The DDS votes on its next leader

Knobhead and Von Kane have been addressing supporters at DDS City and GHQ respectively on the final day of the DDS Commander election. Voting is now open. All voting is done electronically so the result when polls close at midnight will be known almost immediately.

The DDS will not announce officially until lunchtime tomorrow however to allow for security and consistency checks.

• The DDS has dropped its alert status to AMBER though will maintain ORANGE in the Aldebra area.
• Sixteen ships and 3 regiments of DDS Terrestrial Force are to return to DDS Centre from their current assignment in the Aldebra theatre. Strong forces will be maintained on Aldebra for the forseeable future however.

Story #2156

Fascist Regime
Back in 2080 Ronald confronts Oojok.

Clones fly production spec K3

The second K3 Pterodactyl prototype with a boosted ducted fan and improved power cells has begun flight trials and performance is now said to be to specification. The only black mark is that the acoustic signature, while much lower than a conventional jet in pure duct fan mode, is higher than expected. This is not so important with the K3 which is a trainer though will be a key feature of the later K58 COIN version.

Clone engineers think that aerodynamic refinements will reduce the noise the K3 makes and also improve efficiency. The K3 will enter production and service next year.

The K3 is a dual propulsion type with a conventional turbofan and an electric ducted fan. It used fuel cell and solar technologies to augment traditional jet fuel.

Zeppelin and Caratore support Knobhead

The heads of the DDS' Terrestrial and Space Forces have both publicly backed Knobhead ahead of the vote for DDS Commander on Tuesday. DDS Terrestrial Forces head Zeppelin said that Knobhead has the right ideas and qualities to build on Firefly's vision. Space Force head Caretore said that Knobhead was a shrewd operator who had already proven himself as Director of Operations.

Most senior DDS have now backed Knobhead who has over 84% support. Von Kane says he is not giving up though his latest rally at DDS City was poorly attended and marred by violence.

Knobhead and Von Kane clash in Commander debate

Ahead of the vote for the new DDS Commander on the 30th the 2 contenders Knobhead and Von Kane took part in a televised debate. At times the 2 contenders clashed on issues of DDS culture and forward direction. Von Kane wanted a much more disciplined and stricter DDS, with iron adherance to rule while Knobhead wants a more inclusive DDS with greater opportunities for personal growth.

Knobhead also wants the DDS to reach out to new allies while Von Kane said that the DDS needed to become more isolationist, highlighting TPM technology having left the DDS' control when the Starbotians left. Knobhead retorted that the DDS could not stand alone against threats like the Tarbotians.

Knobhead has a massive lead over Von Kane (nearly 80-20% split) but isn't taking anything for granted. His sponsors Torus and Sea Urchin are going to address the DDS on Liberation and Solaris respectively in the next couple of days while Knobhead himself will visit DDS City on Proxima 7.

Melaris 12 to become full UNP/DDS member

Rim World human colony Melaris 12 has become a full UNP member after raising 3 billion zarks to build its half of an orbital command and defence post. This was the DDS' condition for accepting Melaris, which had been an associate member until now, to full status.

It means that the planet will become part of the DDS defence network, gain a permanent ship allocation, and orbital and land defences. The DDS are already building an intelligence base on Melaris to take advantage of its strategic position with respect to Tarbotian space.