Yokohama Shipyard

CLASS: Okinawa

GRAVITY: Partial

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: 820

Constructed in 50 AS by Samura Industries, Yokohama Shipyard was the first orbital construction facility in Kusari, and also the first shipyard built by any House in Sirius. Originally it manufactured gas miners and gas transports for the H-Fuel industry, but it was eventually forced to concede the gas miners and transport contracts to its archrival, Kishiro Technologies. The shipyard has since then retooled to produce as smaller military ships for the Kusari Naval Forces, as well as large station components - a task few other yards in Kusari, including Yukawa, are big enough for.

Yokohama still does a considerable amount of business manufacturing space habitats and despite stiff competition from Kishiro, in 815 AS it was granted the license to continue its centuries old tradition of constructing Kusari Naval Forces ships for another 15 years at least.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Samura Industries
* Farmers Alliance
* Hogosha
* Kishiro Technologies
* Deep Space Engineering
* Synth Foods, Inc.
* Universal Shipping

* Samura Industries

## News

Partially as a result of the geological activity, the equatorial monsoon season produced some of the strongest tropical storms ever recorded on Kyushu since its colonisation. These storms devastated the world's agricultural sector as they blew through the most fertile tropical lowlands, destroying as much as 20%% of the planet's annual crop yield, on top of damage to infrastructure and tragic loss of human life.
Many rural communities are reported to be struggling, with some farming communities still remaining flooded ghost towns even a month after the worst of the storms abated, though smaller-scale tempests still rage around the equator. A Samura spokesperson outlined the company's intent to restore the planet and its communities to full productivity by the middle of next year, despite the ongoing circumstance.

Immediately upon learning of this, Battleship Matsumoto and its battlegroup were redeployed from Hokkaido, and within two days were poised and ready to face this new threat. Only a short few hours later, a patrol of fighters reported a warship with the transponder reading Battleship Matsuda operating in the relative open, heading for but not yet reaching the relative safety of the Seiran Dust Cloud.
Matsumoto itself departed with its escort to confront the Chrysanthemum battleship, close to the edge of the nebula. Within minutes of it coming into sensor range, bomber and fighter squadrons from both sides closed in and opening salvos were exchanged between the battleships. It didn't take long before the KNF's preparation was shown to be well worthwhile; their superior numbers whittled down or otherwise preoccupied the Chrysanthemum's fighter force leaving a variety of openings in the Matsuda's defensive cover for KNF bombers to exploit.
While the Matsumoto was withstanding a heavy beating from the guns of its older sister, it was plain that the Matsuda was slowly being whittled away as its shields began to fail and the very same engine design flaws that had rendered it immobile in KNF service were now exploited by bomber wings to once again cripple the warship.
After several more minutes, the Matsuda's escape pods began to eject from the ailing battleship, picked up by Chrysanthemum fighters as they fled deeper into the Seiran dust cloud. It didn't take long thereafter for the ship's powercore to falter and fail completely, culminating in a vast explosion that reportedly almost turned night to day on the dark side of Planet Kyushu, if only for a split second.
Matsumoto itself sustained moderate damage in the engagement, relatively untouched by Chrysanthemum bombers however still suffering the ill effects of Matsuda's anti-capital weaponry. Despite its damage, it remains deployed in the Kyushu system to continue the blockade of the cardamine trade and to serve as a show of force to any who would challenge the might of the Emperor.

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.

It remains to be seen how this united Farmers Alliance will impact affairs on the wider stage, with the security forces of both Houses already strained by their fair share of crime and dissidence.

"The Surveyor is more than just a ship, it's a symbol of ingenuity and industrial development to all the Sirian Colonies. It's a pattern that dates back to our origins in the Sol system, and it's a pattern that will persist for many generations to come. Just as we have adapted to meet new challenges, so too must the Surveyor to meet emergent needs."
The Next-Gen Surveyor is slated to roll out multiple updates ranging from technological optimizations to upgraded armor and firepower capabilities. Many of the new modifications directly address a recent study by the Sirius International Institute of Statistics and Economics, citing up to 32 percent losses by BMM and Kruger Minerals to piracy and related factors.
The ship's expanded armour increased the ship's mass by almost 50 percent, which forced Samura's Surveyor team to completely overhaul the ship's power delivery system, powerplant, and hull. The new ship utilizes a power delivery system integrated into the super-alloy frame. The integrated frame was torture tested at the Aso High Altitude Proving Grounds, and sports certifications as best in class for maneuvering with a load under high Gs.
Though time will tell whether the upgrade will prove successful in addressing the increase of piracy, the stock market has greeted the welcome news with a 15 point general increase, and a relative high for Samura and mining sector stocks.

## Rumors

* Most of our structural materials for shipbuilding come from Stokes or Pueblo. Combustion chamber and nozzle materials are supplied by Rheinland. They are transferred at Narita or brought in directly by our ships from Mainz.

* We have a special arrangement with Bowex in Kusari. They are allowed to land at our military shipyard to deliver Super Alloy and remove Toxic Waste. We then transport the two dangerous substances within Kusari space to and from the appropriate bases.

* Tokyo Command says that once the Blood Dragons' fire is extinguished, all of Kusari will again be in peace and prosperity. I doubt this. The government is almost bankrupt. Arming the GMG during the 80-Years War was historically very costly for Kusari. Then we had the invasion by Rheinland in 800A.S, then the Bretonian War, and then our recent disaster with Gallia. Kusari is weaker than it has ever been, yet the Dragons appear stronger than ever.

* The Naval Forces is somewhat uncertain of our relationship with Samura. Kishiro has shown us more promising research in 10 years at our new center in Kansai than Samura ever has at Nansei. They recently offered to build our ships at the Yukawa yard in Honshu. Given their more advanced shielding technology, this is an attractive proposition.

* The Blood Dragons attack us incessantly here, usually from the Kanto Field, but other times from the Chiba. They will also hide behind Kitadake and launch surprise attacks when all of our patrols are out of range.

* The Golden Chrysanthemums have staged several suicide attacks on the shipyard in recent years. They are not considered a threat, unless there are Blood Dragons in the area, who will often come to the GC's assistance in times of trouble. They make a strange alliance, those two.

* The GMG acts as our border guard in the Sigma systems. This has been invaluable in reducing overall security costs for Kusari. Otherwise, the Matsumoto would not be available to patrol the Hokkaido system, which is arguably not of much strategic value to Kusari. They should move the Matsumoto into the Tottori system, where there are civilian lives at risk.

* We will never allow Republican to land at Yokohama, not after all the financial hardship that the Kusari people had to endure during the 80-Years War, and not after Rheinland's invasion of our great nation. Mind you, because large amounts of government money were available for advanced weapons research and development, the 80-Years War did enable us to increase our shielding and cloaking capabilities.

* The Kusari Naval Forces has learned that Liberty is developing a new class of super ships far more advanced than that displayed in the Missouri class. However, we have been unable to learn of the secret location. It would be impossible for Liberty to conceal its intentions in the New York system.

* The Yokohama shipyard has been producing all of Kusari's Naval Forces ships since 100 AS. We have worked hand-in-hand with Samura to forge a great empire. The Blood Dragons and the Golden Chrysanthemums are a threat to the peace and stability that Kusari has enjoyed for 800 years.

* These Naval Forces types are really secretive here. They won't let you outside of the docking area or the bar. It's kind of a run down place -- not as nice as I expected. Looks like they're hurting a bit on maintenance budgets.

* I'm just finishing up the trip from Liberty. I'd rather stop at Roppongi, but Samura doesn't land there, so we bring our cargo the last leg. Usually it's Superconductors or Super Alloys. Samura hauls them too, but they have such a bad pirate problem that we can stay competitive.

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