Freeport 11

A mooring fixture is a temporary resting area for idle ships within the active shipping zone near planets.

**>>>WARNING: NAVIGATIONAL HAZARD<<<**

Explosive gas field that may ignite on contact with engine plasma.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Corsairs
* The Order
* Zoners

* The Core
* The Order

## News

As Crete demanded the Zoners of Theta turn over any Hunters aboard their stations and surrender docking control, the Freeport 9 administrators were confident that some kind of compromise could be found. A delegation from Gran Canaria was requested to assist with negotiations, due to the close ties between Zoner and Corsair communities on the planet.
Tragically, the Corsairs interpreted this delay as refusal, and launched a surprise attack while the delegation was en-route. Many of Freeport 9's crew are now being held as hostages while the Corsairs pillage the station. An urgent conclave has been called on Gran Canaria to discuss the Zoner response, while militias on Pygar have taken up arms in case the violence spreads.

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.

The Militants believe the Corsairs prey on weakness, and will be more willing to negotiate if armed Zoners prove they cannot be easily or costlessly bullied.
The Reconcilers believe the situation can only be resolved by deescalating the immediate tensions, and then diplomatically securing the release of hostages and the return of the occupied Freeport.
Both sides are adamant that the other's approach will lead to the Zoners' subjugation or expulsion from the region.
Despite this, some common ground has been found, with the collective tasking a number of Fearless Q-Ship captains with deploying to Theta and protecting the Gran Canarian convoys that will be needed to resupply Freeport 5, Corfu and Pygar.

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.

"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.

In an immediate show of change, the Federal and Imperial fleets have completely withdrawn from what used to be the battle lines separating the two Rheinland fractions - many have returned to stand-down docks for maintenance and repairs, and off-duty military and civilian personnel have already begun to travel back to their homes.
While details of how the reunification will proceed, or whether it will be successful are yet to be seen, but the Holstein Accords has brought the Rheinland Civil War effectively to a close.

## Rumors

* The political situation has changed recently. The Nomads are applying more and more pressure to this system. But what actually worries me the most is the 'little' war going on between the Order and the Core. Neither side wants to acknowledge the superiority of one another and both seek to think that only their way is the correct one. Eventually, they'll see where this leads them. But not without any collateral damage to the innocent population publically aligning with neither faction. I am going to dislike it if the Core tries to further impose their own regulations upon us. The Order often is not any better, but they atleast pack their threat in neat wording. Either way is not what I sought for when I left the houses. What worries me the most actually is the fact that either faction could seek a central staging point in this battleground - which Freeport 11 would be ideal for, especially if the Nomads keep increasing their pressure. I do consider looking for a different home, as I keep losing shipment after shipment. The Core and Order claim to be our protectors, but neither of them is fit for the job if they keep fighting each other. It would be a different matter if the Zoners could defend themselves, but we have to rely on winning the favour of our neighbors, simple as that.

* We've recently increased the prices on goods sold to the Core. They don't really have alternatives, so we get to give them a taste of their own corporate greed. Offsets us quite well on the loss of Corsair customers.

* It probably is public knowledge by now that the base ownerships here can change faster than rumours travel - an almost impossible accomplishment, I might add - and that the Order now conquers a Core base in the asteroid field and the Core conquers the former Corsair base in the orbit of Nauru. The conflict can get our trade flourishing by supplying both sides with ammunition or other goods in secret. As long as we do not publically align ourselves with either faction or cause either faction trouble, we can cut ourselves a good deal out of their homocides. Bad for them, good for us. A Zoner's best weapon is his brain. Sadly, words do not help you that much against the Nomads out there. My friends on the station have evacuated long ago, but I refuse to give my business up. We are extremely safe in this Freeport, despite everything they say. The only thing that never goes away is the feeling of being watched.

* Y'know, I can't say I'm too concerned about the whole Theta situation. It'll wash over soon enough. It's not like the Corsairs would be able to threaten us here in Delta, with Core HQ in the system. We're just fine over here. They are however, no longer welcome here as a result.

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