Heaton Mining Station

Heaton Mining Station

File:Br16 03 base.png

Owner

Planetform, Inc.

Location

C/D-6, Newcastle

CLASS: Wellington

GRAVITY: Partial

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: 420

Formally known as Merthyr Tydfil, this mining station was repurposed for operations within Newcastle System following colonization of Carlisle. It is unknown why the station was renamed, though it is rumored that Newcastle residents had difficulty pronouncing the old name. Heaton processes noble gases found within the nearby field, providing much needed income as the Bretonian economy struggles to recover. Terraforming resources mined here are being used across the sector.

Bribes & Missions Offered

Bribes

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

Missions

Planetform, Inc. Bounty Hunters Guild

Commodities

Imports

Commodity Price Gin 37$ Oxygen 7$ Food Rations 36$ H-Fuel 183$ Mining Machinery 30$ Pharmaceuticals 33$ Consumer Goods 18$ Synth Paste 18$ Xenobiotic Filters 54$ Passengers (Bretonia) 325$ Xeno Relics 246$

Exports

Commodity Price Deployable Mining Container 50,000$ Terraforming Gases 12$ Crew 324$ Water 9$ MOX 24$

Ships sold

Ship	Class	Price
Beetle	Heavy Fighter	20,442$
Ceres Armored Transport	Frigate	951,098$
Ceres Civilian Gunship	Gunboat	956,480$

News

[831 AS/747 AGS] Gate Corps Clash Over 'Blackout'!

ABBEVILLE -- 831 AS/747 AGS -- EFL's 'Resilience Taskforce' today reported its findings on The Blackout, claiming to have gathered forensic evidence that proved the cause as Ageira negligence. A spokesperson claimed that the destruction of the Dublin jump gate by Molly separatists had created a hyperspace feedback loop that was propagated and amplified through the Ageira gate network. Ageira disputed this finding in their own press release, calling EFL 'fantasists' and countering that their own scientists had narrowed the cause to a rare 'hypernova' stellar event that originated outside the Sirius sector. Both corporations claim that network-wide hardware safeguards have been implemented that would prevent a similar occurrence in the future. Independent researchers have sharply criticized the corporate announcements, accusing both of self-interested misdirection. Professor Sophia Nagel from Heisenberg Research Station called EFL's accusation 'incoherent' and the hypernova explanation 'nonsense' that did not explain the characteristics of the 'Blackout Pulse'. Despite multiple different Pulse recordings being widely disseminated across the neural net, public efforts have so far failed to triangulate its source.

[831 AS] Bretonia Announces Poole Draw-Down

NEW LONDON -- 831 AS -- The Bretonian government has announced a controlled withdrawal from the Poole system, citing ballooning costs and an increasingly strained state budget. Poole was once of critical importance to Bretonia, briefly hosting a Super Gate to Liberty during the Gallic War, and acting as a launching point for Bretonia's colonial ambitions in Omega 48. With the end of the war and Bretonia's withdrawal from Planet Gran Canaria, Poole's prominence waned. The cost of policing the system and maintaining infrastructure has significantly outweighed collected tax revenue in recent years, with Planetform's Terraforming Gas operations reporting disappointing year on year returns.DSE has already confirmed that it will begin deconstruction operations shortly, with the dismantling of the Cambridge jump gate expected to be completed by 833 AS. Planetform has confirmed its intention to withdraw prior to this point, while settling shareholder anxiety with the announcement of promising preliminary findings for a replacement site in Newcastle.

[831 AS] Bretonian Focus Turns on Mollys

SHEFFIELD -- 831 AS -- The Bretonia Police Authority has announced that the eradication of the Molly movement is their top priority. In light of the loss of the Dublin system and the seemingly connected 'Blackout', the dangerous terrorist movement has leaped to the top of Bretonia's most wanted board. Bounties on Molly terrorists have doubled, with Bounty Hunters flocking to the beleaguered House. Guild Master Tina Hale of Sheffield Station commented that, "this is a good deal for a job that's less dangerous than many of our Edge World boards." Despite this, prospective Hunters should be cautious, as the Mollys are notoriously cunning and brutal fighters. The bounties and Police crackdown do appear to be having some initial effects however, with reports of Molly attacks on shipping in the Cambridge and Newcastle systems falling over recent weeks.

[831 AS] Bretonia Withdraws From Dublin System

WATERLOO -- 831 AS -- Markets are down across Sirius as the sector grapples with the twin shocks of The Blackout and Bretonia's withdrawal from the Dublin system. Molly separatists appear to have exploited a worker revolt on Graves Station to take control of and later destroy the base. Of even greater concern is the attack that crippled the New London jump gate, forcing the Battleship Essex to retreat. EFL have accused the gate destruction and faulty Ageira infrastructure of causing The Blackout, which the Liberty corporation denies. The Mollys have since declared their ownership of Dublin, while Bretonia has imposed a strict blockade, jeopardizing the sector's Gold supply. Gold exports previously made up a significant element of Bretonian state revenue, helping to fund post-war recovery efforts. While the reconstruction of LD-14 in the Leeds system offers some relief, Interspace Commerce has already downgraded Bretonia's sovereign credit rating, citing increased volatility and risk for lenders. Bretonia has confirmed that action to retake the system will be launched shortly, providing assurances to partners in the other Houses.

[831 AS/747 AGS] 'Blackout' Causes Jump Network Fail

MANHATTAN -- 831 AS/747 AGS -- Two days ago Jump Gates failed simultaneously across Sirius, freezing commerce and neural net access across the sector. When the network resumed 31 hours later, restored communications broke the news of Bretonia's loss of the Dublin system. This twin shock has plunged the market into chaos, prompting fears of sector-wide economic recessions. Interspace estimates indicate that the stoppage alone caused billions of credits in losses. Gallia immediately accused Liberty of culpability for the outage, claiming the destruction of Dublin's jump gate instigated a cascading failure in faulty Ageira infrastructure. Ageira has sharply refuted the allegation, claiming such a systemic effect would be physically impossible. Independent researchers in Cologne and the Edge Worlds have also announced that a hyperspace pulse of unprecedented strength was detected moments before The Blackout, with data about 'The Pulse' being widely shared across the neural net in recent days. House authorities have remained tight lipped, refusing to comment on their own observatories' data.

[817 AS] Planetform sanctioned over disputed terraforming

PLANET ATKA -- 818 -- Rheinland's Reichstag today passed a motion applying sanctions to Planetform Inc, condemning the Bretonian corporation for its work on Planet Atka in Hudson. The motion prohibits Planetform from entering or purchasing goods in Rheinland until such a time as the company ceases work on Atka and ""desists in furthering Liberty’s imperialism"". The move has drawn protests from both Bretonia and Liberty, and severs Planetform’s access to Rheinland-sourced Terraforming Gasses. Planetform representatives have called for peace talks between Rheinland and Liberty over Hudson’s status, arguing that a terraformed planet in the dangerous Independent World would mutually benefit both.

Rumors

Planetform, Inc.

Best steer clear of the Bounty Hunter folk that visit this base. They aren't exactly nice people. Hell, a number of them had some years in Newgate before joining their ranks. Still, they help out when the Gaians give us grief, so it's not all bad. Planetform has only a few operations left right now. The Harris operation is put on hold - but even a terraforming operation on hold requires an amount of maintenance. Until a climate adjustment is stable, planets will want to revert to their natural, less human friendly state. But it's not all bad - we're planning to initiate stage one on Atka in Hudson soon. That might annoy Rheinland, but they're no longer in control of that system. This project? Unexpected, but quite beneficial to the company. Up until now we've been relying on third parties for our Terraforming Gases - which were mostly industrial byproducts riddled with impurities, and not entirely suitable to the terraforming process. But as byproducts or even waste, they were dirt cheap to acquire. However, the war with Liberty means that those produced by ALG can't be delivered to the Liberty projects quickly, and the Gallic invasion has eliminated Stokes as a source, most likely for decades to come. Producing them ourselves seemed a logical choice. The Terraforming Gases we produce here are mainly Carbon-Fluorides. They are more expensive to produce, but the upside is that they last a lot longer. Gases like carbondioxide and methane are quickly washed out of the atmosphere, but Tetra Fluor Methane will remain in the biosphere for thousands of years. An ideal compound for long-term climate adjustments on planets with a tendency to revert to their natural climate. The only problem is it's tendency to settle near the surface, causing it to pool in fissures and caves. I'm proud to work for this company. Bringing life to dead worlds. Improving worlds so that famine and lack of living space are a thing of the past. Planetform works for the benefit of all of humanity. Granted, the processes are expensive and only the major houses can really afford our services, but still, a new planet brought to life means a new chance at life for millions, if not billions. Stokes was the main source of terraforming gases until it fell. They were a byproduct from the refining activities the BMM did on that station, and often contained minor toxic impurities. Still, they were a very cheap source of greenhouse gases, BMM was quite glad to be rid of them rather then adding to the Leeds smog clouds. With Stokes out of commission, Planetform has had to find another source for our terraforming gases. The asteroids drifting into the system are quite rich in certain compounds that can be processed into greenhouse gases. Once processed, they are transferred to terraforming projects that require a temperature elevation to kickstart a new climate. Good day sir, welcome to Merthyr Tydfil. Or M.T. as it's more commonly known to our pilots. 'Tis a bit of a mouthfull otherwise. It's not a new station anymore, but it's new to what we use it for. BMM used this place to mine Beryllium from the planet we orbit, but they've found a better source in Cambridge. I'm just a transport crew worker. Our transport's still being loaded so we've got some time to ourselves. We'll be headed for California Minor once we're loaded. The project there is on schedule, perhaps even a little ahead right now. I hear Liberty is moving people onto the planet already, but that's a bit premature if you ask me. The conditions aren't very comfortable yet. I really don't get what the Gaians have against terraforming. I can understand the wish to preserve the ecology of Gaia, since it is unique, and one of the few Earth-like environments mankind has found in the Sirius sector. But I really don't see what their problem is with us bringing dead, lifeless worlds to life. It's not like anyone is harmed by creating life on a planet. We tailor the Terraforming Gas mixture to the planet it is destined for. If we have a planet that requires a rapid heating we can produce the more expensive Sulfur Hexafluoride compound. That is over 3 times more efficient then standard Carbon-Fluorides. It also has a lower density, so it won't pool near the surface. California Minor is almost done. It is ironic that it will be done before the Edinburgh project, but there's good reason for it. For one, there isn't a hostile army stomping around in California, and two, the conditions on California Minor are a lot better. Naturally, our company has gained experience over the years in handling projects, which have allowed us to accellerate most stage one and stage two phases. I'm interested what the new carbon- and sulphurfluorides will do, they might allow us to shave off a few decades yet.

Bounty Hunters Guild

Nice little setup these Planetform guys got here. The asteroid field is teeming with Corsairs and Mollys. Fun thing is, all you've got to do is watch one of their clashes from a distance - then once they're done, mop up and claim all the kills. Easy money. Planetform's eager to let us have access to this station. It's in a good spot for us. In turn, all they ask is that we help them mop up the Gaians when those ecofreaks show up. I hardly even break a sweat when dealing with those guys. They're barely worth the fuel and ammo, but hey, a good hunting nest is worth something too. There's an unusual amount of freighters moving through those rocks south of here. You'll have to go much further then the mining operations Planetform has at the asteroid field edge. I get the feeling there must be several jumpholes in there - and a smuggling route for both the Corsairs and the Mollys. The Armed Forces and Police Authority don't seem to care enough to do something about it. Me, I don't go hunting for smugglers unless someone pays me to.

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