Universal Shipping

Universal Shipping
Alignment	Corporation

ALLIES:

Liberty Authorities, Liberty Corporations

COMPETITORS:

Bowex, EFL, Gateway, GMS, IDF, Imperial Shipping

ENEMIES:

Liberty Rogues, Lane Hackers, Outcasts, Corsairs

Universal Shipping is one of the "Big Three" Liberty companies and specializes in the shipping of high-risk, high-value cargo, most notably Ageira's "white boxes" containing Trade Lane and Jump Gate parts which are shipped to DSE construction sites across Sirius. Their close business relationship with Ageira, combined with their high-value cargo, makes them a frequent target of Lane Hackers and subsequently a frequent claimant of IC insurance.

Ships used

Ship	Class
Heavy Lifter	Transport
Repair Ship	Repair Ship
Starblazer	Very Heavy Fighter
Grizzly	Freighter
Large Transport	Transport
Hawk	Light Fighter
Armored Transport	Transport
Large Train	Train
Liberty Transport	Transport
Falcon	Heavy Fighter
Train	Transport
Liberty Heavy Transport	Heavy Transport
Eagle	Very Heavy Fighter
Liberty Supertransport	Super Train
Civilian Gunboat	Gunboat

Bases owned

Base Owner System Region Trenton Outpost Universal Shipping New York Liberty Cordova Shipping Platform Universal Shipping Magellan Independent Harrisburg Station Universal Shipping Pennsylvania Liberty Austin Depot Universal Shipping Texas Liberty

Bribes

Base Owner System Region Planet Sprague Bretonia Police Omega-3 Omega Border Worlds LPI Huntsville Liberty Police, Inc. Texas Liberty Planet Curacao Orbital Spa & Cruise Cortez Independent Newark Station Interspace Commerce New York Liberty Fuchu Prison Kusari State Police Shikoku Kusari Supply Station Neckar Synth Foods, Inc. Stuttgart Rheinland Planet Erie Liberty Police, Inc. Pennsylvania Liberty Planet Manhattan Liberty Police, Inc. New York Liberty Detroit Munitions Ageira Technologies New York Liberty Battlecruiser Yellowstone Liberty Navy California Liberty Planet Houston Liberty Police, Inc. Texas Liberty Cordova Shipping Platform Universal Shipping Magellan Independent Trenton Outpost Universal Shipping New York Liberty Brandenburg Station Rheinland Federal Police New Berlin Rheinland Norfolk Shipyard Liberty Navy New York Liberty Valley Forge Flight School Interspace Commerce Pennsylvania Liberty LPI Sugarland Liberty Police, Inc. Texas Liberty Oder Shipyard Daumann Heavy Construction New Berlin Rheinland Birmingham Station Planetform, Inc. Manchester Bretonia Roppongi Wreck Interspace Commerce New Tokyo Kusari Waterloo Station Interspace Commerce New London Bretonia Bristol Bay Station Bristol Constructions & Manufacturing Bering Independent Portsmouth Shipyard Bretonia Mining & Manufacturing Cambridge Bretonia Ames Research Station Zoners Kepler Independent Willard Research Station Liberty Navy California Liberty Battleship Arkansas Liberty Navy Texas Liberty Fort Bush Liberty Police, Inc. New York Liberty Pueblo Station Ageira Technologies Colorado Liberty San Diego Border Station Liberty Police, Inc. California Liberty Philadelphia Station Deep Space Engineering Pennsylvania Liberty Alster Shipyard Imperial Shipping Hamburg Rheinland Baltimore Shipyard Deep Space Engineering New York Liberty Planet Denver Liberty Police, Inc. Colorado Liberty Harrisburg Station Universal Shipping Pennsylvania Liberty Battleship Westfalen Rheinland Military Stuttgart Rheinland Manitoba Station Bounty Hunters Guild Hudson Independent Planet Los Angeles Liberty Police, Inc. California Liberty Yokohama Shipyard Samura Industries New Tokyo Kusari West Point Military Academy Liberty Navy New York Liberty Bonn Station Interspace Commerce New Berlin Rheinland Syracuse Station Cryer Pharmaceuticals Colorado Liberty Planet New London Bretonia Police New London Bretonia Planet New Berlin Rheinland Federal Police New Berlin Rheinland Planet California Minor Planetform, Inc. California Liberty Altona Station Imperial Shipping Hamburg Rheinland Canterbury Station Planetform, Inc. New London Bretonia Planet Hamburg Rheinland Federal Police Hamburg Rheinland Battleship Altenburg Rheinland Military Cologne Alsace Passage Ohashi Border Station Kusari State Police Shikoku Kusari Battleship Missouri Liberty Navy New York Liberty Lübeck Border Station Rheinland Federal Police Hamburg Rheinland Riverside Station Synth Foods, Inc. California Liberty Perth Station Bretonia Armed Forces Edinburgh Bretonia Deshima Station Bounty Hunters Guild Shikoku Kusari Vierlande Prison Unioners Hamburg Rheinland Kensington Shipping Platform Gateway Shipping New London Bretonia Sheffield Station Bounty Hunters Guild Manchester Bretonia Lewes Shipping Platform Gateway Shipping Tau-31 Tau Border Worlds Planet Pittsburgh Deep Space Engineering New York Liberty Planet New Tokyo Kusari State Police New Tokyo Kusari

Rumors

Planet New London I'm making the daily run down from Waterloo to get supplies like Water, Oxygen, Food, and H-Fuel. I think I prefer it up there. At least you get to hang out around other Liberty folks, not just these stuffy Bretonians. Waterloo houses many foreign nationals - Republican, Universal, Samura and Kishiro all have offices there. I just signed off a load of Side Arms to the Bretonian Police. It's a rough run from Detroit - seems like the bad guys know every move we make, especially in Cortez. Must be those Lane Hackers at it again. Still, we made it in one piece. Must have helped to let it slip within a Bounty Hunter's hearing that there'd be a Side Arms convoy departing. I choose being bait over being game any day. Universal handles various levels of Commodities on the Manhattan to New London route. Our armored transports handle the Bretonian Gold bound for Manhattan, and the Luxury Goods on the return trip. If they're well escorted, they usually make it okay through the Independent World gauntlet. The same can't be said for all their escorts. Between the Liberty Rogues, Lane Hackers and Outcasts, they've got a lot to do. Waterloo Station I'm just making the hop up from London with supplies like Oxygen, Water, H-Fuel, and Food. I'll probably head back down to pick up my Gold shipment for Manhattan after a few days of rest. You don't cross the Independent Worlds with half an eye shut, not if you plan to survive the trip. The loss of Leeds hasn't affected Liberty as much as you'd think. Bretonia produced Hull Panels there, but we can get those from Kusari as well. Still, it's not a good sign. If Gallia continues to advance, Liberty is likely next on their list. I hope our Navy is smart and decides to do something about it well before then. Universal hauls Trade Lanes Parts wherever there are Trade Lanes between Liberty and the House capitols. Interspace has stations like this one in all the capitol systems, which are used to store the Gate and Lane Parts temporarily. Then Deep Space takes over and ships them to the actual construction or repair sites. Sheffield Station Our shipping firm brings Trade Lane Parts from Trenton to Waterloo. It is a lucrative run, but exclusive to the triad of Universal, Ageira and DSE. That may seem a bit extortionate, but it's neccesary because of the sensitive nature of those components. Less reputable firms don't have the neccesary security measures in place. Two of my escorts bought the farm back in Magellan, and so did one of my gunners. Too bad, we had made it all the way from Newark with a full load of H-Fuel without incident until then. Luckily, our transports made it safely to Freeport 4, where we patched outselves up and waited for replacement escorts to be sent. Universal Shipping hauls Light Arms to this base from Detroit. A portion of our shipment is sold here, and then we continue to New London to sell the rest. You could always do the same, if you are a competent pilot, but be aware that every criminal from here to New York will be gunning for you. Xenos especially love those Light Arms. Planet Curacao The only time it gets scary here is when there's a big storm. We were caught in one five years ago -- we thought the platform wouldn't make it. But it's still standing, so I guess I shouldn't worry too much. I heard that some visiting dignitaries were kidnapped en route by Rogues in the Paloma Cloud. That's unsettling. This resort is the first Orbital Spa and Cruise hotel built. They have a second one in the Stuttgart system, but I prefer to be closer to home in case something goes wrong. The hotel is getting a little old, though. I think they should level it and create an artificial island here. Our main business on the Bretonian-Libertonian Line is Bretonian Luxury Food, New York Luxury Goods, and Trade Lane Parts bound for Waterloo. These Independent Worlds are the roughest areas that Universal has to traverse. At least we don't have to deal with the Border Worlds. Just last week we lost a shipment to Hackers in the Roatan Cloud. We occasionally ship in Luxury Goods from Newark to supplement those from Orbital Spa. Ames Research Station Dropping off some Water and Oxygen for those antisocial Zoners. Can't see what they like about this dark and forbidding place. Just look around you -- Xenos, Lane Hackers, and those sleazy Bounty Hunters. Not exactly a savory bunch. I can feel the predators' eyes watching me. They'll probably ambush us once we get out of the Freeport's no-fire zone. System is rife with opportunity these days. But if you want my advice, stick to the lanes and run like hell if anyone pulls you out of them. You won't last long trying to run off grid, and if you get stranded out here you might never get found. I just made the run from Denver with some Consumer Goods. I'm turning around and heading right back out before any of the bad guys have time to set up anything. They prefer stealing their personal items to buying them. Then they usually torch the ship anyway, just for grins. I'm a pilot for the Universal ships that come through this area. They usually just need me on the stretch from Deshima to Ames, with the clouds and all. It can get really bad through here. Depends on how hungry the Hackers are. They tend to strike from the east side of the Trade Lanes, Xenos from the west. They don't bother us much. I hate flying through here, even if the infrastructure leading between the two gates is safe enough. My eyes keep playing tricks on me, seeing things out in that big dark nothing, shapes stirring in the black. I try not to stay out here too long because of it. Planet New Tokyo As part of the Sirius Commerce Pact, Universal and other Libertonian companies cannot own any permanent bases within Kusari space outside of New Tokyo. So we rent space from IC on the Roppongi Station and use it as our transfer point for Construction Supplies and Jump Gate Parts for the project in Hokkaido. We're delivering some of Detroit's finest personal Light Arms to the Kusari State Police. Then I'll probably pick up some supplies for the Roppongi Station, high above this planet. I prefer it up there. You can get Liberty Ale and other things from home. Universal handles part of the Luxury Goods trade between Manhattan and Tokyo. It is a very competitive route, but there's room for three. We usually pick up Niobium for the return trip. If only we didn't have those dark Independent Worlds to cross, where the bandits are always waiting. Yokohama Shipyard I'm just finishing up the trip from Liberty. I'd rather stop at Roppongi, but Samura doesn't land there, so we bring our cargo the last leg. Usually it's Superconductors or Super Alloys. Samura hauls them too, but they have such a bad pirate problem that we can stay competitive. We've had problems with stolen goods at Roppongi recently. I'd swear that the cargo container of Superconductors outside is the same one that was lifted from our storage depots a few weeks ago by some Hogosha. These Naval Forces types are really secretive here. They won't let you outside of the docking area or the bar. It's kind of a run down place -- not as nice as I expected. Looks like they're hurting a bit on maintenance budgets. Roppongi Wreck We're supplying the Jump Gate Parts used in that crazy money pit they now call the Tau-53 Gate in Hokkaido. We've already shipped enough for those Deep Space builders to construct at least two. Now we know they really were building two gates! We supply Roppongi with its needs. Being the place this is, that means bringing in Luxury Foods for those IC snobs, who are too lazy to go down to the planet. We also use this as our transfer point for Luxury Goods arriving from Manhattan. They don't let us ship our cargo directly to Yokohama -- go figure -- so we stop by here for a little R & R and then do the hop up the yard. Usually we pick up some Niobium at Narita for the return trip to Liberty. Deshima Station This is one of the most beautiful systems in all of Sirius. You know those names the clouds have? One of the Kishiro here told me what the names mean: the cloud to the north, the Saiun, means painted cloud; the Keiun to the south means beautiful cloud; and the western Shiun means violet cloud. We provide the light Arms used by the Kusari security forces. They have laws that ban internal production. No such problem in Liberty. Ever since Kepler shut down, we're forced to take the Galileo route. Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan of Xenos, but they prioritized Kusari ships over ours. Rogues don't care who they rob as long as the money is right. Planet Manhattan We handle all manner of precious cargo bound for the outer colonies. We ship Luxury Goods to New London, New Tokyo, and New Berlin. It is extremely dangerous between New London and here, especially because of the Lane Hackers. They aren't the dangerous part, it's the Outcasts who they sell the shipping information to that you have to worry about. On second thought, if you see a Hacker in a P-Trans, don't laugh, juice the cruise engines! We bring all manner of Commodities into Manhattan: Gold from Dublin, Silver from Omega 7, Niobium from Tau-37, and Consumer Goods from Ft. Bush. Universal uses her best pilots to make these runs. The commodities onboard are very valuable and their loss is sorely felt. Universal Shipping handles many Pharmaceutical shipments to bases within Liberty space. Cryer has complete confidence in Universal, or else they wouldn't provide us with such crucial contracts. Universal Shipping handles many contracts for Side Arm shipments to LPI and navy bases within Liberty space. If you've ever had a cop or navy boy pull a Perforator on you, then I'm the guy who delivered it to 'em more than likely. Universal Shipping is the backbone of shipping within Liberty and New York. We supply all Liberty Navy and LPI bases with Food, Water, Oxygen, Light Arms, and H-Fuel. Usually the escorts we get are LPI or the navy to bring these goods in, so it is a pretty safe run. It took me a long time to get the seniority to pull these kinds of routes. We ship Manhattan's famous Luxury Goods to the booming destinations of Curacao and Baden Baden. A lot of the ultra rich go to Cortez or Stuttgart to play or retire. They are newer systems that cater to the elite. Of course, during the war with Rheinland, Libertonians detour through Bretonia to reach Baden Baden. Planet Pittsburgh Some of the Mining Machinery that we ship comes from Hamilton in Ontario. DSE brings a good deal of machinery into this planet, but they cannot handle all of the demand. That's why we make the run also, as dangerous as it is. The Boron produced here is shipped by us to Planet New London, Scarborough Shipyard, and Thames Outpost. As you can see, Universal Shipping travels throughout Sirius to meet all of your shipping needs. Universal provides this facility with the majority of its supplies from Ft. Bush: Consumer Goods, Food, and even returning work Crew. The exception is Industrial Materials, which we ship to this base from Trenton. Battleship Missouri Crew going off duty are probably looking for a lift to Planet Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, or Denver. Check in the docking bay if you have some space and are heading in any of those directions. Unlike other Liberty Navy battleships, the Missouri's commander isn't patient with Prisoners. Rather than throwing them in the brig until a Prison Liner can pick them up for Texas, he has his pilots deliver them directly to Fort Bush. The Side Arms you see on the hips of the personnel at this base are bought from the Detroit Munitions plant. I carry one myself, a Detroit Mk 3 Resolver Hideway. It comes in handy for surprising would-be attackers. We used to get our own deliveries, but now we have to go to West Point or Fort Bush. Trenton Outpost Trenton offers a wide array of Liberty's finest products. In addition to a major distributer of Ageira's Gate and Lane Parts, you can also acquire Basic Alloys, Industrial Materials, Nanocapacitors, even Oxygen so you don't suffocate on your next trip down the lanes. That's the one item no pilot forgets twice! The Industrial Materials here are shipped by Universal to the Philadelphia Station in Pennsylvania. The trip is not an easy one, and my ship is almost always beat up when I come limping into Philadelphia. They patch me up and send me on back to do it all over again. I swear I lose a hair each time worrying about whether I'm gonna make it or not. The Rogues raiding those lanes are some seriously wicked degenerates. Oh, the things they say over comms...I need a drink. Fort Severn receives large quantities of Industrial Materials for its Military Vehicle production line. Panels, axles, bearings, gears, you name it, we supply it. We ship Basic Alloy from here to Ageira's weapons manufacturing center in Detroit. Ageira delivers much of its own supplies to its bases, but we handle more of the specific deliveries to military, police, and commercial bases. Industrial Materials are in high demand on Houston. The planet is struggling to reinvent itself as a high tech metropolis by exporting Nanocapacitors. Time will tell if it's successful or not. Universal ships Nanocapacitors to the Southampton shipyard in New London, and let me tell you I must age ten years each time I fly through the Independent Worlds into Bretonia. The operation at Toronto Station consumes large quantities of Industrial Materials. They are mining Platinum off of Huron so fast that they literally wear out the toughest tools in just days. The Nanocapacitors brought here are shipped by Universal to the Southampton Shipyard in New London, where they will be used to drive the engines of the Bretonian Navy. We here at Universal are proud to take part in such an honor. Universal ships Nanocapacitors to Trenton from Houston. From this base they will be distributed to locations throughout Sirius for all manner of implementations. The Trade Lane components at this base are shipped by us to Waterloo in New London. We are part of the life blood of shipping that is Jump Gate technology, and all of Sirius benefits from our shipping convoys. This base serves as the headquarters for Universal Shipping, the primary shipping and transport company in Liberty. We ship to far-flung destinations throughout all of Sirius. If you want it shipped, you'd better go with Universal! Because Universal handles such sensitive technology, we have become known as the premier shipper of rarified and valuable items. That means that our transports will very rarely stray from the Trade Lanes, and travel through Border Worlds and dangerous areas hardly ever happens. Norfolk Shipyard H-Fuel from Ft. Bush and Basic Alloys from Manhattan are brought to this base by Universal Shipping. The Basic Alloys are dropped off here. I head up to Ft. Bush to pick up the H-Fuel, come back here to unload it, and then head back to Manhattan to start all over. Universal ships MOX to this base from Leeds. I've been a pilot for this MOX run for many years. I remember when I first started long ago. I've seen so much since then that it feels like more than a lifetime ago that I was strapping into my own freighter for the first time. Quantum Multiplexors are in demand here. Samura's new Misaki Station supposedly has automated much of their production process, and it's a good thing, too, because even now they can barely keep up with orders. Between retrofits and new capital ships, Norfolk burns through its inventory pretty fast. Newark Station Cobalt is shipped in here from both Omega-7 and Orkney, where the IMG has set up an asteroid base right under Gallia's nose. That's a dangerous run, but the Hessians and Corsairs in Omega-7 aren't exactly friendly either. We bring Oxygen and Water to this base from Manhattan. It's one of the shortest and safest runs in all of Sirius. It took many years of flying for Universal before I got this cherry assignment. We import large quantities of Optronics from Planet Honshu. From here we distribute to the various shipyards and high tech manufacturing in Liberty that uses them. West Point Military Academy Universal ships Water and Oxygen from Manhattan; Synth Foods brings Food in from Los Angeles. It's a good thing that I run supplies to the academy. I was in trouble on my way here a few weeks ago until a training squadron came in from nowhere and wiped the Rogues on my tail. To keep West Point running, this station requires Side Arms, which we ship in from Detroit. We also get H-Fuel from Norfolk. All of these Commodities are required to train tomorrow's officers of the Liberty naval fleet. We have also begun training Marines, who are deployed to various battleships around Liberty. We ship Consumer Goods from Ft. Bush to this base. A lot of cadets show up with little more than the shirts on their backs. It can be treacherous to make this run, because a lot of dangerous criminals like to attack this Trade Lane. It lies right outside the edge of the Badlands, so there are plenty of places we can be ambushed. Detroit Munitions Universal Shipping handles many of Ageira's shipping accounts that leave Liberty for other House space. We ship Side Arms from this base to New London and New Tokyo. Ageira is somewhat disliked in Texas because of the whole Dallas incident. The sad truth is that no one could have done better, but you can't always fight perception. So we ship the Side Arms manufactured here to the Texas prison stations for them, and we also ship to the battleships and other police bases in Liberty. We play a major role ensuring that Detroit Munitions has all the necessary supplies to keep her running smoothly. We bring in Basic Alloy from Manhattan almost daily. Fort Bush Ft. Bush serves as the second largest distribution port for Kusari H-Fuel and Optronics in New York. From here we make shipments to Houston and military bases in the southeast area of the system. Pittsburgh receives a large portion of her supplies from this base. Oxygen, Food, Water, Consumer Goods, and H-Fuel are shipped there by Universal. This is a transit point for Spaceship Crews being transported up to Colorado from New York, and for Prisoners headed for Sugarland and Huntsville. Universal Shipping is Liberty's premier shipping company. We bring in Light Arms from Detroit; Water and Oxygen from Manhattan; and Prisoners for interrogation from various battleships and police outposts. Baltimore Shipyard Gateway is not the only company that ships Gold to Liberty. Universal brings Gold to Fort Bush also. Not only do these guys build all civilian ships in Sirius as well as the majority of heavy construction in Liberty, they hold the exclusive contract to build Jump Gates from Ageira. Deep Space Engineering, even though it's not known as one of the "big three" Liberty corporations, has more power than almost any other corporation in Sirius. Universal ships many materials and components to this yard from around Liberty. We bring in Optical Chips from Los Angeles; Basic Alloys from Manhattan; and Engine Components from Kusari. Planet Los Angeles I do the Graves to Fort Bush Gold run inbound, Luxury Consumer Goods on the return trip to Planet New London. Gets rough crossing the Barrier. Pretty much a breeze inside of Liberty. I'm just passing through from Planet Denver with a load of Superconductors bound for Southampton in New London. It's more interesting than the Water run from Manhattan. Now that's a bore. We supply all the stations in Newcastle with Ageira's Optical Chips. What Scarborough can't use right away gets stockpiled at Lancaster or Gateshead. I'm heading out in a couple of hours to do an Optical Chip run from the Ageira plant to Camrose or Leduc in Alberta. I hope to pick up some Bio-Neural Processors for Southampton in New London and return next week sometime. I'm heading out in a couple of hours to do an Optical Chip and Polymer run to Camrose or Leduc in Alberta. I hope to pick up some Bio-Neural Processors bound for Kusari and return next week sometime with Engine Components for Baltimore Shipyard. Planet California Minor We bring in the Alien Organisms from Planet Kurile that Planetform uses to jumpstart the terraforming process. The Sirius Commerce Act prohibits any import of Alien Organisms onto planets with indigenous life forms like Manhattan, but sterile planets like this one don't apply. Just made the monthly Silver run from Freistadt. Always gives me the nerves. Everybody out there is your enemy when you start hauling high-value stuff. Guess they use it for their cloud-seeding operations. We bring in supplies to augment Planetform's operation here -- mostly Oxygen, Food, Basic Alloy, and Industrial Materials. Willard Research Station Not sure why they want these Nuclear Devices here. We bring them in from Helgoland, but it's quite a tricky trip during a war. I think the military should handle its own supplies for bases like this. Too much risk for us. Why did they have to build a base in the middle of the second nastiest cloud in Liberty space anyway? This is my second stop on the California supply run. I've just dropped off Optronics from Honshu. We bring H-Fuel and Light Arms to the military and police bases in the system. Last stop is the San Diego Border Station at the Magellan Gate. Planet Denver Came in from Newark yesterday. I'm delivering Passengers for a visit on Denver. Then we're bound for Roppongi in New Tokyo to deliver Luxury Consumer Goods. Gotta cross Galileo first, which will be the usual white-knuckle affair. I just came in from Houston with a load of Nanocapacitors. Houston is the cheapest place in the Sirius Sector for those, thanks to all the free prisoner labor. We sometimes run Consumer Goods in from Ft. Bush. We ship Superconductors out of here to Cambridge. The planet and the research station both purchase large quantities. Pueblo Station We ship Trade Lane parts to Roppongi in the New Tokyo system. There they sometimes get offloaded to a DSE freighter for the final leg of their journey to the Planet Tomioka construction site in Tottori. That's way out there, some pretty barren territory. If you run into pirates, forget about calling the KNF, you're on your own. Planet Tomioka is our newest destination for Gate and Lane Parts. We always worry when a lane or gate construction project nears completion, but there always seems to be another one popping up somewhere. We ship Cobalt from Denver, and Basic Alloys from Manhattan. Universal is willing to ship throughout Liberty to keep her in the forefront. We get our other metals from the Tau and Omega mining sites. Planet Houston Our shippers in New York return with Side Arms from Detroit, Industrial Materials from Trenton, and Consumer Goods from Ft. Bush. Just came in with a load of Industrial Materials from Trenton. We'll head out in the morning to make the delivery rounds to Bretonia with Nanocapacitors. We ship H-Fuel to the California system, and Synth Paste back here for the prison stations. Houston and its orbiting prisons are the primary Consumer Goods manufacturing locations for Liberty, with the distinction of being the cheapest producer in the entire Sirius Sector, thanks to our free prisoner labor. Consumer Goods are distributed by Universal throughout Liberty space from Ft. Bush. Universal services all police and military bases in Texas. Only thing we bring back down is off duty Crew from the Sugarland Smelter. They take their shore leave here on Houston. Aren't they lucky? Our convoy just moored a few hours ago. We ran a load of Cobalt in from Omega 7. Rough run, that was. Sometimes we run Copper. Those criminals can smell it like a pack of dogs. The Nanocapacitor industry needs various materials. On return trips we'll deliver Cobalt, Copper, and Basic Alloy. LPI Huntsville This base receives Pharmaceuticals from Denver, Side Arms from Detroit, and Synth Paste from Los Angeles. While I'm here between shipments I get a chance to see the scum who harass our shipping concerns. They're behind bars or making toys in the factory. This is the only safe zone in Texas, behind the F-Zone boundary of weapon platforms and satellites controlled by the military. No Universal ship would ever be caught over there. That's criminal country. It is a wonder that anything arrives or leaves this system. Most of the criminals in Liberty reside in Texas. The navy and LPI do their best to curb piracy and theft within Texas, but it's not enough. All our shipments that pass through here are insured by IC, so I suppose it becomes their problem -- except for our pilots, who get killed in pirate attacks. Battleship Arkansas This ship requires that we bring supplies from Houston. These Commodities are necessary to keep the crew and ship maintained and equipped. We ship excess Water and Oxygen to the Sugarland. We are a company dedicated to keeping crime at a minimum by making sure that the authorities have all they need to do their jobs. It is our pleasure to deliver the goods that keep this military installation operational. That way we know that they have every reason to track down and kill the murderous pirates who harass our shipping. LPI Sugarland Some of the lucky prison guards who get a week's leave catch a ride with us to Planet Curacao as Passengers. We carry off duty Crew to Planet Houston for their shore leave. Universal transports released inmates to all the Liberty Planets. It doesn't pay a lot, and they are a roudy bunch, but it's better than nothing. Cordova Shipping Platform I've had this funny feeling ever since I came on board this station but I can't figure out why. It's like everybody but me knows something big is going to happen. The other day I asked one of those scientists if he learned anything new on his trip to Leduc, and he got all flustered like I had asked him about some big secret or something. Then he went on and on about advanced assembly line manufacturing processes and technobabble that made no sense to me. Then he left in a hurry like he said too much. Now that I think about it, they all seem real skittish after a trip to Leduc. Maybe they figure Ageira is going to put them out of a job. I've never seen such an inventory of supplies! And they keep ordering more and more. I hear that Camrose is bursting at the seams with supply containers, and they're even going to be setting up no-grav depots outside the station to keep bringing in more. I can't imagine that Ageira's production operation at Leduc could possibly need all of this. It's not my problem though, I'm just happy to get paid to transport something. I don't usually get the chance to look at the cargo manifests, but we had a docking delay when we arrived and I glanced through it out of curiosity. It's the usual sort of inventory for high tech industry, but then I saw a few containers of liquefied gases from Birmingham Station. That's really strange. Why would they ship in oxygen from Birmingham when they can get it so much cheaper from Los Angeles? And it was routed through Trenton too. That's the bureaucracy for you: take the simple and complicate it so you can double bill the customer for it. When the war with Rheinland started, all the talk was about how many of us were going to be out of work since trade with Rheinland was cut off. But then, just in the nick of time, this huge expansion project in Alberta started and we've been busier than anytime I can remember. I just hope it keeps up until the war is over. Planets Edmonton and Calgary sure seem to be special to these scientists. They don't seem to want to tell you much about why, though. Philadelphia Station Titanium is in high demand on Philedelphia. The Basic Alloy manufacturing process uses it in moderate quantities, but Liberty does not have a source of the material anymore. We have to import it from abroad, usually from Bretonia. Philedelphia manufactures a small quantity of MOX. There is some controversy about having a nuclear fuel production plant in orbit of an inhabited planet, but the DSE officials who own that plant insist it's safe. I doubt they'll be closing it anytime soon. With LD-14 lost Liberty will need alternatives to Bretonian fuel. There are many small factories on Philedelphia, but the largest ones are the Basic Alloy plants. Basic Alloys are so widely used that you can take them almost anywhere, especially to Shipyards and Manufacturing Stations. Planet Erie This is a nice quiet corner of Liberty space. I wouldn't mind settling down on Erie some day. The place is too rugged for the Liberty elite, yet important enough to warrant an LPI presence. If it stays that way, I wager this planet will see a large influx of middleclass folk. Erie's primary export is Neon, which is relatively abundant in it's atmosphere. More so then most planets, and it's far more economic to harvest it from a planetary atmosphere then from gas giants. Neon extraction and purification plants account for nearly a quarter of the planet's industry. We ship it almost anywhere - Kusari, Bretonia, even as far as the Sigmas. Ironic isn't it? To bring gas to the GMG? Basic Alloy is another of Erie's main exports. It is a very versatile alloy that is used for shipbuilding, stationbuilding and many consumer goods. I'm planning to ship the load that's being prepared now to Baltimore Shipyard, which isn't all that far. Harrisburg Station Neon, Neon, Neon, this system is suffocating with the stuff. I shouldn't complain though. It keeps the patrons flowing into my bar and my tip jar full. You don't have to hunt around for places to sell it, either. Freeports, planets, research stations, and shipping depots all pay high rates for it. By the way, don't miss my tip jar on your way out. We ship in fair amounts of raw materials from Kusari and the Taus: Niobium, Beryllium, and Uranium all get stored here for later distribution throughout Liberty. The way modern politics is, you never can tell when your "just in time inventory" will become a dire shortage, so every House has to have a stockpile of vital materials just in case. This station buys fairly decent quantities of Hydrogen from miners who operate on the opposite side of Erie. It gets shipped off to Planet Miura, Misaki Station, Osaka Storage, Canterbury Station, and even The Ring. Battlecruiser Yellowstone Marines are routinely rotated up here for duty. West Point Academy is their embarkation point. You can't station any Marine company in one location too long. They tend to get too comfortable and then they become more trouble than help. MOX shipments from LD-14 are scheduled regularly for this battleship. We've had added trouble in the past year from the Hackers in Cortez and Magellan, but hopefully they'll shift more of their attention to Ageira's operation in Alberta and we'll catch a break for a change. Lewes Shipping Platform I've heard that there is a new colony in the Coronado system. Supposedly they are producing Deuterium there and are in need of Mining Machinery. Philadelphia Station in the Pennsylvania System can always use Mining Machinery for their Hydrocarbon mining operation. It isn't as efficient as Birmingham or the Omega 3 facilities, but it supplies most of Liberty's needs. Planet New Berlin Berlin is a new route for Universal. Before the little loan agreement between Liberty and Rheinland, Universal and Synth Foods couldn't land on any planets here. Now that's all changed, of course. We do the Luxury Goods-Diamond circuit between Manhattan and Berlin. Let me tell you, Rheinland is tough. It's a cakewalk through Liberty, even the Texas system isn't that bad. Then wham, you hit the Independent Worlds. We have to rearm in Houston and beef up the escorts for the rest of the trip here. At least we don't have the LWB headache that Synth Foods is dealing with. My ship's down from Bonn -- that large space station at the western end of this system. We buy our basic supplies here. Kind of a Liberty outpost up there. Synth Foods, Bounty Hunters, IC -- they all call Bonn home. Bonn Station This is the end of the line for Universal. Management says that it's not worth it to go into Stuttgart. Too many problems. Just look at Synth Foods. Their security costs could bite them one of these days. Maybe the LWB will actually defeat Goliath. Bonn is burning through the Trade Lane spare-parts supply pretty fast. Deep Space is out there in Omega-7 or Stuttgart every other week. Looks like we'll have to bring in another load sooner than expected from Trenton. We supply Bonn with the basics from New Berlin while we're waiting for a load of Copper or Silver from Gateway. Then we're off to Manhattan or Houston. Altona Station We bring in Superconductors from Houston, then turn back north with High Temperature Alloys. It's not a hugely profitable run, but you can make money. It's probably better if you went all the way to the source. Most of our ships just pass on through here now. Sometimes they do a crew or equipment change to upgrade for the Independent World crossings. Gets a lot easier once you're in Liberty. Nothing like Rheinland. We've got police and military everywhere you look. Boy, this place is a ghost town. I heard it was once quite the place, back when Republican had a special deal going with the government. No foreign ships allowed beyond their border posts of Altona, Freiburg, and Mainz. Those days are gone for Liberty shipping, at least.

NOTE: Page generated on the 20/12/2024 at 17:26:35 UTC