Islay Base

CLASS: Unknown

GRAVITY: Complete

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

POPULATION: Unknown

Soon after tourists began to arrive in Edinburgh in 690 AS, Cambridge scientists voiced their concern over the enormous ecological damage that even the most regulated visits could inflict on the planet. Almost from birth Cambridgers had drilled into them the stories of how New London and Leeds were blighted, so they tended to be very environmentally sensitive. A few of the younger and more militant scientists studying on Edinburgh actually went so far as to begin a campaign to sabotage tourist transports in an effort to discourage visits, but with little effect.

Once Cobalt was discovered on Gaia in 740, the BMM began to make noises in New London about the need to establish a mining base there. What had been a quiet, bloodless campaign of active resistance blossomed into full-fledged conflict. Graffiti with slogans such as "GAIA WILL NOT BLEED" was spotted soon after. The eco-terrorist movement had begun.

Eventually any plans to mine the surface of Edinburgh were dropped -- mostly out of fear that it might cut into the burgeoning tourist industry -- but the Gaians had already broadened their horizons by an influx of radical elements from Cambridge who sought a ban on terraforming technologies. Planetform, Inc. was the natural target. What emerged was a militant terrorist group philosophically opposed to the exploitation of planets, and terraforming in particular. The group enjoyed considerable popular support on Cambridge, funded by the efforts of the legitimate arm of the Gaians called the Green Front.

While the Gaians and the eco-terrorist movement as a whole have made little progress outside of Bretonian space, Green Front propaganda is a common sight in Bretonia. Green Front commentators are often present on the news, and unlike the Mollys, a certain amount of tolerance for them exists in the government from those disinclined to antagonize their Cambridge connections. Over the years, the movement has broadened considerably until the majority of its sympathizers are environmentally conscious individuals from throughout Bretonia.

The sole Gaian base lies deep within the Islay Ice Cloud at the northeastern edge of the Edinburgh system. From here, the eco-terrorists coordinate attacks on their enemies within Bretonia space and the Tau-31 system. Occasionally, raids are made on the center of all evil -- Planetform, Inc. headquarters at the Canterbury Station in the New London system. Ironically, although they have strong Cambridge roots, there is no activity within that system.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Gaians
* Outcasts

## Commodities

* MOX
* H-Fuel
* Pharmaceuticals
* Consumer Goods

* Water

## Rumors

* The Aberdeen Police Station and the in-system Bounty Hunters are the only things that stop us from completely destroying Planetform’s operations in this system. Maybe the Green Front will be able to garner enough public support for us on New London so that we don’t have to contend with the police anymore.
* We have information indicating that the centuries-long terraforming operations run by Planetform will never succeed. A top secret government report obtained by the Green Front asserts that the planets will lose their nascent atmospheres within several hundred years of completion of the process due to uncontrolled outgassing.
* Tau-31 is an important sector for the Gaians. Though terraforming operations on Harris are almost complete, they still need Alien Organisms from the Edge Nebula. The Organisms are crucial in speeding up the terraforming process, thereby making it more economically viable.
* The terraforming gases produced at the Stokes plant in Leeds are a high-priority target for Gaian attack. It is a dangerous run because of our inability to hide for some stretches of travel through Leeds. Usually, only our best pilots make that trip.
* Our hope is that one day the corrupt leadership of BMM and Planetform will be exposed for the greedy, shortsighted people they are. They have squandered our national heritage and future after eight hundred years of unregulated industrialization.
* We bring in all of our supplies, other than our locally available Oxygen and Water, from Trafalgar. It is most ironic that the only place we can land is the despised Junker base -- guardians of filth, corruption, and the criminal element.
* Leeds is our greatest example of the ruin that mankind can wreck upon nature -- the sheer destructiveness of pure exploitation. It is also the home of the Stokes Smelter, where Terraforming Gases are produced. Fortunately, the system can be used as an access route to all of Bretonian travel because of all the smog clouds. It's ironic how we escape in the filth we are trying so hard to eradicate.
* A Gaian attack was broken up the other day by the Bretonia Armed Forces north of Harris. Most of the Gaians were vaporized on the spot, but the Valiant, flown by Lucy Collins, escaped to the northwestern end of the system, in Outcast territory. No one has heard from her since.