Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Independent pilots have reported engaging a previously unseen type of Thargoid vessel.

The Pilots Federation confirmed that several of its members have encountered the ship in both the Pleiades Nebula and the core systems.

Commander Jing-sheng Mendez gave this account:

"My wingmate and I were both hyperdicted while travelling through the Pleiades. We assumed that together we could handle a single Thargoid ship, but this one really soaked up our firepower."

"I managed to get away, but Leonie didn't make it. I've already started retooling my Krait with AX weapons. I want to head back out there…and get some payback."

Admiral Aden Tanner, Aegis's chief military liaison, made this statement:

"We can confirm that this new ship – classified as the Hydra – is a variant of the Thargoid Interceptor. It is structurally stronger than the Cyclops, Basilisk or Medusa, and releases a larger swarm of Thargon

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

NinjaLA

made this pretty nifty sketch inspired by the Raptor heavy fighter. He started with the familiar bones of the craft and then started filling in the connections in a radical way. There's a careful balance of authenticity and artistic license necessary, but it seems like this technique could be applied to a number of ships with wild results!

I have been experimenting with different blocking methods. I think this works fairly well. Throw down some two or three tone shapes and just start throwing lines in where it looks like they'd be.

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

Temporal Anomalies have opened a hole to an alternate universe, one with a fantastic sale, Captains. But this Flash Sale will only be available for a limited time – from 12pm – 12am PT, today, 8/9. Hurry and grab yourself some items at a one of our largest discounts ever, before the portal shuts and it’s all lost. Today’s Flash Sale is: 25% off R&D Packs, which can open into a T6 Starship! Don’t wait! The Flash Sale Anomaly can be gone before you know it! .share-footer a { margin: 20px 10px 10px 0; background: url(d7afaaa14e96d0d973f76157ae31ec5b1466398539.png) no-repeat 0 0; opacity: .5; display: inline-block; height: 60px; width: 60px; padding: 0; border: 1px solid transparent; -webkit-transition: opacity .3s; transition: opacity .3s; } .share-footer .TI { background-position: 0 20%; } .share-footer .YT { background-position: 0 40%; } .share-footer

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The Federal Intelligence Agency has apprehended further members of the Far God cult, to determine if they are communicating with the Thargoids.

Media channels report a division in public opinion regarding the FIA's actions. Some see the arrests as illegal and tantamount to religious persecution. Others claim that the Far God worshippers have invited suspicion upon themselves, and that the detainments are justified.

Dr Jameelah Griffin of the Galactic Interfaith Commune commented:

"We strongly oppose this hostility against the Far God sect. These arrests are motivated by fear rather than evidence. We must fight for the civil rights of our fellow citizens, even if we do not share their beliefs."

A prominent campaigner against the Far God cult, Juanita Bishop, told the media:

"This is a victory for right-thinking people everywhere. Those warped alien-lovers are a blight on our system – one that

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

After sustained Thargoid attacks on civilian targets in the Pleiades Nebula, system authorities have launched a rescue operation to locate and recover survivors.

The operation is being coordinated by Superintendent Marla Poulsen of Aegis Research, who made this announcement:

"System authorities in the Pleiades have been channelling their resources into combating the Thargoid menace. As a result, search-and-rescue initiatives have been neglected, but we are determined to plug that gap. That means a lot of civilians rescued from escape pods, which also means a lot of hungry mouths to feed, so we'll need to bolster our current food stocks as a precautionary measure."

Pilots are requested to recover occupied escape pods and damaged escape pods. In addition, the following food resources are also required: fruit and vegetables, grain and food cartridges. Both recovered pods and food stocks should be

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

There's been a lot of talk about the "space force" in the news lately, so we took a look back at the origins of the Terran Confederation Space Force. Where do they come from? Wing Commander's Space Force is a retcon! There's no mention of it in WC1 or 2. It was created for WC3 to explain why the earlier games used a mix of Army and Navy ranks (for instance, General and Admiral.) Here's the design doc that introduced the idea:

In lore, the Space Force seems to be a subset of the Navy. Blair and Maniac attended a Terran Confederation Space Naval Academy and then went on to receive specialized flight training at the Space Forces Flight School. Transfers between the two groups are possible. The Space Navy, then, seems to have developed from the United States Navy rather than some new branch of the military; the Terran Confederation Naval Academy on Hilthros continues many Annapolis traditions and is

Quote from Star Trek Online News

Each week we’ll roll out new rewards for the Featured Episode “The Renegade's Regret.” The final week’s rewards is a new Melee Weapon – the Draconian Ceremonial Polearm. In addition, the first completion of this mission on an account this week will grant a Featured Episode Weekly Reward Box. This box gives your choice of an Enhanced Universal Tech Upgrade or a Captain Specialization Point Box, which gives the character who opens it a Specialization Point. The Weekly Reward Box, Tech Upgrade, and Specialization Point Box are all Bound to Account, and may be freely traded between your characters. The Specialization Point Box requires the opening character to be level 60. This Draconian Ceremonial Polearm was recovered from the blasted ruins of Draconis. It has absorbed a large amount of protomatter radiation, which may inflict additional wounds upon enemies when wielded. It has a variety of

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Information recovered from the Alexandria has prompted Aegis to insist that it was not responsible for the loss of the megaship's crew and cargo.
The wreckage of the Alexandria was recently located in the Wregoe TC-X B29-0 system. There were no survivors, but fragments of the commanding officer's log were found.
Chief Administrator Carter Armstrong published this statement on behalf of Aegis:
"The logs made by Captain Jacob Morales tell a bleak tale. The Alexandria was deliberately sabotaged to leave it stranded and powerless. They were met by an unidentified group posing as a rescue team, who slaughtered most of the crew and hijacked the Guardian artefacts. The survivors later made a desperate attempt to initiate the hyperdrive, which sadly led to their destruction."
"We can now prove that the Alexandria's loss was not caused by negligence, as claimed by the Baumann Report. In reality, the

Quote from Mass Effect News-Bot

BioWare’s premiere space opera saga was the subject of a particularly well-received remaster in Mass Effect Legendary Edition, offering the most definitive experience yet for the epic RPG trilogy. Though the collection features a heft of upgrades across the board, developers weren’t able to fix everything, including an infamously glitched conversation point that reintroduced players to Commander Shepard’s number-one fan Conrad Verner.

Having dealt with Verner in the first Mass Effect, players eventually encounter the N7 enthusiast again in Mass Effect 2 after discovering he had been impersonating Shepard on Illium in the wake of the soldier’s presumed demise. Upon confronting the character, Verner responds with an aggressive “Renegade” attitude, recalling how Shepard shoved a gun in his face during the first game, and in turn, taught him an “extreme” lesson about being the galaxy’s hero.

This scene has

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

The entire Galaxy is going to Red Alert! Next week, we’re launching a new week-long event, called the Galactic Red Alert. From 9/3 @ 8am PT (17:00 CEST) – 9/10 @ 10am PT (19:00 CEST), all of our Red Alert events will be returning at once on PC, as the Final Frontier is caught in a massive invasion on all sides. During this event, you’ll be able to play the following content: Borg Red Alert Elachi Red Alert Tholian Red Alert Tzenkethi Red Alert* Nakuhl Red Alert *Please note: As the only Red Alert with a fail condition, the Tzenkethi Red Alert will not grant daily bonus progress if you fail the TFO. The fail condition will likely be removed in future runs of this event. In addition to their usual rewards, these Task Force Operations will also grant daily bonus progress. You’ll receive one Daily Progress each day for completing one Red Alert – doesn’t matter which one – on

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Here are this week's main stories.

The Empire has entered a state of conflict with the isolationist group Nova Imperium in the Paresa system. Senator Denton Patreus issued a call to Imperial auxiliaries to help destroy the Nova Imperium fleet. Imperator Mordanticus made a similar appeal, saying, "I urge all those who believe that Hadrian Duval should be the Emperor to support us."

A luxury star yacht belonging to famous actor Consuela Knight has reached its destination with nobody aboard. Computer records confirmed the crew's presence until a few minutes before arrival, when all five crew members vanished. Engineering and hyperspace experts have begun analysing data to unravel the mystery.

Meanwhile, the Interstellar Health Organisation is reviewing Vitadyne Labs's nanomedicines, which the company has admitted are based on advanced technology developed by Utopia. Many in the medical community

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

A spokesperson for Olelbis Holdings has announced that its appeal for commodities has reached a successful conclusion. Hundreds of pilots supported the campaign by delivering goods to Polyakov Orbital, and by eliminating agitators in Olelbis, thereby ensuring the safety of traders.

Pilots who contributed to the initiative can now collect their rewards from Polyakov Orbital in the Olelbis system.

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Fantastic Plastic

has listed an interesting 3D-printed model kit for sale. They offer a 7-inch 1:72 Arrow designed by Alfred Wong for $70. Wingnuts might recall that he made a

9.5-inch 1:48 kit

last year. Aside from being a bit smaller and less detailed, the ship looks pretty good and comes in a fair bit bigger than a lot of miniatures or 3D prints out there. Their product page includes an

Arrow from WC Arena

as well as

WC Saga

, but those are slightly different designs than this model. You can check out the new Arrow for yourself

here

.

About the Design

"Wing Commander" from Origin Systems was one of the most successful space combat videogame franchises of the late 20th century. Combining "Star Wars"-like action with sophisticated story lines, the game spawned five full videogame versions between 1990 and 1997, plus novels, an animated TV series, a collectible card game and a 1999 feature film

Quote from Star Citizen News-Bot

August 2948 Subscriber Flair

Subscribers

http://

Comfort, mobility, and protection are the tenets embodied by RSI’s classic Venture Explorer Suit. This exclusive Centurion edition provides the perfect foundation for fashion and function, making a statement underneath it all. Comfort, style, and confidence start with your undersuit. RSI has you covered.

Imperator Subscribers
http://

Imperator-level subscribers will receive this limited edition purple Venture variant, along with the red Centurion design.

If you’re an active subscriber, these items will be added to your account on August 13th.

If you aren’t a subscriber yet but want to cop these jackets, make sure you subscribe no later than August 12th.

More information about subscriptions can be found here

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Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

This report presents the latest data on starports experiencing technical issues as a result of Thargoid Sensor related interference.

The following starports are currently closed:

Charlois Enterprise, T'ien

Guth Dock, Azrael

Hansen Platform, Jimavi

Kennan Vision, NLTT 14879

Kube-McDowell Enterprise, Kakas

Rennie Hub, Yorua

Singer Orbital, Matsya

Stabenow Survey, Cerno

Thomas' Claim, Telin

Vaucouleurs Vision, Veroklist

Walker Port, HIP 14886

The following starports continue to experience technical issues:

Sturckow Port, SPOCS 253

Meanwhile, the following starports are on the brink of closure:

Arend Dock, HIP 17838

Gehry Gateway, Checha

Gentle Survey, Jolagro

Gordon City, Anagori

Morgan Port, Kuan Yin

Morten's Paradise, Desy

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Quote from Star Citizen News

Be sure to read part one of the story here .

Umar was quickly realizing just how difficult it was to focus on doing repairs when you have a gun aimed at your head. Of course, it should have been obvious from the start that being held hostage would be stressful, but it was one of those truths that doesn’t completely sink in until you experience it first hand. Sort of like how those ‘Slippery When Wet’ caution signs seemed redundant until you were skidding around in a rainstorm.

“Easy on the comms,” instructed Umar’s captor in a steady, even clip. “This is just a normal emergency repair, right?” The man might as well have been casually asking Umar to pass nuoc cham, for all the current situation seemed to be stressing him.

“Right.” Just your normal, everyday emergency repair where someone has hijacked your ship and is looming right behind your terminal in case they need to put a plasma bolt through

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The Wing Commander Gemini Sector crew continues to keep a busy schedule! The crew has added Friday night sessions that kick off at 10 pm Eastern time. They role play through a variety of social situations that the crew of a Confed warship might actually engage in on their downtime. There's also still plenty of Wing Commander action - here's a couple of their recent mission briefings! Join the fun via their Discord server.

The crew is exiting the Nitir system. They will try to give the civilians and ISS a fighting chance to survive.

Behind veils, the Kilrathi plot on their next move, as the crew of the TCS Majestic engage a task force threatening the planet Nitir.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Discoveries made two hundred years ago by an abandoned megaship have revealed untapped sources of meta-alloys within the Coalsack Nebula.
The Adamastor, which was launched in 3111, returned to the Chukchan system from the Coalsack Nebula on autopilot with no traces of its crew. Thargoid barnacle sites were found in the nebula by independent pilots.
The Alliance Assembly has announced an expedition to thoroughly explore the nebula, with the primary goal of securing fresh sources of meta-alloys. A press release stated:
"Recent Thargoid activity in the Witch Head Nebula and over-exploitation of that region mean that this latest discovery has come at an opportune time. The Coalsack Nebula will now be the focus of an initiative to identify sites of commercial and scientific interest. To achieve this, we have established new partnerships with several corporations including Sirius Atmospherics."

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

An appeal for materials from Evangeline's Elite Expeditionary Force has concluded successfully.

Following coordinated efforts by the galactic community, a large number of deliveries were completed to Chu City in Shana Bei. The new megaship, EFS Archangel, has now been completed and is currently undergoing final quality checks from the technicians involved.

The group's commander, Archangel Evangeline, provided the following statement:

"Our command group is preparing the EFS Archangel for her shakedown cruise through the system. On behalf of Evangeline's Elite Expeditionary Force, we salute the galactic community for its support and generous efforts. Without their assistance, this would not have been possible."

Contributors to the campaign can now collect their rewards from Chu City in the Shana Bei system.

Quote from Star Trek Online News-Bot

Rule of Acquisition # 74: Knowledge equals profit. Any wise Captain knows that when a sale this good comes your way, it’s best to take advantage of it. We’re pleased to announce that Ferengi Merchants are putting a 15% sale on Keys from April 11th at 8am PT to April 15th at 10am PT. Now is the best time for Captains to load up on your Keys and grab those ships you’ve been eyeing. Remember Captains, Rule of Acquisition # 22: A wise man can hear profit in the wind. Now is the time to act. For a limited time only starting today, players will be able to purchase the Key Ring Bundle! This special pack includes 20x Master Keys (used to open any Lock Box) for the price of 2250 Zen. As an additional special promotional offer when purchasing this bundle, every pack also includes a single Ultimate Tech Upgrade. Applying this item to any upgradeable piece of equipment will instantly set both its Mark