Ruiz Base

CLASS: Carbonera

GRAVITY: Partial

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Limited

CREW: 240

Ruiz Base was established by the Outcasts somewhere between 300 and 400 AS, but records from that period have largely been lost. The asteroid and most of the surrounding fragments orbit Planet Elysium slowly, suggesting that Elysium itself is the gravitational heart of this region of space. Scattered pockets of common minerals have been found among the asteroid fields, which allowed the Outcasts to build a greater number of ships as early as 500 AS

In more recent times, Ruiz has become an important defensive outpost, repelling frequent Gas Miners Guild (GMG) incursions.

## News

Fortunately for the Outcasts, the Dons had prepared for this eventuality from the rebellion's outset, and so, our distribution networks were immediately put into "maintenance mode", where maximum emphasis is placed on supplying existing customers, and the existing Cardamine stocks are distributed on a key-by-key basis in order to prevent the network's collapse.
Despite these measures, panic reigned, and demand for Cardamine skyrocketed, triggering armed conflicts between the various network participants and driving the prices to dizzying heights. Although Cardamine has now fallen from its record prices thanks to the lobbying of the Outcasts themselves, this price shock is sure to leave markets uncertain.
The Dons expect production to return to pre-rebellion levels over the next four years as they rebuild the rebel-destroyed on Malta.

We of course speak of the Corsairs, who exploited our people's moment of tragedy to seize Freeport 9 as a forward base. The Corsair occupation of the Freeport represents an existential threat to the Maltese people, and their raids upon our very home cannot and will not be tolerated. The Battlecruiser Augusta has led a force into Omicron Theta with orders to destroy the station and its biodomes, disrupt the Corsairs, and annihilate the Artifact trade that funds them.
Already we have won a great victory by striking down the Battleship Fes, with the Battleship Delos surely soon to join it in the grave. The Dons have promised a handsome payment to the cartel of each pilot that kills a Corsair in Omicron Theta.

Ibiza Station has been reinforced with additional guard squadrons and placed on high alert, in case this is the precursor to a larger Corsair fleet movement. Once the current disarray on Malta is resolved, the Cartels will turn their attention to matters of security, and the fleets will be free to strike terror into the hearts of our foes once more.
The Corsairs may feel they have won themselves a great prize in Omicron Theta, but the Freeport is no fortress and a biodome is a fragile thing. The Corsairs say they were forced to act to secure their territory. Soon enough they shall learn that men in glass houses should not cast stones.

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.

While it remains unclear how the rebels learned of the orbital installation locations, it is possible that some of the more benevolent masters did not consider their slaves to be a serious security threat and allowed them access to portions of critical infrastructure. The Dons do not know how they will approach this pressing fact, but it is clear that the laxity of their brothers and sisters has allowed the rebellion to put up unexpectedly strong resistance.
Despite this, the slaves themselves seem to realize the futility of their struggle as Outcast forces in Omicron Alpha have managed to disable most of the IMG and CR ships that attempted to smuggle aid and reinforcements to the besieged rebels. As the Outcasts succeed in gaining tactical and strategic superiority and their forces regain lost territory, the end of this rebellion is only a matter of time, blood and sweat.
As a final act of revenge, the slaves aimed their weapons not only against the Outcasts themselves, but also against the reason they were brought here: Cardamine. As such, plantation fires stretch from horizon to horizon across the rural regions of planet Malta.

The slave rebellion itself began in the mines of the planet Albegna when the Benitez Cartel executed 200 slaves for sabotaging a mining facility. This cruelty resonated throughout the mining colony, even among the usually trouble-free slaves, and they quickly gained control of the mining facility, including Don Juan Benitez himself, who was to oversee the execution. When the Benitez Cartel learned that their Don had been executed by the slaves instead, they ordered the liquidation of the mining colony.
Although the Albegna mining colony revolt was resolved in less than two weeks, promises by other Dons of 'precautionary measures' across the board, which most slaves interpreted as more mass executions, sparked a widespread slave uprising across Malta. Although the slaves themselves would hardly have been able to resist the well-armed Outcasts, the rebels had the element of surprise in the form of caches of smuggled weapons and other military equipment.
As war rages on planet Malta between desperate slaves and their surprised masters, all Outcast forces from Sirius are recalled to planet Malta to quell the rebellion as quickly as possible. With the IMG and CR taking advantage of weakened Outcast influence in the Tau Region, the question arises as to whether this was all planned by their neighboring foes.

Our smuggling routes have come under increased scrutiny from law enforcement throughout the Sirius Sector, causing an increase rate of failure for our smugglers. The independent smuggling contacts are also increasingly reluctant to continue their work as the risks begin to outweigh the rewards. That in turn, has a secondary effect of making people turn to the filthy Cryer for their Stabiline, a fake remedy for Cardamine withdrawal that we can only describe as snake oil, filling up pockets with false promises.
Dissenting voices painfully point out that this is the first time in a century where we have seen three consecutive quarters of falling profits, with several minor Cartels allegedly facing bankruptcy amid the disaster. The Dons have quickly silenced such assertions, reassuring the public that the Orange Dream will continue to grow.
To address the situation, the Dons demand ever-greater Cardamine yields, launching unprecedented expansion efforts. Steps will be taken to secure the product's shipping. In addition, they plan to import a large labor force from the colonies to bolster the Maltese plantations. This undertaking will require a coordinated effort from Maltese Navy captains, independent smugglers and subverted Sirian assets to acquire and ship slaves en masse to Malta.

## Rumors

* Our sworn enemy is Cryer Pharmaceuticals. Cryer is trying to replicate Cardamine so they can take over the drug market with their harmless alternative. It will be legalized, regardless of how dangerous it is. Their ships in this system or in any Outcast space will be destroyed immediately.

* I have killed more than a thousand men and stolen a kingdom of riches. Even now there are two veteran Bounty Hunters that stalk me: one for revenge, the other for reward. They will have to follow me across the stars, for I am bound to another place. Neither one will live beyond Tau-37; Benitez will see to that.

* Orbital's *Hawaii* liner in Sigma-19 draws a lot of unwanted visitors near our territory. Sometimes we'll run attacks against the liner if they come too close. It is also a hindrance to our drug trade, because our smuggling route requires us to pass through Sigma-19. There'd be a lot fewer eyes in that system if the *Hawaii* weren't there.

* The Cardamine we receive here from Malta will be shipped to different destinations throughout Rheinland via Yanagi. I miss the orange grasses swaying softly in the warm winds of my home, but I must do what my Don has asked of me.

* Freelancer base Newport supplies us here at Ruiz with almost everything we need to keep this place running and our men and women properly equipped. Whatever surplus we bring in goes to our home, Malta. Many of the Commodities we send to Malta will be used to build our attack craft and support Cardamine smugglers.

* This is the stopover for Cardamine shipments that will be delivered to the Junkers at Yanagi. We get the Cardamine from Malta, where it is processed. Malta is one system over through the northern Jump Hole.

* I am Santiago Llorens. Perhaps you have heard of me? My Don, Don Miguel of the Benitez Cartel has asked me a favor, and I cannot deny him. I will soon leave this base and cross the Edge Worlds to kill a man he asked me to.

* We have lived so long on Malta that our genes have mutated, and now we require Cardamine to live. On Malta it's in everything: our Food, soil, air, and Water. After a while it got so we needed it. Somehow the Cardamine also had a negative effect on our birth rate. Fewer and fewer Outcasts are being born, though we live much longer.

* This is Outcast space, and any ships that come into this system better be welcomed by us. The GMG has been sending ships into our turf looking for Alien Organisms. It's no doubt they are working for Planetform or Samura, maybe even Cryer. When we catch them we kill them.

* Once we discovered how to use Alien Organisms, the agriculture on Malta boomed. The creatures make for a kind of super fertilizer that causes the Cardamine grasses to grow twice as fast and become twice as potent. They even allow more Foods to grow on Malta.

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