Freeport 5

CLASS: Unknown

GRAVITY: Complete

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

POPULATION: 150

Freeport 5 was originally built by the Independent Mining Guild (IMG), but the base was subsequently abandoned due to the intense radiation that plagues the system. A small, particularly dedicated band of Zoners moved in soon after and declared the base Freeport 5. Despite being shielded by a planetary fragment, the intense radiation requires a constant influx of Pharmaceuticals for both the Zoners and those travelers unfortunate enough to become afflicted with radiation poisoning.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Bounty Hunters Guild
* Corsairs
* Red Hessians

## Commodities

* Water
* Food Rations

* Fertilizers
* Pharmaceuticals
* Polymers
* Consumer Goods
* Engine Components

## Rumors

* Obviously you have the skills required to survive if you have come to the edges of Sirius. As a Guild instructor I train newbie Bounty Hunters the skills that you and I already have. The first thing I teach them is that becoming a good pilot is a gradual process.
* The trick to killing Corsairs is catching them off guard. Go into their home system, find a spot to hide, and ambush one or two as they cross in front of you. Once you've made your kills get out of there, because more are probably coming.
* I'm following a couple of Corsairs back from Dublin, where they stole a shipment of Gold. The bounty on these two guys will put me on easy street for months. Once I'm done refueling and resupplying I'm headed into Omicron Gamma.
* The trick to killing Corsairs is taking them head on. They aren't used to someone getting in their face and fighting them squarely; it throws them off balance. Then you have the advantage. I know. I've killed two Corsairs already.
* This is my first time in this part of Sirius. I couldn't believe it when I saw my old instructor here. He told me that knowing the Jump Holes to this system didn't mean I was ready for them yet. I'm not going home like he said I should I'm good enough for these Corsairs.

* One of the Zoners here at this base fell in love with my daughter. When she told me of her love I sent her back to Crete. She can never return here. My son has gone looking for the man who dishonored my family.
* The Bounty Hunters at this base are fools. Granted, we cannot attack them while they are here, but most of them will soon find themselves in Corsair ambushes when they have left the no-fighting zone that surrounds this place.
* The shipyard Tripoli requires many different Commodities to maintain production of our vessels and raiding crafts. We ship Polymers and Engine Components there from this base.
* One day the Corsairs may destroy this base if we find we have no more need of it. The Zoners do not realize what kind of people we are. Death is so familiar to a Corsair that delivering it is second nature. It would trouble no Corsair to put every Zoner at this base to the sword.
* Soon I will be headed to Omega-5 to fight the Red Hessians in that part of Sirius, where it is vital that we gain control. It is every Corsair's responsibility to fly a tour of duty in the Hessian War.
* People often wonder how Corsairs can have such excellent ships when they are all pieced together from other stolen and salvaged vessels. Corsairs are masters of making something from nothing, and we have an advantage. Not all Artifacts are useless; many we recovered offered insight into the science of ship building.
* Every firstborn Corsair carries the family's ancestral blade. The knife is a symbol of our struggle to live and the solidarity of each line. The blades are made from the remnants of the first ship that landed on Crete.
* Do you know what it means when I tell you that I am a Ventru? I doubt you would understand my full meaning. Travel deeper into our worlds and perhaps then the horrible truth will make itself clear to you.

* Zoner goods flow between this base and Freeport 9 on the other side of Omicron Gamma. The Corsairs let us pass because we supply them with many of the goods they use themselves.
* Outside of colony space you don't have the luxury of Jump Gates. You must use Jump Holes to travel between systems. Omega-41 is a crossroads in this part of space. There are Holes that lead to Omega-11 and Omega-5 on the western side and to Omicron Theta and Omicron Gamma in the eastern half.
* There is a very dangerous radiation zone in the center of the system. Even very good shields will not hold up very long in there. Be careful when traveling through that you avoid it, or you may end up dead.
* My son had to flee this base. He had to get as far away from this part of Sirius as he could. He made a terrible mistake and fell in love with a Corsair woman. Though the girl loved him, too, the Corsairs would never accept such a union.
* The Corsairs and Red Hessians have been fighting a vicious war against each other to the west and north of here. As Zoners we do not get involved; we must sell supplies to both sides to make a living. My cousin is a proprietor in Omega-3 and often deals with Red Hessians.
* Drifting just beyond the inner edge of the planetary fragment field, the Independence was the part of the IMG’s failed effort to establish a Diamond mining operation in Omega-41. The debris has been left untouched for some time now, mostly due to its highly exposed location near the neutron star. It is rumored that there were Diamonds onboard, but no one is certain.
* Jesse Casas was truly an original. Captured as a young Corsair on his first mission to the inner house systems, he spent years imprisoned in Vierlande. He eventually renounced his Corsair vows and joined the Bounty Hunters Guild. Flying the Rebel, Casas used his intimate knowledge of the pirate ways to full tactical advantage. He finally met his demise somewhere in the Napo Cloud in 791.
* In 550 AS the Bretonian government chartered the exploratory/research ship Fearless to explore the fringes of the mysterious edge nebula. After several years spent crossing the outer Omega systems, they discovered Omicron Theta and its sole planet, Pygar. Upon completing a brief survey of the planet and retrieving several strange Artifacts that were sent back by courier ship to Cambridge, they continued on into the mysterious clouds that traversed the eastern end of the system. The Fearless was never seen again.