Ryuku Base

CLASS: Yosai

GRAVITY: Partial

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Limited

CREW: 290

When the Order learned of the subversion taking place around the Heaven's Gate, they contacted the Blood Dragons to discuss an alliance to counter this threat to humanity. The Blood Dragons agreed to assist the Order, realising the threat to mankind and the danger to their own people if the Nomads would be successful in taking over the leaders of Kusari. With funding and supplies smuggled in by the Order, they constructed a small outpost in Tohoku, from which they could spy on Heaven's Gate. The base also played a brief role in the Nomad Wars, when it became a staging area for the Blood Dragons while they prepared for an infiltration of Heaven's Gate to retrieve an important artifact called the Proteus Tome.

Ryuku still keeps watch over the goings-on at Heaven's Gate. The Order still has agents aboard the station who coordinate actions between the Blood Dragons and Order forces in the Omicrons. The base also repairs and resupplies supply ships moving between Chugoku and the research outpost in Okinawa if they have come under attack.

## News

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.

## Rumors

* The Nomad weapons are very powerful, so watch out if you come under attack. Their energy signature is unmistakable. However, their infested pilots are not as skillful as ours. Some of our scientists suggest that operating human-built ships is difficult for them - perhaps even unnatural. It's one of the few advantages we have against them.

* Surveillance and strikes on Heaven's Gate are one of the most dangerous tasks a Blood Dragon can be assigned to. We all know the threat the Nomads pose. They set the houses on eachother once already. With Samura rotting out the soul of Kusari, and the Nomads trying to rot out the body, it sometimes feels as if we are all that is left to defend our home.

* Welcome to Ryuku. It's not much to look at, but this is a very important outpost for us. It defends one of the paths into Chugoku, maintains the supply lines to Sendai, and keeps watch on the infested Heaven's Gate.

* The arrival of Sado has been both a blessing and a curse. While the Naval Forces patrols only actively seek us out, they have diverted the attention of the Nomad infestation in Heaven's Gate. This gives us more freedom to seize the initiative, to strike when and where we choose.

* All of us know what we are up against. If there is no chance of rescue after your craft is disabled, Blood Dragon pilots will make the final sacrifice to prevent the enemy from subverting us. Naval Forces pilots do not have this devotion, so they often end up adding to the threat. It may seem barbaric, but we will destroy their lifepods if we cannot take them with us, to prevent that from happening.

* We see Golden Chrysantemum smugglers moving from Okinawa to Hokkaido every now and then. We cover them when we can, but once they leave the nebula they are very vulnerable until they reach the Hokkaido hole. Sadly, not all of them make it.

* One of the simplest runs for me is the one between Okinawa and Chugoku. It passes straight by this base, which gives you a chance to make repairs if you got hit. Artifacts seized from the Hogosha are studied at Sendai, so we bring them there. We usually take H-Fuel back, which is easy enough to get in Okinawa.

* The arrival of Battleship Sado complicates things for us. No doubt those Navy fools believe we're out to take Heaven's Gate for ourselves. While it would certainly be a grand victory for the Blood Dragons, we simply do not have the men to hold such a large facility, so attempting to seize it would be folly. Instead, these Navy fools come looking for us, and end up giving the Nomads more ships and men each day.

* I usually patrol the borders of the nebula. Rules of engagement are very simple in this system - anything that isn't a confirmed friendly, is to be dispatched immediately. I've been lucky so far. The infested Kusari on Heaven's Gate tend to probe the nebula, and when we meet their scouts, tough fights usually ensue. Our ships are more maneuverable, but theirs have stronger firepower.

* The Order maintains a small presence on this base, to help coordinate their efforts to prevent the spread of the Nomads into Kusari. They've been forced to scale back operations after their main base on Toledo was annihilated, but still do what they can. In Kusari, we are usually the muscle behind their eyes.

* One of the riskier things to do as a freighter pilot is to join a raider flight tasked to seize specific cargo. Freighters are slower and less maneuverable, so they're usually the first ships being targeted by escorts. Still, sometimes we have little choice. The Blood Dragons do not have many ways to acquire specific supplies, so we must take as much as we can in a single, swift strike. Samura is a good, if unwilling, source.

* I heared whispers of the Outcasts and Nomads cooperating in the deep Omicrons, usually against the Corsairs. If that is true, the implications are dire. The Outcasts have contacts throughout the colonies, and access to a wide range of resources. They could end up providing the Nomads with the one thing they lack: The resources to grow. If allowed to grow unchecked, the Nomad threat could regain it's strength in less then a decade.

* The Blood Dragons descend from the imperial honor guard of the Hideyoshi dynasty. They take their heritage very seriously, and I must admit, I would be hard pressed to find a more honorable group in Kusari. I am proud to have them as allies. They were the only people in Kusari who recognized the threat the Nomads posed after the Kusari government outlawed us.

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