Waterloo Station

CLASS: Zeus

GRAVITY: Complete

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: 1090

The headquarters for the local branch of Interspace Commerce as well as foreign shipping corporations such as Republican Shipping and Universal Shipping, Waterloo Station was reduced to a shadow of its former self in the wake of the ongoing battles in orbit of Planet New London. Once a busy, bustling place, constantly humming with activity as business transactions were conducted around the clock, most operations at Waterloo had been evacuated to Planet Cambridge.

Following cessation of hostilties with Gallia, Interspace began to move operations back to Waterloo, hoping to restore the base it its original purpose and bustle.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Interspace Commerce
* Deep Space Engineering
* Universal Shipping
* Gateway Shipping
* Kishiro Technologies
* Border World Exports
* Ageira Technologies
* Bounty Hunters Guild
* BMM
* Orbital Spa and Cruise
* Planetform, Inc.
* The Core

* Bounty Hunters Guild

## 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.

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.

With the end of the war and Bretonia's withdrawal from Planet Gran Canaria, Poole's prominence waned. The cost of policing the system and maintaining infrastructure has significantly outweighed collected tax revenue in recent years, with Planetform's Terraforming Gas operations reporting disappointing year on year returns.DSE has already confirmed that it will begin deconstruction operations shortly, with the dismantling of the Cambridge jump gate expected to be completed by 833 AS.

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Planetform has confirmed its intention to withdraw prior to this point, while settling shareholder anxiety with the announcement of promising preliminary findings for a replacement site in Newcastle.

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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 mess in Leeds is complete now. The Kusari invasion already did severe damage to various of the Trade Lanes in the system, to the point where we had to reroute communications to the Tau systems over Kusari. Control of the Tau lanes is now handled from Roppongi, not us. I can only guess at the state of the Gate/Lane network in Leeds itself. Best guess? Total loss.

* We work in tandem with the Bounty Hunters. They perform the unpleasant job of criminal disposal, much like the Deep Space workers handle the manual labor of building and maintaining the Trade Lanes and Jump Gates for Ageira, and ultimately, us. We offer more bounties then any other company out there, and tailor them to specific regions. We know where the hotspots are since that's where most insurance claims get filed.

* The Tau-31 to Tau-23 Jump Gates are functional, but with two subsequent wars plagueing the region, the gates were never turned over to the Bretonian government officially. There's going to be one massive claim by Bretonia, since the liability for the project failing lays with us. A Gallic military invasion wasn't in any of the exclusion clauses. I suppose we knew it was a risky venture when it was started.

* Few people understand what Interspace Commerce really does. We are primarily in the insurance business - specifically, hazard insurance for ships and cargos that use Ageira-manufactured Jump Gates and Trade Lanes in the Sirius Sector. Stations like this one are both major trade hubs, and control stations from which we keep track of insured cargo.

* Bretonia has been quite agreeable to the terms of Interspace, unlike Kusari and Rheinland, who defaulted on our perfectly legal Trade Lane financing terms in 521. Because Liberty was not ready to back us up, we lost significant leverage and were forced to transform our company from finance to insurance. If you ask me, Liberty has only hurt itself with that - If Ageira had simply deactivated the gates remotely, we'd have had all the leverage we need.

* Ageira was able to retarget the gates leading to Leeds in Newcastle and New London to eachother after Bretonia lost control of Leeds. That was a smart move by those eggheads. With Newcastle still tied to the Bretonian network, the economic might of that system will keep this house alive. It won't be enough to save them from the coming storm I fear.

* We developed USI technology in tandem with Ageira. It allows us to track shipments anywhere on the Trade Lane grid using powerful ship-sized scanners. There is no easy way for shippers to cheat us by overstating the value of their cargos in case of loss, or attempting to ship high-value cargos without our knowledge. This allows us to set our rates at a premium and minimize fraud.

* The Lane Hackers' theft of our proprietary technology has been most unfortunate. Ageira is in the process of patching the software and modifying the hardware scanners to make it Lane Hacker proof, at which point we feel that full confidence in IC and Ageira will be restored. Problem is, so far they seem to keep up with the changes we make. I don't like it, it suggests either Ageira or ourselves have a leak quite high in the organization.

* There is currently one hotspot in this sector. The Trade Lane stretch through the Keswick Cloud in the Cambridge system has been the site of several successful attacks during the past few weeks. Several repeat Molly and Corsair offenders have been identified and marked for termination. Once there is a decent price on their heads, it is only a matter of time.

* We have information that the Corsairs and Hessians are engaged in some sort of territorial dispute in the outer Omega systems. This has distracted them somewhat from fully exploiting the vulnerable position of the Trade Lanes through Omega-3 and Omega-7. Apparently, there are no Jump Holes directly linking those systems.

* If you are looking to get into Bounty Hunting, either as a freelancer or as a Bounty Hunters Guild member, feel free to check the roster over there for any available missions. There are always troublemakers out there, and we pay good credits for anyone willing to help remove these threats to commerce.

* I've been on the Outcast trail for a couple of months on deep recon for IC. We've mapped it all the way from Edinburgh to New London. Next month Operation Hailstorm commences -- loads of Bounty Hunters, Bretonian military, and police going to clear out the Outcasts from Bretonia for good. Me, I'm a bit skeptical.

* Interspace doesn't care much about what happens off of Trade Lanes or Jump Gates. That's why Junkers and Hogosha never really register on their radar. They doesn't see the obvious role the Junkers play in supplying and harboring criminals.

* Interspace pays the best of all. You'd better be good, but they'll reward you well if you can get the job done. It's funny, I've been working with Interspace for years now, they reward faithful service. The Bretonian government can't pay out for any contracts right now, so it's good to have a job.

* The Corsairs are pretty occupied with the Red Hessians in Omega-5 right now. That's a good thing for Bretonia. If the Corsairs didn't have to devote all those ships and manpower to protect their right flank against the Rheinlanders, there would be some serious pillaging going on in this system.

* IC thinks we're scum, but they need us. They never set foot outside their sanitized offices. Wouldn't last a second out where they send us. But I guess that's why they pay us so damn well. I don't need to like the folk who sign my paycheck. I just do the job they ask me to do.

* One of the company rules for as long as I can remember is that nobody touches Trade Lane or Jump Gate construction without LSF clearance. Not that anyone respects it anymore. Not after what the LSF was rumored to have pulled in that conflict in 800 AS - couple of powerhungry bastards, the lot of them.

* This is civilized space here. The Borderworlds are much more risky. I hear the company is gearing up for another construction project in Omega-3. I won't sign up for that - I saw my share of Hispanic pirates back in Tau-23. Vicious bastards, those Outcasts. I hear the Corsairs are even worse.

* The loss of Leeds hasn't affected Liberty as much as you'd think. Bretonia produced Hull Panels there, but we can get those from Kusari as well. Still, it's not a good sign. If Gallia continues to advance, Liberty is likely next on their list. I hope our Navy is smart and decides to do something about it well before then.

* I'm just making the hop up from London with supplies like Oxygen, Water, H-Fuel, and Food. I'll probably head back down to pick up my Gold shipment for Manhattan after a few days of rest. You don't cross the Independent Worlds with half an eye shut, not if you plan to survive the trip.

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