Leiden Base

CLASS: Cray

GRAVITY: Complete.

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: 240

Leiden Base was built in 782 AS by a group of former Ageira Technologies employees after the Galileo bypass scandal resulted in several executives and an elite development team being forced out of Ageira. They quickly got in contact with the Lane Hackers at Mactan, securing the northern Independent Worlds as their primary areas of operation, preying on the heavy shipping between Liberty and Kusari.

Originally the Lane Hackers on Leiden focused on simple piracy, using their knowledge of the Trade Lane systems to obtain information on the most tempting of targets, carrying off what they could loot and destroying the rest. In recent time, the Lane Hackers have also begun to take an interest in smuggling Alien Artifacts. The Hogosha control the flow of artifacts through Kusari, and the Lane Hackers deal with them on Leiden out of necessity. The Lane Hackers also have dealings with the Golden Chrysanthemums, trading Cardamine for information on ship movements along the trade lanes in Kusari.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Hogosha
* Lane Hackers
* Liberty Rogues
* Samura Industries

## News

The Outcasts and their most loyal agents stepped in almost immediately in anticipation of something like this happening, and set new rules for distribution according to set keys. A small group of Liberty Rogues defied them and followed their own rules of distribution, but they didn't fare too well - the Dons, despite the ongoing crisis in Malta, do not tolerate insubordination.
For this reason, several powerful Junkers and Rogues immediately decided to dilute Cardamine instead of redistributing ostentatiously against the wishes of the Outcasts at the expense of their clients, thereby raising their own shares. Fortunately for these savvy businessmen, word did not reach the Outcasts until some time later, and thanks to an improved network of cooperation, most of the organizers were able evade Malta's assassins.
However, all these measures had only limited effectiveness. Many end-clients and casual Cardamine users have been forced to seek medical attention due to their deteriorating health due to potentially fatal withdrawal symptoms. It is not known how many Cardamine users eventually died because of the shortage, but it appears to be in the order of single-digit percentages - much to the very verbal displeasure of the Outcasts themselves.

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.

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.

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.

"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

* Cardamine has changed my life. It's the greatest stuff you can imagine. You have really strange hallucinations with heavy doses -- flying across alien landscapes, seeing creatures and places that you can't imagine. It's truly an amazing trip. I've noticed that I'm gradually losing interest in eating regular old Synth Paste. I've heard that Outcast Food is more palatable to heavy Cardamine users. Not sure why.

* We get most of our basic supplies -- such as Food, Consumer Goods, Oxygen, and Water -- from the Zoner Ames Research Station.

* The Golden Chrysanthemums get most of their supplies from us. We keep them living in the style that they are accustomed to. In return, they supply us with all the Cardamine we can use from their Hokkaido base.

* We get shipments of H-Fuel from the Golden Chrysanthemums in Hokkaido and ship them Food, Side Arms, and Software. Those Golden Cs love the latest Software versions. And guns, they really love guns.

* The Lane Hackers are disinterested in politics. We do not fight for any political cause or rally behind a flag. The only thing that is important to a Hacker is money so that any wants are fulfilled. Ok, money and bringing down Ageira. I almost forgot how I've dedicated my entire life to destroying Ageira...I must need to replenish my Cardamine.

* The Kobe Maru was making its weekly Artifact run across the Shikoku system when it was ambushed by the Blood Dragons. The ship is presumed destroyed, and its whereabouts are unknown, although it's been rumored to be drifting somewhere in the Shiun Cloud.

* The Freespirit was beginning its regular Artifact run from Leiden to Rochester when it was ambushed by Bounty Hunters. It fled into the Reppu Cloud and disappeared. No one has been able to locate the ship for some time.

* The Shibuya Maru was making a Cardamine shipment across the southern end of the Shikoku system when it was intercepted by a Bounty Hunter named Jake Rush. He swears that he opened fire and badly wounded the ship. He searched the cloud for some time, but never found the Shibuya. The word around Deshima is that it never made it to the Galileo system. It's probably out there somewhere in the Keiun Cloud.

* Ageira wonders how we can keep up with its advances in Trade Lane technology and security. Truth is, everybody who was sympathetic to the Lane Hackers didn't necessarily stop working for Ageira. That's right -- we've got insider friends who keep us one step ahead of the game.

* We receive Side Arms and Pharmaceuticals from the Rogue base Padua in the Reppu Cloud and ship Food, Software, Oxygen, and Water there.

* Down here we run Cardamine and H-Fuel from our base in Hokkaido in exchange for many of our basic supplies. Leiden indirectly supplies the Blood Dragon base in Chugoku via Ainu. That's the real reason we have to make so many runs down to this alien place. They often protect us from hostile attacks, so it's worth it.

* The Jump Hole to Shikoku is very close, just to the north of this base. It is the first of three jumps to get to the dangerous but beautiful Hokkaido system.

* We use the Jump Hole to Shikoku, then skirt the west end of the system through the nebula clouds to avoid detection by the Blood Dragons -- our mortal enemies. The police and Bounty Hunters rarely bother us. At the far end of Shikoku is a Jump Hole to Kyushu, followed shortly by a Hole to New Tokyo. Very convenient.

* This is the end of our Artifact smuggling route that begins in the Border Worlds and crosses all of Kusari space. We don't like to see the Golden Chrysanthemums here, but we have no choice if we want to sell these trinkets to the rich Liberty fools on Manhattan. The Lane Hackers seem okay, though -- nothing like those disgusting Rogues.

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