DDS to simulate "civil war" for exercise

The next exercise in the DDS schedule is the first running of May Mission. This will be an internal security exercise which Firefly wants the DDS to take very seriously. The DDS will simulate a "civil war" not unlike the insurrection which bought down the New DDS Project.

The head of the ISSF (Internal Security Special Forces) Torus says that the DDS must learn how to contain internal strife without widespread destruction. It is thought ISSF will run a series of simulated attacks on the DDS, both physical and cyber, as well as misdirection using hacking and media. To add to the realism of the exercise no start date will be published. Incidents will happen at some time during the month of May.

• Sea Urchin has agreed a 90 million zark investment in improved ICT at 5 large DDS bases including DDS City and the new DDS GHQ. Improvements include a larger and faster main tactical database and much more distributed computing.
• The main HCS export customer Artensis 60 has gone Dino with its latest order. 40 K-18D7 COIN aircraft have been ordered to supplement the mountain of HCS equipment on order. Artensis say they will remain the Clone's best customer but that they wanted a jet powered COIN aircraft which the Clones presently do not offer.
• The DDS 2nd Fire Support Brigade (part of 1CDept) has been declared operational. This is the first of three artillery brigades the Land Division of DDS Terrestrial Forces will field. Head  of the army Zeppelin said a resuffle of the Land Division will happen soon.

HCS Space Navy gains 400 million zarks for upgrades

The HCS Space Navy has been granted an extra 400 million zarks by the Clone government for some much needed upgrades of the fleet. Although the Space Navy have been able to maintain their numbers unlike the other branches of the HCS which have seen cuts new build and upgrades have been heavily restricted.

The upgrades will cover some of the Cosmos, Kelsan, Molentic Tuul and Shark fleets. 8 more Cosmos CAs will be rebuilt and upgraded to the CK standard. This will cover all of the remaining legacy Cosmos and mean the entire fleet of 73 ships will now last until the early 2130s.

The Kelsan KS bomber fleet will be receiving upgrades to their digital image processing systems and navigational systems as well as an improved ion cannon.

The Molentic Tuul MTM fleet will be receiving sensor and tactical data processing system updates. Some ships will also trial experimental engine modifications which are hoped to improve fuel economy and efficiency without affecting performance.

Finally some of the oldest Shark SK frigate fleet will be upgraded to the current SKB production standard.

• Austini 55 is preparing for Benito's state funeral next Monday. Clone Star Empire - East is quieter than some imagined it would be, though many areas are tense. A group of anti-Benito protestors were attacked by troops by the 2nd Legion (Benito's fascist vanguard). Reports of what happened to the young male protestors are unclear but it is understood that some unpleasant things were done to them.
• The DDS have reduced their alert status to GREEN after reviewing the HCS situation.
• Atomic Fist 2113 has ended successfully after a final mission which involved the use of live nuclear warheads on a target asteroid in the Terran system.

Oojok will attend Benito's funeral... thanks to MBH

Oojok will be able to attend Benito's state funeral to be held a week tomorrow thanks to MBH who will also be attending and he will take Oojok in his worm-drive equipped Dinomark. MBH will also take 2 other ships with "protection" - likely to be members of his fascist vanguard the SS Black Dragon Martyrs Brigade. Oojok will also be accompanied by an Oojok Death Squad unit.

Consul El Diablo will be taking no less than 6 Dinomarks and will be guarded by the CSS of course as well as several sections of SS-D and a service unit of the SS Diplomatic Protection Corps.

To add to the special forces on display Firefly, whose ship H162 Polaris is due to leave tomorrow (it will be accompanied by H104 Lynx and X111 Isometric) will be protected by SFX's Prowler unit plus another Prowler unit will be kept in reserve.

The entire HCS Red Lizard special forces in CSE-E has been recalled to Austini 55. Benito's coffin will be carried aboard his personal tank (a T-88++ veteran from the Clone Wars) and escorted by an entire brigade of armour from the 2nd Legion.

HCS View : Benito's legacy

Keith Remadra, former chief advisor to the UNP Security Council on Clone affairs 

The death of Benito has caused shockwaves across the Clone Star Empire. Benito, even by his enemies, is acknowledged as the last surviving Clone icon of the Clone Wars and the early HCS and now he is gone too.

Every young clone and soldier knows the stories of the epic tank battles Benito led in the battles against the DDS, his conquest of New Rome and how he somehow managed to survive to lead the only successful rebellion against the Church of Oojok. Benito is already a legend to many.

But a legend is probably how many high up in the HCS and Clone Star Empire are happy for Benito to be, a legend cannot interfere with the present and future. Benito and his half of the empire have become an ever larger thorn in Oojok's side and the development of the CSE.

Things won't change overnight but i suspect the two halves of the empire will become more tightly integrated, with West and East becoming mostly an administrative distinction. Marcus will likely be the new Emperor, he will be the face most acceptable to the many loyalists of Benito (many of whom still are highly suspicious of Oojok and the church). His deputy will be the interesting choice, i suspect it could be Terin, son of Oojok. It is acknowledged that the elder son Wolkapi is being groomed as Oojok's eventual successor but until now Terin has not had much of a role in his father's empire.

From all reports though he is highly intelligent and able (while Wolkapi has a rather insipid reputation for a lack of imagination, sadism and violence) and he would be an excellent choice. The key for Oojok will be to keep Benito's loyalists sweet, perhaps some of the HCS cutbacks could be reversed over in the East soon?

Oojok orders 7 days of national mourning for Benito

Oojok has ordered that 7 days of national mourning be held for Benito after the Emperor of the Eastern Empire was killed in an explosion on Woloron 12. A state funeral will be held on Austini 55 after the mourning though because of the distance from Cloneworld Oojok and Sleeze are not likely to be able to attend (even the fastest HCS ship takes over 3 weeks to make the journey - it is rumoured the HCS have asked the Dinos for loan of a worm drive equipped ship).

The CSE-E is on lock-down and CSE-W is on high alert. Tensions are high mostly on Austini 55 where Benito's fascist vanguard the 2nd Legion is based. Oojok has recognised Marcus as the Acting Emperor of CSE-E and says the West will provide any help it can to find out what happened.

• The DDS have said that Firefly will attend Benito's funeral, the DDS Commander and the Consul of the Dino Republic El Diablo have both been invited according to HCS sources.

Benito killed in explosion

Emperor Benito of the Clone Star Empire - East is reported to have been killed in a massive explosion on Woloron 12. The explosion was caused by a laden ammunition train exploding which apparently destroyed a train Benito was travelling on which was passing at the time. Deputy Emperor Marcus has ordered an immediate lock-down of the CSE-E.

Oojok has also ordered the HCS on highest alert. Its not known yet if the explosion was caused by terrorism or an accident.

• The DDS have raised their alert status to AMBER as a precaution.