Tau-31 Gate Construction Site

No info.

A system as rich in resources as Tau-23 was ripe for exploitation, and once surveyed by Bretonia Mining and Manufacturing (BMM) in 730 AS, the construction of a Jump Gate network linking the system with Bretonia became a high priority. While work on the Tau-31 Jump Gate has proceeded apace, the project has recently come under intense attack by the criminal organization known as the Outcasts, though the reasons behind the hostilities remain unclear. BMM has been forced to hire extra security to protect the construction project and has even attempted to begin limited mining of the valuable Beryllium deposits in the system as a way to offset the skyrocketing costs.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Deep Space Engineering
* Independent Miners Guild
* Bounty Hunters Guild

## Commodities

* Oxygen
* Water
* Food Rations
* MOX
* H-Fuel
* Mining Machinery
* Construction Machinery
* Pharmaceuticals
* Cardamine
* Gate/Lane Parts

## Rumors

* When DSE was building the Jump Gate into this system, there were never any Outcast attacks. Those crafty bastards were biding their time until the Gate was completed, and then they attacked in force. They were just waiting until we had committed ourselves to this area so they could pirate our shipping.
* BMM pilots in this part of Sirius die all the time. It's not like in civilized space where you can drop your cargo and run. Out here the Outcasts will chase you down and kill you after you've dropped cargo. It's like a sport for them.
* There is a permanent DSE staff here that repairs Jump Gate and Trade Lane Rings. The Outcasts just love shooting the Rings to bits, even though they never manage to destroy them. Those DSE chaps sure do earn a lot of money. Of course I earn danger pay for being stationed in the Border Worlds, but I'm just a miner, so I'm only going to earn so much.
* The Beryllium that we mine here gets shipped right to Stokes in the heart of Leeds. We do not want to be dependent on the IMG any longer. Unfortunately, if we do not find a new source of Niobium, we will soon need to buy that from them, too.
* The Niobium in this system should be mined by BMM, too, but those dirty independent miners set up their operation before we had a chance to file a claim. Here we are trying to save Bretonian industry, and those damned independents are sucking up the Niobium for their own benefit. What's worse is that we take the brunt of the Outcast attacks in this system.
* There are no authorities whatsoever in this system; we are too far from Bretonian space to get protection from the military or the police. The Bounty Hunters who do come into the system loiter near the Tau-29 Jump Hole, but that strategy does us no good against the Outcasts attacking this base and the Trade Lanes!
* My shift starts soon, and I'll have to get onboard that death trap we call a mining ship. DSE is still working on the Trade Lane that runs to the Beryllium fields, so in the mean time we are most vulnerable to the Outcasts aboard the miner. It's pretty safe once you get to the mining area; the trip is the dangerous part.

* BMM is paying the bill for us to complete the Trade Lane to their mining area. The operation must be costing them a fortune considering the number of Outcast attacks on our construction sites. I'm glad I don't have to go out there and work on the Rings. I'm a desk jockey -- the guy who makes sure we ship all the right supplies to this base, plus I get danger pay. It's a good job.
* The Trade Lane Parts that come to this base are shipped to us from two different bases, depending on who has what we need at the time. Sometimes we need to special order a component all the way from Waterloo in New London.
* The Edward Marshall was bringing a load of Niobium back to base from the mining area when the ship was approached by an Outcast patrol. They surrendered and were boarded by the pirates, who mercilessly jettisoned the crew into space. A BMM patrol was scrambled from the Tau-31 Gate and managed to destroy the ship in the minefield before it reached Cali.