G'day to you my Phoenix brothers and sisters.
In light of some recent events I thought it prudent to advise you all of some recent security events that have taken place around some of our facilities.
Most pressing of these is the emergence of yet another group of AI's calling themselves 'Sov're' or 'The Sovereign'. This mysterious group of AI's recently attacked our (\^/)Hyperion at Livadia shipyard. Several ships, including the (\^/)Cressida were set adrift in the fighting. Luckily, Livadias repair and recover ships were at hand to save the critically damaged vessels, and no loss of life was recorded from allied ships. About 24hrs ago I was able to ask some AI's from the Consensus about this group, but I was left with many more questions after the conversation than before. The Consensus claimed to have absolutely no knowledge of the group, but let a few clues slip. Such as claiming that these AI's had been 'infected' with a virus. This seems to be a common accusation from the Consensus when encountering AI's with different opinions than their own. The 'living' proof of this would be 'Arbitrator.Intelligence' who on its own decided to attack the terrorist ZA on its own, much to the ire of the other AI's, who were quick to declare it their enemy. It should also be noted here that Arbitrator was also critically damage in that battle, unfortunately by friendly fire. If you see this particular Vessel please note that all observed actions made by it so far have been friendly towards the Phoenix, and I believe it to be a tentative ally at the very least. Now by their own admission they are aware of ZA's true hostile nature, so it seems that even the Consensus is quite capable of making errors. I also believe that they underestimate their true purpose and potential as a sentient race. AI's are perfectly capable of forming their own opinions and each should be treated as a individual, especially ones who do not fly the flag of the so-called 'Consensus'. I also find it very suspect that the Consensus have not encountered the Sov're. Or so they claim. I believe they are holding something back from us and know a lot more than they are saying. Regardless, I am issuing a rare general order for all Phoenix vessels operating in the Omicrons near the Kappa sector. Avoid these Sov're and any other unknown AI's at all cost. They seem to operate in tandem, and are capable of using very advanced tactics. Be very wary, capital ships are at the most risk of attack. And although underrated in my opinion, the AI cruiser class vessel is a very deadly threat, especially when operating in tandem.
The other issue I would like to mention is Ames station in Kepler. Finn McCool is the administrator of the facility, which brings it under our umbrella of operations. This is a very unique situation as it is sandwiched between both Kusari and Liberty houses, but patrolled by neither. BHG runs patrols through the system, but we all know how effective they can be as a substitute for law enforcement. We have received many complaints from trading vessels in the system, and it seems we are being looked upon to provide some order and relief from acts of piracy in the system. Finn, some time ago, laid out a 'Rules of engagement' for Ames and the surrounding trade lanes to me. As we are neutral to all parties, lawful or otherwise, we must be very careful in our encounters with piracy attempts in the area. I will take a moment here to remind you about how we operate. Seeing as both pirates and lawful traders use Ames as a home base or a rest stop, violence in the system is actually bad for everyone. If the lawful traders become fearful of Kepler and start to avoid it, we would have to close the doors for good as we would surely go out of business. Therefor all ships in the Area should be considered to be under Zoner protection. I have personally escorted several traders out of pirate hands, explaining that frequent attacks would mean the loss of the base, and a valuable sell point for the goods they acquired by whatever means in other systems. So far, every pirate I have encountered has understood this, and no firefights have broken out as a result. Being polite seems to make the difference, but the pirates will still break the rules when they think nobody's looking so more frequinent patrols are needed. I have moved my best Osprey MKII fighters and the (\^/)Europa a new 'Condor' class gunship to the area to help with the effort, although I think more may be needed.
Anyways, that's about all I have for you for this briefing. Remember to stay alert out there, and you will come back alive.