Wayne King-Meiouf : The loss of Firefly will be most keenly felt

Prof. Wayne King-Meiouf from the University of Proxima.

The whole DDS world is reeling in shock from the death in combat of Firefly, the eternal confident of Windy. Some say he was the conscience of the DDS, the straight man in the comedy act, the rock around the other various strange characters orbited.

So how will his loss be felt by the DDS. I do not think it will be easy especially for Windy. He will no longer have the "voice of sanity" when preparing for a mission. Perhaps he will now take even greater risks for the DDS without the wise counsel of his brother. The loss of Windy too would be a body blow to the DDS especially during a war. The DDS need to take care of Windy now, his counterbalance is gone and his behaviour, until he finds balance again, could be very unpredictable.

As a combat asset Firefly will be a loss to the DDS too though his combat powers had waned in recent years, some say his heart was no longer in it and he might have walked away from the DDS at the end of the current war.

The main loss to the DDS will be what Firefly represented. He was a decent man who represented an earlier DDS, a simpler and more honest DDS perhaps. A DDS of adventure and heroism that has not got tied up in a galaxy of intrigue and politics. We all feel the loss of Firefly as we all feel the loss of those simpler times.

Firefly remembered by DDS

Acting Commander AP led the DDS in a ceremony of remembrance for Firefly at DDS GHQ. He said that Firefly had embodied all the best aspects of professionalism such as self-reliance, discipline and courage and should be seen as a role model by all current and future young professionals.

Windscorpion himself has now commented on his brother's loss. Firefly will be buried when Windy's ship SS Carboniferous returns from its current mission.

• The New Aritan Army will be fully integrated into the DTA by the end of the year the Aritans have said. The DTA will begin mixed-unit training and exercises later in the year too.
• Zanus has taken up his new role as Consul in the Dino Republic replacing Cruggson who has performed a job swop with Zanus in effect as he becomes the new Interior Minister in place of Zanus. There are no other Senate changes.

Dino View : Introduction to an interesting new era

Introducing our new regular columnist on Dino/DTA affairs Legate Dralson (retd) formally of the Dino 3rd Legion and member of the Dino National Security Council. Since his retirement in 2097 he has become a noted commentator on Dino military and geo-political affairs.

Greetings peoples of the DDS and UNP. I am very honoured to be given this opportunity to write on the Dino military and the politics of the Dinos especially now as i believe we are just entering a most exciting period. The war against the Bolitic Confederacy has been won though at a huge cost and the setting up of the Dino Trade Association promises a new era of prosperity and co-operation. The latter will be new to us Dinos as we have always prided ourselves on our self-reliance and relied on isolationism to keep us out of trouble.

The galaxy is changing though with great powers now teaming up to share ideas, technology and sometimes resources as was the case with the Bolitic who greatly strengthened their military with Utrek know-how and also employed a number of allies to help them in their fight.

That is a major reason for the DTA in my view. The Dinos struggled to defeat the Bolitic because our enemy had taken advantage of international co-operation to become much stronger. We need to do the same if we are to defend against future threats. The problem for us Dinos is that we have an ingrained culture of self-reliance and a mistrust of outsiders so do not be surprised if the DTA struggles early on once the euphoria of forming has faded and the bunting and confetti has been cleared away.

We Dinos will need to learn how to trust outsiders otherwise our new allies will not trust us. The DTA cannot become a Dinos plus everyone else organisation it has to be a true alliance. Of course we Dinos will remain the core but we have to let the Sirikwanese, Aritans and so on do what they are best at to grow the DTA as a truly powerful organisation. It can be done though it will be a difficult path as we will no doubt see over the coming years.

Firefly killed in action

There are reports coming in that Firefly, the brother of Windscorpion, has been killed in action during an operation against the ABBOs. Details of the operation are vague but it is thought the Triad were carrying out some sort of reconnaissance on an unspecified planetoid held by the ABBOs when Firefly was shot.

Acting Commander AP has called Firefly one of the true greats of the DDS who will be missed by all.

• The DDS have recaptured another town on Delta 9 as their offensive against the ABBO invaders continues. DDSAF A-85s and F-10s launched an attack on an ABBO maintenance base and elements of 2 army brigades pushed through the line and captured the town of Bolaisan.
• The Rome 46A corvette fleet is to receive an update over the next month. Rome 2111 Update A will be a modest affair designed to be achievable during routine maintenance (and each ship will only be out of service for a few days). Updates will begin with the Commander's flagship K101 Cicero and will include a Z5tim cannon, increased TPM-2 missile load (up to 16), plus updates to passive sensors, the tactical combat suite and navigational systems.
• The HCS say they plan a large exercise in space near Austini 55 for the "Spring". It is likely the exercise will be seen as further provocation by the nearby Free Eritran States who fear an attack by the HCS. The Molab President recently said that a HCS invasion had moved from being something the Molab thought about but didn't take too seriously to being "one of the biggest threats to Molab sovereignty".

Your Wonderful Life
Redjec discovers Knobhead's price.

Changes to The New DDS Project this year

Happy New Year to all visitors, hopefully a year of victory over the infidels for the New DDS which stands for personal growth, goal achievement and life-long duty through holistic educational refreshment. Let me introduce myself, i am Senior Communications Officer Hibiscus, part of AP's Central Planning Team. I shall be guiding this vital resource, the New DDS Project website, through a time of change.

We will still be reporting on the news but will be presenting more expert analysis and opinion through our existing columnists such as Prof. Wayne King-Meiouf but also will have an official voice from the Dinos/DTA and we are hoping to action a HCS voice at some stage too. These are changing times and this website needs to change with them.

The DDS Universe can be a complicated one thus our expert analysis will help you navigate through this mysterious and often contradictory reality through our fractal approach. It will help you stay on track, on side and most importantly on message.