Miriani

Tensions Escalate Between Alliances

A motion was proposed two days ago by a committee of private starship pilots within the Alliance of Interstellar Expansionists to downgrade relations with the Commonwealth of Free Spirits, denying spaceport services to and allowing for privateer action against starships registered to Commonwealth citizens. While current levels of voting indicate that the measure will fail, the proposals have raised the hackles of many important figures on all sides, and many underlying tensions have been revealed.

A poll of opinions amongst AIE civilians has shown that an astonishing 39% would approve of military intervention against the Commonwealth. This poll was taken the day after initial news reports explained that the main reasoning behind the motion to declare hostility is due to the Commonwealth's nonchalant attitude to its pilots committing acts of piracy. "In a war for survival against an alien race, for such acts of piracy to be committed by the Commonwealth's pilots without punishment by their alliance amounts to nothing less than state-endorsed treason. If the pilots of the AIE believe problems have gotten to the point where intervention by the whole alliance is necessary, their alliance is 100% behind them." So said Harold Friedman, the Defense Secretary for the AIE. It would appear that the Commonwealth government is not in such cavalier spirits. In a terse statement issued by domestically troubled Commonwealth leader Hans Slavik, it was said that "the AIE needs to clean up its own back yard, which is full of pirates and crooks itself, before it criticizes other alliances for failing to regulate its pilot membership. Quite frankly, the claims of Mr. Friedman are completely without merit and the AIE is wholly out of line to criticize anyone on this issue." When asked to comment on this statement, the Secretary of Defense assured us that he fully intended to tighten up on AIE's policies regarding piracy during peacetime.

In other news, there are reports of an alliance between the AIE and the Hale being hashed out behind the scenes; undergoing for some time now, but emerging in the public eye amid recent sponsorship by AIE and Hale pilots. All figures in the AIE contacted declined to comment. Silvio Alvares, current Hale Economic Development Minister, stated that, "A mutually beneficial arrangement is being made, and it is truly exciting to be working on it [with the AIE]. Although it has been under wraps for a long time, we have been working with the AIE government on a deal which will greatly benefit both of our alliances, yes, in a military sense, but in a far more spectacular sense in other areas; the Hale, and of course, the AIE, will be the rising stars for years to come." He refused to clarify on the nature of the terms of alliance, saying that "An official announcement will be made when the time is right. I won't say anything beyond the fact that it will give a huge surge of growth to our increasingly industrious economies." It is thought that the rising tensions have allowed Hale diplomats to make a breakthrough with proposals of a mutual technological and military partnership of unknown scale.

Dated: 01/03/2357