Liberty Rogue NPC Rumor/Flavor-text list

[The Liberty Rogues]

Part III


</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Although retired from freelance piloting, Tinsley has become the administrator of Barrier Gate, which has grown steadily over the last decade. The station is ocupied by a motley crew of Rogues, Hackers, Outcasts, Bounty Hunters, IMG, Colonials, Zoners and various Freelancers all looking to trade or lay low for a while. Most of the revenue on the station is generated by smugglers and pirates, although the IMG use the station as refuge from the cold conditions on Pecos. </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>As Tinsley planned, Barrier Gate has become a place where the Outcasts exchange Cardamine with the criminals of Liberty, producing astounding profits. Not that his plan hasn't been without its problems. Tinsley is constantly fighting subtle attempts to take over the station from the Rogues, Junkers and the Outcasts themselves. In addition, the publication of the Barrier Pass and the new station earned Tinsley several large bounties from Molly gangs who have lost most of their cardamine smuggling business, which have thus far gone uncollected. </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>The arrival of the Colonial Republic in the system has presented the station and it's inhabitants with a quandry of possibilities and concerns. The Republic has not stated its intentions in regards to the station and so poses both a potential grave threat but also a potential market for the Gate's many amenities.
San Quentin is more or less the Rogues' "gate to Cassini". Doing business with other factions, quickly offloading some cargo, or docking for repairs, it is all done at San Quentin. The Lane Hackers, Outcasts and Junkers each have a permanent presence on the base.
One of the largest Rogue bases in existance, Attica is to many the symbol of Rogue resourcefulness and expertise. Situated in a large, hollowed out asteroid, it relies on both stealth and it's formidable size to deter would-be raiders (consisting mostly of overconfident Bounty Hunters). Several defense platforms along with strong patrols defend it, and the nearby shipbuilding facility.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>The station houses the heart of chaotic Rogue life, from gun shops selling any technology to any man for the right price, to bazaars for offloading "appropriated" cargo of all kinds, to the gambling establishments where raiding parties meet new crew, the station is the Rogues way of life.
Terre Haute Shipyard, informally known as The Nonsense Factory by the Rogues, is where most of the Rogue ships are made. It's output is low though, and it's failures many. Most of the failures get turned into weapons platforms and sold to various clients. Terre Haute is a mishmash of rocks, girders and construction bays mashed together haphazardly, with components being added or replaced whenever the required materials became available.
One of the first Scylla-class destroyers ever constructed by the Liberty Rogues, it was previously used to support fighter and bomber units whilst they raided ships in border systems such as Kepler and Galileo, free from the reign of House capital ships with the ability to destroy her. The ship was critically damaged when one such raid into Colorado went badly for the rogues. Although the Graviton managed to returned to Terra Haute for repairs, it's engines sustained too much damage for it to ever be able to jump safely. The Rogues decided against scuttling the ship, instead assigning it to guard Attica and Terra Haute.
The remains of one of the last transports to leave Foster base, it was caught by the Rogues. The convoy attempted to take shelter in a nearby asteroid field, but failed to shake their attackers and was destroyed.
The Product is a product of Rogue overambition and avarice. Formerly known as the LNS Magnificent, this ship was crippled during an ill-fated sortie into Cassini. Deemed unsalvagable by her crew, the ship was scuttled by the Liberty Navy. The Rogues dragged the wreckage back to Terra Haute and began to try to restore the ship. In the end, this proved all but impossible, as the Rogues did not have access to either a suitable shipyard, the required parts, nor the design schematics for the ship itself.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> Unwilling to let their prize go to waste, the Rogues did what they do best: They improvised. In the end, they managed to seal most hull breeches and install a generator capable of powering almost the entire ship, but the massive engines proved impossible to repair. In essence, the ship has been turned into one giant (and highly effective) weapons platform, which still tends to take more damage from the occasional asteroid impact, then from would-be threats.
I don't mind Rogues dropping by now and again, but that last one... I thought he was about to rip Martin in half! I think we've got an understanding now, though. We don't get in their way, and they make sure most of their unneeded cargo comes our way.
Rogues round these parts are a different breed to the ones you find elsewhere. These poor buggers got the bosses breathing down their necks the whole time. Makes em scared and scared Rogues are scary Rogues. They'll cut you soon as look you. Just in case that's what the boss wants. Makes living here kinda erratic.
There's only two kinds of Rogues that really scare me: Ones short on booze, and ones short on Cardi. Then there's the lot returning from a stay on Sugarland. Those can be unstable and best avoided completely.
Rogues got us shipping all sorts of stuff down to Fort McMurray ya? No idea why, but y'know, they pay good money. Mostly. Reckon they got something big going down.
Most Rogues enjoy a good brawl, but things often get messy. After the last brawl in the bar, I was in Medical for weeks with three busted ribs. Three ribs from one punch! Thank God he wasn't using his knife...
The DSE survey vessel Armstrong was destroyed in a pirate attack. Can't say I'm unhappy about it. We know damn well that this is a prime smuggling route into Liberty, and I think the Rogues were as unhappy with DSE nosing around here as we were. I guess they finally did something about it, which is more then I can say for the IMG.
I am here to pick up a load of Cardamine, then I will head for our base in Shikoku. It is a long journey, but away from the Trade Lanes, we have few enemies. Only the Hogosha pursue us there, and sometimes the Farmers Alliance will attack us too, but they are more after their own interests. We can sell part of our Cardamine supply to the Junkers and Liberty Rogues, and make some credits for our cause that way.
Despite the clamoring that we should seek ties with those other 'unlawful' faction within Liberty, the pirating Rogues and slave trading Junkers, the only groups with whom we have any accord are the Zoners, IMG and The Order. The Zoners are, well, the Zoners. But the IMG are almost like brothers in their struggle and The Order represents a righteousness and sense of justice that Liberty desperately needs to see return. That's why we remain neutral with both groups.
One of our allies is the Rogues. They aren't our partners as much as our pawns. We have them under control because they are addicted to Cardamine. Soon more groups will fall to the allure of the drug, and they will also be ours to control. I see this upon the horizon for the Golden Chrysanthemums.
Manaus Asteroid Field does not contain any valuable mineral resources. One of the larger asteroids, however, proved quite useful for Liberty Rogues who established a new base in this remote place.
The wreck of the </TEXT><TRA data="2" mask="2" def="-3"/><TEXT>Jamaica</TEXT><TRA data="0" mask="2" def="-1"/><TEXT>, Junker ship carrying a cargo of synthetic marijuana. Apparently, rogues in Humboldt prefer cardamine.
One of the most remote bases the Rogues maintain, Fortaleza is mainly used by people who need to "disappear" a while. Junkers and Lane Hackers also visit the station occasionally.
Constructed in late 815 A.S., Morioka is a small depot constructed by the Golden Chrysanthemums in the southern part of the Shikoku system. Hidden by the Keiun nebula, it is mainly used by Cardamine smugglers. The Liberty Rogues and the occasional Lane Hacker visits the station for this purpose. Blood Dragons looking to make repairs also visit, but they rarely stay longer then needed.
Of course there are no Slaves working our cardamine fields. That's just Corsair propaganda. Those workers are liberated from the bondage of crushing poverty in Liberty, or are poor convicted Rogues and Junkers whom we save from corrupt LPI wardens. These people literally beg us for the chance to come to Malta and labor like men for their bread, instead of wasting away their lives in Liberty's corrupt dungeons.
The Rogues sell the Neon and Basic Alloy they loot from passing transports to us. We ship it to the stations in Newcastle, or the Zoner space stations in Omega-50, or just sell it back to passing Freelancer smugglers. Either way is a profit for us.
The Rogues really love their Light Arms. They can't get enough of them! You can make a tidy profit bringing us some fine Light Arms from Detroit... and we don't ask for any receipts.
Not far from this base is a jumphole to California. It's in the south end of the Appalachian Asteroid field. It's a safe easy way to get to Alcatraz base on our supply runs to the Rogues.
I wasn't always a Rogue, you know. I started out a Boron miner on Pittsburgh. But I lucked out one day and punched a LPI Captain in the nose in a bar brawl, and ended up on Sugarland with the best crew of real men I've ever met. Yep, they was Rogues through and through, and I've been one ever since. Sure, I get called criminal, fiend, murderer and so forth by the so-called polite society in Liberty. But the one thing they don't call a Rogue is sissy. Not to his face and live they don't. Oh, and that cop got what was coming once I got out.
Those Rogues on Sugarland, why they put some real brass in my spine, they did. I growed a pair o' stones there the likes o' which you ain't never se... EGAD! Blue-eyed Bill just walked into the bar! I owe that dude 15 credits and I'm late on the vig. Where's the back door, I gotta hightail it outta here 'fore he eyes me!
We also get H-Fuel from Beaumont in Texas. See, first we Rogues steal the H-Fuel. Then we sell it to the Junkers in Texas. Then they sell it to us here. Then we sell it to the Junkers at Allentown. Then they sell it back to the fools we stole it from to begin with. That way, everybody important makes a fat profit. You know, if all of Sirius ever wised up to the Rogue way of doing business, we'd never have an economical recession ever again!
The LPI maintains a garrison here on Philadelphia. This trade lane hub is a convenient spot from which to patrol to the New York Gate, Erie, and Bethlehem. The Rogues cause a lot of disruption in these parts, without constant patrols. The Prisoners brought back in by the LPI get transported off to the Texas prisons. Most of of them are actually from Erie. The Zoners talk and talk about peace and neutrality, but they sure do like their brawls with offworlders down there.
We ship Prisoners out from here to the Texas prisons. Xeno and Rogue activity in this system is fairly high, and they manage to infiltrate Erie all the time, despite our best efforts. I suspect the Junkers help the Rogues get onto the planet. Nobody has figured out how the Xenos do it, yet. Some say they've got some sort of pact with the Zoners, but I'm not so sure. Aren't Zoners foreigners? Who knows... Those Xenos are nuts.
One thing we do get plenty of here is Light Arms and grunts to fire them. Oh, I guess that's two things. I have to hand it to the Marines, those numbskulls are fearless. Some Rogue was hijacking Helium miners out in the fields a while back, using a Pirate Transport to intimidate the smaller mining ships. An Assault Transport of Marines flew out there and started transmitting broadcasts like they were a mining ship. Sure enough, before long that Rogue posse showed and boy did they get a surprise. The field is so thick that the Assault Trans managed to hide right up until the last moment when they popped out from a dense cloud and magnetically latched onto the P-Trans. That Rogue boarding party must have been awful surprised when they got boarded by those Marines. Those Rogues are rotting in Sugarland as we speak.
As far as pirates are concerned, you've got the Liberty Rogues and Xenos out here. The Rogues are generally easy to deal with. Your basic thugs with big lasers and bigger ships that usually flee rather then confront us Hunters. The Xenos on the other hand are fanatics who love nothing more then to get into fights, even if it ends up costing them their lives.
Our patrol ran into a few Rogues harassing an Universal convoy the other day. First it was the Universal ships that tried to run, but when another patrol arrived, we had the upper hand. Even the Universal escorts decided they'd join in for a bit of payback. Can't say I blame them.
Rogues or other fences will sometimes come here to sell some of their stolen goods. The Zoners don't really care for the criminals, but take their business anyway. Their only alternative is to invite the LPI over, and they hate those guys even more.
There's one more place to keep in mind as a Hunter. The Junker smugglers hive near Sayre. Rogues go there to sell off whatever they looted. Xenos come there to stomp on the Junkers. I usually limit myself to the Xenos down there, that way I actually get some help from those damned Junkers. Won't last though, those bastards are criminals themselves, but not worth my time until Liberty puts a bounty on them. Shout me another Liberty Ale?
The Zoners don't want us around, that much I know. If it wouldn't violate standing orders, I'd simply no longer "opress" Liberty Rogues taking apart one of their Dromedaries one laserblast at a time. Hypocrites, the lot of them. Yech.
I've drawn far patrol this week. It's the least desirable assignment: You go out in a patrol ship outfitted with extra sensors and just fly practically blind, scanning for anomalous readings. Mostly, this is to prevent the Xenos or Rogues from establishing a base within striking distance of the lanes or Erie. You're out there on your own, and if a stronger flight of Rogues ambushes you, you're in for a hard fight.
The Rogues and Xenos have both attempted to build small bases nearer to the tradelane. Our blind patrols help spot those. The last attempt was only two months ago, when the Rogues tried to build a small depot on the far side of Planet Bruin. Gettysburg blew their attempt out of the sky not long after we found it - what's left of it left a nice impact crater on the planet.
It hasn't been dull so far, this first posting of mine. My first flight after receiving my posting, I was travelling to the Gettysburg by lane. Usually a very simple journey, just one gate, three lanes. But there was a large Rogue raiding party right at the Pennsylvania gate. I think they were as surprised to see us as we were to see them. Half of them fled while the other half opened fire - it would have been even if those Rogues stayed together, but with only half of their force staying, it was over in minutes. I scored 2 kills!
Disgusting and decadent. That's Liberty summed up in two words. It is also excessively wealthy. Cardamine allows us to siphon a lot of that wealth into our pockets, from both the Rogues and the addicts on Manhattan and Los Angeles.
The Rogues have their uses. Along with the Junkers, they keep the plantations on Malta well supplied with laborers. I'm not sure where they all come from, but I suppose we don't need to care, or worry about them leaving. After a few weeks on Malta, escape means certain death.
The Rogues don't like us engaging in straight up piracy within Liberty itself. That's their turf, they say. All fine and dandy, but some cargo is either too well-escorted or too valuable to leave in their hands. They just don't have our skill as pilots.
The Rogues represent some of the worst Liberty has to offer. Thieving, murderous scum that'll do anything for a wad of credits. They also help the Outcasts in their Cardamine poison trade. The only time a Xeno'd leave them be is if they have a bunch of foreigners at gunpoint. What's better to hit two birds with one stone? Let them birdies hit eachother and keeping the stone.
When it comes to my blastlist, the slaving Junkers top it. Then it's the Kusari, those blasted slantyeyed employment stealers. Liberty Rogues, who are nothing more then thugs. Outcasts, the poison peddlers. Rheinlanders, 'though you rarely see those anymore. Bounty Hunters, just for payback. Bretonians, 'cause they too need to stay the hell out of Liberty. And finally the Liberty Police and Navy - 'though I'd rather not shoot them at all. Still, they leave a Xeno little choice sometimes.
The Rogues and the Xenos... Sure, on the one hand they make life dangerous for us. On the other hand, they create business for us. Plasma burns, limb replacements. And for the higher ranking Rogues who Liberty wants to keep alive, Stabiline. They generate as much business as we lose to them, unlike most other corporations.
There's more Rogues then Xenos around this base, although both the groups have a strong presence in the system. I suspect the Rogues have a hideout in that asteroid field north of Bruin. Haven't found it yet, but enough Rogue activity to keep me busy here.
The Rogues got feisty the other day. A group of them hung around the base perimiter waiting for a transport to arrive. We signalled Erie and West Point to hold traffic, then prepared a little surprise for them. A group of Hunters took up position behind Bruin, while additional officers from Erie arrived to intimidate the Rogues into turning tail. When they did, well... Let's just say the Hunters got down to business quickly.
This system is rather quiet compared to the hustle-and-bustle of New York. The biggest trouble on the way here is also in the New York system, nice little corner of space they call the Badlands. Lots of Rogues out there, but that's for the New York boys to sort out. Our juristiction goes as far as the Jump Gate, and no further.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?><RDL><PUSH/><TRA data="1" mask="1" def="-2"/><JUST loc="center"/><TEXT>RM-2A "Storta" Outcast Destroyer</TEXT><PARA/><TRA data="0" mask="1" def="-1"/><JUST loc="left"/><TEXT></TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>The RM-2A is a recent development to replace the aging RM-1 Destroyer in service with the Maltese Navy for almost a century. Although it is larger and has a higher mass, it is more maneuverable than its predecessor, sports heavier firepower, and marginally heavier armor. The first prototypes were powered by conventional H-Fuel powered fusion generators, but some of the production models incorporate a new type of reactor: A contained quantum singularity. These singularities can only be created in the intense gravitational pull of the Razgriz Abyss, and will implode when deactivated.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Some Stortas have been sold to close allies of the Outcasts such as the Lane Hackers and Liberty Rogues, but these models all use the conventional reactor.
Liberty Rogues rarely use Outcast Destroyers these days, but several ships of this class still remain in their posession. One of them had previously been stationed not far from West Point; when the war with Rheinland has started, the Liberty Navy has increased security in all Liberty systems, forcing the ship to move into the small nebula located within the Pittsburgh Debris Field. Previously, this location was occupied by a small Rogue depot that was destroyed in 800 A.S. by a Liberty Security Force squadron. Edison Trent, at that time an unremarkable freelancer working for the LSF, participated in this attack.
CLASS: Huegenot</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>CREW: Unknown</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>ARMAMENT: Unknown</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Huegenots are used by Liberty Rogues and Mollys not only as assault cruisers, but also as bases of operation in relatively distant regions of House systems. Huegenot is more vulnerable than any space station, but in case of danger it may easily flee into nearby asteroid field.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?><RDL><PUSH/><TRA data="1" mask="1" def="-2"/><JUST loc="center"/><TEXT>RA-4 "Hellhound" Liberty Rogue Gunboat</TEXT><PARA/><TRA data="0" mask="1" def="-1"/><JUST loc="left"/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Developed by the Liberty Rogue engineers at Buffalo, the Rogue Gunboat is known as a clumsy and roughly constructed ship. However, in skillful hands this inexpensive gunboat can become a devastating weapon due to its formidable armor and advanced power array. Liberty Rogues are not only using the gunboat for their own purposes in the Liberty systems and the Independent Worlds; many ships of this class are sold to Mollys of Dublin to aid their endless struggle against the Corsairs.
MALTA -- 814 A.S. -- The Bretonia-Kusari conflict continues to escalate in Tau-29 and Tau-31, and the Corsairs are expected to also make a move soon. The Outcasts are preparing their defenses as Corsairs continue to try and ensure a lack of Zoner involvement in any military operations that would take place in Omicron Theta. Despite the obvious Corsair threat, the Zoners of Freeport 9 continue stalling between proposals for cooperation from both the Outcasts and the Corsairs.\n\nDespite this surprising lack of direct military activity, the Outcasts have succeeded in rallying many core world factions to their cause. These include Mollys from Bretonia; Liberty Rogues and Lane Hackers from Liberty; Blood Dragons and Golden Chrysanthemums from Kusari; and lately and most importantly the Red Hessians and Bundschuh from Rheinland. In contrast the Gaians of Bretonia, Hogosha and Farmers Alliance from Kusari, and Unioners from Rheinland, as well as in an extremely surprising move, The Order chose to side with the Corsairs. Both sides continue to try to rally support from the other factions of Sirius, however no other group has openly declared support for the Outcasts or the Corsairs so far.
Riverside Station was constructed by Liberty Police only a year ago to secure commercial traffic near Mojave. In the past, Mojave was a favourite place for Liberty Rogues to attack hapless traders.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?><RDL><PUSH/><TRA data="1" mask="1" def="-2"/><JUST loc="center"/><TEXT>Z-8500 "Bullmastiff" Pirate Transport</TEXT><PARA/><TRA data="0" mask="1" def="-1"/><JUST loc="left"/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Designed by the Liberty Rogues, the Pirate Transport is one of the few transport-class vessels available to the unlawful population of Sirius. This ship is too distincitive to be used for smuggling in areas heavily patrolled by police and military. However, the Transport is great choice for smugglers carrying goods from one pirate base to another using dangerous and lengthy routes. Heavy armor and advanced equipment come in handy if the ship is threatened by hostile pirates and bounty hunters alike.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?><RDL><PUSH/><TRA data="1" mask="1" def="-2"/><JUST loc="center"/><TEXT>Z-9000 "Barghest" Liberty Rogue/Molly Bomber</TEXT><PARA/><TRA data="0" mask="1" def="-1"/><JUST loc="left"/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>The Barghest is a mythological creature from English folklore: a monstrous black dog with huge teeth and claws that comes at night to bring sorrow and fright. The fearsome name belongs to a ship no less fearsome: designed by the Liberty Rogues, the Barghest Bomber is the most heavily armored bomber built in known space, comparable to small gunships and Super Heavy Fighters in size. Piloted by a crew of three, this ship is not only capable of destroying enemy capital ships, but also has a large cargo hold capable of carrying much more salvage than any other fighter could take aboard.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>This vessel, and the technology powering it, is jealously guarded by both of its parent organizations. Any pilot outside of their ranks found to be in its possession is subject to a short life indeed.
LEIPHEIM -- 819 A.S. -- Despite the risk of a rift with the Red Hessians, the Unioners in the Munich system are once again cooperating with the Corsairs. Unioner leaders stated they "expect no more trouble then the Junkers" in doing so, which suggests they are primarily motivated by the Alien Artifacts smuggling profits. So far the Hessians seem to tolerate the cooperation, so both the Unioners and Liberty Rogues are likely to be making a fortune in smuggling both Artifacts and Blood Diamonds into Liberty.
The Moorhead Station was the first base built in Minnesota, to claim the system as part of the Liberty territory. The base was established in 720 A.S., and has been controversial from it's inception. It is much larger then an initial supply depot needed to be. The base is also home to a Liberty Navy garrison, which were based there in 796 A.S. and not withdrawn since. </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>For the most part however, life aboard the station is quiet. The base handles supplies being sent to the frontline in the New Hampshire system, but has thus far not come under serious attack by Rheinland forces. The Liberty Rogues, which sometimes make raids near the station, are the biggest threat to the operations on Moorhead.
Battleship Concord led the attack against the Munster Research Facility in 818 A.S., despite stiff opposition from the Westphalia and her battlegroup. The ship managed to complete its mission - that is to recover a large station component and then withdraw, but not without losing most of it's supporting fleet. The ship also sustained heavy damage, with over a hundred crew lost when her lower decks decompressed. Her withdrawal was covered by the Whitefield, and she was taken to the Norfolk yard for extensive repairs. </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>While the ship is again fully operational, the same cannot be said for her crew. Many of the survivors of the "Battle for Munster" suffer from shellshock and combat traumas, and it does not help that Liberty has classified the operation top secret, meaning they may never speak of it. Her supporting fleet is still at a quarter strength, and her replacement crew is fresh out of West Point. Deemed unfit for frontline duty under present conditions, the Concord has been sent to the remote Alberta facility, to secure Liberty interests in the system after the destruction of Red Deer Station at the hand of the Rogues.
The Junkers arrived in Pennsylvania not long after the Zoners, but it wasn't until Allentown was already being built that the two groups met. The Zoners had come from the north end, through the California jumphole. The Junkers had come from the south, through Texas. The two groups mostly ignored eachother - trading a little when it was convenient, but otherwise going about their own ways. Allentown eventually grew into an important smuggling post, dealing mostly in Cardamine and "human cargo". Allentowns remote location makes sure the Navy rarely pays a visit - and if they do, there are always Rogues nearby to either destroy or distract them.
Pennsylvania houses a large populace of Liberty Rogues, many of whom are family members of other Rogues who operate in more dangerous areas of Liberty. Niverton is a relatively safe hideout for them, since the base is fairly remote and does not see a lot of Navy or Police scouts intruding on it. The asteroid field is nearly impassable for capital ships, so even if the Navy would discover Niverton, there is not a whole lot they could do about it.
Appalachian Asteroid Field is a place where New York Jump Gate in Pennsylvania is located. The gate and nearby trade lane made this area popular with pirates, most notably Liberty Rogues. It is rumored that a Rogue base is located in one of the remote regions of this large field. Despite the dangers, Appalachian is an asset of value for freelancers and small shipping companies: central part of the field is rich with hydrocarbons that can be mined from asteroids without much effort. Quantities of hydrocarbons are not sufficient for industrial extraction, and larger companies did not show interest in using local deposits.
A medium-sized field of rock asteroids. Barely explored, this field is located in one of the most remote regions of Pennsylvania and often serves as a hideout for Rogues and other dangerous criminals chased by Bounty Hunters or Police patrols.
Fort McMurray is a notable installation of the Liberty Rogues, probably being the first base that the Rogues built in a system with no lawful activity at the time. The Liberty authorities have shown interest in Alberta only recently, after the unexpected success of Ontario operations. The supplies being sent to Camrose have given the Rogues an unexpected opportunity, one they are glad to capitalise on.
CLASS: Ithaca</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>GRAVITY: Virtual</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>DOCKING: No</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>AMENITIES: None</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>POPULATION: 0</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Exploration of the Alberta system proved to be a dangerous business due to the constant threat of Liberty Rogues. Red Deer Station was built to defend Ontario against the Rogues and provide a safe haven for local police operations.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Late in 817 A.S., Red Deer experienced a surprise attack and suffered a hull breach that proved fatal to its entire crew. There are currently no plans to repair or replace the station. Liberty patrols are now based from Fort Severn in Ontario.</TEXT><POP/></RDL>
Exploration of the Alberta system proved to be a dangerous business due to constant Liberty Rogue threat. Red Deer was built to defend Ontario against the Rogues and provide a safe haven for local police operations.
A large field of rock asteroids. The Liberty Rogues have built a base inside one of the larger asteroids in the central part of the field.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?><RDL><PUSH/><TRA data="1" mask="1" def="-2"/><JUST loc="center"/><TEXT>RA-9 "Scylla" Rogue/Molly Destroyer</TEXT><PARA/><TRA data="0" mask="1" def="-1"/><JUST loc="left"/><TEXT></TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Long before it became apparent that the eminent discontinuation of the RM-1 Outcast Destroyer would pose a severe threat to the tactical operations of their organizations, the Liberty Rogues and Mollys found themselves meeting again to discuss possible solutions to the heavy burden the technically complex Outcast vessel was placing upon their mutual resources.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>With the decision that a possible replacement vessel could be in order, the best minds available were recruited at gunpoint and put to work with utmost secrecy to craft a capital class vessel capable of defending critical infrastructure against the heaviest of hostile incursions. Composed of a heady blend of the best in available Outcast operational technology and robust design ethos, the Scylla is the pride of the factions who crafted her.
Megion was part of a Liberty Police patrol tasked to track Liberty Rogue activity in the Alberta system. Instead, Liberty Rogues tracked the activity of Police and did not let any of the patrol's pilots to leave the area alive.
This Deep Space Exploration train was on its usual route from Minnesota to Texas when a group of Rogues attacked its convoy. The escort fought bravely but was defeated, and remaining Rogues had to retreat. The ship with disabled engine and failing life support drifted away into the depths of the Lamberton Ice Field.
Gaeta once was a light fighter belonging to the Zoners. It was lost while escorting a valuable shipment heading from the Bethlehem Station to Planet Erie in the end of 816 A.S. The attackers were not identified, but most likely options are Liberty Rogues or Xenos.
Ripknot is a civilian heavy fighter that once belonged to a Leo Mathews, a Xeno raider from Nome base. The ship never returned from a reconnaissance mission to the Alberta system. Most probably the Ripknot was attacked by Liberty Rogues who frequent this system.
VOGTLAND -- 817 A.S. -- Despite the increased Wilde attacks and the prospect of war in Rheinland, the Red Hessians still pour significant resources into their expansion in the Omega edge worlds, especially the Omega-47 flank. In a recent unexpected development the Hessians have begun reactivating their old diamond smuggling routes to Hudson and the rest of Liberty via the Unioners and Liberty Rogues. These diamonds however are unlike any other ever encountered. Their reddish tint and plentiful applications serve as both a political statement and a lucrative source of income for the Red Hessian movement. Some believe that this is connected to their recent build-up in the edge systems, however no such rumours have been confirmed so far.\n\nWhile the corporate backed Rheinland government lobbies Kusari to outlaw this new commodity in order to assure continued income for Daumann, opportunists flock to Hessian bases with the market in Liberty standing wide open, as the house stands in their refusal to declare it as contraband. Whether future political developments will change this attitude is unknown, but the Red Hessians plan to use the resulting profit to further their goals for as long as they can.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?><RDL><PUSH/><TRA data="1" mask="1" def="-2"/><JUST loc="center"/><TEXT>Rogue "Tartarus" Pulse Cannon</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TRA data="0" mask="1" def="-1"/><JUST loc="left"/><TEXT>Desperate to end their dependence on Outcast technology, the Liberty Rogues and Mollys established a joint research team to design and build a pulse cannon of their own. Reflecting the Rogues' and Mollys' need for lightning fast offensives that allow ample time to disappear before hostile reinforcements arrive, the Tartarus inflicts 20 percent more damage to shields than the Inferno, but also requires 20 percent more energy and inflicts less hull damage. The Tartarus thus cannot be fired as often as the Inferno, making it less useful in extended battles. Instead, it functions as a devastating opening salvo against shielded targets.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>
You'll meet a few Rogues and Outcasts around here. It's not a good idea to be seen flying with them. However, if you stay close enough to track them and still stay off the scanners, you might be able to share in the profit when they hit big convoys.
Occasionally bounty hunters come snooping around here. If Junkers were to attack them it would bring too much heat from the navy so we just tip off the Rogues and the Outcasts so they'll know just where to find them.
I'll admit, my favorite part of this new partnership is that it got me out of Bretonia. And getting out of Bretonia means no more Green Party and their nonsense about despoiling nature blah blah blah. We enhance nature. We take the crud that nature failed to deliver on and turn it into a thriving ecosytem. Of course, in Hudson we have Xenos and Rogues... but at least they don't sputter on and on about Gaia and her blah blah blah. They just shoot.
We get the Consumer Goods for our population from Fort Bush. It's ironic that those goods are being manufactured at the Huntsville by the relatives of the Rogues and Xenos who try to hijack the shipments when they enter Hudson. What's even more ironic is when those criminals get captured by the Alma they get sent to the Huntsville to manufacture more Consumer Goods for us. The Liberty sense of justice. I approve.
Our Pharmaceuticals come straight here from our factories on Denver, even though the Xenobiotic filtration system installed on Cold Bay removes nearly all the pathogens brought onto the station by arriving passengers. Every so often though, a pilot needs treatment after a brush with the Xenos or Rogues in the system, so we have to keep a fully stocked medical bay ready to treat any injuries.
This Junker base is rumoured to be the centre of slavery in Liberty, although little has been proven to date; shady shipments often depart to the southwest, that much is certain. Hidden deep within the North Dallas Debris Field, it is frequented by Liberty Rogues and Outcasts; this is the furthest south in Sirius that Outcasts will ever come. Disgruntled Xenos seeking to displace their Junker competitors in the cardamine trade launch sporadic attacks against Beaumont; though the occasional missile breaches the perimeter, no serious harm has yet been caused. Said cardamine often changes hands here; drug runners hailing from as far away as the Edge Worlds make port here to fuel Liberty's orange dream. The Beaumont bar is perhaps Liberty's most prime source of gossip and information; murderers lurk in the shadowy corners, ready to divest themselves of dark secrets, adventurers discuss their latest exploits, and the Junkers know everything there is to know, for a price.
Houston is an arid world whose population has slowly increased to slightly over 450 million people; these mostly consist of what Manhattanites would term "the economically undesirable", many of them former inmates of the orbiting prison ships. The cheap labour force has attracted a number of industries, however, including a major Deep Space Engineering manufacturing plant and several factories specializing in Consumer Goods and Construction Machinery. The presence of phosphates in Houston's alkaline deserts has also produced a booming market in Fertilizers.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Houston's biggest industry, however, is fuelled by Liberty's criminal element; the vast majority of Libertonian prisoners are housed in the system and prison gangs from the Huntsville and the Sugarland, as well as rehabilitated former inmates looking to go straight, power Texan industries.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Both the Liberty Police, Incorporated and the Bounty Hunters Guild maintain their respective local headquarters on the planet; the Bounty Hunters Guild is thicker here than anywhere else in Sirius. After all, not only forcing prisoners to labour is profitable; capturing them is vital, too. Houston is most often "visited" by Liberty Rogues and Xenos; Outcasts also end up pumping Fertilizers here, as the Texas system is the furthest south that Outcasts are generally seen in Sirius.
A medium-sized field of debris that is home to a large settlement of Junkers that have, according to sporadic reports from Liberty Police patrols that wandered into the area, constructed a permanent base amongst the scrap. Though criminals such as Rogues and Outcasts are frequently seen near Junker bases (indeed, Texas is the furthest south Outcasts are seen in Sirius), the North Dallas Debris Field remained relatively harmless up until several years ago, when Texan authorities first began to suspect the field as sheltering slavers. Despite an increase in patrols in the region, however, nothing definite has yet been proven.
Originally built prior to the Nomad war, Riverside station was destroyed during the Battle of Mojave between loyalist Liberty Navy forces and Nomad infested Liberty Navy pilots in early 801 A.S. It remained as a twisted heap of broken debris and scrap metal that the Junkers occasionally salvaged from to recycle for many years, until finally after many complaints from shipping companies the Liberty Police agreed to clean it up. The attacks on the California trade routes by the Liberty Rogues had increased tremendously, with little to no police presence around the planet Mojave, and it was decided to rebuild Riverside Station. In 815 A.S. the station was declared operational once more and the presence of Riverside has helped to reassure shipping passing through California.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> However, the LPI found that maintaining the station purely as a police outpost was rather costly. As early as 816 A.S., the LPI sent out feelers to various corporations, to see if a joint administration of the station were possible. In late 819 A.S., Synth Foods purchased a majority share in the station, essentially taking over all operations except for a few docking facilities the LPI still makes use of. As a result, activity in and around the station has increased significantly. Synth Foods intends to expand the station into a research base and processing facility, where it can develop and produce new products in relative safety.
Perhaps the most recognizable Rogue base of all (for scoundrels and rapscallions, anyway), Alcatraz has become a welcoming beacon and a safe haven for all the flotsam and jetsam Liberty has to offer.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>One of the few Liberty Rogue bases within Liberty proper (most criminals tend to live at the fringes of society in more than one sense), Alcatraz was originally constructed in 715 A.S. as a waystation and resting place for Californian pirates and drug runners headed into New York, as well as a remarkably secure place of refuge for those attempting to evade the long arm of the law. Housed within a hollowed-out ice asteroid deep in the notorious Californian Whitney field (the LPI harbours a whole range of superstitions about the cloud, since pirates that manage to enter even the outskirts of Whitney almost always manage to slip away), Alcatraz had always maintained a colourful assortment of patrons and population. The lively if somewhat chilly bar pours a mind-boggling assortment of Liberty's best drinks, and the local bartender is rumoured to be one of Sirius' most well-informed, and for the right price, he can put in a good word for even the most despised foe with Liberty's criminal triad.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Said triad is well-represented here, with Outcast cardamine smugglers abound in the system and a sizeable percentage of the orange dreamers frequent Alcatraz for a Sidewinder Fang and the latest news from around the area. Alcatraz's version of the Colony News Service has a direct port to the Newark Station feed, which was a gift from a particularly technically-minded Lane Hacker that happened through the area one day, and is as such a popular source of amusement and first-rate information. Lane Hackers from Magellan drink their fair share here, as well, and even Corsairs have been known to dock here once or twice, although they never stay onboard long due to the amount of Outcasts and Lane Hackers around. The omnipresent Liberty Rogues that run the show here maintain a solid background core, keeping a watchful eye over proceedings and moving quickly to quell any potential fights before they start.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Alcatraz might be best compared to an unlawful Freeport of sorts, since if you're not a Xeno, you're welcome here to drink, deal or simply kick back after a long, hard day busting Universal Shipping open. Be warned though, the no-blaster rule is strictly enforced.
Commissioned in 739 A.S., the Battleship Yukon has been patrolling the California system for nearly eighty years. It was originally scheduled to be decommissioned in 805 A.S., but a campaign by the residents of Los Angeles a year before its removal from active service, sponsored by Synth Foods, resulted in the Yukon being sent to Norfolk Shipyards for a complete overhaul, extending its operational lifespan until at least 825 A.S.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>The Battleship has been an integral part of the Liberty Navy's efforts to keep the Lane Hackers and Liberty Rogues under some semblance of control within the system, with limited successes to date. Most patrols start out at the Yukon before heading into Magellan, Cortez and occasionally Ontario, to assist traders and put down the unruly pirates from the independent systems. The current commander of the Yukon is the newly minted Flag Captain Luke Sensicle.
Constructed in 777 A.S., the Battleship Rio Grande has been at the forefront of many assaults against the Xenos and Liberty Rogues. It first became famous in the 792 A.S. campaign against the Xenos in the Hudson system, later followed by the 808 A.S. campaign against the Liberty Rogues, again in the Hudson system. Currently commanded by Commodore John Palmer, the Rio Grande's primary mission is to safeguard the vitally important Ageira Technologies manufacturing facility at Pueblo Station, and is also occasionally assigned to patrol the Kepler and Galileo systems.
The Rogues are a product of over two centuries of systematic lower-class cleansing that occurred on the Liberty planets of Manhattan, Denver, and Los Angeles. Relocated to the Texas prison system, many of them end up planetside on Houston upon release. Some stayed straight and joined the population scratching out a living. The rest returned to their life of crime, often ending up vaporized by a pursuing Liberty police patrol or back in prison for longer stretches, manning the prison factories that are the economic lifeblood of the Texas system.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Some say the massive LPI roundups of even minor offenders in Liberty have more to do with staffing these plants cheaply than reducing crime. Fresh out of the incubator of the Texas prison system, they have limited choices. Either they work in the factories of Houston for a pittance, join the Bounty Hunters and hunt down their former brethren, go radical and hook up with the Xenos, or rejoin their former partners in crime. The latter path is the obvious one for most. Simply put, these are not-too-quick opportunists, people willing to do whatever it takes to make a buck and get by until tomorrow. Usually they end up taking the fall for anything illegal that occurs in Liberty, whether they were involved or not.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>The Rogues were initially a disorganized lot, but over the last century have slowly evolved into quite a highly organised collection of criminals. They are responsible for most of the Trade Lane attacks in Liberty space and the adjacent Independent Worlds, usually operating in groups of three or more ships, utilising a variety of tactics. They occasionally provide shelter for the Outcasts in exchange for cardamine, but they are not averse to dealing in the artifacts trade either. The main Rogue ethos seems to be to make money however possible, regardless of how low or uncivilized their actions may be.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Buffalo Base is the original Liberty Rogue hideout, deep in the badlands of the New York system. Constructed in 672 A.S. by malcontents from Houston and Manhattan, it has served as the main operations centre for the Rogues across the entire of Liberty. With the authorities loathe to patrol or pursue suspects within the confines of the extremely dangerous Badlands, Buffalo Base is the safest criminal hideout in Liberty, and arguably one of the safest in the entire Sirius sector.
The Liberty Rogue destroyer, dubbed the "Drunken Codger" by easily amused Liberty Rogue pilots who frequently use it to rearm and repair their vessels, was originally constructed at the Terre Haute Shipyard in the Cassini system in 812 A.S., with its primary function being the protection of the shipyard facilities there. </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>With the Liberty Police increasing its patrols and cracking down harder on the Liberty Rogues, their leaders decided to move the destroyer into a concealed location of the Detroit Debris Field, from where it can resupply Rogue raiders.
Leiden Base was built in 782 A.S. by a group of former Ageira Technologies employees after the Galileo bypass scandal resulted in several executives and an elite development team being forced out of Ageira. They quickly got in contact with the Lane Hackers at Mactan, securing the northern Independent Worlds as their primary areas of operation, preying on the heavy shipping between Liberty and Kusari.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Originally the Leiden Hackers focused on straight out piracy, using their knowledge of the Trade Lane systems to hack information on the most tempting of targets, carrying off what they could loot and destroying the rest. After meeting with representatives of the Golden Chrysanthemums to negotiate smuggling arrangements, cardamine has since started flowing southwards from Kusari, with the shipments exchanging hands on Leiden Base. The Liberty Rogues at Padua have taken to purchasing cardamine off the Golden C. girls as well, although the Liberty Rogues prefer to sell it on than consume it themselves.
Undoubtedly the most veiled and well-hidden of all Liberty Rogue hideouts, these murky tunnels, roughly cut from the core of a massive, deformed asteroid in the centre of Galileo's Reppu dark matter cloud, have housed perhaps the shadiest and most dubious elements of the Rogues for over a century, ever since the base's construction in early 702 A.S. Copiously dosed with pharmaceuticals to counter Reppu's constant radiation, Padua's murderous population subsists by striking at and hijacking trade between Kusari and Liberty. The Rogues' burgeoning Artifact trade is housed here, funnelling said artifacts from the north to Liberty proper, where they ultimately end up at Rochester Base in New York's Jersey field.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>The Reppu cloud obfuscates scanners and makes it impossible to catch criminal elements fleeing from local law enforcement, relatively sporadic though it may be, a fact that has been thoroughly exploited not only by Padua's Rogue inhabitants, but also by the Lane Hackers housed in Leiden to the distant north of the system, who can frequently be seen docking here to divulge important information on traders and cargo convoys passing through the system. Padua, comparatively out-of-the-way, has in recent years been receiving a population boost from an unusual source: the Rogue Guard. The Liberty Rogues' home system of Cassini may be found immediately north of Padua proper and is defended rigorously and zealously, and uninvited "visitors" are well advised to stay clear of the system.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Padua's slanting hallways harbour many a dark secret; visitors hurrying through the dimly-lit passageways may see gleaming eyes peering at them from behind chiselled doorways, or hear the malignant click of a Detroit blaster being cocked. Despite, or perhaps because of, its suspicious and vaguely threatening ambience, Padua remains fairly popular, especially for Rogues looking to make a quick getaway and/or lay low for a while. Its bar is said to be the finest in all Liberty, though the Hackers of Leiden vehemently claim that theirs is really the best.
Little is known about this shady asteroid base, tucked away in the southeast of the sleepy Hudson system. It was originally constructed in 736 A.S., and appears to shelter a moderately sized contingent of Liberty Rogues. Despite rumours of light arms and diamond smuggling deals within its shadowy corridors, little has ever been proven. Indeed, Dawson's very location remains uncertain and unknown to the Liberty Navy, although up until recently the Liberty Navy rarely bothered to take any overt interest in the region.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>The truth, surprisingly enough, isn't far from popular belief. Dawson is indeed a Liberty Rogue installation, though it's never been particularly large due to somewhat turgid regional trade and a tendency for cargo haulers to avoid Hudson in favour of the more compact, though admittedly less well-protected, neighbouring Bering route. Since the war between Rheinland and Liberty started, traffic through the region has crawled nearly to a standstill, with all non-living goods indefinitely suppressed and slow but steady militarization of the zone's Rheinland and Liberty poles, although a hefty amount of smuggling still continues.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Never particularly lively, Dawson, like the other pirate havens in the region, has been stripped of population, spacecraft and resources until its begun to resemble a clearing house. The remnants of the onboard criminals are the bare minimum necessary in order to ensure the continuation of Dawson's primary trade, even more so than piracy, which is diamond and weapon smuggling. Dawson handles practically every black market diamond shipment that passes through the region, and it is Dawson that doles out armament to fellow pirates and insurgents. However, due to increased military patrols as a result of the Rheinland - Liberty hostilities, and the terraforming project on the planet Atka, Dawson has managed to maintain some importance as a safe criminal port of call during these turbulent times.
Built in 774 A.S., out of an old, abandoned mining facility from "the days when Liberty did its own mining", Barrow is a bastion of the Xeno cause against Rheinland. Any Republican ship seen passing is immediately tagged for destruction, something the Xenos refer to as "making more Rheinland widows". Also important to the economy of the base is interdicting hostile diamond shipments, mostly those of the Rogues or Unioners. As a matter of fact, the base launches as many sorties against their hostile pirate brethren as they do against foreign shipping, making staunch opponents of both the Unioners and Rogues in the area.
Completed in 780 A.S., Montezuma is the home and birthplace of the Liberty Rogues' infamous spacecraft, the Greyhound, and is rather less well-hidden than most other Rogue bases. Some of the more paranoid elements within the Rogues suspect that the Liberty Navy has a very good idea where the Cortez Rogues take their spoils after a long, hard day of honest piracy.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Regardless, Montezuma remains, as it has always been, a popular destination for much of the pirate element that accumulates around western Liberty. The colourful assortment of Rogues, Lane Hackers, Outcasts, and the like sprawled across rickety chairs or lounging at the tiki bar serves as a vibrant reminder of the diversity Liberty has to offer in criminal terms, though it also has a more sinister connotation, as the more discerning visitor aboard the ice asteroid may soon realize what a potent threat the pirate hordes can and do pose to the safety and sanctity of the House where they ply their trade. Nick Creeley, Montezuma's greying chief, once proposed that the Outcasts aboard the station teach the Rogues the tricks to their skilful piloting, but arrangements eventually petered out in the face of disorganized chaos.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Practically any good or ware can be purchased in Montezuma's expansive storage bays, from artifacts to niobium, it is for sale here. The prices are in proportion, as well, since Montezuma's dealers do a brisk trade most every day supplying Liberty's undesirables with their daily necessities. "Shady" transactions aren't made aboard this base, with bales of dried cardamine lie heaped beside food rations and superconductors. The nature of the ware doesn't matter, only the amount of credits in the buyer's pocket do.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Crime in the region generally is centered on here and Bretonia, as the only House that yet maintains truly positive relations with Liberty, does a brisk interregional trade, and the Rogues accordingly fatten their pockets with trader spoils. Life is easy on Montezuma, they say, and the Rogues certainly maintain that appearance, for the sake of business if for nothing else, but the ominous threats of the Navy finally getting wise as well as of the roiling pirate masses loom more or less constantly, and every now and again, as the space-raid klaxons wail, it's all the Rogues of Cortez can do to thrust aside their fears.
The Magellan Lane Hackers are mostly composed of former Los Angeles Ageira Technologies employees who created the extremely complex scanning and database system known as USI (Universal Ship Identification). Departing the company rather acrimoniously in 750 A.S., they have become a growing problem in the Independent Worlds.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>The investigation into the former Ageira employees continues to this day, but has so far been unsuccessful in locating Mactan Base, which was completed in 753 A.S. No Hacker has ever been captured, although various Rogues in the Independent Worlds have been caught possessing remarkably accurate information regarding upcoming high-value shipments.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>Security measures have been added to the software, but the Hackers remain one step ahead, leading Ageira security experts to believe that there are many sympathetic programmers still within the company, possibly being secretly paid off with the proceeds from the thefts.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>The Lane Hackers prefer to sell their information to others rather than do the dirty work themselves, although they sometimes swoop in and tractor in a cargo if it's particularly juicy. Fancying themselves as modern-day Robin Hoods, they avoid direct confrontation when possible, unless it is the henchmen of the despised IC and Ageira.</TEXT><PARA/><TEXT> </TEXT><PARA/><TEXT>The Mactan Hackers like to frequent Freeport 4, as their asteroid base within the ice fields of Magellan can become rather claustrophobic. Their cardamine addiction forces them to trade Lane shipment info for drugs with the Outcasts and the Liberty Rogues at Mactan base, although usually it ends up being the Liberty Rogues who act upon any information, taking the fall when anything goes wrong.
Having all these resources at our disposal generates a lot of revenue for us. Doesn't compare to the gold business, but the Junkers haul off whatever goods we don't use ourselves towards Liberty. I guess they supply the Rogues and Lane Hackers.
There's a jump hole to the Inverness system, not far from here, at the southern end of the barrier nebula that you will find east of here. We use it as a shortcut to trade with the Liberty Rogues in Cortez, and to take breaks on Curacao from time to time. The Outcasts also run some Cardamine through there from time to time, but it's not the route they use most often for smuggling to Liberty.
The Zoners colonised planet Erie in 761 A.S., but Liberty moved into the system in 768 A.S., after we realised that we'd screwed up in not bothering to colonise this system. I arrived here in '09, and enjoyed it so far. We've had a few problems with the Zoners on occasion, and we hear from our sources that the Xenos and the Liberty Rogues have both set up bases in the system fairly recently, but with the Gettysburg in orbit I doubt we'll get any problems on the planet itself.
I was born on planet Hamburg originally, and lived there for quite a few years. My father was an executive for Republican Shipping while my mother worked in the offices that Universal Shipping has on Hamburg. They were killed in 807 A.S. by a Liberty Rogue ambush on the Texas side of the jump gate when their transport was destroyed. I considered joining the Rheinland Military, but they're too strict and they can't operate in Liberty, so I joined the Bounty Hunters Guild. I mainly target the Liberty Rogues and look for information on Rogue hideouts, and eventually I'll find out which ones killed my parents. And those won't end up on Sugarland by the time I'm done with them.
I would say don't listen to my friend, Max Flight, but unfortunately his bragging isn't just bragging. He really is one of the best fighter pilots I have ever met. I guess he was aptly named. He might have a loud mouth, but you can rely on him to back you up in a fight. He took out seven Liberty Rogue fighters by himself last week, while I was out on patrol with him. I only killed two others. If it hadn't been for him and his prowess in a fighter craft, I think the Rogues might have killed us both.
I know of a jump hole to the California system, in the far west of the system in relation to your nav map display. I hear either the Rogues or the Junkers have a base somewhere out that way too, but I wouldn't put too much stock in rumours. Never been out that way myself, I tend to stick to the trade lane network wherever I can, it is much safer.
Finally a familiar run again. Albeit with a slightly changed starting point. Delivering Beryllium to Liberty was one of the runs I was often assigned to before the Tau war. Good folk, down in Liberty. Well, except the Xenos of course. And the Rogues. And Lane Hackers. But otherwise, good folk! Always kind enough to set me up with a load of Light Arms or Superconductors to bring back to Bretonia.