CONSORTIA HIT BY KIMOGILA ATTACKS GALAXY PRESS ASSOC. 6th December 2004: Recent kimogila attacks on Consortia have revived fears amongst city residents that not enough is being done to control the creature population. A spokeperson for The CONSORTIUM [TCON] is quick to respond, stating ‘we have nothing but respect for these creatures…but will nonetheless do what is necessary to protect ourselves…’ Only a month after the return of prosperity to the streets of Consortia thanks to the increased revenue and traffic provided by the launch of their ‘[TCON] Drive Yards’ subsidiary, a series of kimogila attacks has devastated portions of the city. Many homes and factories in the industrial zone of The Consortium’s settlement were reduced to smouldering rubble as large packs of kimogila entered into the city’s borders looking for trouble. The CONSORTIUM, a long-standing collaboration of crafters and trades people from various backgrounds, reputed to be a commercial powerhouse in the galaxy, are even now evaluating the costs of the devastation, not only in terms of credits, property and productivity lost, but in the ecological impact of the assault. “To our dismay, many of the kimogila males have been destroyed,” says Spiglord Ka'la, recently elected Mayor of Consortia and TCON Founder, “We’ve known since the initial construction of our city, that we shared the location with some rather fearsome local wildlife, and that we had to be prepared to defend ourselves. It’s just unfortunate that events like this occur on occasion, and result in the loss of what are, essentially, some truly awesome indigenous wildlife.” Awesome is right. Kimogila are enormous reptiles found only on Lok, who have developed a notoriously strong-scaled hide to protect them from the planet’s sulphur pools & simmering heat. They are also well protected against the frequent dust storms that are accompanied by gale force winds strong enough to strip paint from your landspeeder and reduce visibility to a mere arms length. “It’s a harsh planet, truth be told,” comments Atherin Danyy, TCON’s Exploration Executive Officer, “but we’ve managed to carve out a refuge here – a place we’re proud to call home.” A home that has now had a rather salient reminder of just how harsh it’s neighbours can be. “It turns out we had chosen to build Consortia in a kimogila mating ground,” reports Spiglord, bemusedly. “We selected the flat expanse near the Mountain of the Four Winds due to promising geological features and the ease of building here. It turns out the Kimos had done the same…” Biologists have previously submitted a report stating that kimogila populations seemed to periodically gather here to breed in great numbers. Large males would aggressively compete for females and breeding territory on the expanse. Females, once impregnated, would often then relax or even nest close to the shade of the mountain. In response to the concerns of animal welfare groups, TCON was quick to point out that they were not interested in indiscriminately killing kimogilas, and actually respected the creature and its rights. “However, it’s got the reputation, rather deservedly, of being the one of the most challenging prey for hunters throughout the known worlds,” says Atherin. “It’s hide & scales can also fetch a rather healthy sum on the open market”. For now, a limited culling program has been introduced that will be closely monitored by authorities. TCON is issuing a request for the best hunters in the galaxy to assist the local population in keeping the Kimo numbers at acceptable levels. “Any assistance we can gather from visitors to Consortia would be appreciated at this time”, says Spiglord, “and we may even organise hunts in future, but at this stage our immediate concern is our own safety and security." Given the high quality of weaponry & equipment on sale within Consortia, the city has always marked an ideal opportunity for hunters of all levels to not only bag a handsome trophy and maybe some valuable Kimo Scales, but also re-equip their gear too. As the sun sets over the Lokian streets of Consortia, a city assessing the gross damage, the far off cry of a bull kimogila can be heard echoing off the Mountain of the Four Winds. Dax Hydana, Galactic Holonet