Lisburn Rock

CLASS: Lough

GRAVITY: Complete

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: 140

The Rock was first discovered by Molly scouts in 794 AS, with excavation eventually completed in 804 AS. Lisburn Rock represented the Mollys' first forays into the traditional Corsair territory of Cambridge, and an expansion of Molly influence into Omega 3. Once a relatively quiet base that was used to launch raids on local shipping, Lisburn Rock would become a valuable supply hub due to its proximity to Freeport 1. It would also instigate the growing alliance with the Red Hessians, as both groups' mutual interests and enemies in the Omegas.

Operations on Lisburn Rock would escalate rapidly with the colonization of Planet Sprague in 818 AS. The project resulted in a boom of unprotected BMM and Bowex transports, and an Armed Forces spread too thin by the Gallic War to adequately respond. Sprague's appalling living conditions and mismanagement by BMM were also responsible for large-scale discontent among the Leeds refugee population. This would provide the Mollys with an enormous windfall of resources and support from dissatisfied Bretonian workers.

With the Rock coordinating infiltrations and extractions from Sprague, the base would quickly come to host the largest Molly squadrons. In 830 AS, these inexperienced squadrons would make up the majority of the force used to take Dublin, and the bulk of the casualties incurred during engagements with the Battleship Essex. The Molly's success with Free Dublin has come at a price, with Arranmore demanding Lisburn provide ever increasing numbers of pilots and smugglers to sustain their new state.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Junkers
* Zoners
* Red Hessians

## 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.

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.

```
Starved of the bloody Gold they use to subsidize their repression, Bretonia announced its withdrawal from Poole in a bloodless victory for the Mollys. All Poole's liberation required was patience - simply to wait for DSE to finish disassembling the jump gate. Sadly, these aspirations have turned sour with the destabilization of the Dublin jump hole, and signs that the Cambridge and Omega 48 jump holes will soon follow suit.

```

If these jump holes fail, our people will be cut off and stranded to starve. We cannot risk such a disaster in this critical stage of our fight for freedom. Colraine has issued evacuation orders to Kilrea and Garvagh. Mull Base has offered to provide transports to assist with extraction to Lisburn Rock in Cambridge.
We will monitor this space; As soon as the jump holes return, so shall we.

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

* A lot of people end up wondering why we've got this here installation when we're fighting for the independence of Dublin. Answer's fairly simple, really. Dublin ain't no use to no-one if it's over-run with bloody 'Sairs! This system here is how they get to New London. We reckon if we can cut off their route early, we can keep their numbers down in ol' Dub'. Lisburn's sat right on top of their route, so it's a daily fight to the death.

* We mine the water we need to keep ticking over out in Keswick. Oxygen you can get from cracking H-Fuel, so that ain't really a problem either. One thing we are right keen on is Food and Tobacco. Cambridge is a breadbasket, so there's freighters carrying Food left right and centre. Snag that and we'll be a happy bunch.

* Even though we're usually good with the IMG guys, we can't really use Cardiff to buy some goods. The Armed Forces are keeping too close a watch on the area. Still, it's not all bad. The miners don't come looking for us in the Keswick, so we usually only have Corsairs and the odd Bounty Hunter to deal with.

* If y'can bring in some Prisoners from the Bowex lads that are tryin' to squirrel 'em away to Newgate from the Norfolk, we'll happily toss ye a credit or two for it. For the real big bucks though, Engine Components are the way to go. The techies like the ones from Rheinland the best - very well built, and they can take a missile or two before something cracks. Our sort of gear, really.

* For a time we threw our lot in with the Armed Forces against the Kusari. A lot of good that did. Our lads bled and got nothing to show for it. Don't think any of us will be of mind to help the Queen's lapdogs out again.

* From here it's a short hop to Omega-3, and a slightly longer haul to New London. We can get our basics from either Trafalgar or Freeport 1. Thing is, it's the Zoners that give the 'Sairs a bloody place to launch from in the first place - on Gran Canaria and that Freeport! Makes it hard to want to work with em, aye?

* Lisburn Rock is one of the most recently established bases for the Mollies. Aside from being in a very nice spot to hit the Trade Lane leading towards the Omega-3 system, it enables us to keep the pressure on those blasted Corsairs that keep coming in from the south.

* The Armed Forces think that hiding behind that ramshackle defensive line of theirs will keep the Corsairs out. We know better. They simply move around it, either going past the nightside of Cambridge or through the Grasmere and Keswick clouds. If they go through the Keswick now, though, they've got us to deal with.

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