Kagoshima Depot

CLASS: Musashi

GRAVITY: Partial

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Limited

CREW: 440

Kyushu is known as the "company" planet within Kusari, as many of its inhabitants depend on Samura for their livelihoods. Over the years Samura organized Kyushu farmers into cooperatives to stimulate rice production and sold the rice at premium prices in Tokyo supermarkets.

The introduction of Trade Lanes led to competition with foreign agricultural imports, and the Farmers Alliance, supported by Samura, lobbies for government subsidies and restrictions on foreign foods in Kusari.

Under these circumstances Synth Foods proved to be an overnight success. Particularly in the urban areas of Honshu and New Tokyo. The Farmers were quick to be pulled under Samura's umbrella of influence and weaponised as a means to oppose not merely the Liberty food giant, but tackle all foreign trade.

Today, Kagoshima while ostensibly still labelled a depot, is more akin to a militarized launchpad for Farmers Alliance raiders to strike at Synth's operations in the system. This has become a prevalent focus of the movement in the wake of the Kyushu cyclonic storm that provided foreign competition with the potential for good press. Though unsuccessful in preventing Synth Food's involvement wholesale, the Farmers have made the new market a costly affair.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Gateway Shipping
* 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.

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.

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

* I expected our benefactors might take offense to our initiative of linking up with other farmers, but they were actually supportive. They must realize it's simply more efficient this way.

* Some people say that we are just puppets of Samura. It is true that Samura financially supports our cause, and tells us whom and where to strike next. But we still can decide for ourselves if we want to continue doing this. We are all volunteers to the cause. With our beloved Emperor exiled in Bretonia, the cause is more just than ever before.

* Samura has been very good to us. They built the factories in Kyushu, provided us with special Seeds and Fertilizers, and even provided special Samura Bank loans to my family. We drive a Samura XCV series personal craft, of course.

* I hear that our equipment and supplies are paid for by some mysterious benefactor in Shinjuku. It's a good thing we have someone with money willing to fight the foreigners and the government. Sometimes they ask us to raid Kishiro storage depots, which used to trouble me. We don't see ourselves as common thieves, like the Hogosha, but this new government is an affront to everything our ancestors built for us.

* We have been able to find many eager recruits in Kyushu. The factories are empty and the fields lay fallow in Kyushu because of the foreigners. Kishiro uses Gaijin labor at Deshima to manufacture its Consumer Goods, products that were once made by Kyushu craftsmen. Now this new government wants to be even more open to gaijin trade and influence? The people of Kusari are being misled, if they knew what was happening on Kyushu they would take up arms as we have. It was only out of fear of Gallia that the people abandoned their traditions. Once Gallia is no longer a threat, the people will do what is right, and restore the Emperor to his throne. Then things will be set right once and for all.

* We use this base to attack Synth Food convoys in Shikoku and Tokyo. There are Jump Holes near both systems. Sometimes the council of elders orders us to attack Kishiro Consumer Goods transports, or even Optical Chips. We do what we are told; that is the traditional Kusari way.

* We get all of our supplies from Kabukicho in the Kanto Field of the New Tokyo system. Those Hogosha seem dishonest, but they are friends of Samura, so I guess they must be okay.

* We are the unemployed farmers of the garden planet of Kyushu. Our families have toiled for generations, producing Food for all of Kusari. Synth Foods has destroyed our traditional way of life in 10 years. They must be stopped. It's foreign corporations like Synth that has led to this new government destroying our traditions. Kusari is fast becoming a cheap copy of Liberty, and this cannot stand!

* We recently reached out to our likeminded dissidents in House Rheinland and struck an agreement. They found that our movement was essentially an umbrella they could act under, and we agreed to support them in tackling Synth. Together, I feel we will do a better job in curtailing those foul people and their so called product.

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