Beaumont Base

From Discovery Wiki
Beaumont Base
Owner
Junkers
Location
D/E-4/3, Texas

CLASS: Ramshackle

GRAVITY: Complete

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Partial

CREW: 360

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.

Bribes & Missions Offered

Bribes
Missions


Commodities

Imports
Commodity Price
Robotics 25$
Black Market Munitions 135$
Criminal Cells (Liberty) 12,956$
Energy Field Equipment 30$
Gin 56$
Medical Equipment 51$
Rheinbier 46$
Rum 71$
Sake 59$
Detroit Light Arms 49$
Stabiline 152$
Vodka 73$
Whiskey 44$
Military Surplus 963$
Slog 153$
Counterfeit Computerware 133$
Food Rations 35$
Kyushu Rice 46$
Mining Machinery 12$
Construction Machinery 22$
Pharmaceuticals 27$
Hull Panels 37$
Consumer Goods 21$
Daumann Side Arms 76$
Gallic Enfer Blasters 145$
Black Market Blasters 203$
Kemwer Technologies 252$
Azurite Gas 157$
Xeno Relics 202$
Volgograd Ordinance 235$
APM Advanced Hardware 156$
Black Market Augments 179$
Wine 82$
Industrial Materials 24$
Munitions 26$
Xenobiotic Filters 27$
Passenger Cabin (Bretonia) 42,552$
Passenger Cabin (Kusari) 44,281$
Passenger Cabin (Rheinland) 34,209$
Passenger Cabin (Gallia) 62,372$
Passenger Cabin (Omega) 68,529$
Passengers (Omicrons) 79,378$
Iron 19$
Hessian Tears 216$
Molybdenum 202$
Gold 208$
Wildcat Gold 236$
Silver 189$
Niobium 208$
Copper 190$
Diamonds 195$
H-Fuel 97$
Iridium 264$
Platinum 174$
Aluminium 194$
Shigeakiki 268$
Exports
Commodity Price
Deployable Mining Container 50,000$
Black Market Light Arms 75$
Hangar Provisions 250$
Liberty Ale 32$
Black Market Pharmaceuticals 114$
Scrap Metal 9$
Oxygen 16$
Water 13$
MOX 47$
Basic Alloy 13$
Cardamine 278$
Artifacts 258$
Bio-Neural Processors 60$
Synth Paste 23$
Nox 220$
Passenger Cabin (Liberty) 15,311$


Ships sold


Ship Class Price
Gitano Light Fighter 8,582$
CSV Very Heavy Fighter 4,351$
Bull Dog Heavy Fighter 32,783$
Collector Very Heavy Fighter 24,429$
Recycler Bomber 53,512$
CSF Freighter 26,676$
Mining Drone Light Fighter 7,604$
Maintenance Drone Light Fighter 6,508$
Scanner Drone Light Fighter 6,508$


News

[834 AS] Fresh start, old baggage

PLANET ERIE -- 834 AS -- Many impoverished Liberty citizens have been flocking to Erie, looking for a fresh start. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done in Liberty. Dragged down by debts, criminal records, or a lack of jobs to go around, many have ended up resorting to crime to make ends meet. The Liberty Rogues and Xenos have both seen recruitment surge, as gangs take up the very profitable activities of smuggling and shakedowns. The Navy and LSF are mostly interested in squashing the Militants who want to topple the new governor, leaving breathing room for the common crook.

[834 AS] Junkers unwelcome in the Sigmas

KREUZBERG -- 834 -- The GMG have long mistrusted the Junkers, ordering our people out of Sigma-13 as soon as the Yanagi cleanup operation was completed. Yanagi’s “import/export” arrangements were among the most profitable of Junker operations; some of the more daring clans recently set up shop in an abandoned gas miner in the hopes of reprising this trade. Sadly, GMG forces appear to have tracked Corsair smugglers back to Madrid Base, arresting many of our kin and destroying the station. While we won't discourage Junker entrepreneurs from making their fortune, remember that reward does come with risk in the Sigmas.

[833 AS] LPI commissioner sentenced following Erie probe

PLANET ERIE -- 833 -- Helen O’Shea, Pennsylvania’s former LPI Commissioner, has been sentenced on corruption charges over the mismanagement of Erie’s planetary internment camps. The facilities were constructed to temporarily hold prisoners from the Liberty Insurgency while the courts cleared sentencing backlogs. Following allegations of human trafficking, the LSF launched a major investigation, discovering that as many as 10 percent of inmates were suspected of having been sold to traffickers. O’Shea is the latest and most high profile prosecution to date, and is expected to serve a ten year sentence at a minimum security penitentiary on Planet Los Angeles.

[832 AS] A different kind of Houston heat

MARLTON CITY -- 832 AS -- A huge firefight has been reported in one of Houston's urban centers, involving a gang of heavily armed assailants and dozens of casualties. The target appears to have been a major LPI penitentiary facility, with one force spokesperson going so far as to say that the raid must have been carried out by a professional mercenary outfit. Malton City has gone into lockdown amid rumors of a mass breakout by Pennsylvania convicts. An enormous manhunt has been launched, involving Marine support from the Battleship Arkansas.

[832 AS] Counting doses

ROCHESTER -- 832 AS -- The catastrophic crash of the Cardamine market has been tough for all the associates involved in the chain of its distribution, and the substantial drop-off in the quantity of it available for use and resale has caused a new problem in this series of bad episodes. The Rogues and Hackers, former partners in feeding the needs of the underworld are now at each other's throats, unable to meet demands for the drug both by their own and by customers, it seems as if stealing it from each other at gunpoint is the new business model.

[832 AS] Dublin dust-up

TRAFALGAR -- 832 AS -- The Mollys have finally pulled off their long awaited gambit, at least partially seizing Dublin for themselves. Intense fighting continues, although now with the Corsairs rather than the Armed Forces. This is good news for the clans of Trafalgar, as Dublin is ripe with wrecks and desperate customers. With ALG subcontracting at their New London salvage yard, we've never looked more legitimate. It remains to be seen whether Bretonia will explode, but if it does, we'll be on hand to clean up the mess and make a killing in the process.

[831 AS] Lack of Cardamine, Liberty's Underworld Burns

When the convoys heading from Cali to Mactan and Buffalo thinned out - and even stopped for a brief moment - the underworld in Liberty literally imploded. Previously close alliances quickly fell apart to the displeasure of the Outcasts, and every part of the underworld in Liberty was desperately trying to get as much Cardamine for themselves as possible.

The Outcasts and their most loyal agents stepped in almost immediately in anticipation of something like this happening, and set new rules for distribution according to set keys. A small group of Liberty Rogues defied them and followed their own rules of distribution, but they didn't fare too well - the Dons, despite the ongoing crisis in Malta, do not tolerate insubordination.

For this reason, several powerful Junkers and Rogues immediately decided to dilute Cardamine instead of redistributing ostentatiously against the wishes of the Outcasts at the expense of their clients, thereby raising their own shares. Fortunately for these savvy businessmen, word did not reach the Outcasts until some time later, and thanks to an improved network of cooperation, most of the organizers were able evade Malta's assassins.

However, all these measures had only limited effectiveness. Many end-clients and casual Cardamine users have been forced to seek medical attention due to their deteriorating health due to potentially fatal withdrawal symptoms. It is not known how many Cardamine users eventually died because of the shortage, but it appears to be in the order of single-digit percentages - much to the very verbal displeasure of the Outcasts themselves.

[831 AS] Gate corps clash over 'Blackout'!

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] Jump Hole Upheaval Causes Chaos

HEISENBERG -- 831 AS -- Jump holes across Sirius have become increasingly volatile and chaotic over the last year, with Professor Sophia Nagel from the Heisenberg Research Station linking the unusual phenomena to the Pulse. The Pulse was an unprecedented blast of hyperspace energy that was detected immediately prior to last year's Jump Gate Blackout.

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.

[831 AS] Pulse phenomenon linked to Blackout

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

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.

[830 AS] Rampant human trafficking on Erie

ERIE -- 830 AS -- Scandal has rocked Planet Erie after videos leaked of LPI guards loading Insurgency prisoners onto Freelancer Vincent Ruthen’s Dromedary freighter. Public records indicate Ruthen has prior convictions for trafficking, while the freighter's manifest falsely claimed it was shipping Neon to Planet Denver. Outraged Zoner communities claim this is the "tip of the iceberg", describing widespread abuse at LPI operated internment camps. A Police official denounced the allegations of corruption, stating that "all prisoner transfers have been conducted within the framework of the legal code". He refused to comment on the evidence presented. The Erie Interim Administration has formally requested the LSF investigate the situation.

[830 AS] Liberty annexes Planet Erie

PLANET ERIE -- 830 -- The Liberty Navy has launched Operation PESTICIDE to annex Pennsylvania, following the collapse of talks between Liberty and Zoner authorities. President Hawthorne declared that Liberty could no longer tolerate a "lawless frontier" within its very core, and that the Zoners had repeatedly refused to extradite criminals and terrorists from the Pennsylvania protectorate. The recent destruction of an LSF satellite was the straw that broke the camel's back. Militias congregating around Planet Erie were routed following the Zoner Carrier Pinnacle’s destruction. The Battleship Alma then secured Erie’s orbit and landed Marines to impose Liberty law on Lake City. Surviving militants have vowed to resist Erie’s occupation.

[830 AS] Trouble in paradise on Erie

PLANET ERIE -- 830 AS -- Since the destruction of Williamstown Depot near Planet Tremont, Liberty and Erie's autonomous Zoner government have been locked in a standoff. Liberty has long suspected the Insurgency attack on its logistics station was facilitated by informants on Erie, and has accused the Zoners of allowing Insurgency and Xeno operatives to roam the planet with "impunity". This morning, a missile streaked from Erie's wilderness, shooting down an orbiting LSF satellite that had been tracking "terrorist activities". Liberty has accused Zoner militias of the attack, and ordered Erie authorities to hand over the perpetrators, and all Insurgency affiliates. Zoners have denied responsibility, calling the attack a “Liberty false flag”.

[829 AS] Prison rumble

FONTANA FREEPORT -- 829 AS -- Liberty's underworld is abuzz with the shocking news that the LPI's infamous Attica Supermax prison has been... stolen. It's still unclear what happened there, but the LPI seem to have washed their hands of the situation, and left the Rogues and Xenos to brawl over an alleged mass breakout. What is known is the Attica Supermax prison is no longer where it should be, and the LPI is locking down that side of the system with a phony story about training exercises.

[821 AS] Junk futurism

KREUZBERG -- 821 -- Only the Houses are arrogant enough to think they can predict the future, and look where it gets them. Augsburg Orbital was supposed to the luxury housing of tomorrow, and a blueprint for Rheinland's future. Now it's a derelict wreck because Rheinland cut their observatory service decades before the place even opened. Their loss is our gain -- the evacuation order left the place stuffed with valuable salvage, and there's a narrow window to get rich before the Dark Matter storm destroys everything. Rheinland clans are already heading over to Munich to have a look. Be careful though, the Battleship Regensburg is shooting looters on sight.

[803 AS] Junkers look after their own

KREUZBERG -- 803 -- The clans of Kreuzberg have reported record breaking numbers looking to become Junkers as work dries up on Rheinland planets. When people can't make ends meet the traditional way, they start to think about other opportunities. Jakob Mehler of the Mehler Clan commented, “outsiders might work with us or for us, but they ain't us. If you're not a Junker, you're not part of the family.” The sentiment seems to be shared by the other Clans, who agree that the Junkers need to look out for their own first, especially when hard times are coming. For many unemployed Rheinlanders, that’s going to mean a cold shoulder in the Scrap fields.


Rumors

Junkers
  • The Xenos are a small group and they are poor too. That's why they have no chance against us right now. Everybody owes the Junkers a favor or two, and we have plenty of money so we can buy protection as well. The problem is that the Xenos keep growing. Seems like every third ex-con that walks from Huntsville becomes a Xeno.


  • If you can slip past the patrols getting into Manhattan, you can make a fortune as a smuggler. If you aren't quite ready for that then try taking your cargo to Buffalo or Rochester in the New York system. It doesn't pay as much, but it's much safer.


  • We bring in some of the stolen Diamonds from Rheinland and sell them on the open market in Houston. No way they can tell where they came from, is there?


  • I've been poking around these fields for twenty years. Had a few radiation scares. Heard there's some great loot in those dark clouds, but I'm not going in there. Radiation's supposed to be lethal to even a decently shielded ship.


  • The first Junkers in Sirius came from Gallia. They came here to spy on the houses for Gallia. After being here for a few generations, they realized they could make more money and have more freedom working for themselves than they ever could serving some far off king. So don't believe what you hear from the Xeno propagandists and their political friends in the government. Junkers are Liberty Patriots just as much as anyone is.


  • This side of the Texas system is the major corridor for smuggling into Liberty. Smugglers take the jump hole from Hudson. Then they either come here or take the jumpholes to California or Pennsylvania.


  • Our legitimate cover business in Texas is mining Scrap Metal from the Texas Debris Fields and shipping it to Sugarland for recycling. We're providing a useful service to the Liberty government.


  • We provide a lot of the essential supplies for criminals in California and New York. It's just a quick trip through the Holes.


  • We have a problem here in Texas with the Xenos: those crazy bastards hate everybody. It doesn't make any sense. If they had dealings with us, we could both profit. But as it is, they run attacks on us. The Junkers could be good friends to them.


  • The income we get from hauling scrap to the Sugarland from the debris in this system goes into our Xenos account. The Xenos account is the money we use to hire Junker-friendly smugglers and pirates to attack the Xenos and defend us against their attacks. What a waste of money.


  • You can make a healthy profit running artifacts into Manhattan from here, but make sure you have a fast ship or you'll never make it past the patrols.


  • Beaumont serves as a criminal supply center for many of the Rogue bases in Liberty. Consumer Goods, Light Arms, H-Fuel, Water, Food, and Oxygen are all shipped to Buffalo, Dawson, Fortaleza, and Alcatraz.


  • 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.


  • If you're looking for some quick money while still learning the ropes around here just ask some of the other Junkers about collecting scrap in this system. It's a small part of our operation, but there's plenty of work for those who need quick cash.


  • The Outcasts stop here on their long Cardamine runs in from the Edge Worlds. I don't trust them a bit. They don't like any of us; we're just pawns to them. One day something bad will happen.


Outcasts
  • There are many Silver and Diamond shipments in this system that the Lane Hackers give us information on -- well, perhaps "give" isn't the right word. The Lane Hackers are eager to trade their information for access to our black market contacts.


  • Several weeks ago I dragged a Bounty Hunter through the edge of the Negra Pequena and watched his ship disappear into the darkness -- quite enjoyable. His last distress call was sent wideband, so I was able to hear the fear in his voice.


  • The Outcasts who get caught hauling in Liberty space end up on the Sugarland, so we run occasional raids on the prison transports sending our men into lockup. A lot of Outcasts, once sent to the Huntsville or Sugarland, get killed by Xenos. So LPI decided to put all of us on the Sugarland, and all the Xenos on the Huntsville.


  • You can make a healthy profit running artifacts into Manhattan from here, but make sure you have a fast ship or you'll never make it past the patrols.


  • The Xenos in this system are a hindrance to our drug trade. They are rather fun to kill, though, because I know that they hate us so much. The Junkers will pay for proof of a dead Xeno, so I might as well make money doing it.


Liberty Rogues
  • This system is my home, and this base is one of my favorite hangouts. You can get whatever you want at this base or on the Lanes picking ships for cargo. One day I'm going to retire with a mountain of Cardamine and Gold.


  • I kind of like the Xenos. Truth is I almost joined up with them on a tour of "the Walls," but I decided to join up with the Rogues instead. But the Junkers will pay me good money or Cardamine to kill Xenos, so if I see one flying solo, then I'll kill him. If there's more than one, I don't pay them much mind.


  • The Rogues can get to New York through the Jump Hole hidden in the same debris field this base is in. Also, there is a Jump Hole to California in the West Dallas Debris Field, though you have to be careful. Parts of that area are radioactive. There's another Jump Hole to the Hudson system in the South Dallas Debris Field. That about covers it.


  • The Rogue fighter Prudhoe was making a Diamond run from Hudson to Beaumont when it was ambushed by a Xeno assault patrol. It fled into the Pequena Negra Cloud, with the Xenos in hot pursuit. No one has seen them since. People here figure they all died in there from the radiation.


  • This system is home to a lot of Liberty Rogues. Most of us have spent about half our lives on either the Huntsville or Sugarland. I just got off "the Walls" myself a few months ago; I wouldn't be surprised if I were heading back some time or other. Going back isn't so bad -- it gets to be kinda like home. A lot of my buddies are in there pulling time.


  • I've served three sentences on the Huntsville. If you've served time there, you know the real name given to her by the inmates. We call the Huntsville "the Walls."