Chugoku Gate Construction Site

**CHUGOKU GATE**

**The Jump Gate linking Hokkaido is part of a controversial construction project intended to open the recently discovered mineral riches of the Chugoku system to exploitation by Kusari business interests. However, because of the natural dangers of the Hokkaido system and significant levels of terrorist activity, Interspace Commerce (IC) refused to insure the venture until the Kusari government committed to station the Battleship *Matsumoto* in the system for protection. Despite the large military presence, however, the Chugoku Gate is still a favorite target of the Blood Dragons.**

## **Bribes & Missions Offered**

* Deep Space Engineering
* Samura Industries

## Commodities

* Food Rations
* MOX
* Construction Machinery
* Pharmaceuticals
* Cardamine
* Gate/Lane Parts
* Water
* H-Fuel

## Ships sold

**Rumors
* Those Kusari types sure have lots of money and patience. The Dragons probably destroy half of the construction supplies getting here. Then they do their daily target practice on the storage depots and get most of the rest. We don't care much about the parts and machinery, as long as they keep paying us the big bucks.
* The Samura folks just made a replacement MOX run yesterday. Last one got wasted in the cloud. We're all short timers up here -- either short time to the grave, or to paradise on the beaches of Curacao.
* We pay top dollar for Jump Gate Parts and Construction Machinery. As you can see, we need a lot of replacement parts in case something gets accidentally vaporized by a Blood Dragon pulse cannon. IC won't insure this project; that should tell you something.
* Those Samura people are always snooping around. We have to keep watchful and enforce LSF and company policy. No unauthorized personnel near the black boxes or anything marked PROPERTY OF AGEIRA. Those are the rules.
* It's a long way up here from Houston. I saw a lot of Sirius for the first time. We stopped at Roppongi to switch crews and take on supplies before heading up to Sapporo. That's the last outpost of civilization on the other side of the Kyofu Gap. They make everyone put on special suits before crossing that.
* The Samura people are polite, but they keep their distance. They would prefer to do this job themselves, but Liberty's got regulations protecting our intellectual property, at least as far as Trade Lanes and Jump Gates are concerned. Keeps us in business, so I don't care.
* The Blood Dragons seem to grow stronger with every passing month. Our operatives tell us that they have not been able to determine where this organization obtains its funding. I wouldn't be surprised if it were Kishiro.
* When this Gate is abandoned shortly after completion, due to "irresolvable security issues," Kusari will finally have a prototype to disassemble and examine at our leisure, far from the watchful eyes of IC and Ageira. We chose this impossible location in the nebula with all of this interference and radiation for a reason.
* The Liberty construction workers are a foul-mouthed, disrespectful lot that care only about money. At Samura we must think of the company first, never ourselves. To help create the correct spirit, new trainees must go through a year of drills and exercises to instill the proper respect for our traditions.
* It is incredible that the Kusari public has never questioned the facts that the Kusari government has provided them concerning the economic viability of this project. Samura has known from the onset that it would never be financially or logistically feasible.
* Personally, I doubt that the Blood Dragons will stop attacking us once we retreat across the Kyofu Gap. The grand scheme to free Samura from our historical agreement with the GMG is dependent on Hokkaido providing a safe, reliable source of H-Fuel. I don't see that happening anytime soon in this area.