Planet New Tokyo

DIAMETER: 14,802 km.

MASS: 6.01 x 10e24 kg.

TERRAIN: Oceanic

TEMPERATURE: -35°C to 39°C

ESCAPE VELOCITY: 12.01 km/sec

Settled in 5 AS, New Tokyo is the capitol of the Kusari Empire and, with nearly 11 billion people spread across various island groups, its most populous planet. Despite (or perhaps because of) this crowding, New Tokyo is a vibrant world with centuries of history and some of the most advanced technology in the colonies. Due to the lack of available land on which to farm and build, the Kusari have economised land use, and much of their technological advances have been geared towards constructing huge glittering skyscrapers and even entire "tower cities", packing as much as possible into as small a space as possible. To foreigners, Kusari architecture often feels cramped.

It is a vibrant world with centuries of history and some of the most advanced technology in Sirius, but it is not without conflict. Kusari culture is in a transitional state, with a relatively small feudal-style aristocracy leading an increasing number of citizens who are developing a stronger sense of individuality. Bureaucrats and corporations wrestle with the popular media and the younger generations over how best to handle the rapidly increasing changes in Kusari society.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Border World Exports
* Gateway Shipping
* Kishiro Technologies
* Orbital Spa and Cruise
* Samura Industries
* Universal Shipping
* Farmers Alliance
* Hogosha
* Deep Space Engineering
* Synth Foods, Inc.
* RGS Shipping

## 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.

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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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.

Rear-Admiral Kato Masanori confirmed the broad facts of what happened but declined to comment further on the details which have surfaced from Samura sources.
Samura spokesperson Pak Daewon said this morning that "The terrorist group known as the Blood Dragons launched a devastating and violent attack on Camp Oku in the early hours of the night. They proceeded to slaughter their way through the camp, targeting our unarmed civilian personnel as well as our security detail. Our employees went above and beyond their calling in those stressful hours fighting against these barbarians."
Samura has since requested that the Kusari government deploy more forces to Tomioka to finally evict the Blood Dragons from their positions. It has also requested that a special licence be given to Samura to expand its security detail further making it more comparable to a military arm than corporate security.
There has so far been no official comment from the Kusari government at this time in regards to the situation on Tomioka or for what Samura has asked for.

"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

* The most difficult assignment for a Junsa like me is at Sapporo, within the clouds of Hokkaido. We must protect Samura's interests there at all costs. At least that's what Tokyo says. So we help protect a system that should be the exclusive domain of the Naval Forces.

* Frankly speaking, I do not understand why we must persecute the Blood Dragons so strongly. They are not indiscriminate pirates like the Outcasts or Corsairs, only attacking Kishiro when they need supplies. Samura has a deep hatred for the Dragons that has not diminished over the centuries. Nonetheless, Samura employees are civilians going about their lawful business. So I must follow orders...

* The Hogosha are not really criminals, like the GC or the Blood Dragons. They may engage in questionable behavior around Kishiro and foreign shippers' storage areas on occasion, but will never directly attack any ship. Artifacts are harmless trinkets. All this fuss with the bans outside Kusari seem rather extreme to me.

* We in Kusari are changing our traditional ways and Kishiro is an example for the future. Unfortunately, Samura wishes to preserve the past. They are too close with the Hogosha, who are far more unscrupulous than they would like to admit. Rather than reforming their agricultural production methods to resist the advance of Synth Foods, they have chosen to expend their resources on lobbying the government and backing the Farmers Alliance.

* Life in State Police is not as simple as it once was. We and the Hogosha had an agreement. Smuggling Artifacts is fine, but not Cardamine. The Golden Chrysanthemums have disturbed this harmonious balance. They insist on importing drugs into Roppongi, where we cannot watch them carefully. IC is not very concerned with their activities, so there is little we can do.

* We believe there is a Jump Hole in the Kanto Field that leads to Kyushu and points beyond. From there, the Blood Dragons and Golden C. can access our system and attack the Kusari people. We are certain that the Hogosha know its location, but they will not tell us, as it is most likely used for Artifact smuggling.

* Bounty Hunters are not welcome in Kusari space, outside of the Shikoku system. The Kusari State Police prefers to take care of its own criminal problems. We do not need to rely on uncouth foreigners like the Bounty Hunters Guild to perform this task.

* The youth of New Tokyo are developing dangerous habits. They prefer the taste of inferior foreign Foods like Synth Paste to superior Kyushu brands. What little extra money they have goes into buying Libertonian Luxury Goods and smuggled Cardamine.

* I'm visiting this great city to pick up some supplies for our base in the Kanto. There's a great little sushi bar down the way that I always visit. You have to try the purple sea urchin, although it might be an acquired taste for a Gaijin like you.

* Tokyo is the only place we can buy Light Arms legitimately within Kusari. It's very controlled here -- not like Liberty, I hear. We don't have rabble like the Rogues and Xenos in Kusari -- just misguided souls like the Golden C. and those Blood Dragons.

* Kishiro supplies many of the bases within this system, at least those that are not Samura owned. I don't like Tokyo. It always feels like Samura's heavy hand is at work here, even after they lost power. In Honshu the city is much smaller and the ocean cleaner, but neither planet offers much arable land. Our Kusari ancestors came from many light years away in search of more space -- how ironic that we landed here.

* Samura won't let us land on Yokohama, so we must deliver our Shinagawa produced Optical Chips here instead. For the same reason, we ship Aluminium and Diamonds here rather than complete the journey to Kyushu, which is effectively a Samura base.

* Kishiro competes directly with Samura in the New York-New Tokyo Luxury Goods and Niobium trade. We both suffer equally in Libertonian space at the hands of the Rogues and Xenos. Once we enter Kusari, we are targeted by different kinds of pirates. The Blood Dragons attack Samura mercilessly. We Kishiro merchants are targeted by the Farmer's Alliance. The Farmers will never forgive us for turning our backs on the monarchy.

* My ship, The Kamakura Maru, just completed an arduous journey from New London with a shipment of Gold. Now I have to leave it in Yukawa for several months. Somewhere in Tau-29, the Outcasts attacked, and a missile penetrated the aft bulkhead of reactor core 3. We patched it up, but it was close call.

* Kishiro has been patient with Samura's antics in Hokkaido, but we must not squander too much in that endeavor. Gallia is expanding into the Tau systems as we speak, obtaining the mineral wealth that Kusari so sorely needs. Rather than carrying on their feud with the Blood Dragons, the government should ask the Dragons to lay down their arms and begin real talks, not simply continue the old feuds.

* I'm the Orbital rep here in Tokyo. It's my job to coordinate the delivery of supplies to the *Hawaii* cruise ship in Sigma-19. I also do the local marketing, trying to get the wealthy and upwardly mobile Tokyo clientele to come out to our little ship and see the magnificent view of the Edge.

* It's always raining here -- worse than New London. At least you can get Synth Paste here. That was a major coup by Synth Foods. Word on the street is that the government couldn't pay for that Jump Gate in Hokkaido and asked for a price break. Manhattan made a deal by offering a free loan in exchange for access to the Kusari Food market. It worked like a charm in Rheinland.

* Almost all Kusari shipping stops in Tokyo. My family is here, but I don't see them often. It is a lonely life, that of a tanshin funin. We just brought a load of Fertilizers from Shinkaku in Tau-29. I'm transferring to an armored transport leaving for Hokkaido on a Marine deployment to the Matsumoto within the next hour. Hokkaido is not an easy trip. Maybe I'll have some whiskey before I go.

* They just unloaded my ship's Luxury Food from Junyo at the Tsukiji fish market. Junyo is Samura's most exciting project. We have transformed a sterile ocean moon in Shikoku into Kusari's top seafood production area within 50 years. The secret is the Alien Organisms from Kurile in the Sigma-17 system. They have not only oxygenated Junyo's oceans in record time but have provided cheap and abundant Food for the shrimp and fish farms.

* Kusari industrial might is shared between the two diversified corporations of Samura and Kishiro. Tokyo is the only neutral ground for the two giant companies. Kyushu is Samura territory and Honshu is Kishiro country. We are the older, more established concern, founded in the early days after the Arrival.

* I just sold a shipment of Manhattan Luxury Goods for the spoiled brats of our Shibuya district. The trip from Liberty is tiring, given the threat of Xeno and Lane Hacker attacks. Then you must contend with those crazy Golden Chrysanthemum pirates, who would rather steal their designer clothes than buy them like a proper Kusari woman.

* My ship is just passing through, and it's good to drink real Kusari beer again. We normally do the Superconductor run from Denver. Tomorrow we'll drop by our company offices in Shinjuku, and then head to Kyushu with the bulk of the load. We often bring Ship Hull Panels on the return trip.

* Synth Foods is now shipping directly to Honshu from the Deshima facility. Kishiro is far more accepting of Synth Foods. They accept the change as inevitable, as Kusari simply does not have the arable land to increase Food production on its own.

* That damned Farmers Alliance attacked us just as we left the Shikoku Gate. The State Police is not pursuing those Samura henchmen like they should. Yea, they've opened up their Food market, but they looked the other way when we lost a ship.

* We're delivering some of Detroit's finest personal Light Arms to the Kusari State Police. Then I'll probably pick up some supplies for the Roppongi Station, high above this planet. I prefer it up there. You can get Liberty Ale and other things from home.

* As part of the Sirius Commerce Pact, Universal and other Libertonian companies cannot own any permanent bases within Kusari space outside of New Tokyo. So we rent space from IC on the Roppongi Station and use it as our transfer point for Construction Supplies and Jump Gate Parts for the project in Hokkaido.

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