Headline News: Jedi Terrorists Strike on the Planet Nizon

A group of Jedi terrorists recently launched a series of terrorist strikes on the planet Nizon. Nizon, a small planet on the Outer Rim is a primitive world that previously sided with the Separatists. Following the war, the Empire placed a garrison on the planet and sent in specialists to help the natives modernize their society.

The Empire's generosity was rebuffed cruelly and under the instigation of Jedi terrorists their anarchistic tendencies were fanned into flame again. The maddened natives looted Imperial armories and slaughtered Imperial forces and civilian workers and traders on the planet. The death toll is estimated at this time to be 493 civilians dead, including 130 children. Imperial forces heroically bought time for the evacuation of the survivors. Determining that a battle to retake the planet would cause a bloodbath on both sides the Imperial army has withdrawn for the time until the situation changes.

Reports scattered throughout the galaxy from seditious elements have doctored holos and reports that the natives were being used as slave labor and that the natives rose up in reaction to this and that the entire garrison and a heavy cruiser were eliminated in the battle. These reports are false and possession and distribution of them qualifies as treason under the Emperor's Separatist Sedition Act.

Headline News: Ancient Self-Sustaining Droid Colony Found

On the planet Taris, an ancient self-sustaining Droid colony was discovered last month. Samples of the colony itself suggest that it dates back to before the Jedi Civil War when the planet-wide city was destroyed by orbital bombardment. It appears that the colony was built by a now-defunct experimental science corporation.

Upon entrance the colony AI welcomed the team with a cheerful feminine voice and offered up the scientific research it had been working on for the last few centuries including what it called a 'neat gun'. It appears the colony was built to house refugees from the ecological nightmare Taris was becoming but it was lost during the Tarisian Civil War.

The discovery took a darker turn when the bodies of humans dating back to the Jedi Civil War were discovered inside the facility. Ancient datapads recovered with the bodies indicate that there was a multi-generational search to find the city by a group of outcasts fleeing the stench and rakghouls of the Undercity to which criminals were consigned. Another datapad kept by a man named Gendar (presumably the leader) reports that a mysterious man with a sword, a military man with two blaster pistols, and a young Twi'lek found the clues to find the City.

The Life Sciences consultant on the expedition insists that the disease and rakghouls themselves are a myth from a more primitive time, "The accounts refer to being bitten and then a period of convulsions lasting no more than a few seconds, followed by a flash of light and then a human is converted immediately into a rakghoul. There is no biological process that can account for such a rapid transformation. The story is a myth, pure and simple."

The bodies of these refugees were believed to have been murdered by traps constructed by the AI itself. One body (identified by contents on the body as Igear) was found, presumably eviscerated. In his own blood on the wall he wrote, "She promised there would be cake!!!! Delicious and Moist Cake!!!! Where is the CAKE???"

The team is continuing it's investigation and the AI has promised to allow them to stay as "It is obvious that there is much more science to do for the people who are still alive."

Pirates, Rogues, and Scoundrels

There has been increased pirate activity,especially in the mid and outer rims of the galaxy. The Empire has assured the people of the Empire that there will be "immediate justice" to these scum. Already, there are Clone War Acclamator I Assault ships at all major trading routes. These pirates are becoming more brazen in their tactics. They are many different criminal organizations out there that could be responsible for the attacks. We have reports of one spice trader, Smik O'sak that had his ship stolen when he was refueling at Sel Zonn station, which orbits over the planet of Brentaal.

"I'd reckon those varmint pirates have already unloaded my spice and sold my ship for parts. What am I supposed to do now? I have no ship and not only that my precious cargo was supposed to go to very eager clients. Those bloody mynocks!"

The Empire, unfortunately cannot repay these traders for their losses but they assured them that justice will be done quick and swiftly. As reported earlier, the Empire stated that the Imperial Navy is being revamped and will have more patrols in the galaxy. They did, however, say that the outer fringe will still be a dangerous zone and they have no immediate plans to patrol that location. So let the trader beware.

New Deal for Sienar Fleet Systems

Raith Sienar (pictured here) has just worked out a deal with the Empire. It seems that Sienar Fleet Systems has just increased their cred stick. The benevolent Emperor Palpatine has decided that it was just too expensive to continue making Republic starfighters. The Imperial Navy needs many ships to patrol the galaxy to make the Empire safe from terrorists and pirates. Raith Sienar, and his R&D department have come out with a prototype starship that is supposed to take the place of these expensive Republic Starfighters. It is still in the works, but Raith assures the Emperor that it will be one of the finest starships in the galaxy.

The Tralus Twins Captured

The Tralus Twins were captured on Tralus yesterday. The pair were wanted for charges of murder and slave trading. They are accused of murdering at least thirty citizens and abducting over two hundred. The government finally put a bounty of 8,000 credits on his head. Boba Fett, a bounty hunter of increasing renown is responsible for locating and capturing them. They are expected to be sentenced to life in the spice mines.

Gardulla the Hutt Arrested

With the recent crackdown on illegal slave trading an Imperial force arrived on Tattoine to arrest Gardulla. Her consort Jabba insists that he tried to talk her out of this trade years ago but she insisted on continuing. He denies the rumors that he sold his interests to Gardulla to implicate her and protect himself.

Terrorist Attack on Felucia

According to Imperial sources, a group of terrorists destroyed a medical station on the planet of Felucia. The research facility was dedicated to the study of Vaalan's Disease, a childhood illness with a 50% fatality rate. Military sources report that the facility was also a vital element in Felucia's communications network and it is suspected that the terrorists were using the disruption in the communications network to smuggle narcotics off the planet. One source spoke on condition of anonymity: "What we know suggests that there were at least 30 terrorists armed with military grade weaponry and artillery supported by an overgunned corvette or frigate. They destroyed the security contingent and the researchers and planted explosives to destroy the whole structure. Years of research have been lost. What baffles us is the cruelty of the attack. Autopsies indicate the attackers needlessly murdered young patients and unarmed researchers. They could have disrupted communications without destroying the installation as well. We are dealing with unbalanced individuals here. If any citizen has any knowledge regarding this incident or believe they know who is behind this we ask you to contact us immediately." Authorities have no comment on whether they suspect a further attack.

Occupation of Doron

The battle at Doron saw the debut of new military weapons by the Imperial Fleet. Our reporter Jaina Towani was granted an interview with Admiral Motti and General Tagge to discuss these new developments and the recent military action:

Jaina: Thank you for agreeing to this interview gentlemen. May we begin by summarizing what the situation was like on Doron?

Motti: Insurrectionist elements within the Doronian government issued an open challenge to the Emperor demanding certain concessions with the threat that if the demands were not met Doron would withdraw from the Empire in direct violation of Imperial Edict 42. The Emperor learned from the Separatists that dealing with terrorists is futile. I was ordered to deal with the situation. My fleet consisted of the first of our new Imperial Star Destroyers, a Dreadnaught, and a Carrack, all outfitted with TIE craft. The Renegade Doronians had an Acclimator, a Bulk Cruiser rebuilt as a fighter carrier, their orbital platform, and a few squadrons of fighters, mostly Cloakshapes though they had a few of those new Y-Wings Koensayr just released.

Jaina: While you're on that topic, can you explain the Navy's reasoning behind deploying the TIE fighter in preference more heavily shielded and armed fighters like the Y-Wing.

Motti: When you're building a small planetary defense force, a corporate security fleet, or even a pirate gang the primary considerations are cost and effectiveness and the roles the vehicle can be used in. For example if you're part of a defense force charged with defending a space installation a Y-Wing might seem to be ideal as it can fight fighters and also attack larger ships. In the Navy we will almost always have the advantage in numbers and thus specialize. We built the TIE to be a superb dogfighting craft for anti-fighter work while the bomber can excel in it's anti-ship and ground support roles. Also, it is a truism that the bigger and more ungainly the craft the easier it is to put any idiot in the craft and have them perform with minimum competence. The Imperial Navy has the best pilot training program in the galaxy and the TIE fighter is built to use that skill to it's fullest.

Jaina: I think our audience is interested in the new Imperial Star Destroyer. What can you tell us about it?

Motti: While some of it's specs are still classified I can tell you that it is a massive craft, dwarfing the Victory-Class that flagged our fleets in the Clone Wars. It has three times the fighter complement and has been specifically built with TIEs in mind. It has more firepower than any ship in active service and an impressive array of defensive weapons and shielding to protect it's crew. The ship is built with Command and Control computers enabling it to command space and ground battles with equal efficiency. We anticipate having about a dozen in service by the end of the year with more to follow.

Jaina: There is a rumor that the ship lacks the ability to enter the upper atmosphere of a planet and this has been criticized as a weakness compared to the older Victory Destroyers.

Tagge: The Victory Class will continue in this role but the enemies of the Empire should not see this as weakness in the Imperial Army. The ship has a vast complement of ground support vehicles and troops and enough dropships to deploy them quickly. The ship is also capable of deploying prefabricated garrisons onto a planet's surface, enabling the army to quickly establish a planetside base of operations.

Jaina: What of the rumors of new ground craft?

Tagge: The Empire has made the decision to retire the AT-PT and create a larger counterpart to the AT-ST. It's called the AT-AT, the All-Terrain Armored Transport. It served in the Doron landing superbly. It has enough firepower to take out the largest enemy vehicles and can quickly disable defenses and provide heavy armor support to our forces. It is also capable of carrying smaller ground vehicles and troops into battle.

Jaina: So what happened at Doron?

Motti: Upon arrival we deployed our starfighters and attacked. Our fighters overpowered theirs with minimal losses. Our capital ships with bomber support destroyed their fleet within 20 minutes of arrival. Using ion cannons we disabled their orbital station and assault shuttles filled with crack Navy troops had control of the station within 7 minutes of landing.

Tagge: The Army landed 3 corps of troops to fight an estimated one corp they had on the ground, divided among three military bases. Though they were entrenched with heavy artillery the AT-AT performed beyond specifications in resisting artillery fire and the battle lasted only 12 hours before they surrendered. Clean-up operations were complete within the next day.

Jaina: With the recent controversy in the Senate how do you feel about the continued build up in the Military?

Motti: When the Separatists defected we were caught off guard. We won that war only through skill and a fair bit of luck. When the Jedi turned on us, it almost cost us the war. We need to be prepared before the next threat arises, whether from within or without. I for one do not want to trust to luck again. Returning to pre-war Navy levels would cripple our ability to do our job and is asking for a repeat of past difficulties.

Tagge: The Army didn't exist and I think the Clone War proves to us how dangerous it can be to be undefended. I would question the loyalty of anyone who insists that a strong military is dangerous. Those who fear the hand of justice generally do not live by the code of justice.

Jaina: Thank you for your time gentlemen.

New Government installed on Doron

Following the occupation by Imperial troops last week, the Emperor issued an executive order suspending due process for all military and government officials involved in the insurrection. Local elections have also been suspended. The Emperor has installed Welt Regan, one of his aides, as planetary governor. Regan has stated, "The majority of the citizens of Doron are loyal to the Emperor and to the Empire. They were subject to a corrupt government with lingering Separatist tendencies. Due to the disbanding of the survivors of the Doronian planetary defense force I have requested and received permission to keep the brave soldiers who made this victory possible on station to restore order. Our forces are searching the planet for additional insurrectionists. Several traitors from the Doronian cabinet are still at large through we anticipate their capture within the month."

Most of the captives taken so far are on penal ships transferring them to Kessel and Sevarcos. Three Imperial Navy Warships and 3 Corps of troops are on station on the planet and are expected to remain for at least six months. The blockade will be lifted in six days and normal space traffic is expected to resume then.

Conflict over Amendments to Military Creation Act

Sate Pestage, acting Chancellor of the Imperial Senate seeks Senate approval for an increase in funding for the Imperial military. Citing recent acts of terrorism and the growing strength of secessionist movements throughout the Empire, the Chancellor stated that the current size of the military is insufficient to secure peace: "Though the Separatists have been defeated, the galaxy is still in a state of flux. Surviving elements of the Separatist cause continue to plague the galaxy and the chaos of war has spawned an array of threats. Piracy is on the increase and is taxing our fleet resources and civil disorder in the occupied zones is straining the ability of the Imperial Army to maintain order. We also must deal with the problem of the missing Jedi. We can assume that they will not stop their attempts to murder our beloved Emperor and seize control of the lawfully constituted government. The Admiralty and our Generals have asked for increased funding and more recruits to maintain economic and political stability."

It is suspected these amendments will pass with a healthy majority although there is an organized opposition party. One of the most outspoken is Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila who stated: "The Imperial military is already 50% larger than it was at the height of the Clone War. I ask you gentlebeings to consider that the money being put into the military build-up would better serve the citizens of the galaxy if put towards repairing the damage to our worlds from the recent war." Mon Mothma has also enraged many Senators by calling for the repeal of the punitive measures the Emperor imposed on Separatist planets and urging the Senate to meet with representatives of dissenting worlds to answer their grievances.