Battleship Ark Royal

Battleship Ark Royal

File:Br07 01 base.png

Owner

Bretonia Armed Forces

Location

F-2, Leeds

CLASS: Dunkirk

CREW: CLASSIFIED

ARMAMENT: CLASSIFIED

Built in 809 AS at Southampton Shipyard, the Ark Royal underwent trials in the New London system for several months before being sent to Newcastle to prevent further Molly raids on the important installations.

With Gallia preparing to enter Newcastle, the Ark Royal ensured that any such advance would be a costly and sluggish attempt. It spent little time in the system after the war's end, however, as it participated in the Bretonian annexation of Canaria several years later.

With the invasion ending in an eventual retreat for the Kingdom, the Ark Royal moved to invade Edinburgh, a former Gallic Royal Navy stronghold in the Taus, and then returned to Leeds. It now acts as a base of operations for patrols heading throughout the remnants of the once industrial heartland of Bretonia.

Bribes & Missions Offered

Bribes

Bounty Hunters Guild Border World Exports Bretonia Mining & Manufacturing

Missions

Bretonia Armed Forces Bounty Hunters Guild

Commodities

Imports

Commodity Price Robotics 28$ Ablative Armor Plating 127$ Gin 37$ Medical Equipment 33$ Detroit Light Arms 77$ Corsair Pilot 76$ Outcast Pilot 63$ Pirate Pilot 23$ Coalition Pilot 96$ Molly Pilot 79$ Gaian Pilot 60$ Militant Pilot 85$ Military Surplus 367$ Oxygen 6$ Water 6$ Food Rations 20$ H-Fuel 89$ MOX 15$ Basic Alloy 26$ Construction Machinery 39$ Pharmaceuticals 31$ Hull Panels 34$ Optronics 92$ Consumer Goods 35$ Engine Components 72$ Daumann Side Arms 128$ Gallic Enfer Blasters 73$ Synth Paste 19$ Marines 624$ Munitions 42$ Xenobiotic Filters 54$ HazMat Canisters 47$ Passenger Cabin (Bretonia) 19,454$ Royalist Pilot 89$ Uranium 7$ Xeno Relics 225$

Exports

Commodity Price Deployable Mining Container 50,000$ Crew 202$ Criminal Cells (Bretonia) 8,236$ Toxic Waste 13$

Ships sold

Ship	Class	Price
Cavalier	Light Fighter	13,522$
Paladin	Heavy Fighter	19,028$
Crusader	Very Heavy Fighter	25,079$
Dragoon	Bomber	71,976$
Challenger	Bomber	71,412$

News

[834 AS] Notorious privateer released from prison

NEWGATE -- 834 -- Henry King has been released from Newgate Prison on parole, having served a 5 year sentence. Leading a squadron of privateers, King rose to fame for daring strikes on Gallic supply lines across the Taus and even Languedoc. It is believed that King had the largest personal bounty in Gallia for his exploits, which were recently adapted for holoreel in the feature-length hit, “Blade and Blaster”. King continued to attack Gallic Confederacy targets after the war’s end, and was arrested for piracy upon returning to Bretonia. When asked for a statement by journalists, he replied “444” before climbing into a waiting shuttle and departing.

[834 AS] Senior admiral unexpectedly retires

NEW LONDON -- 834 -- In an unexpected move, Lady Watson has announced her retirement from the Armed Forces, resigning her commission as an Admiral with immediate effect. Admiral Watson had been tipped as the most likely candidate to lead Bretonia’s pacification of Dublin, prompting surprise and concern among commentators. The Admiral’s office issued a curt statement advising that she was stepping down to spend more time with her grandchildren. Despite this, anonymous Whitehall sources claim the admiral was disgusted by the treatment of Admiral Byng, and had reached “breaking point” over alleged political interference in the planning and disposition of the upcoming campaign.

[834 AS] Kusari technicians begin work

PORTSMOUTH SHIPYARD -- 834 -- Following secret negotiations between the Ministry of Defence and Kusari state officials, specialist Kusari technicians have been granted access to the Battleships Essex and Somerset during refits at Portsmouth Shipyard. The defense picket around Portsmouth has been doubled while the works proceed; the classified technology being installed has been described by senior fleet officers as "critical to the upcoming Dublin campaign". Thames Outpost has been temporarily requisitioned as a patrol-base to defend New London and enforce the Dublin blockade.

[834 AS] Cryer Delegation Arrives at Harris

PLANET HARRIS -- 834 -- Cryer Pharmaceuticals location scouts have arrived on Planet Harris, amid speculation the medical giant will establish a facility on the remote planet. With the destruction of Atka Research Station, Cryer lost the primary production facility for their flagship drug -- Stabiline. Harris is believed to be a front-runner candidate for a replacement lab due to its strategic location in the Tau Border Worlds, BAF security perimeter, and option to tap into local supply lines. Liberty is believed to have provided significant diplomatic backing for Cryer's proposal, which is demanding complete legal autonomy for the site. Bretonian officials have declined to comment on the proceedings.

[833 AS] Queen greets troops during military tour

PORTSMOUTH -- 833 -- Queen Carina has conducted a tour of the First Cruiser Flotilla, marking the launch of the Agincourt class destroyer. Developed by BMM shipwrights using the hard-won lessons of the Gallic War, the Agincourt has been described as a potent blend of traditional Bretonian engineering and modern innovation. Phasing out the aging Crecy class, the Agincourt’s enhanced fire control systems and hardy armor will allow it to excel in the roles championed by its forebear. The Queen also celebrated the pivotal role played by the Cruiser Flotillas in saving Bretonia from Gallic tyranny, bestowing them with the ceremonial “Royal” title of Household troops. The First Royal Cruiser Flotilla is expected to be fully outfitted by year’s end.

[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 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.

Rumors

Bretonia Armed Forces

It's been a long time since most of us have known peace, and now that it's here... I don't know, I just expected to feel... something. Instead it just feels like more of the same, the same day repeating over and over in an endless parody of itself. Hopefully our training flight will be able to deploy on our own soon. The vets here are mostly tied up teaching us, so there aren't many pilots left to enforce the embargoes in the Border Worlds, or deal with all the increased crime and piracy. Our washout numbers are actually going up. Between you and me, I think part of it is just running out of people - everybody capable is either already serving, a veteran, or buried. Now, some of the washouts have been plenty capable folks, but they're just... off. Just the other day we discharged a bloke that lit up a Gallic shuttle in Tau-31 while on a training op. No warning, no provocation - just launched a cruise disruptor and then started trying to shoot the guy down. It sure does feel like this damned house is cursed. Bretonia draws the short end of the stick in Sirius, then every house takes their turn to kick us while we're down for our lunch money. The Ark Royal maintains two of the Armed Forces' training squadrons, so a lot of green pilots end up transferring through here. In some ways I guess it helps to remind them of what's at stake, having to constantly patrol through Leeds - but I would wager a lot of it is down to veterans not wanting to ever see this graveyard of a system again. I just finished my first training evaluation today. When I arrived at the academy, my training flight numbered thirty-four; when we shipped off to the Ark Royal, we were twenty-eight. This morning there were twenty-two of us, and three of us didn't make it back home. I think I heard a couple more are quitting, or maybe they're getting failed out... I oversee the Ark Royal's fighter squadrons, plotting missions and patrol routes and assigning what pilots we have to put out whichever fire is the biggest at the moment. Despite some people's sentiments, recruitment numbers are still low -- we probably have a dozen mission-ready birds sitting idle at any given moment. My whole family's served in the military, so I didn't think twice about signing up as soon as I could. I just wish I could've joined sooner... but I'm sure Pa is smiling down on me, givin' God a big bear hug and yellin' "There's my son!". The news might say we're in 'peacetime', but it sure doesn't feel like it. We've weathered more Molly probing attacks on the LD-14 perimeter in the last week than in the previous month. Every time we stomp out a Gaian hidey-hole, two more seem to pop up. And there's the occasional Royalist visit to remind us of their dreadful presence, of course.

Bounty Hunters Guild

The military's choking to death just trying to keep the lanes and stations from being ripped apart, so a lot of the policing and escorting's down to corpo security - and of course, that means extra fat checks for me and the boys. We go out, take out a few Gaians or Mollys, write up an official report, and get pay from the corps and the Crown's bounty pool. Leeds used to be the sweet-spot for bounty hunting, at least before the Gauls kicked down the door. Just enough pirate activity to whet your appetite, but not so much that you risk getting swarmed off the beaten path. Now? One wrong move and you'll be torn to pieces before you even know what happened. Most of the bounty hunters here either work further up into the Taus, or they hang out on Newgate. Ark Royal is the closest thing to an R&R point for this kind of work, though Durham has been offering some contracts lately. Not sure it's worth slumming it with a bunch of corpo-rats, though. Yeah, most of us've done time, but so have most of the folks working LD-14; we're changed men, or perhaps at least a little more discerning with how we make our pay, eh? The scrap field that Glasgow left behind gives all sorts of good approach angles onto LD-14 without being picked up by the Ark Royal's sensors. It's a real pain to have to scramble every time something slipped through the net, so they've started to pay us just to fly patrols on the far side. I thought boring patrols were their job, but I'm happy to take their money. Want my advice? Don't head into the Taus unless you're looking to find a fight. We lost three good trackers up there just a few weeks ago; they got tangled up in some Outcast brawl, and there's a lot more of them up there than there are down here. One's scary enough, but a whole squadron? No thanks.

Border World Exports

We operate a converted passenger liner to transport workers to and from LD-14, but we also transport prisoners on occasion. They used to have their own prison and naval garrison, but after the war they've only really got a few guards and holding cells. It doesn't seem to bother them much, though -- can't remember the last time I saw 'em take a Molly alive. The military is stretched thin, to say nothing of the poor constables. All the good policemen got used up fighting the war, so now all the warfighters have to play police. I'm mostly just here to make sure the squadrons here have what they need, as the Ark Royal is essentially the only thing keeping the LD-14 corridor from falling to anarchy. With Glasgow gone, there's nothing but the odd patrol from the Ark Royal to keep you company heading into the Border Worlds. It used to be dangerous to take a convoy through the Taus - now it's practically suicidal.

NOTE: Page generated on the 15/12/2024 at 15:50:59 UTC