For canon information, see the Mass Effect Wiki page for Cerberus Daily News. This page is for CDN members' non-canon additions.The following stories contributed by Cerberus Daily News forum members were published on the CDN newsfeed during June 2014. See the main Cerberus Daily News page for current updates.
June 2014 - Week Two[]
05/05/14 - [MEDICINE] Cloning Controversy on Rannoch[]
via Tikkun Post
[SCLIFOSI] Controversy erupted in the Rannoch media today after Creator Inc, a major biotech firm founded by joint quarian-geth interests just after the Reaper War, petitioned the Conclave to lift restrictions on cloning that have been in place since before the first Geth War. A company press statement follows:
"There are two things we, as a species, are missing. The first is numbers. There simply aren't enough of us, and our natural breeding rate isn't fast enough to permit the kind of population growth we can sustain now that Rannoch is ours again. The second is genetic diversity. From the current population, we're going to run into a lot of problems no matter how careful we are. We just don't have a viable pool. Lifting the restrictions on cloning, which were archaically strict even before the Morning War, can help solve both of these problems by letting us copy from tissue samples of family lines that are long-since dead. This is the only way we're going to get back on equal footing any time soon."
The Conclave has acknowledged receipt of the petition, and issued a statement assuring the public that the issue will be carefully weighed before any kind of decision is reached. Reactions on Rannoch have been mixed and often heated, with pro- and anti-cloning protests already underway.
05/05/14 - [POLITICS] ERCS Repels Pirates, Mercenaries, and Alliance[]
via Hanshan Insider
[PORT HANSHAN] As the fallout from the Horsehead Nebula spreads, a rough timelines of the events in question has finally been made available courtesy of Elanus Risk Control Services Strategic Command.
The picture painted is an unflattering one, detailing a systematic violation of Noverian sovereignty and security by Systems Alliance Naval personnel and mercenary forces in the midsts of a significant pirate incursion. Claiming to act on humanitarian grounds Lieutenant Commander John Wagstaff, currently in SA custody pending investigation, not only defied multiple ERCS orders to withdraw from the system but landed ground troops on NDC soil. Essentially interfering in an already ongoing search and rescue operation slash pirate suppression engagement and citing a downed ship and vulnerable crew as justification; even when pirate engagement with said crew was minimal and Alliance groundside assets required direct ERCS intervention in the face of pirate airpower.
Advised by the NDC, Elanus forces diverted standing ships to contain the incursion, bringing Citadel and mercenary ships alike to heel and forcibly ejecting them from the system. Rather than engage the pirates themselves retreated soon after.
The Noverian Development Corporation released an official report earlier today condemning the actions of the Auckland’s captain and the unchecked mercenaries threat while praising both its captains for keeping a level head and Confederacy reinforcements who, while offering aid soon after the escalation of hostilities, respected ERCS orders and remained at their relay.
“Such hostility and unrestrained aggression on behalf of people who are ostensibly our close trading partners is both disappointing and ultimately unacceptable. Noveria was chartered as a private, sovereign entity and a private, sovereign entity it will remain.” The report read.
The Alliance investigation is currently ongoing.
June 2014 - Week Four[]
05/19/14 - [EARTH] Satellite collides with Citadel, highlights risks with dirty orbit over Earth[]
via The Wards Courier
[ORBIT] A nightmare on every space station came realized yesterday on the Citadel, as a sizable chunk of space debris later identified as a defunct communication satellite collided with Zakera Ward's impermeable outer shell. No damages were sustained to the Citadel, but the satellite shattered into thousands of new and dangerous projectiles with new trajectories, with some escaping from the clean-up crews to present new risks in future to space travel from-and-to Earth.
"The situation is frankly abhorring. Earth was already running a risk of Kessler syndrome by the time humanity found the relays, and the war from few years back blew the number of trash in orbit out of proportions. On top of it, all the databases and systems tracking this debris were damaged or destroyed." Maero Jalol, the man in charge of Zakera Ward's traffic control commented. Citadel Traffic Control doesn't just track ships on approach vectors, but debris as well so they can alert response teams and evacuate projected target areas in case of incoming impacts.
"The Citadel's tough shell has done a good job staving off disaster so far, but what happens if another satellite or Wheel forbid, an unclaimed ship part makes it through the gap between the arms and then hits a Ward straight on? It'll be Sovereign fragments raining on civilians all over again. We can't move the Citadel away back to the Widow Nebula at present, so we're here to stay until someone musters enough power, political and material to realize it. In the meanwhile the onus on keeping the orbit clear of junk is on the Systems Alliance who manage Earth."
Admiral Hackett's office has not yet commented on the collision or prompts from them to do something about the situation above Earth.
June 2014 - Week Five[]
05/26/14 - [CITADEL] Schools Close Due to Murder[]
via the Kithoi Gazette
Several schools across Kithoi Ward’s Saeri district were closed today pending investigation into the death of a human child. The body of Sara Bowman, human, age 10, was found in the cafeteria of Saeri Public Elementary early this morning, the apparent victim of an unknown assailant. The body has not yet been released to her parents, though eyewitness accounts of the body's discovery suggest possible organ theft.
“It’s hard to believe that something like this could happen.” said Bowman's neighbor, Maren Stratus. “That little girl loved playing with my Marius, and now I have to explain that his human friend is gone. Spirits help that family.”
The death comes as the latest in a series of similar child deaths on the Citadel. C-Sec has so far declined comment on this particular incident, citing ongiong investigation, but has requested that, given the circumstances, all parents maintain vigilance for the safety of their children.
"Know where your children are at all times," said C-Sec officer Peshner Oorlat. "Make sure there is a responsible adult with them. If you see any suspicious activity, or have information about this or other cases, contact Citadel Security immediately."
C-Sec's anonymous tip line may be reached [here].
05/27/14 - [BELON'S RIFT] Tensions Rise at Relay as Raloi Reemerge[]
via Illian Gazette
[ILLIUM] As Reaper Reconstruction Forces complete their work on on the intersection between Belon's Rift and the Athena, Hourglass, Eagle and Shrike regions, one question remains: how will Turvess align?
By all accounts, politics on the surface remains bitterly fragmented between nation-states and supranational alliances, so a unified decision is unlikely. It is known, however, that many factions of the raloi have been and remain hostile to Citadel-space interests. The so-called Expeditionary Faction, for example, is an insular, repressive body composed of fundamentalist theocracies, slaving states, and former empires. These groups have become the face of anti-Citadel sentiment, having rejected continuance of the Illian-Citadel mission within Belon's Rift during closed diplomatic sessions with Council and Illian representatives. It was also responsible, along with other conservative factions, for the mission's removal, asserting that the Rift, long a zone of asari interest, was sovereign raloi territory. In order to preserve future diplomatic relations both parties agreed to withdraw their flotillas to the respective sides of the relay and remain alert for signs of pirate or slaver incursions. Furthermore they have not contested the purchase of defensive orbital platforms and support personnel from third party planet-states such as Altakiril and Erinle.
Yet there remains a great deal of support for both the Republics as a whole, particularly with regards to raloi relations to Illium. According to recently-released reports, a substantial portion of the multinational organization known as the United Coalition Diplomatic is in favor of instituting free and open trade between asari space and the Rift. Though their efforts have been largely stymied by the Expeditionary Faction, the political tides are already turning.
"Not all of us have so lightly forgotten the wonder of our First Contact, not the good fortune we had in meeting a nation so amenable to peaceful relations, and certainly not the advancement and aid they freely provided," stated Akasho Jalin, a spokesperson from the pro-asari factionalities of the UCD. "while our decision to withdraw from the galaxy in fear and cowardice remains a source of shame for our entire species, we are both grateful and overjoyed to have been given a second opportunity to reach out."
In a rare showing of joint support both Omega and the Citadel have issued diplomatic visas and letters of passage, granting raloi delegations from the surface access to both the Greater Terminus and Citadel Space. In contradiction to their isolationist policies, no few were claimed by representatives of the Expeditionary Faction.
This publication was unable to reach any Expeditionary Faction representatives for comment.