Dawson Base

CLASS: Korly

GRAVITY: Complete

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Limited

CREW: 250

Little is known about this shady asteroid base, tucked away in the southeast of the sleepy Hudson system. It was originally constructed in 736 AS by the Liberty Rogues who wanted to gain a foothold in the southern Independent Worlds. The base is well hidden by an asteroid field that harbors no valuable resources, and while it is widely suspected that the Rogues have a base in the field, the Liberty and Rheinland navies have not shown much interest in locating it.

Dawson is a relatively small Rogue base, which is more used by smugglers then pirate raiders. Traffic through Hudson was never very dense, with most shippers preferring the faster (but riskier) Bering run. The Liberty/Rheinland war has caused what little traffic remained to completely disappear. Still, Dawson remains an important point of contact for the Rogues and Unioners. Unioner smugglers bringing in Artifacts or Hessian Tears transfer their cargo at Dawson, after which the Rogues distribute it through Liberty. The Xenos, envious of the profits this brings, often attack these smugglers.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Unioners
* Zoners

## News

Once they had captured the Outcast, the Rogues broadcast a message to their cartel, threatening to kill the hostage unless they were promised regular Cardamine shipments to keep turning a profit. The response was quick, and far more brutal than they could have anticipated. All six of the Rogues were found killed after several days of silence, with no Outcast hostage in sight. While it is unclear exactly what happened, the message was very clear to any who might tug at the Outcast leash; the reprisals would be unforgiving, and serve as a reminder that anyone can be replaced.
While many other Rogue groups have sought to distance themselves from the actions of the young and brash, grumbles of discontent have nonetheless been heard around our bars and bunks, and it is unclear if this is truly the last we will hear of conflict between us and the Outcasts.

The Outcasts and their most loyal agents stepped in almost immediately in anticipation of something like this happening, and set new rules for distribution according to set keys. A small group of Liberty Rogues defied them and followed their own rules of distribution, but they didn't fare too well - the Dons, despite the ongoing crisis in Malta, do not tolerate insubordination.
For this reason, several powerful Junkers and Rogues immediately decided to dilute Cardamine instead of redistributing ostentatiously against the wishes of the Outcasts at the expense of their clients, thereby raising their own shares. Fortunately for these savvy businessmen, word did not reach the Outcasts until some time later, and thanks to an improved network of cooperation, most of the organizers were able evade Malta's assassins.
However, all these measures had only limited effectiveness. Many end-clients and casual Cardamine users have been forced to seek medical attention due to their deteriorating health due to potentially fatal withdrawal symptoms. It is not known how many Cardamine users eventually died because of the shortage, but it appears to be in the order of single-digit percentages - much to the very verbal displeasure of the Outcasts themselves.

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.

For some time, it had been alleged that Insurgent and Xeno-backed cells had been stirring trouble on Erie, inciting violence in the population and seeking to turn the planet into a second Veracruz. Never, however, had such open acts of terror been visited upon the governing Libertonian forces.
The response was quick and decisive. In coordination with the LSF, Vice Admiral Hamish aboard the Battleship Alma lead a Liberty Navy task force directly into the system in Operation Pesticide, escorted primarily by Siege Cruisers, Gunboats and fightercraft, with many of the Navy's capital warships tied in the Vespucci campaign or ever watchful at Liberty's borders. They were met by Zoner Q-ships based from Bethlehem, with many coming from as far as Galileo or even the Sigmas, accompanied by a motley assortment of freelancers and other anarchist elements. Leading the Zoner line was a Aquilon-class carrier, the Pinnacle.
While the Pinnacle came under heavy bombardment from the Alma and her task force, supplies quickly gathered onto Zoner transports from Erie attempted to run the Navy blockade. While some transports were lost to Navy bombers, others yet escaped to parts as of yet unknown. This 'victory', however, came at a heavy price. The Pinnacle was lost with most of her hands still on board and the rest captured, while the Liberty Marines landed virtually unopposed, quickly securing population centers for both the safety of Libertonian assets and the civilians on Erie itself. The Alma is settled now into the low orbit of Erie, a constant reminder to those below that they are under the protection of the Liberty Navy. A comfort to some, a dire warning to many more.

## Rumors

* The Hessian Tears we get here from the Unioners are shipped to Denver or Manhattan. Usually the Junkers take care of the last leg, it's an easy run for them. Hessian Tears aren't illegal in Liberty, see? Liberty did that to spite the Rheinies. That makes us a lot of money.

* Some of the Xenos we run into have dropped hints about trying to get in on the Diamond trade, but it ain't gonna happen. Diamonds come from Rheinland, and nobody from Rheinland is going to do business with the Xenos. They've pretty much got themselves to thank for that. Bunch of hotheads...

* Every Rogue likes his gun collection. Most Rogues have several pieces of Detroit death machinery, so we need to supplement our Side Arm shipments from Beaumont with extra shipments from Buffalo. They usually come from shipments we nabbed on the lane in New York.

* The Xenos and Unioners have been killing eachother in both Hudson and Bering. The Xeno base is in the Wrangell Field just north of this one, and the Unioners come here to trade Hessian Tears with us. I personally don't care about fried Rheinies, but the Xenos running off with our Diamonds is annoying. Our boys will tear those Xenos apart if we come upon them attacking the Unioners.

* There must have been plans for making use of the planet Atka here in this system. A Planetform ship came in here to scope out the planet. Then the Xenos swooped in on 'em and blew the ship up. Those Xenos are a crazy bunch, but they crack me up. Heh heh, eh. Now Planetform is back with the Alma in tow. Guess they mean business this time.

* Since this base is pretty remote we have to get almost everything shipped to us from Beaumont. Aside from our basic supplies of Food, Water, and Oxygen, we receive Consumer Goods, and Side Arms. We could get the basics from Freeport 2, but that means crossing the Xenos who are out for blood out there.

* The Hessian Tears that the Unioners bring to this base eventually arrive in Manhattan for sale. That's what the Bounty Hunters are really after, that little "extra pay" by nabbing their cargo as salvage. Kinda like the Xenos do. The Unioners also drop Artifacts here. Bit risky if you ask me, dealing with both the Corsairs and Hessians, but I guess credits are a universal pacifier. Heh, they work on me.

* If you want to get into Rheinland space without attracting much attention, just pop through the Jump Hole in the field east of this base. It will take you right into Hamburg. The Unioners have a base there, in the asteroid field east of Alster. Usually best if you stick to the asteroid fields as much as possible. While the Federal Police is a joke, the Rheinland Military means business.

* The Liberty Navy patrols the Trade Lanes from Atka to Texas that run through this system. They've tried to clear us out many times, but there are too many places to hide. That's why Hudson will always belong to the outlaws. We had it rough for a while with the war going on - when there's a ton of military forces stomping around it's hard to smuggle or raid the lanes, but now that the Jump Gate to Hamburg is gone, that's bound to change.

* I hear Liberty had plans for making this system the main trade route from Rheinland into Texas because of all the drifting asteroid problems in Bering. Guess those plans are shelved now. They're short one functional Jump Gate, heh. I guess the only reason that Navy Battleship is here, is to make sure the Xenos don't mess up whatever they got planned for Atka.

* We sell our smuggled Hessian Tears from Kreuzberg here. It's a dangerous journey through Hamburg, but well worth it. We've also got a new route, bringing in Alien Artifacts through Munich and Frankfurt. It's not healthy to get the two mixed up though.

* We would prefer to live in Rheinland, but Republican's influence is too strong. Now that the Jump Gates are blown, the Unioners in Bering are safe from the Rheinland Military. We've only got the Xenos and a few Bounty Hunters to worry about, and those we can deal with.

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