Planet Los Angeles

DIAMETER: 8,351 km.

MASS: 3.22 x 10e24 kg.

TERRAIN: Terrestrial

TEMPERATURE: -40°C to 45°C

ESCAPE VELOCITY: 8.98 km/sec

With the majority of the planet covered in deep salt water oceans and gorgeous, white sand beaches, Los Angeles was popular with the wealthy and privileged of Manhattan, before the terraforming efforts failed during the Great California Drought of 543 AS The ocean water was discovered to be unusable due to a chemical that, although it is completely harmless to humans besides from tasting foul, fatally disrupts the growth of crops and certain species of terrestrial animals. The available water supplies from the Tahoe and Sierra ice clouds were quickly running out, and as a result it was becoming ever more expensive to ship water into the California system.

Over the course of the following century, most of Los Angeles' population subsequently emigrated to planet Denver in the Colorado system, with only those who did not want to move, or couldn't afford to, remaining behind. A large portion of the remaining industry relied heavily on farming genetically modified livestock that are able to process the chemical in the water, although a number of corporations still retained offices on Los Angeles, including Universal Shipping's corporate training academy.

It wasn't until Synth Foods perfected their patented and hugely popular Synth Paste, created from a genetically engineered plant similar to that of the Earth Kelp, that the planetary economy resurged. The resulting success of the new food paste prompted Synth Foods to relocate their headquarters to Los Angeles, and the booming technology market has also encouraged Ageira Technologies to construct an optical chip plant here. With all the new jobs available on the planet, coupled with the recently opened trade lane to the Ontario jump gate, the population of Los Angeles has jumped to over 470 million, and the increasing prosperity promises a brighter future for the entire California system.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Cryer Pharmaceuticals
* Universal Shipping
* Ageira Technologies
* Bounty Hunters Guild
* ALG Waste Disposal
* Border World Exports
* Gateway Shipping
* Planetform, Inc.
* Synth Foods, Inc.

* Synth Foods, Inc.
* Bounty Hunters Guild
* Liberty Navy

## News

In a case which has gripped the nation, Sorderi's death due to Cardamine withdrawal was ruled "expected and calculated" by Cryer due to the treatment plan presented by them, which Sorderi had followed. The case now moves to the Manhattan Planetary Court.
Sorderi's family has expressed disappointment at the decisions, her mother stating: "This is an endless battle, and we don't have endless ammo! Our girl's dead because of them and they're just going to keep this going forever!".
Sorderi's fans, also known as "Rosebuds" for her net alias "Bloodrose", have vowed to continue fighting and are planning protests before the Manhattan court. Clashes have already been reported in Sorderi's home town of Opera, JN, as police were forced to use tear gas against enraged followers of the star who feel the trial is becoming lost in bureaucracy.

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.

Sorderi had made a name for herself by, among other things, speaking candidly about her Cardamine dependency and her attempts to overcome it by alternative pharmacological means. Though the circumstances of her death remain uncertain, theories abound which implicate the products of Cryer Pharmaceuticals that she had long championed as the future of Cardamine-dependent persons in the colonies.
"Cryer killed our baby!", says father Ernest Sorderi. "They used her as a guinea pig for their unproven treatments, and the reality was a family losing their daughter! We will pursue ALL legal means to find justice for her!"
The Neural Net is awash with an outpouring of sympathy from Sorderi's fans and scrutiny surrounding her sudden death.

Ageira disputed this finding in their own press release, calling EFL 'fantasists' and countering that their own scientists had narrowed the cause to a rare 'hypernova' stellar event that originated outside the Sirius sector. Both corporations claim that network-wide hardware safeguards have been implemented that would prevent a similar occurrence in the future. Independent researchers have sharply criticized the corporate announcements, accusing both of self-interested misdirection.
Professor Sophia Nagel from Heisenberg Research Station called EFL's accusation 'incoherent' and the hypernova explanation 'nonsense' that did not explain the characteristics of the 'Blackout Pulse'. Despite multiple different Pulse recordings being widely disseminated across the neural net, public efforts have so far failed to triangulate its source.

In the video, a number of restrained people that have been identified as former residents of Planet Vespucci, board a Dromedary-class vessel registered to a freelance trader Vincent Ruthen. They are under supervision from several LPI officers, who exchange words with the ship's crew. Private investigators have trailed the ship, determining that it did not land at its purported destination of Gas Miner Naha in the Sigma-13, instead electing to travel away from civilized space into the Edge Worlds. The people aboard it have effectively vanished from the colonies.
This is the latest case in a streak of such disappearances, with investigators estimating as high as ten percent of all inmates thought to be awaiting their trial in LPI internment camps have been covertly shipped off-world for unknown reasons. The fate of these people is yet unclear, but theories range from secret trials to unethical experiments aboard Atka. Outraged by what is apparently an LPI-sanctioned human trafficking operation, protesters flooded the streets and had to be dispersed by police riot control squads.
A Liberty Police official has denounced allegations of corruption, stating that "All interned personnel are secured and all prisoner transfers have been done within the framework of the legal code". He refused to comment on the evidence presented, dismissing it as "slanderous fabrication against the good, hard-working officers of Liberty law". Meanwhile, political opposition already promises increased oversight over the law enforcement corporation for the next election cycle.

Over the last few days, Archer-class siege cruisers have been deploying their massive coaxial cannons to suppress military infrastructure on the planet, systematically targeting the very last bastions of the Insurgency. First to be destroyed were the planet's few remaining ground to space weapons installations, quickly crippled by bomber strikes from the Ohio herself, before the remaining desolate ground defences and deserted infrastructure were reduced to rubble, their populations having already long fled the world.
A small service was held on the Ohio as the bombardment drew to a close in memory of Rear Admiral Dylan Brandt and those thousands of sailors and marines who had given their lives in the name of Liberty; fought their own lost brothers-in-arms so that others may not live under their misguided yoke, and many more who had their lives irrevocably changed as a result of the evils the campaign sought to end.
The announcement also confirmed identical monuments to the Insurgency campaign would be erected on every world in Liberty, from Planet Houston to Planet Erie, each monument an obelisk carrying the names of every serviceman lost in the conflict and serving as a reminder that Liberty is stronger when it stands together.

For some time, it had been alleged that Insurgent and Xeno-backed cells had been stirring trouble on Erie, inciting violence in the population and seeking to turn the planet into a second Veracruz. Never, however, had such open acts of terror been visited upon the governing Libertonian forces.
The response was quick and decisive. In coordination with the LSF, Vice Admiral Hamish aboard the Battleship Alma lead a Liberty Navy task force directly into the system in Operation Pesticide, escorted primarily by Siege Cruisers, Gunboats and fightercraft, with many of the Navy's capital warships tied in the Vespucci campaign or ever watchful at Liberty's borders. They were met by Zoner Q-ships based from Bethlehem, with many coming from as far as Galileo or even the Sigmas, accompanied by a motley assortment of freelancers and other anarchist elements. Leading the Zoner line was a Aquilon-class carrier, the Pinnacle.
While the Pinnacle came under heavy bombardment from the Alma and her task force, supplies quickly gathered onto Zoner transports from Erie attempted to run the Navy blockade. While some transports were lost to Navy bombers, others yet escaped to parts as of yet unknown. This 'victory', however, came at a heavy price. The Pinnacle was lost with most of her hands still on board and the rest captured, while the Liberty Marines landed virtually unopposed, quickly securing population centers for both the safety of Libertonian assets and the civilians on Erie itself. The Alma is settled now into the low orbit of Erie, a constant reminder to those below that they are under the protection of the Liberty Navy. A comfort to some, a dire warning to many more.

Admiral Brandt was heard to give the order to abandon ship right as the ship's hull could take no more and began to be torn asunder, with hull breaches on multiple decks. Tragically, the armored engines of the Delaware had suffered a great deal of damage, and as the armor and shielding was whittled away, vast quantities of radiation and superheated gas began to flood into the crew compartments of the vessel.
In an emotional announcement, the Liberty Navy officially stated that they consider the Delaware to be lost with all hands, including Admiral Brandt himself. No life pods could be secured in the heat of battle, with the remainder of the Delaware's escort making a fighting retreat back to the LNS Ohio which had herself been caught lagging behind the Delaware's doomed thrust into the heart of the Insurgency. The Ohio now remains with her own escort, augmented by survivors of the Delaware's battlegroup, and will continue as the Liberty Navy's bastion in the Vespucci system, ready to ensure that the Insurgents pay dearly for the toll they have extracted upon one of Liberty's finest Admirals.

Leading a fearsome line of some of Liberty's most advanced warships, the Delaware bore down on the Insurgency's remaining, cobbled-together fleet in the Vespucci system, out of position from dealing with a Bretonian thrust from Magellan. Immediately caught was the Battleship Vanquisher, one of the scant few Arbiter-class Battleships available to the Insurgents. Caught by itself, the Vanquisher put up a fearsome fight but was ultimately unable to stand against the Delaware and its escort, despite its fighter component dealing severe damage to much of the Delaware's own, smaller fighter contingent, as well as the Delaware herself.
With the great Arbiter all but vanquished, the Interdictor-class Battlecruiser Triton stared down the guns of the damaged Delaware and her escort. Outnumbered two-to-one, and outgunned to an even greater degree by the Libertonian heavyweight, Triton and her escorts launched their one and only advantage, their fighter and bomber superiority gained at the Vanquisher's expense.

It is widely speculated that the recent surge taking place in the Kansas system is related. The oddly self named Insurgency has long been categorized as a "Domestic Paramilitary Organization" that is of extremist political nature, in effect making them Liberty citizens with rights as such. The Act recategorizes them as a "Foreign Supported Terrorist Organization", a drastic shift in political standing. Sources have speculated the move is related to the Bering operation that precipitated the formation of the Insurgency as the root cause of the change in policy. Despite considerable cost both monetarily and in terms of material, the operation failed to expunge the organization to the desired level. The Act comes a considerable spending package for future operations and gives free rein to Liberty Navy admirals to take necessary measures to properly remove the long-standing issue.

## Rumors

* This is the center of the universe for Ageira. Company HQ. I do my little part by shipping in Side Arms from Detroit. I take Optical Chips to Norfolk on the way back to New York. Only tough part of the trip is getting the Side Arms past the Xenos on the first stretch to Manhattan.

* This is where they do all of the software development for Ageira. Few years back, some programmers got uppity and took off with a bunch of source codes for the USI tracking software. IC was furious; came in and had a big investigation done. Hasn't stopped the Lane Hackers.

* I'm new to the system. Got tired of New York. Only way to move up there in the Guild is to head into the Badlands. Nasty, that dark cloud is. I prefer open asteroid fields, personally. I think I'll head out to the Whitney Field for a look.

* We know there's a Rogue asteroid base in the Whitney Field. Problem is getting close enough to nail someone without disturbing the hornets' nest. Believe me, you'll know if you did. There's Outcasts around too. So ya gotta be careful.

* Just made a circuit of the Sierra Field. We like to troll for Rogues close to the Trade Lane to Mojave. They like to hang out there at the edge of the field, waiting for ships to come along.

* Bagged me a trophy Outcast the other day just inside the Tahoe Cloud to the west of the San Diego Lane. Just an escort for a smuggler, but still a pretty good bounty. Drinks are on me tonight.

* We know there's a Rogue asteroid base in the Whitney Field. Problem is getting close enough to nail someone without disturbing the hornets' nest. Believe me, you'll know if you did. There's Outcasts around, too, so ya gotta be careful.

* I'm heading off to Cortez. I hear there's Rogues as far as the eye can see out there. A big group of ex-LPI guys is based at that resort Curacao -- keep asking me to join them. They expect to cash out pretty quick, although two of them already bit it. Definitely some risk involved.

* Sometimes we stockpile Optical Chips at Glagow Outpost if the Bretonian processing stations have full inventories. From there we distribute Super Alloy wherever its needed. Duluth Shipyard in the Minnesota system has several outstanding orders.

* We just came in with a load of Polymers and Hydrocarbons from Birmingham, across the Barrier in Manchester. I'm turning the ship back for Sheffield Station tomorrow with a load of Optical Chips.

* The scientists at Cambridge Research Station really prize Ageira's Optical Chips. There are always Pharmaceutical orders waiting for delivery when you arrive.

* I haul Fertilizers from Shinkaku Station all the way here. You really have to push it to make it through the Tau war zone. We typically pick up a load of Optical Chips for Waterloo on the return. That's less time-sensitive but more dangerous for the Lane Hackers in Cortez and Magellan. They always seem to know when we're coming. Waterloo always has Passengers ready to head out to Dublin's Graves Station, and from there it's through the Taus again with Gold to Narita. From there, it's an easy trip with Mining Machinery back to Shinkaku. Not a circuit for the fainthearted, to be sure.

* One day Liberty will rid itself of the Outcasts and its Cardamine habit. There will be much safer ways for users to feel good using future Cryer products, without funding the activities of illegals like the Rogues and Outcasts.

* Los Angeles is the dream post for an LPI trooper. Nice climate, and they give you a special cost of living adjustment for all the high prices. Living quarters are kind of tight, but you take what you can get.

* They got me on California Minor patrol. Pretty boring. Nothing like the Tahoe Cloud. That's the hardest place LPI goes in all of Liberty.

* Last week the Rogues attacked the prison convoy bound for Texas somewhere near the New York Gate. It's tough keeping that area under control -- no bases nearby. They didn't succeed, but it was close there for a while. It shut down the Trade Lane for a couple of hours.

* I'm on leave from the *Yukon*. That's the battleship parked in orbit above LA. They gave a group of us some time to recuperate after doing patrols into Cortez. Liberty is a joke compared to the Independent Worlds. The LPI wouldn't last two seconds out there.

* California is Rogue central. We got 'em in all the asteroid fields. No Xenos, though. Never been any mining or manufacturing workers in this system.

* The military handles most of the tough Lane Hacker and Outcast areas of the western Tahoe Cloud. They don't want us interferin', they say. Just a bunch of privileged, arrogant hotheads in my opinion.

* Had a long patrol today. Went all the way to the New York Gate. We ran into some Rogues at the Mojave Trade Lane bend. Seems to be a popular place for the criminally minded.

* We think there's an illegal access route from Cortez into the Tahoe Cloud somewhere, but that's not our problem. I won't set foot off the Trade Lane in that area.

* I'm heading out on a patrol into the Sierra Ice Field tomorrow. It'll be my first time on an assault crew. I'm pretty pumped. We're looking for Rogues to fill this week's prison convoy bound for Texas.

* Sometimes I really can't take the superior attitude of the Synth Food and Ageira types with their fancy houses and all. They expect us to keep their little world perfect, but at the same time, stay invisible. We're just honest, hardworking Joes trying to make a living.

* We're pretty sure there's a Rogue base in the Whitney Field, but the higher ups say that's a Bounty Hunter problem. We should just find it and clear out the nest. My guess is that Bounty Hunters are paying off the LPI execs back in Houston. They don't want the criminal population to be reduced too much. Bad for business.

* Just got in on a Gold run from the Hood in Dublin. Everything was fine until we got to the Barrier Cloud in Magellan. The Lane Hackers were waiting as usual -- pounced on us as soon as we entered the Trade Lane to Freeport 4. We got lucky when a Universal convoy showed up. Still lost one of my escorts.

* Gateway supplies most of the IMG bases in the Sirius Sector and hauls their products to market. Take Freeport 4 in Magellan, for example. We ship them their Food and H-Fuel. We bring Passengers back into Liberty, and Consumer Goods or Basic Alloy back here. Not a killer run, but it pays the bills.

* I'm on leave from the *Alma*. They gave my squadron some time to recuperate after doing a month of combat patrols in Cortez. Liberty is a joke compared to the Independent Worlds. The Liberty Police wouldn't last two seconds out there.

* I'm on leave from the *Yukon*. That's the battleship parked in orbit above LA. They gave a group of us some time to recuperate after doing patrols into Cortez. Liberty is a joke compared to the Independent Worlds. The LPI wouldn't last two seconds out there.

* Between the wars in the Taus and the threat of Samura getting into terraforming, Planetform has had to expand operations. Our Floragro sales from California Minor open up a lot of revenue for us. We also partner with Synth Foods to distribute Synth Paste to various bases. I'm heading out to the Taus, with stops at almost all the stations there.

* We purchase our Synth Paste from Los Angeles. Without it, Planet Harris would soon starve. Despite the risks of the war front, the cargo is so cheap that we can afford to lose some every so often. Cargo, I mean. We can't afford to lose the pilots.

* This is Synth Foods' home base. We still produce a fair amount of Food here, although not as cheaply as Stuttgart. Our plan is to eventually phase out growing operations on Los Angeles. The soil and climate just can't support the sustainable production levels that we need.

* We are committed to enhancing Food production throughout the Sirius Sector, whether it is through increased use of biodomes in the Independent and Border Worlds, or the introduction of more efficient use of technology to traditional growing areas like Stuttgart and Kyushu. We will prevail.

* I do the Graves to Fort Bush Gold run inbound, Luxury Consumer Goods on the return trip to Planet New London. Gets rough crossing the Barrier. Pretty much a breeze inside of Liberty.

* I'm heading out in a couple of hours to do an Optical Chip run from the Ageira plant to Camrose or Leduc in Alberta. I hope to pick up some Bio-Neural Processors for Southampton in New London and return next week sometime.

* I'm just passing through from Planet Denver with a load of Superconductors bound for Southampton in New London. It's more interesting than the Water run from Manhattan. Now that's a bore.

* I'm heading out in a couple of hours to do an Optical Chip and Polymer run to Camrose or Leduc in Alberta. I hope to pick up some Bio-Neural Processors bound for Kusari and return next week sometime with Engine Components for Baltimore Shipyard.

*NOTE: Page generated on the 28/10/2023 at 17:59:46 UTC*