Battleship Matsumoto

CLASS: Genji

CREW: CLASSIFIED

ARMAMENT: CLASSIFIED

Constructed several years before the outbreak of the Nomad War, the Matsumoto has become a symbol of Kusari's resilience in face of foreign and internal threats alike.

Stationed in the Hokkaido system for much of its existence, the battleship defended the jump gate construction site found nearby. While it prevents any large-scale attack, the Blood Dragons adapted to the situation and continuously raided the facility in swifty hit-and-run type attacks.

The Matsumoto has also taken part in the brief exchange of hostilities between Gallia and Kusari, spearheading the advance together with the Hamamatsu. Though it had fewer triumphs, its crew gained much experience during the battles.

For this reason, the warship was tasked once again with defending Kusari's northern regions, now patrolling the Hokkaido system.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Deep Space Engineering
* Samura Industries

## 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.

## Rumors

* Welcome to the end of the universe. You probably need a drink, and an anti-rad pill after crossing the Gap. The Kyofu makes life difficult here, because you can't just hop back to Tokyo to take your leave. They prefer to minimize exposure to once every two months for anyone posted here.

* We are certain that the Hole to Chugoku is somewhere in the Kayo Cloud, but it is hard for us to linger long in there. The Blood Dragons emerge from the fog, destroy one ship of the patrol, then flee like cowards into the mists. It is very demoralizing on our pilots.

* Many Naval Forces fighters have been lost recently in skirmishes with the Blood Dragons. Due to the low visibility and difficult conditions in the cloud, some weapons could still remain on the ships in some of the more remote locations.

* Why do the Blood Dragons hate the government and Samura so much? They seem to tolerate Kishiro and the GMG. I'm just a soldier following orders. I want this war to end so that I can go home to Kyushu. Unfortunately, it seems like there will be no simple resolution to this conflict. I hope the new government can find a way forward, we are going nowhere sitting here in Hokkaido.

* This is a most difficult situation. Tokyo insists that we defend this Jump Gate to the Tau-53 system in order to eliminate the Blood Dragon threat. But it is not easy to supply our ships across the Kyofu Gap. The Blood Dragons are patient, waiting for us to lower our guard for a moment. Then they strike out of the Kayo Cloud. We should move into Tau-53 itself, the dense clouds and radiation in Tau-53 would limit the movement of the Dragons, and allow us to patrol into both Hokkaido and Tottori.

* We must also patrol the tradelanes to the jump gate through the Unyo Cloud. The terrorists would destroy all of the Samura and Farmer's Alliance convoys if we didn't. It is a tenuous balance in the northern end of Hokkaido.

* I've heard that we will abandon this area of Hokkaido soon. Tokyo wants us to build a defensive line on the other side of the Kyofu Gap and leave it at that. All the Gas that Samura wants is in the southern end of the system anyway. We have more important assets to defend in Tau-53 and Tottori, but given the reaction of the Farmers to the new Kusari government, I wonder if we will be welcomed warmly in Tottori?

* It would have been virtually impossible to build the other end of this jump gate in Chugoku. It would have taken months to transport supplies and run the battleship cross the gap, and we would have been very close to the Chugoku base while attempting to construct the Gate. I am grateful that we found a better use for this project.

* None of us know why we are here. The government should withdraw behind the Gap, or move us into Tau-53. That would be much easier to defend than this hell hole. It is a matter of saving face for the bureaucrats in Tokyo that approved this project. They cannot admit their error, or more likely, return the bribes they accepted from Samura.

* I'm not sure what they will do with this battleship now the gate is complete. Billions of Kusari credits have already been expended on the jump gate project. At the very least, it is a monument to the power that we have over the corrupt bureaucrats. Even with a new government, our claws dig deep into the bureaucracy. It will take years to weed out our influence, the new government will be thrown out long before then.

* One of the more exotic requests we get from the Navy boys here on the Matsumodo is for Gallic Tobbaco. Who are we to deny them? The Commander of the Matsumodo has his own private smoking room for his own indulgences. He invited me to join him, he is one of the few Naval Forces commanders who still looks after Samura the way we used to be, and we intend to do the same in kind.

* Samura has accomplished our primary goal of establishing a viable gas field in Hokkaido. The government's assistance was invaluable achieving this goal. We no longer need to justify our presence in Hokkaido, we can stay well below the Gap around Sapporo, or move on into Tau-53.

* The MOX run to this ship and the Chugoku gate is very dangerous. The enemy seem particularly interested in intercepting our special cargo. I don't know why we are supposed to return the Toxic Waste to Yokohama. We should just dump it in the Gap.

* Samura has had advisors here since the beginning of the Gate construction project. We have surveyed the Kayo and Unyo Clouds for potential Gas reserves. It appears that the southern area of the system is richer. That is probably for the best, as we may be forced to withdraw from this area soon.

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