Sandur Base

From Discovery Wiki
Sandur Base
Owner
Gaians
Location
C-2, Tau-31

CLASS: Stremoy

GRAVITY: Partial

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Limited

CREW: Unknown

Sandur Base was established by the Gaians in 819 AS, with support and funding from the Hogosha. Initially conceived as a staging post for joint raids on the supply lines of Bretonian hold-outs on Planet Harris, these plans were scuppered by the Gallic Invasion in 818 AS. With the Kusari Naval Forces largely destroyed, the Tau War -- and Hogosha privateering in Bretonia -- abruptly ended. Despite this, the Hogosha upheld their pledges of support, seeing Sandur as a strategically useful stopping-off point for shipping supplies to the stranded Exile fleet in Leeds, or purchasing stolen Bretonian goods.

Since then, the steadily growing volume of trade has drawn a range of visitors, including Maquis and Brigands from as far afield as Roussillon. As a result, Sandur has become a prime destination to swap illicitly sourced Bretonian, Gallic or Kusari goods. This has become particularly profitable for the Gaians in recent years, due to the so-called “Green Gold Road”. This scheme sees Gaian smugglers purchase Wildcat Gold from Trafalgar Base for sale to the Hogosha.

Sandur has also seen a spike in funding from concerned Cambridge activists, who urge the Gaians to “take action” against the growing Synth Foods presence on Planet Harris. The idea of Synth gaining a foothold on Bretonia’s border is disquieting to Cambridge’s farmers and academics alike. As a result, Sandur has been expanded with passive sensor arrays to better coordinate raids on the near-complete terraforming operation with a new and ferocious intensity.

Bribes & Missions Offered

Bribes
Missions


Commodities

Imports
Commodity Price
Robotics 38$
Ablative Armor Plating 145$
Black Market Munitions 203$
Medical Equipment 41$
Military Surplus 605$
Black Market Pharmaceuticals 182$
Abductees 674$
Hybrid Equipment 2,087$
Counterfeit Computerware 188$
Hydrocarbons 15$
Oxygen 7$
Food Rations 27$
Kyushu Rice 26$
MOX 24$
Basic Alloy 23$
Mining Machinery 26$
Construction Machinery 34$
Pharmaceuticals 33$
Hull Panels 43$
Optronics 101$
Consumer Goods 34$
Artifacts 222$
Consumer Goods 209$
Black Market Light Arms 170$
Kemwer Technologies 245$
Azurite Gas 201$
Xeno Relics 212$
Volgograd Ordinance 216$
APM Advanced Hardware 125$
Gaian Wildlife 250$
Black Market Augments 159$
Prometheum 25$
Synth Paste 33$
Industrial Materials 30$
Promethene 37$
Xenobiotic Filters 64$
Iron 18$
Hessian Tears 248$
Molybdenum 192$
Gold 181$
Silver 196$
Copper 207$
Diamonds 217$
H-Fuel 101$
Iridium 294$
Platinum 202$
Aluminium 226$
Exports
Commodity Price
Deployable Mining Container 50,000$
Hangar Provisions 250$
Energy Field Equipment 53$
Sake 39$
Titanium 26$
Whiskey 20$
Water 9$
Engine Components 84$
Black Market Blasters 104$
Wine 56$
Wildcat Gold 241$
Niobium 160$


Ships sold


Ship Class Price
Chameleon Heavy Fighter 28,603$
Anaconda Very Heavy Fighter 23,129$
Panther Bomber 74,612$
Leatherback Freighter 80,083$
Bretonia Transport Transport 126,006$


News

[835 AS] A different kind of intruder

ATACAMA -- 835 -- Atacama’s defenders were scrambled after a massive unknown contact was detected entering the Sonora Field. Rather than mindless aggression from transponderless raiders, the intruder was nothing less than an Order battleship. The vessel was heavily damaged and fighting fires on multiple decks. After a terse initial exchange between Gaian and Order fighters, it was agreed that the “Atum” would be allowed to moor near the wreckage of the Warspite to carry out damage control. The battleship’s officers were then shuttled across to Atacama for discussions with local cell leaders. Gaian patrols have since rescued several Order pilots from the wreckage of a new battlefield near Veracruz.

[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] Outcast assassins prowl Bretonia

NEWCASTLE -- 835 AS -- Newcastle’s criminal underworld waits with bated breath, following the disappearance of Outcast Arnold De Angelis, son of Don Liviano De Angelis. The enraged cartels have dispatched a squad of their elite assassins, who have resolved to uncover the fate of the missing son and mete out retribution -- whatever the cost. While a hundred thousand credit bounty for information has been offered, Dardi Squadron also promises to leave a trail of corpses in their wake. The presence of some of Sirius’s deadliest killers has already led to unease among Newcastle’s Gaians, Mollys and Bounty Hunters.

[835 AS] Atacama requests assistance against raiders

ATACAMA -- 835 -- In recent months, Gaian salvagers working around Planet Veracruz have come under attack by unknown vessels. Over this period, many pilots have been killed, captured or simply vanished. These attacks have continued to escalate, with reports of unmarked Liberty and pirate vessels launching raids on Atacama itself. After the local cell issued a distress call, Islay dispatched the Destroyer Artemis to investigate and provide support. She is expected to arrive shortly; in the meantime, Atacama’s wings are restricting non-essential deployments, and travelling in force when necessary.

[834 AS] BMM challenged on environmental record

REDCARR -- 834 -- The Green Front environmental group have sued BMM over alleged waste disposal violations at Redcarr Production Facility in Newcastle. The group assert that Toxic Waste is being vented into the moon Middlebrough’s orbit, rather than being handled in accordance with Bretonian safety regulations. Retired MP Terence Wimberley has led the move, declaring that the “private prosecution will hold BMM executives accountable, before they can ruin another system with their reckless corner cutting.” BMM has decried the case as a “malicious waste of public resources,” but offered no specific comment on the allegation itself.

[833 AS] Carlisle cartels move on Slog

CARLISLE -- 833 -- Slog has got its hooks into Bretonia’s workers, and there’s cash to be made filling that demand. It seems the Gaians and Mollys certainly think so, as both groups have sent their own people to put the screws to the producers on Carlisle. What once was an independent operation is now being torn in half by the Bretonian underworld, as both factions see the trade as a quick, if dirty, means of funding their causes. It remains to be seen how the Gaians and Mollys will settle their differences. If you’re in the market for Slog, your options have never been better.

[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.

[829 AS] Tau In Transition

Freeport 6 -- 829 AS -- Bretonia and Kusari have been quiet in recent weeks as the Tau cluster continues adjustments, partly by design, into a new reality. Kusari has abandoned Tau-53 completely as trade with Gallia is frozen indefinitely, a nearly depleted hydrocarbon deposit seemingly not worth the investment in itself. Misaki Station has seen its manufacturing facilities detached and towed to a new location as Samura attempts to recoup some of its investment in Tau-53. Meanwhile, both Gallia and Bretonia have readjusted their Tau focus to Tau-23 as Orkney descends into chaos. Existing gate infrastructure in Tau-31 and Languedoc have been redirected to Tau-23, and a collective deja vu is felt among Tau denizens and observers from all Houses as the resources of Tau-23 are eyed by competing mining interests. Trade between the houses however, as in Kusari, is completely off the menu. Independent trade factions have also been warned against attempting to cross the divide.


Rumors

Gaians
  • I'm on leave from our space training facility and man, those new fighters are great! I hope they assign me one of those and put me on a good patrol route after I finish.


  • It's quite stunning to view the Sandoy field from the edge. I sometimes take my Starflier out to the edge and watch where the solar winds meet the nebula perimeter. The ionization of the charged solar particles causes a wild number of hues to form in the nebula. It also causes intense lightning - nothing the shields can't handle, but it's just...stunning to watch.


  • Sandur is the heart and soul of the Gaian movement now. Our brightest minds and most gifted pilots, and their families, make their homes here. We're slowly evacuating those sympathetic to our cause to this base. Given the strength of the enemy that Bretonia faces, I'm not sure New London, and even Cambridge will be safe much longer.


  • Did you ever think you would live to see the day? I keep hearing talk on the stations about Gaian trading. I can see the logic of it and all, but come on. Seriously? We're fighters, not truckers!


  • This base is the place to go when things just become too much for you, if you're a Gaian. Not much going on here aside from the occasional debates in the tavern. Oh, and the occasional freighter docking, of course. Most excitement we saw was Rick West almost running his freighter into planet Dreines. Folks really ought to place a few warning buoys, 'cause that planet can REALLY sneak up on you.


  • What will our future be? Will we, like a failed star, cool until our light dims so much that it can no longer be seen? Or will we burn brightly, in the times to come? Or will we, like a dying star, go out in one blinding burst of glory? Time will tell, but I fear, if the former or the latter, I will live to see those ends.


  • It is so serene out here, you'd almost forget that you are inside a man-made structure floating in an almost pefect vacuum. Not that we get many people that walk out an airlock without an EV suit. It's chilly out there...


  • I've applied to the Gaian elite squadron three times now and I keep getting passed over. I've always heard how grueling the first part of the initiation is. Snatched without warning, smuggled onto Gaia and left for two months in the wilderness with just a knife, a bottle of water and the clothes on your back.


  • I can remember the day of the invasion like it was yesterday. Controlled chaos it was. I've never seen so many Gaians in the sky at once. I flew with the rear guard during the exodus here to Faroe, and watching it at the time was like seeing a gigantic school of fish swimming within the tide of a black ocean.