| Dagger Outpost
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- Dagger is our only outpost in the Omegas. Managing imports and exports here is challenging, given the heavy Corsair and Red Hessian presence in surrounding systems. For basic supplies we can barter with the Zoners of Freeport 5 using intermediaries, however those goods need to be carefully checked for sabotage. More than once we've had to filter out toxins or other poisons from drinking Water after a Corsair figured out where some stored barrels were going and spiked them.
- The alien ruins The Core is interested in on Skagen are deep underground. To get to them, you have to dig through "The Crunch", a thin band of skeletons and fossils we've found at a consistent depth for every bore site we've sunk. There's no signs of life before or after that band. It's like complex organisms sprung from no-where and were wiped away just as abruptly. Thinking about what happened here terrifies me.
- Hey sugar, would you be so kind and fetch me a bottle of rum from the bartender? I just got back from a patrol around Skagen's perimeter. We were attacked by AI Drones from the west -- probably out of Omega-55. The AI were always pretty passive and used to run unless we cornered them. Since a swarm recaptured Gammu, they've gone berserk. Several raids a week, at least -- I've lost three wingmen. Luckily Dagger's quick-responders got to us in time and drove the AI off. I just... don't think I can take much more of this. I need a good drink to forget about it, and some good company.
- I’m from Planet Los Angeles in Liberty. Pretty far away, huh? I used to be a security pilot for Interspace Commerce until I met a Core liaison on Newark. He laid out the Core’s vision, told us about the frontiers of the Omegas and Omicrons, and offered great pay for anyone bold enough to take the leap. I didn’t think twice. I figured, if there’s any way to make a real impact in this world, it’s to aim high.
- We sell many of the Artifacts extracted from Skagen to the Houses - sometimes technology reverse-engineered from them too. Getting those exports back to our clients is one of our greatest hurdles here. While the route to Bretonia is the most direct, trying to ship goods through Omegas-47 and 5 is suicide. Instead, we have to sneak armored freighters out through Omega-41, Omicron Theta and into the Sigmas.
- With the spectacle and the circus surrounding the court case in Rheinland, Imperial Shipping cut ties as if I were little more than a spoiled squelom steak. The explosion was hardly my fault. It's frankly obscene for the MND to blackmail me so, when I have it on good authority that it was likely their careless pawing that instigated the situation. Needless to say, I will play along with their games if it keeps me off Hammersee.
- When you're carrying out exo-operations on Skagen, you have to wear a respirator. There's a nominally breathable atmosphere, but you'll quickly end up hypoxic from the scarce Oxygen. The geologists say there was much more Oxygen eons ago. Apparently it is slowly reacting away and will eventually dwindle to nothing. We should investigate what happened here, but Corporate's only interest is extracting Artifacts from the ruins.
- My cadre -- Epsilon Wing -- all signed up in Liberty around the same time. We did six weeks of basic training in California, then another two at the Frankfurt branch office before being posted to Dagger. The work here is scary but exhilarating! I've been given the tools and skills needed to face down the worst the Edge Worlds can throw at me! The rest of Epsilon are gone now. HQ sent them on special assignment to the Omicrons -- isn't that cool, like secret agents? A few more patrols and maybe they'll send me too!
- Life aboard this wretched station is a purgatory, far from my beloved Hamburg and its many comforts. Regrettably, circumstances beyond my control have conspired to place me here so I must make the best of a bad situation. The Core are remarkably pragmatic people at least, and provide me access to research samples I could hardly have dreamed of in Rheinland. I have no desire to descend to Skagen, but the materials retrieved are intriguing.
- I work dig site security down on Skagen. My team is there to protect the scientists from Corsairs, Hessians... others. Not wildlife. So far as we know, Skagen is dead, completely sterile. Doesn't seem to have always been that way though. Once you scratch the surface, it's a planet-wide mass grave. I've never heard of anything like it.
- The Core found me in Sugarland. I was looking down a life sentence for taking out three of the LPI patrol ships that tried to take me in. One of the Core recruiters caught wind of my story and figured my skills were wasted breaking up radioactive Scrap Metal. They offered me a contract, purchased my sentence from Liberty, and set me up with gear I could only have dreamed of as a Rogue.
- Many consider the field of xenoarchaeology to be a quaint diversion for stuffy old academics. To those initiated in the arts, you see its fingerprints everywhere you look. Sirian history is replete with "sparks of genius" that are little more than veneers to cover the plundering of Daam-K’vosh secrets. In this field, the Houses are at war -- none know which happenstance revelation may radically upend the balance of power next. Xeno Relics are at the forefront of this struggle.
- As soon as my contract with Interspace expired, I left Liberty behind and never looked back. Now here I am, on the edge of civilization, maybe even part of a revolutionary discovery. Sure, I’m no scientist, but a hired gun is just as vital here as the researcher they’re protecting. It’s exciting! Every day The Core is digging up amazing things on Skagen -- I'm sure our work here will be of great benefit to humanity as a whole! I'd heard about alien ruins ever since I was a girl, but I never thought I'd have the chance to get out here for myself!
- For many years, Planet Kurile in Sigma-17 has been an important waypoint for Core convoys. It's a meeting point for shipments from here and also Durban Station. From there, shipments can link up with fresh security details that complete the journey into Kusari or Rheinland. Bora Bora Depot will help further simplify this process.
- I'm going to request a transfer out of the Omegas. My acquisition debt is paid off and the contract to clear my criminal record was completed years ago. I can't do it any longer, not even for these bonuses. Every time I launch, it feels like I'm facing death. The AI raids are the final straw -- the way they fight is absolutely inhuman. I've already got my nest egg, I'd happily take a pay cut to work facility security at the Los Angeles office. I've proved my loyalty.
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| Prison Liner Fiji
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- Of course there's always resistance in Sigma-17. The Guild isn’t thrilled about some of our methods, and neither are certain parties in Kusari and Rheinland. But they fund the project because they need it to succeed just as much as we do. If the Sigmas become a warzone, trade with the Omicrons collapses, and we all lose. I just wish people understood that sometimes, a little harshness now prevents a catastrophe later.
- Fiji is only a temporary measure—just a holding point until Bora Bora is fully operational. The Core needs this route secured, and we need a place to manage prisoners, personnel, and logistics in the meantime. Some think it's unusual for a prison liner to play such a crucial role, but out here, we use what we have. Fiji provides security, supplies, and a strategic foothold all in one.
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| Durban Station
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- Battleship Mars is currently deployed in Kappa, keeping the Gammu perimeter secure. Most of the supplies they get have to reach us first through Theta, and then run back through Theta to Kappa to reach our boys there. We're getting double-hazard pay for those but somehow I doubt the management will keep that perk going for much longer.
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| Planet Gran Canaria
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- Many Bounty Hunters come to this system. It's what we call a target-rich environment. You've got Corsairs, Mollys, Hessians... Even the occasional Gaian that tries to take a vacation down here. Well, the last one that came went for an extended stay on Newgate instead, and the sum I got for it netted me a month's vacation myself. Heh.
- There's a jump hole in the east of this system, which leads to Omega-5. I haven't gone there yet, but I'll head out to find it soon. There's a ton of Corsairs and Hessians down there, along with a few of their bases, so there'll be plenty of marks to collect on. I'll have to be cautious though, I heard tale of entire fleets slugging it out down there. Wouldn't want to get caught in between.
- Most of the Bounty Hunters on and around Gran Canaria are paid for by independent contractors, whose identity we don't know. There are a large number of Corsairs and other people the House governments label as criminals that make their way here, so there is plenty of work for a Hunter here. But I guess it's not a very safe place for them out there, for every three Hunters that come this way, two are never heard from again.
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| Battleship Bellona
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- The rest of the crew doesn't know, but the quartermaster told me we're dangerously low on alcohol supplies. A couple of recent shipments full of beverages scheduled for Nauru were hit by something in the Omicrons, making everyone more on edge. I don't know what got them - the Nomads, the Corsairs, or anything in-between - but I do know that a bartender without drinks to serve doesn't have a long future ahead of him.
- This ship is the top of the line. We might be stuck here for the time being, but there is nothing that could take this baby head on and come out ahead. I'm not too worried.
- I'm one of the survivors of the horror that unfolded on Mars. Horror doesn't quite cut it. I was in the ship docking bay as the Mars went rogue, and barely managed to fly out of the ship on my Requiem before it was too late. That was the easy part, the harder part was fighting the AI drones in the Mars' vicinity, but luckily we had conventional human forces nearby to help secure the retreat.
- The Bellona is a beauty. The fact that we managed to not only establish a foothold in the Omicrons, but research and produce our own battleship, speaks to the might of the Core. I am proud to be a crew member of our flagship, and I intend to fight until the end. We already suffered a heavy blow by losing the Mars, we cannot afford the same with Bellona.
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| Nauru
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- I've got a contact on Freeport 9 which sells me the information about Corsair movements in the area. We use it to conduct precision strikes against them. We can't let the Corsairs take over Theta and cut us off completely.
- Our iridium mining operations are proceeding as per usual, but we can't ship all of it in our the current situation. At least the price has spiked up so our profits aren't affected nearly as much.
- There's news of alien ruins in Omicron Pi, but with connection with Rho lost, we need to run all our supplies and personnel through the Theta warzone. The Guildmaster refused to authorise expansion into the system in light of our supply lines being strained, as well as the fact that the connection to the system is unstable. That didn't stop some of our more adventurous contractors to make attempts, however. Not all of them came back, but those that did have earned themselves a fat paycheck.
- The Gammu relics that are shipped in are quite fascinating, I can't wait what kind of things our scientists will be able to make with them.
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| Planet Holstein
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- Iridium has been a massive boon to The Core, however it is not the only resource we import from the Edge Worlds. We have special agreements with several House intelligence agencies for the acquisition of other “interesting” goods. Rheinland in particular has been an excellent customer, with the MND being exceptionally accommodating... and financially generous, of course.
- The Core is a pioneer in exploiting Edge World resources. We have lucrative contracts to ship Iridium from the perilous deep Omicrons. Iridium has always been a valuable metal, harvested in trace amounts and at great expense. The rich deposits we control are revolutionizing armor alloy composites in the Houses... and making us incredibly wealthy. No other corporation has the firepower and skill to secure these goods.
- Opening a corporate office on Holstein seemed like good business sense. Some of our best clients include Rheinland corporate and state actors. In reality however, this post has completely failed to live up to expectations - first the Saigon War and Civil War disrupted travel in the area, then the Omicron Rho project collapsed. The locals seem to be amused by this, and tell us Frankfurt is cursed. I’m beginning to believe them.
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| Prison Liner Helsingborg
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- I am the main representative of the Core on this vessel. When my employer and the Bounty Hunters Guild signed the Skagen Treaty about mutual defense between the two entities, I was sent here to make sure the hunters stick to their end of the deal. So far so good - they are skillful, direct, and don't talk much. They better keep it that way, we're paying them a lot of money to help us secure Skagen.
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| Yaren Base
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- The Order? Hah! They will doom us all if they don't stop at Dabadoru. How ironic - it is them who help the Nomads within these regions, one way or another. Maybe if they could stop working against humans and focus their assets onto the real threat, the Core would be a lot more successful than we already are! Then again, what do you expect of those Order scoundrels, who scream "Infected!" every time somebody does not agree with their views?
- I would have never believed that the High Command would throw all its cards in for a risky move such as this. On the good side, we have won Yaren station but on the bad side, the Order managed to nab Dabadoru out of our hands while our forces concentrated on the siege. If we would've failed to capture Yaren, the High Command would clear our heads for the henchmen. What makes me wonder is that there was no counter-attack as if the High Command deemed that station expendable. They will definitely not abandon Dabadoru forever, I can vouch for that. Now, I can only hope that my brother is amongst the survivors of the assault on Dabadoru. Time will tell, when the first rescue ships with escape pods show up here. If the Nomads leave us alone for once.
- After Toledo it cheers me to know that we've finally accomplished something as significant as this. You could say it's our first major victory after that horror. When the Core got me out of that Bretonian prison with guards as dense as the donuts they shove into themselves, I almost thought there'd still be no hope, luckily I was wrong. I heard the Guild Masters have some plans regarding the planet right next to us, but they haven't leaked much information in that regard. Hah, a planet entirely colonized and controlled by the Core. That's a thought, isn't it?
- I'd love to just quit and leave this mess of a situation, but my contract is in effect for 3 more years, and leaving the system without a heavy escort isn't exactly the smart choice either. Got another high-risk supply run to Kappa tomorrow, wish me luck.
- I've been running escort duty through Theta ever since the Rho connection collapsed. Let me tell you, having to fend off Corsairs was basically in the job description, but those savages in Theta are something else entirely. Most of the time we just delay them long enough for Outcasts to show up, and when the two become wholly occupied with one another, we just double it out of there.
- When all of our local strike wings received the order for a full scale attack on Yaren, I already pictured it would end horribly. No nearby supply depot except for the Freeport. We had to eliminate the Corsair defenders quickly, otherwise we would've risked running out of fuel in the midst of the battlefield and becoming sitting ducks. Of course, the situation isn't much better now. We do have a lot more luck than the Order, as our main supply comes through the nearby Omicron Rho system, yet thanks to these idiots and their assaults, the Nomads have a much easier job at hitting our convoys that carry vital supplies. By now, the logistic department of Yaren only calculate food and water rations expecting that only a third of the supplies actually arrive on the station. It isn't much, but we have to work with it.
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