Beaumont Base

CLASS: Unknown

GRAVITY: Unknown

DOCKING: Unknown

AMENITIES: Unknown

POPULATION: Unknown

Where there’s junk, there are the Junkers. They’ve been around since the earliest days of the Trade Lanes. Descended from the working classes, they developed within the House systems as a sort of necessary evil, handling the dirty work that no one else would. They do well salvaging valuable materials from the ever-increasing debris fields throughout Sirius, with the notable exception of Kusari. To this day they remain held at bay by the Hogosha.

Anyone who deals with Junkers knows they live by a strict code; if you're not a Junker, you're not part of the family. A Junker will double-cross you without a second thought, and they're fiercely protective of each other. Most House corporations consider the Junkers to be simple criminals, but Junkers will occasionally do favors for the police, turning in the odd, mid-level criminal or letting them know about the occasional drug shipment. So despite some harassment, the police stop short of shutting them down. The infrequent police cleanup operations are little more than exercises in public relations, though there's no love lost between the two groups.

The Junkers make their official money from salvaging debris within the fields, but also have a good deal going with various criminals, who like their "no questions asked" policy. Tolerated by the governments, Junkers sometimes deal in contraband, but they are extremely hard to catch red-handed. They are frequently patronized by the criminal element for the refuge they offer within the often hostile territory of House capitol systems.

Liberty has two groups: a major population in the New York system, and a smaller enclave in Texas. The Junker base of operations in New London is located near the shipyards within the Southampton Debris Field. In New Berlin they scavenge the remaining pockets of industrial waste and scrap within the asteroid fields. Their latest foray is a departure -- a base in the Border Worlds. Attracted by the ALG operation in Sigma-13, they have set up shop near the facility and do most of the dirty work, picking off the best loot from the old ships for themselves. It also serves as a convenient launching point for Cardamine and Artifact runs into New Berlin. Long-distance smuggling is new for the faction, which is still perfecting this skill.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Liberty Rogues
* Outcasts

## Commodities

* Oxygen
* Water
* Diamonds
* Food Rations
* H-Fuel
* Pharmaceuticals
* Consumer Goods
* Engine Components
* Cardamine
* Light Arms

## Rumors

* We bring in some of the stolen Diamonds from Rheinland and sell them on the open market in Houston. No way they can tell where they came from, is there?
* We provide a lot of the essential supplies for criminals in California and New York. It's just a quick trip through the Holes.
* I've been poking around these fields for twenty years. Had a few radiation scares. Heard there's some great loot in those dark clouds, but I'm not going in there. Radiation's supposed to be lethal to even a decently shielded ship.
* Beaumont serves as a criminal supply center for many of the Rogue bases in Liberty. Consumer Goods, Pharmaceuticals, H-Fuel, Water, Food, and Oxygen are all shipped to Buffalo, Dawson, and Alcatraz.
* The Outcasts stop here on their long Cardamine runs in from the Edge Worlds. I don't trust them a bit. They don't like any of us; we're just pawns to them. One day something bad will happen.
* We have a problem here in Texas with the Xenos; those crazy bastards hate everybody. It doesn’t make any sense. If they had dealings with us, we could both profit. But as it is, they run attacks on us. The Junkers could be good friends to them.
* The income we get from hauling scrap to the Sugarland from the debris in this system goes into our Xenos account. The Xenos account is the money we use to hire Junker-friendly smugglers and pirates to attack the Xenos and defend us against their attacks. What a waste of money.
* The Xenos are a small group and they are poor too. That’s why they have no chance against us right now. Everybody owes the Junkers a favor or two, and we have plenty of money so we can buy protection as well. The problem is that the Xenos keep growing; seems like every third ex-con that walks from Huntsville becomes a Xeno.
* You can find good Scrap Metal in this system. As the radiation slowly dies down, more and more of it will be accessible to us.
* This is the crossroads of the criminal universe: Jump Holes to Hudson, New York, and California. Without this lovely lawless area of west Texas connecting them so conveniently, we'd have a much harder time operating in Liberty space.
* Though the Rogues try to be friends with the Xenos, the simple truth is that they are friends with no one and nothing but money and Cardamine. So if the Xenos start becoming too troublesome, we pay a few Rogues to go bag a couple.
* The Rogue fighter Prudhoe was making a Diamond run from Hudson to Beaumont when it was ambushed by a Xeno assault patrol. It fled into the Pequena Negra Cloud, with the Xenos in hot pursuit. No one has seen them since. People here figure they all died in there from the radiation.

* The Outcasts who get caught hauling in Liberty space end up on the Sugarland, so we run occasional raids on the prison transports sending our men into lockup. A lot of Outcasts, once sent to the Huntsville or Sugarland, get killed by Xenos. So LPI decided to put all of us on the Sugarland, and all the Xenos on the Huntsville.
* The Xenos in this system are a hindrance to our drug trade. They are rather fun to kill, though, because I know that they hate us so much. The Junkers will pay for proof of a dead Xeno, so I might as well make money doing it.
* There are many Silver and Diamond shipments in this system that the Lane Hackers give us information on -- well, perhaps “give” isn’t the right word. The Lane Hackers are eager to trade their information for our Cardamine.
* Several weeks ago I dragged a Bounty Hunter through the edge of the Negra Pequena and watched his ship disappear into the darkness -- quite enjoyable. His last distress call was sent wideband, so I was able to hear the fear in his voice.

* The Rogues can get to New York through the Jump Hole hidden in the same debris field this base is in. Also, there is a Jump Hole to California in the West Dallas Debris Field, though you have to be careful. Parts of that area are radioactive. There’s another Jump Hole to the Hudson system in the South Dallas Debris Field. That about covers it.
* This system is my home, and this base is one of my favorite hangouts. You can get whatever you want at this base or on the Lanes picking ships for cargo. One day I’m going to retire with a mountain of Cardamine and Gold.
* I kind of like the Xenos. Truth is I almost joined up with them on a tour of “the Walls,” but I decided to join up with the Rogues instead. But the Junkers will pay me good money or Cardamine to kill Xenos, so if I see one flying solo, then I’ll kill him. If there’s more than one, I don’t pay them much mind.
* I’ve served three sentences on the Huntsville. If you’ve served time there, you know the real name given to her by the inmates. We call the Huntsville “the Walls.”
* The Rogue fighter Prudhoe was making a Diamond run from Hudson to Beaumont when it was ambushed by a Xeno assault patrol. It fled into the Pequena Negra Cloud, with the Xenos in hot pursuit. No one has seen them since. People here figure they all died in there from the radiation.