12th Star Guards and Snord's Irregulars Sent to Alexandria

Alexandria, Virginia Shire, Lyran Commonwealth

One regiment of the 12th Star Guards along with Snord's Irregulars have been sent to Alexandria to repulse the Combine troops which invaded last month. However, no LCAF troops were sent with the mercenary relief forces. There is speculation that the regular troops are being held in reserve for a possible preemptive strike against the Draconis Combine.

"This is the start of renewed hostilities between the Lyran Common- wealth and the Draconis Combine," said analyst Carolyn Thompson of Dobless Inc. "There is a massive buildup of forces on Ryde which threatens several major Combine worlds including Vega and Kessel. It's a toss-up on who will strike first."

Increased Bandit Activity in Trellshire and Chahar Province

Trell I, Trellshire, Lyran Commonwealth

There has been a marked increase in bandit raids on worlds of Trellshire and Chahar Province. In the last month Bensinger, Wotan, Somerset, Apollo and Black Earth have been raided. None of the worlds had a significant battlemech garrison and the conventional troops were ill equipped to deal with the raids.

Leutnant-Colonel Davis Winfield of WinfieldÕs Brigade suspects some sort of bandit alliance. "The attacks are well coordinated," he explained. "Each of the raids was done by a different band of pirates. We rotate our forces randomly so it's too much of a coincidence that they hit lightly defended worlds."

The bandits have captures stores of spare parts, ammunitions, food and water. Survivors said that the pirates seemed to know where the supplies were kept and were in and out quickly. They also said that the pirates seemed to be using new battlemechs.

Mad Raxx Disease Epidemic on Rochelle

Rochelle, Unaffiliated Worlds, Free Worlds League

Several hundred Odessan Raxxes have been afflicted with Mad Raxx Disease on the world of Rochelle just across the border from the Rahnshire district. The Free Worlds League government has quarantined the world indefinitely. Meanwhile, Raxxian farmers on Rochelle are killing any Raxxes that show signs of the disease.

"This is a disaster for Rochelle," said Countess Marissa Morgan, ruler of Rochelle. "Over eighty percent of our economy revolves around raising Raxxes. I will personally petition the Captain-General for economic and scientific aid for our world."

Mad Raxx disease only seems to affect Odessan Raxxes. A Raxx afflicted with the disease becomes wild and unmanageable. Most Raxxes die within a month in fit of convulsions. No cause or cure has been found for the disease, which first appeared in 2960 on Bayindir in the Free Worlds League.

This Date in History: The Kearny-Fuchida Theories

On this date in 2018 Thomas Kearny and Takayoshi Fuchida published the first in a series of papers which described their theories on faster- than-light travel. Their work was ridiculed by the scientific community since the two attacked the theoretical underpinnings of modern physics. Both men died in obscurity - Kearny in 2046 and Fuchida in 2049.

It wasn't until 2102 that scientists validated the theories of Kearny and Fuchida. That breakthrough culminated in the Deimos Project, which sent the first FTL ship to Tau Ceti in 2108. Every jumpship today uses a Kearny- Fuchida drive to transport the ship and its cargo instantaneously up to thirty light years away.