Kensington Shipping Platform

CLASS: Izzard

GRAVITY: Complete

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: 480

Constructed in 672 AS, Kensington Shipping Platform was the fruit of Gateway's relative success in the past two centuries. Rising from relative obscurity, Gateway Shipping has shown itself to be a strong competitor to Border Worlds Exports.

Though they may not hold major contracts with Bretonian giants such as BMM and Border Worlds Exports, Gateway Shipping has had great breakthroughs with upstart corporations such as the Independent Mining Guild, Planetform, ALG Waste Disposal, and several other small firms that produce domestic products within Bretonia who were scorned from their respective businesses by BMM and BowEx. By filling niche markets, Gateway has found its place in the Bretonian market, a place large enough to actively compete with BowEx, though the former giant still holds the majority of market share.

With the advance of the Royal Navy into the heart of Bretonia, New London, Kensington sustained damage during raids. However, following the end of hostilities, Gateway has found new opportunities within Bretonia owing to the construction of the nearby Belvedere Refinery, made possible in part in thanks to Gateway lobbying of the Bretonian governement that ALG was the best fit for the job, ignoring recent issues with the Rheinland corporation. With the facility operational, Gateway business in New London is experiencing a much needed boom after some very difficult years. Despite this improvement of the business environment, refugee issues Bretonia is facing in the wake of Leeds and the danger of the route to Kusari remains a concern for the shipping corporation.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Gateway Shipping
* Planetform, Inc.
* Independent Miners Guild
* Bounty Hunters Guild
* Universal Shipping

* Gateway Shipping

## 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

* Kensington distributes Consumer Goods throughout Bretonia. Planets, space stations, depots, wherever there is a Bretonian, you'll find us supplying him or her with the finest little necessities of life. It isn't as lucrative as Luxuary Goods, but you're not as attractive a target for pirates either.

* Gateway delivers goods throughout Sirius. It is ironic that we're most restricted in our own home, Bretonia. BMM prefers to deal with Bowex, as do most of the government organisation. The Police Authority is more pragmatic however, and have begun a trial with us to see how we work.

* Gateway handles the supply of most IMG bases in and around Bretonia. We also handle cargo runs from various ALG bases which Republican refuses to do. Republican and Daumann have attempted to keep ALG in a stranglehold, much in the same way that Bowex and BMM tried to keep the IMG in a stranglehold. Now that the three of us are cooperating, that practise no longer works.

* One of the key aims of our partnership with IMG is to get along with as many of the criminal factions as we can, thereby lowering our operating costs in the Border Worlds, which will comprise the bulk of future mineral discoveries in the sector. BMM and Bowex take a much harder line, which hurts them with factions like the Mollys and Red Hessians.

* Gateway and the IMG are partners. We haul their minerals and supplies to distant markets. ALG has recently joined our partnership, enabling us to expand into Rheinland and take on the Daumann-Republican monopoly, which is eerily similar to our own BMM-Bowex road block. None of them are too happy with our competition.

* We'd like to get more involved in the Luxury Goods and Food trade, but Bowex has a lock on that. Its exclusive military and police supply contracts are the worst because they make the Bretonian government pay through the nose. That's what you get with centuries of no competition. The Police Authority wizened up and has started to use us for their operations in Poole. Once we show the government how efficient we are, I reckon not even those Bowex lobbyists will be able to hold us at bay.

* Our two big cargos for long-range runs to Liberty are Beryllium and Gold. That Gold attracts a lot of attention, especially in the Independent Worlds, although the Corsairs have begun to hit us just outside the base here. Luckily the Police Authority always has a few patrols close by.

* This is Gateway's home base and hub for our shipping operations throughout the Sirius Sector. Bowex made sure that we couldn't use London itself as our base. We've adapted okay. It's actually a little more centrally located - transports coming from Liberty always pass by Kensington if they do business in New London or Cambridge.

* I tried my hand at smuggling recently, heading up through Newcastle to try and sneak through to Tau-31. My little freighter was spotted instantly, and I had to make a run for it back through the Newcastle jump hole. Those Gallic pilots have got far more agile ships then the Mollys and Outcasts ever did.

* I used to haul H-fuel from the Hokkaido system, but now that Leeds is blockaded, I'm trying to find decent routes into Rheinland and Liberty. Although our corporation can go into Kusari again, it's a long haul to go around the Taus to get there.

* Bowex is far too reliant on their government contracts. They have forgotten how to be efficient, and that will be their downfall. Gateway doesn't rely on bribes and other dirty tricks. We simply outperform those fossils.

* I almost caught me a Corsair smuggler crossing the Manchester Trade Lane the other day. Saw him scurry across in front of us. We pursued him, but lost him in the fields. The Corsairs mostly ship Artifacts, which wouldn't be a business model if those idiot aristocrats back in London would stop buying them.

* The Gaians aren't really active south of the Devon Field. They're more of a northern Bretonian problem. I've never seen them in Cambridge, which is kind of ironic since that's where most of them originally came from, but with BMM moving into the system, that's bound to change.

* Corsairs in New London, Mollys in Dublin, Gaians in Edinburgh, Gallia in Leeds. Oh, and Outcasts in Newcastle. Those that say space is dangerous got it right. But that's why the police is there, to keep the civilians safe.

* The Gaians are always putting out probing attacks on this area to check for a lull in our patrols. Occasionally we give them one, then launch two squadrons from Canterbury and Kensington to overwhelm them. It is our hope a few ambushes like that will deter them from coming here.

* I alternately patrol the two eastern Trade Lanes that originate here, but I dread the Cambridge Jump Gate run the most. I start getting the shakes a good hour before heading out on those days. I signed up for police duty, not military work. The Corsairs rival the military in tactics and skill.

* I'm based in Cambridge most of the time, where Beryllium at Cardiff is mined - I've just shipped a load of it here. Cardiff was the founding operation of the IMG, and it's been going ever since it was established. We usually pick up our Mining Machinery here for the return trip.

* We're just stopping by to pick up basic supplies for the Hood in Dublin. We usually get Food, Water, Oxygen, Pharmaceuticals, and such. There are lots of miners to support out there. We handle those supply runs ourselves - saves the Gateway boys the need to cross into Dublin. The Mollys and Corsairs run a lot of ambushes in Dublin. Some of our pilots are more used to that kind of Borderworld-ish nature.

* Those Gaians had the gall to attack this base the other day. I guess they were going for storage depots. Too many police and Bounty Hunters around. They chased them off pretty quick. A few Corsairs approached as the Hunters were mopping up, but decided againt attacking when their sensors picked up the two police patrols. Guess even they have their limits.

* Seems like these Gateway people have a much easier time with the criminal element than we do, except, of course, with the Corsairs and Outcasts. Nobody gets close with them, at least not on the legitimate side of the coin.

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