Victory for Hales Residents

Reporter:
Mikie Rhiadra

Word reached the ears of colonist Glaze Donat late Sunday that an Alliance cargo freighter had fallen upon a mishap while in transit, rendering it inoperable. On board the ship was rumored to be a large shipment of medical supplies destined for Alliance friendly territory. As further information revealed that only three Alliance marines were left behind to guard the cargo, a raiding party was quickly and quietly assembled.

In Monday's early morning hours, Signolias Tendeschi, Krenshar Magic, Str8 Masala, Archer Bleich, Cadda Ninetails, Glaze Donat and myself boarded Imrhien Fargis' s firefly Chrysalis, lifting off from Hales to intercept the freighter. There was an eerie silence that hung in the air aboard the ship as it approached the disabled cruiser. Our approach went undetected, allowing us to take the small contingent guarding the supplies by surprise.

The raid was not without casualties, as both sides unleashed full firepower within the confines of the small freighter. The majority of the raiding party sustained heavy injuries, though they delivered as much damage to the Alliance as they were dealt, eliminating the marine contingent. Despite wounds, the crew worked hurriedly to load the medical supplies onto Crysalis and lift off once more.

The alliance had by this time been alerted to our presence, and our return to Hales was met with resistance from Alliance gunboats. The assault continued once Chrysalis had landed, and supplies were unloaded amid a hail of gunfire. The alliance forces did not stand a chance however, when our own ground forces were joined by members of the Blackburne Militia.

In thanks the medical supplies were shared wit the citizens of Blackburne. All in all a grand victory for both colonies.

Only hours after the raid, a series of warrants were issued across the cortex, for the arrest of some of the members of the raiding party. The accusations on the warrants are slanderous, and misleading, offering a large bounty for each of the four named individuals. Please remember, these are your friends and fellow colonists, without Whom we would have no more medical supplies. Protect them with your lives as they have protected you.

Long Day of Pain on Hales

Reporter: Cobb Compton
July 26

The stolen cargo ship "Jack of Trades" landed on Hale's Moon Saturday - a day that brought a day of pain to both our militia and our comrades who risked life and limb to get here to help us, as the Alliance was also in pursuit of the "Jack of Trades" for alleged piracy.

While it's not uncommon for cargo ships. even alleged smugglers, to land for refueling - the local residents were shocked to see that the creatures that emerged from the Jack of Trades were only vaguely human, and intent on stealing, rather than purchasing fuel cells secured at the mines.



"I thought their was somethin'... ARGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH, odd about them". said the only uninjured local, Mr Dalai Llama.

The raiders attacked the mines using crudely constructed but fast ground vehicles and repelled wave after wave of independent militia. This reporter suffered serious injuries attempting to both defend our supplies and attack the raiders at the mines. I got close enough to see they were not entirely human - but rather appeared reptilian in nature.

It appears these may be the same raiders that have previously attacked our nearby neighboring colony. Blackburn, also in the orbit of Shadow. which was heavily bombed early in the Independent War for making the first stand against the Alliance. It is speculative but possible these raiders come from these wastelands.

While the raiders gathered fuel cells at the mines.. the lines at the medical facility were backing up as all beds were full... stunned and barely patched up militia bravely returned to the battle front in a futile attempt to stop the raiders.

The whole shocking incident was over within 10 minutes from the time the "Jack of Trades" was spotted until they took off. Despite putting the entire militia in the medical bay - the raiders only appeared to suffer one casualty, a female who apparently got her leg lodged in some rocks on the hill and became separated from the other raiders.

The raiders remained on the upper landing bay as the female raider. gravely injured. but uncaptured, made her way back to the ship. Several more militia were wounded attempting to attack the ship itself. which took off shortly after the wounded raider was onboard. A final attempt at heavy cannon fire from the tank did little damage and did not stop the "Jack of Trades" from escaping Hale's Moon.

In an odd development prior to the battle on the surface of Hale's Moon, Alliance transmissions were intercepted indicating a massive wave of fighters were in hot pursuit of the Jack of Trades. and several light cruisers were enroute to Hale's Moon as well. A final intercepted transmission from the Alliance was for a recall of all fighters and to stand down from the capture of the "Jack of Trades" - an extremely unusual order given the situation.

However, that did not stop the Alliance from sending three squads of ground assault forces and a fighter/bomber apparently intent on discovering what. if any, alliance Hale's Moon had with these raiders. After heavy battles and more causalities, the militia - who have faced the Alliance many times, were able to drive them from the surface of our moon once more.

Many militia casualties were sustained by the apparent shift of Alliance weaponry to much heavier weapons, including grenade launchers. flamethowers. very high powered shotguns, and highly accurate and powerful assault rifles.

Although it is customary for news reports to remain as unbiased as possible - the question this reporter has is "are the Alliance idiots?" First they pursue the "Jack of Trades" with overwhelming firepower - and within minutes of interception are ordered by Alliance HQ to cease the pursuit. Only after the "Jack of Trades" has escaped with a full fuel load do they then order a brutal assault on Hale's Moon.

Despite repeated attempts at attempting to get comments from Alliance officials after the assault - our waves were met with silence.

Altercations Continue

Alliance presence on Hales moon is becoming more and more frequent. Mid day yesterday, transmissions began to cut through on the local radio waves, announcing the arrival of yet another dropship of Alliance solders.

Residents were ordered to stand down and not interfere with their actions or risk deadly force. This signaled the beginning of a long standoff between the two sides.

Attempts were made to contact reinforcements, but transmissions appeared to be jammed beyond local frequency range. Gougosh Haystack, Mikie Rhiadra and Nikolidis Andel were left to defend the townsite while Krenshar Magic attempted to cut around behind to gain access to the mines. All communication with Krenshar was lost shortly after, leavign only intermittent broken transmissions from the Alliance team on the ground.

Guygosh became tired of waiting to see what the ground troops were searching for and approached, though he was given no answer, several tense moments later shots were exchanged.

All three residents suffered notable injuries during the entanglement, though there were two confirmed casualties among the four Alliance ground personnel.

The only significant information that was obtained, was that the Alliance are in search of fuel cells, reportedly stored in or near the mines. They were unsuccessful in their attempted retrieval, a good indication they will likely be back to make an attempt before very long.

Intercepted Transmission

The following transmission was intercepted last night.

Attention commercial vessels operating in the vicinity of Hales Moon. A cruiser and several carriers have taken up position in the vicinity of Hale's Moon due to a positive NavSat ID on the Firefly-class vessel "Jack of Trades" which has been identified as a vessel conducting piracy and ground assault raids on several colonies and outposts. We believe the "Jack of Trades" is hiding in the asteroid field and we are positioned to cut off escape routes. We believe they are low on fuel and may attempt a raid on Hale's Moon - we will be launching a fighter sweep of the asteroid field at approximately 1-2 pm ((SLT)) Saturday ((7/25 )) in an attempt to flush them out. That is all.

It is strongly suggested all Hale's residents be on their guard,a s the potential dangers to our community are evident.

It is also of worthy note, the Jack of Trades was recently stolen from its docking berth at Blackburne Downport by wasteland Raiders. This poses an additional threat alongside the Alliance presence.

Frequent Alliance Spottings Have Colonists on Edge

Despite the Sun Tzu pulling out of orbit, the alliance attacks have continued to haunt our community.

Initially the attacks followed their usual pattern, dropships deploying troops. Those troops attempting to subdue the residents of Hales. Thankfully our allies are stronger and Hales remains proudly independent.

However, the past few days have seen a dramatic change in their tactics, leaving the town feeling on edge. Reports of solo alliance scouting into town, disappearing when engaged in combat.

Along with the sighting of the single alliance soldier, came the appearance of a large, menacing creature. The reports on the entity indicate it was gelatinous in nature, bearing many tentacles. It proved a difficult foe, as it was near invisible until very close, and standard ammunition seemed to ricochet off its surface. There were reports of additional creatures though little information is known on them.

The day following the attacks, an additional alliance scouting party was spotted near the mines. Intercepted transmissions indicate they were in search of some sort of fuel cell. Due to the diligence of the Militia and reinforcements, they were unsuccessful in their search.

There is no doubt they will continue until they find what they are looking for.

Wedding an Event to Remember

Saturday saw a flurry of activity on Hale's Moon. It was not in fact another alliance scuffle, but a glamorous occasion which brought all the browncoats out in their finery. Our own Aeon Voom married the lovely Imhrien Fargis on the landing platform above Fook Yoo's.

The landing pad was transformed into an elegant chapel of white with blue accents, a striking setting against the dark sky. Guests arrived early, filling the imported pews with excited chatter over the long anticipated wedding.

Imrhien was stunning in a simple, elegant white gown adorned with blue butterflies, Amyla Wakowski attended her as Matron of honor, with Ash Lutwang and x0x0 Zhangsun as her bridesmaids, all in royal blue. Aeon wore a dashing grey tux, likely imported for the occasion. Nack Barnes stood as his Best Man, with Cobb Compton and Gallagher Aeon as his groomsmen.

The veremony was officiated by Father Kristian Nichols. Cholgosh Swindlehurst walked Imrhien down the aisle.

The couple exchanged vows they'd written for one another, illuminated by Aeon's firefly in the background. After vows were exchanged, they couple exchanged sidearms rather than rings.

The reception followed in Fook Yoo's, attended by even more guests who had been unable to make the ceremony itself.
Khaz Rotaru took over the DJ booth and the party lasted well into the night, even after the couple had departed for their honeymoon.

Congratulations go out to the couple on behalf of the residents of Hales, and readers are invited to comment to send their personal best wishes.

A gallery of pictures from the wedding can be found on page 2.
Mikie Rhiadra
Editor

Alliance cruiser IAV Sun Tzu spotted withdrawing from Hales

Reporter:
Cobb Compton

The Alliance cruiser IAV Sun Tzu was spotted by the captain of the cargo transport Brutius Maximum, apparently withdrawing from the orbit of Hales Moon.

No radio hails were made as the Brutius Maximus was negotiating the asteroid field, and no gunships were sent out to intercept the vessel.

"It was clear as hell we were being pinged on the way in," said a shaken captain Johan Scheleck of the Brutius Maximus.

"9 times out of 10, when we're being swept like that, we get a hail to prepare for docking and inspection. We were already a bit nervous by a large radiation signature matching that of the Sun Tzu just out of radar range as we were passing Shadow.

If I had to guess - I'd say there's a whole battle group out there forming up for some reason," he concluded.

While this has not been confirmed by any other vessels coming to or from Hale's Moon - it is alarming speculation.

Captain Aeon Voom has said he would take a stealthy scout ship out to confirm the departure of the Sun Tzu, as well as investigate the rumored battle group mentioned by captain Scheleck.

At the moment this is mere speculation and all residents and visitors are advised to remain vigilant. but it appears in the short term that Hales may have a brief respite from the brutal attacks we've experienced over the past several months.

If the Sun Tzu has indeed departed, this also means we may be able to get more supplies in directly without having to rely on high cost smuggling runs.

Aside from captain Voom offering to check the report, he had little to comment on the development. other than "Aye. we might have a peacable wedding this weekend" before wandering off to Fook You's for a drink.

Worker's Plight

The mines north of Hales

Far in the southwest corner of our relatively peaceful moon lies a duranium mine. Years ago colonists worked the mines, the town building up around it into what you see today. When robotic workers became a more economically profitable decision, they company laid off all of the workers, abandoning them. When the mines no longer produced rapidly enough to maintain their profit margin, The Weyland Yutani Corporation abandoned the duranium mine for more profitable lands. In doing so they have once again abandoned their workers.

Dozens of replicants still remain in the mines, living day to day with malfunctions that lock them into repetitive tasks. The initial reaction by many is that they are only machines, why worry about it. There is plenty of reason.

Replicant Workers at the Mines

One of our own valued residents, Krenshar Magic, is himself one of the replicants from the mine. He was fortunate to be spared the indignation of the malfunctions the others in the mine have suffered. He has told us that many of the replicants that are still trapped at the mines have become sentient like himself.

Krenshar would like to see the replicants repaired, so they may have the choice as to whether they continue at the mines or seek to learn the world as he has. They require both replacement parts and skilled mechanics willing to lend a hand.

And So I am calling on you, Citizens of Hale's Moon. Krenshar has many times stood up to help defend our home. I feel its time we returned the favor and did what we can to get the replicants functioning once again.

Mikie Rhiadra
Editor

Replicant Workers in Need of Repair