The Kusari battleship was at Stokes, and Durham station (BPA; now destroyed by the GRN) was at the NL jump gate, which is now out of function, scuttled by the BAF.
True about the Crayterians. Politics...
The BAF actually want the Mollies to help them against the Gauls, but the Mollies don't. That is because the Gauls have recognized Dublin as an independent Molly state. Bretonia doesn't want to do that because the gold which the system has plenty of is critical for them, so that they could buy the resources they need in exchange. So if the Gauls wanted to invade Bretonia, Dublin could be a good choice as well, but it also suffers from the same "unstable jump hole in asteroids" problem. The Gauls need to ensure access to a jump gate.