Scarborough Shipyard

Scarborough Shipyard

File:Br07 05 base.png

Owner

Border World Exports

Location

F-5, Newcastle

CLASS: Loch Linnhe

GRAVITY: Partial

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: 970

Scarborough Shipyard is the headquarters of Border World Exports for the Newcastle system, and its main purpose is the manufacture of super alloys and high temperature alloys in conjunction with Bretonia Mining and Manufacturing. The station also serves as a shipyard, mainly servicing and constructing large civilian ships, though some military production is possible in times of need. A number of bounty hunters have also been frequenting the station because of frequent Molly attacks from the nebula west of Scarborough.

During the war, the Ark Royal protected the shipyard from attacks, however with the cessation of hostilties and the departure of the Embrun from the system, the Harlow, which had taken part in combat in Cortez moved to replace the Ark Royal. Bretonia, still without a shipyard and needing to replace lost ships, is using Scarborough to construct military ships and repair and maintain ships from the Harlow, at the expense of commercial production. The facilities, while not purpose built for military production, as a result of the Gallic war have undergone modification to provide some ship production capacity to reinforce the beleaguered Armed Forces fleets.

Bribes & Missions Offered

Bribes

Bretonia Police Border World Exports Bretonia Mining & Manufacturing Planetform, Inc. Gateway Shipping Bounty Hunters Guild

Missions

Bretonia Armed Forces Border World Exports Bounty Hunters Guild

Commodities

Imports

Commodity Price Robotics 26$ Ablative Armor Plating 42$ Gin 35$ Molybdenum 178$ Solar Panels 19$ Boron 37$ Beryllium 17$ Cobalt 33$ Hydrocarbons 21$ Oxygen 9$ Water 8$ Food Rations 34$ H-Fuel 185$ Basic Alloy 28$ Superconductors 45$ Pharmaceuticals 31$ Polymers 37$ Consumer Goods 17$ Iridium 198$ Neon 31$ Synth Paste 16$ Helium 60$ Aluminium 206$ Xenobiotic Filters 52$ HazMat Canisters 47$ Passengers (Bretonia) 318$

Exports

Commodity Price Deployable Mining Container 50,000$ Toxic Waste 21$ Super Alloy 11$ High-Temperature Alloy 14$ Hull Panels 26$ Crew 310$ MOX 26$ Engine Components 59$ Industrial Materials 39$

Ships sold

Ship	Class	Price
Bretonia Transport	Transport	126,006$
Bretonia Heavy Transport	Heavy Transport	1,006,006$
Bretonia Train	Super Train	1,506,006$

News

[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

Border World Exports

When Belfast was taken over by the Mollys - oh, excuse me, "abandoned", Scarborough became the nearest place to that Molly hive. We've faced an increasing number of attacks ever since. We've requested that the Armed Forces place a few weapon platforms to provide more defense, but so far they haven't come through. I suppose having the Ark Royal here reduces the urgency for them, though. The only known entrance and exit in this system is to New London via the Jump Gate. There were plans to build a Jump Gate to the Manchester system, but so far our pleas are left unanswered. Manchester would provide us with a quicker way to Liberty with our goods. I heard that Ageira might begin construction on one in the next couple of years, funded by Interspace and presumably paid for after the war ends, but who knows? Producing Super Alloys at Scarborough... It certainly puts this place on the map. Bretonian Super Alloys have been the standard for decades, an essential component in Hull Panel production across the colonies. It's another reason why I don't think the other houses, especially Liberty, can afford to have Bretonia fall to Gallia. It would cripple their ability to maintain their own fleets. Our escort pilots try and do a good job, but they are constantly overshadowed by the IMG escort fighters. They're just incredible. I've seen one shoot down three Outcast ships by itself before, and then it continued escorting its transport as if nothing had happened! I guess they get a lot of practice out in the Border Worlds though. The IMG were the first to discover the Newcastle system, although they just used the jump holes. They were already building South Shields by the time the Bretonian government built the Jump Gate. After the Jump Gate to Leeds was completed in 595 AS, BMM built Belfast to start exploiting Middlesbrough. We built Scarborough nearby to make use of the resources they mined. We mainly use Trains for our jobs. For the more experienced pilots on high-volume routes we may grant them a Crane-class, but that's somewhat rare as they are very expensive to produce. The standard Heron-class train consists of a tractor and container linkage, usually a top/bottom assembly. The larger the train, the larger the strain on the engines and linkage, so the more expensive the ship becomes. This system seemed a good place to build this station at the time. This is Bowex's only shipyard manufacturing facility and it is so modern that it can produce ships much faster than Southampton in New London. It was built here to take full advantage of the resources being mined at Belfast, but the Mollys rather upset that plan. Of course, Southampton can produce a lot more all at once, since it is much bigger. Belfast used to be owned by the BMM, a mining and production platform that used the abundant resources on Middlesbrough to supply Bretonia. Ever since the Mollys captured it, we've had requests from BMM to build warships here for an assault on Belfast, but Scarborough isn't equipped for military ship production. Besides, the government would never allow it. With all the forces in the system however, I think the Armed Forces stand a good chance to take Belfast back if they wanted to. I don't like being assigned to this system. The Outcasts, Mollys and occasional Gaian were bad enough, but now we've also got an invading army to deal with here. Gallia isn't exactly interested in raiding cargo here. They want to take the entire place over!

Bretonia Armed Forces

All of us based off the Ark Royal are really glad that Scarborough is so close by. The swill that passes for liqour on an Armed Forces battleship smells like what gets washed off a Gaian when he gets tossed in the tank for delousing prior to going into the brig. Bowex doesn't skimp on the good stuff, and I'm glad for it, even if it does cut into my paycheck. Morale has a price too I suppose, heh. The Outcasts seem to be keeping to themselves lately. It gives me the creeps, actually. They must be planning something big. Everybody knows they hate the IMG. My bet is that South Shields is going to be the target of a hostile takeover, and I'm not talking about somebody buying up the voting stock, know what I mean? My squadron commander just laughs off that suggestion though. He says the Outcasts have pulled out of Newcastle altogether. Right. He doesn't sign up to patrol the northern asteroid field himself, though, does he? Bowex always welcomes us with free drinks here. Too bad the rest of Bretonia doesn't appreciate the Armed Forces this much. Funny thing, though: I don't run into many Bowex security pilots on the station. They must run more rigorous patrols than we do to keep their pilots so busy. Either that or their own security rather leaves something to be desired. South Shields isn't especially worth much to Bretonia anyway. Cardiff, on the other hand, could really help the war effort. I don't have any great love for BMM, but I'd still rather see loyal Bretonians running a vital industry rather than shifty neutrals who you can't trust. The IMG wanted to be free from Bretonia anyway, so why should they exploit the nation's resources for their own gain? South Shields Refinery is in a precarious position. The IMG have worked out some kind of deal with Gallia so that the Gallic Navy leaves IMG operations alone, but we're still supposed to think that they are no threat to Bretonia's security. As far as I'm concerned, I've had enough with the IMG wanting to have their crumpets and eat them too. Either they're with us, or they're against us. If they're against us, then we should take their stations over. Belfast is a blight on Bretonia. I can't understand why the Ark Royal failed to boot those ruffians from the station when they took it in the first place. The fleet must have been caught off-guard, for even that entire station isn't a threat to a Battleship. With the loss of Leeds and the Mollys not exactly in a cooperative mood, I dare say it may be time for some... agressive negotiations concerning the return of that station to Bretonian control.

Bounty Hunters Guild

I should seriously consider getting out of Bretonia. I have my doubts about Bretonia's ability to stand firm against Gallia, not after the state Kusari left their navy in. They put on a stoic face, but Kusari was beating them badly. The last place I want to find myself is in the middle of a collapsing front line. Finally things livened up again around here. When the Mollys were flirting with peace, all you could peg here was the occasional Outcast or Gaian, not worth a whole lot. But now that those ruffians have decided to fly their true colors again, I'm back in business. Popped four of 'em yesterday, so I can afford the Bretonian Stout for a while!

Bretonia Mining & Manufacturing

Scarborough and Belfast were initially intended to be a chain of stations - resources mined from Middlesbrough would be converted to Basic Alloys and Hull Panels on Belfast itself, then shipped over to Scarborough for shipbuilding. That all went to hell when the Mollys managed to take it over. I do hope the Mollys decide to side with Gallia - that'd give the government all the reason they need to forcefully take that station back from them. Even without it, they'll have to sooner or later - without Leeds, we'll need the resources from Middlesbrough to keep the fleet operational. When Kusari first threatened Stokes, BMM decided to move our primary Super Alloying plant away from there. It is a critical part of the Bretonian economy, as other houses simply don't have the know-how or the raw materials on-hand to create Super Alloys of the quality we make. Bretonia only had a few stations that could support this operation - it requires an immense amount of power, so you need a station with a large generating core to co-locate at. Graves was deemed too risky, and Southampton couldn't handle the additional demand on their grid. Scarborough really was the only choice, but Bowex was happy to accomodate us. The loss of Leeds has been hard on all of Bretonia. I doubt even those IMG and Gateway fellows over on yon South Shields have been left unaffected. In the short term, we'll not feel the loss as harshly - BMM and Bretonia as a whole has had half a decade to prepare for this. But we have got to take Leeds back if we're to have any hope of beating Gallia back - if they can restart the factories on Leeds they'll have no problems maintaining their ships right on the frontline. That'd be the end of Bretonia.

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