| Battleship Cassard | |
| Owner | |
| Gallic Navy | |
| Location | |
| G/H-4/3, Champagne |
CLASS: Charlemagne (Refit)
CREW: CLASSIFIED
ARMAMENT: CLASSIFIED
Beginning service as part of the Gallic Royal Navy fleet stationed in Languedoc prior to the Council's breakout, the Cassard was the sole standing warship after the battle had ended.
Found adrift and, at large, crippled by enemy fire, the Cassard had to undergo several years of maintenance and repairs to be once again put to active service. Although some of Gallia's best minds worked on the restoration of the warship, it was instead chosen to completely refit the internal systems, turning the Cassard into a Valor designed for long range engagements contrary to other Charlemagne-class vessels.
When Kusari invaded, the Cassard's baptism of fire came from the Yamaguchi, which, despite possessing a better-trained crew, was eventually pushed back through the efforts of the Defence Forces. This success was not lasting, as the battleship was sent to Burgundy, where it spent the remainder of the conflict.
With the Union's emblem flying high and above after the dissolution of the Confederacy, the Cassard was sent to Champagne, to protect what had once been Gallia's most quarrelsome system.
Bribes & Missions Offered
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Commodities
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Ships sold
| Ship | Class | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Caracal | Light Fighter | 15,602$ |
| Serval | Heavy Fighter | 28,608$ |
| Lynx | Very Heavy Fighter | 29,679$ |
| Cougar | Bomber | 51,526$ |
News
| [751 AGS] Bretonian assassins target convoy |
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FREIBURG -- 751 -- Despicable Bretonian assassins have once more targeted Gallic citizens on Freiburg Station in Stuttgart. In the latest provocation, a moored IDF Shipping convoy was attacked and destroyed by Bretonian transports loaded with bombs. “Now more than ever, we must set aside our differences and come together as one House to oppose foreign tyranny,” Grand Marshall de Varax boomed during a speech to the Parisian Assembly. De Varax further vowed to obtain justice for the slain crew, and root out Gallia’s enemies wherever they may hide. Bretonia was recently ordered to return the stolen Jump Gate of Tau-23 -- it appears they have provided their perfidious answer. |
| [751 AGS] Bretonia must return stolen Jump Gate |
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BATTLESHIP DE GRASSE -- 751 -- During Kusari’s invasion, the Gallic Jump Gate between Tau-23 and Tau-31 was occupied, and then unlawfully transferred to Bretonian custody. Kusari claimed this excluded the Gate’s status from peace negotiations, as it was no longer within their legal control. Grand Marshall de Varax has now issued a blistering decree to Bretonia, ordering the Gate’s immediate return to Gallic ownership. It is intolerable that Gallic state industrial secrets remain in the hands of a foreign House that has time and again demonstrated its hostility to the Gallic people. The Grand Marshall has warned of “dire consequences” should his demand be refused. |
| [835 AS] Bretonia and Rheinland call for de-escalation |
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CURACAO -- The governments of Bretonia and Rheinland have called on Kusari and Liberty to attempt formal talks, amid fears that continued escalation and military friction could spark war. Queen Carina and Emperor Frederick have offered to mediate an emergency summit on Planet Curacao after Kusari and Liberty imposed mutual sanctions that are already having rippling effects across Sirius. Gallia’s Grand Marshall de Varax meanwhile has condemned Kusari as a “belligerent and destabilizing actor”, and called for Liberty’s demands to be met. Neither Kusari or Liberty has agreed to attend, with each demanding pre-conditions be met by the other. Gallia has not received an invite. |
| [751 AGS] Gallic citizens murdered in Rheinland |
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FREIBURG -- 751 -- Scenes of savagery have unfolded on Freiburg Station, Stuttgart. Bretonian thugs murdered a Gallic transport officer after spotting him in the station bar. Rheinland authorities have already detained six of the assailants for the brutal crime. Gallic Union officials have issued revised guidance for transport crews in Rheinland, recommending Gallic citizens travelling abroad acquire Union personal permits for Enfer Blasters. “This will enable you to defend yourself against the foreign assassins of Bretonia and Kusari,” noted Wildau Cultural Attache Nicolas Jetté. |
| [750 AGS] EFL resets industrial relations on Quillan |
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QUILLAN -- 750 -- Activating emergency powers in Quillan’s management contract, EFL have announced that several local Workers’ Unions are to be dissolved with immediate effect. The fuel giant argues that these organizations have fomented dissent as activists, rather than representing their members' interests. After clashes with protesters, Languedoc Seigneur Ansel Bousquet has offered the assistance of Marines from Nimes Station. GMS has issued a formal protest to New Paris over the move, insisting that the Worker Unions form an integral part of a productive industrial environment. |
| [750 AGS] Gallic Union celebrates settlement anniversary |
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NEW PARIS -- 750 -- Celebrations have been conducted across Gallia, marking 750 years since the arrival of our great Sleeper Ship on New Paris. This culminated with the spectacle of a vast military parade on New Paris, attended by dignitaries from across the Union. As our soldiers marched along the concourses of Ile du Palais, they were saluted by Grand Marshal Louis de Varax and his cabinet of Seigneurs. In a rousing speech, the Marshal praised Gallia’s glorious history, while railing against treacherous internal enemies, and the perfidious plots of Bretonia, Kusari and Liberty. “While we are united, Gallia is unstoppable!”, he declared in a closing message. |
| [750 AGS] Decisive victory against the Maquis |
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NEW PARIS -- 750 -- The Gallic Navy has announced the withdrawal of border control checkpoints across Ile-de-France, citing an improving security situation. Parisian Seigneur Ansel Lussier sharply rebuffed reports of losses inflicted by Maquis attacks, calling them seditionist lies. “They want to distract from the devastating defeat inflicted on the radicals by Naval and Gendarmerie counter-terrorism crackdowns,” he declared. “The Maquis are a spent force,” he continued. “We no longer need the checkpoints because the colonies have been pacified.” New Paris businesses have reacted positively to the news that trade restrictions will ease. |
| [750 AGS] Labor leader assassinated on Marne |
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TINQUEUX -- 750 -- An outspoken leader of the Marne Industrial Union, Melodie Petit, has been assassinated in a brazen daylight shooting. Petit had been instrumental in organizing recent demonstrations against the Treaty of Oerlikon. Conspiracy theories about Petit’s death circulated rapidly on local data nets, with many blaming Unione Corse contract killers. Violent protests have radiated from Tinqueux Province, with rioters occupying the planetary spaceport and disrupting exports. Gallic Union security officials have labeled protesters as “Maquis seditionists” and threatened to authorize lethal force by Marines unless order is immediately restored. |
| [750 AGS] Hossegar decommission complete |
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RAMBOULIET -- 750 -- Officials have confirmed Battleship Hossegar has been fully decommissioned after a years-long breakdown process. The Hossegar the newest of the Confederacy-era warships, suffering critical damage in Burgundy during the Kusari Invasion. While her service was cut short, her legacy as the progenitor of a revitalized Union fleet will be felt for decades to come. Intendant-General Covillon of Rambouliet commended the the military engineers who undertook the difficult works, noting that she expected many will be posted to Briancon Station in Languedoc to advise ALG Waste Disposal on related matters. |
| [750 AGS] Border checkpoints contain unrest |
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NEW PARIS -- 750 -- Seditionists in Champagne have been agitating against Gallia’s fruitful trade with Rheinland, and the Grand Marshal's policies. The Gendarmerie have begun to carry out targeted raids on Planet Marne to preemptively detain or incapacitate ringleaders likely to be associated with public disorder. GNI agents believe the rising unrest is being instigated by the Maquis, who have duped naive members of the Marne Industrial Union with their deluded propaganda. This crackdown will excise these malign influences from our society, restoring tranquil prosperity. Gendarmerie cruisers have been posted at all entrances to Ile-de-France to stop and check traffic until the disorder has been quashed. |
| [749 AGS] GMS shutters costly operations |
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SAINT-DIZIER -- 750 -- GMS has announced the closure of its Saint-Dizier Molybdenum refineries on Planet Marne and the Toulon Mining Station in Provence, placing thousands of jobs at risk. This comes after the company previously warned that pressure from Rheinland minerals would soon force redundancies across several of its operations. Some of these roles are expected to be transferred to the newly acquired and renovated Oerlikon Refinery. GMS says the station will be able to operate more efficiently and at lower cost, thanks to reduced shipping overheads and the implementation of imported Kruger industrial Robotics. The Marne Industrial Union has promised a “day of action”, with rioting already spreading through the Saint-Dizier province. |
| [749 AGS] Unions threaten strike on Marne |
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PLANET MARNE -- 749 AGS -- Unrest on Marne has simmered since the recent state visit of the Rheinish Emperor. Concerns about what a trade deal with Rheinland would mean for the people of Marne has dominated discussions, before turning to outrage with the publication of the ratified treaty text. Champagne labor unions have decried the agreement as a sham, accusing military leaders of cutting economic deals they were unqualified to negotiate and did not understand. The Gallic Metals Service has expressed deep concerns about the removal of tariffs on Rheinland imports, arguing that its expensive Marne operations will not be able to compete without harsh cuts. Worker representatives have called for a general strike. |
| [748 AGS] Lorraine Evacuation Nearing Completion |
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ORLEANS -- 748 AGS -- According to the information released by the Ministry of the Interior, the evacuation of the Lorraine system is proceeding ahead of schedule. The final convoy of refugees from Metz has arrived in the Orleanais system, pending resettlement onto Orleans in the coming days. As of now, only EFL staff and a token Navy garrison remain in Lorraine to oversee the deconstruction of the remaining infrastructure. According to official projections, the docking ring and the remaining Trade Lanes will be dismantled and shipped back to the core worlds by the end of next month, with Jump Gate shutdown following soon after. Once a beacon of our national ingenuity, Metz was the site of the experimental Metz Mirror Array, more commonly known as the MMA project. The project was intended to assist the terraforming operations through a sophisticated array of orbital mirrors. The array would redirect additional sunlight onto the equatorial band of Metz, further raising local temperatures on the otherwise icy world. Decried by its detractors as a "fool king's endeavour", the ambitious project never had the opportunity to prove its capabilities, as the nearly complete array fell victim to Kusari's invasion of Lorraine. With the array gone and supplies severed, the terraforming project and the biosphere it maintained collapsed during the occupation, leading to widespread famine across Metz. Unfortunately, in the wake of King Charles' gambit in Bretonia and the near complete destruction of Lorraine and Languedoc by Kusari forces, the Union government has declared the system a total loss and ordered a full evacuation of the planet. |
| [831 AS] Gate corps clash over 'Blackout'! |
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ABBEVILLE -- 831 AS -- EFL's 'Resilience Taskforce' today reported its findings on The Blackout, claiming to have gathered forensic evidence that proved the cause as Ageira negligence. A spokesperson claimed that the destruction of the Dublin Jump Gate by Molly separatists had created a hyperspace feedback loop that was propagated and amplified through the Ageira gate network. 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. |
| [831 AS] Pulse phenomenon linked to Blackout |
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AMES RESEARCH STATION -- 831 -- Independent researchers have announced that a hyperspace pulse of unprecedented strength was detected moments before The Blackout, destroying many of the sector’s most sensitive and finely tuned observatories. Surviving data about 'The Pulse' has been widely shared across the neural net in recent days, prompting mass speculation. Professor Katsuma Oster of Ames Research Station described the signal as “astounding”. “These readings are unprecedented, as if reality itself were struck like a gong.” House authorities have remained tight lipped, refusing to share their own observatories' data. |
| [831 AS] 'Blackout' causes jump network failure |
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MANHATTAN -- 831 AS -- Two days ago Jump Gates failed simultaneously across Sirius, freezing commerce and neural net access across the sector. When communications resumed 31 hours later, the news broke of Bretonia's loss of the Dublin system. This twin shock has plunged markets into chaos, prompting fears of sector-wide economic recessions. Interspace estimates that the stoppage alone caused billions of credits in losses. Gallia immediately accused Liberty of causing the outage, claiming the destruction of Dublin's Jump Gate instigated a cascading failure in faulty Ageira infrastructure. Ageira has sharply refuted the allegation, claiming such a systemic effect would be physically impossible. |
| [743 AGS] Epinal Heroism |
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NEVERS -- 743 AGS -- The war against aggressive Kusari invaders reached a new level of intensity with their forces now back into Languedoc, but with large reinforcements this time. The information has shocked the Gallic citizens, especially those in the Minarchy, who were hoping not to see further bloody battles in their system. Nevertheless, the saddest news comes with the sacrifice of the battleship Epinal in Burgundy. In one last heroic move, the battleship, already damaged during the earliest battles of the very first days of the conflict, saved Avallon from destruction after Kusari battleship Ueda suddenly charged the station under a creeping barrage from the Kusari lines. To engage and halt the Ueda required the Epinal to press its reactors into overwhelming overload and while she was able to disable the Ueda and redirect her from ramming the station, she fell to the Matsumoto's long range guns. The Capitaine of the Epinal, Martin Charbonneau managed to send a last message to its forces in the very last minutes of the intense confrontation: "My crew and I have retreated enough. We have the chance to stop them and we'll seize it. Epinal, your hour has come, it is time to show everyone how a true Gallic soldier fights for his house. May our sacrifice not be vain. Longue vie à Gallia!" Epinal was an honorable veteran of the Second Gallic Civil War, having participated in many battles against the former Council in Champagne and Lorraine, where she remained since, before the Kusari invasion. The crew was highly disciplined and experienced and its loss will be greatly felt in the weeks to come. However, the Duchy forces, far from being demoralized by this event, clearly express their intentions to avenge their fallen brothers. The Defense Forces leadership in Burgundy say the morale among the crews is very high not just thanks to the heroic action of Epinal, but also due to the express arrival of the newly constructed battleship Hossegor, along with her escort ship Vaxoncourt, which have absorbed former Epinal escort Les Vosges into their cohort. The good fortune didn't stop as the legendary Cassard and her battlegroup arrived from Languedoc to reinforce the front. Outnumbered almost two to one in this theater, it is expected that Kusari will suffer a crushing defeat in the days to come. In response to the heroic actions of Epinal throughout the Second Kusari-Gallic War, the Grand Duke Valentin Trintignant asked the Chancellery of the Gallic Rewards and Values for the honor of being the person to posthumously award La Légion des Valeurs Gauloises to the Capitaine of the Epinal and her crew, one of the highest decoration in Gallia. Nevertheless, despite the optimism of the Defense Forces in Burgundy, the situation is worsening in Languedoc and the Parisian Assembly has refused to comment on the new offensive of Kusari in this sector for the moment. According to some deputies, the Assembly has been facing internal legitimacy issues since the recent redeployment of forces, with major factions losing confidence that the Assembly is willing to defend them. |
| [742 AGS] Royalists Steadfast in Gallic Hebrides |
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AQUITAINE -- 742 AGS -- Royalist forces in the Hebrides today announced that they would not recognize the authority of the Grand Duchy of Burgundy, as yet another Gallic splinter state emerged from the ashes. The new state, styling itself the Enclave, appears to be a military junta run by high ranking officials of Gallic Royal Intelligence and the Gallic Royal Navy. The most notable of these figures is the former Marquise of Marseille, Renée Hennequin d'Avignon, who retreated from the Provence system during the Minarchy's uprising. d'Avignon, who records now show to have been the head of the Crown's spy network on Planet Marseille, possessed close ties to both the upper echelons of Royal Intelligence and high ranking Gallic nobility. The displaced Marquise claims to be acting under authority of King Charles XI himself, citing a letter of regency allegedly left in her care during the final days of the war. While such a decree, if legitimate, would make the former Marquise Queen Regent of the Kingdom of Gallia, d'Avignon has rejected this title, instead fashioning herself Director-Regent. This is likely a calling to her position of Director within the GRI, which she rose to near the end of the war, as well as an attempt to garner favor with the unusually robust military demographic of the new state. d'Avigon's first edict as Director-Regent of the Royal Enclave was to declare the authority of Grand Duke Trintignant null and void. She has also issued the immediate expediation of construction efforts on Planet Bordeaux, the Enclave's capital. Flooded with hundreds of millions people, primarily displaced nobility, servicemen, and Bretonian serfs, the incipient nation-state currently faces a great food and housing crisis. The Director-Regent has authorized the use of whatever means necessary to clear arable farmland and extract resources needed for the erection of more permanent housing in lieu of Bordeaux's tent cities. Despite these challenges, the Royal Enclave refuses to surrender to Bretonia, and the three system state maintains a military disproportionately large to its small size. Analysts have surmised that the Enclave's position within the Hebrides is a tenable one, should they be able to resolve their present issues and avoid succumbing to civil unrest. The Enclave's fleet has shifted to a more defensive posture, and it appears that the only system outside their borders which they presently have a vested interest in is Dublin, where Enclave patrols have been seen engaging Bretonian forces on roughly equal footing. Elsewhere, the Enclave's military activies appear to be limited to smaller scale anti-shipping raids and hit and fade strikes on soft targets. While it remains to be seen whether or not the Enclave will stand the test of time, it appears that if so, they could remain a thorn in Bretonia's side for years to come. |
| [742 AGS] Grim Times for the Gallic Crown |
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NEW PARIS -- 742 AGS -- The situation in the Core Worlds has grown increasingly dire, as a large fleet of Council warships has been spotted amassing near the Orleanais Jump Gate in Ile de France this morning. The insurgents have been quick to capitalize on the Crayterian victory in the Barrier last week, seizing Planet Amiens and rallying with forces from Provence at the edge of the Chevreuse field. News from the Bretonian front is not much better. The fighting over New London remains fierce, and though the Bretonian blockade of the planet has been breached and preparations are underway to deploy Triumphs into New London's atmosphere, reports indicate the battle damaged or destroyed over 60%% of the material of those fleets and that the death toll is in the tens of thousands. Front line forces are unable to retreat without risking total defeat at the hands of the Sirians. The Epinal, Rocroi, and Venissieux have been recalled to New Paris, but odds appear grim, and military analysts have thus far declined to comment on whether or not the ad hoc defense will be able to defend the capital. En masse evacuation from the Core Worlds has begun, with standing orders from the Crown for all loyal citizens to proceed to Bordeaux and Toulouse post-haste, where they will be provided for. A GRI asset who asked that we did not disclose their identity has claimed that the King's transport, flying under civilian flag, came under fire from Maquis terrorists while en route to the Brittany jump corridor. Though the transport survived the attack, King Charles is allegedly comatose. Our source could not provide any further comment on the state of the King or who was heading the state in the absence of a monarch. |
| [735 AGS] Bretonian Booty Replenishes Crown Coffers |
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NEW PARIS -- 735 AGS -- The first benefit of the patriotic war against the treacherous Bretonians is the flow of seized goods being shipped from the GRN forces in the newly acquired Edinburgh and Leeds systems back to Gallia. After the enormous expenditures made during the war with The Council, the Crown has been reluctant to increase taxes on Gallic citizens to raise funds, so the seizure of Bretonian goods during raids into the Newcastle system is welcome news to the Royal Treasurer. |
| [735 AGS] Sirian Campaign Picking Up Steam |
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NEW PARIS -- 735 AGS -- The Royal Navy is claiming victory after victory in the Bretonian colonies. After successfully flushing out what appears to have been local pirate forces, our forces took the sparsely inhabited "Edinburgh" system with only token resistance. The first real test of our forces against the enemy came in the toxic wasteland called Leeds, where the first heavily inhabited planet lays. Enemy resistance was stiff, but our forces have managed to gain the upper hand in virtually the entire system. This puts the Gallic Expeditionary Forces in a position to strike at New London, and the heart of Bretonia. Military analysts predict that all organised Bretonian resistance will falter if New London falls, and that taking London itself would mean a quick end to to the war, avoiding needless bloodshed. |
| [734 AGS] The Reconquest Begins |
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NEW PARIS -- 734 AGS -- King Charles XI addressed the nation today to announce the beginning of the Great Reconquest, the reclamation of the rich and fertile regions of Sirius stolen from the rightful control of Gallia by the Libertonian and Bretonian traitors. "My faithful subjects! We have stood by long enough while the ravenous remnants of the Alliance feasted upon the lands they have eyed for themselves from long before the landing! We know what they did to assure themselves domination, we know that they led Coalition forces to our sleeper launch site so that they may escape like the rats that they are, and take the best of this region for themselves. All their actions must have consequences! Starting from today, they will be running once again. They will run, or they will be included into the rightful control of House Gallia! Hail the reconquest!" The crowd gathered at Ile du Palais cheered throughout the speech. The first Royal Navy units are expected to reach and pacify Tau-23 within days, officially marking the first step on the road to victory. |
| [733 AGS] The 2nd Gallic War: True Goals of the Council |
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BRIANCON -- 733 AGS -- The so-called Second Gallic Civil War that was inspired by the Council two decades ago is nowhere near its ending. The Council, the powerful and wealthy group formed mainly by Royal Navy and Royal Police deserters, and financed by semi-legal businesses and criminal cartels of the Core Worlds, is sometimes described as a revolutionary movement. Yet, through the course of the war the Gallic media collected evidence that Council is nowadays more like a state within a state, having its own bureaucracy, enforcement agencies, and even newly established oligarchy that came into fortune due to the war. The Council leaders claim that their goal is to change the government of Gallia and overthrow the monarchy, in addition to breaking the isolation of Gallia from the rest of Sirius worlds. According to our today's expert Robert Broussard, Doctor of Economy and senior consultant of Solar Engineering and Ile-de-France Shipping, the Council never had an intention to overthrow the New Paris monarchy. "Our information on the Council agenda is mainly based on their own public announcements and press releases. Yet, New Paris is so far from the Gallic Border Worlds that the Council will not be able to overtake the Core Worlds by force, even if all Border Worlds fall under their supreme rule," - Broussard says, - "On New Paris and other prominent worlds of Gallia, public support for the warlike actions of the Council is relatively low, and the Council is aware that the chances to inspire revolts in the heart of our nation are very slim." Independent analysts estimate black market operations in Gallia rising by 150%% during the last 30 years. At the same time, frequency of pirate attacks had risen twice in the Core Worlds, and more than three times in the Border Worlds. This unprecedented wave of piracy occured mainly because of the demand for various smuggled goods that the Council generates, and because of the overall chaos caused by the war. Royal Police was caught unprepared by this new dangerous tendency, unable to defend corporate and civilian shipments. The pirate groups are expected to grow even larger now that the path to Sirius was breached by the Council in Languedoc. Being able to take advantage of this new development, pirate groups like the Unione Corse, Gallic Brigands, and Maquis now plan their expansion into Sirius, searching for new markets and recruiting more pilots. The Council supports those pirate groups almost openly, in return for their help against the Royal Navy. Sporadic raids of Brigands and Maquis never cause significant losses, but play a crucial role in delaying Navy operations against the Council. Almost every asteroid field and nebula in Gallia is now swarmed with ships of various unlawful groups. It remains unknown for how much longer the Council resistance will continue, but it is already evident that there are forces within the Council and within the pirate groups interested in using the war as a source of income. For the Council leadership, political struggle and the well being of their own people appears to be less important than gaining personal wealth and power. This is the reason why the Council would never support any peace negotiation initiatives. |