The Space Times (Issue 2)

# THE FIRST SHOTS HAVE BEEN FIRED!

***Cycle 2, 5:06 PM Galactic Space Time.***

Following a period of unparalleled galactic expansion, the galaxy has become a much more crowded space. Eagerly lapping up new star systems on an hourly basis, the hitherto-undiscovered corners of the galaxy have recently been claimed by the various stellar empires of the octopus cluster. Given the rapid pace of expansion, and the breakdown of communication between nations, it was thus only a matter of time before the first shots of the war were fired.

Though scattered reports from across the galaxy have shown that most of these incidents are being largely treated as clerical errors or random unfortunate violent encounters, tensions nonetheless continue to rise as the galaxy continues to burst at the seams.

And now for a closer look at the rise of the various empires, here's our resident political expert: SPORTS CAST0R!

## The Galaxy as it Stands

Thanks Jorgo.

Whooooeeee folks, has it been a hell of a cycle. Take a look at how that map just filled up with players.

Runnin' up to bat today we've got the Blyatian empire! Their recent growth on the field has let them sliiiiip on ahead to the front of the galactic leaderboards like a well greased lada after a visit to babushka. And speaking of those leaderboards! Take a gander at what my new algorithms are capable of generating below.

My personal frontrunners for this season are The Scourge, The Monotonous Pillagers and every bodies favorite mystery race: The Spicy Ones. My probabilistics core give each of them an increased edge over the competition due to their defensible location, and opportunity for early conflict-free expansion.

But that's just one planet-size AI's opinion. Still anybody's race ladies and gentlethings! This game's still a few hundred goals short of a touchdown in my humble opinion, so stay tuned, because it looks like there's still a whole lot of ~~sports~~ war yet to play out.

## Local Galactic Advertisements

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References required to apply.

Please forward said applications via any employment kiosk found at your nearest planetary hub.

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## Jellyfish Hoax Continues to Escalate

On multiple occasions this galactic cycle more signals began emanating from the PX Cluster, located near the first arm of the galaxy. These signals appear to be messages, some with visual components. Chief scientist of the Turtlekin Aquaculture Bureau, Jeremy Algeabloom released a press statement earlier today in response to the rising controversial stance of the Turtlekin people on the matter of the sentience of Jellies:

> Members of the galactic community, we are aware of the increasingly alarming signals coming from the PX Cluster, however at this time we believe these to be nothing more than a hoax.
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> Our people have determined that the source of these transmissions have a probability of originating within a splinter group of the Zultan empire, separatists who wish to villainize the good Zultan people by framing them for acts of gross violence.
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> We must reiterate, that we have found no evidence that supports Jelly based lifeforms feel pain, or can express thoughts through language of any kind. Our recent research with The Fenrir Whaling Conglomerate supports these findings, and we ask all of you bear with us, and to stop threatening the innocent Jelly farmers who are just trying to make a decent living around our area of space.
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These comments were made in response to a signal which appeared to come from a long-dead researcher named Aldebarus Paxii, speaking on behalf of the Jelly "people". Current Turtlekin law prevents us from posting the original video feed.

## A New Space Pope!

Religious members of the galaxy today were surprised to hear news of the proclamation of a new Space Pope. This will be the first pope the galaxy has seen in active public service since The Great Heretic was sentenced to death for spewing lies against the Gods of War. Reception of this new Pope, Tom Fool, has been mixed. To date, only a representative of Fenrir Commerce LLC has shown explicit public interest in the activities of the church. Indeed, many have questioned how serious the church can be taken after the new Space Pope openly announced his intentions to defend an imaginary race and "'Party' with the jellies under the inky sky of the Octogod!"

While the intentions of the newly minted Galactic OctoReligon are as of yet unclear, many applaud the timely arrival of a proponent of peace in a time where most can think only of war.

## Editorials

No Editorials available at this time. If you would like to contribute, please feel free to link to a page below labelled in the format:

"Space Times 2 Editorial: Title"

Where "2" is the number of the issue, and "Title" is the title of your editorial.

## New Pages on the Wiki

The following new pages of interest have popped up or have seen a major update on the wiki in the last cycle. (Feel free to add your own!)

* Galactic OctoReligon
* The Church of The First Tentacle
* Jellies