Noshima Freeport

CLASS: Sasaki

GRAVITY: Complete

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Complete

CREW: 820

Noshima Freeport was constructed in 827 A.S. under the orders of Kazuki Watanabe, more widely known as the Peddler. Though Kusari's black markets had long been dominated by the Hogosha, the Peddler, his wealthy associates, and an unknown third-party investor saw an opening for a station open to anyone, and for anyone. To the Peddler's surprise, Hogosha, and Farmer's Alliance pilots quickly began making use of the station as well. Whether to reduce the attention their own bases draw or to monitor the competition, the result has been the same: Noshima has been allowed to continue its operations unimpeded.

In addition to an extensive market and other common but well-furnished amenities, Noshima is noted for its gambling den, with a range of games both traditional and modern. This has made Noshima a popular destination for criminals in need of some down time.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Orbital Spa and Cruise
* Gas Miners Guild
* Bounty Hunters Guild

* Blood Dragons
* Corsairs
* Outcasts
* Xenos
* Liberty Rogues
* Farmers Alliance

## 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.

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.

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.

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.

Presenting the potential for cataclysmic damage to personhood and proprety prompted Ageira to shut down the gates leading into the system, as well as the respective trade lanes. In the time since then however, Ames has relayed a stunning report that the storm despite being violent at first, has now settled into quite a passive albeit looming stance over the system. Perhaps more surprising than even this is the phenomena regarding the storm's interactions with the established lane and gate network in the system, seeming to bend and contort around the structure rather than engulf them. This stellar formation has produced the spatial equivalent of a tunnel that travelers into the freshly reopened Kepler have taken to dubbing the "Murky Road", prompting a small degree of sensationalized tourism into the system. Which comes as a small positive after the harsh loss of the otherwise frequent traffic.
This news comes at the tail end of previous publications that cited the storm as having origins in Alberta, supposedly arriving via some form of leakage through the jumpholes in the system. Newer research has allowed for discoveries which now suggest the contrary and this has in turn reinvigorated research into these storms and their enigmatic natures.

## Rumors

* I'm one of the Mackinac's backup sensor operators. Did you know there are several areas on the planet's surface where Samura has radar jammers? If you zoom in with the visual cameras all you see is a large island with a compound, a cluster of four small islands, and a section of empty ocean. I think Samura has a secret on Tomioka... One they don't want anyone to know about.

* This ship is outside of House space, so the things that go on here might not be completely legal. The Sigma systems are claimed by the Gas Miners Guild, but they usually keep to themselves and their H-Fuel producing business. Government morality can be quite bothersome at times. We provide relief from the burdens of society. Whatever your desire, we will provide it here - no questions asked.

* I'm one of the Mackinac's backup sensor operators. Did you know there are several areas on the planet's surface where Samura has radar jammers? If you zoom in with the visual cameras all you see is a large island with a compound, a cluster of four small islands, and a section of empty ocean. I think Samura has a secret on Tomioka... One they don't want anyone to know about.

* This ship is outside of House space, so the things that go on here might not be completely legal. The Sigma systems are claimed by the Gas Miners Guild, but they usually keep to themselves and their H-Fuel producing business. Government morality can be quite bothersome at times. We provide relief from the burdens of society. Whatever your desire, we will provide it here - no questions asked.

* Samura likes the Mackinac being here in orbit. A lot of our passengers go down to the planet during the day and enjoy the planet's delights. We're more of a glorified hotel than a resort. It cuts into our profits, but it's better than having no business at all. With Bretonia in the state it's in, Luxury Liner Shetland is barely making enough to pay for its upkeep, and with all the war, tourism is down everwhere, so we're scrambling to make a profit wherever we can.

* Last week I was out in the Hime Ocean. A couple of friends and I were out boating, not really paying attention to where we were going. All of the sudden we were surrounded by a bunch of Samura patrol ships telling us we were in a restricted area. We tried to apologize but they didn't listen, just rushed us back to the spaceport and kicked us off-planet permanently. Permanently! I tell you, they are hiding something. Something dangerous... Or lucrative.

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