Alster Shipyard

CLASS: Elbe

GRAVITY: Partial

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

POPULATION: 7K

Constructed by Republican Shipping, the Alster Shipyard specializes in the construction of freight ships and transports; however, Alster is most well known as the birthplace of the Unioner movement. After the economic collapse and the ensuing Popular Revolution, the Unioners became increasingly radicalized until they were added to the official list of terrorist factions. While the Alster Shipyards continues to operate, Republican Shipping -- in conjunction with the Rheinland Federal Police -- is believed to have purged most of the Unioners from the facility.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Republican Shipping
* Universal Shipping
* Bounty Hunters Guild
* Rheinland Police
* Synth Foods, Inc.
* Orbital Spa and Cruise

## Commodities

* Gold
* Oxygen
* Water
* Diamonds
* Food Rations
* MOX
* H-Fuel
* Basic Alloy
* Super Alloy
* Superconductors
* Optical Chips
* Mining Machinery
* Construction Machinery
* Pharmaceuticals
* Ship Hull Panels
* Polymers
* Optronics
* Engine Components

* Scrap Metal

## Rumors

* Republican is completely dependent on ALG products to build their ships. They are competing for the new Rheinland Military contract, but lack the technical expertise to fabricate the custom hull materials and other sophisticated features required by the government.
* Republican believes it can solve the Unioner problem by posting bounties and throwing them all in prison. The reality of their situation is far more tenuous. We've heard from reliable sources that many of their current workers are Union sympathizers who are quietly plotting the eventual overthrow of Republican Management.

* Gold is used as a reflective coating on windows for our ships. Ours is delivered by special armored transport from Freiburg periodically. It's a difficult run all the way through Rheinland. Criminals can smell it from across a system.
* Privately, Republican committed some management blunders in the early days of Alster. There were many ongoing safety lapses that eventually led to major industrial accidents. The unions would never have become as strong as they did without those galvanizing events.
* A shipyard needs a wide array of raw materials delivered on a regular basis to function smoothly. Liberty provides us with Superconductors and Optical Chips. The Ring, in New Berlin, supplies Engine Components and Construction Machinery.
* The Alster Shipyard workers are proud of our tradition. Unfortunately, there is a group of malcontents that wishes to destroy everything we have created after almost 400 years in Hamburg. The Unioners are a pestilence that must be eliminated.
* Every week, we run a transport in from Mainz, in the Frankfurt system. It either carries Boron from the Holstein extraction facility, or Optronics from Kusari.
* This shipyard was once controlled by the unions, who demanded ever higher wages and longer vacations. Republican could afford their extravagant demands during the Eighty Years War. But when the hard times hit, we had to make adjustments in order to remain profitable.
* The Alster unions made a fatal error when they supported the Popular Revolution. The new government worsened the already serious economic situation by inflating the currency to pay off external war debts. This backfired and resulted in the common worker in Rheinland suffering terribly.
* The Unioners are everywhere in Hamburg. They often lurk in the Alsterfeld, waiting for a shipment to arrive. They attack our ships in the Trade Lanes, Altona, or anything else that says Republican on it.