Shinagawa Station

CLASS: Mifune

GRAVITY: Partial

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: 1130

Shinagawa Station is the headquarters for Kishiro, one of the two largest *keiretsu* -- vast corporate networks -- in the Kusari Empire. While not as politically well-connected as their primary competitor, Samura, Kishiro has instead focused its efforts on developing cutting-edge technology. Its most notable breakthrough was in 91 AS when scientists working aboard Shinagawa perfected the mass production of Optical Chips using a common Polymer base. These Optical Chips have since become key components in everything from Optronics to ships to Jump Gates and Trade Lanes. Shinegawa has been expanded several times to accomodate a growing demand for this product.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Border World Exports
* Kishiro Technologies
* 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.

## Rumors

* Our company was founded in 91 AS by a man of infinite wisdom named Katsuhiro Kishiro. Kishiro-san is the father of quantum optronics as we know it today. His vision has carried us successfully through the centuries.

* We dominate the Honshu system. Samura controls the farmers of Kyushu. Shikoku is more complicated, as it is the one place where there are many foreigners in Kusari. We have exploited the cheap labor rates to open Consumer Goods factories there, much to the dismay of Samura, who once dominated the Kusari domestic market.

* We see the Hokkaido campaign was a thinly veiled attempt by Samura to force the taxpayers of Kusari to pay for their access to their H-Fuel fields in Hokkaido, in the name of fighting the threat of the Blood Dragons. The former government had no intention of ever completing the Chugoku Gate. They instead routed the gate to Tau-53, and then on to Tottori. Now it is left to us to deal with the Dragons and the other criminal elements.

* Food from Deshima is transferred here to smaller ships and redistributed to our bases in Honshu and Okinawa. We also receive regular shipments of Aluminium from Rheinland.

* Kishiro is the technology leader of Kusari. We design and manufacture everything from advanced Engine Components and Optronics to Optical Chips and Gas Miners. We also process and ship raw materials like Hydrocarbons and Polymers.

* Those Hogosha are nothing but common thieves. Did you know that some of them are technically employees of Samura by day? In their "off–duty" hours they go and steal from Kishiro and any other competitor of Samura. This kind of behavior is what feeds the terrorists' justification for their actions.

* Just between you and me, we intend to abandon the cargo shipping business within a few years. The competition is fierce, and the criminal element is making it more costly to insure our cargo. Look at IC and Ageira. They make incredible profits off of technology monopolies and their licensing. That is the future for Kishiro.

* Shingawa is Kishiro's center of operations for all of Sirius. From here we coordinate the dispatch of ships to all corners of the Trade Lane network. This is also the research and manufacturing center for Optical Chip production.

* We view the Golden Chrysanthemums and Blood Dragons as misguided political terrorists who occasionally engage in acts of piracy against our ships. They embody the pent up frustrations that certain elements of Kusari society are feeling towards the glacial pace of change in Tokyo. Now that our influence can be felt in government, we expect these groups to lay down their arms and rejoin Kusari society.

* Unlike Samura in Hokkaido, Kishiro had to pay for the jump gate to Sigma-19. We shared the costs with the GMG, who grant us rights to mine gas there. That is the right way to do business.

* We are trying to decipher the Trade Lane and Jump Gate technology that Liberty has so closely guarded for many years. Once we have done this we can apply it directly to ships, thus allowing them to instantaneously jump from place to place in the universe without any need for static field generators. It is only a matter of time before we succeed.

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