A former general of the Clone Defence Force has defected to the Free Eritran States. It is understood he has told the Eritrans (and hence New Sparta) that the Clone Star Empire's problems are continuing. The empire has been in trouble for nearly 20 years now, shortage of money and instability dogging the empire and the armed forces. The general said that cutting maintenance on the Space Navy has resulted in some classes of ship now having availability rates below 50%.
He also said that a lot of senior CDF officers are starting to grow restless about the inability of those at the top to finally sort out the problems with the CSE economy and hence the money available for the defence budget.
An unnamed NS source said that the problem with the CSE is that the empire was built quickly on the back of huge debt and that so much of the empire is not in a position to replay that debt. "The empire is subsidised by a small number of rich planets with most planets being a net loss."
However the source also said that the general is exaggerating to appease his new friends. "The empire has a lot of problems but isn't on the verge of collapse."
