News and Current Events

Efate/Regina

1110-134

Economic Difficulties in Post-War Rebuilding

Cost overruns have been hampering the rebuilding of many smaller companies, as the demand for construction and salvage services has created price increases in those markets. Many insurance companies have been under heavy criticism for refusing to pay claims under the Act of War clauses in policies, forcing a number of small companies completely out of business. Several insurance corporations have quietly hired extra security forces to insure angry customers do not take drastic hostile actions. Starchaser and MilTech are carrying most of the burden, and according to unofficial reports, they are charging the corporations a hefty price for the security upgrades.

Two Slain in Gang Violence

Lorson and Niles Cugnarran were killed in a raging gun battle in the streets of lower eastside, which claimed the lives of seventeen gang members from both the Black Furies and the New Order. Funerals for the deceased are yet to be announced.

Street Battle Weapon Technology Drawing Requests for Imperial Governmental Investigation

Both sides of the street war are blaming the others for the deaths of innocent bystanders, as if those deaths will make a difference in the mentality of the street gangs. The Black Furies are being blamed by the local police, as they carried the heavy weapons in the battle, the new MilTech Street Sweeper Urban Combat Weapon Systems. The fact that the gang members were carrying state-of-the-art battlefield firepower against the simple handguns of the opposing New Order gang has raised eyebrows even as far as the Imperial Governor’s office. The weapons are designed with urban warfare in mind, and according to the ballistics report of the city’s Office of the Coroner, they are quite effective, and certainly deadly in close quarter fighting. On a side note, the investigating police officials noted that the death toll on the gangs was about even, with nine New Order members and eight Black Furies dead when the fight was over. This is proof of the Black Furies having no experience with the new military class hardware, or that the New Order gang had superior combat skills.

Orbital Factory Back Online

Tigel Engineering’s Pinsha Station has finally restored the orbital factory into full scale production of the sorely needed gravitic plate technology, used by most of Efate’s corporations who have orbital stations and factories. The plates are needed to allow repair teams to work unhindered by zero gravity conditions, present in many of the heavily damaged civilian complexes. The corporation is quite pleased by the performance of the repair teams brought in from as far as the subsector capital.

Management expects the demand of the needed grav plates to remain high for the next year, as rebuilding continues.

Professor Kloog Xames Named Historian of the Year

The professor serving at the University of Regina (at Efate’s Wicall Downs branch college) has been honored for his work in investigating and chronicling the battles of the Zhodani and Imperial forces over the last five wars. His work has been exhaustive, and has led him to a greater understanding of both cultures. His most recent book, The Shroud of the Mind, has startled the academic world by becoming a best seller in the public sector, something rarely seen in today’s fast paced urban culture. Professor can only say he is glad to see the public taking a renewed interest in the events that have shaped the border worlds.