Planet Sprague

From Discovery Wiki
Planet Sprague
Owner
Bretonia Police
Location
D-5/6, Omega-3

DIAMETER: 7,053 km.

MASS: 10.98 x 10e23 kg.

TERRAIN: Desert.

TEMPERATURE: -71°C to 70°C

ESCAPE VELOCITY: 13.57 km/sec

Planet Sprague (referred to in Bretonia as Planet Nottingham) is an arid world that was marked for Bretonian exploitation as early as 663 AS. BMM orbital surveys initially indicated the presence valuable minerals, however early prospectors were stunned to discover that the detected "deposits" were actually ancient ruins. Cambridge xenoarchaeologists identified these as Dom'Kavash structures, constructed millennia before humanity's arrival in Sirius. Several key sites were destroyed during the Nomad war, along with the planet's docking ring.

In response to the impending loss of Leeds, Bretonia authorised the settlement of Nottingham in 818 AS. This was intended preserve as much of Leeds' war-critical heavy industry as possible, and rehouse refugees fleeing the warzone. Following the Glassing of Leeds, the colony must now permanently house a substantial population that is primarily concerned with mining, manufacturing and construction. Nottingham's hastily developed infrastructure has resulted in poor living standards, with many settlements comparable to previous slum zones on Planet Leeds.

While there is no shortage of employment to be found, BMM has been accused of corner cutting and unsafe practices in its management of the colony. Groups such as the Mollys have been quick to prey on these tensions, and frequently recruit from dissatisfied workers. The BPA have struggled to control criminal and radical activity on the colony, and have resorted to the enlistment of local militias to try and keep the peace.

The planet also hosts a considerable population of migrant labor, who are rotated continually from other planets within Bretonia. This population is heavily engaged in vital construction and mining projects on the surface to make the inhospitable planet worth living on long term. Transports carrying these laborors however come under attack frequently by Mollys preaching freedom, or slavers looking for produce.

Bribes & Missions Offered

Bribes
Missions


Commodities

Imports
Commodity Price
Ablative Armor Plating 72$
Cracking Catalysts 60$
Criminal Cells (Gallia) 29,363$
Criminal Cells (Kusari) 18,471$
Criminal Cells (Liberty) 17,688$
Criminal Cells (Rheinland) 7,442$
Energy Field Equipment 65$
Hydrogen 32$
Liberty Ale 44$
Medical Equipment 20$
Rheinbier 30$
Rum 36$
Sake 60$
Detroit Light Arms 107$
Tungsten 39$
Vodka 35$
Whiskey 16$
Zinc 51$
Crew 217$
Military Surplus 814$
Black Market Pharmaceuticals 183$
Counterfeit Computerware 188$
Boron 42$
Hydrocarbons 4$
Food Rations 13$
Kyushu Rice 52$
Super Alloy 81$
Optical Chips 41$
Mining Machinery 25$
Construction Machinery 34$
Pharmaceuticals 18$
Hull Panels 37$
Polymers 8$
Optronics 119$
Consumer Goods 44$
Engine Components 72$
Terraforming Gases 79$
Daumann Side Arms 71$
Gallic Enfer Blasters 102$
Black Market Blasters 154$
Ageira Gate/Lane Parts 1,151$
Black Market Light Arms 171$
Kemwer Technologies 244$
Volgograd Ordinance 146$
APM Advanced Hardware 78$
Black Market Augments 175$
Neon 50$
Bretonian Refugees 21,684$
Synth Paste 21$
Wine 63$
Scientists 216$
Xenobiotic Filters 54$
HazMat Canisters 58$
Nox 185$
Consumer Goods 190$
Passenger Cabin (Bretonia) 21,890$
Passenger Cabin (Rheinland) 32,665$
Iron 15$
Bioproduce 16$
Xeno Relics 179$
Molybdenum 174$
Deuterium 227$
Gold 181$
Wildcat Gold 183$
Niobium 211$
Copper 210$
H-Fuel 104$
Aluminium 206$
Osmiridium Panels 505$
Shigeakiki 279$
Exports
Commodity Price
Deployable Mining Container 50,000$
Robotics 8$
Cobalt 7$
Oxygen 1$
Basic Alloy 6$
Hangar Provisions 250$
Black Market Munitions 132$
Criminal Cells (Bretonia) 20,068$
Gin 27$
Titanium 43$
Slog 148$
Toxic Waste 19$
Water 8$
MOX 32$
Artifacts 185$
Industrial Materials 42$
Munitions 37$
Passenger Cabin (Omega) 32,988$


Ships sold


Ship Class Price
Vulture Bomber 61,826$
Falcon Heavy Fighter 24,778$
Stargazer Light Fighter 12,114$


News

[835 AS] Freiburg targeted in terrorist strike

FREIBURG STATION -- 835 -- Emergency responders have rushed to Freiburg Station after a serious terrorist attack killed 7 Gallic visitors. 3 Gull-class Transports attempted to ram an IDF Shipping convoy moored to the station, exploding once they hit their targets. 1 of the vessels was successfully disabled by the station’s defense grid. The assailants had just arrived from Omega-7, broadcasting the convoy shipping papers of a small export company based on Freeport 1. RFP officers believe the Gallic ships were the actual target, and have suggested either the LWB or Bretonian radicals could be responsible. Bretonian and Rheinland authorities are cooperating to investigate the incident.

[835 AS] Coronado disaster sparks panic

YUMA -- 835 -- Public data feeds have lit up with distress calls from Coronado, after a system-wide EMP pulse wreaked havoc. Emergency requests for aid have been issued by the Crayter Republic and IMG, with early reports indicating that the system’s Trade Lane project has been destroyed. Ageira has confirmed that the Jump Gate remains unaffected thanks to post-Blackout safeguards, allowing relief to be delivered from Bretonia and Liberty. Panic erupted on many Liberty worlds after footage was released showing an energy field around the moon Jericho, seeming to indicate another activated alien site. President Hawthorne has called for calm, and reiterated that security forces were moving to contain the situation.

[835 AS] Gallic threats raise Tau fears

SCALPAY OUTPOST -- 835 -- The Taus are once more on edge, after Gallia threatens the use of force to retrieve the Tau-23 to Tau-31 Jump Gate. Bretonia constructed the first Jump Gate in the system, which was later annexed during the Gallic War. Bretonia was gifted the current Gallic Jump Gate by Kusari during their invasion of Gallia, and has held it since -- with Gallia formally ceding its Tau claims through the Treaty of Rishiri. Bretonia has historically refused to discuss the Gate’s status until its own demands on the extradition of war criminals and payment of Gallic War reparations are met. The Bretonian government has warned that Gallic aggression or threats “will not be tolerated”.

[835 AS] Recapture of Dublin commences!

BATTLESHIP ESSEX -- 835 -- Admiralty representatives have confirmed that the Bretonian operation to recapture Dublin has been initiated. Defense commentators have long assumed the Bretonia Armed Forces would breach the system via a Jump Hole believed to be concealed within the Cumbria Asteroid Field. Forecasts predicted a bloody advance, given the Mollys renown expertise as ambush fighters, and prolific use of concealed mines. Despite this, Bretonian officials confirm that the Battleship Somerset has established a bridgehead in the system without casualties. “This will be a quick operation,” Admiral Rowley noted. “The Mollys cannot stand in open space.”

[835 AS] Lend-Lease ships return to Liberty

CORDOVA -- 835 -- Liberty’s Hawthorne administration has ended the wartime Lend-Lease program with Bretonia. The initiative saw Liberty provide large loans and huge quantities of military materiel during the Gallic War, throwing the beleaguered House a vital lifeline. The sudden development sees most remaining Liberty capital ships in Bretonian service returned to their parent House with immediate effect. Anonymous Bretonian sources have expressed dismay with Liberty’s insistence on an expedited return, arguing it undermines domestic security at a critical moment of Armed Forces’ preparations for a major deployment.

[835 AS] Bretonia and Rheinland call for de-escalation

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.

[835 AS] Arrests made after Freiburg killings

FREIBURG -- 835 -- Freiburg patrons scattered in terror after a bar disagreement between Bretonian and Gallic customers escalated to murder. Witnesses report an IDFS officer said “something about Leeds” to a drinking Bowex transport team. Within moments, a brawl erupted, with Gateway employees assisting their normally bitter rivals. “There was a flash of light and three bangs, and before I knew it, two Bretonians and a Gaul were dead,” bartender Benno Gramann explained. The RFP have held six Bretonians on suspicion of murder and released two Gallic citizens on bail, sparking outrage in Bretonia.

[834 AS] Police Authority lands blow against Slog

CARLISLE -- 835 -- Following a series of raids, 74 people have been arrested on Planet Carlisle in connection with the production of Slog. The outlawed narcotic has wreaked havoc on industrial towns across New London, Carlisle and Sprague, with some calling it the "working man's scourge". Chief Inspector Harry O'Donnell confirmed that a suspected laboratory was stormed by armed constables, resulting in the seizure of narcotics and equipment. Anonymous sources allege a number of those arrested were biochemists employed by Planetform Incorporated.

[834 AS] H-Fuel prices spike as market volatility increases

MANHATTAN -- 834 -- H-Fuel prices across Sirius have spiked after demand for future supply contracts surged. This unusual increase has been driven by Liberty corporations who are buying up all surplus stocks, although what has provoked the sudden frenzy remains unknown. Universal Shipping and Synth Foods both declined to comment on their own significant increase in buying activity, however many have noted that neither has the storage capacity to account for the excess. Share prices for Kishiro, GMG and Samura all rose on the news, despite Kusari warning that it may impose export caps on H-Fuel to limit market volatility and curb inflation.

[833 AS] Stabline prices spike after Atka destruction

SIGMA-17 -- 833 -- Cryer’s share prices have tumbled on the news that Atka Research Station has been destroyed by brutal Outcast pirates. The remote station served as the primary manufacturing point for the revolutionary drug Stabline, which had promised to eradicate Cardamine dependency across the Colonies. Spokeswoman Alicia Fisher confirmed that critical staff and research materials were successfully evacuated due to the timely intervention of private security forces and the GMG. She noted that adequate Stabiline stockpiles exist to “manage demand for priority clients” while a replacement facility is sourced. Cryer has begun emergency negotiations with the governments of both Kusari and Bretonia to explore options.

[832 AS] Houses outraged by Roppongi attack

NEW TOKYO -- 832 -- Kusari has received blistering criticism from the other Houses after the destruction of Roppongi Station. Roppongi hosted House embassies in Kusari, and was a major business hub for foreign companies. Liberty’s President Hawthorne is said to be “incandescent” over the attack, which killed Ambassador Luisa Mason and her aides. She has threatened consequences unless Kusari exert all “means and resources” towards the Farmers Alliance’s eradication, and announced the LSF will be taking “enhanced measures” to protect Liberty citizens. Interspace Commerce has quadrupled its bounties on Alliance targets. Kusari has opened an inquest into the attack.

[831 AS] 'Slog' banned throughout Bretonia

NEW LONDON -- 831 -- The drug 'Slog,' otherwise known as Carix, has officially been banned across Bretonia. It is now a criminal offense to possess or distribute this drug in any quantity. The strict prohibition comes in response to the rising popularity of this dangerous substance, which has ravaged the Bretonian working class. Authorities claim the Slog trade creates extreme public health hazards, and has strong links to the funding of terrorism. Despite this, journalists have suggested that the government’s real fear lies in decreased productivity, which Bretonia's struggling post-war economy cannot afford following the loss of Dublin.

[831 AS] New drug flooding Sprague's hab blocks

SPRAGUE -- 831 -- Hospitals across Planet Sprague are raising alarms about mounting overdose cases relating to a new and addictive substance. Colloquially known as Slog, the inhalant has in extreme cases caused hallucinations, kidney failure and heart attacks. Some have suggested the sudden surge in popularity has been caused by a "Cardamine shortage", however experts quickly dismissed this conclusion, pointing to the radically different pricing and clientele for the two drugs. The Bretonian Police Authority have launched an investigation into the substance, which they believe is closely tied to off-world organized crime.

[831] BPA investigation probes droid safety

MANCHESTER -- 831 -- Detectives investigating the sabotage of Liverpool Station have made a significant breakthrough, after security logs from the attack were forensically reconstructed. Inspector Giles Mattin confirmed that the station’s service droids may have played a role, with footage showing the robots attacking the crew before heading to the reactor. “Anomalous network activity indicated the units were remotely compromised, possibly by Lane Hackers or The Technocracy. We are coordinating closely with Ageira Technologies to ensure the public’s safety,” he concluded. Calls have been made for Parliament to ban service droids across Bretonia until their safety can be verified. Industry leaders have called the proposal “premature alarmism”.

[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] Bretonia announces Poole draw-down

NEW LONDON -- 831 AS -- The Bretonian government has announced a controlled withdrawal from the Poole system, citing ballooning costs and difficult post-Dublin state budget. Poole was once of critical importance to Bretonia, briefly hosting a Supergate to Liberty during the Gallic War, and acting as a launching point for Bretonia's colonial ambitions in Omega-49. This importance declined after the war and the abandonment of Gran Canaria. The cost of policing the frontier system has significantly outweighed tax revenue for many years. DSE has already confirmed that it will begin deconstruction operations soon, with Jump Gate and Trade Lane components expected to be removed by 833 AS.

[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] Gruesome reports as Dublin falls

Grotesque broadcasts have issued from Graves Station after Molly saboteurs captured the base. The terrorists filmed the execution of senior BMM officials with pickaxes, murdering station administrator Dame Helen Raleigh and maintenance chief Harland Streeve. The Battleship Essex was quick to respond to the atrocities, dispatching a boarding force to retake Graves. Unwilling to face justice for their crimes, the hijackers detonated the station, murdering all aboard. Simultaneous suicide attacks against the New London Jump Gate forced the Essex's withdrawal. The Government has stressed that this withdrawal is temporary, and that a blockade will be imposed while forces are assembled to pacify the system.

[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.

[828 AS] Harris conference mends wounds

PLANET HARRIS -- 828 -- Delegates from Bretonia, Kusari and the Crayter Republic have met on Planet Harris, announcing the ratification of the Harris Treaty. Kusari and Crayter had come to blows the previous year, after the KNF militarily evicted Republic forces from Tau-31. Despite this, it appears the three parties have found common cause in their mutual mistrust of the newly formed Gallic Union. Despite historic grievances, each has tentatively agreed to come to one another’s aid in the event of a conflict with Gallia in the Taus, while also guaranteeing military and economic access to Tau-23.

[827] Glasgow Ghosts stranded on Hamburg

SPRAGUE -- 827 AS -- The Glasgow Ghosts have been stranded on Planet Hamburg after the Plasmaball Finals were canceled. The team of ex-Leeds residents soared to superstardom after making it to the finals in a stunning underdog upset. Hamburg authorities axed the rowdy event over fears that it could exacerbate the disorder already ripping through Rheinland cities. Team captain Greg Brown said the players were safe, but all transit off-planet had been restricted. Sprague viceroy Dame Dixon has urged the Bretonian government to intervene and “bring our boys home”.

[816 AS] Terrorist attacks rising in Omega-3

FREEPORT 1 -- 816 AS -- Omega-3 has a long and turbulent history of being a lawless space. In recent days there have been a particularly brutal spate of killings, with several BMM and Bowex convoys massacred. The Bretonia Armed Forces has been on the case for weeks, and yesterday successfully intercepted the mysterious attackers mid-ambush. Major Helen Hardy identified the assailants as Rheinland Military vessels, commenting that, “it was like 800 all over again” -- referring to Rheinland’s assault on Omega-3 during the Colony Wars. Following a complaint to the Rheinland government, defense officials were quick to deny responsibility for the attacks, pointing instead to the Military deserters-turned-terrorist group commonly known as The Wild.

[812 AS] Rheinland warns about “Wild” attacks

FREISTADT -- 812 -- For many years rumors have spread about attacks on Omega shipping by a group known as The Wild. Now their ships have been sighted marauding across Stuttgart and New Berlin. Rheinland has announced that MND intelligence has identified these menaces as traitorous Colony War deserters and war criminals, who stole Military hardware and vanished into the border worlds to enrich themselves. It is unclear what prompted the renegades to extend their attacks into Rheinland core space, however it is speculated that they may have been driven out of their old hunting grounds by other pirate organizations such as the Red Hessians or Corsairs.


Rumors

Bretonia Police
  • The funds for colonisation are coming from a mixed bag of sources. Bowex and BMM have copped some of the responsibility, which they're groaning and griping about. The Crown has chipped in with what they can spare, which isn't as much as what we need. Last but not least is Interspace Commerce, who've financed a good chunk of the effort for reasons of their own. I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, but I suspect that one in particular has fangs.


  • It's no secret that Rheinland is unhappy about us being here. The fact that they've stationed a battleship in Omega 7 just underlines that. A decade ago, that would have been more than enough reason to declare war for tearing up the Boorman Treaty. Today, it's a fact of life. Crazy.


  • We used to get a lot of our water from one of the few surface lakes, about 30 miles away. Then there was some kind of earthquake, and a couple of hundred people in the settlements around it dropped dead. The Cambridge types were calling it a limnic eruption. Awesome. They put a name to it. Now stop it happening again, right?


  • I think all this fear-mongering about Rheinland is ridiculous. Surely they're willing to stay on their half of the Omegas, and we'll stay on ours. All those tub-thumpers saying they hate us and are going to invade are just trying to stir up inter-house tension.


  • This planet was colonized to house Refugees from Planet Leeds. The Crown got as many people out as possible in the years leading up to the invasion. A lot of people went to holding camps on Cambridge and New London. The process of getting them all to Nottingham is ongoing. I hate to think of how many people were left behind for the Gauls.


  • The CDI has been drawing recruits directly from Sprauge - a lot of the men and women who volunteer think it'll get them off planet again. A notable few are doing it for patriotic reasons and want to protect their new home. We need the ships and the manpower more than anything, so quality has gone through the floor. The BPA won't ever drop the facade of incorruptibility, so that falls to us. We're the sump that collects the refuse they don't want.


  • The pirates in this system have been drawn in like sharks to blood. We've run into trouble with Corsairs, Mollys, Gaians and the odd Hessian. They all want a piece of the pie, and there's only so much we can do to stop them. My constables receive constant complaints from Bowex, demanding more resources, more patrols. For the Police Authority, people come first. Refugee convoys get our attention first and foremost - we do what we can after that, but if the ships aren't there, they aren't there.


  • One of the many tasks credited to constables these days is providing leadership for Civil Defence Initiative units. Our coppers are good lads and ladies and have experience in the line of fire. The CDI volunteers, not so much. Most of them have little to no combat experience, and are being thrown straight into the worst situations the Omegas can offer. A shocking number of them die in their first engagement. The best my staff can do is try to ensure as many survive as possible.


  • It's hard for people to run fair businesses here. If you looks like you could bother any of BMM or Bowex's interests, they'll refuse to work with you. On a planet like this, you're straight out of luck if the near-exclusive shipping contractor won't touch you. You either end up paying fees to both of them and become a 'subsidary', or you get edged out and marginalised.


  • Want to know something sad? On my residential level, there's blackouts every day. I'm usually in the dark for ten or twelve hours a week. Annoying on the surface, but damn dangerous if the air filters die on us half a mile below. The power never dies in the factories or the spaceport. Funny that.


  • Police manpower only stretches so far. In peace time, we'd patrol the safer stretches of Cambridge and Leeds and all of New London and Manchester. Cushy job - if you'd suggested we stick our necks out in Dublin and Omega 3, you'd have been laughed out of the office. How times change. The Armed Forces are kept busy defending the front lines, and we pick up the slack.


  • Life is pretty tough here. The facilities are basic and strained under the pressure of millions of Refugees being shipped in - I would say we're reaching a crisis point, but the standard of living is still better than what they were used to on Planet Leeds. BMM treated their workforce like cattle. Here they're, well, still cattle, but with a better welfare charity looking after them.


  • It's going to take us years to get the colony here fully populated. A good majority of Leeds' population was evacuated, but they're scattered across refugee camps in New London, Cambridge, Liberty and Rheinland. The logistics of moving everyone back are immense.


  • There's talk about the government reclassfying this system from the Omega sector to Bretonia. I guess that'd put it in the same bracket as Dublin - a chartered colony on the fringe of the core space. If London tried to press for a full claim, it'd probably rile Rheinland up more than they are already, so I can't see the suggestion going through Parliament.


  • When I got home yesterday, my flat had flooded. Our hab block was built into a preliminary mine shaft that BMM had sunk and abandoned, but it doesn't seem to have been sealed properly. I'm trying to get compensation from the colonial board, but the interview officer won't even see me for an appointment.


  • Bretonia Police Authority Inspector Chloe Dunn

  • The Militia System was set up to assist the police maintaining order and distributing supplies across Sprague. Although I'm not sure what good it's actually doing. We just need more actual officers of the law here, not imitators.


  • I can't help but feel I'm protecting another corporate haven. Bowex and BMM have already applied for monopoly charters for Nottingham minerals and exports. BMM must have found something here to warrant that. Are the government really going to stand by and permit a second Leeds? The Gaians may be traitors, but they had a point. Besides, with security as it is, letting those corporations handle matters is setting this planet up for a fullscale riot, which would be well outside of our ability to handle right now.


  • I heard that one of the other colonies on the other side of the planet was destroyed recently. BMM housed the settlers near a rich mineral patch, knowing full well that they were living near a live volcano. Well, I hope they're happy with what happened. I wonder if you can make up the cost of a colony with 6 months of mining? Pff. I hope that one hurt their pocket.


  • The corporate security lads aren't too bad. A few of them have signed up with the CDI on a part-time basis, but most are still tied to the pay cheque of whichever corporation they're working for at the time. That can complicate matters for us due to clashing priorities. We're here to protect and serve, while their area patrols are guided by corporate policies.


  • A lot of people were hoping there'd be a fresh start here on Nottingham, but nothing has really changed. All of us at the bottom of the pile are still the slag rats. BMM is still up to the same old - only they're further from New London and can get away with more now. The rich still get the cream of the planet while we toil for them. Some change, huh?


  • There is a growing criminal element among the refugee camps. Ran by a man named 'Kelly'. We are trying to root the group out. But with the lack of manpower it's impossible.


  • You wouldn't have thought that policing visitor visas and permits would be a huge deal, but illegal immigration is a problem the Crown is very wary of. Between you and me, I personally think that the government is worried about Rheinland claiming a serious stake in Omega 3 if they can settle their own citizens on Nottingham. That's really not a problem we want or need. It's bad enough having Rugen here.


  • BMM security teams have had to chase off a few groups of squatters who were surveying their mining grounds without visas. They claimed to be Zoners, but the broad Rheinland accent tells me they're probably Daumann scouts. It makes me uncomfortable knowing that they're here. If they stir things up into a conflict with Rheinland, we're right on the front lines again.


  • The BPA have requested a detachment of Vickers gunships be sent down to Omega 3 to reinforce our patrols. We've been considerably empowered by a Royal Decree giving constables requisition rights for the use of Crusaders, but the additional gunships would really help us keep volatile zones suppressed.


  • When my CDI wing was mustered we had one BPA wing leader, two corporate escorts, and the rest green recruits straight from the Cambridge. I'm ex-Armed Forces and too old to re-enlist in the regulars. One of the greens was tagged by Mollys in the Keswick Ice Field on the first day. Lost another two to Corsairs over the next couple of weeks. The corps were from Gateway and Bowex - both died because they were squabbling instead of fighting. Grapevine has it they blew eachother to bits. Now we're out here in the wilderness. Five survivors.


  • The Rheinlanders moving one of their battleships into Omega 7 is worrying. They say it's there to protect civilians from the Hessians and the Corsairs, but it's blatantly obvious that it's a reaction to our operations here. Militarising the buffer zones between our Houses brings back nasty memories of our not too distant past. Not that the Boorman Treaty is worth a Kusari ceasefire any more.


Freelancers
  • Sometimes when the supplies from Bowex arrive it's like a frenzy comes over people. The police have trouble keeping the crowd from flooding the dock and taking everything that is not bolted down.


  • It's funny. They are going after Kelly like he's some sort of hardened criminal. All he is doing is maintaining the order the Police don't. Even the Militia are realising that.


Border World Exports
  • Gateway Shipping has proven to be even more of an irritant than Bowex ever envisioned. The war has wreaked havok with our finances. One ill conceived method for restoring them was to place the blueprints for the Bretonian transport line on the open market. Gateway and the damnable IMG closed the transaction and now have production rights on Aland Shipyard! What on earth were the directors thinking?


  • Bowex's Royal Charters and trade monopolies were recently revealed to be a double edged sword. The Queen herself decided that Refugee evacuation efforts were to be given a maximum priority before Leeds fell. The government forced us to shift a good portion of our luxury commodity trade fleets to the task, putting a huge dent in our profit margins. We've had to make several humiliating concessions to our rivals in order to refill our coffers.


  • If I can, I'll try and get one of the overnight convoy departures after a delivery here. The loose wires hanging from the ceiling and shabby state of the staff quarters leave a lot to be desired. I'd rather have a good night's sleep on Cambridge or get tagged by Corsairs trying. I've heard Refugee housing is even worse than ours, poor blighters.


  • It seems appropriate that Bowex should take such a position of influence here on Nottingham - after all, Bowex probably discovered the planet however many centuries ago. We trace our roots back hundreds of years, all the way to 66 AS and the Bretonia Exploration and Trading company. We're field experts in pioneering new systems and pushing back Bretonia's borders. Nottingham is no different.


Bretonia Mining & Manufacturing
  • We had one of our tunnel shafts collapse a little while ago. The roof came down on the mining equipment we had there. It'll be more expensive to dig it out than to bring in new gear, so we're leaving it where it is and dropping a new shaft somewhere else. At least the corpses are already buried, so the families don't have to worry about that.


  • A lot of the settlements we have on the planet are dug into natural rock formations. They give colonists respite from the weather outside and cause the least damage to existing plains ecosystems. Well, that's BMM's line anyway. In all honesty, I think it's just because they already had lots of holes dug from their preliminary bore sites, and support struts are expensive. Why not keep the roof up with a house?


  • BMM has excavated trace amounts of Cobalt already but hopes to make further gains. Scans are showing up rich mineral strata further below the surface. Once we crack those open, it's easy credits. In the mean time, the surface crews are still constructing processing facilities and smelters. The usual Cambridge crowd are screaming about ecological damage, but that's so short sighted. Don't they want Bretonia to survive the war?


  • This planet is riddled with alien ruins - they must be millions of years old. One of our drilling teams burst in through the roof of a small alien chamber a short while ago. I've heard the BPA got straight in there and locked everything down, but not before a few discrete items were stowed away in pockets. If you knew who to ask for, you might be able to pick up a "collectors item" to remember your stay by.


Deep Space Engineering
  • None of the people I've seen here seem very happy. Mind you, I don't suppose I would be, either. They're ripped from their homes on Leeds at the say-so of BMM and the Crown and sent to New London. Then the government approves Nottingham for settlement and they're uprooted again and moved down here. Then there's the squalor. I've seen the inside of their flats here, and it ain't pretty.


  • DSE was is mostly in the area for maintenance of the docking ring now. Ageira are pressing us to survey the space between here and Freeport 1 for a short Trade Lane line, but the Bretonians don't seem particularly interested. I don't think they can afford the project. Mind you, Interspace might be tempted to give them a loan. I hear they miss the debt-leverage they had over the Houses during the early centuries.


  • Building the docking ring here gave me horrrible visions of the Tau-53 re-allignment job in Hokkadio. I've really got to stop taking these crappy assignments - I'm going to end up blown to bits if I keep it up. The only real motivator is the ludicrous pay cheque. Say what you like about my bosses, but they really do know how to negotiate a contract.


  • Have you seen Rhodes, the Interspace rep for this area? What kind of halfwit wears shades indoors? Doesn't help that he's about as abrasive as sandpaper in a birthing canal. You'd think Interspace would have worked out why his deals keep collapsing by now. Perhaps that's why they've marooned him on Nottingham.


Bounty Hunters Guild
  • You want easy money? Drop a line to a 'Guild recruiter and go hunt down some Mollys. With the way BMM managed the big pull out on Leeds, they got one hell of a manpower boom. Not that most any of the slag rats they picked up know how to fly properly - they're just as bad as them CDI jokes on the other side of the law.


  • Guild don't endorse it, but there's off the record work to be had here. Some shop owners want their property looking after, or a rival roughed up. There are even folks who're willing to sponsor people like me to rough up or take out Rheinland illegals that are here to snoop around. Not sure if I'm far enough back on my debts to want those jobs yet.


  • You can make a fair living by hunting the perps with warrants out on them down in the slums. The more levels down into the baserock you go, the rougher things get. After a while, it gets deep enough that the BPA stop patrolling, and we take over. If the vic comes in with a few snapped bones, who's to care? We solved the situation and returned law and order.