Planet Erie

DIAMETER: 10,921 km

MASS: 6.67 x 10e25 kg

TERRAIN: Terrestrial

TEMPERATURE: -53°C to 45°C

ESCAPE VELOCITY: 10.54 km/sec

Erie was first discovered by Liberty explorers in 679 AS. It was briefly considered as a potential option for the resettlement of 'undesirables' from Planet Houston, which had suffered from endemic issues of crime and unemployment since the Dallas Incident over a century earlier. Further surveys revealed a cool climate and a range of dangerous reptilian fauna that would pose a challenge to colonisation efforts. The plans were temporarily shelved by the Senate on cost grounds, with any future attempts to revive the issue being killed by intense LPI lobbying. Self-identified Zoners would be the first to colonise Erie in 761 AS, with Erie's dangerous conditions promoting the formation of close-knit, well-armed and walled settlements. These sorts of Zoner communities continue to expand across Erie's wilderness to this day, despite Liberty's best efforts to control them.

Liberty would not be willing to tolerate an independent planet within its borders for long. It considered the growing colony to be a security risk due to the general lawlessness and lack of accountability to House authorities. The situation would come to a head when the LPI were ordered into the system in 778 AS, in response to persistent attacks on Liberty trade vessels by local pirates. This would mark the start of increasing Liberty influence over the planet, with several corporations opening offices and DSE constructing a docking ring by 782 AS. Many of the Zoner settlers reacted negatively to this encroaching presence, forming militias intended to safeguard their independence. Liberty chose to avoid an unnecessary conflict by offering the system protectorate status, affording the planet broad autonomy to govern its own affairs. Despite this, Liberty's culture, corporations and citizens would increasingly come to dominate life in Erie's largest settlements over the following years.

From 827 AS onwards, Erie would receive increasing numbers of refugees from the ailing Liberty Insurgency movement. Liberty's demands that these individuals be deported as terrorists were strongly rebuffed by Zoner leaders, who argued that the Pennsylvania Protectorate Treaty gave them autonomy over the residency of Erie. Matters would once again reach breaking point in 830 AS, when an LSF monitoring satellite in orbit was destroyed - purportedly by Zoner militias. Liberty responded by dissolving the protectorate and landing troops on Erie, formally annexing the planet shortly after. This resulted in significant disorder, with wilderness militias frequently attacking Liberty security forces. Liberty has since established large internment camps on Erie where refugees from Vespucci are being held, pending trial for sedition. The LPI has been granted administration of these camps, with allegations of corruption and mismanagement quickly arising.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Zoners
* Bounty Hunters Guild
* Synth Foods, Inc.
* Planetform, Inc.
* Deep Space Engineering
* Universal Shipping
* Ageira Technologies
* Cryer Pharmaceuticals
* Bristol Constructions and Manufacturing

* Liberty Security Force
* Bounty Hunters Guild

## 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.

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.

## Rumors

* If you've got your own ship, then you should talk to the dealers down at the space port. Erie's main export is Neon, as the atmosphere has an unusually high concentration of the stuff. You can ship it to Freeports, research stations, storage depots, all the major planets. People are mad for Neon, brother. Stark raving mad for the stuff!

* Looking for a good time, eh? Well you won't find one here. While the Zoners own this planet officially, they'll only keep it as long as they stay in Liberty's good graces. Therefore you'll not find too much illegal stuff going on here. Certainly nothing like you'll find out at Freeport 2 in Bering. Shame, really. It might liven up my job a bit.

* This place is nice and safe, enjoy it. At least, that is what my friends tell me. The problem is, they're all earning the big bucks at Houston while I'm stuck here watching paint dry and listening to Zoner cattle ranchers having a quiet beer after a day of farming. I'm telling you, this place ain't for me. I've requested a transfer several times, but I always get told that there are no available positions. Those damn pen pushers up at the city hall really annoy me sometimes.

* I just pulled a typical eight hour shift here. Once I'm done, I'm done. I don't care if someone commits a crime in front of me, I'm off home. The company doesn't pay overtime. Besides, the chances of a crime happening on this planet are remote. Half of the time I even get put in charge of traffic control. You know how many I've arrested this week? Yeah, that's right. I haven't arrested anyone. This posting sucks.

* I'm told that Liberty has invested loads into this planet, but it sure doesn't look like it. There isn't even a single strip club on the planet. Sure, there are plenty of bars, and there is an entertainment complex for movies and stuff that was built back in 812 AS, but that's about your lot. I hear that the entertainment facilities on Philadelphia are better, though. Gotta check them out sometime.

* If you want to catch the transport to Freeport 9, you had better hurry down to the space port. I hear it's pretty hard to get a ticket, demand is so high. Beats me what people want to go out there to the Omicrons for. Nothin' but Corsairs and Bounty Hunters from what I hear. Oh, yeah, aliens too. Lots of squishy aliens who infect you with all sorts of mung. Can you believe they ship them aliens in to Cali Minor for terraforming? The whole sector's gone nuts!

* Now, if you're of the more sane variety, you can catch a ride to Gran Canaria. Now that's a trip worth making. Blue skies, fields of green, women who are built like statues of... hot women. Ah, that's the life, my friend. Not that I've been there, mind you. Couldn't budge em off Erie for nothin'. But you look like you're the sort who might like that sort of thing.

* Got my second bonus this month, with this planet opening up for our operations it's been really easy to book people for petty crimes. I think I'll aim for a promotion next, corner office maybe? Bah! Another round will do for now!

* I'll be heading back to Riverside with a load of Neon. The gas is used in various cryostatic systems in the Synth Food labs, but those systems do need an occasional refill. Many labs require Neon for this purpose, although it's more commonly known for being used in gas discharge lights.

* Bretonia never developed a taste for Synth products, despite our best marketers having done agressive campaigns there. I think they took the wrong strategy alltogether personally. Undercutting Cambridge by going straight to BMM, and "arranging" for the Food distribution on Leeds to be handled by us would have been a perfect strategy - and would have given the Green Party the finger in the process. Another lost opportunity I suppose.

* Basic Alloy is another of Erie's main exports. It is a very versatile alloy that is used for shipbuilding, stationbuilding and many consumer goods. I'm planning to ship the load that's being prepared now to Baltimore Shipyard, which isn't all that far.

* Erie's primary export is Neon, which is relatively abundant in it's atmosphere. More so then most planets, and it's far more economic to harvest it from a planetary atmosphere then from gas giants. Neon extraction and purification plants account for nearly a quarter of the planet's industry. We ship it almost anywhere - Kusari, Bretonia, even as far as the Sigmas. Ironic isn't it? To bring gas to the GMG?

* I was born on planet Hamburg originally, and lived there for quite a few years. My father was an executive for Republican Shipping while my mother worked in the offices that Universal Shipping has on Hamburg. They were killed in 807 AS by a Liberty Rogue ambush on the Texas side of the jump gate when their transport was destroyed. I considered joining the Rheinland Military, but they're too strict and they can't operate in Liberty, so I joined the Bounty Hunters Guild. I mainly target the Liberty Rogues and look for information on Rogue hideouts, and eventually I'll find out which ones killed my parents. And those won't end up on Sugarland by the time I'm done with them.

* Yeah, I bagged me three Xenos earlier! Whoo! The Guild gets paid 40,000 credits by Liberty for every Xeno it takes out, and I get paid half of that. Then, I can send the kill records to Ageira for another 10,000 credits each. If I manage to take a Xeno captive, I can sell him to the LPI for 10,000! Not a bad job at all, eh?

* I would say don't listen to my friend, Max Flight, but unfortunately his bragging isn't just bragging. He really is one of the best fighter pilots I have ever met. I guess he was aptly named. He might have a loud mouth, but you can rely on him to back you up in a fight. He took out seven Liberty Rogue fighters by himself last week, while I was out on patrol with him. I only killed two others. If it hadn't been for him and his prowess in a fighter craft, I think the Rogues might have killed us both.

* You should have seen that fight I was in earlier! Two Xenos tried to intercept me near the Texas jump hole and I had to bank so hard that I nearly slammed into an asteroid. I just managed to dodge it, but the Xeno tailing me wasn't so lucky. Then the second Xeno slipped into my sights and bam! I took it out with several well-placed shots from my Buckshots. That'll be another 60,000 credits in my pocket for those two.

* I quite like this system, its quiet and the law doesn't bother you too much. There are quite a few bounties to be had here too, mostly Liberty Rogue and Xenos. Most of my compatriots work out of Houston, but this system has quite a few jump holes connecting to several other Liberty systems, and the criminals use them all the time. All I have to do is sit here and let them come through the jump holes, then zap em. Easy enough, eh?

* Neon is very important in our medicinal production facilities. Nearly all cryostatic equipment relies on it as an energy transfer agent. Erie is one of the cheapest sources of this gas, and because of it's inert nature it is not classified as a hazardous material, so transporting it does not require any special security measures.

* The Rogues and the Xenos... Sure, on the one hand they make life dangerous for us. On the other hand, they create business for us. Plasma burns, limb replacements. And for the higher ranking Rogues who Liberty wants to keep alive, Stabiline. They generate as much business as we lose to them, unlike most other corporations.

* The Zoners colonized planet Erie in 761 AS, but Liberty moved into the system in 768 AS, after we realised that we'd screwed up in not bothering to colonize this system. I arrived here in '09, and enjoyed it so far. We've had a few problems with the Zoners on occasion, and we hear from our sources that the Xenos and the Liberty Rogues have both set up bases in the system fairly recently, but with the Gettysburg in orbit I doubt we'll get any problems on the planet itself.

* I love this planet. It is so quiet and peaceful. There is hardly any crime here either. Officially the Zoners control Erie, but naturally Liberty has a vested interest here. I was posted here to keep my ears open for any information or rumours that might come my way, but there is hardly ever anything. Like I said, this place is quiet and peaceful. I'd prefer it if it stayed that way, although some people wouldn't, like that LPI officer, Jake Bullet.

* Keep your head down, LPI's everywhere nowadays and looking for anyone even remotely suspicious to fill out their quotas. They're calling it the renaissance of the prison industry, hell of a thing.

* I work in the Neon mining industry in the south, and it pays well enough. While Neon isn't flammable or particularly toxic, the gas requires an extensive cooling plant in order to seperate it from the atmosphere. When the coolers fail, the gases boil quickly and the tanks can explode. Ruptures in the tanks can also snapfreeze anyone standing close by in case of a spill. Not a very nice way to go...

* You can get a good price for Gaian Wildlife here, if you happen to be over in Bretonia and are thinking of shipping something back. Of course, the Bretonian and Liberty governments generally consider those live animals from planet Gaia in the Edinburgh system to be illegal, so watch yourself if you choose to transport them. Still, think of the money.

* I'm in charge of one of the heavy transports that make the run from here to Corfu carrying supplies of Neon gas for the researchers there. I'm not sure why they need so much of the gas. Maybe they're doing some kind of cryogenic research there... It is a long run and quite dangerous in places, especially in the Omegas, but it is worth it once you get there. I will soon have earned enough to retire.

* This planet used to feel like an escape from how rigid life in Liberty feels, but now we're all caught up in civil unrest, and there's a warship in orbit. Where did it all go wrong?

* Aside from the Neon industry, most of Erie is rural, or even still wilderness. The colonies on this planet are still quite young, it'll take ages to settle the entire planet. That suits us Zoners fine, it'll mean it's a generation or two yet before this planet becomes so crowded that the Zoner way of life becomes impossible here.

* I've lived on Erie all my life, right here in the planetary capital city of Allentown. My parents were advocates of the Zoner way of life, and helped settle this planet when I was only 5 years old. There used to be quite a few virulent microorganisms on Erie, but they can only be transmitted by insect bites. Thankfully, all of the insect carriers were eliminated during the initial settlement, so you don't need to worry about getting any shots during your stay.

* Liberty was always going to occupy this planet. All this talk about peaceful coexistence is crap, the Houses don't like competition in close proximity. As far as straws go, we drew the shortest one possible by deciding to settle down here. I wish I had somewhere else to go.

* Ack... I should really move to Gran Canaria. Two suns, white beaches, naked companions and fresh drinks. It is also the only place you can see a Corsair playing with a beach ball wearing nothing but a pair of short pants.

* Cattle ranches are big business on Erie, although in the southern hemisphere there is quite a considerable amount of atmospheric mining for Neon. There's a lot of Neon gas in the atmosphere, and it's extremely useful for various commercial applications, so the scientists and bigwigs tell me. I don't care really, so long as they leave me and my cattle alone.

* Keep your head down, LPI's everywhere nowadays and looking for anyone even remotely suspicious to fill out their quotas. They're calling it the renaissance of the prison industry, hell of a thing.

* Looking for jump holes? Hmm, I can tell you where one is. Look on your Nav map. You'll find the Texas jump hole to the far south of this planet, even further south than the suns in this system. Be careful though, I hear there's a Xeno base out that way.

* You know ... why do missiles explode after a while? Must have been a genius applying such a trigger. Or some poor soul who has a stray missile rain down on his home...

* I would give my left arm for a fresh orange juice! We can travel the stars and colonize hundreds of worlds, but what for? We eat Synth Paste and drink recycled water. Say, have you ever encountered a transport hauling the famous Liberty Ale?

* I know of a jump hole to the California system, in the far west of the system in relation to your nav map display. I hear either the Rogues or the Junkers have a base somewhere out that way too, but I wouldn't put too much stock in rumours. Never been out that way myself, I tend to stick to the trade lane network wherever I can, it is much safer.

* Liberty was always going to occupy this planet. All this talk about peaceful coexistence is crap, the Houses don't like competition in close proximity. As far as straws go, we drew the shortest one possible by deciding to settle down here. I wish I had somewhere else to go.

* This planet used to feel like an escape from how rigid life in Liberty feels, but now we're all caught up in civil unrest, and there's a warship in orbit. Where did it all go wrong?

* A vast majority of the distributed Neon in Sirius comes from the planet Erie, and it has a number of commercial applications that have made it valuable. It is most commonly used in cryogenics and refrigeration since Nitrogen and Helium are rather more expensive to mine, and it is also used in constructing laser weaponry and some lights. The Zoners mainly use it in cryogenic plants, to prevent food from spoiling as we ship it out to our Freeports all across Sirius.

* I was born on Los Angeles, but I grew sick of the endless smell of Synth Crop on the wind. I'm telling you now, it's disgusting. Then again, maybe you like Synth Paste? You look the type. In any case, I eventually got tired of living in the corporate state that is Liberty and decided to head out and live on Freeport 2 for a while, before being asked by a few friends to come here. It's not a bad place, but not where I envisioned ending up. Still, it is better than Los Angeles.

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