could speculate all day and get no closer to a definitive answer. As usual there’s likely more than meets the eye but no way to uncover the truth.</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Eshi Sali</b></p>

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<p>Starfire Report - 03/11/2564</p>
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<p><b>PCRU Saves Ullran Expanse (Special Report)</b></p>

<p>Several days back an explosion wracked the Ullran Expanse with enough force to trigger Richter scales all the way in New Reykjavik. Exactly what happened has made waves through the media here in Vir and beyond. Rumors and misinformation abound so we here at Starfire decided to set the facts straight.</p>
<p>The events begin with NanoTrasen’s NLS Southern Cross space station and a planned attack by the terrorist organization known as the Syndicate. NT has remained tight-lipped on the details here due to security concerns but revealed the plans were uncovered early enough to dispatch its “Preemptive Chaos Response Unit” (PCRU) before the Syndicate could launch the attack.</p>
<p>”Given the scope of what happened here we’re being as transparent as we can be without risking our intelligence teams. I might be stating the obvious but the Syndicate reads the news,” an official NT spokesperson was quick to respond to our requests for an interview. The full interview can be found on our exonet site. “I guess the simplest way to put it is the Syndicate built a giant experimental gun mech. And when I say giant, I mean the kind of thing you’d see on a USDF flagship. It was designed to blast space stations out of orbit from the planet’s surface. We still don’t know how the Syndicate transported this thing to the Ullran wilderness without us finding out about it but there it was, just a few hours away from blowing Southern Cross out of the sky. There’s no force on Sif which could’ve gotten to that thing with just a couple hours’ notice so we had to send the PCRU.”</p>
<p>A relatively new and secretive division of NanoTrasen’s Emergency Response Team, the PCRU specializes in tackling major threats before they become major emergencies. “The higher-ups weren’t all that keen on handing this over to the PCRU but ultimately we didn’t have a choice. Asset Protection wasn’t available to respond that quickly and the rest of the ERT was caught up with an attack on Northern Star. Probably a diversion in retrospect. But that’s what we have the PCRU for and why we were able to save Southern Cross. Just… well, thing is this was the biggest threat in the entire history of the PCRU. This was going to make or break the division’s existence.”</p>
<p>”I can’t really get into the details on the PCRU’s inner workings, only that they deal with very extreme threats. They did far better than anybody was expecting for a new program,” reported to consist of only three operatives, the PCRU disrupted the initial bombardment of NLS Southern Cross and recruited the station’s crew as a militia to destroy the heavily guarded Syndicate weapon. “Casualties were minimal, station damage was minimal, the crew didn’t try killing the PCRU. They just banded together and assaulted the weapon. The PCRU commander spoke highly of the crew and the bravery they displayed taking on a small Syndicate army. She recommended medals for everybody who joined the fight. Station’s still standing so that’s probably going to happen.”</p>
<p>When asked about the explosion and rumors of a nuclear bomb, the spokesperson laughed. “Yeah, Ullran didn’t get nuked and we can prove it because our outpost is still standing without a scratch. You’re probably going to want to ask VirGov about the details of the explosion once they’re done investigating because we don’t know the specifics. What we do know is the Syndicate bombed the area once the mech was destroyed, probably to try and kill our guys and obliterate the remains of the weapon. The damage is pretty serious but that’s what you get when people fund a terrorist organization. They wouldn’t think twice about poisoning all the waters of Sif to somehow get at us.”</p>
<p>Our requests for interviews with the VirGov officials carrying out the investigation of the Ullran investigation were declined. The VGA released an official statement stating NanoTrasen has shown full compliance so far in the investigation and is likely not culpable for the damage to the Ullran Expanse. The actions of Southern Cross’s crew were commendable and the PCRU squad responsible for destroying the mech may be considered for Vir Medals of Honor.</p>
<p>The PCRU squad similarly declined requests for interview but provided a message with a request we share it in place of a full interview. “I know everybody’s going to be disappointed we aren’t taking interviews over the Ullran incident but we’re busy, terrorist stuff like this doesn’t take a break for celebrations. Think is, we’re not the ones you should be clamoring to interview. We were just the leaders; the real heroes that day were the crew of Southern Cross. We would have died and lost the station on our own; the crew is why we’re celebrating instead of worrying about where the remains of Southern Cross will crash into Sif. These are ordinary civilians just like you who went above and beyond to thwart mass murder. You want somebody to praise and interview? Look among the crew because they are the ones who deserve your respect and awe.”</p>
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<p>Writers</p>
<p><b>Eshi Sali</b></p>
<p><b>Mirkracresh Kalzar</b></p>