TOP TEN WEB TRAVEL TIPS

By Tom Topptin - FNF Staff

We all know Web Travel is the safest method of speedy interplanatary travel (heck, it's the ONLY way!), and we at the Fringe News Feed want to make sure our readers are safe and healthy as they walk the Fringe. With the recent issues plaguing web travel (that have thankfully died down), we at the Fringe News Feed are here to provide our top ten Web Travel tips, as compiled by our edititorial staff and readers such as yourselves.

1. Plan Ahead - Unless you are a licensed Web Guide (and even for them, it's a hassle), it is VERY difficult to just walk up to a Gate and hitch a ride. Make sure to arrive at the Web Station at least one hour before traveling so you can deal with customs and security. If possible, try to greet your Web Guide beforehand and learn his or her name. It is polite, and in the event of running for your life from a Shiver, you'll know who you need to protect!

2. Pack Light - Travel in the Web Ways isn't like travel on a transport or a shuttle. YOU provide most of the power with your own two legs (or a motorchair for the handicapable traveler). You WILL be walking at least an hour or so, usually longer, but there may be "rest stops" along the way on Nodes. So all that luggage you are thinking about carrying? Remember that YOU will be the one carrying it.

3. Fashion Sense - The Ways are chilly for the most part, so make sure to dress in layers. If you are traveling to a warmer destination, you can easily unlayer to acclimatize yourself. If you are traveling to a colder destination, you can throw on some more clothes. Do try to look your best, though. No one wants to be caught in last year's cargo pants if they have to run screaming out of a gate while being pursued by Chills.

4. Stay on the Path - The Ways are very interesting to look at, with lots of swirls, colors, flashes of light, and so forth, but remember this rule: Do Not Stray From The Path. Stick with your Web Guide (or Guides), and do not leave the path. Sure, you might be tempted by the sight of something just outside your periphrial vision that is just aching to be chased, but resist your curiousity and stay with the group. You know what we call people who stray from the Path who aren't found? Chills.

5. Know Your Nodes - For longer trips, you may have a slight layover on a Node as your change web paths or wait for another to come into alignment. Nodes are generally stable sections of the Ways that paths connect to and from. While you wait for your next Path to open, you can sit and relax, perhaps have a bite to eat, and chit chat with your fellow passengers. Making friends will be handy in case you need to fend off a Chill or Marauder attack.

6. Guide Safety - Your Web Guide (or Guides) is probably the most important person in your travel group, because he or she is the ONLY thing that can keep you going in the right direction AND get you out of the web ways safely. Even if you are right at the end of a Way, if you have no Guide to open it, you are stuck. Keep your Web Guides safe!

7. Always Be Prepared - As safe as the Ways can be, sometimes something goes wrong. Someone gets a cramp, someone forgets to pack water, Shivers descend to suck your very lifeforce from your fleshy body. You know, things happen. With that in mind, it is a good idea to bring along a little food and water, as well as some weapons in your travel kit. Extra ammunition is also not a bad idea for those of you who carry firearms. You never know when you'll be diverted to Erlik due to a random Marauder raid on a Node.

8. Cardio - In many emergency situations, the best Defense is a good "running away"-ense. You may need to flee from the aforementioned Marauders or Chills, so wear a good comfortable pair of shoes and be ready for running. Screaming is, of course, optional.

9. Know your Foe - The Ways are full of Chills and their bigger siblings, so here is how to recognize them, listed in ascending order of Lethality:
- Chills - Shadow-like humanoid forms with Grey faces. Their touch causes bone-chilling cold and will act like a stun stick. Known to drain heat and vitality from downed victims. A good Force Screen should keep them off you, or heavy armor. Normal weapons will work against these.
- Shivers (blue) - These look like blue-faced Chills that glow eerily in the dark. They actually manifest shadowy claws, and are tougher than Chills. Can blow a Force Screen or put a dent in heavy armor.
- Shivers (green) - These look like green-faced Chills that glow eerily in the dark. These can also manifest shadowy claws, can rend armor in just a few swings, and are generally immune to bullets. Nasty and tough, unless you are well armed this is when you run. Rare.
- Wraiths - These are monstrous shadowy creatures with glowing red eyes. RUN! Do not engage, do not attempt conversation even if they speak, just run as fast as you can. Capable of feats beyond anything Shivers and Chills can manifest. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. Very Rare.

10. News You Can Use - Always check to see if there are any problems with Web Travel before stepping through a Gate. Stay tuned to the Fringe News Feed and your local feeds for the latest information on Web Travel! Forewarned is Forearmed!

TREASON ON NARAKA

By TalkFast

Will Deewon: Corporate Candidate or Zigany Sellout?

The earthquake-prone planet Naraka may see other troubling tremors soon, in the form of an ugly political shakeup. The Naraka Board of Directors is due to hold a new election soon, and a new dark horse candidate, Will Deewon of Kandel Ceramics, is rapidly gaining favor amongst the Board Members, but what does the public really know about this gladhanding hopeful?

Current Chairman Lei Cha Vong of Orpheon has reportedly turned away Zigany diplomats who approached him looking to establish a permanent Zigany envoy on the planet. As reported previously by the FNF, these alien clones have designs on taking over Fringe planets and stealing our children.

Deewon, however has been spotted meeting in secret with Zigany diplomats, undoubtedly promising them Fringer children to experiment on if they will help him win the election! He has publicly expressed interest in more official negotiations with Zigany should he win the upcoming election.

Deewon was also previously a lawyer for the Canto Group, who were connected to the Cadix “Zombie Virus” outbreak on Eclipse a few years ago. Who knows what Zigany scientists could cook up between advanced mutations and the Cadix virus? Perhaps they are planning to create a zombie mutant army to put at the Zigany’s disposal to fight the Empire?

Deewon’s office was not available for comment to journalists.

NAUTICAL ODDITY or CURSED SEAS?

By TalkFast

Freak Storms, Vanishing Ships Plague Vajra. Do mysterious malevolent forces haunt the seas?

Sailors and merchants alike in the Varja city of Voreko are worried. This place is home to the most skilled boatsmen in the Galaxy, and it’s said that no storm truly frightens them, but recent events have even the most hardened captains talking of curses and uncanny events.

Over a dozen vessels have disappeared without a trace in strange storms, and the few who survived say this is not natural weather, even for storm-wracked Varja. The surviving crew of the Argon, whose sister ship the Meanar was lost recently, claimed to have seen brilliant lightning flashes and felt terrible waves of fear before the Meanar disappeared into the storm. One crewman commented “Something was not right. This was no boating accident.”

Even more strange are the events witnessed by Liam McKarn, captain of the Ossam Star, the most recent ship to be caught in a storm on Vajra.
He spoke to one of our reporters over drinks at a Voreko bar.

“We were sure we were a’gonna go under! I’d n’er seen waves this ‘uge before! I’d been ‘earing rumors about tha other lost ships, sayin’ they were taken by ghosts an’ tha like.”

McKarn’s strong callused hands shaking slightly as he clutched a pint Nogg’s Grog and told his chilling tale.

“ Well, a terrible fear gripped me ‘eart an’ I could swear I saw dark shapes movin’ about me crew, we were all so terrified, an’ all me hollerin’ at them to man their posts ‘ad nae effect. Then, an’ I swears by Tane this be true, in tha clouds I swear I saw a terrible fight. A great beasty of a man all wrapped in shadows was fightin’ this woman in swirly garb. Now, with tha lightening an’ tha thunder I could nae see much, but I swear twas the Empress! I think she was fightin’ with Nidrigg in tha skies! An’ then there was an awful scream an’ tha storm dissipated like it was never there! I tell ye, I went and drowned my fears when we made port, by Tane’s light I shore did!”

MEURLAIN CONTROL OF IMPERIAL STOCK MARKET EXPOSED!

By Edgar Nyse, guest columnist

In my short life I had thought I had seen it all. I was a believer that the stock market finds the best price of a stock pending all of the information that is presently known. Now I stand in disgust after listening to Juras Huron explain how he, and many other hedge fund operators, move the market on a daily basis. However What I found most interesting is how he made it so clear that the talking heads on financial vids and web burst transmissions are in bed with Meurlain hedge fund managers. I have always questioned some of the Meurlain who sit and talk the market up and down on a near daily basis but until now, I did not understand the reason. But when you hear it from Juras’ mouth that hedge fund managers literally call up the Meurlain to show them some evidence of a market movement that the Meurlain himself has created - that was the final straw.

As can be seen by the most recent brain scans of the typical Imperial Hedge Fund Manager (subjects name anonymous to protect source) the frontal cortex and impulse areas have been affected by chemicals responding directly neuron dampening chemicals.

What does this all mean? First a brief explanation on Corporations and Hedge Funds. Sociologist, author, and financial journalist Alfred W. Kree is credited with the creation of the first hedge fund approximately 120 years ago. Kree believed that changes in asset prices can be attributed partly to factors specific to the asset in question and partly to trends in the market as a whole. To neutralize the effect of overall market movement, he balanced his portfolio by buying assets whose price he expected to increase in the future, relative to the overall performance of the market, and selling short assets whose price he expected to decrease. He saw that price movements due to the overall market would balance out because, if the overall market rose, the loss on shorted assets would be cancelled by the additional gain on longed assets and vice-versa. By taking this approach his investment strategy was market neutral, as returns depended only on him picking the right stock, not on whether the stock market went up or down. Kree referred to his fund as being "hedged" to describe how the fund managed risk exposure from overall market movement. This type of portfolio became known as a hedge fund.

This translated to a large group of private investors from the major houses investing money in their own and other house corporations. This was seen as a good thing since this should have stimulated all the houses to ensure the success of all houses. What occurred shortly after, was the understanding that in selling high amounts of another corporation’s stocks could cause a ripple effect that would weaken the stock price of a corporation. The innate greed of most high level House investors has off set this, even in times of inter-house feuding. But a survey of past investments shows an abnormal amount of good grace among Hedge Fund managers.

The truth has finally been revealed, with each house having a cadre of Meurlain in their “employee” the role of the guide becomes blurred. It has been proven that Meurlain have used mental psionic as well as hypno-therapy and outright drug control methods to influence these hedge fund managers, thus controlling the stock prices, and thus controlling the corporations. As you can see from the analysis below, even with overall movement in the market, all trends remain within stabilized forecasts, a virtual impossibility without outside manipulation. It is no wonder the Meurlain need no standing army, they have the entire Imperial Banking and Commerce system in the palm of their hands (or test tubes).

Symbol	Last Close	Volume	Engine Rating	Momentum (%)	Momentum Ranking	Multi-Year Forecast (%)
WMDTC	73.34	893,721,398	4	22.31	3	3.45
BLKSTR	82.22	8,789,473	3	31.111	1	2.42
SKVW	32.64	497,324,987	2	8.71	5	-1.98
IMPWAN	10.33	939,847,293	2	-10.75	8	5.48
JNTCHI	65.77	37,472,975	4	6.54	6	1.22
BLULIT	98.76	4,897,398	3	28.91	2	9.75
HALOID	34.26	784,972,399	4	-2.441	7	2.05
HRNARM	72.90	7,329,339	3	18.769	4	8.91

How long have the Murelain held such a tight control over the finances of the Imperium? What have they been doing with these funds? How long will this control continue? How dependent are the Imperials on these psionic drugs?

These are questions beyond the scope of this article. One thing is certain, no one has seen the end of this.