Battleship Matsumoto

Battleship Matsumoto

File:Ku05 01 base.png

Owner

Kusari Naval Forces

Location

E/F-4/3, Kyushu

CLASS: Genji

CREW: CLASSIFIED

ARMAMENT: CLASSIFIED

Constructed in 796 AS, the Matsumoto is a symbol of Kusari's resilience in face of foreign and internal threats alike. Stationed in the Hokkaido system for decades, the battleship protected the Jump Gate construction site through to its completion. In 827 AS, the Matsumoto would spearhead Kusari’s advance into Gallia, alongside the Battleship Hamamatsu. The Matsumoto would lead Kusari’s efforts during the Sacking of Lorraine, and was allegedly responsible for the destruction of Planet Metz’ orbital mirrors.

The Matsumoto's crew were again put to the test in 833 AS, following reports from a Kusari Office of Intelligence source indicating that the Golden Chrysanthemum flagship Matsuda would soon be maneuvering in Kyushu. Following a rapid redeployment from Hokkaido, the Matsumoto and its squadrons successfully intercepted the Matsuda, destroying it after a pitched engagement. The Matsumoto itself would incur moderate damage through several Chrysanthemum suicide attacks.

The recent storms on Planet Kyushu have delayed the Battleship’s return to Kure Shipyard for repairs, following orders from New Tokyo to reinforce the KSP in providing area security for Samura vessels responding to the humanitarian crisis. Blood Dragons terrorists have intensified their raids in the region considerably in response, launching several probing attacks on the Matsumoto's defences.

Bribes & Missions Offered

Bribes

Kusari State Police Deep Space Engineering Samura Industries

Missions

Kusari Naval Forces

Commodities

Imports

Commodity Price Ablative Armor Plating 84$ Medical Equipment 39$ Light Arms 93$ Oxygen 14$ Water 13$ Food Rations 24$ H-Fuel 119$ MOX 35$ Pharmaceuticals 37$ Hull Panels 44$ Consumer Goods 25$ Engine Components 29$ Synth Paste 34$ Marines 738$ Munitions 68$ Xenobiotic Filters 60$ HazMat Canisters 55$ Passengers (Kusari) 253$ Xeno Relics 223$

Exports

Commodity Price Deployable Mining Container 50,000$ Toxic Waste 21$ Criminals 328$ Crew 383$

Ships sold

Ship	Class	Price
Chimaera	Heavy Fighter	15,008$
Umibozu	Bomber	66,376$
Wyvern	Very Heavy Fighter	23,729$

News

[833 AS] ALG reports escalating attacks in New Tokyo

NARITA OUTPOST -- 833 -- In recent months, ALG employees have reported a sharp increase in intimidation attempts by suspected Hogosha agents. The Rheinland-originating corporation says its Kusari-based personnel have been subjected to stalking and harassment, with several managers forced to leave Narita Outpost after personal information about their families was leaked to Farmers' Alliance terrorists. The corporation says these threats are linked to the ongoing negotiations for the decontamination of Roppongi Station. State Police have advised they are investigating ALG’s allegations.

[833 AS] Kyushu Faces Rising Temperatures And Falling Profits

Kyushu, the key to Samura's monopoly on the organically-grown food industry, has faced rising ocean temperatures lately, owing to a vast temperature surge in the mantle plume underneath its largest ocean. This has been compounded by the resultant eruption of several underwater volcanoes, releasing enormous quantities of greenhouse gases into the planet's atmosphere. Partially as a result of the geological activity, the equatorial monsoon season produced some of the strongest tropical storms ever recorded on Kyushu since its colonisation. These storms devastated the world's agricultural sector as they blew through the most fertile tropical lowlands, destroying as much as 20%% of the planet's annual crop yield, on top of damage to infrastructure and tragic loss of human life. Many rural communities are reported to be struggling, with some farming communities still remaining flooded ghost towns even a month after the worst of the storms abated, though smaller-scale tempests still rage around the equator. A Samura spokesperson outlined the company's intent to restore the planet and its communities to full productivity by the middle of next year, despite the ongoing circumstance.

[832 AS] Battleship Matsuda Meets Its Demise!

It had long been rumored that the grand Battleship Himeji had not been lost in the Tohoku system as previously thought; That it had been brought back and given a second life by the unlawful elements that are the antithesis of the Kusari state. This rumor had been proven true as the Kusari Office of Intelligence reported movements of a Meiji-class Battleship in the Kyushu system, deploying Golden Chrysanthemum fighter wings that seemed to deliberately target Kusari patrols in the northern part of the system. Immediately upon learning of this, Battleship Matsumoto and its battlegroup were redeployed from Hokkaido, and within two days were poised and ready to face this new threat. Only a short few hours later, a patrol of fighters reported a warship with the transponder reading Battleship Matsuda operating in the relative open, heading for but not yet reaching the relative safety of the Seiran Dust Cloud. Matsumoto itself departed with its escort to confront the Chrysanthemum battleship, close to the edge of the nebula. Within minutes of it coming into sensor range, bomber and fighter squadrons from both sides closed in and opening salvos were exchanged between the battleships. It didn't take long before the KNF's preparation was shown to be well worthwhile; their superior numbers whittled down or otherwise preoccupied the Chrysanthemum's fighter force leaving a variety of openings in the Matsuda's defensive cover for KNF bombers to exploit. While the Matsumoto was withstanding a heavy beating from the guns of its older sister, it was plain that the Matsuda was slowly being whittled away as its shields began to fail and the very same engine design flaws that had rendered it immobile in KNF service were now exploited by bomber wings to once again cripple the warship. After several more minutes, the Matsuda's escape pods began to eject from the ailing battleship, picked up by Chrysanthemum fighters as they fled deeper into the Seiran dust cloud. It didn't take long thereafter for the ship's powercore to falter and fail completely, culminating in a vast explosion that reportedly almost turned night to day on the dark side of Planet Kyushu, if only for a split second. Matsumoto itself sustained moderate damage in the engagement, relatively untouched by Chrysanthemum bombers however still suffering the ill effects of Matsuda's anti-capital weaponry. Despite its damage, it remains deployed in the Kyushu system to continue the blockade of the cardamine trade and to serve as a show of force to any who would challenge the might of the Emperor.

[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/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.

[825 AS] Ibusuki station massacred - Kusari enters war!

SAIGON -- 825 -- In a furious speech, Prime Minister Yukihara Reijiro of Kusari has declared a state of war against Rheinland. This follows the destruction of Ibusuki Survey Platform in Sigma-21, 12 hours before Rheinland's eviction ultimatum expired. Despite Rheinland's protests that it was not responsible for the act, Kusari has accused the Battleship Bayern of the murders, releasing the station's final distress calls that begged Rheinland forces to cease fire. As a result, Kusari has mobilized the Kusari Naval Forces to begin joint military operations alongside the Gas Miner's Guild. The Prime Minister has ordered Rheinland to withdraw all of its forces from the Sigmas immediately or face Kusari's fury.

[825 AS] Rheinland demands Ibusuki destruction

IBUSUKI SURVEY PLATFORM -- 825 -- Rheinland has issued an ultimatum for Ibusuki Survey Platform in Sigma-21 to be abandoned. The 48 hour warning has been provided to allow Kusari citizens time to evacuate from the jointly Kishiro and GMG operated station before the Battleship Bayern enforces the order. Kishiro Technologies has announced that it has assumed full administration of the platform to avoid being dragged into Rheinland's conflict with the Guild. Rheinland has reiterated that the platform must be abandoned, while the Bayern continues to advance towards Planet Saigon. Kusari has reacted with outrage to the development, threatening immediate repercussions if neutral Kusari citizens or property are harmed.

Rumors

Kusari Naval Forces

We are certain that the Hole to Chugoku is somewhere in the Kayo Cloud, but it is hard for us to linger long in there. The Blood Dragons emerge from the fog, destroy one ship of the patrol, then flee like cowards into the mists. It is very demoralizing on our pilots. It would have been virtually impossible to build the other end of this jump gate in Chugoku. It would have taken months to transport supplies and run the battleship cross the gap, and we would have been very close to the Chugoku base while attempting to construct the Gate. I am grateful that we found a better use for this project. I've heard that we will abandon this area of Hokkaido soon. Tokyo wants us to build a defensive line on the other side of the Kyofu Gap and leave it at that. All the Gas that Samura wants is in the southern end of the system anyway. We have more important assets to defend in Tau-53 and Tottori, but given the reaction of the Farmers to the new Kusari government, I wonder if we will be welcomed warmly in Tottori? Welcome to the end of the universe. You probably need a drink, and an anti-rad pill after crossing the Gap. The Kyofu makes life difficult here, because you can't just hop back to Tokyo to take your leave. They prefer to minimize exposure to once every two months for anyone posted here. Many Naval Forces fighters have been lost recently in skirmishes with the Blood Dragons. Due to the low visibility and difficult conditions in the cloud, some weapons could still remain on the ships in some of the more remote locations. We must also patrol the Trade Lanes to the jump gate through the Unyo Cloud. The terrorists would destroy all of the Samura and Farmer's Alliance convoys if we didn't. It is a tenuous balance in the northern end of Hokkaido. The patrols could sure use help up here. The enemy picks away at them, one by one. Never do any suicide assaults, at least not on us. They like to harass the jump gate and trade lanes. They'll fly right at transports, then swerve away at the last moment. It is most effective at unnerving the Gaijin and Kusari civilians alike. This is a most difficult situation. Tokyo insists that we defend this Jump Gate to the Tau-53 system in order to eliminate the Blood Dragon threat. But it is not easy to supply our ships across the Kyofu Gap. The Blood Dragons are patient, waiting for us to lower our guard for a moment. Then they strike out of the Kayo Cloud. We should move into Tau-53 itself, the dense clouds and radiation in Tau-53 would limit the movement of the Dragons, and allow us to patrol into both Hokkaido and Tottori. Why do the Blood Dragons hate the government and Samura so much? They seem to tolerate Kishiro and the GMG. I'm just a soldier following orders. I want this war to end so that I can go home to Kyushu. Unfortunately, it seems like there will be no simple resolution to this conflict. I hope the new government can find a way forward, we are going nowhere sitting here in Hokkaido. None of us know why we are here. The government should withdraw behind the Gap, or move us into Tau-53. That would be much easier to defend than this hell hole. It is a matter of saving face for the bureaucrats in Tokyo that approved this project. They cannot admit their error, or more likely, return the bribes they accepted from Samura.

Samura Industries

One of the more exotic requests we get from the Navy boys here on the Matsumodo is for Gallic Tobbaco. Who are we to deny them? The Commander of the Matsumodo has his own private smoking room for his own indulgences. He invited me to join him, he is one of the few Naval Forces commanders who still looks after Samura the way we used to be, and we intend to do the same in kind. Samura has had advisors here since the beginning of the Gate construction project. We have surveyed the Kayo and Unyo Clouds for potential Gas reserves. It appears that the southern area of the system is richer. That is probably for the best, as we may be forced to withdraw from this area soon. I'm not sure what they will do with this battleship now the gate is complete. Billions of Kusari credits have already been expended on the jump gate project. At the very least, it is a monument to the power that we have over the corrupt bureaucrats. Even with a new government, our claws dig deep into the bureaucracy. It will take years to weed out our influence, the new government will be thrown out long before then. The MOX run to this ship and the Chugoku gate is very dangerous. The enemy seem particularly interested in intercepting our special cargo. I don't know why we are supposed to return the Toxic Waste to Yokohama. We should just dump it in the Gap. Samura has accomplished our primary goal of establishing a viable gas field in Hokkaido. The government's assistance was invaluable achieving this goal. We no longer need to justify our presence in Hokkaido, we can stay well below the Gap around Sapporo, or move on into Tau-53. I'm not feeling so well -- probably all the radiation up here. I volunteered for the position because of all the hazard pay. The previous chief on the Hokkaido supply route refused to run it anymore. Now I understand why.

NOTE: Page generated on the 07/06/2024 at 15:55:47 UTC