Cruiser Sachsenwald

CLASS: Hel

CREW: Unknown

DOCKING: Yes

ARMAMENT: Unknown

The Sachsenwald is an Unioner built Hel cruiser that originally comprised part of the LWB's 'Forest Fleet', lead by the Vidar Schwarzewald. Most of the fleet joined the Unioners or the Gaians during the fall of the LWB in 824 AS. The ship is famous as a 'ship of theseus', involved in so many operations that it carries few of its original components or crew. The crew has built a reputation as a 'monster-hunter' amongst the Unioners - operating in zones considered too dangerous or simply too unlucky for the average Unioner to risk.

Since the end of the Eighty Year War between the Gas Miners Guild and House Rheinland, the derelict graveyards left behind have attracted many people who intend to scavenge the parts still able to be used for personal enrichment. Many of these graveyards harbour unforeseen dangers, however, the least of which being the intense radiation emitted by some of the larger wrecks due to Rheinland's use of Thorium-Mox reactors. Due to this fact, it often happens that a scavenger inadvertently adds his own vessel to the graves.

The remanants of the 80-Years War in Thuringia have garnered the attention from many unlawful forces as well, first and foremost the Unioners. Being savvy in the art of ship construction, the Unioners know how to capitalize on the derelict wrecks, taking only the most afforable risks in the pursuit of material wealth and other resources. The Cruiser Sachsenwald has been stationed in the Thuringia system for the expess purpose of evaluating the risk and reward potential of the ship graveyards in Thuringia.

As intensive operations near the terrifying Suhl anomaly warped and buckled the Saschenwald beyond even the toleration of Unioner technicians, the ship's union elected to move the vessel north, obstensibly to evade federal patrols and prospect for relics in the ghostly treasures of the inner system. The fall of the Rheinland goverment - closely monitored by the Unioners, and, as some rumour, influenced, was keenly listened to by the crew of the Sachsenwald, whose survival depends up an ability to evade federal taskforces. The Unioners were suprised to detect a burst of Bundschuh signal traffic from the Nordhausen fragments, near the old Unioner smuggling route in and out of Puerto Rico. The cruiser, joined by its sister ships, is quietly vectoring in on Tennstedt Base. It is only a matter of time before a true battle over the fragment fields break out between the Unioners and the Bundschuh - each faction firmly entrenched on either side of the Imperial - Federal divide.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Liberty Rogues
* Unioners
* Zoners

## News

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.

The incident came as a shock to the public and the law enforcement alike, as pirate activity was believed to have completely died out in the desolate Munich system. The frequency of strikes, from both Corsairs and domestic pirates, have steadily declined ever since the antimatter storm first ravaged the system. While the chaotic evacuation efforts from Nuremberg had initially caused a spike, as the system's population decayed to just skeleton crews and Junker scavengers, the criminal element became nearly absent. Some theorize that the Corsairs were there for the Bessemer specifically, intending for one last taunt at Rheinland's people. Thankfully, the Dohna and her crew were there to thwart their efforts.
The ATS Bessemer was dispatched into the Munich system in order to deploy a network of specially reinforced satellites, meant to monitor the advent of the antimatter storm's core. According to the University of Berlin, the core will wash over Munich around the end of this month, stripping away planetary atmospheres and most likely collapsing all remaining jumphole anomalies. The probes deployed by the Bessemer will provide the scientific community with first-hand data of the storm and its effects, transmitting it back to Berlin through a central relay nested within the safety of Raubling's hulk.
With the task complete, the Bessemer was meant to be the final ship to make the jump from Munich, with the Jump Gate being shut down later the same day. However, due to the damage sustained in the attack, the RPU Dohna did the honours instead, covering the Bessemer's departure to ensure its safe return.

## Rumors

* The Alster Shipyards were home to the Unioner movement when we were still a legitimate, political entity. Alster was established in 412 AS by Rheinländische Großspedition to supply the Rheinland Empire with transport freighters, lifters, and repair ships. Rheinländische Großspedition became known as Republican Shipping after the 80-year war.

* We're running Alien Artifacts from our base in Munich into Liberty via Pacifica. This is a new route for us, but so far it's proven quite profitable. There is a strong demand for Artifacts in Liberty. Sure, it may annoy the Hessians a bit that we do this, but hey, the Junkers have done the same thing for years.

* The Unioners are a political organization fighting like many others throughout Sirius for the fair treatment of the working classes. For that we are branded criminals. And when you treat someone like a criminal, he eventually starts to think and act that way. So yea, we're pirates and smugglers now. That is what Rheinland, and Republican in particular, has made us into.

* When the 80-Years War came to an end the Union joined the Popular Revolt to overthrow the Imperial government. There were no more government contracts, and unemployment skyrocketed. The reformed Republican Shipping used this as an excuse to fire every known Unioner and replace them with workers brought in from New Berlin, breaking every agreement they ever made with us. The government didn't want to step in, despite us helping them in the Popular Revolution, so we took matters into our own hands. It was the right thing to do. It still is.

* The union that formed after the Alster Tragedy of 512 gained well-deserved benefits for the shipwrights and welders who built the transports that shipped goods throughout Sirius. In the decades that followed, the union grew stronger. When the 80-Years War broke out, we were sitting pretty on a mountain of government subsidies and contracts. The government broke those contracts and attempted to basically impose indentured servitude on us. We would have none of that.

* With our old union destroyed after the Popular Revolt, we reformed and called ourselves the Unioners. We were formed to make Republican Shipping pay for the wrongs it had committed against its workers. To this day we exact our vengeance, and we'll not stop until Republican recognizes the Union and restores the worker rights that our fathers and grandfathers fought so hard for.

* In 512 AS an explosion in the Alster Shipyards killed hundreds of workers. They formed a union and walked out on the Rheinländische Großspedition executives. It was then that Rheinländische Großspedition realized how valuable its workers were. Production ground to a stop, and they started losing millions of credits for each day production was halted. They tried to get the government to step in and declare martial law, but the conditions were so appalling that the government didn't step in. All Imperial could do was concede to our demands.

* This base is mainly used as a smuggling waypoint and small production facility for our weapons. We mostly control this system now - only the Xenos oppose us, and they are no match for us. The Liberty Navy doesn't go far from the only working Jump Gate left in this system, and the Rheinland Military has completely withdrawn. In other words, we're as safe here as we'll ever be.

* We run Synthetic Marijuana shipments from the Corsair base in Simga 13. We used to get them from the Junkers, but things have changed out there... Not an easy run through Hamburg and Frankfurt, but decent profit. We sell it on Freeport 2 for eventual sale to the Xenos and Rogues. Hopefully they won't find out they're getting high by making us rich.

* Our old boss Rheinländische Großspedition became Republican Shipping after the Popular Revolt. It was a dark time for the common laborer, and within months we lost all the rights we had been working to create for the past several decades. Republican Shipping really stuck it to the worker, using the weak economic situation to strong-arm the faltering union. In the end, it did them little good. They lost their most skilled workers, and with them, many construction contracts went abroad, to Kusari.

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