Leon Base

CLASS: Escudo

GRAVITY: Partial

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Limited

CREW: 120

Leon Base was established by the Corsairs around 550 AS, almost a century after the Corsair return to the stars. Corsair raiders were frequently lost in the intense radiation emitted by the neutron star of Omega-41 while moving to, or returning from, raids into Bretonia or Rheinland. Hollowing out one of the largest planetary fragments in the system was a logical choice, but the work was dangerous and countless lives were lost due to radiation poisoning.

Radiation poisoning remains a major concern to the occupants of Leon to date. The asteroid absorbs most radiation, but occasional bursts from the dead star can overwhelm the safety it provides. Radiation treatment drugs are always in high demand at the base.

## News

They cowardly waited for our forces to be dispersed between various theaters, the latest one being the Outcast return to Omicron Theta, and took advantage of our inability to crush them like the pests they are.
Special orders were relayed to Battleship Delos in Theta to coordinate additional patrols in the Amarus Cloud to interfere with their shipments of Gammu materials as much as possible.

The Elders have authorised the deployment of elements of the Omicron Gamma defence fleet to respond to the Outcast invasion and secure our borders. These elite fighters are more than a match for the drug-addled Outcasts and will hold the line until the Northern and Southern Fleets complete their assignments in Dresden and Dublin.
The Battleship Delos has been dispatched to the system to coordinate our counter-attack and avenge the loss of the Fes. The Elders have announced that a great honor will be bestowed upon the pilots responsible for the destruction of the Outcast Battlecruiser Augusta.

The Zoners seem to have prevented this previously by importing Fertilizers from the Houses. Similarly, Crete, Leon and Cadiz are facing a shortage of Pharmaceuticals, complicating the treatment of our casualties. The Zoners now refuse to sell us these goods, so we must look elsewhere to obtain what we need.
The Elders have decreed that the raiding fleets are to redouble their efforts in Cambridge, and make new inroads into the Frankfurt system. Petra Base in Sigma 15 is to be reinforced, and the Fertilizer convoys from Planet Holstein treated as priority targets.
The Corsairs have always prized strength, and we have the strength to take what we need from the weak. Prosperity is there to be seized.

The death of Juan Garcia was but the latest in a line of killings by the Bounty Hunters Guild, abetted by the Zoners who provide them with safe harbor. The Elders have decided: no more. One opportunity was offered for the Zoners to make amends for their transgressions, and instead they chose to ignore our reasonable demands. Last night, Freeport 9 was boarded and the station administration placed under arrest.
From this day forward, the biodomes will provide exclusively for the Corsairs, and the docking bays will admit only those we allow. Fortunately, our ancient enemies the Outcasts appear to be preoccupied with a self-inflicted revolt on their poisonous planet. By the time they turn their focus back to the Omicrons, we will be secure in our conquest.

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.

In his later years, Montoya would act as a steadying hand on the Council of Elders, counseling against rash decisions and reckless action. The Council has since inducted Elder Rosita Garcia to their number. As she commemorated the launch of the Battlecruiser Santander, she declared that "Sirius shall be set alight as a pyre in Montoya's honor". The Santander and its squadrons have been dispatched to pillage Bretonia.

"The standing Navy of the Corsair Empire as well as its irregular raiders must do everything within their means to break existing stalemates or make progress. The enemies of Crete have grown arrogant and take for granted that Corsair offensives have lost their steam, this is an assessment which must be proved woefully wrong."
In response to these express instructions, activity across every Corsair installation has intensified to levels that suggest substantial mobilization.

## Rumors

* Some Zoner at Freeport 5 tried to run away with a Corsair woman. Her family is a laughing stock and will be so until her kin has killed the interloper. Her brother has gone to Hawaii to sell Artifacts; when he returns he will hunt down the fool Zoner.

* The Jump Holes in this system will lead you throughout southern Sirius: Omicron Gamma is to the east, Omicron Theta is north of the Freeport, Omega-5 is west of here, and Omega-11 lies to the north of this base. I tell you this because you have made yourself useful to us. Should that ever change, I will be one among many whom you will have to watch for.

* Two of our garrison wings were redeployed to reinforce the Delos in Theta. I wish I'd get sent there as well, there is no glory to be gained here on this irradiated rock.

* Hessians come in from Omega-11 and run attack raids on Corsairs traveling through this system. We lash back with attacks on Diamond shipments in Omega-11. The problem with the Hessians is not that they are skilled or courageous, but their numbers; kill three and five more will replace them.

* I've come up against Outcasts in Sigma-19 before. They are very good at killing, as are we. Yes, even though they have greater numbers, I prefer to fight Red Hessians. I may not be afraid of death, but I don't go looking for it, either.

* Most zoners refuse to trade with us now because of Freeport 9, and our Pharmaceuticals stockpile is slowly running low. We're resorting to hiring Freelancers to run them from Atka.

* This base was established to secure the supply lines that lead from our homeworld to Cadiz in Omega-5. It also protects our shipments arriving from Bretonia and the Trade Lanes along the southwestern Edge Worlds. This space is the body of Corsair space. Proceed further and you will touch upon its heart.

* We get some of our basic supplies from the Zoner bases in the area. If it doesn't come from the Freeports, we get it from Yanagi. Any surplus we get, such as Rheinland Side Arms or Artifacts, is sent to Cadiz.

* If you ever cheat a Corsair, there is a special punishment that will befall you. Do you know what it is to be marooned? We'll take you to a deserted chunk of rock in the middle of nowhere and leave you there. Death comes slowly in a vac-suit.

* This place is mostly a rest spot for Zoners and Corsairs as they travel along the Edge Worlds. Others land here, but they have to respect our ways. Don't stay here too long or else we begin to notice that an outsider is walking a Corsair base. Once that happens you use the airlock to leave.

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