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                               The Stargazer           Special Issue, Vol 3
                      THE News for the Dragon Quadrant
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Your UDA news source, quarterly news journal.
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The 8th Day of Sex, Year 3462.       | Sponsored by TriTeq Industries, Inc.
Issued on April 10, 1999 RL Time.    | "When you want the best, get Teq."
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In this issue:
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NEWSFLASH:
                AERNOOERN INVASION REPELLED! 

SPECIAL REPORT:
                An insider's account of the battle!


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NEWSFLASH
=========

AERNOOERN INVASION REPELLED!
----------------------------

Thanks to the valiant efforts of Ebon, Markoff, and their team of stalwart
adventurers, a recent infestation of Aernooern was repelled, and the spirit
of an innocent victim was lain to rest.

According to reports, the Aernooern were first spotted on Beta Ward, but
investigation revealed that they didn't stay for long. Before they left,
however, they murdered the wife of a prominent coin collector and robbed
his store. The owner could not be reached for comment.

While little is known about the Aernooern, Spaetor history describes them
as "Ravening monsters bent on the utter destruction of other races." The
amount of devastation caused by these beings lends support to these
statements.

By following traces, the team discovered that the planet of Alpha Rhynth
was the site of a rapidly developing infestation. Although they were
victorious, many lives were lost in the ensuing conflict. At one point the
mysterious Diamond Dragons took a brief hand in the events and protected
the outpost stations from harm. This boon came at the cost of "some life
energy present in some areas".

While seemingly enigmatic, the "cost" was soon discovered by Chief Engineer
Sk'nza Rhlahr, of Sapphire Dragon Outpost, who said, 'the special 
regenerative properties located on the stations appear to have been used
as a power source for some very powerful magic. Exactly what form that magic
takes is not yet clear to us.'

Witnesses to the event claim that the Diamond Dragons themselves actually
made an appearance to battle the Aernooern that had made it onto SDO. 
However, these reports cannot be substantiated as no physical
evidence or recordings were available.

Elethaniel Laurenthess, a well known teacher for RDO, spoke briefly with us
saying, 'While now is definitely a time for celebration, I have a feeling
we haven't seen the last of the Aernooern.' 

                                        -Smilodon
  UDA Newswire



SPECIAL REPORT
==============

An insider's account of the battle!
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The Inside Story, from Squad Member Ebon.

"I was there. I wasn't the only one there, nor was I the most experienced
one there, but I was there. For all of it. Now most of you have heard by 
now of the Aernooern, how they came trompin' into the quadrant, stirring up 
a fuss in Japan, and then in Rhyodin. I'm not going to retell that story. 
We kicked them out of the quadrant, sure enough, but what we kicked out of 
the quadrant was a small strike force. Not the entire race. Not even the 
entirety of their military, I'd wager. And there's one thing you can be 
sure of about bugs, even if you stomp one, or two, or twenty of 'em, 
there's still more, ready to crawl out and pick up where the others left 
off.

"Those of you with us in Rhyodin can remember the aid Elethaniel Laurenthess
provided. Ya see, the Spaetors know about the Aernooerns, 'cause they've 
had to fight 'em before, the last time they came into this quadrant. And 
Ms. Laurenthess, being a Spaetor and a teacher, knew about the Aernooern, 
and how to deal with them. She didn't show up to fight with us, but she 
provided something just as useful: the information on how to deal with 
them. Knowing the tendency of bugs to pop up again and again, I'm gonna 
share with you that information, so that when they do, you'll know what to 
do.

First, the Aernooern spread themselves by laying eggs. If you see some 
sticky pod lying on the ground somewhere, leave it be, and leave the room, 
or even the area. Ya see, the Aernooern hatch from living bodies, which 
are infested by anything dumb enough to stand around in a room with one of 
these pods, or even worse, try to pick it up. Once yer infected, the only 
cure is to perform the Ritual of Cleansing. Dying won't get ya clean.
DTing won't even get ya clean. Only the ritual can do it fer ya. So in 
other words, unless you have the ritual mana, and the ritual, and you know 
you can get it right before that Aernooern hatches, get away, and find 
someone else who can deal with it. If you do get infected, and you have no
way of cleansing yerself, gather a group of the strongest people you can 
find as fast as you can, and as soon as that Aernooern hatches, they should
kill it. Them Aernooern are at their weakest when they're first hatched, 
so that's the best time to take it out. Under no circumstances should you 
ever recall when infected.

Second, the Aernooern are tricky fighters. They travel in groups, usually
led by a queen. They all use sanctuary, and they all use acid. If you get
into a fight with a group of these bugs, they'll let one of their number 
act as the tank for a while, and as soon as it gets into trouble, they'll 
rescue it. Oh, and once a bug gets rescued, it heals itself back up to 
maximum health. All the while, of course, they'll be doing their best to
make you bug chow.

To fight these bugs, you'll want to do a few things. First, gather the 
biggest, baddest, hardest hitting mob of people you can find. You'll want 
a few healers as well, but if ya do it right, you won't need a ton of 
healing. Then yer gonna wanna move into position a few rooms away, two 
rooms is a good number. Once yer in position, one person should go a room 
away from the bugs and shoot one of 'em out (of course, getting back to the
group as soon as they get the bug to start chasing). This way, you can 
hopefully take on one bug at a time. Only thing is, be sure ya don't shoot
the queen. Ya see, the queen is the leader of the group, and if ya get the
queen chasing ya around, she's gonna bring the whole rest of the group with
her, and then you've ruined the point of shooting 'em out.

So now you know what we did, and no, these ain't the greatest tactics in
the galaxy, but they worked. And when yer in a pinch, which you might be 
the next time they come around, these'll work. Keep yer eyes open, watch 
out for their return, and remember what I've said. Them Aernooern'll be 
back, but we'll be ready for 'em.

                                        -Ebon
  The SDO Voice

* Editor's note: UDA Recruits Ebon and Markoff both received special 
recognition for their valiant efforts in defending the UDA and ridding
Alpha Rynth of the Aernooern strike force. 

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Editorial Staff
Editor:          Rayon Synergy
Publishers:      Infoteq, Trillian, Dranor
Guest Reporters: Smilodon, Ebon
 
Please direct all comments to Stargazr@dracon.net
If you wish to become a part of the Stargazer staff, please send email to
Stargazr@dracon.net with the subject:  Stargazer staff application.
Please include a sample of writing over 100 words in length.
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