| Destroyer Insidious
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- I had to sign on with the Insidious to clear a debt with one of the Executives on Cochrane. I got in over my head on a Cardamine tab, bartered my skills as a signals analyst to get out of the hole. Now I'm stuck here, and missing out on pulling apart a damn Jump Drive.
- Cochrane's been fried twice by pulses from Sudbury, so we're pretty good at spotting the warning signs these days. Fool me twice, and all that. When Jericho wiped out the orbiting sensors we were piggybacking, we guessed what was happening and powered the Insidious down. Between that and The Barrier, we came through without a scratch.
- Crayter has sealed military records about a major battle that happened in 827 AS, somewhere nearby. We haven't been able to get into the file yet. It's a fair bet it's related to the ruins and wreckage we detected while traveling here from Cortez. I'd recommend you keep your distance, there's all sorts of weird readings.
- We're supposed to be baby-sitting Cardamine smugglers, but we've also got the most advanced sensors within 5 light years. With the quality of readings we could get off Jericho and the system storm, we could name our own price. I've been quietly negotiating a deal for feed data with an old Liberty University associate.
- Crayter rescued a bunch of ex-slaves from the Taus, and has been parading them around on Yuma. We went sniffing through their identities and found most of them are Insurgency war prisoners who the LPI trafficked from the camps on Planet Erie. Crayter doesn't know what they've got, and we'll be sure to let the public know when the time is right. Major incident in the making!
- Most of the Cardamine flowing through the Barrier Pass used to head out through Cortez, which was good for the Rogues at Montezuma. These days, some of the Outcast cartels split and head for Inverness instead. When they arrive in Ontario, most stop over at Cochrane -- which is good for us instead.
- The Insidious has the largest open bounty in Liberty, higher than even the Gatebreakers who ran off with the Niyodo core. The LSF were pretty steamed that we managed to sneak into Alaska a few years back, and leak some juicy scans of Juneau Shipyard. At the time, Liberty's official position was that Alaska didn't exist.
- A few of the Outcast cartels now pay us a sort of subscription service for the Insidious' help getting their smugglers through the Barrier Pass. That was a big win for us. Back in '31 the Cardamine market crashed, and we've been clawing back bargaining power ever since. Whenever they hike Cardamine prices or complain about the subscription, maybe we "miss" a Crayter patrol or two.
- Working in Coronado is basically tech support -- sniffing out patrol manifests to tip off Outcast smugglers. The Crayterians like to do things by the book, route paths filed nicely in advance on insecure servers. Bounty Hunters are admittedly a more unpredictable problem. They're not so keen on paperwork.
- You'd think an assignment like this would suck. None of the creature comforts of Mactan or Cochrane here, no sir. I can live with that though, because Barrier Gate is a hop and a skip away. Now that place is a real oasis in the desert. Whenever I have downtime, my Bayonet is straight out the hangar and off to the casinos.
- The LSF couldn't lock down Jericho quick enough to keep the news under wraps. Hard to hide an entire Trade Lane project getting wiped out, not to mention the rolling blackouts on Yuma. Alien ruins are in vogue now, the hot stuff of Los Angeles gossip over synth-lattes. The people want info, and luckily enough, we're on site and happy to oblige... for a price.
- The crew of the Insidious are a weird mix. Some of us were forced to put a pin in our lavish lifestyles to repay favors or clear debts. Others are the freaky "true believer" sort, who're here to play as super-cool subversives, sticking it to The Man. They can die for a cause if they want, but it's not for me. I'm living forever.
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| Mactan Base
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- Our founders designed the entire USI software system to track ships and their contents throughout the entire Trade Lane network in the Sirius Sector. Ageira didn't give us a penny extra. So they left and started the Lane Hackers, along with a scanner hardware development group from Colorado. IC uses the USI system to calculate precise shipping insurance rates. With USI there is no cheating, like there was in the old days. The shippers hate it, but they have to insure their shipments. Since we have access to the data, we know the precise cargo each ship is carrying, along with it's position on the Trade Lane network - so long as the ships are using the Lanes.
- Since we know what ships are hauling what, we can hit the Gold freighters and sell the Gold to the Rogues at their Montezuma base in Cortez. This keeps the Rogues pretty happy with us, and oftentimes they do our dirty work, which leaves more time to pursue our own diversions - like dropping Cardamine.
- The Outcasts are a pretty odd lot. Can't figure them out sometimes. They wear those funny breathers that act as Cardamine inhalers. In the heat of battle they can give themselves a Cardamine booster with a flick of the wrist. Maybe that's why they're such awesome pilots.
- The Outcasts run Cardamine in here from somewhere out in the Tau worlds. They ship it out from here into Liberty, with the Rogues handling much of the dangerous work in New York. We pay a pretty high price even here. If you wanted to make a killing, get in close with the Outcasts and buy some Cardamine further up the stream, closer to the source.
- The Outcasts use our base as one of their waystations on the long journey into Liberty from the Edge Worlds. We trade information for Cardamine, which we need on a daily basis. Funny, we didn't use to need it all the time like nowadays. We have to take Cardamine with us any time we leave base, as we start to get sick pretty quick otherwise.
- The Outcasts are holding out on us, no longer providing us the quantities of Cardamine we used to regularly receive, surely they realize our friendship is worth the investment? Unless of course they want to lose access to our ability to pinpoint the nicest, and coincidentally, most vulnerable convoys.
- No actual Lane Hacker has ever been captured. Sure, some of our lackeys have gotten tagged by the police or military, but nobody ever knows enough to finger the Lane Hackers. It just goes to prove that we're smarter than everyone else. That's why we left Ageira. We didn't get the recognition and money we deserved. The executives thought they could get fat and rich on us carrying them, but now they have to spend billions on upgrading their security with new, cheaper "experts", only to find we are always one step ahead.
- In this system we make plenty of raids on valuable shipments traveling between Liberty and Bretonia. We use the Jump Hole to raid shipments in Cortez that may be trying to bypass Magellan, and the Jump Hole from Cortez to California let's us get back to our beloved homeland. Financial freedom has its costs, I guess, but it's quite the adventure being out here. It's certainly more exciting than that stuffy lab on Pueblo Station.
- Being a Lane Hacker is a commitment to a way of life. I guess some would call us hedonists -- maybe we are. We live for pleasure and the moment. I used to work for Ageira and I can tell you that this is a much better way to live. We enjoy the finest things in life -- we eat the best foods, we wear the best clothes, and we have the best toys. And the Cardamine. As much Cardamine as you want. If we could just land on Curacao, life would be perfect.
- There's a Jump Hole into Manchester just to the west of this base. Our raiders often pop through and hang out in the North Sheffield Field, waiting for an unsuspecting Bowex Gold shipment on the Trade Lanes. It's easy to intercept them when you know when they're coming.
- The Rogues keep trying to make deals that would see us share the Cardamine we receive from the Outcasts. I don't see how their shortages are our problem, if they want to avoid the risks of dwindling supplies, maybe they ought to do a better job of rationing it.
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| Ames Research Station
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- The Ames Research Station is the main supply source for our base in Galileo. We ship all the essentials like Food, Water, Oxygen, and Consumer Goods there.
- Ageira thinks they're being clever with that retinue of Hunters they've let loose on our operations in the system. But their successes are few and far between, our eyes and ears on the other side of the corporate veil warn us when a trap is going to be sprung.
- We like to hit Niobium and other high-value shipments coming through this system. Unfortunately, the misguided Xenos and scumbag Bounty Hunters are often lurking, so we have to be careful -- especially when we leave the no-fire zone around the station.
- The Jump Hole to Galileo is directly between the edges of the Kuryo and Matsuo Clouds. Aim for the gap and you won't miss it.
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| Leiden Base
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- The Kobe Maru was making its weekly Artifact run across the Shikoku system when it was ambushed by the Blood Dragons. The ship is presumed destroyed, and its whereabouts are unknown, although it's been rumored to be drifting somewhere in the Shiun Cloud.
- Cardamine has changed my life. It's the greatest stuff you can imagine. You have really strange hallucinations with heavy doses -- flying across alien landscapes, seeing creatures and places that you can't imagine. It's truly an amazing trip. I've noticed that I'm gradually losing interest in eating regular old Synth Paste. I've heard that Outcast Food is more palatable to heavy Cardamine users. Not sure why.
- We receive Side Arms and Pharmaceuticals from the Rogue base Padua in the Reppu Cloud and ship Food, Software, Oxygen, and Water there.
- The Golden Chrysanthemums get most of their supplies from us. We keep them living in the style that they are accustomed to. In return, they supply us with all the Cardamine we can use from their Hokkaido base.
- We get most of our basic supplies -- such as Food, Consumer Goods, Oxygen, and Water -- from the Zoner Ames Research Station.
- We get shipments of H-Fuel from the Golden Chrysanthemums in Hokkaido and ship them Food, Side Arms, and Software. Those Golden Cs love the latest Software versions. And guns, they really love guns.
- The Shibuya Maru was making a Cardamine shipment across the southern end of the Shikoku system when it was intercepted by a Bounty Hunter named Jake Rush. He swears that he opened fire and badly wounded the ship. He searched the cloud for some time, but never found the Shibuya. The word around Deshima is that it never made it to the Galileo system. It's probably out there somewhere in the Keiun Cloud.
- Although we sell much of the information we retrieve from Universal's data banks, we use some of the data ourselves to attack the most tempting targets. There are four jump holes in this system. The two most valuable to the Lane Hackers are the jump holes to Colorado and Kepler.
- Ageira wonders how we can keep up with its advances in Trade Lane technology and security. Truth is, everybody who was sympathetic to the Lane Hackers didn't necessarily stop working for Ageira. That's right -- we've got insider friends who keep us one step ahead of the game.
- The Freespirit was beginning its regular Artifact run from Leiden to Rochester when it was ambushed by Bounty Hunters. It fled into the Reppu Cloud and disappeared. No one has been able to locate the ship for some time.
- The Lane Hackers are disinterested in politics. We do not fight for any political cause or rally behind a flag. The only thing that is important to a Hacker is money so that any wants are fulfilled. Ok, money and bringing down Ageira. I almost forgot how I've dedicated my entire life to destroying Ageira...I must need to replenish my Cardamine.
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| Barrier Gate Station A
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- This place is making me rich and all it is costing is a few drinks every night. My bread and butter used to be selling smugglers out to the BIS, but it's Jericho that's the hot news on the neural net today. If you've got a sniff of a scan of that shield or the storm, you can name your own price.
- There's all kinds of weird junk hidden in Coronado. Nothing that's talked about openly, but you can connect the dots. Jericho is big and obvious, sure -- but there's other stuff too. For example, what was Crayter up to back in 827? They sent a fleet south into the Barrier, and a good deal less of them returned to Sabah than set out.
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| Barrier Gate Station B
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- This place is making me rich and all it is costing is a few drinks every night. My bread and butter used to be selling smugglers out to the BIS, but it's Jericho that's the hot news on the neural net today. If you've got a sniff of a scan of that shield or the storm, you can name your own price.
- There's all kinds of weird junk hidden in Coronado. Nothing that's talked about openly, but you can connect the dots. Jericho is big and obvious, sure -- but there's other stuff too. For example, what was Crayter up to back in 827? They sent a fleet south into the Barrier, and a good deal less of them returned to Sabah than set out.
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| Barrier Gate Station C
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- This place is making me rich and all it is costing is a few drinks every night. My bread and butter used to be selling smugglers out to the BIS, but it's Jericho that's the hot news on the neural net today. If you've got a sniff of a scan of that shield or the storm, you can name your own price.
- There's all kinds of weird junk hidden in Coronado. Nothing that's talked about openly, but you can connect the dots. Jericho is big and obvious, sure -- but there's other stuff too. For example, what was Crayter up to back in 827? They sent a fleet south into the Barrier, and a good deal less of them returned to Sabah than set out.
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| Noshima Freeport
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- This ship is lavishly furnished with works of art and the finest quality appointments. Orbital Spa and Cruise is dedicated to supplying our guests the finest that life has to offer. Luxury Goods are brought here all the way from Manhattan. More recently, the opening of the Gallic market has allowed us access to some fine Holo Sculptures as well.
- Samura likes the Mackinac being here in orbit. A lot of our passengers go down to the planet during the day and enjoy the planet's delights. We're more of a glorified hotel than a resort. It cuts into our profits, but it's better than having no business at all. With Bretonia in the state it's in, Luxury Liner Shetland is barely making enough to pay for its upkeep, and with all the war, tourism is down everwhere, so we're scrambling to make a profit wherever we can.
- This ship is outside of House space, so the things that go on here might not be completely legal. The Sigma systems are claimed by the Gas Miners Guild, but they usually keep to themselves and their H-Fuel producing business. Government morality can be quite bothersome at times. We provide relief from the burdens of society. Whatever your desire, we will provide it here - no questions asked.
- I'm one of the Mackinac's backup sensor operators. Did you know there are several areas on the planet's surface where Samura has radar jammers? If you zoom in with the visual cameras all you see is a large island with a compound, a cluster of four small islands, and a section of empty ocean. I think Samura has a secret on Tomioka... One they don't want anyone to know about.
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| Amarillo Base
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- I always said I wanted to retire to some little cantina in the middle of nowhere and just serve drinks and tell old Hacker stories. I just didn't think there was anywhere in Sirius as nowhere as this base. Be careful what you wish for.
- Have you been to Fort McMurray since the dark matter storm arrived? It's an exciting trip. Just make sure you don't leave the safety of the base's shadow, or you'll start feeling a tingle that has nothing to do with cardamine.
- Nothing makes me smile like the sight of a derelict LPI outpost. Those corrupt nitwits got just what they deserved from the Rogues!
- I thought assignment to this base was some sort of punishment, but then I arrived and found out that the cardamine allotment is double that of any other Hacker base and costs the same! I've never felt so alive!
- I heard from someone the other day that The Professor was spotted walking down one of the corridors here. Can you believe that? Probably just some drunken rumor. Everybody knows that The Professor is just some Hacker myth made up to make Ageira execs wet their pants in the middle of the night.
- We have standing orders not to approach Leduc. We aren't supposed to get within 10 klicks of the station. Well, except in case of emergencies, whatever that means.
- There's more going on in this system than just the usual Ageira scheming. I can feel it closing around us like this nebula.
- If you manage to kidnap any of these corporate brainiacs, don't listen to their technobabble. Just drop them off here for interrogation. All you're going to get from them is lies until they've had their tongues loosened up by our Specialists.
- Orders are that we are never to return to Airdrie if there is any chance of pursuit by hostiles. The Zoners on Freeport 14 are well paid to make sure we are accommodated if we need to be resupplied, even if the Navy is hot on our tail.
- Zoners in Alberta and Yukon shouldn't be mistreated. So long as they are cooperative, they will have no trouble from us. It's a symbiotic relationship, really. We benefit from the use of Freeport 14, and they get to sell our software to help us undermine Ageira.
- At first this nebula made me uneasy, now I feel naked anytime I fly in open space outside of it. There's something, I don't know, comforting about it. It's like being wrapped in a warm embrace, or getting a fresh cardamine ration after a long patrol.
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| Cochrane Depot
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- There is a Junker base located in this system, some of our pilots visit it frequently to gather useful rumors from the underground world and to relax in various entertainment rooms.
- The Junkers at Thunder Bay offer a nice price for fresh Cardamine. It's a good alternate drop-off point when the patrols in New York make it too dangerous to enter the system. I wonder where's the profit for them to buy it at such price.
- The real reason we're here is Hamilton. There is something strange going on there, much more than the so-called "mining operations". Our recon wings have detected high emission of radiations all around the station. Strange, I tell you.
- Cochrane has been used for hitting convoys shipping Military Vehicles from Fort Severn. We were causing so much trouble the Liberty Navy dispatched the Battleship Ottawa to protect the convoys. But we still find a way to intercept traffic.
- Becoming a Lane Hacker was the best choice I made in life. I was fed up with all the lies and oppression Ageira was doing to their workers. Here my work is recognized and awarded, I have all the things I need in life.
- Battleship Ottawa is a joke. It never leaves Huron's orbit, so all we have to do to hit Navy shipments is to wait for the Ottawa to be behind Huron. With the planet on their way, undocking fighter wings have to travel all around it. It takes so much time that we're already docked by the time they leave orbit.
- Not many people know about this base, mostly Lane Hacker allies and occasional smugglers supplying it. It gives us quick access to the California and Colorado systems when there is a special shipment to be ambushed by surprise.
- This is the place where we make most of our Bio-Neural Processors. We hit Ageira's high-tech computing shipments, bring them here in transports and adjust them to our needs. When you think about it, most of our ships are built thanks to these. Funny, isn't it?
- There's not as much traffic here as in Magellan, but Ontario is very conveniently placed. From Cochrane we can hit California, New York, and Colorado. I wonder how much time it will take for the Navy to figure out we have a base here.
- There is a lot of military material passing through Ontario. Guns, munitions, and of course, Military Vehicles. All these shipments are heavily escorted, but the price for these on the black market is so high that it's worth the risk, tenfold.
- This base was primarily built to monitor Ageira operations in this system, we frequently catch their shipments of Robotics on lane to Toronto station in this system and we monitor their transmissions from Hamilton base.
- We do quite well raiding the convoys that stop at Hamilton and Toronto. We unload the Platinum to the Junkers, but the high tech material we send to Airdrie for research and reverse engineering.
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