Nansei Research Complex

CLASS: Amaterasu

GRAVITY: Complete

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: 650

In 400 AS the Kusari government began offering incentives to attract new businesses and existing corporations to establish themselves within the Kyushu system. Taking advantage of the offer Samura Industries began work on the Nansei Research Complex, fast tracking the complex to be finished later the same year. Designed primarily to study antimatter and antimatter based weaponry, the facility utilises vast solar arrays to provide consistent power to its electromagnetic containment fields which isolates the several kilograms of stored antimatter.

The facility is often a favourite target of attacks by the Blood Dragons, leading to the Battleship Nagumo being stationed nearby to oversee both the defence of the Tau-29 jump gate and of Nansei itself. Should the Blood Dragons ever succeed in compromising any of the storage cells, the annihilating antimatter would result in an explosion in excess of 100 megatons of force wiping out the facility and anyone unfortunate enough to be caught within the blast.

The base has, on occasion, been the venue for a number of secret research projects by the Naval Forces using the collective expertise on antimatter for military purposes. While no products of the research have been directly linked to Nansei, its importance and location has been deemed strategic to the Imperial Kusari Navy as well as the Kusari Intelligence, who defected to the Imperial forces. Forgoing a direct assault on the facility that would most likely compromise the research materials, the imperial command employed a strategy of isolation and attrition against the garrison with the aim of weakening the defenders enough to succumb to a later boarding action.

The plan backfired as the KNF became aware of the passive stance adopted by the imperials and devised a breakthrough operation allowing them to take the valuable research data and abandon the increasingly untenable location. Once the data was copied to their ships and the base databanks erased, the KNF forces departed in a fast convoy, leaving behind a barren facility and its remaining Samura staff. By coordinating with units from the Nagumo, they were just able to break through the encirclement of the IKN, escaping into New Tokyo with minimal losses.

As advances elsewhere put the station out of reach of the Republic, plus with there being no KNF garrison left to defend it, the Imperial Kusari Navy and Kusari Intelligence moved in. Although disappointed by the missed chance to attain any Naval Forces secrets, the Kusari Intelligence have assumed control of Nansei. Operatives stationed here are currently attempting to retrieve any fragments of the previous research, including interviews of civilians that were left behind, whilst continuing development of new weaponry for the Imperial cause.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Kusari Office of Intelligence
* Kusari State Police
* Border World Exports
* Gateway Shipping
* Kishiro Technologies
* Samura Industries
* Farmers Alliance

## News

Battleship Matsumoto and its task force remain in the Kyushu system to protect the fragile transports from vultures among the Blood Dragons or Golden Chrysanthemums. Some Farmer's Alliance vessels have even been glimpsed to patrol the routes left largely unnoticed by the wider Naval blockade of the system, and have subsequently been given some leniency by Naval Forces and State Police patrols.
While the relief effort is now well underway, criticism has been leveled at Samura for the prioritisation of rebuilding profitable farming infrastructure over the care of the local populations. Spokespeople for the company have repeatedly assured that displaced victims of the storms that continue to ravage the planet are being cared for to the best of their abilities, but that supplies are strained and not all communities are yet able to be reached.

Partially as a result of the geological activity, the equatorial monsoon season produced some of the strongest tropical storms ever recorded on Kyushu since its colonisation. These storms devastated the world's agricultural sector as they blew through the most fertile tropical lowlands, destroying as much as 20%% of the planet's annual crop yield, on top of damage to infrastructure and tragic loss of human life.
Many rural communities are reported to be struggling, with some farming communities still remaining flooded ghost towns even a month after the worst of the storms abated, though smaller-scale tempests still rage around the equator. A Samura spokesperson outlined the company's intent to restore the planet and its communities to full productivity by the middle of next year, despite the ongoing circumstance.

Immediately upon learning of this, Battleship Matsumoto and its battlegroup were redeployed from Hokkaido, and within two days were poised and ready to face this new threat. Only a short few hours later, a patrol of fighters reported a warship with the transponder reading Battleship Matsuda operating in the relative open, heading for but not yet reaching the relative safety of the Seiran Dust Cloud.
Matsumoto itself departed with its escort to confront the Chrysanthemum battleship, close to the edge of the nebula. Within minutes of it coming into sensor range, bomber and fighter squadrons from both sides closed in and opening salvos were exchanged between the battleships. It didn't take long before the KNF's preparation was shown to be well worthwhile; their superior numbers whittled down or otherwise preoccupied the Chrysanthemum's fighter force leaving a variety of openings in the Matsuda's defensive cover for KNF bombers to exploit.
While the Matsumoto was withstanding a heavy beating from the guns of its older sister, it was plain that the Matsuda was slowly being whittled away as its shields began to fail and the very same engine design flaws that had rendered it immobile in KNF service were now exploited by bomber wings to once again cripple the warship.
After several more minutes, the Matsuda's escape pods began to eject from the ailing battleship, picked up by Chrysanthemum fighters as they fled deeper into the Seiran dust cloud. It didn't take long thereafter for the ship's powercore to falter and fail completely, culminating in a vast explosion that reportedly almost turned night to day on the dark side of Planet Kyushu, if only for a split second.
Matsumoto itself sustained moderate damage in the engagement, relatively untouched by Chrysanthemum bombers however still suffering the ill effects of Matsuda's anti-capital weaponry. Despite its damage, it remains deployed in the Kyushu system to continue the blockade of the cardamine trade and to serve as a show of force to any who would challenge the might of the Emperor.

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.

It remains to be seen how this united Farmers Alliance will impact affairs on the wider stage, with the security forces of both Houses already strained by their fair share of crime and dissidence.

## Rumors

* The field of solar collectors you see outside generate the immense amounts of power required in antimatter production. We have done a lot of allied research in cheap manufacturing methods for solar collectors.

* Nansei is in direct competition with Kansai. They have more innovative and well paid scientists at Kishiro. Samura receives much money from the government for this project, yet we lack simple supplies and modern laboratory facilities.

* Kusari is attempting to use antimatter as the primary propellant rather than as an intermediary to superheat the hydrogen plasma in engine combustion chambers. To do this, we must dramatically lower the cost of antimatter production.

* It appears from our research that it is still not economical to create mass quantities of antimatter, even with cheap solar energy. Then there is the issue of transport. A large amount of antimatter transported on a ship would be a tremendously powerful bomb if the containment field were ever breached by accident or hostile action.

* If there were ever an accident in Nansei, all of Kyushu would know immediately. This entire complex would be vaporized in an instant. Antimatter destroys matter on contact in a mutually destructive collision. We have several metric tons stored here for research purposes. That would make a 1000-megaton thermonuclear weapon explosion look like a candle flame in comparison.

* The scientists here feel that it would be foolish to store antimatter in a ship. Somehow we need to find a way to generate on the fly the moderate amounts of it needed during the high boost phase of the engines.

* We require many Superconductors and all sorts of Robotics to create the massive electromagnetic fields needed to accelerate hydrogen to the speeds that create antimatter particles. The high efficiency Liberty Superconductors are far more economical than any Kusari has been able to fabricate.

* The antimatter research is a cover for our real purpose here: replicating the Ageira Superconductors. Somehow Liberty has learned extremely advanced manufacturing techniques to create compounds that we've never seen.

* This is just another kickback from the government to Samura. Samura receive 50 million from Tokyo every year, yet we never are allowed to spend more than 20. The rest goes to fund all of Samura's extracurricular activities around Kusari. I don't know how much longer we will keep getting the money though. If the new government ever audits us there will be serious questions asked about our operations here.

* In 400 AS the Kusari government decided to offer corporations incentives to move offices and bases into Kyushu. This was to help stimulate development of the system. We decided to take advantage of that offer; in return the government is getting the best research available governing antimatter. Eventually, these projects could lead to new forms of propulsion, energy, and weaponry.

* We are not making nearly as much money as Kishiro research scientists. Plus, all of our equipment is outdated. Some of our materials are getting so old that accidents can happen. This is not a good place to work, though I could not dishonor myself by leaving Samura.

* The Samura scientists stationed here have been demoralized by the cuts in overtime and bonuses by Samura during the last year. Rumor is that our support of the Farmers Alliance has been more costly than expected.

* All the best scientists work for Kishiro -- everyone knows that. Most of us are Kyushu University graduates, a school known more for its agricultural research than up-to-date propulsion engineering programs.

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