Newland Minister shot after discovering Clan conspiracy
August 17, 29481 - Brad Talamer [Atlantean]
IRRK - Newland City (IRRK) - July 21st - A minister of the Newland Council was unceremoniously gunned down by what is believed to be an assassin hired by hardline members of the Clans.
Dr "Kozlorre" Felanski, Science Minister for Newland, was assassinated while delivering a speech as part of the Neutral Rights Day. Sources close to the Minister allege that he was not acting his normal self, reportedly looking over his shoulder and expressing concerns for his life while delivering his speech.
Before the attack, Dr Felanski was reported to be announcing a conspiracy by the Council of Truth to occupy Borealis in the event of Omni-Tek forces withdrawing from the disrupted city. The plan, supposedly delivered to Felanski by a dying man, was reported to have the signature of several members of the Council. Unfortunately, the Minister was then shot fatally with a high-powered rifle from the crowd, preventing the Minister from revealing more.
The assassin, a clanner known as "Hinckley", was soon caught & arrested by Newland Militia forces before he could leave the city. Constantly shouting about 'The Greatest Love Offering In The World' during the incident, Hinckley was later found dead in his cell before being questioned. Conflicting reports have arisen as to whether the Minister had saved on an unstable insurance terminal or whether his insurance was deleted, but it was confirmed that Felanski's death is permanent. The papers waved around were never found, and are believed to have been vaporised from the shot.
However, sources from the Council of Truth deny such a plan at all - Naughty "Playboyfixer" Will (President of the clan Digitial Alliance) claimed no knowledge of such a plan and instead took the opportunity to claim that the entire assassination was a complex plan by Omni-Reform to disrupt Neutral-Clan relations. In an exclusive interview with IRRK, the Council of Truth representative explained that, "If the clans were indeed planning to invade Newland, I'd know all about it. Except both me, Boltgun and others had no idea what he was talking about - Even his boss, Nohva didn't see the documents. Now the neuts think clans did it, and the omnis can freely point at us."
However, this theory has its share of cynics - Most notably Nohva, President of Third Faction who were one of the key organisers of the day's events. "I spoke with Minister Kozlorre before the event," reported Nohva, "and while shaken up he was definitely himself. I believe this could be Clan propaganda trying to cover their tracks. One thing is clear: The CoT does NOT want this information to surface - The virtual atomisation of Minister Felanski proves this."
Relations between the Newland Council & the Clans are reported to have cooled off temporarily in the aftermath of the assassination. In the meantime, part of the blame is being pointed at General Hekkat for lapses in security, both in allowing the assassin to kill the Minister and allowing someone to kill the assassin before interrogation. Despite the obvious sad state of the incident, a lighter note can be credited to RUR's Dabblez:
"So..you guys looking for a new minster for Science?"