Eplessier Depot

CLASS: Rotherham

GRAVITY: Partial

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Limited

CREW: 320

The Eplessier Depot is a relatively small installation built by the Maquis within the Avre Asteroid Field. The station allows the Maquis to attack traffic heading for Planet Amiens, and also allows them to harass ships near both the system's Jump Gates.

## News

Once a beacon of our national ingenuity, Metz was the site of the experimental Metz Mirror Array, more commonly known as the MMA project. The project was intended to assist the terraforming operations through a sophisticated array of orbital mirrors. The array would redirect additional sunlight onto the equatorial band of Metz, further raising local temperatures on the otherwise icy world.
Decried by its detractors as a "fool king's endeavour", the ambitious project never had the opportunity to prove its capabilities, as the nearly complete array fell victim to Kusari's invasion of Lorraine. With the array gone and supplies severed, the terraforming project and the biosphere it maintained collapsed during the occupation, leading to widespread famine across Metz. Unfortunately, in the wake of King Charles' gambit in Bretonia and the near complete destruction of Lorraine and Languedoc by Kusari forces, the Union government has declared the system a total loss and ordered a full evacuation of the planet.

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.

The inaugural Civilian Council, filled with notable citizens from across Gallia, elected Louis de Varax, decorated Grand Marshal for the Second Gallic War and the Kusari Invasion to the rank of Maréchal de Gaule, the executive of Gallia. The Grand Marshal has appointed navy officers to Seigneurship over each system of Gallia. Together with the Marechal, they now have the noble task of leading Gallia into a prosperous future.
The inaugural Civilian Council convened on the 22nd of December to elect former President of Ile-de-France Bastien de Chamborant to the office of Chancellor with an overwhelming mandate of 70 percent of the vote. After his inauguration on the 26th, Chancellor Chamborant issued the following statement from the balcony of the Grand Ministere:
"My mission is to work alongside the Maréchal and the Seigneurs for the greater good of our nation. My consultative role will allow our citizens to fully participate in the reconstruction of our House turned towards our core Gallic values."
"Our Great House is now entering a new era, on the dawn of the year 744 AGS, and we can now trust that our leaders will impose Gallia as a major house of Sirius!"
As the year comes to a close, the newly reunified house looks towards the dawn of a new Gallic era.

The Confederal Government has so far remained divided on the "Rheinland Question", with the exception of authorising the deployment of the La Fierte battlegroup to the border. This decision appears to have been prudent, with reports circulating on Oerlikon that a large Rheinland engine plume was detected on a heading towards the Valais Cloud. So far Confederal Defence Force representatives have remained tight lipped about the possibility of a Rheinland battlegroup seeking refuge in the system.
Despite the political gridlock between Republican, Duchy and Minarchy representatives, the Defence Force has received authorisation to deploy into the Cologne system in order to secure Gallic assets. Intelligence reports have confirmed that the group known as the Red Hessians has attempted to assert control over the system, and infiltrate Zurich. A public warning has been posted advising that 'Hessians' approaching the Zurich jump gate will be fired upon.

The course of the Second Gallic War has proved many times that we can fulfill our obligations and act with honour and courage. The presence of Maquis on Planet Marne is stronger than ever, and several space ports on the planet are fully under our control, open for ships of our other allies, the Brigands and the Corse. Gallic Brigands and Unione Corse do not participate in our fight for the overthrow of the monarchy in Gallia, however, they share our desire for freedom from the control of corrupt officials and Gallic corporations.
The liberation of Languedoc, a massive operation of the Council in which we participated, was our most recent - and most deadly - strike against the monarchy. While several hundred of our fighters were destroyed by the Gallic Navy during this operation, the goal is now achieved: isolation of Gallia from Sirius is a thing of the past. The Maquis also played an important role in securing a secret passage in the Lorraine mine fields. Unione Corse delivered us the prototypes of the devices that the Gallic Navy was going to use to neutralise their mines when the time for the Sirius-wide invasion came. Council engineers recreated those devices in sufficient numbers to disable a large portion of the Lorraine mine field, revealing a nearby system that is known as Omicron Tau by Sirius naming conventions.
Despite our recent victories, the Second Gallic War is far from over. Gallic fleets are gathering strength, and soon they will inevitably gain the upper hand in Languedoc. Our current objective is to secure our installations in the asteroid fields of the Gallic systems. We will also aid in defending the Champagne system from any Royal Navy attacks. Planet Marne is a new home to many of us. Fresh air instead of recycled space station atmosphere, fresh food instead of synthetic substitutes - this is what we missed for so long, and what this war's successes have made accessible for us.

## Rumors

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