Kirkwall Base

CLASS: Adensay

GRAVITY: Partial

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: 120

Kirkwall is a small installation built by Outcasts in 805 AS inside a large asteroid field. While the once-remote Orkney system is not a part of any Cardamine routes and is not within the scope of Outcasts' economical interests, Outcast leaders wanted to have a permanent base in the system to keep an eye on the mysterious mine field, not unlike the one located in the Tau-37 system.

When the Council broke through the minefield and revealed the existence of Gallia, Kirkwall became that much more important. The potential for distributing Cardamine to Gallia was not lost on the Outcasts. However, as most of those shipments were soon routed through Genoa, Kirkwall's importance diminished considerably, to the point of a large part of the local garrison being transferred to Cali, which suddenly found itself locked between Royal Navy patrols, IMG operations, Council patrols, and Crayterian raiders.

Sensing the opportunity, the Gaians of Edinburgh and Tau-31 organised a small strike force, consisting of a number of fighters escorting a single troop transport. The force took a long and perilous route through deeper Tau systems and surprised Kirkwall's defenders by approaching from the direction of Tau-23 jumphole. The battle cost both sides heavily, as Outcast pilots stationed on the base fought the more numerous Gaian attackers to the last ship. The Gaian boarding party had more luck than their spacefaring brethren, but took a long time clearing the outpost's interior of resistance. Some of the Outcast personnel were captured and were allowed to leave on one of the few intact ships left in the hangar. Once the base was fully under Gaian control, it underwent several thorough decontamination procedures.

With a sudden incursion of Nomads plaguing Orkney, Kirkwall has become something of an observation post for any further activity in the system. Despite being an extremely valuable and concealed piece of infrastructure in this regard, this has strained the resolve of its crew and assigned pilots immensely.

## News

Professor Nagel and her team are certain the Pulse originated from outside Sirius, but are otherwise no closer to identifying its source or mitigating a future Blackout event. "Following the Blackout, we began to see immediate signs of jump hole destabilization in multiple different regions, with many ultimately falling out of phase alignment altogether", she commented. The dramatic upending of Sirius' jump hole network has already prompted many groups to abandon stations and withdraw from systems that appear to risk being cut off.
While months-long trips between the stars are possible thanks to the Liberty Engine and many centuries of innovation, few ships are designed or provisioned to make such arduous journeys. Those who were displaced by Sirius' redrawn map hope that system connections will return, while adventurers and explorers rush to discover new routes.

At present, no house stands to conclusively fill the vacuum of power in the Taus, clouding the future to secure exploitation of its rich natural resources in ambiguity. Following the withdrawal of Kusari from Tau-23 after the final confrontation in Languedoc, the lanes within the system seem to have been subject to sabotage, and Gallia has released a public statement that Orkney would instead be favored over Tau-23 for the route to Tau-31, likely owing to Orkney being the last major Tau system that Gallia holds bases in. Niobium futures have ballooned in response to plummeting consumer confidence in stable Niobium extraction, resulting in vicious multinational corporate and paramilitary competition over Tau resource exploitation. The Taus are now a lawless battleground of conflicting corporate interests, small scale military skirmishes, and pirate incursions, all scrambling for a piece of Niobium.
Given the thorough depletion of military might and expansionist ambitions in the surrounding devastated houses, chances are low that the Taus will find themselves tamed by a lawful house in the foreseeable future.

## Rumors

* That Bretonia is falling on hard times has been a bit of a problem for us. Our main smuggling route to Liberty ran over Leeds, but going through that system right now is suicide. Cardamine use in Bretonia itself is also declining. Bretonia has always been the most tolerant house in terms of Cardamine use.

* The Gallic Navy is strong, you can't deny that. But they're currently more interested in fighting the other houses, then us. They know we have a base somewhere in this asteroid field, and have thus far largely avoided it. Aside from the occasional miner looking for resources, this field is ours.

* Our leaders assumed that once the Council cracked that minefield open, Kirkwall would become an important waypoint in a Cardamine route into Gallia. Truth is that the north passage is far easier for that purpose, with the bulk of the Gallic Navy coming through here. We're keeping a low profile at this base, although we do hit the occasional supply convoy.

* We get some Gallic visitors here on occasion, mostly Freelancers and Gallic Brigands looking for Cardamine. We keep a close eye on them of course, but anyone who wants to bring Cardamine into Gallia is someone we'll welcome here.

* I don't get how those Gallics could have established a jump gate in Tau-23 so quickly. We saw the activity, but Sirian jumpgate take -years- to build. By the time we realised how fast they were putting the thing together, they had already activated it.

* Offensive operations against the Gallic Navy are kept at a minimum here. I think the higherups want to draw as much of the Gallic fleet as possible to the Bretonian front, rather then have them blocked here, and striking at Omicron 80 instead. Sensible, but it does leave this base rather vulnerable.

* The Independent Miners threw an accord with Gallia. Shows just what kind of cowards they really are. We'll do no such thing... we've dealt with house navies for centuries, and this one will be no different. Should the Gallics be driven out, the Tau systems will be ours - we'll have all the fighting experience, while those damned miners will have forgotten how to fly.

* The Gallic Navy steamrolled over most of those who had a presence in the Taus, but not us Outcasts. They know better than to enter the asteroid fields we are based in. Without the support of their heavy guns the Gallic fighters are no match for our raiders.

* There's a strong demand for Cardamine in Gallia if you know where to deliver it. The rich-and-bored see it as something new and thrilling, thus pay well for it. They either don't know, or don't care that it's mortally addictive. Me personally? I fall in the not caring category.

* If you're caught by the Gallic Police, it doesn't hurt to hint at being willing to pay a "fine". We've got men inside the mid and higher echelons, but the patrols? They often look out only for themselves. A bribe here or there can quickly cause a "scanner malfunction", and you're on your way...

* I'm here to pick up a load of Cardamine, then I'll sneak back into the Gallic core worlds. The Outcasts have the orange ice, we have the means and experience to get it where it needs to be - a mutually beneficial deal.

*NOTE: Page generated on the 28/10/2023 at 17:59:45 UTC*