Peterborough Mining Facility

CLASS: Shelby

GRAVITY: Partial

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Limited

CREW: 350

Peterborough is a Beryllium mining and processing station recently established by Bretonia Mining and Manufacturing to take full advantage of the Beryllium deposits discovered in the asteroid field north of Planet Cambridge. Most of the Beryllium processed at Peterborough is being shipped by Bowex, BMM's main shipping partner.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Border World Exports
* BMM

## News

Jane Gilliam, whose commendation for repelling a Corsair raiding party as an Armed Forces Captain featured in a CNS article in 800, was not so convinced. "We all knew even back then that The Line wasn't fit for purpose. The Heilbronn disaster should have seen it scrapped, but the Regents on Cambridge didn't want New London looking too closely and pressured the Norfolk to lobby to keep it. If William was still with us, he'd say the same."
The exact catalyst for the extra attention from the edge world pirates is unclear, with various commentators speculating on increased resistance to their operations in Rheinland, Hessian efforts in the deep Omegas, or a shift in their internal politics. Regardless of their true motivations, Interspace Commerce has recognised the elevated peril and adjusted its premiums in response.

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.

```
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.

```

While Bretonia is indeed witnessing an extraordinarily high rate of economic growth in particular, it may be the case that the strain of this effort is becoming untenable, and potentially the rewards misplaced. Timothy Ball, of the independent think tank Economic Review Institute, believes this may indeed be the case. "Bretonia's economy is definitely on the rise. While still not at pre-war levels, and not expected to be for some years, the recovery we've witnessed so far has been uneven", he says. "The reconstruction of damaged and destroyed public infrastructure is underway, but seems to be lagging behind the rate of recovery being enjoyed by several major corporations. This can be explained by various factors for a time, but unless rectified, at some point this inequality could become a major point of domestic political contention."

Yesterday at 2200 hours SMT, nearby Sheffield Station and Kingston Border Station received automated distress signals from Liverpool, indicating an emergency aboard the station. Guild patrols redirected from Sheffield arrived on the scene within minutes, finding the border station destroyed. Search and rescue operations headed by Guild and BPA units commenced immediately and successfully salvaged several escape pods bearing several dozen survivors, who were immediately delivered to hospitals on New London.
BPA spokesperson Sandra Halling held a press conference earlier this morning. According to joint police and BIS investigations, Liverpool was destroyed by antimatter explosives planted aboard the station. Their detonation caused a catastrophic chain reaction, resulting in the station's own reactors melting down and exploding. Of the estimated one-hundred-twenty persons on board at the time of the attack, seventy-eight have been reported as dead or missing.
\So far, no party has taken credit for this heinous attack. However, Bretonian police surmises that it was likely perpetrated by either the criminals known as the Mollys or the infamous pirate organization, the Lane Hackers. The attack occurred following a significant redeployment of local Armed Forces units to the Cortez system for the purpose of joint operations with Libertonian security forces. This, says Halling, may have allowed terrorist sympathizers to exploit undermanned BPA patrols and smuggle illegal explosives through Manchester's ice fields, onto Liverpool Station.
While investigations continue, Bretonian Police Authority has reinforced patrols within Manchester and established traffic controls at Kingston Border Station and Birmingham Station. Traffic to and from Liberty has been advised to reroute through the Cortez system.

## Rumors

* If you ask me, the Crown should simply have nationalised Cardiff. That would have both given us all the infrastructure we need, and put an end to the IMG operations in the system so that all profits from Cambridge could go to the Crown. The IMG decided against siding with Bretonia. That makes them as bad as the enemy.

* One of these days I'm going to visit Trafalgar, and make a Corsair snack on a Cardamine-laced crumpet, and cam the whole thing. I bet that would be a hit on NeuraTube! Ten thousand thumbs up at least!

* A Molly and a Corsair are both aboard a ship. Who's driving? Well?Why, the Constable of course!

* I once knew a joke about paper, but forgot what it was about. It was... tearable.

* There's rumors of another increase in the worktimes due to the ongoing war. Not sure what it'll accomplish - people can only be pushed so far, you know? Before soon people will start napping or drinking on the job, and that's when accidents start to happen.

* If you handle any broken storage containers which contained Beryllium, don't forget to wash thoroughly afterward. Beryllium is toxic and will slowly poison you. Handling Beryllium is part of the job here. Staying alive however isn't in the job description - it's just common sense.

* They say that space is dangerous. I believe that, so I signed up for stationboard duty. Sure, the view isn't as great in the smelter 3 control room, but at least you don't get your ship shot out from under you by Mollies, Corsairs, Hessians, Gaians... need I go on?

* Mollys and Gaians have both started to show an uncanny interest in this station. So far nothing serious, but it is a sign of things to come. The Gaians probably worry that we'll end up damaging Planet Cambridge, but there's very little risk since we barely do any smelting on this base. The Mollys are just being their destructive selves.

* Beryllium is essential to the Bretonian economy because it's used many ways - Engine Component construction, Nuclear Reactors, Radiation Shielding. But most essentially for us, it is part of the Bretonian Super Alloy synthesis. BMM and Bowex refused to be dependent on the IMG for their supply of Beryllium, so the Crown nationalised the Beryllium deposits north of Cambridge for exclusive use by us.

* Welcome to Peterborough, youngest station in Bretonia as of 819 AS, and still under construction. But that doesn't mean we don't have any fair Bretonian Stout here. Or an abundance of Beryllium for that matter. The boys in their mining ships are quickly tagging the richest deposits of Beryllium in the field. Early mining operations always start with a high yield before mining begins in earnest.

* With the first three smelters operational, we can produce roughly 15 isotons of ore at a variable purity on the refined product. Once the other 9 come online, we'll have at least 30 percent more capacity then Cardiff does. That will allow us to undercut the IMG operation, so long as we get enough raw materials delivered.

* The Corsairs are a bigger problem on this side of the system then the Mollies are. Near the Keswick that changes, so I guess they come from there. Another reason to take this route rather then to pass by Cardiff - you only have one set of ruffians to deal with.

* Those Gateway boys must be seething now that we're cutting into one of their prime traderoutes. Delivering Beryllium to Rheinland and undercutting the IMG and Gateway would be a major blow to their business. I wonder if the bosses could persuade the Crown to offer a few "incentives" to get Peterborough going...

*NOTE: Page generated on the 28/10/2023 at 17:59:45 UTC*