Battleship Matsuda

CLASS: Meiji

CREW: CLASSIFIED

ARMAMENT: CLASSIFIED

The Battleship Himeji, commanded by Chujo Michio Raikatugi, was originally stationed outside Heaven's Gate - an ancient Imperial fortress in the Tohoku system that Governor Tekagi had subverted for his own purposes. The Himeji served alongside a guard fleet led by the Battleships Ishioka, Musashi and Sennan. In 800 AS at the peak of the Nomad War, the Blood Dragons led an attack on the fortress resulting in the Nomad-infested Tekagi's death.

The Matsuda was one of the casualties of this battle. A Blood Dragon bomber wing struck the ship while others distracted its escort fleet. Two torpedoes struck the bridge, killing the entire bridge crew instantly. A third torpedo struck the engine, exploiting a critical design flaw in the Meiji class, and the subsequent explosion crippled the ship. Its crew was forced to abandon ship and seek refuge on Heaven's Gate.

The abandoned ship drifted into an asteroid field, and was assumed destroyed by both the Kusari and Nomad forces it had been a part of. Eventually, Golden Chrysanthemum (GC) smugglers encountered the reasonably intact wreck by chance in 810 AS After a more thorough inspection, the GC decided it was worth the expense of salvaging the ship, and with the assistance of their Blood Dragon allies, managed to repair the engines to the point that it could safely jump.

The ship was brought into Okinawa where it was partially restored over the course of five years, until it could make the journey to Sigma 19 to receive more extensive repairs from the Chrysanthemum's Hispanian allies. Upon its restoration, The Sisterhood re-christened the ship "Battleship Matsuda", in honour of Yuyu Matsuda, founder of the Golden Chrysanthemum movement.

With its sublight engines fully repaired in mid-825 AS, the Matsuda was able to move back into Kusari, positioning itself in the Seiran Cloud to strike at convoys along the trade artery between New Tokyo and Planet Kyushu. While the Matsuda's engines are fully operational, her weapons systems and sensor suite are highly outdated, making a direct confrontation with a modern day Toitsu class or even a well maintained Meiji a serious concern. For this reason, patrols are frequently dispatched to ensure the Matsuda has ample time to flee if ever discovered.

## News

Battleship Matsumoto and its task force remain in the Kyushu system to protect the fragile transports from vultures among the Blood Dragons or Golden Chrysanthemums. Some Farmer's Alliance vessels have even been glimpsed to patrol the routes left largely unnoticed by the wider Naval blockade of the system, and have subsequently been given some leniency by Naval Forces and State Police patrols.
While the relief effort is now well underway, criticism has been leveled at Samura for the prioritisation of rebuilding profitable farming infrastructure over the care of the local populations. Spokespeople for the company have repeatedly assured that displaced victims of the storms that continue to ravage the planet are being cared for to the best of their abilities, but that supplies are strained and not all communities are yet able to be reached.

Partially as a result of the geological activity, the equatorial monsoon season produced some of the strongest tropical storms ever recorded on Kyushu since its colonisation. These storms devastated the world's agricultural sector as they blew through the most fertile tropical lowlands, destroying as much as 20%% of the planet's annual crop yield, on top of damage to infrastructure and tragic loss of human life.
Many rural communities are reported to be struggling, with some farming communities still remaining flooded ghost towns even a month after the worst of the storms abated, though smaller-scale tempests still rage around the equator. A Samura spokesperson outlined the company's intent to restore the planet and its communities to full productivity by the middle of next year, despite the ongoing circumstance.

Immediately upon learning of this, Battleship Matsumoto and its battlegroup were redeployed from Hokkaido, and within two days were poised and ready to face this new threat. Only a short few hours later, a patrol of fighters reported a warship with the transponder reading Battleship Matsuda operating in the relative open, heading for but not yet reaching the relative safety of the Seiran Dust Cloud.
Matsumoto itself departed with its escort to confront the Chrysanthemum battleship, close to the edge of the nebula. Within minutes of it coming into sensor range, bomber and fighter squadrons from both sides closed in and opening salvos were exchanged between the battleships. It didn't take long before the KNF's preparation was shown to be well worthwhile; their superior numbers whittled down or otherwise preoccupied the Chrysanthemum's fighter force leaving a variety of openings in the Matsuda's defensive cover for KNF bombers to exploit.
While the Matsumoto was withstanding a heavy beating from the guns of its older sister, it was plain that the Matsuda was slowly being whittled away as its shields began to fail and the very same engine design flaws that had rendered it immobile in KNF service were now exploited by bomber wings to once again cripple the warship.
After several more minutes, the Matsuda's escape pods began to eject from the ailing battleship, picked up by Chrysanthemum fighters as they fled deeper into the Seiran dust cloud. It didn't take long thereafter for the ship's powercore to falter and fail completely, culminating in a vast explosion that reportedly almost turned night to day on the dark side of Planet Kyushu, if only for a split second.
Matsumoto itself sustained moderate damage in the engagement, relatively untouched by Chrysanthemum bombers however still suffering the ill effects of Matsuda's anti-capital weaponry. Despite its damage, it remains deployed in the Kyushu system to continue the blockade of the cardamine trade and to serve as a show of force to any who would challenge the might of the Emperor.

The Cardamine shortage has taken a toll on the fighting ability and courage of our sisters, who have refused several combat assignments and we have been forced to rely more heavily on the assistance of our allies, the Blood Dragons, who have of course attempted to discourage our sisters from taking Cardamine and some have even insisted on the necessity of abandoning our sacred rituals for situations such as these.
The Shikoku system itself, where the presence of our allies is limited to say the least, has been a most difficult situation for our movement. The Lane Hackers have repeatedly been unhappy with our deliveries of Cardamine to Leiden, and our convoys heading to Leiden have also been the target of several ambushes by Liberty Rogues attempting to seize our product.
We can do nothing more than wait and pray that the crisis on planet Malta will be quickly averted, and our patrons will once again bestow their Gift upon us as before.

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.

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.

It remains to be seen how this united Farmers Alliance will impact affairs on the wider stage, with the security forces of both Houses already strained by their fair share of crime and dissidence.

"These, like all effects of the stimulant, last roughly an hour and leave no permanent alterations. The only permanent effect is Cardamine addiction. None of the other components have addictive qualities." Ishida goes to elaborate further and states that "The full formula is a closely guarded secret and shall not be made public." This new drug is currently focused mainly for the Kusari market, but Ishida has not ruled out the possibility of expanding it further.

## Rumors

* If you're looking for a Cardamine expert, you came to the right place. I can surely give you a few tips on practical usage of the drug. There is no shame in admitting to being an addict. We are all addicts here. I was one of the top fighter aces in the Golden Chrysanthemums, but as we all know, luck only lasts so long. I know I helped out my sisters a lot when I was able to fly, but unfortunately my injuries forced me into retirement. I am just jealous about those who are still capable of fighting for our cause. I can't even pilot a transport now, which is why I now work as an engineer. Those who have pushed their fighter craft to the limit are the best qualified to work on them.

* Battleship Matsuda is stationed in Kyushu to support the cardamine shipments coming into Kusari from the Tau sector. The Chrysanthemums are the driving force behind drug proliferation in Kusari; we have an intimate relationship with the Outcasts that supply us with the substance, and Outcast fighters and freighters frequently dock here. We don't merely smuggle the drug, however; rather, it's a crucial component of many of our rituals. The sisterhood is grateful to the Hispanians for granting us clarity.

* The Hogosha and the Chrysanthemums cannot coexist, they represent everything we seek to escape, alter, and destroy. Soon, the corporate dogs shall be driven out of Okinawa, and the Chrysanthemums will fly unmolested by the conservative and discriminatory mores the archaic and outdated government attempts to perpetuate.

* The only place we can land in Kusari space is Roppongi. The foreigners find us more amusing than threatening, and tolerate our presence there. So we buy Luxury Goods in the boutiques onboard, and sell our Cardamine to the highest bidders in the bars scattered around the station.

* I have a doctorate in microbiology from the University of New Tokyo, and had hoped to be able to study and research the Alien Organisms of Kurile. I ended up fetching drinks for my male boss at Samura, so I became a Chrysanthemum. What choice did I have?

* Have you heard about the new additions to our weapons stockpile? Seems like that robot wasn't lying when he was bragging about 'outside suppliers'. Still, I can't stand talking to that tincan. All he talks about are his 'Cyborgs' and calling everyone 'Meat' and 'Squishy'. But, I have a new portable grenade launcher and EMP gun, so I guess he isn't all bad. He's still a prick though.

* I've been on scanner duty for the last fourteen hours and just signed off, but I'm back on duty again in seven hours because my replacement is sick. Apparently she hasn't been taking her daily Cardamine supplements and is going through severe withdrawal symptoms, so she's down in medical. Please leave me be, I want to have a drink in peace before I try to grab what little sleep I can.

* I miss my boyfriend. He's a Blood Dragon technician stationed at Sendai. We first met when this battleship was stationed outside the research facility being repaired and we've been seeing each other since. I sometimes think he will ask me to marry him, but many of my friends in the Sisterhood think that marriage is a foolish male notion. I do love him though, and I wish we weren't forced into this lifestyle because of our foolish government's conservative views.

* Many of us secretly admire the Blood Dragons. Their grace of flight is wondrous, and they're Kusari's most rigorously-trained pilots. The sisterhood frequently flies alongside our cousins from Chugoku, and we do our best to glean flying knowledge from them. Though many Dragons are male, they are not the swine we've come to expect, rather, they are cultured and well-bred to a fault.

* The floors of this ship have been awash with blood in the past. During the Nomad War of 800 AS, this vessel was commanded by Nomad-tainted soldiers who were tasked with guarding the late Governor Tekagi's Tohoku fortress. After Tekagi's base fell to the Blood Dragons, the Matsuda, called the Himeji then, attempted to escape to Okinawa, where she was intercepted and boarded by Chrysanthemum forces. This battleship has been one of our primary assets ever since.

* A sister perished in the Hasuda field several days ago while engaging Hogosha pilots. Her transmissions were intercepted too late, and patrols in the region could not rescue her. The Hogosha vermin were chased off before they could desecrate our lost sister's Eagle; it remained intact, as it fell to weapons fire rather than mines or missiles, and may yet drift in the asteroid cloud.

* Our glorious leader, the immortal Yuyu Matsuda, lent her name to this battleship. We consider our base here sacred ground, and will defend it against any intrusion, especially against the vile Hogosha and the chauvinist, unenlightened corporate lapdogs that they serve.

* We are indebted to the Blood Dragons for providing their technical expertise as we reconstructed the Matsuda, she was damaged by the explosion of her fellow battleship Sennan, during the battle against Governor Tekagi's fortress in Tohoku. True, we stole all the materials we required ourselves, mainly from Samura transports, but we were taught how to efficiently repair it by the technicians of Sendai.

* This ship is something else. Did you see the engines? And the guns? This thing is fast, and it hits like a bag of rice.

* We use Kyushu to access Shikoku, where many of our sisters and brothers are held unjustly in Fuchu prison by the government henchmen of Samura. The new government is not inclined to release them, but we stand a much better chance of a prisoner exchange. Kishiro seems to care more for kidnapped Samura employees then Samura does!

* The Golden Chrysanthemums believe that one of them will be the next Emperor -- excuse me, Empress of Kusari. Some time ago, I heard a rumor that they had a Kyushu girl back in a corner of the living quarters and they were teaching her everything she needed to know to run the country. She was supposedly 7 years old at the time. I wonder what became of her.

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