Imperial Embargo Nets Blockade Runners

A GR-75 transport with rebel X-wing escorts is halted by a TIE fighter patrol (earlier footage).

CALUULA SYSTEM - Enforcing the embargo on the Calamari sector for its separatism, Imperial patrols encountered numbers of blockade runners attempting to traffic contraband to the separatist Calamari and their Rebel cohorts.

Though news was slow to leak, the Imperial navy confirmed today that its patrols have destroyed a number of Rebel transports bound for the Calamari sector in several Tion cluster systems.

The Rebel smugglers were discovered attempting to pass through the outskirts of the Saheelindeel and Caluula systems. The smuggling vessels attempted to use dense asteroid belts to avoid detection. Fortunately, the Navy anticipated that cowardly gambit.

The wayward Rebel transport Bright Hope was rumored to be among the destroyed transports.

The Navy did regret to inform HNN that a number of Corellian corvettes escaped the embargo enforcement patrols. With the transports carrying a great deal more cargo, the navy is satisfied that the embargo is enforced and the Calamari sector continues to suffer from shortages.

Other reports indicate that the some transports were subject to piracy. Furthermore, there is some indication that the Black Sun crime syndicate operated both in smuggling as well as engaging in the aforementioned piracy.

Rumors also suggest that special commendation was given by Lord Darth Vader to one Captain Lorth Needa aboard a Gozanti-class Cruiser operating in conjunction with the Raider-class corvette Instigator. Captain Needa is considered a probable candidate for promotion to the command of a star destroyer, provided he not find reasons to disappoint Lord Vader.

Empire Quashes Sedicious Rumor

Gozanti-class assault carrier Suppressor returning from patrol during which it did not encounter the fugitive transport Bright Hope

BRIGIA SYSTEM - The Empire refutes rumor and speculation that the fugitive transport Bright Hope slipped past its blockade at the Eredenn system. Those spreading this hearsay will be charged with treason.

Treasonous rumors erupted earlier today that the fugitive transport Bright Hope escaped capture by the Imperial Assault Carrier Suppressor. The Suppressor has been on a routine outer-system patrol of the Eredenn system, but the ship's political officer reports that no fugitive transports were sighted.

The rumors falsely suggest that the Bright Hope bypassed the Imperial blockade that isolates the rebellious Calamari sector from interstellar commerce.

The Keldrath Sector office of the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order (COMPNOR) has declared spreading rumors about the passage of Rebel ships through the Imperial blockade as covered by the Official Falsehoods Act. Those spreading official falsehoods about such events will be charged, found guilty, and committed to the spice mines of Kessel for re-education.

The Official Falsehoods Act covers all statements found to be treasonous to the lawful order of the galaxy as governed by the Galactic Empire. Sector COMPNOR offices have the authority to place particular falsehoods on the Official Falsehoods list.

The Galactic Civil Liberties Union (GCLU) has appealed the decision. Pursuant to that appeal being put on the Official Falsehoods list, the chapter members of the GCLU were deported to the spice mines of Kessel.

Profile in Courage: Wing Commander Lamay Purvis

Major Lamay Purvis, Wing Commander for the interdiction efforts in the Caluula and neighboring systems

CALUULA SYSTEM - HNN profiles a man of courage on the front lines of the alien rebellion menace. Major Lamay Purvis, Wing Commander for the interdiction efforts in the Caluula and neighboring systems.

Major Purvis came to his current post seemingly in the way that others come to such command posts: waiting for his immediate superior to slip up and be removed from office. However, to Maj. Purvis' credit, he added such capacities as being able to inform his higher superiors of possible loyalty issues with those around him, and taking extraordinary risks with the lives of his pilots.

All of this mastery happened aboard his first commissioned posting aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Inflexible, star destroyer attached to the naval academy on Prefsbelt IV.

In order to provide his trainee pilots with the most hands-on experience, then-lieutenant Purvis assisted with the management and public relations of the Inflexible's fighter wing being deployed to combat operations in the Quelii and then Belsmuth sectors. He grew in this role, despite (and, in some measure, thanks to) never logging any flight hours himself.

When his superior defected prior to being executed for a friendly-fire incident, Purvis was ready and rested to take on the mantle of fighter wing command. He knew how to speak to the media, command his fighters to rush into battle, and allay the concerns of his superiors.

Now, Major Purvis has once again been thrust into the limelight and the challenge of command. He has been placed in operational command of the fighter patrols operating from the Caluula system, which also cover the neighboring Brigia and Saheelindeel systems. Personally recognized for his courage and capabilities by Moff Dzon Brennin's chief of staff's second secretary, Maj. Purvis feels humbled by the recognition, but also confident that he can step up to the challenge.

His fighters' mission is to interdict blockade-running Rebel smugglers. His fighter craft shall operate in concert with Raider-class corvettes and be deployed into the far reaches of those systems by Gozanti-class assault carriers.

Bright Hope Sighted in Clariv System

Rebel transport Bright Hope ferrying contraband through pirate-infested spacelanes to the Calamari sector.

CLARIV SYSTEM - the Rebel transport Bright Hope has passed through the Clariv System en route to Calamari sector. The Empire attempts to clean up system of piracy, insurrection and weapons smuggling.

A deep space probe droid has once again sighted the elusive Rebel transport Bright Hope. After a sighting in the Rudrig system earlier this week, the transport was observed in the Clariv system. She is suspected of traveling the Tion Trade Route towards the Calamari sector.

Imperial patrols were ordered to search and apprehend the Bright Hope. While the transport was not detected a second time, Imperial patrols did encounter and eliminate pirate and traitor forces operating in the system.

The Clariv system has been a wretched hive of traitors and criminals, though in recent weeks Imperial patrols have worked to eliminate the forces of a dastardly pirate named Seedy Elie. It is suspected that Elie's forces attempted to intercept the Bright Hope, possibly in order to guide it past Imperial patrols.

Pirates, syndicates, and other Outer Rim criminals have been known to collaborate with the Rebellion. The Rebellion, being an agent of lawlessness and nihilism, provides a service to the criminal sector of distracting the Imperial Navy, Imperial Security Bureau, and Imperial Intelligence from their task of providing law and order to the galaxy. Within the cracks of lawlessness, especially in the alien-infested Outer Rim, the criminals find greater ease in plying their corrupt trades, larceny and racketeering.

The Bright Hope remains at large.

Empire Works to Secure Clariv System; Eliminates Smugglers in Saheelindeel System

Flight of TIE/ln fighters in pursuit of suspected Rebel smuggling craft.

CLARIV SYSTEM - In multiple actions, the Imperial Navy engages Rebel smugglers along trade routes in the Tion Cluster. Moff Dzon Brennin's strategy operating alongside standard operating procedures.

Swiftly responding to yesterday's reports of anarchic skirmishes in the Clariv system, Special Operations Units engaged Rebel smugglers attempting to move contraband towards the Calamari sector. The Imperial Navy's swift and forceful response, forced the smugglers to retreat by hyperspace in the spinward direction from where they had come.

Meanwhile, in the Saheelindeel system, a formation of TIE fighters encountered other smugglers while on routine patrol. The smuggling freighters were quickly destroyed by massed fire.

In all instances, the smuggling craft were of Corellian manufacture - light freighters in the YT-series of Corellian Engineering Corporation design. Some were accompanied by Rebel X-wing fighters, while others had a light transport craft as an escort.

Forensic experts are searching the debris to determine the sorts of contraband the Rebellion is seeing to smuggle through Imperial lines into the Calamari sector. Determination of the types of goods smugglers are attempting to bring to the Calamari sector will help the Empire gain a firmer hold on the needs of the Calamari sector and its Rebel denizens. Doing so, and further clamping down on those goods, will bring a sooner end to the siege of the Calamari sector and a return to Imperial peace and stability.

Moff Brennin to Lead Calamari Suppression

Moff Dzon Brennin, formerly of the Arkanis Sector, in charge of imposing order on Calamari and neighboring sectors

PAKUUNI SYSTEM - Emperor Palpatine has replaced Admiral Ren Darvox as the theater commander in charge of bringing the Calamari sector to heel. Moff Dzon Brennin, of Arkanis fame, has been placed in charge and will develop a different strategy to securing the sectors spinward of the Calamari sector and the Calamari sector proper.

After the deplorable carpet bombing of Mullan Prime and near-loss of Roodkasteel station in the Brigia system, The Emperor sent Lord Vader to assess the debacle in the Keldrath sector. Having found that Admiral Darvox failed the Empire for the second time, Darvox was reassigned to the morgue.

Moff Brennin rose to prominence several months ago when under his adaptive leadership, the Arkanis sector - a wretched hive of scum and villainy - was returned to Imperial control. Brennin, a former Imperial Intelligence officer, made use of so-called 'Special Operations Units' to seek and destroy Rebel and syndicate starfighter formations operating in the sector.

During the campaign to pacify and rehabilitate the Arkanis sector, Moff Brennin came into conflict with a neighboring naval command aimed at an embargo of the Arkanis sector. The Savareen blockade involved the use of standard naval formations of starfighters and capital ships. Moff Brennin, demonstrating adaptability, quickly bowed to pressure from the Emperor to adjust his strategy to accommodate both the internal and external requirements of bringing the Arkanis sector back into the fold of Galactic civilization.

Analysis: Galactic Shock at Rebel Bombing of Mullan Turns to Anger and Resolve - Benn Gleck

HNN Contributor Benn Gleck

HNN Senior Outer Rim Analyst Benn Gleck writes an open letter to HNN readers/watchers/listeners. He explains how we should feel and express our horror with the Rebel attack that took place recently.

Dear loyal friends,

Yesterday was a day that will live in atrocity. The Rebellion attacked fine Imperial citizens on the world of Mullan, and bounty hunters held a space station hostage.

No one shed more tears than I did. I just love my Empire so much, and the thought that someone would want to hurt us with carpet bombing just tears at my heart.

When the Imperial Navy engages in bombing, they do it for a justifiable purpose and the civilians who are the victims of bombing have it coming in the way our civilians do not. They are either collateral damage or in some measure support those that need to be bombed. Supporting those who need to be bombed is the same as being those who need to be bombed.

But when the Rebels struck Mullan, they did the unthinkable. In striking the Keldrath sector capital, they attacked those people who bring administration to these parts of the Outer Rim that are in great need of being civilized. They attacked people who have lived to help others: help them pay their taxes to the Empire; help them have their children impressed into the Imperial Army and Navy; help them inform the ISB about the suspicious activities of their neighbors; and help them know how best to serve the Emperor.

But, like you, I have shed my tears and beaten my chest. I am now resolved to support the Imperial Navy 1000% in what they need to do to bring this Rebel scourge to an end. To show my support for our pilots and stormtroopers, I will put this sticker on my landspeeder:

BREAKING NEWS: Rebellion Bombs Civilians in Mullan System

Rebel K-Wing bomber sighted in low orbit of Mullan system prior to releasing ordnance.

MULLAN SYSTEM - Choosing a civilian rather than a military-strategic target, the Rebellion laid waste to civilian areas on Mullan Prime. Empire pays bounty hunters for assistance in eradicating Rebels.

Rebel elements attacked numerous star systems in the Keldrath sector today, with fierce fighting over the Mullan, Brigia, Stalimur, Eredenn, Orion and Clariv systems. The Imperial Admiralty of the Keldrath Sector Group believed Roodkasteel station in the Brigia system to be the intended target of the Rebel attackers. With Rebel assault on Brigia thwarted, the Rebellion, instead, chose a civilian target: the capital system of the sector: Mullan.

The civilian death toll on Mullan is still being determined, but deaths are believed to be in the hundreds, with thousands more wounded and currently unaccounted for. The merciless bombing of the system by Rebel bomber craft is being categorized as a crime against humanity. The attacks are seen as being in line with Rebel war doctrine, known for targeting densely-populated Imperial installations.

The Keldrath Sector Group had initially contracted with private contractors to secure orbits over Mullan Prime, while Imperial Navy units interdicted smugglers in the Brigia system. Concerned over payment subsequent to decisive action against a vanguard Rebel attack on the Mullan system, the private contractors withdrew from Mullan Prime to Roodkasteel station. After a compensation dispute, the private contractors averted a Rebel strike on the station in the Brigia system. After a close encounter with an Imperial Special Operations Unit (a semi-covert Imperial Navy formation involving a VT-49 patrol craft and a classified class of starfighter), the private contractors opted for a generous payment from Imperial taxpayers.

Targeted systems of the Keldrath sector

Elsewhere in the sector, Imperial units fought off Rebel distractions from the Rebellion's true murderous cause at Mullan. Fighting was balanced in the Stalimur system, but the Empire withdrew from the Eredenn system in order to devote resources for the defense of more strategically valuable systems. Imperial units did remove a Rebel presence from the Orion system. The Clariv system is considered to have been invaded by either Rebels or criminal syndicates.

As rescue operations remove the dead and wounded from the wreckage left by inhumane Rebel attacks on Mullan Prime, the Keldrath Sector Group of the Imperial Navy shall reassess its approach to destroying Rebel snubfighters and small freighters operated by private contractors.

In these times of fear and terror, the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order (COMPNOR) is reminding citizens that it is better that the Rebellion is fought in the Outer Rim, than in the Core Worlds, and that such fighting and insurrection against the legitimate government of the galaxy is itself a crime against humanity, and that such barbarism will not stand.