It is said that a Beacon burns most brightly in the darkest depths of night - as a new darkness descends on the galaxy we offer a place for hope to shine again.

We will not lie and claim to be unbiased as other publications do, our aim is to give an opportunity to all the Humans and Aliens who oppose the darkness that has infiltrated the Empire of Man to tell their side of the story. It is up to you as readers to hear both sides of the story and decide who you believe is telling you the truth.



The Empire of Man bombards a Civilian World - The Caliphates War escalates



Over the last week the conflict in Corewards has significantly escalated with a large Human fleet of Galactic Trade and Transport (GTT), Imperial (IMP) and Caliphate (CAL) ships attacking a Civilian world in Coreward which has a Hexamon (HEX) Base on it.

It began with a fleet of over a 100 GTT and IMP warships entered orbit of Xing Lannus in Astra and opening fire on the Hexamon platform and ships in Orbit. Luckily for the HEX many of their merchant ships had been flagged as Free Trading (FRE) vessels which saved them from this surprise attack; though this has resulted in the IMP declaring open hostilities against all trade vessels.

With a force of nearly 400 warships guarding the orbital quadrant against any rescue forces, the force in orbit was able to destroy the platform and turn its attention on the planet and HEX starbase. Only then when the coast was clear did CAL ships turn up to help in the orbital bombardment of the planet.

The HEX have told us that the base itself is holding well though they are worried about the civilian population on planet which are being hit which they can do nothing to protect. There are also a number of trading vessels in the bases starport, which although protected by the bases shield are taking damage and being destroyed due to the intensity of the bombardment.

The civilian governments throughout Corewards have been informed of these hostile actions and are greatly concerned. What the long term repercussions for Humanity in Corewards will be is unknown at this point.

It is sad to see noble affiliations like the GTT and IMP conducting orbital bombardments against civilian worlds with a blatant disregard for the Civilian Governments who administer these systems. It is even sadder to see them turn against trade vessels and conduct open warfare against them.

So how did we get to this point? Following the Caliphates war against the neutral traders the first sign this was to become a war against the Aliens was when the CAL declared hostilities against the DEN over the Affiliation of Free Traders (AFT) base they purchased in a neutral Coreward system which the CAL coveted.

Although the conflict was only supposed to be between the CAL and DEN in the Arridian system the CAL got the support of a large IMP and GTT fleet which attacked alien merchant vessels in Coreward as it approached the conflict zone and then launched an attack on a DEN and HEX fleet in Zewt. This was closely followed by an attack on a Flagritz (FLZ) force in Corewards heading for the Arridian Spur.

Just as the Confederacy did before, the Caliphate has managed to force a conflict against the Aliens and get others to fulfil their Xenophobic wishes - all under the pretence of “protecting” Human Interests in an area of space that is not even part of the Human Empire.

We advise all Human and Alien Trade vessels to take extra precautions in Coreward as the IMP, GTT and CAL will target and destroy you - Stay safe Captains!


THE Puppet Master - a Look at Darius Shirazi, Vizier of the Caliphate



Who is Darius Shirazi? We know that he has much influence over the Empire of Man and has managed to get alot of support for his war against the neutral trading affiliations and Aliens, however is he just another gung-ho Confederate/Caliphate leader or is he something more?

For the last few weeks we have had a correspondent investigating the past of Darius Shirazi and their findings have been troubling.

Originally Darius Shirazi came to power as part of the Falconians (FCN), rising to become a prominent Consul within the Falconian leadership. He was responsible in 208 for the assignation of the Ulian (USN) Leader Tarras who was killed by intelligence forces directly under Consul Darius. This action set back further FCN/USN relations for many years.

It was however Consul Darius links with the prominent pirate “Wolfpack” that forced him to leave the FCN. Evidence was presented by House Li’Quan (HLQ) that showed that Consul Darius had Paid Wolfpack to attack the GTT, something which the GTT seem to have overlooked now they are working for him. His influence over the Imperial court was present even then as the original charges of “an Act of War against the empire” were dropped for a lesser charge.

For several years Darius Shirazi remained off the public stage until the Detinus Republic (DTR) who was in a bitter war against the Empire of Man and Confederacy gave him the opportunity to rise to power again.

Having suffered a string of defeats the DTR seemed to have overlooked his questionable past for the benefits which his ruthless methods provided. In short order Mr Shirazi was able to facilitate the take over of Kastor and House Vehrenberg and pushed the Confederacy back in Arachnid giving the DTR some breathing room in the conflict.

But just as the DTR fortunes were changing he abandoned them to take over their enemies the Confederacy who had suffered a string of leadership problems. Quickly moulding them into his new Caliphate he set out to reverse all the victories he had achieved for the DTR.

With Kastor and House Vehrenbergs assets being taken over by the newly formed Caliphate he looked to strengthen further his ties with the Empire and gain their support for his latest war.

With such an individual orchestrating the current war the galaxy has really entered a dark time.


Facing the Darkness - An interview with the Hexamon (HEX)



The Hexamon were the creation of the ancient Architect (ARC) “Hexos” more then 500 years ago as a replacement to the first slave race the ARC created called the Hive. The Hive had been found to be inefficient and not up to the high standards their creators wanted so they redesigned the race and created the Hexamon as a similar yet stronger race in all areas.

However the system Titan which the HEX were created in was going supernova and the ARC were forced to put their new creations aboard stasis craft and several T'cath (TCA) ships to send them to fight in the ancient war with the Dewiek.

The journey was to take 2 years however the sun exploded sooner then expected forcing the ships to travel at conventional speeds to escape the system. They were not heard of for 500 years when most of the ships reappeared at there original target destination of Acrux in 198. They arrived to find a war that had been over for centuries, their masters long gone and their old enemies once more in control of the system.

Following defeat by the DEN and its allies a few Hexamon survivors made it to the Yank system in an escape pod to start afresh. The Hexamon ceased to be an affiliation for over a decade as the survivors went under many names and found themselves the servants of many emperors and tyrants.

Around 3 years ago the Hexamon found themselves for the first time leaderless and in large enough numbers to form a collective consciousness and establish self determination.

Quickly they looked to unite with their Hive brothers and grow their collective mind. As they adapted and learned they gained a great appreciation for the concept of independence and quickly allowed other races to advise and integrate within their collective.

When gathering information on the current war we reached out to the collective mind to find out what was going on in Corewards and also to find out a bit more about them:

- What do you think the HEX’s primary role and purpose is - what motivates/focuses you?

Our primary focus is the development and protection of the Hive races within the galaxy. We can only do this though by learning and working with other collectives to ensure we do not make the same mistakes those that controlled us made.

As a Governmental affiliation which maintains its own areas of space do you believe that there is a place for affiliations that are neutral and do not fall under governmental flags?

We believe the galaxy is big enough for all kinds of collectives. Having lacked the ability to be independent for so long we have great admiration for those individuals and collectives which go out into the galaxy and forge something new on their own. Being part of a larger governmental structure does not guarantee that the rule of law will be followed or that the right thing will be done. Perhaps the galaxy would be a better place with less big governmental power blocks and more neutral/independent collectives.

- There was a time when the HEX and DEN were at war however relations between your two races are now friendly can you tell us more about this?

When we were at war with the Dewiek we were not masters of our own destiny. Since becoming our own masters the Dewiek were honourable enough to judge us by our own actions. Through the crucible of war when the Confederacy began attacking aliens during the last Human/Alien war we forged a warriors friendship that has lasted. It is why we were honoured to stand with them when they faced treachery by the hands of the GTT in Zewt.

- Were affiliations like the AFT and GCE collaborating against the empire of man with Aliens?

Neither affiliations were collaborating against anyone, merely trading and sharing their culture. There was no collaboration or threat to the Human empire until the Caliphate began this war against us.

- What are your thoughts on the current conflicts, both the CAL's war on neutrals and the wider conflict between humans and Aliens?

The Caliphates initial war is just an example of the powerful attacking the powerless to take what they want, they are bullies nothing more. As for the current Human/Alien conflict we do not know what are the humans true motivations for attacking us as they do not communicate with us. It is however very reminiscent of the last Human/Alien war where they attacked us for no reason and suffered the consequences for it.

Who Are Beacon?
Based in Yank, Halo and Corewards the Beacon team is a mixture of Human and Alien traders who fly under a number of different flags. Able to gather stories and information from all over the galaxy they have unrivalled access to the events of the day.

Can others Submit?
While we have a team of writers we are happy to accept submissions from others outside the Beacon team. To send a submission send a PM to “The Beacon”.