Kinkaku-ji Station

CLASS: Hangyaku

GRAVITY: Complete

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: 1.1K

Kinkaku-ji Station was constructed in 826 AS, as a shrine dedicated to the founder of the Golden Chrysanthemums - Yuyu Matsuda, and the patron goddess of the movement - Amaterasu. The shrine itself is located in the central biodome, where artificial sunlight basks the gardens and the Heian-era architecture. Restricted areas include a Cardamine-laced atmosphere.

What first started as a small religious outpost, quickly grew as smugglers found their way to the station and bargained aboard. The Golden Chrysanthemums built around the main biodome to accommodate the increased traffic. While the shrine remained off-limits to most visitors, a lively market of Cardamine, arms-deals, and human male trafficking began to flourish. Pure Gold is imported at a hefty price by virtue of the insatiable desire to fashion gleaming, customary ornaments.

The Golden Chrysanthemums recognized and utilized the funds generated by their smuggling operations, and made the first steps towards converting Kinkaku-ji into a shipyard. Initially, it could only produce snubcraft, but with Outcast assistance, the shipyard was expanded to facilitate gunboats. In 828 AS, the drydocks developed further, attaining the ability to maintain and repair cruiser class vessels.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Outcasts

* Outcasts
* Blood Dragons

## News

Partially as a result of the geological activity, the equatorial monsoon season produced some of the strongest tropical storms ever recorded on Kyushu since its colonisation. These storms devastated the world's agricultural sector as they blew through the most fertile tropical lowlands, destroying as much as 20%% of the planet's annual crop yield, on top of damage to infrastructure and tragic loss of human life.
Many rural communities are reported to be struggling, with some farming communities still remaining flooded ghost towns even a month after the worst of the storms abated, though smaller-scale tempests still rage around the equator. A Samura spokesperson outlined the company's intent to restore the planet and its communities to full productivity by the middle of next year, despite the ongoing circumstance.

Immediately upon learning of this, Battleship Matsumoto and its battlegroup were redeployed from Hokkaido, and within two days were poised and ready to face this new threat. Only a short few hours later, a patrol of fighters reported a warship with the transponder reading Battleship Matsuda operating in the relative open, heading for but not yet reaching the relative safety of the Seiran Dust Cloud.
Matsumoto itself departed with its escort to confront the Chrysanthemum battleship, close to the edge of the nebula. Within minutes of it coming into sensor range, bomber and fighter squadrons from both sides closed in and opening salvos were exchanged between the battleships. It didn't take long before the KNF's preparation was shown to be well worthwhile; their superior numbers whittled down or otherwise preoccupied the Chrysanthemum's fighter force leaving a variety of openings in the Matsuda's defensive cover for KNF bombers to exploit.
While the Matsumoto was withstanding a heavy beating from the guns of its older sister, it was plain that the Matsuda was slowly being whittled away as its shields began to fail and the very same engine design flaws that had rendered it immobile in KNF service were now exploited by bomber wings to once again cripple the warship.
After several more minutes, the Matsuda's escape pods began to eject from the ailing battleship, picked up by Chrysanthemum fighters as they fled deeper into the Seiran dust cloud. It didn't take long thereafter for the ship's powercore to falter and fail completely, culminating in a vast explosion that reportedly almost turned night to day on the dark side of Planet Kyushu, if only for a split second.
Matsumoto itself sustained moderate damage in the engagement, relatively untouched by Chrysanthemum bombers however still suffering the ill effects of Matsuda's anti-capital weaponry. Despite its damage, it remains deployed in the Kyushu system to continue the blockade of the cardamine trade and to serve as a show of force to any who would challenge the might of the Emperor.

The Cardamine shortage has taken a toll on the fighting ability and courage of our sisters, who have refused several combat assignments and we have been forced to rely more heavily on the assistance of our allies, the Blood Dragons, who have of course attempted to discourage our sisters from taking Cardamine and some have even insisted on the necessity of abandoning our sacred rituals for situations such as these.
The Shikoku system itself, where the presence of our allies is limited to say the least, has been a most difficult situation for our movement. The Lane Hackers have repeatedly been unhappy with our deliveries of Cardamine to Leiden, and our convoys heading to Leiden have also been the target of several ambushes by Liberty Rogues attempting to seize our product.
We can do nothing more than wait and pray that the crisis on planet Malta will be quickly averted, and our patrons will once again bestow their Gift upon us as before.

While this troubling trend is observed throughout the Sirius colonies, Liberty is bearing the brunt of the crisis among the four major Houses. Remarkably, even Rheinland, where historical data indicated low Cardamine consumption, has witnessed a notable rise in medical cases linked to the illicit narcotic. Experts postulate that the extensive black market responsible for Cardamine distribution might be facing a shortage, or worse, that Outcast factions deliberately curtail the supply to bolster demand. Regrettably, no law enforcement agency has been available for comment on these concerns.
The long-standing debate over Cardamine's controversial nature, juxtaposing its euphoric and purported medicinal qualities with the genetic alterations it inflicts upon long-term users, continues to echo. A key point of contention revolves around the plight of innocent consumers caught in this crisis. Yet, according to independent polls, a substantial majority of our viewers maintains that the substance must remain banned.
In response to this escalating crisis, Cryer Pharmaceuticals has announced a forthcoming press conference. During the event, the company intends to unveil plans for an expanded production of Stabiline, their touted "wonder drug". This announcement promises affordable access to Stabiline for all patients grappling with Cardamine withdrawal, sparking a remarkable 15%% surge in Cryer Pharmaceuticals' stock following the revelation.

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.

Upon further investigation, the Navy has successfully identified the ordnance being transported as being sourced from Rheinland. Going as far as to state that they contained serial codes which correspond with weaponry used by Rheinland's own Military. Naturally given the circumstances around the discovery of these weapons and Liberty's history of hot and cold relations with the neighboring House, it is expected that this development will lead to further scrutiny when it comes to potentially suspicious activity.

"These, like all effects of the stimulant, last roughly an hour and leave no permanent alterations. The only permanent effect is Cardamine addiction. None of the other components have addictive qualities." Ishida goes to elaborate further and states that "The full formula is a closely guarded secret and shall not be made public." This new drug is currently focused mainly for the Kusari market, but Ishida has not ruled out the possibility of expanding it further.

## Rumors

* I like working in Sector Three. You can really lavish in the Cardamine that's being pumped around through the ventilation systems. There are special masks, designed to filter out the Cardamine particles, for the odd visitor that's allowed to enter Sector Three. But, they're locked in a safe, only the priestesses know the passcode.

* Now that the Ryugu Comet is gone, the nearby mining operations have also come to an end until it passes through here again. For raiders like me that is a setback. Fortunately for me, Samura has uncovered a more lasting source of platinum elsewhere in the system, a legacy of the same comet of sorts. Sadly the location of this enterprise if far beyond the safety of the nebula, so more risk involved. So time to slap on some more armor, heavier guns, and start blasting those Samuroaches.

* You might have seen the large Akegata transports moored at the Shrine. They're transports we've intercepted and taken here for ourselves. Some get too damaged to be salvaged, but a lot of them are repurposed to serve as our Cardamine transports. The crew you say? Let's not go into too much detail, shall we?

* This is Kinkaku-ji, a sacred place dedicated to our goddess - Amaterasu - and the founder of our movement - Yuyu Matsuda. I have been a priestess on this station ever since it became operational. We have many visitors now, but few are allowed to enter its inner sanctum. When you do have permission to visit our shrine, make sure to listen to the instructions of the presiding priestesses.

* Those who enter the Shrine need to undergo purification rituals before they can approach the altar. These rituals find their origin in ancient Shinto and are designed to cleanse oneself of evil spirits and impurity. Every ritual has meaning, which might not be apparent to outsiders at a first glance. But those who walked the path may discover some traits and emotions, as the mirror of their bodies and minds appear below them.

* Kinkaku-ji is divided into four sectors. Currently we're in Sector One. The Shrine is located in Sector Two, but you need special permission to enter if you're not part of the Sisterhood. Sector Three is only accessible to the Sisterhood and their closest allies. Then it's Sector Four, but, yeah... you really don't want to be caught snooping around in Sector Four.

* It is truly an honor to be in the presence of the goddess. The ceremony hall is a place of peace and tranquility, where people are expected to keep their voice down when speaking. It is here that we keep a monumental statue of Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun. It is a place of ceremony and self reflection, where we keep our most treasured writings, and educate people in the ways of Matsuda.

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