HPG Working on Achernar? 07/26/3133
INN - Interstellar News Network
PORT HOWARD—The events of the past six hours tragically prove once again just
how small a community Towne really is.
At 0835 Port Howard Local Time, the DropShip Red Sea landed at the spaceport in
our capital city with a priority package (and dozens of other communiqués
transported from the Achernar system via Ho) for the ComStar Chief Sacrist.
DropShips come in and out of the spaceport regularly, of course, and the Red Sea has
made numerous trips to and from our world in the past several months, each time
transporting heavy loads of cargo under contract with the Bulephron Chemical
Corporation. Normally, its arrival wouldn't have raised concern from anyone, but
today the ship landed with no cargo, which immediately raised red flags among space
traffic controllers and spaceport longshoremen.
Within minutes of the ship's grounding, the Port Howard INN office had received
calls from a dozen different individuals reporting the DropShip's unusual landing. A
few minutes later, INN reporters took several more calls that indicated the ship's
captain and some unidentified men proceeded with a police escort to the ComStar
compound.
Several INN staff reporters attempted to confirm this with personnel at both the
ComStar station as well as with members of the Red Sea's crew, but none of the
individuals would comment on the nature of the packages being delivered to ComStar,
or even confirm that such a delivery was being made. The Port Howard police were
able to at least confirm that a delivery was being escorted to the ComStar station from
Terminal 17, the closest terminal to the Red Sea's landing pad.
No one at the police department was willing to comment on record at the time, though
department spokesman Lieutenant Romona Lung later gave this statement: “We don't
make it a habit of escorting just any cargo to or from the spaceport, but in the past
we have made exceptions in cases such as the transport of human organs or
shipments vital to planetary security. We also have agreements with a number of
private concerns for the security of particularly valuable items, but only on a
noninterference basis, which means we will not pull officers off of cases or active
operations to provide this security.” When asked who they were providing security
for, however, Lieutenant Lung declined to comment.
Within hours of the DropShip’s landing, news of its “cargo” had spread throughout
Port Howard and beyond. Rumors also started to filter out of the spaceport about the
current situation on Achernar. Apparently, ComStar technicians believed they were on
the verge of finding a solution to the problem that had been plaguing the Inner Sphere
for the last eight months, though a hundred different versions of that rumor reached
the INN offices over the course of the next several hours, including some that
indicated ComStar would have the entire HPG network operational within hours.
More telling, however, was the package that the Red Sea crew delivered to INN
shortly thereafter. Included was the usual collection of news stories that every INN
office shares with those in neighboring systems. More importantly, though, were
reports from the primary INN bureau on Achernar that did confirm the rumor
circulating throughout Port Howard—that ComStar technicians were indeed close to
bringing the Achernar HPG back online. The station had received several shipments
direct from Terra, and the Sacrist reported that his station's personnel were in the
process of replacing a number of critical components within the HPG's delicate
hyperspace transmitter.
When INN staff researchers again contacted the HPG station here in Port Howard,
the Chief Sacrist was unavailable, and even the station's Public Relations Director was
unwilling to comment other than to say, “We are aware of the rumors that have been
circulating, but at this time that is all they are: rumors.”
Unfortunately, in the hours that passed, a number of media outlets brought the story
to the entirety of the world. Worse still, most relied solely on the rumors that were
circulating, simply repeating to the entire world the best and the worst of the stories,
without gaining any independent verification.
The range of emotions displayed throughout the next few hours was simply
astounding. The ComStar station was overwhelmed with calls from people all over the
world who wanted finally to send communications they'd been waiting months to
send, while crowds numbering into the thousands flocked to the Port Howard HPG
station as well as the ComStar offices located in every other major city on this planet.
From there, the situation rapidly degenerated as ComStar representatives at the offices
that were open refused to take any messages, while mobs broke into the offices that
were closed. Police departments in every city cordoned off the areas, but are
continuing to deal with still-growing mobs of citizens.
In response to the hysteria that has taken over the world, Chief Sacrist Lev Bouzerau
spoke directly to every media outlet on the world. “I'm deeply saddened that what
should be uplifting news has turned into a time of anxiety for so many of our world's
citizens. I have spoken at great length about the troubles ComStar is facing in bringing
the HPG network back on-line, and have given you my solemn oath to speak to you
only when I know something of substance. Five hours ago, a ship did land in Port
Howard with a priority package for our station. Within that package was a number of
technical documents as well as a communiqué from the Chief Sacrist of the Achernar
HPG station. In his message, he did indicate that he had high hopes that his station
personnel would soon have the transmitter back on-line, but that there was still a
significant chance for failure. He also included documentation to us concerning the
repairs, which our own people are now going over in excruciating detail.
“I have to stress, however, that a solution is not imminent. Even if the repairs work
on Achernar, it would take months before we could effect those same repairs here,
because we simply do not have the parts necessary here on Towne. I say again, we
are no closer to a solution here on Towne than we were yesterday. Please go back to
your homes and places of business and let our people do their jobs. As soon as we
have information, I will speak directly to you again. You have my word on that. But
you also have my solemn vow that I will not give you false hope. I will not spread the
type of wild rumors that have plagued this world today.”
Governor Renee Oscar followed up with these comments. “People of Towne, I
exhort you to heed the Sacrist's words. Go home. I know the next few days will be
difficult as you deal with the broken hopes we all experienced today, but that is what
we must do. Do not blame ComStar. They did not concoct the wild rumors that some
malicious individuals spread today. I have granted a limited immunity to all who have
taken to the streets today, but you must disperse now or face serious penalties.
Please, I ask of you. Disperse and go home!”
Unfortunately, relatively few have heeded the Governor's words. As of 14:35 Port
Howard Local Time, rioting crowds numbering in the hundreds and thousands have
overtaken eight major cities, including the capital. Police departments across the globe
have called in additional help and the Towne Militia is mobilizing to aid in crowd
control and looting patrols.
Towne Log
+ Whoa! You know, I was watching the news feed all morning. I am continually
amazed at just how much people believe the media. Especially HNIS. They're the first
ones who said that a fix was hours away, and even PNC was cautioning people to
wait and see, and you know how sensationalistic they like to get! How anyone can
keep listening to HNIS is beyond me. Doesn't anyone remember just how badly they
screwed up their reporting of the Contrina Fire or the Kreszylev murder case? :- Rai
Den
+ It’s human nature. We want to believe the best. Can you blame anyone? :- Fight4Lif
+ Actually, I can. It's human nature all right, but not the way you think it is. People
are inherently stupid. Those aren't intelligent people out there. Those are people caught
up in the mob mentality. People who need to be a part of something, and what they're
a part of is criminal action. :- CMike
+ I've seen some of the preliminary reports to come out of Achernar. I've got some
friends who are engineers and who watched some of the repairs that ComStar made
on the HPG. It looks like they replaced the entire transmitter array. The Sacrist is
right. Even if it works on Achernar, it'll take a long time before we can get ours
working again. Think about it. The HPG is pretty much like a JumpShip's jump core,
just with a transmitter attached. If the field generator has to be replaced . . . well,
that's not something they're going to have just sitting on a shelf somewhere. That's
got to be specially manufactured. :- McDan
+ There’s something wrong. Something's missing here. ComStar isn't telling us the
whole story. Those rumors that got started this morning came directly from the ship’
s crew. They heard all the news from Achernar first hand, and they talked directly
with the ComStar people in at least three systems. You don’t think their information is
good? And think about this. Lev Bouzerau is relatively new here. How do you think he
got the job? The ComStar First Circuit put him here so that they could have someone
who could put the right spin on things. I’m coming to think that the blackout was a
surprise to the ComStar rank and file. But there's someone who's keeping things from
working, and Bouzerau is working for them. There's a faction within ComStar that is
keeping the HPGs from working, and now they've gotta keep that information from
leaking out. :- Hippee
INN - Interstellar News Network
PORT HOWARD—The events of the past six hours tragically prove once again just
how small a community Towne really is.
At 0835 Port Howard Local Time, the DropShip Red Sea landed at the spaceport in
our capital city with a priority package (and dozens of other communiqués
transported from the Achernar system via Ho) for the ComStar Chief Sacrist.
DropShips come in and out of the spaceport regularly, of course, and the Red Sea has
made numerous trips to and from our world in the past several months, each time
transporting heavy loads of cargo under contract with the Bulephron Chemical
Corporation. Normally, its arrival wouldn't have raised concern from anyone, but
today the ship landed with no cargo, which immediately raised red flags among space
traffic controllers and spaceport longshoremen.
Within minutes of the ship's grounding, the Port Howard INN office had received
calls from a dozen different individuals reporting the DropShip's unusual landing. A
few minutes later, INN reporters took several more calls that indicated the ship's
captain and some unidentified men proceeded with a police escort to the ComStar
compound.
Several INN staff reporters attempted to confirm this with personnel at both the
ComStar station as well as with members of the Red Sea's crew, but none of the
individuals would comment on the nature of the packages being delivered to ComStar,
or even confirm that such a delivery was being made. The Port Howard police were
able to at least confirm that a delivery was being escorted to the ComStar station from
Terminal 17, the closest terminal to the Red Sea's landing pad.
No one at the police department was willing to comment on record at the time, though
department spokesman Lieutenant Romona Lung later gave this statement: “We don't
make it a habit of escorting just any cargo to or from the spaceport, but in the past
we have made exceptions in cases such as the transport of human organs or
shipments vital to planetary security. We also have agreements with a number of
private concerns for the security of particularly valuable items, but only on a
noninterference basis, which means we will not pull officers off of cases or active
operations to provide this security.” When asked who they were providing security
for, however, Lieutenant Lung declined to comment.
Within hours of the DropShip’s landing, news of its “cargo” had spread throughout
Port Howard and beyond. Rumors also started to filter out of the spaceport about the
current situation on Achernar. Apparently, ComStar technicians believed they were on
the verge of finding a solution to the problem that had been plaguing the Inner Sphere
for the last eight months, though a hundred different versions of that rumor reached
the INN offices over the course of the next several hours, including some that
indicated ComStar would have the entire HPG network operational within hours.
More telling, however, was the package that the Red Sea crew delivered to INN
shortly thereafter. Included was the usual collection of news stories that every INN
office shares with those in neighboring systems. More importantly, though, were
reports from the primary INN bureau on Achernar that did confirm the rumor
circulating throughout Port Howard—that ComStar technicians were indeed close to
bringing the Achernar HPG back online. The station had received several shipments
direct from Terra, and the Sacrist reported that his station's personnel were in the
process of replacing a number of critical components within the HPG's delicate
hyperspace transmitter.
When INN staff researchers again contacted the HPG station here in Port Howard,
the Chief Sacrist was unavailable, and even the station's Public Relations Director was
unwilling to comment other than to say, “We are aware of the rumors that have been
circulating, but at this time that is all they are: rumors.”
Unfortunately, in the hours that passed, a number of media outlets brought the story
to the entirety of the world. Worse still, most relied solely on the rumors that were
circulating, simply repeating to the entire world the best and the worst of the stories,
without gaining any independent verification.
The range of emotions displayed throughout the next few hours was simply
astounding. The ComStar station was overwhelmed with calls from people all over the
world who wanted finally to send communications they'd been waiting months to
send, while crowds numbering into the thousands flocked to the Port Howard HPG
station as well as the ComStar offices located in every other major city on this planet.
From there, the situation rapidly degenerated as ComStar representatives at the offices
that were open refused to take any messages, while mobs broke into the offices that
were closed. Police departments in every city cordoned off the areas, but are
continuing to deal with still-growing mobs of citizens.
In response to the hysteria that has taken over the world, Chief Sacrist Lev Bouzerau
spoke directly to every media outlet on the world. “I'm deeply saddened that what
should be uplifting news has turned into a time of anxiety for so many of our world's
citizens. I have spoken at great length about the troubles ComStar is facing in bringing
the HPG network back on-line, and have given you my solemn oath to speak to you
only when I know something of substance. Five hours ago, a ship did land in Port
Howard with a priority package for our station. Within that package was a number of
technical documents as well as a communiqué from the Chief Sacrist of the Achernar
HPG station. In his message, he did indicate that he had high hopes that his station
personnel would soon have the transmitter back on-line, but that there was still a
significant chance for failure. He also included documentation to us concerning the
repairs, which our own people are now going over in excruciating detail.
“I have to stress, however, that a solution is not imminent. Even if the repairs work
on Achernar, it would take months before we could effect those same repairs here,
because we simply do not have the parts necessary here on Towne. I say again, we
are no closer to a solution here on Towne than we were yesterday. Please go back to
your homes and places of business and let our people do their jobs. As soon as we
have information, I will speak directly to you again. You have my word on that. But
you also have my solemn vow that I will not give you false hope. I will not spread the
type of wild rumors that have plagued this world today.”
Governor Renee Oscar followed up with these comments. “People of Towne, I
exhort you to heed the Sacrist's words. Go home. I know the next few days will be
difficult as you deal with the broken hopes we all experienced today, but that is what
we must do. Do not blame ComStar. They did not concoct the wild rumors that some
malicious individuals spread today. I have granted a limited immunity to all who have
taken to the streets today, but you must disperse now or face serious penalties.
Please, I ask of you. Disperse and go home!”
Unfortunately, relatively few have heeded the Governor's words. As of 14:35 Port
Howard Local Time, rioting crowds numbering in the hundreds and thousands have
overtaken eight major cities, including the capital. Police departments across the globe
have called in additional help and the Towne Militia is mobilizing to aid in crowd
control and looting patrols.
Towne Log
+ Whoa! You know, I was watching the news feed all morning. I am continually
amazed at just how much people believe the media. Especially HNIS. They're the first
ones who said that a fix was hours away, and even PNC was cautioning people to
wait and see, and you know how sensationalistic they like to get! How anyone can
keep listening to HNIS is beyond me. Doesn't anyone remember just how badly they
screwed up their reporting of the Contrina Fire or the Kreszylev murder case? :- Rai
Den
+ It’s human nature. We want to believe the best. Can you blame anyone? :- Fight4Lif
+ Actually, I can. It's human nature all right, but not the way you think it is. People
are inherently stupid. Those aren't intelligent people out there. Those are people caught
up in the mob mentality. People who need to be a part of something, and what they're
a part of is criminal action. :- CMike
+ I've seen some of the preliminary reports to come out of Achernar. I've got some
friends who are engineers and who watched some of the repairs that ComStar made
on the HPG. It looks like they replaced the entire transmitter array. The Sacrist is
right. Even if it works on Achernar, it'll take a long time before we can get ours
working again. Think about it. The HPG is pretty much like a JumpShip's jump core,
just with a transmitter attached. If the field generator has to be replaced . . . well,
that's not something they're going to have just sitting on a shelf somewhere. That's
got to be specially manufactured. :- McDan
+ There’s something wrong. Something's missing here. ComStar isn't telling us the
whole story. Those rumors that got started this morning came directly from the ship’
s crew. They heard all the news from Achernar first hand, and they talked directly
with the ComStar people in at least three systems. You don’t think their information is
good? And think about this. Lev Bouzerau is relatively new here. How do you think he
got the job? The ComStar First Circuit put him here so that they could have someone
who could put the right spin on things. I’m coming to think that the blackout was a
surprise to the ComStar rank and file. But there's someone who's keeping things from
working, and Bouzerau is working for them. There's a faction within ComStar that is
keeping the HPGs from working, and now they've gotta keep that information from
leaking out. :- Hippee
| July 26, 3133 |