Taba Starbase

CLASS: Armada

GRAVITY: Complete

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: 500

A garrison of the Order built after the colonization of Akabat, Taba was strategically placed in proximity to jump holes leading out of the system. It is the primary military installation in the region, supplying the Omicron Minor frontline. The nature of Taba made it necessary to outfit the station with cutting-edge medical equipment to treat injured in skirmishes within the Toledo graveyard.

Taba handles incoming and outgoing traffic from both Omicron Minor and Sigma alike, as well as being tasked with field repairs and supplying of The Order war machine. This busy port is one of the closest manned bases to the Nomad Worlds and is known to some amongst the Order as "Hell's Gateway".

## News

Moreover, our potential support for the Corsairs' endeavors in Omicron Theta confronts hurdles of its own. The loss of Lisbon Station in Omicron Beta has rendered our northern border increasingly vulnerable to Outcast intrusions, compared to more secure times. Adding complexity to the equation, the Corsairs' acquisition of Freeport 9, a move perceived by some as indiscriminate, has strained cooperation prospects with certain Order agents and supporters. While the Order maintains no formal allegiance to the Zoners stationed on Freeport 9, these developments have been troubling for those of Zoner origins among our ranks.
As traditional alliances within the Omicrons continue to wane, our age-old nemesis, the Core, shows unmistakable signs of strategic preparations. Though the accuracy of these forewarnings remains uncertain, the Order stands resolute, ready to confront any eventuality that may materialize in the imminent future.

Initial attempts to explore this mysterious realm via long-range sensors faced a formidable hurdle—intense electromagnetic interference emanating from a local gas giant. Consequently, Order agents were compelled to resort to conventional reconnaissance methods, deploying Onuris-class reconnaissance fighters equipped with interference-resistant short-range sensors.
While conclusive evidence of Nomadic presence within the Tau-61 system remains elusive, the series of vanished patrols and perplexing sensor anomalies persist, necessitating sustained commitment on the part of the battleship Amenta and its diligent crew.

As Crete demanded the Zoners of Theta turn over any Hunters aboard their stations and surrender docking control, the Freeport 9 administrators were confident that some kind of compromise could be found. A delegation from Gran Canaria was requested to assist with negotiations, due to the close ties between Zoner and Corsair communities on the planet.
Tragically, the Corsairs interpreted this delay as refusal, and launched a surprise attack while the delegation was en-route. Many of Freeport 9's crew are now being held as hostages while the Corsairs pillage the station. An urgent conclave has been called on Gran Canaria to discuss the Zoner response, while militias on Pygar have taken up arms in case the violence spreads.

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.

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.

For decades the Zoners of Freeport 9 have kept themselves safe from Corsair reprisals by offering useful services, with their biodomes providing Crete with respite from the famines that once ravished it. Despite this, outrage has swept Omicron Gamma after a flight of Hunters killed Commander Juan Garcia, before retreating back to the No Fire Zones of Omicron Theta.
The Council of Elders have ordered the administrator of Freeport 9 to attend Planet Crete to hear their demands. Elder Garcia has vowed that the station's halls would "run red with blood" unless the Zoners turned over all BHG aboard the Freeport. The Zoners are yet to respond, likely trying to anticipate how the Corsairs will react.

The Corsairs see the Pygar colony as a direct competitor for the region's scarce resources, with Elder Garcia warning that there would be "dire consequences" should Freeport 9's biodomes reduce or divert their exports to Planet Crete. Whispers of alien ruins and Artifacts discovered below Pygar's surface may also antagonize the Corsairs, who rely on the Artifact trade as a source of wealth. The hardship of Pygar's extreme conditions and the uneasy relationship with the Corsairs has already led many colonists to consider a return to the now liberated Gran Canaria.

However, this triumph was not without its share of setbacks. During the battle, critical issues surfaced concerning the Horus's system reliability. These problems reached their zenith when the Horus's primary weapons systems inadvertently disabled its primary drive during a combat engagement with a formidable Core patrol in the Omicron Minor system. In a daring rescue mission, the battleship Thebes swooped in to save the imperiled Horus.
While the primary power supply was eventually restored, the Horus was recalled to the shipyard for a comprehensive examination and necessary repairs. In light of these reliability concerns, the decision has been made to withhold the deployment of this advanced, yet temperamental technology for the time being.

## Rumors

* Some of my compatriots feel that we should launch an immediate and massive counteroffensive, but I'm not so sure. I suspect that the Nomads will conclude that the Order will strike back as soon as possible, and so they will be guarding the jump holes in force. They may have taken heavy losses in the battle, but so did we. From all accounts, the Bounty Hunters took massive casualties as well and have retreated back to Dabadoru base in Omicron Delta to lick their wounds, so even if we were to accomodate some kind of truce and launch a joint attack, we just don't have the numbers.

* A number of our patrols in Omicron Delta and Omicron Minor have disappeared since the destruction of Toledo, and nobody knows what happened to them. Although to be honest, it is likely to have been either the Bounty Hunter's Guild or those Nomad aliens. They're the only two groups out here that have the numbers and firepower to pose any real challenge to Order forces.

* Hey man, I lost a lot of buddies out in Omicron Minor during the battle. I reckon at least some of their ships are still out there, or bits of them, maybe. Either way, if you find any of them, can you return their bodies to the nearest Order outpost? It'd be a personal favour to the families of those killed. You can keep whatever you salvage if you must, but please return the bodies. The last thing I want is to leave them out there drifting through space, alone in the dark.

* I was in charge of one of the transports that was detailed to pull out key personnel from the surface of Toledo. I haven't ever seen anything quite like it before, and I don't want to again. There just wasn't enough space for everyone, and security were forced to rifle butt people who were clamouring for spaces on the evacuation shuttles. As it is, we barely made it out of there alive anyway, as there were alien fighters everywhere as soon as we left the atmosphere.

* Go away...I really don't want to talk to anyone, and that especially includes you. I lost a lot of good friends out in Omicron Minor. Not that I'd expect you to understand. You look like the fistful of credits type, if you ask me, so how about you go bother the Bounty Hunters over in Delta? I'm sure they'll be more accomodating.

* You know, a lot of guys around here don't like to admit it, especially in light of our truly horrendous losses, but we were losing the battle anyway. Those damnable Bounty Hunters brought in so many ships that we were hard pressed to hold them from the start. They were landing ground troops and heavy vehicles even as their main forces launched a frontal assault. Sure, they were taking losses, but they'd have won if the Nomads hadn't turned up. As it is, we were too busy killing each other in the tens of dozens before we noticed the alien fighter squadrons bearing down on us, and by then it was too late. They tore us up real badly, but the Bounty Hunters took the brunt of it, being trapped as they were between the Order and Nomad battle groups. I doubt many, if any, of them made it out alive. And so, the aliens used our petty human squabblings and divisiveness against us, and destroyed us both. Kind of stupid, huh?

* We would have been able to defeat The Core at Toledo, but the alien assault took us all by surprise. While the aliens engaged our orbital defences and the remaining Core bounty hunters, we tried to evacuate the planet. Unfortunately, I don't think many transports made it out, as the alien fighter cover was too heavy.

* I heard that Orillion is furious over the destruction of Toledo, and more than a little worried. Mostly because none of us ever suspected that the Nomads had such a weapon available to them, nor that they would even push such an open confrontation with human fleets. The strange thing is, though, why have they not used it before now?

* The Order needs to get its act together if we're going to take the fight back to the Nomads. I know we just took heavy losses, but so did the Bounty Hunters. And surely, between the two of us, those damn aliens took enough losses to make them think twice about engaging us again in open battle! I mean, I was in the fighting around Toledo and I definitely saw one of those Nomad battleships get destroyed, and the explosion took out an alien cruiser too...and I'm pretty damn sure that we took down a couple of hundred of their fighters also. We just need to strike back now, when they least expect it!

* We can't let this affront to humanity stand! If we give those damned alien bastards an inch, they'll take us for all we're worth! We need to gather our forces and hit them back hard and fast, as quickly as possible. I'd be willing to bet that they took more casualties than they'd have liked in their attack on Toledo, especially with them fighting those bounty hunter swines at the same time. Now's our best chance. We beat them before, and we'll beat them again!

* Huh, they're calling it the "Battle of Toledo". The "Massacre of Toledo", more like. Or wait, how about "Genocide of Toledo"? Considering how many people died there, and we lost an entire damn planet to boot, I hardly think the word battle quite captures the gravity of the situation. But we'll recover, as we always have. Or we better hope we do, for humanity's sake. Who knows where the Nomads will strike next with their damn planet destroyer?

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