Skye Base

CLASS: Barnes

GRAVITY: Complete

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: 280

Concealed deep within the Northumberland Ice Cloud, Skye Base was constructed by the Gaians to help expand their movement's reach. Despite being the second Gaian base to ever be contructed, Skye spent first two decades of its existance as a rather small and insignificant outpost. However, with the Royal Navy advancing into Edinburgh, and the subsequent lockdown of Islay, the Gaians found themselves deprived of a safe heaven for their families and other non-combatants.

Skye's secluded location and relative lack of local threats, with even Bounty Hunters rarely venturing deep into the field, quickly caught the attention of many Gaian cells. As the base's, potential living space was largely untapped, offered by the sheer size of the asteroid it was carved into, it became a prime candidate for a new, secluded home for Gaian civilians, The previously quiet and undisturbed outpost suddenly saw a large influx of personel from many cells in the movement, working together on expanding and upgrading the base, soon turning it into the largest installation operated by the Gaians to date.

Nowadays, Skye is a major population centre of the Gaians, housing living blocks, labs and even small manufacturing plants, using stolen parts to produce small amounts of civilian craft for combat use. Most of the base is off-limits to majority of outsiders, with security being tight in and around the visitors' area.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Gaians
* Junkers

## 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.

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.

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.

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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.

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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

* We know Cryer is nowhere near solving the issue with Carlisle. They face a host of microbial lifeforms that are at the foundation of the planet's ecology. In order to settle the planet, those microbes would have to be wiped out planetwide. Even if they manage to develop an antibiotic capable of combatting the planet's own ecology, they wouldn't have the means to distribute it planetwide. That won't stop them from trying needlessly, and any attempts they make will only do harm to the planet's natural ecology.

* This base is the closest to our friends in Kusari, although getting to them is quite dangerous. There is a jump hole leading to Tau-31, but the Outcasts and Gallic Navy are all over it. If you get caught in the crossfire, you're in for a rough time.

* Skye was established to keep an eye on Planetform and BMM's interest in Carlisle. The planet is capable of supporting life, but there were some problems on the surface preventing Bretonia from colonizing the planet. When Planetform and Cryer were called in to find a solution, we followed in their wake.

* The colonies in Sirius continue to grow and expand. The need for more living space pushes governments to look to terraforming as a solution. Bottom line is, Planetform often delivers nothing more than a bill of goods - their methods do not work. Ayr is proof of that. Centuries of work and there is nothing to show for it.

* .

* We started as a small group of students who saw how much damage the corporations were doing to the Bretonian planets. Take a look at Leeds, if you want proof as to how they've ruined Bretonia, but New London isn't much better. Foggy and smoggy. For our refusal to let BMM kill what little living space Bretonia has left, we've been branded as extremists. For refusing to let Planetform spin a fantasy about using dead planets as replacements for the ones Bretonia has squandered, we're called terrorists. So be it.

* We used to be able to stay afloat quite easily, but of late we've been losing support. I suppose having to throw an accord with the Gallic Navy didn't earn us any new friends here in Bretonia. Neither did our cooperation with the Corsairs.

* Bretonia wants nothing more than to settle Carlisle, but the native fauna isn't very cooperative. No, no firebreathing dragons or other giant reptiles - the tiniest of creatures are the problem for them - microbes. Cryer and Planetform are trying to find ways to destroy them. Typical Bretonian thinking - destroy whatever part of a planet you don't have uses for. Our response? BMM, Cryer and Planetform ships are all targets in this system.

* We built this base in 784 AS, using materials hijacked from BMM and Bowex transports. At the time Belfast was still in operation, and the lane between it and Scarborough often had shipments going without escort, thinking the short trip wasn't worth scrambling fighters for. It's not a big station, but it suits our needs.

* There is a Jump Hole to the Manchester system not far from here. We have a base out there as well, to keep an eye on the goings-on at Birmingham. Planetform uses BMM and Bowex as proxies to produce and transport materials needed for terraforming. In this system, they mainly reside on Gateshead, along with some Cryer folk.

* The problem on Carlisle is a toxin of sorts, secreted by a bacterial lifeform that is present throughout the biosphere. It's lethal to humans - apparantly it dissolves human cell membranes, thereby liquifying the poor sod who's exposed to it. Even those illegal BMM surveying teams didn't deserve that fate - took them a few tries before they started to respect the quarantine.

* The Gaians won't survive in their current form, I think. Not much longer. Their numbers have gone down ever since they got pounded hard by the Gallic Navy in Edinburgh. Those that survived that attack are veterans now, but their numbers are few. They're also struggling with their cause. Gaia isn't being threatened by Planetform anymore.

* The Gaians could fund themselves better if they'd not be so discriminate in who they hit. I mean, think about it. They've surrendered to Gallia, so most of Bretonia probably hates them by now. Why not capitalize on that? They're going to need new sources of income if they keep going like this.

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