Sunderland Research Station

CLASS: Hawking

GRAVITY: Complete

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: CLASSIFIED

Sunderland Research Station was constructed in 612 AS next to the strange alien ruins that were discovered fourteen years earlier in 598 AS. It is the largest and most important research facility that the Bretonia Intelligence Service controls. Details of what actually occurs inside the station remain unknown to the public and all personnel working onboard are made to sign strict secrecy agreements.

## 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.

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.

With the end of the war and Bretonia's withdrawal from Planet Gran Canaria, Poole's prominence waned. The cost of policing the system and maintaining infrastructure has significantly outweighed collected tax revenue in recent years, with Planetform's Terraforming Gas operations reporting disappointing year on year returns.DSE has already confirmed that it will begin deconstruction operations shortly, with the dismantling of the Cambridge jump gate expected to be completed by 833 AS.

```
Planetform has confirmed its intention to withdraw prior to this point, while settling shareholder anxiety with the announcement of promising preliminary findings for a replacement site in Newcastle.

```

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

* You must have noticed those alien ruins outside. Most scientists here believe they belong to an ancient race known as the Daam-K'Vosh. We haven't really managed to decipher most of the markings yet, but we think we're close. What we've learned thus far suggests that this was some kind of automated outpost.

* Back before the Nomad war, Dr. Kendra Sinclair was one of our foremost Xeno-archaeologists, but she disappeared. There are rumours that she joined the Order, but we don't know very much about that organisation, beyond that our government has labelled them as dangerous terrorists. But I knew Kendra, and she wouldn't join such a group. There must be more to it.

* Do you see the long walkway heading into the alien structure? The scientists have excavated an entrance into it before the shield went up. Thousands of artifacts have been found in the ruins, it will take decades to catalogue them all. Most of them appear to be inert, and so far we've not learned that much about them. Were they decorative? Or are they similar human books? I hope time will tell.

* We get most of our supplies via transports from Scarborough. Most of them come under heavy escort, as the Mollys often try to hijack them. We don't get as much trouble from the Outcasts as we used to, but even they will raid an unescorted transport if they think they can get away with it.

* Only the most trusted and respected scientists from Cambridge are allowed to come here to study this alien station and the artifacts it contains. We ship quite a lot of the more interesting ones to Cambridge for further study, although always under heavy military guard. That used to draw a lot of unwanted attention - but nowadays less so, since this system has a lot of military activity going.

* I hate having that damn battleship hanging around outside the station all the time. Its crew are jittery enough at the best of times. When the alien station suddenly raised it shields in 800 AS they actually opened fire on it! Not that it did them a whole lot of good, the shield didn't even destabilise. I'm glad the station didn't also have an automated offensive system.

* Recently one of the Scientists started acting very strangely, like he'd had a complete personality switch overnight. We later heard that he had stolen a ship and fled deep into the nebula, and that the Bretonia Armed Forces were out looking for him. Maybe the pressure for results got to him.

* Some of the scientists that arrive here are so scared at the sight of the alien ruins that they leave immediately. Others get nosy, sometimes a bit too nosy. One recently tried to get into a top security restricted area earlier, without the appropriate authorisation. Turns out he was a Kusari spy. How the hell he got a job I don't know. He didn't look Kusari, that's for sure. Anyway, the Intelligence Service took him off our hands. We won't be seeing that bloke again.

* The pressure on the scientists here for actual results is immense. With the loss of Leeds, Bretonia needs a miracle, and the government is looking to this facility to provide it. Given the power of that shield surrounding this base, I can't say I blame them. Problem is the eggheads haven't even figured out how the alien language works. So even if they've left a manual detailing exactly how to replicate such shields, they wouldn't be able to read it.

* Don't get on the wrong side of Sunderland's commander. She's one tough bitch. Her name is Brigadier Jennifer Connelly, and she was assigned to this base by the Bretonia Armed Forces to keep an eye on everything here. Fair play though, she runs a tight operation and conditions have improved under her command, but she's also quite unforgiving of idiots. Mess about and you'll be sent back to Cambridge quicker than you can say "hey Jen, nice ass".

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