Mull Base

CLASS: Baile Oighreata

GRAVITY: Partial

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: 170

Mull Base was excavated by the Mollys in 772 AS to act as a staging post for attacks on BMM operations across Leeds and Newcastle. Raids on the lightly protected industrial convoys heading to the Leeds jump gate provided the early Mollys with many of the materials needed to establish themselves as a long term insurgency. The close proximity to the Leeds jump hole also attracted several radical sects of Mollys, who sought to intercept MOX shipments from LD-14, in the hope of refining weapons-grade plutonium. These dangerous raids on high security convoys often resulted in the deaths of the pilots involved, and bore no tangible results.

In 814 AS, Mull would act as a mustering point for a large Molly attack on Belfast Production Facility. The Newcastle Armed Forces garrison had been significantly drawn down due to the ongoing conflict with Kusari in Tau 31, allowing the Mollys to punch through the local BMM security force and link up with sympathetic workers onboard. As Belfast's industrial facilities were put to use, Mull would distribute produced supplies to other Molly holdings across Bretonia. The abundance of supplies and proximity to Belfast's factories also drew a community of engineers and technicians to the station, who would be responsible for prototyping many of the Molly's weapons and equipment.

While Belfast would ultimately be destroyed by the Gallic Royal Navy in 825 AS, its legacy would survive in Mull's oversized smuggling fleet and well developed weapons design workshops. In 830 AS, these workshops would be responsible for designing and producing the enormous explosive charge used to destroy the New London jump gate in Dublin. The mine was of such substantial size that it required the Destroyer Shillelagh to tow it into position. The Molly's success with Free Dublin has come at a price however, with Arranmore demanding Mull provide ever increasing numbers of pilots and smugglers to sustain their new state.

## News

Jane Gilliam, whose commendation for repelling a Corsair raiding party as an Armed Forces Captain featured in a CNS article in 800, was not so convinced. "We all knew even back then that The Line wasn't fit for purpose. The Heilbronn disaster should have seen it scrapped, but the Regents on Cambridge didn't want New London looking too closely and pressured the Norfolk to lobby to keep it. If William was still with us, he'd say the same."
The exact catalyst for the extra attention from the edge world pirates is unclear, with various commentators speculating on increased resistance to their operations in Rheinland, Hessian efforts in the deep Omegas, or a shift in their internal politics. Regardless of their true motivations, Interspace Commerce has recognised the elevated peril and adjusted its premiums in response.

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.

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.

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Starved of the bloody Gold they use to subsidize their repression, Bretonia announced its withdrawal from Poole in a bloodless victory for the Mollys. All Poole's liberation required was patience - simply to wait for DSE to finish disassembling the jump gate. Sadly, these aspirations have turned sour with the destabilization of the Dublin jump hole, and signs that the Cambridge and Omega 48 jump holes will soon follow suit.

```

If these jump holes fail, our people will be cut off and stranded to starve. We cannot risk such a disaster in this critical stage of our fight for freedom. Colraine has issued evacuation orders to Kilrea and Garvagh. Mull Base has offered to provide transports to assist with extraction to Lisburn Rock in Cambridge.
We will monitor this space; As soon as the jump holes return, so shall we.

While Bretonia is indeed witnessing an extraordinarily high rate of economic growth in particular, it may be the case that the strain of this effort is becoming untenable, and potentially the rewards misplaced. Timothy Ball, of the independent think tank Economic Review Institute, believes this may indeed be the case. "Bretonia's economy is definitely on the rise. While still not at pre-war levels, and not expected to be for some years, the recovery we've witnessed so far has been uneven", he says. "The reconstruction of damaged and destroyed public infrastructure is underway, but seems to be lagging behind the rate of recovery being enjoyed by several major corporations. This can be explained by various factors for a time, but unless rectified, at some point this inequality could become a major point of domestic political contention."

Yesterday at 2200 hours SMT, nearby Sheffield Station and Kingston Border Station received automated distress signals from Liverpool, indicating an emergency aboard the station. Guild patrols redirected from Sheffield arrived on the scene within minutes, finding the border station destroyed. Search and rescue operations headed by Guild and BPA units commenced immediately and successfully salvaged several escape pods bearing several dozen survivors, who were immediately delivered to hospitals on New London.
BPA spokesperson Sandra Halling held a press conference earlier this morning. According to joint police and BIS investigations, Liverpool was destroyed by antimatter explosives planted aboard the station. Their detonation caused a catastrophic chain reaction, resulting in the station's own reactors melting down and exploding. Of the estimated one-hundred-twenty persons on board at the time of the attack, seventy-eight have been reported as dead or missing.
\So far, no party has taken credit for this heinous attack. However, Bretonian police surmises that it was likely perpetrated by either the criminals known as the Mollys or the infamous pirate organization, the Lane Hackers. The attack occurred following a significant redeployment of local Armed Forces units to the Cortez system for the purpose of joint operations with Libertonian security forces. This, says Halling, may have allowed terrorist sympathizers to exploit undermanned BPA patrols and smuggle illegal explosives through Manchester's ice fields, onto Liverpool Station.
While investigations continue, Bretonian Police Authority has reinforced patrols within Manchester and established traffic controls at Kingston Border Station and Birmingham Station. Traffic to and from Liberty has been advised to reroute through the Cortez system.

## Rumors

* The nebulas in the system are unusually dense. That's a good thing for us, since it helps us move about without being detected. There used to be a few minefields over in the large Barrier wisp in the east, but I hear the Armed Forces cleared those out.

* Mull is a fallback point for the Mollys in this system. Holding Belfast and it's production facilities is nice, but realistically, if the Armed Forces move against us now, we'll have no choice but to fall back a bit. There's just no way for us to muscle off a capital fleet like the ones they can manage. Unless we get ourselves one to defend that station.

* So far we haven't seen any Corsairs up here. Must be too far from wherever it is they're hiding out at. Probably Trafalgar, although our lads keep tabs on their comings and goings there. If it weren't for the Junkers being useful to move our Gold about, Trafalgar would be floating as scrap, not in scrap.

* The Outcasts are taking the brunt of the Gallic sorties into Newcastle up north. Gallia is probing the Bretonian defenses across the system, and most of 'em are using a Jump Hole to Tau-31 to get here. Others are sneaking in through Dundee. Nuts if you ask me, it'll take more than a few fighters to put a dent in the Armed Forces here.

* Gallia. Not sure what to think of it to be honest. The Outcasts have run afoul of them, and the Gaians seem to have buddied up with them. Two reasons for me why I should be gunning for them. But word is to hold off, for now. I guess our leaders want to figure out their intentions first.

* We captured Belfast by launching a direct assault from this base. The Armed Forces were too preoccupied with Kusari at the time - we knew the Ark Royal wasn't ready for any kind of operation, and BMM corporate security is a joke. Belfast now produces a large portion of all our manufactured goods, using raw materials usually "liberated" from various transports across Bretonia, and the mining rigs on Middlesbrough.

* We work with the Outcasts on occasion, but only if it benefits both us and them. They have a base up north in the Galloway, but if you plan to go look for it, you didn't hear about it from me.

* We get really annoyed with those Gaian idiots. Those bleeding heart morons fly about screaming about the rights of planets. How about the rights of humans? We need those planets. What does a planet care about us digging up raw materials from the surface, anyway? Next time one of 'em annoys me, I'll wrap 'em in a lifepod and shoot 'em down to Middlesbrough. Without a vacsuit.

* We get a fair share of rookie pilots out here. Most of them are okay though, there's hardly any Mollys who don't know how to fly a ship. We send 'em off to skirmish over on yon lane, against Bowex, the Police Authority and the occasional Gaians. Some don't make it. Those who do learn a trick or two. That's the Molly educational system for you.

* We're trying to build nuclear weapons here using plutonium. It isn't easy to get that stuff here - the IMG won't get it for us, and the various Kusari groups aren't too keen on trading it either. Most of the time we have to steal it from transports heading to Birmingham. We've done some "testing" on an Armed Forces comm buoy. Talk about sending a clear message, heh.

* The Outcasts used to control the Jump Hole to Tau-31 up in the Galloway, although the IMG knows about it too. I wonder how Gallia learned about it. I doubt the IMG would have told 'em, they got no love for the Gauls, but are just too cowardly to put their Tachyons where their heart is.

*NOTE: Page generated on the 28/10/2023 at 17:59:45 UTC*