Outcasts

Outcasts
Alignment	Unlawful

ALLIES:

Golden C., Liberty Rogues, Lane Hackers

ENEMIES:

House Authorities, House Corporations, Cryer, Corsairs, Hogosha, Farmers Alliance, Corse, Unioners, IMG, GMG

The enigmatic Outcasts are the principal producers and suppliers of the drug Cardamine throughout the Sirius sector. This substance, cultivated on their home planet of Malta from the razor-sharp blades of orange grass, fundamentally alters the genetic makeup of its users. This alteration ensures a permanent dependency on the Outcasts' benevolence, as they themselves have long since transformed into something post-human. Separated from their Corsair brethren by remaining on the Hispania rather than settling on Crete, they now find themselves clashing routinely in the Sigma and Omicron sectors. Ultimately the Outcasts view their Corsair counterparts as a mere obstacle in the way of their overarching ambition: to dominate the entire Sirius sector through the Cardamine trade, and the resulting endless supply of credits its users provide.

Ships used

Ship	Class
Gladius	Light Fighter
Dromedary	Freighter
Border Worlds Transport	Transport
Carabela	Heavy Fighter
Rapier	Very Heavy Fighter
Falcata Mk II	Bomber
Outcast Gunship	Gunboat
Outcast Destroyer	Cruiser
Outcast Battlecruiser	Battlecruiser
Outcast Battleship	Battleship
Outcast Dreadnought	Dreadnought
Outcast Heavy Transport	Heavy Transport

Bases owned

Base Owner System Region Cali Base Outcasts Tau-23 Tau Border Worlds Ruiz Base Outcasts Omicron Beta Edge Worlds Battlecruiser Tercio Outcasts Omicron Beta Edge Worlds Dreadnought Basilica Outcasts Omicron Alpha Outcasts Planet Malta Outcasts Omicron Alpha Outcasts Ibiza Base Outcasts Omicron Alpha Outcasts Corsica Shipyard Outcasts Omicron Alpha Outcasts Galicia Research Station Outcasts Omicron Beta Edge Worlds Havana Prison Outcasts Omicron Alpha Outcasts Destroyer Sicilia Outcasts Omicron Alpha Outcasts Battlecruiser Bastia Outcasts Tau-31 Tau Border Worlds

Bribes

Base Owner System Region Dreadnought Basilica Outcasts Omicron Alpha Outcasts Liner Brixton Junkers Burgundy Gallia Montezuma Base Liberty Rogues Cortez Independent Corsica Shipyard Outcasts Omicron Alpha Outcasts Rochester Base Junkers New York Liberty Alcatraz Depot Liberty Rogues California Liberty Trafalgar Base Junkers New London Bretonia Invergordon Drydock Junkers Inverness Independent Galicia Research Station Outcasts Omicron Beta Edge Worlds Planet Malta Outcasts Omicron Alpha Outcasts Beaumont Base Junkers Texas Liberty Freeport 6 Zoners Tau-29 Tau Border Worlds Barrier Gate Station C Freelancers Coronado Independent Halifax Freeport Freelancers Leeds Bretonia Ruiz Base Outcasts Omicron Beta Edge Worlds Amarillo Base Lane Hackers Texas Liberty Barrier Gate Station A Freelancers Coronado Independent Niverton Base Liberty Rogues Pennsylvania Liberty Planet New London, Landing Site Freelancers New London Atmosphere Bretonia Buffalo Base Liberty Rogues New York Liberty LPI Sugarland Liberty Police, Inc. Texas Liberty Allentown Base Junkers Pennsylvania Liberty Thunder Bay Depot Junkers Ontario Liberty Cochrane Depot Lane Hackers Ontario Liberty Barrier Gate Station B Freelancers Coronado Independent Destroyer Insidious Lane Hackers Coronado Independent Ibiza Base Outcasts Omicron Alpha Outcasts Mactan Base Lane Hackers Magellan Independent Freeport 10 Zoners Tau-37 Tau Edge Worlds Planet Houston Liberty Police, Inc. Texas Liberty Cali Base Outcasts Tau-23 Tau Border Worlds Planet Manhattan Liberty Police, Inc. New York Liberty

Diplomacy

View Reputation Bretonia Mining & Manufacturing -0.65% Unknown -0.65% Rheinland Military -0.65% Bretonia Armed Forces -0.65% Sirius Coalition -0.65% Rheinland Federal Police -0.65% Bretonia Police -0.65% The Maquis -0.65% MND -0.65% ALG Waste Disposal -0.65% Nomads -0.65% Detachment 16 -0.65% Border World Exports -0.65% Vagrants -0.65% Xenos -0.55% Cryer Pharmaceuticals -0.65% The Order -0.65% Bretonia Intelligence Service -0.3% Interspace Commerce -0.65% Object Unknown -0.65% Militants -0.3% Daumann Heavy Construction -0.65% Crayter Republic -0.65% Kruger Minerals -0.3% Kishiro Technologies -0.65% The Technocracy -0.65% Junkers +0.3% Deep Space Engineering -0.65% Gallic National Intelligence -0.65% Golden Chrysanthemums +0.65% Synth Foods, Inc. -0.65% EFL Oil & Machinery -0.65% Lane Hackers +0.65% Gateway Shipping -0.65% Gallic Metal Service -0.65% Liberty Rogues +0.65% Orbital Spa & Cruise -0.65% IDF Shipping -0.65% Outcasts +0.9% Imperial Shipping -0.65% Gallic Navy -0.65% Samura Industries -0.65% Gallic Gendarmerie -0.65% Universal Shipping -0.65% Bounty Hunters Guild -0.65% Planetform, Inc. -0.65% The Core -0.65% Ageira Technologies -0.65% Gas Miners Guild -0.65% Artificial Intelligence -0.65% Independent Miners Guild -0.65% Corsairs -0.65% Kusari Naval Forces -0.65% Unione Corse -0.65% Kusari State Police -0.65% Farmers Alliance -0.65% Liberty Security Force -0.65% Kusari Office of Intelligence -0.65% Liberty Navy -0.65% Gaians -0.65% Alaska Security Forces -0.65% Hogosha -0.65% Liberty Police, Inc. -0.65%

Rumors

Trafalgar Base From here we ship to Liberty via the Rogue base Montezuma in Cortez. They can't get enough of our Cardamine, so as long as we keep it flowing they are under our control. They make good attack dogs. Soon more of the criminal factions will become addicted, along with the house elite who are just looking for their next highs. When we've got control of both, we'll essentially control the houses - then our revenge will be complete. The Outcast ship Lorenzo was making a Cardamine run from Cali to Mactan when it was caught by a military patrol in the LD-14 Asteroid Field. It turned further into the heart of the field to escape its pursuers and stumbled into an old radioactive pocket. The crew is presumed dead, but the ship is probably still intact. No one has retrieved the cargo yet due to the high radiation danger in the area. BMM was no match for our forces in Tau-23. The IMG are more tenacious but also hardly a match. The Gallic forces that have taken over the BMM base are a different story. Their craft aren't as strong as ours, but they are highly maneuverable. Still, we will force them out of the system and destroy the Jump Gate. Our survival as a sovereign nation is at stake. Cali is a crucial distribution point for Cardamine on the trip to Bretonia and Liberty. Gallia has become a greater threat to us then Bretonia or even those annoying IMG miners ever posed. They encroach on both Malta and all our smuggling routes over the Tau borderworlds towards Liberty, and could threaten Malta itself. The Dons have made hampering Gallic efforts in Bretonia a priority. So long as Gallia is busy with Bretonia, they won't have the resources to focus on us. The San Vicente was making a Cardamine run from Cali to New London when it was ambushed by an Armed Forces patrol in the West Leeds Smog Cloud. The cargo was recovered by the military, but it is possible that one of the larger pieces of debris still has some equipment attached. So you're interested in working for us? Try running a load of Cardamine to Magellan or Cortez for us. The Lane Hackers would appreciate that. Be sure to stay away from any military or police ships, they'll likely open fire on you if you're loaded with Cardamine. Cardamine was the one good thing that fate gave us. When we first landed on Malta the weak who didn't want to live anymore could go to a better place chewing the orange grass. Taking an extreme dose of Cardamine raw from the grass is almost always fatal, but it's a gentle way to go. It was also a curse, as we became dependent on Cardamine to survive, though we don't get a high from it anymore. Now we use Cardamine to make money. Eventually we'll run Sirius. Once a large enough portion of the populace is hooked, we've got them. The Rogues and Golden Chrysantemums are proof of that. We buy Side Arms for the Cali base in Tau-23 here. It's not an easy Jump Hole route between Trafalgar and our base out there. Fortunately, the Barrier offers plenty of cover, and there are several routes available to us. My favorite is over Dublin and Edinburgh. The Gallics make things a bit more interesting on that route now, but dealing with militaries is nothing new to us. They can't use their capital ships inside the asteroid fields, so we have the upper hand there. Halifax Freeport I try not to stay here too long... I'm wary of any station that creaks and groans as much as this one does. As long as you don't bring a tail here, this is a good place to stop-over if you're bringing anything 'suspicious' into or out of Bretonia. And if you need a fix, I'd be more than happy to provide. It feels like it's getting harder to slip through Leeds unmolested these days. Police are still few and far between, but there seem to be more and more military patrols every day, and they don't seem to be as concerned with taking you in alive. Cali Base I have killed more than a thousand men and stolen a kingdom of riches. Even now there are two veteran Bounty Hunters that stalk me: one for revenge, the other for reward. They will have to follow me across the stars, for I am bound to another place. Neither one will live beyond Tau-37; Benitez will see to that. One of our allies is the Rogues. They aren't our partners as much as our pawns. We have them under control because they are addicted to Cardamine. Soon more groups will fall to the allure of the drug, and they will also be ours to control. I see this upon the horizon for the Golden Chrysanthemums. We receive the Cardamine from where it is processed on Malta, and then we distribute it into Sirius. Our path towards Liberty passes through Coronado, where we encounter hinderance from the Crayter Republic, while our path towards Bretonia is through Newcastle. The recent military conflicts in the Taus had made shipping Cardamine in secrecy all the more difficult. Our raiders keep a close eye on the movements of Gallic ships in the Taus. Sure, they gave the Crayter Republic the bloodletting it deserved, but having them interlope here is just as bad. If left unchecked it would be only a matter of time before their scouts find the passage to Omicron Alpha. The Gallic invaders had lost all the foothold they once had in this system. Their Jump Gates and Trade Lanes have been disabled, but this does not mean they would not be back again. It is a matter of time before they or the Sirians try to lay claim on our system again. The Gallic battleship protecting Java Station has been withdrawn from the system and the Jump Gates were sabotaged. This means that Tau-23 is once again a lawless place. The upside is that the miners still here would be easy pickings. The downside is that their cargo convoys will be much more sparse than they were before. I yearn for my return to Malta. I miss the orange fields of grass and sprawling plantations. The Cardamine is so woven into my blood that even my skin feels dry and cracked without the winds of my home planet upon it. If you don't mind risking NCR status in Liberty, you may be interested in shipping our drugs. You can take the Cardamine from here and sell it at any Rogue or Junker base. The closer you get to capitol systems, the more dangerous it gets. But it's also more rewarding. The best delivery point is Buffalo Base, a Liberty Rogue base in the Badlands in New York. Our most valued Cardamine customer is the Lane Hackers. Not only do they pay us well for our Cardamine, they will barter valuable Trade Lane information for it. I foresee them becoming completely dependent upon us. Soon their Trade Lane technology will be ours. It's been hard to crack into the Kusari market with our drug, because their strongest crime syndicate, the Hogosha, refuse to deal with us. But we have found allies within Kusari who will help us tap that well. The Golden Chrysanthemums have discovered the allure of Cardamine. The Jump Hole to Tau-37 remains hidden to most amongst the asteroids that populate this system. Unfortunately the IMG found their way there. Beyond it you will find the way to Omicron Alpha, which is the location of our home planet, Malta. I am Santiago Llorens. Perhaps you have heard of me? My Don, Don Miguel of the Benitez Cartel has asked me a favor, and I cannot deny him. I will soon leave this base and cross the Edge Worlds to kill a man he asked me to. We trust you, so I will tell you how to make yourself very rich. The Cardamine brought to this base comes from Malta. It is there that we also receive all necessary supplies to run this base. Delivering Cardamine to our allies in Liberty and Kusari is dangerous, but very rewarding. The IMG miners in this system capitulated to the Gallics as soon as it was demanded. Pathetic... We'll do no such thing. We were here long before those interlopers showed up, and will continue to be here long after. We get our Side Arms from the Junkers at Rochester in New York. It would be very lucrative to run Cardamine there and return here with Detroit Side Arms. Tau-23 is our space. Unfortunately Bretonia, the IMG and even Gallia have begun encroaching upon us. Niobium and Beryllium have been discovered here, and the miners have followed looking for it. That is why this base is mobilized for sorties. We're fighting to keep their operations from spreading beyond this system towards Malta. Freeport 10 The Jump Hole to our core systems is well hidden because of all the nebulas in this system. This part of Sirius is also very isolated from the colony Houses. That's why we didn't discover each other for so long. Now Sirius just seems to keep getting smaller. I suppose that is alright as long as our Cardamine continues to sell. The IMG followed the Zoners into this system; they are chasing the Niobium deposits in the asteroids that litter the space here. For now they have managed to elude us, but when we find that base none shall be spared. Those people should not have come here. They offer us nothing but trouble, so there can be no mercy. We use this base as a stopover for Cardamine shipments running between Malta and Cali. There was a time when we attacked this place and hunted the Zoners, because they were too close to us. After a while we realized that it was a convenience for us to have them here, so for now the Zoners enjoy relative safety. Many of the components that we use to build our ships come from this base. It is one of the reasons we let the Zoners live here. Ship Hull Panels, Construction Machinery, and Polymers are only a portion of the goods we ship to Malta. Ruiz Base Freelancer base Newport supplies us here at Ruiz with almost everything we need to keep this place running and our men and women properly equipped. Whatever surplus we bring in goes to our home, Malta. Many of the Commodities we send to Malta will be used to build our attack craft and support Cardamine smugglers. Orbital's Hawaii liner in Sigma-19 draws a lot of unwanted visitors near our territory. Sometimes we'll run attacks against the liner if they come too close. It is also a hindrance to our drug trade, because our smuggling route requires us to pass through Sigma-19. There'd be a lot fewer eyes in that system if the Hawaii weren't there. Our sworn enemy is Cryer Pharmaceuticals. Cryer is trying to replicate Cardamine so they can take over the drug market with their harmless alternative. It will be legalized, regardless of how dangerous it is. Their ships in this system or in any Outcast space will be destroyed immediately. The Alien Organisms we get here are sent to Malta to boost our Cardamine cultivation on the plantations. The organisms we don't need in Malta are shipped to Freeport 10 and sold for extra income. Once we discovered how to use Alien Organisms, the agriculture on Malta boomed. The creatures make for a kind of super fertilizer that causes the Cardamine grasses to grow twice as fast and become twice as potent. They even allow more Foods to grow on Malta. I have killed more than a thousand men and stolen a kingdom of riches. Even now there are two veteran Bounty Hunters that stalk me: one for revenge, the other for reward. They will have to follow me across the stars, for I am bound to another place. Neither one will live beyond Tau-37; Benitez will see to that. The Cardamine we receive here from Malta will be shipped to different destinations throughout Rheinland via Yanagi. I miss the orange grasses swaying softly in the warm winds of my home, but I must do what my Don has asked of me. This is Outcast space, and any ships that come into this system better be welcomed by us. The GMG has been sending ships into our turf looking for Alien Organisms. It's no doubt they are working for Planetform or Samura, maybe even Cryer. When we catch them we kill them. This is the stopover for Cardamine shipments that will be delivered to the Junkers at Yanagi. We get the Cardamine from Malta, where it is processed. Malta is one system over through the northern Jump Hole. I am Santiago Llorens. Perhaps you have heard of me? My Don, Don Miguel of the Benitez Cartel has asked me a favor, and I cannot deny him. I will soon leave this base and cross the Edge Worlds to kill a man he asked me to. We have lived so long on Malta that our genes have mutated, and now we require Cardamine to live. On Malta it's in everything: our Food, soil, air, and Water. After a while it got so we needed it. Somehow the Cardamine also had a negative effect on our birth rate. Fewer and fewer Outcasts are being born, though we live much longer. Dreadnought Basilica Enslave Sirius? Some of us would like to do it, but Malta can’t produce enough harvest for such aspirations. No, no, our long-term goals are influence operations aimed at the wealthy elites in the Colonies through our Cardamine. The highest echelons in Liberty are not so far from being willing to listen to our whispers -- that is, unless something goes wrong again in our distribution network, or we fail to cut Stabiline production enough. We are incredibly vain beings when you think about it. We're obsessed with our own perfection, from superficial aesthetic perfection to more abstract matters like spiritual perfection. Not only do we not show weaknesses, but we often don't even admit them to ourselves. That's why the Slave Rebellion happened as it did, and we almost lost everything. Few things unsettle our people as much as the thought of being sent to the destroyer Havana for re-education as punishment. The new owners of this vessel, the De Angelis Cartel, are experts at manipulating our minds to achieve their goals. Nobody aboard Havana is subjected to physical torture, yet everyone who returns is a completely changed person. Fortunately, this punishment is exceedingly rare, reserved only for the most troublesome criminals and traitors. The dreadnought Basilica does not belong to any specific family or cartel; it answers directly to the Council of Dons, who are also responsible for appointing her captain. Their sacred duty is to safeguard Malta from any invaders who might threaten it. Although she is unlikely to leave Omicron Alpha anytime soon, serving aboard the Basilica is an exceptionally demanding role, reserved for only the most experienced among us. The position requires an unusually high degree of discipline and responsibility, even by our standards. Reproductive medicine will never solve our population problems. It's a cultural matter and the pace at which we plan and live our long lives. However, I don't see this as a fundamental problem unless some of our Dons come up with some foolish idea like conquering other systems by force and numbers. Compared to our enemies, we have a unique and long-term perspective, and that should be our main advantage around which all our future plans should revolve. Memories and focus of our enemies tend to be short, after all. That our nation is plagued by infertility? It's a two headed issue; the problem of our population growth is much more complicated. As our lives lengthen, our biological instincts change, and there's very little that can be done about that. Our families are large, larger than is common in the Colonies, but siblings can be separated by decades or entire generations. That's the price of our longevity, and the reason why, even though our population is steadily growing, we are not able to compete in numbers with the Corsairs. Death and the afterlife have always been integral parts of our culture and identity. Death for us, at least according to our traditions, isn't a definitive end but a form of spiritual transformation, even though currently irreversible. That's why funeral rituals are very important to us, and our burial sites are extremely sacred. Insulting our dear departed is often as serious as insulting a living family member, if not worse. They may be dead, but they are not gone. Have you ever seen the shrines in Santa Verna? They are masterpieces of art, a sensory experience you'll remember for the rest of your life. Master sculptor Estebano Solano, who was responsible for the decorations in the early seventh century, imprinted the philosophical wisdom of life, death, and transformation into the local stone as if guided by divine inspiration. It is truly an honor for our elites and celebrities to rest there in eternal sleep. Malta has never been more united than it is now, especially after the Slave Rebellion reminded us of the intentions all outsiders in Sirius have towards our people. However, this does not mean our society is free of political tension. The fall of the Benitez family has created a power vacuum, which various smaller families and cartels, now free from their influence, are attempting to fill. Planet Manhattan, Landing Site The profits are unparalleled, now more than ever. Nowhere else in the entire galaxy can you make this much money on selling a dream. We have to stay pretty low profile here. They say if you get caught, you will either be thrown into a prison with no access to you-know-what and slowly die, or sold off to Cryer for god knows what. Planet New London, Landing Site I do not know why I come here, I cannot stand any of the other customers. We have begun shipping the Orange Dream to New London again after the war concluded, and the nobles here can not get enough of it. Do I know you? I saw you talking to the Corsair the other day. Let me warn you, deal with them, and you deal with death. If I do not leave the planet within 37 hours I will die a slow and painful death, good morning to you. Nearly every Royal Naval officer and Gallic official that I speak to wants to know about Samura's Quantum Multiplexor technology. They ask many questions, but they don't give any answers if you ask them why they are so interested. Samura is desperate to expand their exports to Gallia, but I'm not so sure that Kusari should allow that technology to fall into Gallic hands. The Liberty and Bretonian governments are adamant in their opposition to it, no doubt about that. I think the folk here forgot what we look like, makes walking around pretty easy. Planet Malta After several centuries when we began to venture back out into space, some of our ships did not return. Eventually we realized the cause: the Cardamine we were exposed to on Malta had slowly altered our genetic code and made us dependent on the drug. The breather masks give us enough Cardamine to survive outside of Malta. The Hispania, our sleeper ship that launched from Sol, escaped the Coalition forces undamaged, but there was a saboteur aboard. We had almost made it to Sirius when an explosion woke the crew and her passengers from their stasis sleep. The ship was crippled, adrift in the vastness of interstellar space. Entire plantations have been burned, family lines ended, and for what? Some misguided notion of freedom? It's naive, but perhaps I shouldn't expect better from slaves with more ambition than sense. They might not be able to bring themselves to admit it, but even now they need us, they need what only we can provide. When the Outcasts discovered the other inhabitants of Sirius we wanted to destroy them. We believe that the sabotage of the Hispania was the work of another colony trying to lessen competition for resources. Instead of throwing our lives away in an attack, the Dons decided to seek revenge with the Cardamine. If we can get enough of Sirius hooked, we will rule this space. MOX is always in demand here. We use it for our larger ships, and we have discovered a means of making extremely destructive weaponry from it. Should a large navy enter this system, it would soon be destroyed by our planetary defense missiles. The missiles are a vehicle for chain-reaction, plutonium-tipped warheads. Malta imports most of its vital Commodities from Yanagi and Ruiz. The Junkers have made our lives on this planet much easier. We have used the riches that Cardamine has made us to build a paradise in place of what was once a prison. When the Hispania was badly damaged while traveling to the Sirius Sector, the crew had to determine the best way to survive. Half of the crew wanted to abandon ship and make the rest of the journey using Hispania's shuttles; the other half believed they could reach Sirius in the Hispania. Those who chose to stay behind held the ship together until planetfall here on Malta. There are other survivors of the Hispania: the Corsairs. Once long ago we were brethren, the scourge of southern Sirius. The Cardamine and time have changed us. We share very little in common with Corsairs now; they have become more our competitors than anything else. The orange grasses that cover Malta are the source of Cardamine. Several years after our arrival, one of our scientists discovered how to process the drug into its current form. The grasses are one of a few plants that will grow in such acidic soil. The Outcasts consider the Siniestre Nube a sacred place for several reasons. Early explorers discovered a Jump Hole within the depths of the cloud that led to a strange world of ringed stars and strange craft. All ships in the burial ground are placed facing that Hole to honor the alien spirits. Cardamine is shipped directly to Buffalo in New York. New York and Liberty offer us the greatest opportunity to exploit the benefits of a Cardamine addicted people. In the heart of the Siniestre Cloud is an intense radiation pocket of unknown origins. Over the centuries, this area -- located midway between the Omicron Beta Hole and the planet Carinea -- became the traditional burial grounds of great Outcast pilots. When a warrior dies, they are put in their ship with their most treasured weapons and set adrift in the zone, always facing towards the source of the spirits. But be careful, strange alien beings are said to guard this most sacred of Outcast places. I was in Liberty overseeing the cardamine trade there when the revolt began. The distance meant that it took time before I received my summons to return as urgently as I could. Malta's orbit was locked down by then, and I spent several more months trying but failing to make landfall. When I began to fall ill, I was sure that would be the end. Our victory in retaking the missile defense grid cleared me a path to the surface, and while I was too ill to fight, I now find myself the sole inheritor of vast swaths of land. These ruined holdings could together make a city if restored properly, and I will see it done. When we arrived on this planet there was nothing but sprawling fields of tall orange grasses. Our first foraging parties often didn't return. When we sent others after them, we found out why. One becomes severely lacerated after just a few minutes walking through the razor-sharp grasses. If you continue much longer, you eventually bleed to death. We are the ones who were left behind. We were not meant to survive, but we did, and in doing so we have become much more. The Cardamine has tied us to this planet, but it has changed us into something greater than you can understand. We are destined to rule Sirius one day. It will be our revenge upon those who wished to destroy us. Many of the components we require to manufacture our ships come from Freeport 10, including Ship Hull Panels, Polymers, and Construction Machinery. More is always needed. An ancient race of beings developed the orange grasses on our planet. The codes within the genetic structure of the grass transform the user slowly. We are not human because we have been given a gift and can see further into truth than any man. Human beings are infants dabbling in the loam of an expansive ocean that stretches beyond the horizon. The Cardamine has let us see this. The Cardamine cartels ship the drug from this planet to our two distribution centers: Ruiz and Cali. From there it travels throughout Sirius, infecting the populace with the hunger for more of what we have to sell. The first several years after we arrived were touch and go. Many people starved; others simply gave up and died strung out on Cardamine. They would stare out into the distance -- all hope gone from their faces, and purple juice dribbling from their mouths. There were more than four sleeper ships that left for Sirius. Eight ships launched from the Federation dockyards on Pluto those many centuries ago. The Coalition fleet intercepted them before they could activate their jump drives, and three of the sleeper ships were destroyed in Sol. Five ships escaped, four of them might sound familiar: the Liberty, the Rheinland, the Bretonia, and the Kusari. The fifth was the Hispania. The new ruling families have proclaimed that slavery will never return to Malta, that this destruction must serve as a reminder that our birthright is ours alone, not something to be shared with the dregs of the sector. My master, Don Lucio is dead, his kin joined him. The other families now circle what remains of his holdings like vultures, posturing and litigating against one another for sole right over his possessions. I suspect many other families have suffered this fate, and that the old order of things has also been a casualty in this war. Why have we flourished? Why are our ships so well crafted and designed? We operate on a higher order of being. Many wonder why we take life so easily. It is because this life is just a dream of what truly is. What human beings cherish is an illusion; there is no such thing as death, only change. Ibiza Base Orbital's Hawaii liner in Sigma-19 draws a lot of unwanted visitors near our territory. Sometimes we'll run attacks against the liner if they come too close. It is also a hindrance to our drug trade, because our smuggling route requires us to pass through Sigma-19. There'd be a lot fewer eyes in that system if the Hawaii weren't there. Once we discovered how to use Alien Organisms, the agriculture on Malta boomed. The creatures make for a kind of super fertilizer that causes the Cardamine grasses to grow twice as fast and become twice as potent. They even allow more Foods to grow on Malta. Our sworn enemy is Cryer Pharmaceuticals. Cryer is trying to replicate Cardamine so they can take over the drug market with their harmless alternative. It will be legalized, regardless of how dangerous it is. Their ships in this system or in any Outcast space will be destroyed immediately. Many of the components we require to manufacture our ships come from Freeport 10, including Ship Hull Panels, Polymers, and Construction Machinery. More is always needed. We have lived so long on Malta that our genes have mutated, and now we require Cardamine to live. On Malta it's in everything: our Food, soil, air, and Water. After a while it got so we needed it. Somehow the Cardamine also had a negative effect on our birth rate. Fewer and fewer Outcasts are being born, though we live much longer. Corsica Shipyard It's been hard to crack into the Kusari market with our drug, because their strongest crime syndicate, the Hogosha, refuse to deal with us. But we have found allies within Kusari who will help us tap that well. The Golden Chrysanthemums have discovered the allure of Cardamine. Our most valued Cardamine customer is the Lane Hackers. Not only do they pay us well for our Cardamine, they will barter valuable Trade Lane information for it. I foresee them becoming completely dependent upon us. Soon their Trade Lane technology will be ours. Cardamine is shipped directly to Buffalo in New York. New York and Liberty offer us the greatest opportunity to exploit the benefits of a Cardamine addicted people. Please excuse me; I am still mourning my son. An ordinary Bounty Hunter from Liberty humbled him. He put too much faith in our innate abilities and the tales that we are naturally the best pilots in Sirius. Well, we are, but it's much more complicated than it appears at first glance. We seem to always know where we are and where our target or destination are, regardless of visibility or interference, but we have to know how to use this sense. My son, as you can see, couldn't harness this and allowed himself to be challenged to a deadly duel in open, unobstructed space. When the Outcasts discovered the other inhabitants of Sirius we wanted to destroy them. We believe that the sabotage of the Hispania was the work of another colony trying to lessen competition for resources. Instead of throwing our lives away in an attack, the Dons decided to seek revenge with the Cardamine. If we can get enough of Sirius hooked, we will rule this space. How long can our kind actually live? No one knows, not even our foremost geneticists. The fact is, our lives extend with each generation, and we already live much longer than we did a century or two ago. Nevertheless, it's quite peculiar how many of us choose premature death over dying of old age. They want everyone to remember them when they were in their prime, not helpless and on their deathbed. Premature death takes many forms -- from fighting against overwhelming odds to Morte Dormiente -- the Sleeping Death from planet Carinea. Many of the components we require to manufacture our ships come from Freeport 10, including Ship Hull Panels, Polymers, and Construction Machinery. More is always needed. There are other survivors of the Hispania: the Corsairs. Once long ago we were brethren, the scourge of southern Sirius. The Cardamine and time have changed us. We share very little in common with Corsairs now; they have become more our competitors than anything else. Galicia Research Station Our sworn enemy is Cryer Pharmaceuticals. Cryer is trying to replicate Cardamine so they can take over the drug market with their harmless alternative. It will be legalized, regardless of how dangerous it is. Their ships in this system or in any Outcast space will be destroyed immediately. The Alien Organisms we get here are sent to Malta to boost our Cardamine cultivation on the plantations. The organisms we don't need in Malta are shipped to Freeport 10 and sold for extra income. We have been experimenting with Cardamine in an attempt to make it grow inside the station's bio-dome. If this venture proves successful we would no longer be chained to Malta. Sadly there has been little success so far. This is Outcast space, and any ships that come into this system better be welcomed by us. The GMG has been sending ships into our turf looking for Alien Organisms. It's no doubt they are working for Planetform or Samura, maybe even Cryer. When we catch them we kill them. Battlecruiser Bastia The Red Hessians were once with us against the Corsairs, but they feared our influence and broke the alliance. Bretonia called for our help against the Gallic Royal Navy, but betrayed us as soon as that threat was gone. Many Sirians don't stay our allies for long, but those we made dependent on Cardamine like the Liberty Rogues will always remain loyal to us as they have no other choice. A rumor is circling about a recently found Gate to another world populated by the Great Spirits. No one really knows what disaster befell Corsica, but drilling the shipyard complex into the planetoid's husk saved us a lot of money on station hull plates. First was Corsica, named after the rock, followed by Valletta and Venice is the newest addition to the Outer Sanctum. If you take the jump hole to Tau-37 you will see the wreck of the carrier Hades on the other side. We hauled it as a trophy from Tau-44 to serve as a reminder to those who would dare cross the Outcasts. Mactan Base I've just completed a Cardamine run from our base in Newcastle, Gibraltar. Unlike Liberty, there aren't many places to lay over in Bretonian space, but that's allright. The main route into Liberty doesn't go over Magellan anymore, but passes by Baffin and Coronado. I'm starting to get sick - guess I've been away from home too long. These runs to Liberty can be taxing. The inhaler masks aren't a long term substitute for the Cardamine-infused biosphere of Malta, and the concentrated Cardamine doses we sell to the Rogues and Hackers aren't suitable for us. It'll be a week or two before my condition gets critical. I plan to be back home well before then. We often make Cardamine shipment transfers at the Rogue base in the Cortez system, or here. I'm heading on to the California Rogue hideout with my Cardamine - I can make more money with only a little more risk. The Rogues can then handle the last leg into Liberty. I don't like going there, too many Bounty Hunters. If you want to get in with us, you'll need to take some Cardamine on a short run. Be friendly to the Hackers and Rogues; stay away from those Corsairs, though. Bad news. The Corsairs came here on the same sleeper ship as us, the Hispania, but decided to abandon the ship before it arrived at its destination. We had to build our fortunes with less then half the resources the other Houses had. Of all the factions in Sirius, these are the ones that know what they want and how to get it. They have more money than they need, and all the information they need to get more. We are blessed that the Hackers are so willing to spend their money on our Cardamine. Their intelligence helps us nab the goods we need back home, so once we deliver a load of Cardamine, we're always eager to fill up our freighters again before heading back. The Lane Hackers Trade Lane technology access is truly remarkable; Hackers give us specific information regarding ship manifests. As payment, they often alert us to high-value cargo coming through the system in return for our Cardamine shipments. If we could only get our hands on their technology... Montezuma Base I'm making the quick hop to Alcatraz tomorrow with a small payload of drugs. They've got Cardamine sleep chambers at the base here for itinerants like me. Not bad for an icy rock in the middle of nowhere. I'm heading out to Beaumont, the pit of Texas, to deliver another load of Liberty's poison. It was a long journey from Cali. These Rogues are scum, but they perform an essential duty for us -- at least for now. Heading back out to Cali with Side Arms. They're so cheap here -- much better deal than at Trafalgar. On my way in from Buffalo yesterday I did some target practice on a Universal convoy in California. Paid off -- got some Luxury Goods bound for New London. Barrier Gate Station A The Orange decks are getting really crowed. Not only do the all of us Outcasts live down there, we have all the junkies coming down to try and huff our enriched air. Not that it does them any good, the concentration of what we breathe and what they smoke is completely different. Although this station is considered a "Freeport", almost 30% of this stations' population is Outcast; making us the most influential of the factions on this base. Out with DSE, in with the Colonials. Although we tended to shoot them in the Taus, who knows what will happen here. We can't bring large fleets in due to Baffin, they have their entire military here. Barrier Gate Station B The Orange decks are getting really crowed. Not only do the all of us Outcasts live down there, we have all the junkies coming down to try and huff our enriched air. Not that it does them any good, the concentration of what we breathe and what they smoke is completely different. Although this station is considered a "Freeport", almost 30% of this stations' population is Outcast; making us the most influential of the factions on this base. Out with DSE, in with the Colonials. Although we tended to shoot them in the Taus, who knows what will happen here. We can't bring large fleets in due to Baffin, they have their entire military here. Barrier Gate Station C The Orange decks are getting really crowed. Not only do the all of us Outcasts live down there, we have all the junkies coming down to try and huff our enriched air. Not that it does them any good, the concentration of what we breathe and what they smoke is completely different. Although this station is considered a "Freeport", almost 30% of this stations' population is Outcast; making us the most influential of the factions on this base. Out with DSE, in with the Colonials. Although we tended to shoot them in the Taus, who knows what will happen here. We can't bring large fleets in due to Baffin, they have their entire military here. Buffalo Base This is a very cheap place for us to purchase Side Arms for our bases far out in the Edge Worlds. The Rogues bring them across New York for us. We have stopovers in Trafalgar, Mactan, and Montezuma on our journey in from Tau-23. If you want to make big money in the Cardamine business, you need to work your way up the stream a bit from here. Rochester ships black market H-Fuel to Manhattan. It's all stolen property that we are selling back to the very people who owned it in the first place. This is the end of the road for Cardamine shipments, at least as far as we're concerned. The Rogues are annoying at times, but serve our purposes well. If Liberty becomes weakened enough by Cardamine addiction, we will no longer need them, as we will be able to enter the rest of the New York system ourselves. I enjoy watching junkies in the last stages of the Cardamine addiction; they sit there oblivious to their surroundings, staring into space. They walk through golden palaces in their minds while in reality their bodies are rotting away in whatever hovel they found as shelter for their last high. Rochester Base If I were to tell you what matters most to our people, the answer might surprise you -- it’s not money, power, or starships. Our families are the very purpose of our existence and the reason we do what we do. We strive to provide for our loved ones, protect them, and pass on the torch to the next generation. Entire family branches live close together, often forming villages or smaller towns. Every Outcast has a large family -- life without one is practically unimaginable, incomprehensible to us. Although rare, it is not impossible for a Maltese man or woman to take a outsider as a life partner. These are usually short-lived romances, more of a distraction than anything else. Even if we don't have the familial customs of the Corsairs, such affairs do not always leave foreigners unscathed -- our men are known as free-spirited heartbreakers, while our women... well, I would compare them to the wild Maltese roses: stunning, eternally youthful, but with deadly, poisonous thorns. Alcatraz Depot Those annoying Xenos seem to think that they will be able to defeat the Junkers and force us to use them as our intermediaries. They are sorely mistaken in that assumption. A few of our brethren are prisoners at Sugarland. The supply of Cardamine in the prison is adequate to keep them alive. Those that have been sent to Huntsville with the Xenos don't last long. I'm running a Cardamine load in from the Lane Hacker base in Magellan. Just taking a Cardamine break before I head on to Buffalo in the Badlands. It's a very long journey to Liberty from where I come from. California is one of the richest systems in Sirius. On our way back home we'll hit shipments cruising through the Trade Lanes here; we have plenty of cover in the ice fields that populate the system. They cover us as we smuggle our way in and steal our way back out again. I love California. If you want to really make some money with us, come to Cali in Tau-23. Its exact location is up to you to discover. We do quick hops across these systems. I'm on a convoy headed for Beaumont in the Texas Debris Fields. We started in Cortez yesterday at the Rogue base. Normally the Rogues do these runs, but they were losing too many shipments. Sometimes you just have to do it yourself. The Liberty battleship Yukon might scare a lot of thieves and petty criminals, but it doesn't bother the Outcasts. We can lose her patrols in the ice fields as we cross the system. Beaumont Base The Outcasts who get caught hauling in Liberty space end up on the Sugarland, so we run occasional raids on the prison transports sending our men into lockup. A lot of Outcasts, once sent to the Huntsville or Sugarland, get killed by Xenos. So LPI decided to put all of us on the Sugarland, and all the Xenos on the Huntsville. Several weeks ago I dragged a Bounty Hunter through the edge of the Negra Pequena and watched his ship disappear into the darkness -- quite enjoyable. His last distress call was sent wideband, so I was able to hear the fear in his voice. There are many Silver and Diamond shipments in this system that the Lane Hackers give us information on -- well, perhaps "give" isn't the right word. The Lane Hackers are eager to trade their information for access to our black market contacts. You can make a healthy profit running artifacts into Manhattan from here, but make sure you have a fast ship or you'll never make it past the patrols. The Xenos in this system are a hindrance to our drug trade. They are rather fun to kill, though, because I know that they hate us so much. The Junkers will pay for proof of a dead Xeno, so I might as well make money doing it. Niverton Base Disgusting and decadent. That's Liberty summed up in two words. It is also excessively wealthy. Cardamine allows us to siphon a lot of that wealth into our pockets, from both the Rogues and the addicts on Manhattan and Los Angeles. The Rogues don't like us engaging in straight up piracy within Liberty itself. That's their turf, they say. All fine and dandy, but some cargo is either too well-escorted or too valuable to leave in their hands. They just don't have our skill as pilots. The Rogues have their uses. Along with the Junkers, they keep the plantations on Malta well supplied with laborers. I'm not sure where they all come from, but I suppose we don't need to care, or worry about them leaving. After a few weeks on Malta, escape means certain death. Cochrane Depot Not many people are aware of this, but Lane Hackers sometimes buy off slave girls for their bars. I guess they appreciate better things in life with the best women they can find in Sirius sector. That is why I often come by on this base. If the Hackers ever do make a move against the Rogues, the Junkers will be the first to know about it. Most of the Cardamine only gets to Liberty's planets on Junker ships, so the Hackers would have to obtain Junker cooperation in order to push the Rogues out of the Cardamine business. The Junkers would drive a hard bargain to participate in something like that. Rogues aren't known for forgiving anyone who stabs them in the back. Even the Liberty Rogues have tested the Council of Dons' patience in the past year. So far, things are tense but we have maintained a working relationship. I sense trouble ahead, though. The Lane Hackers are increasing their Cardamine requisitions all the time. Some of us think they intend to replace the Rogues as the primary Cardamine suppliers in Liberty. The Hackers would have to be crazy to try that. The last thing anyone wants to do is cross the Rogues. I stop here occasionaly with my smuggling convoy for a drink and some holo entertainment, but I never have too many contact with the Lane Hacker pilots. They seem like an odd lot, I can't even understand half of the words they are saying. The grand "Outcast Alliance" has really taken a beating in the past few years. We've fared the worst in Bretonia and Rheinland, and a lot of Outcasts think that is because those Houses are free of dependence on Cardamine. Fortunately, Liberty is not similarly free...You have to love the irony. This is a great stop when we're moving from Alberta to California, and we often drop of Bioneural Processors here to the Lane Hackers. I don't understand what they do do with them, but they pay a nice amount of credits for them.

NOTE: Page generated on the 20/12/2024 at 17:34:04 UTC