Gateshead Station

Gateshead Station

File:Br07 03 base.png

Owner

Bretonia Police

Location

C-6, Newcastle

CLASS: Zeus

GRAVITY: Complete

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: 1,4K

Stationed in orbit of planet Carlisle, Gateshead is a busy trans-shipment point currently administered by the Bretonia Police Authority. From here, police ships patrol the surrounding nebula boundaries, protecting nearby trade lanes from Outcast and the Molly raiders. The BPA also dispatches patrols to the nearby Heaton Mining Facility from Gateshead. The station also houses numerous fabrication units to produce goods associated with the colonization of Carlisle and to supply nearby bases.

Bribes & Missions Offered

Bribes

Border World Exports Bretonia Mining & Manufacturing

Missions

Bretonia Police

Commodities

Imports

Commodity Price Hessian Tears 182$ Medical Equipment 33$ Molybdenum 172$ Light Arms 70$ Silver 151$ Diamonds 169$ Alien Organisms 23$ Food Rations 36$ H-Fuel 183$ MOX 21$ Pharmaceuticals 33$ Terraforming Gases 12$ Ageira Gate/Lane Parts 647$ Iridium 193$ Synth Paste 18$ Scientists 389$ Aluminium 211$ Munitions 61$ Xenobiotic Filters 54$ Passengers (Bretonia) 320$ Xeno Relics 246$

Exports

Commodity Price Deployable Mining Container 50,000$ Marines 475$ Criminals 369$ Crew 325$ Oxygen 9$ Water 9$ Consumer Goods 21$

Ships sold

Ship	Class	Price
Hawk	Light Fighter	14,182$
Falcon	Heavy Fighter	18,778$
Passenger Liner	Liner	1,250,000$

News

[833 AS] Gold Insecurity Invites Crisis

WATERLOO -- 833 -- Interspace analysts have published a report on the continued volatility of sector-wide Gold supplies, claiming that further instability invites disaster. The reports note the pressures placed on advanced Optronics, Bio-Neural Processor and Quantum Multiplexor manufacturing were already causing spiraling cost increases in adjacent market sectors. Market analysis also indicates that the bulk of Bretonian exports now consist of recycled and in some cases adulterated materials, likely indicating that stockpiles are running low. Interspace has called upon House authorities to collectively find the means of addressing the Dublin question before economic crisis becomes inevitable.

[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.

Rumors

Bretonia Police

Gateshead was constructed in orbit of Planet Carlisle initially as a supply station for a colony that was to be established there. That was, until the planet proved to be hostile to human life. Until that problem is solved, we won't be sending anyone down there, not without a proper bio-suit. We're always getting scientists coming here to study planet Carlisle. After they've been planetside for a few days, they're always coming back swearing that they never want to set foot on Carlisle ever again. Must be something scary down there, but whatever it is, they aren't talking. I served a tour over Leeds fighting the Gauls, and yet probably the closest I came to dying was up against an Outcast drug-runner. We were deep in the smog cloud, scanners practically fried, yet he flew like he had a perfect bead on me the whole time. Only reason I'm here today is I got lucky and he didn't. Some of the IMG escorts are better pilots than us. I suppose being out there in the Border Worlds without any Navy or Police to call on toughened them up, but it's still embarrassing when we receive a call from Bowex begging for help, and we arrive to find an IMG escort wing decimating the criminals. We're being beaten at our jobs by miners. Welcome to Gateshead, the gate to Carlisle. Be aware that the Carlisle surface is under quarantine and classified a biohazard, level four. How may I serve you today? A lot of policing has been handed off to corporate security forces by the Crown, mostly because we're stretched so thin we can barely keep the lanes clear. LD-14 is just too important to ignore, though, so here the Ark Royal stays. We need to update our defenses on this base soon. The Gaians won't attack Gateshead while the Armed Forces are using it as a staging grounds - Macduff would tear them a new one. But if the military leave, the station will be vulnerable. The defenses are outdated, and can barely deal with the odd fighter. Leeds used to be a dangerous place, and now it's practically a savage wasteland, yet the CO still wants me to take green trainees out on checkrides? It's no wonder half the berths are empty, we're too busy getting all our pilots killed! They say the surface of Carlisle is hostile to human life. From orbit it looks quite lush down there though - not as lush as Gaia, but still, a nice terrestrial world with a healthy bit of plantlife. I've only heared one story that might explain things. A scientist remarked a bio-seal on a colleague's suit failed. Apparantly, his skin started to dissolve, and his organs liquified, leaving little more than bones and goo behind. What could do such a thing? We're in the process of upgrading our equipment. Most pilots have received the new Cavalier and Paladin models, allowing us to better combat the new pirate vessels, which tore our obsolete Cavaliers to pieces. It is an expensive process, but the war has worked in our favor - these craft are being massproduced.

Border World Exports

Newcastle is an important system for Bretonia right now. Scarborough is second only to Southampton in terms of production capacity, and the mines on Middlesbrough could make up for the loss of Leeds a little. I think the Armed Forces realised this too, since we've got half their fleet huddled in this system. I wonder if they plan to go on the offensive. I advise you to avoid pretty much everywhere off the trade lanes. There are so many dangerous parts of Newcastle; If you wander off the beaten track you're just asking to die. Aside from the usual criminal groups using the asteroid fields to ambush unsuspecting ships, there are also rumors of old minefields scattered throughout the region. This place was built back in 692 AS to accommodate the many police patrols that pass through here, and the scientists that are always nosing about on Carlisle. It's not a bad place to be posted, and keeps you out of the line of fire, if you know what I mean?

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