Za'Enyu to buy HCS ships and weapons

Za'Enyu have followed up their initial order of HCS weapons made earlier in the year with a 1.6 billion zark order for weapons ranging from spaceships to tanks. Za'Enyu said that they will greatly strengthen their ability to maintain sovereignty with these weapons and said that they would further strengthen their space fleet in future years. As part of the deal 250 cadets from Za'Enyu would enrol at the HCS Space Navy Academy over the next 5 years and the HCS would help the Zaites (as they like to be known) set up their own academy by 2120. The weapons bought are :

• 5 Shark SKE-ZA frigates
• 2 Freighter TYA-ZA transports
• 60 F-40 fighters, refurbished from ex-HCSAF stock (as are all the aircraft)
• 95 A-85 COIN and 60 AH-26 helicopters
• 450 T-88++ tanks and 650 Tapir IFVs from ex-HCS stock
• An unspecified number of new SMG-26W machine guns and AR-100 assault rifles
• Ammunition for the land and air vehicles plus spare parts and help with integration

Eritrans throw spanner in the works

Oojok met with Firefly for a second time during their summit in deep space (this time on Firefly's flagship SS Cicero). Oojok said the DDS' offer of an alliance in return for not accepting Utrek coin was "the basis of the start of a discussion". However the Free Eritran States, who are of course Tier 1 DDS allies, have said that no alliance with the Clone Star Empire can take place until the Clones withdraw from Kontai and Unatel Gamma 540.

The planets are of little worth to the CSE and indeed it is well known that Oojok was enraged when Benito invaded them to add to his CSE-E however giving them up would be difficult for Oojok. He would be unable to force Benito to do so and instead would have to find some way to persuade him.

It is thought both Firefly and Oojok are now returning to their respective empires but will hold further talks soon.

• The Provider 71A transport A107 Condor suffered serious damage on a cargo run between Solaris and Liberation when its main meteorite deflector failed and it was hit by a large piece of rock. Two crew were killed and 6 injured. The ship lost main power and is now being towed back to Solaris by another ship. Sea Urchin has ordered checks on all deflector systems on other SUP ships just in case.

Firefly offers Oojok "military alliance"

The Clone Wars ended over 10 years ago but since then there has been a sometimes uneasy peace between the DDS and Clone Star Empire. DDS Commander Firefly has offered a much deeper peace with the Clones in his summit with Emperor Oojok in return for the Clones turning down the offer of money from the Utrek in return for basing rights.

"Ten years of cold war followed the ending of the Third Clone War in 2100." Firefly said at a media briefing after the summit on board Oojok's flagship, "Now its time for the DDS and HCS to move forward as partners. The Clones say they need friends, well i think the DDS would be a lot better friend than the Utrek Federation."

Firefly has offered to cease patrols along the DDS-CSE borders (in return for the HCS doing the same), a mutual defence pact, joint training and increased armed sales are also part of the offer. What the DDS arn't offering is hard cash like the Utrek though ceasing patrols might save the HCS billions of zarks a year on its own.

Oojok is now consulting with his senior advisers and Benito via a video link. Oojok will meet with Firefly again either tomorrow or later today on Firefly's flagship SS Cicero where he will give his response.

Firefly to meet Oojok

DDS Commander Firefly is to meet Emperor Oojok of the Clone Star Empire later today (news of the meeting being kept secret for security reasons). Its not known where the meeting will take place but it is thought to be in deep space between DDS and CSE space aboard a spaceship. Firefly and Oojok will discuss the Utrek investment in the CSE and Utrek plans for listening stations and refuelling ports.

Firefly has ordered the DDS alert status reduced to GREEN as a sign of good faith though continued his opposition to Utrek forces being in Clone space.

185/2

Emergency On Solaris
David and Re'Vent head to the heart of the DDS (Rise Of The Acheron P3)

HCS to scrap vast amount of withdrawn stock

The HCS have vast amounts of withdrawn equipment and vehicles rusting away in scores of locations across the Clone Star Empire. The HCS try to sell as much as they can but there are still tens of thousands of tanks and IFVs rotting away. Now as part of cost saving measures the HCS have decided to close no fewer than 35 storage centres and will scrap at least 15,000 tanks and 20,000 other armoured vehicles.

This seems a lot but it is reported that the HCS will still have around 30,000 withdrawn T-88s alone in storage even after the scrapping is completed by 2116. It is hoped to save 170 million zarks a year by closing these centres and raise around 500 million zarks through sale of scrap metal and alloys for recycling.

Sales are continuing however, the Dinos have signed a contract to receive a large quantity of T-55Z spares as well as around a hundred stripped hulls (various types of tank) for use in target practice. The value of the order is thought to be 5.5 million zarks.

Dinos to receive first Dinomark PT/2E next month

The Dinos, who have not built that many ships for themselves recently, will receive their first upgraded Dinomark PT/2E next month. The Mark 2 Evolution (to give it its full title) is a bit of  "stop-gap" as the Mark 3 PT has now been pushed back to 2114 at least. Some reports say the Mark 3 might now be delayed until 2115.

The 2E has a modest hyperspace speed boost (880c) though worm drive speed has been slightly reduced to 4900ec (the reason why has not been disclosed but is thought to be due to modifications to the field geometry to allow for lower power consumption). The main change is the internal layout of the ship which will allow for a higher TPM load. Passive sensors, secondary beam weapons, the mainframe and power drain weapon have also been upgraded.

185/1

Tenth Attempt
A dark ancient evil is awoken (Rise Of The Acheron P2)

Terran Sea fitted with worm drive ahead of ILU

The Terran Sea ILU and Unificiation Project is due to begin in January 2113 with the three Type 43 variants unified into the Type 43G. Updates will include Z7, EA-X and IWC 3.0 as well as worm drive. While the Isometric 41A is already calibrated for worm drive the Terran Sea (which has a slightly different fuselage) has not been until now.

M162 North Sea has been fitted with a W1A worm drive ahead of the ILU to help fine tuning the calibration. The Arafura Sea 43C Medium Combat Ship has also been fitted with some other ILU equipment  (mostly sensor and system updates) to help their final development. North Sea will become the first ship which has the ILU proper in January and hence the lead ship of the new type which will be known as the North Sea 43G.

HCSAF next to face cuts

Following on from the HCS Navy's cuts announced earlier in the week the HCS Air Force has also just announced 427 million zarks worth of cuts which will come mainly through the disbanding of a number of squadrons and the resulting withdrawals of aircraft. Orders for new aircraft will also be reduced.

• Two Air Defence squadrons are to be disbanded though the planes involved (F-40s) are already due for withdrawal, the F-45C order has been cut to 850.
• Eight Attack squadrons are to be disbanded with 200 A-84s withdrawn, many of these are near the end of their fatigue lives in any case.
• Three Tactical Reconnaissance squadrons are to be disbanded, 75 TR-72s will be withdrawn, as with the A-84s these will be old planes.
• The RQ-2 drone has been put back 2 years to 2116.
• Three Transport squadrons have been withdrawn, 35 of the oldest C-440s will be withdrawn with other surplus planes cascaded to other units. The C-460 order has been reduced by 20.
• Plans to upgrade three airbases have been canceled and two other projects scaled back.

However its not all bad news for the HCSAF as funding has been secured for a new role. The Clones have begun development of a LEO interception missile to be carried by the forthcoming F-45C to attack spaceships in low orbit. The missile will be similar in role to the DDS TPM-A though will have a nuclear or HE warhead not a transplasic one for now (as the Clones do not have this technology!)

Remedians discuss Perimpaz run-down

The Remedians' fleet of 6 Perimpaz 39A Fleet Combat Ships are due for withdrawal from 2114 by the first 5 Corkscrew 51A Medium Combat Ships to be built (though this might be modified slightly with Corkscrews 02 to 06 going to Remedia while the first ship 01 joins the DDS). In any event the Perimpaz ships, the last remnant of what was once a large fleet of Kalahati Tuul 2s in Remedian service will be gone by 2116.

The ships are not considered to have much fatigue life left beyond 2116 so might not be put up for sale. Unlike the Kalahati Tuul the KT2 was a joint-venture between the Remedians and Clones and was not sold to any other nation however there will be some spare parts that could be sold. The Remedians will perform a final upgrade to their fleet next year though this will be fairly modest and consists mainly of bug fixes and minor updates.

One detail of the Corkscrew programme that hasn't come to light until now is training. One of the Starsystem training frigates will be outfitted as a dedicated Corkscrew trainer next year with the same combat interfaces and a simulated training suite. The Remedians will join the training programme along with the DDS.

• Further to yesterday's HCS Navy cuts the HCSNAS (Naval air service) will also procure less F-45Ks than originally intended. The order has been cut to 100 though the HCSNAS said that it is hoped to procure extra planes later on.

HCS Navy announces cuts

Yesterday was a bittersweet day for the HCS Navy, they accepted into service R04 Benito Clone, the sole member of the Benito Clone class helicopter carrier (very similar to the Cloneworld  class aircraft carriers) as the name implies it was originally intended for Austini 55 but will be part of the Cloneworld fleet and will be flagship of a new amphibious support operation flotilla. However a number of cuts to other new warship programmes were also announced as part of a 450 million zark series of defence cuts.

The Ailier II frigate class has been canceled, however as 2 of the intended 10 ships are already in an advanced state of construction the HCS has decided to complete them. The final 2 Olana destroyers have also been canceled though the 6 already in existence are considered adequate for the reduced scale of operations the Cloneworld navy will perform. The proposed 3rd Cloneworld class carrier has been canceled too. The 2 proposed Flexible Support Ships have survived though have been put back to 2115. Finally the HCSNAS will withdraw 20 of its fleet of F-40N fighters though most of these are reaching the end of their fatigue lives anyway.

HCS head Admiral Anderson said that the HCS Navy was still powerful and was able to meet its operational requirements. Submarine orders were unaffected, the future role of the HCSN to provide a submerged launchpad for CSM is considered untouchable by the HCS.

Quasar decloaks in Paragon orbit

The DDS have made a demonstration of their power by sending a Quasar 15A bomber deep into Clone space under cloak. The bomber decloaked momentarily in high orbit over Paragon which is the future site of a Utrek listening post. The bomber then made a quick dash back over the border. The HCS have protested the "aggression" and have begun a review of space defences.

DDS Commander Firefly said the move was to show that the DDS possessed the ability to strike "anywhere to defend ourselves".

Fleet News (15/11/120)

• H129 Impregnable is the latest Indy 35B FCS to join the fleet.
• Solaris 37C FCS H162 Polaris has received a worm drive.
• Windy's new ship will be called the SS Scorpion, it will be a Falcon 47W.

DDS to build new forward base for strategic bombers

The DDS have announced they will build a new forward base for strategic bombers and other assets on an asteroid orbiting Barnard's Star. Ships such as the Quasar 15A would only be a few hours away from Paragon, the proposed site of the first Utrek intelligence base. Indeed Paragon is just within the current range of the MRM strike missile so bombers would not necessarily have to leave Barnard's Star to launch a strike (though in practice the DDS prefer to get within 1 light year). The DDS did not mention the Utrek base but it is very likely that this new base is a response to that.

Liberation is another future location for DDS strike assets (though this has already been announced) and this planet is at a similar distance to Paragon (around about 5-6 light years away).

UV184 : The Break-Up

• Under The Hash - Can the Dinos survive? (The Repicans P2)
• Triple-Threat - Can DM14 survive the return of the Repicans? (The Repicans P3)
• Robot - Windy tells Quarz it is over (Come Die With Me P1)
• In The Market - Quarz is hunted by Dump (Come Die With Me P2)
• Grab That Helmet - The hunt for Quarz moves to Proxima 5 (Come Die With Me P3)
• Structure - Can Quarz survive the pirate attack? (Come Die With Me P4)
• Darkness Returns - Two adventurers seek to discover an ancient evil (Rise Of The Acheron P1)

184/7

Darkness Returns
Two adventurers seek to discover an ancient evil (Rise Of The Acheron P1)

Firefly criticises Clone-Utrek agreement

DDS Commander Firefly has criticised the Clone Star Empire for entering an agreement with the Utrek Federation granting basing rights in return for money. "The Utrek are a grave strategic threat to the Local Group and allowing them military facilities in strategic locations is lunacy!" he told the DDS Politburo called to an urgent meeting on Proxima 5 (this part of the meeting was publicly broacast). Firefly said the DDS were ready to respond to this new threat though did not elaborate.

Benito meanwhile has also been critical saying that he should have been consulted before it was agreed for one of the planets in CSE-E to be used for a base, though he welcomed the fact that 30% of the 100 billion zarks the Utrek will pay over 3 years will come to his part of the empire.

• Ronald has assembled the crew for his exploratory voyage next year for the first time. They will undertake a training mission next week though will use GBH's personal ship DM21 as Dinomark is still undergoing maintenance. 

Dino View : What next for Malanson?

Legate Dralson, ex-Dino Army and Security Council

Legate Malanson was the undoubted loser in the Dino Consul election. Squeezed by the two main candidates he ended up with just 3.1% of the vote! However Malanson remains in Imperial Order's future electoral plans and indeed (i can exclusively reveal, as he just told me!) he has been appointed the deputy leader of the party after Cruggson. Malanson kindly took time out from his schedule to grant me the following interview...

Dralson : Malanson, how tough was it to come such a poor third?

Malanson : It wasn't easy! But i was expecting it, the electorate usually does concentrate between two candidates in the final stages of the election and i was up against 2 very good candidates.

DR : Early on in the election analysts said that you were not expected to win but that Ronald wanted you to raise your profile and gain experience ahead of more serious campaigns in the future.

MA : Thats not true, i was selected as Imperial Order's candidate and we planned to win. However El Diablo's campaign was excellent and the people seem to want to give him a second chance. MBH is always a powerful opponent.

DR : So are you going to try again next time?

MA : We haven't decided yet. Cruggson actually is eligible to stand next time so it might be him, me, or someone else.

DR : Who could that someone else be? Since the semi-retirement of Ronald and GBH and El Diablo's defection to the Liberals the Imperial Order cupboard looks a bit bare.

MA : There are plenty of potential candidates, the Dino political scene does not stand still in a vacuum, established named retire or go on a hiatus and new names come up. I am an example of the latter of course. The new names might need time to establish themselves well thats what i plan to continue doing over the next few years.

DR : How will you do that? You arn't a member of the senate or even a junior minister. I know myself that there are plenty of Legates out there who no one has heard of!

MA : [laughing] My dear old comrade Dralson i've heard of you at least! No it is true that i do not have a government role, at the moment anyway. I have signaled my willingness to be considered for office so things could change when El Diablo takes over. That will be up to him of course and political horse trading. Apart from that i am now the deputy leader of the party plus i am still active in the Dino Army.

DR : Finally, say in a few years you do become Consul, what can we expect from the Malanson regime?

MA : Fairness and inclusivity along with a focus on strong defence. There are many things to worry about in the astral-political arena with the DDS, Clones, Bolitic [this interview was held before the Clone-Utrek announcement - DR] and so on. With my military experience and the help of my colleagues i am sure i can be an asset to the state. Until then i am loyal to my new Consul, the Senate and the Republic!

HCS View : Don't panic yet

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

News of the Clone Star Empire's strategic link-up with the Utrek Federation (a fancy way of saying the Utrek have bought 3 very strategic locations for listening posts in return for a ton of cash) is a bit of a surprise indeed. Not a total surprise as it was fairly common knowledge that the Clones were looking for a partner as they did in the early 2100s during the previous economic crisis when they were bailed out by the Dinos.

This one may be more serious, the Dinos were after (and achieved) a complete reboot of their army using HCS equipment whereas the Utrek appear to be wanting strategic locations for "intelligence" stations. Paragon, the first of the 3 locations to be revealed, is perfectly placed for powerful sensor suites and signal analysis of both DDS Centre and DDS South...

But the DDS should not panic yet, the Utrek may now find gathering intelligence easier but its not the end of the world. The Utrek are still involved in their war with the Mantae and although that is currently fairly low-level we should not forget that 6% of Utrek territory is currently held by the Mantae so that war has still a long way to go. It will be no surprise to the DDS that the Utrek are still interested in them strategically, but the DDS beat the Utrek twice in two wars in the last decade and the DDS is much stronger than it was since the last war. The Utrek, even if the Mantae war ended now, would take over a decade to recover.

The astral-political situation has got more complicated but in many ways in the short term its less of a concern for the DDS as the Clones will be stabilised with the cash injection. In the medium to long term well thats a different story...

Utrek to pump 100 billion zarks into Clone Star Empire in return for basing rights!

Oojok met with the Utrek leader Aragenda today on his flagship in deep space in between Clone and Utrek space. As a result of the meeting the former good relations between the Clones and the Utrek in the 2090s appear to have been restored with the Utrek saying they will invest 100 billion zarks into the Clone economy (to be supplied in 3 yearly installments).

However the Utrek will get a lot in return, they will get 45% stakes in a number of large Clone engineering companies including the massive Clone Aircraft Corporation (CAC) but more importantly from an astral-political perspective they have gained 100 year basing right leases on 3 planets in the Clone Star Empire!

Paragon is the only planet to be named so far, this will be the home to an orbital Utrek refueling and maintenance station as well as a facility on the ground for "military liaison and intelligence gathering", two other planets will be chosen later (one will be in the CSE-E though this is probably news to Benito!) The HCS said that the Utrek would be restricted to the number of troops and ships that could be present at these facilities. The strategic implications are enormous however for the DDS who have already protested the moves. DDS Commander Firefly has called an urgent meeting of the DDS Politburo and raised the alert status to AMBER.

Oojok to meet with Utrek leader

It has been announced that Oojok will meet with the leader of the Utrek Federation tomorrow. The meeting has been kept under tight security and its announcement has caused astral-political shockwaves across the galaxy. The location of the meeting is unknown but is rumoured to be in deep space on Oojok's flagship. The ship made an unscheduled stop at Miliaris a few days ago to get some supplies (Miliaris is close to the Utrek border - and in Benito's CSE-E though Benito is not thought to have been invited).

The agenda for the talks is unknown but rumours have been flying across the galactic internet. The Clone Star Empire is in desperate need of cash and the Utrek are thought to be quite rich. What the Utrek might get in exchange for helping the Clones (if indeed they do) has been the subject of much speculation.

• Quarz has returned to active DDS service and has been appointed head of Team Redjec (which has now been renamed Team Quarz). It is understood Team Quarz will be placed under direct control of iP Services (though will rename in the DDS). Windy said TQ would handle some "very special and very dangerous" missions for him.

Oojok orders fundamental review of HCS

Oojok has ordered a fundamental (but also rapid) review of the entire HCS. The review of all branches of the Clone armed forces will look at current and projected astral-political needs and whether the HCS is best suited to meet these. There is a feeling that the HCS still relies too much on monolithic force in the form of large standing armies and air forces and the review has been ordered to see if this is true and whether a smaller more nimble HCS is needed instead.

Behind the review is of course a desire to save money. The HCS is a vast organisation which requires billions of zarks in budget just for running costs of existing stock never mind any new equipment or forces. Oojok says the review must report back before the end of Q2 2113.

184/6

Structure
Can Quarz survive the pirate attack? (Come Die With Me P4)

Character Database reaches 400

It was a co-incidence but the same day the Official DDS Website reached 4000 posts the Official DDS Character Database has reached 400. This is an increasingly vital part of the DDS Universe and has already helped tighten things up character and story wise. There are still a lot of profiles let to go so here is to the next 100...

4000 not out!

This is the 4000th post to the Official DDS Website which since 2005 has been the ultimate resource for DDS news and information. We began the site back in 2005 to supplement the comic series but over time the site itself has become a vital part of the canon.

Recently we have expanded the web presence including the Character Database and Timeline to make this your one-stop-shop for DDS news and info. Here is to the next 4000 posts! Thanks to all our loyal fans!

Dino View : What to expect from El Diablo

Legate Dralson, ex-Dino Army and Security Council

So El Diablo finally has his second chance at the top of Dino politics. Of course the first time around he was appointed Emperor by a badly injured Ronald. El Diablo's short reign was an utter disaster of course and since then he has remained under a bit of a shadow.

Now El Diablo has a second chance, elected as the sole Consul for the next 2 years and supported by a Liberal Party which is currently the strongest in Dino politics. His party leader will head the Senate in 2113 in Ronald's absence. There really is no excuse for El Diablo's reign as Consul to not be productive and a success. But what exactly are his policies?

The Consul election was, as usual, a war of rhetoric between Diablo and his opponents (principally MBH). Few actual policies were discussed but we can glean from the Liberal Party's manifesto that defence cuts are likely. Jimmy has long held the view that the Dinos spend too much on defence and not enough on social programmes. Therefore we can expect less Dinomarks and more money for social care, a slogan Jimmy has used in the past.

The relationship with the DTA may chance subtly too. Jimmy is known to want the other DTA to pull more of their own weight both militarily and politically in the alliance. We can maybe expect the next 2 years therefore to be one of quiet consolidation as the Dino military cools off its expansion over the last few years, with the slack taken up by the other DTA members. I actually think these will, in the long term, be good policies for the Dinos. The DTA is the future of Dino security, but it needs time and space to grow and not just be the Dino Republic fan club.

Lets hope El Diablo's second chance is a success.

Wayne King-Meiouf : The DDS juggernaut of the 2120s

Professor Wayne King-Meiouf of the University of Proxima

So the future of the DDS Patrol Command is now clear, and will involve a lot more ships. The DDS of the mid-2120s looks like it will have a much bigger fleet than it does now. How can this be afforded though? The answer is the changing technology that means ships now last a lot longer...

The first and second generation DDS warships tended to have a planned life up to 10 years (though the Pulsar and now the Starsystem have lasted longer, albeit with extensive rebuilding). That meant of course that plans for the replacements had to be put in place more or less as the current generation were entering service.

The third generation of DDS warship (Quasar, Isometric and Velocity) were designed to last much longer. Thirty years is now the minimum service life and types like the Panther are planned to last for 40+. Indeed the current generation of warships may last much longer as the main reason for ship fatigue (the intense pressure of hyperspace travel) will become less in the age of worm drives.

So that means when the DDS build 20 heavy combat ships, war losses and updates aside, the capital investment has been already spent so the DDS' resources can be spent on other things... like 59 Corkscrews.

Phase 1 excavations completed at new GHQ

Excavations of the underground levels of the new GHQ building on Helnikan Island have been completed according to reports in the Proxima 5 media. Further excavations will take place to build a subterranean railway station when GHQ is linked up to the subway being built by 2114 but work can now begin on installing infrastructure for the various levels in what has become known as the command bunker.

Work is also progressing well on the above ground buildings of the new GHQ. Firefly said he plans to move to the new GHQ by Spring 2113, he is currently using the nearby DDS Communications HQ as his office with other command functions remaining at DDS City on Proxima 7 for the time being.

HCS Fleet News (06/11/12)

• While all new construction has been suspended until 2113 the HCS Space Navy has finally completed the last 2 Kalahati Tuul S conversions from older Kalahati Tuuls.
• A Freighter TYA transport has been withdrawn.

El Diablo wins Consul election!

The result was delayed slightly due to some technical issues with datalinks from Xi but everything has now been confirmed, El Diablo has won the 2112 Consul election with 51.1% of the vote! MBH trailed with 43.6%, he said the Dinos would regret their "epic mistake" in voting in someone who would "lose a battle of wits with a piece of cheese" however he said would not challenge the result.

El Diablo said he would lead the Dino Republic through the next phase of its democratic evolution. He said Jimmy would be his deputy which, as Jimmy is also going to be Head of the Senate while Ronald is away next year, means the Liberal Party will have a tight hold on power for the foreseeable future.

• iP Services have placed an order for a brand new Dinomark XT/120w underwater capable spaceship. The ship will replace Windy's lost transport and will be maintained as part of the DDS' Falcon 47A/W fleet though will be operated by iP Services personnel. The ship will be delivered next year.

Civilian Partnership ends with a real emergency

The first of what is planned to be an annual humanitarian and disaster recovery exercise with UNP agencies has ended with a final simulated recovery of crew at a nuclear power station outside Hexian City which was (in the exercise scenario) struck by an earthquake. During the exercise DDS personnel and equipment supported a team from the UNP Nuclear Safety Agency.

Following the exercise however the DDS were called upon for a real emergency after a building caught fire at the nearby DDS City. The fire was quickly bought under control, no one is understood to have been seriously injured in the blaze thought to have been caused by a kitchen fire.

184/5

Grab That Helmet
The hunt for Quarz moves to Proxima 5 (Come Die With Me P3)

Provider XMA cleared for service

The Dinos have confirmed an order at least 5 more conversions of old Dinomark XTs to unmanned drone transports to be known as the Provider XMA following successful tests of a prototype (which had the test designation Dinomark XX) which has now officially entered service.

The Provider XMA is a rebuilt old XT fitted for unmanned operation and includes a worm drive and an advanced new automated defence and repair system. Its thought the prototype will now be used to provide a resupply stop for Ronald's ship on its expedition next year.

Ronald announces his crew for next year's expedition

Ronald has announced the crew he will take on his expedition into uncharted space next year aboard his ship Dinomark. Ronald has chosen his crew from 6th Legion veterans and some promising youngsters (who have now joined the 6th Legion elite) as well as a member of the SS-D special forces who will mostly serve as Ronald's bodyguard.

The crew chosen is :

Ronald - Commander (Senator)
GBH - First Officer (Senator)
Oeirkan - Second Officer / Communications (Centurion)
Galaxian - Weapons Officer / Bridge Officer (Centurion)
Bite - Helm (Centurion)
Jau - SS-D / Bodyguard (SS-D Decurion)
Adamson - Navigator / Medic (Decurion)
Krusty - Security / Bridge Officer (Legionary)
Lingson - Weapons Officer / Driver (Legionary)
Brunt - Underwater Operations Specialist / Bridge Officer (Legionary)
Jerry - Geologist / Xeno Expert (Legionary)

• Voting has now ended in the Consul election on Dino-Land though still will continue on some of the other planets in the Dino Republic until later today. The result is expected during the weekend.

Election day on Dino-Land

The polls have opened in this year's Consul election on Dino-Land, and this year the vote is even more important than usual because of the change in the Consul post at the head of the Dino government. From the start of 2113 two Consuls will become one, and that sole Consul will serve alone for 2 years.

El Diablo still lead on the last opinion polls before voting day but his lead was down to 50.7%. If he fails to get 50% then there will be a run-off against the second place candidate, which would likely be MBH who is now on 42.6%.

• Current Consul Ronald has announced his crew for his exploration mission next year has been chosen. As expected Ronald will take GBH with him as deputy and the rest of the crew is a mix of veterans (though fairly under the radar names) and promising younger people. Ronald said he will announce the crew tomorrow so as to not interfere with election day.

Other Fleet Review (01/11/12)

• The Dinos have built 3 Dinomark XTs, one each for Sirikwan, Yeng and the Voth.
• Putri 500 have received an Isometric E15P1.
• Haylei have received their first 2 Coril-Es.