What follows are sample news stories which I used to move the story along and foreshadow. Some are my own writing (those that pertain to the actual storyline), others I pulled from an old thread on the Palladium Message Boards (to throw the players off). Unfortunately, I can't remember who wrote all these, so if you recognize one and know the author, please e-mail me so I can give proper credit. On a related note, the very last day of news (27 August 2055) is actually based on what the players actually did (at least in part). The last story of the day was something the players were involved in, but Wilstern (if you remember him from the character's backgrounds) is offering up a cover story.

23 August 2055

Unexplained Murders Leave Authorities Baffled
Our top story tonight: The latest in a series of strange murders took place last night in the North Hanley neighborhood; the seventh in two months. Residents in the area are terrified and rarely leave their home after sunset. Just what has these citizens so scared is anybody's guess. When asked about leads, New York Police Department spokesman, Gerald Clay, had no comment. A source close to the investigation who wished to remain anonymous described two puncture wounds on the victim's neck, wrist, and legs, but was unable to reveal their nature. We will continue to monitor developments in this story.

Local reporter abducted
In other news, earlier today a local reporter, Ellis Bryant, was abducted shortly after her last news report.

The incident occurred around 10:15 after she reported on the disappearances of 12 other people. The police have no comment on the issue, and have added her to the growing list of disappearance that have been terrorizing the city.

And in other news, with the growing number of disappearances, the police and public are wondering where our local heroes are! Even the regularly mocked Laser League has all but abandoned the citizens to fend for themselves.

Urban warfare
Century Station-based Trition Industries, one of the military's Tank-automotive and Armaments Command contractors, designed the SmarTruck with urban warfare against enemies such as terrorists, mobsters or urban warlords in mind.

"The reason we were thinking about urban warfare is because the Army increasingly is being pulled into policing duties," Fuller said.

The SmarTruck might be used to ferry important dignitaries or explore enemy territory. It won't however, be used as an offensive weapon.

"We're not trying to kill anybody," she said. "What we want to do is immobilize."

26 August 2055

Meteor Showers Dazzle Spectators
A series of unexpected meteor showers lit up the night sky last night, dazzling astronomers and spectators alike. The showers were visible throughout the Western hemisphere, though the CE and EU reported similar occurrences in the East.

Long-Sought German Sub Found Near Louisiana
Shell announced today that they found the long-sought wreckage of a World War II German submarine in the Gulf of Mexico during a joint scouting project for a new undersea pipeline.

The U-166, the only submarine sunk in the gulf during the war, was discovered last month in 5,000 feet of water about 45 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River. It was not revealed to the public until after the NAF and EU governments had been advised.

The U-166 lies near another casualty of World War II, the American passenger freighter S.S. Robert E. Lee, which was sunk by a torpedo from the U-166 on July 30, 1942. Twenty-five passengers and crew on the Lee died in the attack. Its location had been known for years.

The location of the U-166, which went down during a U.S. attack with all 52 crew members, had remained a mystery to private archeologists and historians for over a century until the discovery by a sophisticated, underwater vehicle the oil companies were using in waters 1 mile deep.

Hugin-3000, a so-called autonomous underwater vehicle developed and operated by C & C Technologies Inc., uses sonar and other equipment to provide detailed images of the sea bottom. It was scouting the Okeanos Gas Pipeline, a joint project of the companies.

"Shell notified the Minerals Management Service of the find and elected to re-route the Okeanos pipeline farther away from the sites," a statement from the company said.

Last week, Shell voluntarily funded a video investigation of the sunken vessels, using an Oceaneering Inc. remotely operated vehicle. The video captured detailed images of the wreckages and provided information needed by archeologists to confirm the discovery.

The U-166 was a Type IX-C German submarine that sank 7,593 tons of Allied Shipping during its first patrol before it was sunk in the Gulf. A Navy patrol boat escorting the Lee dropped depth charges on the U-boat after the attack, and sighted an oil slick. A U.S. Coast Guard vessel has been credited with sinking the German submarine, however, on Aug. 1, 1942.

German submarines operating in the Gulf during World War II sank 56 Allied ships.

The Lee, sailing for New Orleans, had more than 400 passengers and crew on board, but only 10 crew members and 15 passengers were killed. The remaining passengers and crew were rescued by two U.S Navy ships and a tugboat that rushed to the scene.

26 August 2055

Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruptions Leave Hundreds Injured or Dead; Thousands Homeless
An Earthquake on the San Andreas fault line and volcanic eruptions in the Cascade Mountain range, as well as others in Japan, have left hundreds of people injured or dead, and thousands more homeless. Seismologists are uncertain what has caused the recent quakes, but did say data indicates there are more on the way.

EPA Finds Radioactive Shed
Golf Manor, a subdivision of Crescent City, Michigan, is the kind of place where nothing unusual is supposed to happen, where the only thing lurking around the corner is an ice-cream truck. But September 2, 2055, was not a typical day.

Ask Dottie Pease. Cruising down Pinto Drive, Pease saw half a dozen men crossing her neighbor's lawn. Three, in respirators and white moon suits, were dismantling her next-door neighbor's shed with electric saws, stuffing the pieces into large steel drums emblazoned with radioactive warning signs.

Huddled with a group of neighbors, Pease was nervous. "I was pretty disturbed," she recalls. Publicly, the employees of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that day said there was nothing to fear. The truth is far more bizarre: the shed was dangerously irradiated and, according to the EPA, up to 40,000 residents of the area could be at risk.

The boy next door, David Hahn, provoked the cleanup. He had attempted to build a nuclear reactor in his mother's shed following a Boy Scout merit-badge project.

At 2:40 AM on September 3, police responded to a call concerning a young man who had been apparently stealing tires from a car. When the police arrived, David told them he was meeting a friend. Unconvinced, officers decided to search his car.

They opened the trunk and discovered a toolbox shut with a padlock and sealed with duct tape. The trunk also contained foil-wrapped cubes of mysterious gray powder, small disks and cylindrical metal objects, and mercury switches. The police were especially alarmed by the toolbox, which David said was radioactive and which they feared was an atomic bomb.

The discovery eventually triggered the Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan, and state officials would become involved in consultations with the EPA and NRC.

At the shed, radiological experts found an aluminum pie pan, a Pyrex cup, a milk crate and other materials strewn about, contaminated at up to 1000 times the normal levels of background radiation. Because some of this could be moved around by wind and rain, conditions at the site, according to an EPA memo, "present an imminent endangerment to public health."

27 August 2055

Stolen Weapons Reportedly Used in Recent MLF Hostage Crisis in NYC
Several of the weapons recovered by NCIA agents following the assault at Imano Towers were discovered near the bodies of known MLF terrorists Michael Kainen, alias Inferno, and Sylvia St. Cloud, alias Mamano. Sergeant Glasgow of the NCIA had little to say about the situation, except to that the development is being fully investigated.

Electronics Stores Targets of Recent Late Night Heists
Several SDS consumer electronics stores in the south Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver areas were robbed last night. This news coming on the heels of several unconfirmed sightings of, quote, shadowy figures, unquote, in nearby neighborhoods. Preliminary reports indicate that no money was stolen from any of the locations, however several hundred dollars in transmitting, receiving, and microwave generation equipment are listed among the merchandise missing from the stores.

Chaos at Local Club; Gang War Suspected
Last night, Guilty Pleasures, an alternative dance club in the industrial sector of greater Seattle, housed a grisly scene late last night. Gunshots were first reported at approximately 2:30 AM. By the time G-Police agents arrived, several patrons lie dead on the floor. Three survivors, reportedly hysterical over the situation, reported seeing vampires. The three teens, two female, one male, whose names were not released were immediately taken into protective custody and admitted to the Seattle Hospital for the Mentally Ill.

Major Nero of the G-Police stated that they arrived as the rival gang members were fleeing. Several reportedly escaped capture while several others were shot while attempting to resist arrest.

Written By: Thoth
25 October 2001