Arsenal AE details revealed

The DDS have revealed that their class of ammunition transports, the Arsenal, will number at least 10. Construction will begin of the first H2 2107. Two of the class will be of the "Factory Arsenal" varient which will contain a production facility for transphasic missiles. The class of 10 have received names and will be named after small arms manufacturers.

Pentekonters to receive Littoral Tactical Update

The DDS has announced that most of it's fleet of Pentekonters will receive a Littoral Tactical Update (LTU) over the next few months, the last 5 ships to be constructed will have the update built in. The update will improve the OPV's effectiveness against small-scale low-threat targets such as smugglers and pirates in low orbits and inside asteroid fields. The ships will receive auxiliary laser cannons, improved sensors optimised for operation in low orbit, better tractor beams and better internal security for handling prisoners.

Not all ships will receive the update, Windscorpion said a certain ship captained by a certain DDS member would not receive the update due to budget constraints.

Dr Forbidden talks Arsenal AE

Dr Forbidden, who has been unusually lucid these last few days, has given some details on the forthcoming Arsenal class ammunition transport. These will be more than just permanently assigned Providers as previously thought. The Arsenals will be able to teleport (within range) transphasic missiles directly to compatible ships (Panther to start with put probably more later) automatically as the combat ships run low on TPMs. Important especially considering a Panther can fire 8 missiles per second (and chew through the expected 250 missile load in half a minute!) Arsenals will be able to carry up to 5000 TPMs which should last a force of Panthers at least a couple of minutes.

Arsenals will also have maintenance facilities for weapons like Z cannons and missile launchers. The DDS are also considering the possibility of a small production line for TPMs. Dr Forbidden said the Arsenal class would have improved cloaks and shields. Its possible they would have uprated engines for improved speed though the Provider had a design limit of around 550c so any speed boosts would be small. Finally Dr F said the class would number more than the 2 currently on order but did not specify how many.

Friar holds talks with Flag Of Destiny

A SOT aligned blog is reporting that The Friar has had a secret meeting with leaders of the Flag Of Destiny, the new group that claims to represent the millions of Oojok believers and are demanding the end to the banning of the Church Of Oojok. The Friar's Office refused to comment on the claims.

The blog goes on to say that the Flag Of Destiny are asking for the ban on their religion to be lifted and for Oojok's exile to be lifted partially allowing him to attend religious ceremonies on Cloneworld and be recognised legally as a God in Cloneworld law. The Friar is thought to be considering these requests as a way to defuse the actions of Sword Of Truth who continue their random attacks on HCS officers.

Dr Forbidden talks advanced missiles and Panther tech

Dr Forbidden recently gave a technical briefing to the press and spoke about technologies that may be used in the next generations of DDS weapons. He said that the next generation of transphasic missile (TPM) will be smaller allowing for a higher weapon load on ships. These 2nd generation TPMs would have improved terminal guidance, a higher speed and improved transphasic cloak equipment.

He said that the third generation, to be introduced in the next decade, might have built-in teleportation devices to help the missile evade countermeasures. It might also teleport into the target once it got close enough. The DDS are also looking at improved warheads, even maybe using anti-matter.

Dr Forbidden then said that it was possible that an enemy may develop weapons as powerful as the TPM and the DDS had to protect against it. He said the Panther destroyer was the first ship in the known galaxy designed to survive multiple transphasic missile hits. He said the Panther had a distributed power grid with 3 separate reactor cores. Each core was ejectable if it was about to explode and had a containment forcefield if it exploded before it could be ejected. The forcefield would prevent a core explosion destroying the rest of the ship. This, as well as Open Architecture and Off-site Processing would allow a ship to still operate even if it had been badly damaged.

The DDS were also working on the next generation of passive sensors, vital for ships that needed to maintain their stealth settings. He said that the DDS may roll out improved passive sensors by the end of the next decade that nearly had the sensitivity of current generation active sensors. He said that it was likely that the DDS would stop development of active sensors to concentrate on the passive. "DDS ships in combat zones can spent weeks in cloak, we need to really improve their eyes and ears in these situations."

Friar losing control of Cloneworld?

With Sword Of Truth attacks continuing daily (though much reduced since HCS officers began taking much greater precautions) now the authorities are facing a new threat from an open uprising by followers of Oojok. Around 100 Clones, calling themselves devout followers of Oojok, seized the small town centre of Telia, a town south of Ailier City and forced police to leave the centre without their weapons. After 2 hours of demonstrations and prayers the Clones dispersed and the police returned.

The next day 6 more groups tried to repeat the action in other small towns across the south of Ailier, in the town of Pewin they were stopped by HCS troops but in the other 5 locations managed to seize control and held peaceful demonstrations.

The group, who call themselves the Flag Of Destiny, say they are not part of Sword Of Truth and will seek a peaceful way to have the return of Oojok to Cloneworld. However they warned that their patience was not unlimited. They claim to represent the millions of devout Clones who have been waiting since the coup to see what happened. Now they are ready to bring about the return of their God.

Character of the week : Tsunami

Tsunami is the assistant of The Shiner but is also known as a laughing stock and the whipping boy of Windy and his acolytes. He has been the assistant of The Shiner for years now though his worth is of unknown value. When Windy wanted to get at Shiner Tsunami was easily despatched out of the way such as when Windy turned Tsunami into a giant coin.

Tsunami isn't totally useless though, he has occasionally given Shiner some advice. Well at least once anyway, we think. Tsunami was replaced secretly by HCS agent Slayer at some stage who tried to destabilise the DDS. Tsunami was assumed dead but he was discovered locked in his wardrobe in his quarters where he had been banging his head on the wall for 2 years trying to attract attention.

UV106 : Out Of The Closet

Brace your bowels for the latest bottom shattering collection of stories in UV106 Out Of The Closet! In Conference Call Future Guy sends the female Megara to kill Ronald's daughter Crystal. In End Of The Book Barons we revisit the Book Barons but have they made a tactical error as they enter the realm of the Tic Toc? In SS Death Trap Quarz is forced to perform obscene acts with animals in front of men to get upgrades to his new ship.

In Kicking Ass Since 1970 a Remedian dissidant is broken out of his exile and seeks to rise up the Remedians against the DDS. Finally in Taking The Colours the recruits complete their training and learn what units in the Army they will be joining.

UV106 is available in all schoolgirl bedrooms, hidden under the pencil skirts now! Stay tuned for a double dose of insanity in december with the release of UV107 Beyond The Book Barons and the winter special UV108 More Chronicles Of Ron.

New Terran Sea and other fleet news

The latest Terran Sea frigate has been accepted into service. 3216 Andaman Sea was named at a ceremony at Solaris Base and will join the patrol pool. Work has now begun on fitting out the first of the Type C Terran Sea frigates (3218).

As already said the Feeder class transports will be named after fallen DDS heroes, the first of the class will be christened Rollerball. There have already been jokes about it being full of holes. The final batch of Pentekonters (bar the final example) have left the production line for fitting out. The first 2 Rome class OPVs will be laid down early next month.

Utrek attack DDS ship

A Utrek Molentic Tuul cruiser is reported to have attacked a Pentekonter OPV captained by Quarz. SS Brasidas was on patrol near Saeou when it was attacked by a late-model Molentic Tuul. The Utrek ship's ship was entirely unprovoked. The Utrek were chased off by other DDS ships in the area and damage to Quarz's ship was minor.

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Remedian dissidant tries to seize power

Lord Finai, a Remedian dissident in exile, was released from his exile on a remote planet by human mercenaries in the pay of a group of rebel Remedian officers. The mercenaries stole a modern Vosun-Voth ship and freed Finai. When a DDS ship caught them they were rescued by a Remedian destroyer crewed by rebel officers. The Kalahati Tuul headed to Remedia to link up with rebel forces but was stopped by Von Kane.

Several dozen Remedian officers have been arrested by Remedian Police and a brigade of army veterens detained on the minor planet of Urai-Elim. It is thought they planned to try and seize the capital city on Remedia Prime. Lord Finai has been returned to exile, this time with extra protection.

Its thought the rebels wanted to pull the Remedians out of the DDS.

Character of the week : Pircasa

Pircasa is a member of Z-B-H's elite group and usually provides technical support for Z-B-H and Crickson. He has performed in the field though. Pircasa shocked his comrades when he came out. It was during Crickson's usual ribbing of Xaron whom Crickson is convinced is gay. Pircasa said that actually he was gay, in fact his boyfriend was SS! Pircasa was forced to perform gay sex acts during an operation and found he enjoyed it anyway.

Pircasa is a quiet professional who doesn't make any waves. He is an expert at surveilance and electronic listening with a particular interest in Rint. He has developed some new technologies for the Dinos to enhance their Radiation intelligence capabilities.

Final green light for Dino Republic

The Dino Elders have voted in favour of Ronald's proposal to turn the Dino Empire into a republic with yearly elections for Consuls. That was the final hurdle for Ronald's proposal (though in reality a vote was not necessary) and now the Dino Republic will begin on January 1st 2107. During the consultative process Ronald's original plans have changed somewhat but these are the finalised details :

The post of Emperor will be replaced by 2 Consuls who will serve 2 year terms. Their terms will be staggered so there is only one new Consul per year. Ronald and G-B-H will be the first two Consuls but G-B-H will only serve 1 year meaning the first Consul election will be at the end of 2107. Ronald will thus stand down at the end of 2108.

Potential Consuls can come from any rank in Dino society but will require the declared support of 5 Dinos of Tribune rank of above. Potential Consuls will not be able to declare their intention until the 1st of October and then will spend the next few weeks canvassing for support and being interviewed by the Dino Elders. At the start of November the Dino Elders will vote on the candidates and will whittle down the number to 2 who will go to the public. (Its possible of course that there could only be 2 candidates or even less of course). The election will be at the start of December with the announcement of the result early in the month. The new Consul Elect will then spend the rest of the month preparing to take over.

Consuls can stand for re-election but not for 5 years after the start of their previous term in office. So Ronald will potentially be able to stand again in 2112. At the end of the Consul term the ex-Consul will revert to the rank of Senator, this also includes Consuls who were originally not Senators before they stood for election. Finally Consul will use the same rank arm band as Emperor now.

Jimmy and El Diablo are already the bookies' frontrunners for the first elected Consul next year!

Fleet news round-up

Marconi class EW ship 7353 Braun has been accepted into service becoming the third member of the class to be built. 7353 has some updated systems compared to the first 2 ships which will be updated early next year. Janes DDS Weapons is reporting the ship carries a jamming device designed to affect the guidance of HCS missiles though the DDS refused to comment on this.

Two more Extender class oilers have been ordered, one for the Remedians. The Feeder class will be named after fallen DDS heroes not Terran cities as previously decided.

Character of the week : Dougson

Dougson is the Chief Scientific Officer of the Dinos. He is an unconventional character, rather odd looking and eccentric (he fits the stereotype of a mad scientist perfectly) but he is also a bona fide genius inventing Dino tech such as the teleporter and universal translator.

He has been linked to Ronald since the days before Ronald became emperor. Dougson was a late bloomer and didn't stand out in the science field at first. He was assigned to Ronald's team as the ship science officer but as time went on he soon made a name for himself as being very inventive. He created the first Dino teleporter in his spare time and it had a vital role in the defeat of the usurper Telavason.

When Ronald became Emperor Dougson was promoted to Chief Science Officer and has remained in that post ever since. His current major project is the wormhole space travel which looks set to revolutionalise space travel.

Leaked image reported to show Panther

An image leaked to Jane's DDS Weapons by an anonymous source is said to show the forthcoming Panther destroyer (DX). The design, if true, shows a more compact form than the older artist impressions leaked earlier in the year. The design has a belly mounted cannon thought to be the Zip though its likely the Zip will not be available for the Panther at launch.

First refurbished F-10 reaches DDS service

The first refurbished F-10A Shark, now known as the F-10A2, has entered service with the 1st DDS Air Defence Regiment stationed at DDS GHQ. The F-10A2 has new avionics with an improved night mode, uprated engines, better ECM and aerodynamic improvements. The entire fleet of 57 will be refurbished to A2 standard by the end of 2108.

Meanwhile it's long-term successor, the F-10S Shark 2100 has completed it's phase 1 development after the prototype began testing last february. Four pre-production aircraft have now commenced phase 2. The pre-production aircraft include some minor changes from the prototype and a full avionics suite. The first production example is scheduled to enter service by the end of 2107.

The DDS refused to confirm or deny reports that they are developing an attack version of the F-10S. Janes DDS Weekly has said the type is a two-seat all-weather attack aircraft called the A-12 Hammerhead.

Character of the week : Fuzzy

Legate Fuzzy is the current Dino Liaison Officer to the DDS, a historic post with a history of danger and sore bottoms. However Fuzzy is a savvy operator and is understood to be keeping well away from Windscorpion... Fuzzy's career has been one of ups and downs. Promoted for valour in battle and then demoted for dallying with senior officer's wives and daughters. Fuzzy is also a Terranophile, understood to have a great love of human culture. He also is said to have a "human bird" though this bi-species mixture is confusing many Dinos.

Because of his interest in Terra, and the fact he had been punished long enough for sleeping with a Praetor's wife (six months on bum transport duties) Ronald appointed Fuzzy as liaison officer. Fuzzy was glad for the promotion but the experience of Gibson has caused Fuzzy to worry. Though he is a friend of Windy (indeed Windy only dislikes Fuzzy instead of intensely loathing as he usually does with Dinos) Fuzzy still thinks Windy may try to use him like he did Gibson...

Attempt made on life of Ronald's daughter

Details are still sketchy but it appears ex-HCS agent Megara infiltrated the Royal Palace on Dino Land in order to kill Crystal, the baby daughter of Ronald. Megara and his assistant Dick Nose were both killed before they could carry out their deadly mission. Empress Holisai, Senator Smellyson and two SS guards received stuns but received no lasting injuries.

The appearance of Megara is confusing as Ronald had already beheaded the infamous agent a month ago! An unconfirmed report says this new Megara was female indicating that the unknown "Future Guy" (as the unknown foe from the future has been called) resurrected Megara from an alternative universe. There is the possibility therefore that more Megaras might attack in future. Ronald has had his family taken to a secure safe house.

DDS detail SUP Update

The DDS have announced a 440 million zark for it's fleet of SUP based transports and EW ships, the Provider, Extender and Marconi classes. The DDS said the SUP Update 2107 will improve the effectiveness and flexibility of the vital support strategic asset. SUP Update 2107 will include a roll-up of all software updates, a new engine management module (increasing cruise time by 22%), improved internal security (in response to an incident earlier this year when Zones stole a shipment of firearms from a Provider) and added Open Architecture (OA).

Providers will also receive improvements to their cargo handling equipment. The Extender oiler fleet will receive improvements to the refuelling system and improved safety (in response to the accident earlier this year). The update will begin in H2 2107. All new SUP based ships by next march will be built to this new standard.