The first two reports from the first Explorer group have come in. The systems explored are mostly average in value. The exceptions are in the first system explored where an asteroid field has unusually high concentrations of tricon and delverium, and in a gas giant that has a layer of hydrogen made with anti-matter protons. The space station in that system has two shuttles capable of "skimming" the hydrogen from the gas giant, and a light freighter with a mining crew for the asteroid field. No habitable planets were found in either system.
The preliminary findings on the two galaxies with sentient life have come in. The first report to come in was on the insect-like Vront. Transmissions intercepted from the planet, which they call Calrev, indicate that they are advanced in the fields of computer science, physics, and engineering, but lack agricultural, medical, and ecological knowledge. Their world is bleak, polluted, almost barren. A terreforming device has been placed in a remote location, and is starting to improve conditions on the planet. The Emperor is currently debating whether we should make contact. The other race, the hominid Bonixal, is just entering their second industrial revolution, but have vast knowledge in nearly all sciences. The Emperor has decreed that the ships monitoring the Bonixal make contact in two weeks.
A Military Alliance treaty has been signed with the Colonial Alliance. There will be shared research, especially into weapons and military training, trade, and a "training exchange" program where military personel can be trained at a Cerbian Military Academy, or a Colonial Alliance Academy(or both).
The Explorer Project is doing well, with a second ship finished and sent it's first report in, and a third ahead of schedual for completion. In order to speed up the exploration, the ships are to build a space station only at every other system, and leave a few fighters for patrol. The fighters are then to be replaced while the shuttles explore the next system, or when a supply shipment arrives. Also, a orn Fonjun Ucornal(the planet changer) has been sent to a undisclosed system in the new uninhabited galaxies with, we assume, orders to terreform the planets.
The contact with the Bonixal was set back a few weeks, as our scientists tried to decipher their language from transmissions on the planet. They have succeded in putting together a translator to help in communication. An isolated site was chosen, and the explorers were greeted by a group of Bonxes. The explorers are going to gradually introduce themselves to the rest of the population to prevent fear. The group that was meet recieved a glowing stone cut in a diamond shape from the homeworld, as a goodwill gift. More reaserchers will go to the planet later to learn it's history and culture.
Colonization is under way in the galaxy most explored at the moment, named Ventrat. Only three systems will have colonies, and colonization is expected to go slow.
We here at CNS have been shut down for over a month, to keep information about contact and colonization classified. First off, we have helped the Bonixal with a few nominal technological improvements, pushed them in the right direction with a few scientific theories, and introduced them to genetics in plants and animals. They, in turn allowed us to build an orbital spaceyard, and a military base on the ground. There are talks about further aid, and helping them colonize one of their moons, and the closest planet to them. The Emperor hopes the empire can benifit from aiding this race.
The Explorer Project now has 20 Explorer-class ships, 40 Stinger Cruisers on escort duty, 720 fighters(60 squadrons), and 1200 shuttlecraft. Fifty percent of the galaxy Jenortin has been explored, and 10 percent colonized. Each explored system that hasn't been colonized has been given outpost status, with the space station left in each one mining the planets and manufacturing fuel cells. There is currently a debate among the emperor's advisors whether or not to sell some of the space stations and their mining opperations to private industry. Further updates will come next week.
An agreement has been made with the Bonixal. The Emperor has decided to give some of the Bonixal governments some old Terran Space Shuttles. CNS could not find out where the Emperor got the Shuttles. The Bonixal will then use the Shuttles to build 5 biodomes on the surface of their moon, Ghyental. Recources produced on the colony will go to paying for the materials the colony was built with, maintaining and expanding the colony, and building the colony on the planet nearest their planet. The colony on the planet will produce for space stations and the Cerban Empire. We have provided the "Bon" with all the plans, and hope this will improve relations enough to share the galaxy with the Bon.
Jenortin has been 11% colonized, 53% explored. Ten systems have had their mining rights sold to private corporations. The procedes from the sales are going into the Explorer Project, and research into an undisclosed area. Purchacing a system gets a corporation mining rights for 10 years, the space station orbiting the sun, with the compliment of 12 shuttles included, and the right to control private, non-military ship movement in the area. Tune in next week for more information.
There has been a slip up with the Bon. Apparently one of the engineers helping the Bon got rather drunk, and told some workers about all the other races in the galaxy, and how big they are. The news spread quickly, and the governments demanded to have protection. The Emperor has assigned 5 Stinger Cruisers escorting a nearby Explorer ship to the planet, and work will begin on a planetary defense grid. The engineer who leaked the information was assigned 500 hours of spacejunk cleanup as punishment. Work is also being made to unite several of the planetary governments, since it's taking to long to negotiate with the 53 governments. As an incentive for the Bon, the Council has said that a planetary shield will be built once the governments are peacefully reduced to three.
Jenortin has been 12% colonized, 55% explored. No more systems have been sold, and none are expected to be sold for a time. Regular trade routes have developed to many of the outpost status systems, and each has two more space stations in development, one for defense and fighter escorts, the other serving the same purpose as the first, mining, storing materials, energy production, and spacedock. Additional information will be posted as it comes in.
The Bonixal have officially been declared a protectorate of the Cerban Empire. An ambassador with full staff has been sent to the planet, and the same defensive force of 5 Stinger Cruisers is orbiting the planet. They have completed construction of the second-largest biodome on their moon, and colonizers are moving in. This particular dome has been claimed by a religious group wanting to seal themselves off from the rest of their planet for spiritual discovery. The group has asked that the materials manufactured in this dome go to maintaining their own dome, and to building the others to take the strain off of the planetary governments. They have also asked that once the rest of the domes are completed, that the recources go to building more domes, which the group will occupy and the dome would then go to the Cerban Empire. The Council has accepted this proposal, but the Emperor had some doubts.
Jenortin is now 58% explored and 12% colonized. The plan for the rest of the colonization is to wait until the rest is explored, then the systems with the most hospitable planets and most productive mines will be colonized, and the rest will wait for terraforming. Updates will, as always, be posted as they come.
Jenortin has been completely explored, with 30% now colonized. Of the 7,893 planetary systems in the galaxy, 3,118 have orbiting outposts. The government has sold 750 of them to various corporations, with the rest producing raw materials for the new colonies.
The Bonixal have finished their bio-domes on the moon orbiting their planet. This is a good step forward in their development, since work was not expected to be finished for several cycles. It turns out that the Bon are very adept at learning, and after all this time observing our ships and fighters, they have developed their own planetary fighters. They aren't very advanced, and don't last long outside of orbit, but it is again a large step for their advancement. In a big breakthrough in polotics, the 53 governments of the Bon have merged until now only 3 remain. It is expected that the Bon will be in the news much more often for a time.