Battleship Norfolk

Battleship Norfolk

File:Br03 03 base.png

Owner

Bretonia Armed Forces

Location

F-5, Cambridge

CLASS: Dunkirk

CREW: CLASSIFIED

ARMAMENT: CLASSIFIED

The most iconic battleship in the Kingdom, the Norfolk has – for the majority of its service – anchored the Cambridge Line of surveillance satellites. Though the Line's success has been called into question over the years, the Norfolk remains firmly ready to protect the southern border from smugglers and pirates alike.

Its longest deployment was in the Omega-3 system, securing Aland Shipyard for the military's use during the Second Gallic War, and routing Hessian and IMG forces that attempted to resist the takeover. In addition, it was also a member of the reclamation of Leeds, however the late arrival resulted in the genocide being carried out, and any hopes of saving planet Leeds promptly destroyed with it.

Battleship Norfolk has since been recalled to its original position, guarding the Cambridge Line once more, as Bretonia faces ever-growing internal turmoil.

Bribes & Missions Offered

Bribes

Bretonia Police Border World Exports Imperial Shipping Bounty Hunters Guild Cryer Pharmaceuticals Gateway Shipping Independent Miners Guild

Missions

Bretonia Armed Forces Bounty Hunters Guild

Commodities

Imports

Commodity Price Ablative Armor Plating 25$ Medical Equipment 15$ Light Arms 90$ Oxygen 9$ Water 6$ Food Rations 18$ H-Fuel 162$ MOX 25$ Pharmaceuticals 15$ Hull Panels 38$ Consumer Goods 24$ Engine Components 68$ Synth Paste 23$ Marines 917$ Munitions 69$ Xenobiotic Filters 54$ HazMat Canisters 27$ Passengers (Bretonia) 264$ Xeno Relics 227$

Exports

Commodity Price Deployable Mining Container 50,000$ Toxic Waste 32$ Criminals 339$ Crew 396$

Ships sold

Ship	Class	Price
Cavalier	Light Fighter	13,522$
Paladin	Heavy Fighter	19,028$
Crusader	Very Heavy Fighter	25,079$

News

[834 AS] Kusari technicians begin work

PORTSMOUTH SHIPYARD -- 834 -- Following secret negotiations between the Ministry of Defence and Kusari state officials, specialist Kusari technicians have been granted access to the Battleships Essex and Somerset during refits at Portsmouth Shipyard. The defense picket around Portsmouth has been doubled while the works proceed; the classified technology being installed has been described by senior fleet officers as ""critical to the upcoming Dublin campaign"". Thames Outpost has been temporarily requisitioned as a patrol-base to defend New London and enforce the Dublin blockade.

[833 AS] Queen greets troops during military tour

PORTSMOUTH -- 833 -- Queen Carina has conducted a tour of the First Cruiser Flotilla, marking the launch of the Agincourt class destroyer. Developed by BMM shipwrights using the hard-won lessons of the Gallic War, the Agincourt has been described as a potent blend of traditional Bretonian engineering pedigree and modern innovation. Phasing out the aging Crecy class destroyer, the Agincourt’s enhanced fire control systems and hardy armor will allow it to excel in the roles championed by its forebearer. The Queen also celebrated the pivotal role played by the Cruiser Flotillas in saving Bretonia from Gallic tyranny, bestowing them with the ceremonial “Royal” title of Household troops. The First Royal Cruiser Flotilla is expected to be fully outfitted by year’s end.

[833 AS] Cambridge on the Line

NORFOLK -- 833 AS -- The number of recorded Corsair incursions across Cambridge has increased by 193%% in the last 3 years. According to Captain Edwards of the Battleship Norfolk, this is simply a result of the successes in detecting and reacting to attacks. "You can't respond to a Corsair you don't know is there," he noted. "The Cambridge Line ensures we know when and where to deploy our resources for maximum effect." Retired Major Jane Gilliam disagrees. "The Line was never fit for purpose," she says. "The Regents lobbied London to keep it, and so the pantomine continues." It is speculated that the spike in Corsair raids may have been prompted by increased resistance elsewhere, or a shift in their internal politics. Regardless of their true motivations, Interspace Commerce has recognised the elevated peril and adjusted its premiums accordingly.

[831 AS/747 AGS] Gate Corps Clash Over 'Blackout'!

ABBEVILLE -- 831 AS/747 AGS -- 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 an increasingly strained state budget. Poole was once of critical importance to Bretonia, briefly hosting a Super Gate to Liberty during the Gallic War, and acting as a launching point for Bretonia's colonial ambitions in Omega 48. With the end of the war and Bretonia's withdrawal from Planet Gran Canaria, Poole's prominence waned. The cost of policing the system and maintaining infrastructure has significantly outweighed collected tax revenue in recent years, with Planetform's Terraforming Gas operations reporting disappointing year on year returns.DSE has already confirmed that it will begin deconstruction operations shortly, with the dismantling of the Cambridge jump gate expected to be completed by 833 AS. Planetform has confirmed its intention to withdraw prior to this point, while settling shareholder anxiety with the announcement of promising preliminary findings for a replacement site in Newcastle.

[831 AS] Bretonian Focus Turns on Mollys

SHEFFIELD -- 831 AS -- The Bretonia Police Authority has announced that the eradication of the Molly movement is their top priority. In light of the loss of the Dublin system and the seemingly connected 'Blackout', the dangerous terrorist movement has leaped to the top of Bretonia's most wanted board. Bounties on Molly terrorists have doubled, with Bounty Hunters flocking to the beleaguered House. Guild Master Tina Hale of Sheffield Station commented that, "this is a good deal for a job that's less dangerous than many of our Edge World boards." Despite this, prospective Hunters should be cautious, as the Mollys are notoriously cunning and brutal fighters. The bounties and Police crackdown do appear to be having some initial effects however, with reports of Molly attacks on shipping in the Cambridge and Newcastle systems falling over recent weeks.

[831 AS] Bretonia Withdraws From Dublin System

WATERLOO -- 831 AS -- Markets are down across Sirius as the sector grapples with the twin shocks of The Blackout and Bretonia's withdrawal from the Dublin system. Molly separatists appear to have exploited a worker revolt on Graves Station to take control of and later destroy the base. Of even greater concern is the attack that crippled the New London jump gate, forcing the Battleship Essex to retreat. EFL have accused the gate destruction and faulty Ageira infrastructure of causing The Blackout, which the Liberty corporation denies. The Mollys have since declared their ownership of Dublin, while Bretonia has imposed a strict blockade, jeopardizing the sector's Gold supply. Gold exports previously made up a significant element of Bretonian state revenue, helping to fund post-war recovery efforts. While the reconstruction of LD-14 in the Leeds system offers some relief, Interspace Commerce has already downgraded Bretonia's sovereign credit rating, citing increased volatility and risk for lenders. Bretonia has confirmed that action to retake the system will be launched shortly, providing assurances to partners in the other Houses.

[831 AS/747 AGS] 'Blackout' Causes Jump Network Fail

MANHATTAN -- 831 AS/747 AGS -- Two days ago Jump Gates failed simultaneously across Sirius, freezing commerce and neural net access across the sector. When the network resumed 31 hours later, restored communications broke the news of Bretonia's loss of the Dublin system. This twin shock has plunged the market into chaos, prompting fears of sector-wide economic recessions. Interspace estimates indicate that the stoppage alone caused billions of credits in losses. Gallia immediately accused Liberty of culpability for 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. Independent researchers in Cologne and the Edge Worlds have also announced that a hyperspace pulse of unprecedented strength was detected moments before The Blackout, with data about 'The Pulse' being widely shared across the neural net in recent days. House authorities have remained tight lipped, refusing to comment on their own observatories' data.

[831 AS] Cost of Rebuilding too High?

NEW LONDON -- 831 AS -- Bretonia continues to face a difficult and lengthy recovery process following the conclusion of the Gallic War. The Bretonian people initially accepted this, and quietly pledged to come together and struggle on. While Bretonia is now witnessing an extraordinary rate of growth, it has come at the cost of severe cuts and harsh industrial quotas. Professor Timothy Ball of the Economic Review Institute says, "the recovery we've witnessed so far has been uneven, mainly benefiting Bretonian corporations and Crown agencies. If dividends of recovery are not felt by the average citizen, this inequality could become a major point of domestic political contention."

[829 AS] Marauding in Manchester

MANCHESTER -– 829 AS -- Reports from the Manchester system have now been confirmed by BPA and Bretonian intelligence officials: Liverpool Border Station, guarding over the Magellan jump gate and serving as the command center for police operations in the system, has been destroyed in what is being deemed a terrorist attack. Yesterday at 2200 hours SMT, nearby Sheffield Station and Kingston Border Station received automated distress signals from Liverpool, indicating an emergency aboard the station. Guild patrols redirected from Sheffield arrived on the scene within minutes, finding the border station destroyed. Search and rescue operations headed by Guild and BPA units commenced immediately and successfully salvaged several escape pods bearing several dozen survivors, who were immediately delivered to hospitals on New London. BPA spokesperson Sandra Halling held a press conference earlier this morning. According to joint police and BIS investigations, Liverpool was destroyed by antimatter explosives planted aboard the station. Their detonation caused a catastrophic chain reaction, resulting in the station's own reactors melting down and exploding. Of the estimated one-hundred-twenty persons on board at the time of the attack, seventy-eight have been reported as dead or missing. \So far, no party has taken credit for this heinous attack. However, Bretonian police surmises that it was likely perpetrated by either the criminals known as the Mollys or the infamous pirate organization, the Lane Hackers. The attack occurred following a significant redeployment of local Armed Forces units to the Cortez system for the purpose of joint operations with Libertonian security forces. This, says Halling, may have allowed terrorist sympathizers to exploit undermanned BPA patrols and smuggle illegal explosives through Manchester's ice fields, onto Liverpool Station. While investigations continue, Bretonian Police Authority has reinforced patrols within Manchester and established traffic controls at Kingston Border Station and Birmingham Station. Traffic to and from Liberty has been advised to reroute through the Cortez system.

[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 Armed Forces

We patrol the Trade Lane into the Keswick Cloud, a favorite crossing point for Corsairs, and the Lane to Cardiff. The Omega-3 Gate area is particularly contentious right now as the Mollys too have found their way there. We've allocated an entire squadron to patrol just that vicinity. Cambridge used to be such a peaceful place, and then the Corsairs showed up. They've built that Cambridge Line to assure all those university types in Cambridge that everything is under control. Fact is the Line's useless. The weapon platforms are too far apart, and the Corsairs just go around the ends of the Line. It is also too far from the Trade Lane itself to help in the defense of it. Captain Edwards says we're going out into the Grasmere tomorrow on a search and destroy mission to look for Corsairs. Guess I better record a message for my family, in case I don't come back. The Norfolk serves as a keystone in the defense of Bretonia against the scourge of the Corsairs. The Cambridge Line stretches between here and Cambridge to offer additional protection for ships traveling along that Trade Lane. Despite all this, ships still get hit by the Corsairs far too often. The Henry Jones Gold convoy was bound for Rheinland when it was attacked by Corsairs near the Omega-3 Gate. Its escorts were destroyed, and the ship was commandeered. An Armed Forces patrol responding to the initial distress call intercepted the raiding party near the edge of the Grasmere Cloud, and a bloody firefight ensued. The heavily damaged armored transport was the only pirate ship able to escape into the safety of the Grasmere Cloud. Its crew is believed to have perished in there before establishing contact with other Corsairs in the area. Omega-3 is a sea of ice asteroids. Corsairs are more of a problem in our end of the system; the Red Hessians take over at the east end. They're more focused on that Daumann installation, Rugen, but they still pose a threat to shippers near the Omega-7 gate. Daumann doesn't like us around their installation. Suits me, they can deal with those pirates themselves then. We've extended our patrols into Nottingham per the conditions of the Omega Trade Lane Pact with Rheinland. Rheinland is finally keeping up their end of the bargain in Omega-7, but moving a battleship into the system wasn't exactly what the Crown was hoping for. No doubt Rheinland is making a statement against our colonization of Nottingham. But whatever the reason, it makes our jobs in the Omega borderworlds a little easier. I can take some amount of consolation in the fact that the Essex made it out of Dublin alive. She's a seasoned warship, with a crew to match, and I reckon that if we could find some way to open up Dublin again that the Essex would be the one leading the charge. More likely is that Parliament will fight itself over nothing, so this might as well be wishful thinking on my part.

Bounty Hunters Guild

The Guild is gaining membership in Rheinland. It was tough for a while, but the pay is better than the Federal Police can offer, and you have more freedom to boot. Of course, the Red Hessians are growing, too, so it's not an easy job. The Mollys and Gaians would be chicken feed for that lot. We go further into the clouds than the Armed Forces do. I've gone right by the Omega-5 Jump Hole more than once. That takes some guts, let me tell ya. The Corsairs get really nasty if you get too close to their access points. If you're lucky, they'll have found some Hessians to shoot though. They hate Hessians even more than us. I've never been in Omega-5. Not too many Hunters survive to tell their tales of that area. I used to be an IMG miner in Cardiff. This is much better work -- yeah, a little more dangerous, but a lot more rewarding. They recruited me for my knowledge of the Grasmere and Keswick Clouds. I grew up flying around Cambridge, so I know 'em like the back of my hand. There are some top Hunters of the Guild out in the Omega Sector. I was talking to one of 'em last week on Freeport 1 -- said he'd made it all the way to Freeport 5 in Omega-41. That's on the edge of nothing, that is. He talked about a neutron star's deadly radiation that'll fry ya in a couple of minutes if you aren't properly protected. Word from Freeport 1 is that the Corsairs are losing their turf war with the Hessians in Omega-5. That'll save Bretonia's rear. Once the Hessians cut off Omega-5, the Corsairs won't have an easy access route into Cambridge anymore. Of course, then it will be the Hessians that start raiding ships here. Which might be much worse, since the Hessians would actually team up with the Mollies rather then fight them. Our group went on a long-range patrol along the Corsair Artifact smuggling route to the New London Jump Hole. I got one of 'em in my sights, but his buddies laid some wicked covering fire that forced me to break off. Those Corsairs are a wily lot. If you can tag one, the Crown pays good money for their scalps though.

Border World Exports

We had a rough MOX run on the way in. Mollys attacked us as we left LD-14. The Armed Forces saved the day on that one. Then the Mollys bit us again in New London. This time it got dicey, since all we had were police in the area. I lost an escort on that one. We're fortunate we got through Cambridge without trouble - Mollys have been moving in on this system too. We are delivering supplies from Cambridge for the battleship. It's not much of a run, but it keeps me busy. The Corsairs rarely bother us along the Cambridge line. We bring the Side Arms and H-Fuel in from further afield as needed. Detroits' a good place to pick up Side Arms if you want to go direct. You can get H-Fuel straight from the GMG in Okinawa if you travel through Rheinland, too. Normally, transporting Prisoners from a ship like this one is not an attractive target, but those Mollys think they can free their brethren so they keep harassing us. Fortunately, Corsairs don't seem to have any real use for Prisoners. That won't stop them trying to put a hole in your hull though - most of them seem to enjoy destruction for destruction's sake.

NOTE: Page generated on the 07/06/2024 at 15:55:46 UTC