Dreadnought Basilica

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Dreadnought Basilica
Owner
Outcasts
Location
D/C-5, Omicron Alpha

CLASS: Ranseur

CREW: CLASSIFIED

ARMAMENT: CLASSIFIED

The latest Ranseur class dreadnought built by Outcasty at Valletta Shipyard as a need to replace the older and now decommissioned Captana. Although Outcast doctrine mostly relies on its vaunted aces in fighters and bombers, the Basilica serves as a heavy hammer for breaking through enemy lines and as heavy tactical support wherever she is needed.

The dreadnought Basilica proved herself right from the start of her operational career in striking down the Crayter Republic's prized capital ships Helios, Zagreus, Hades, and Cronus during Operation Orange Hammer. Although Basilica was severely damaged during this campaign in Crayter territory, she successfully retreated back to the safety of Omicron Alpha, where she was upgraded to increase her effectiveness. She later proved her superiority again in Omicron Theta, where she overwhelmed the Corsair battleship Fes without major damage, though later was forced to withdraw to Omicron Alpha.

Her most recent combat deployment was in the Omicron Alpha system, where she conducted a retaliatory orbital bombardment of a mining colony on the planet Albegna that had been seized by rebel slaves, just after it was clear that all Outcasts had long since been executed at the hands of the rebels.

The Basilica is currently the only operational Ranseur by the Outcast forces and she is stationed in high orbit on the planet Malta, where she serves as the protector of the Outcast homeworld. Having already established her place in history through a more than impressive combat record, and owing to the timelessness of her modular design and highly experienced crew, the Basilica is one of the few battleships in Sirius to be shrouded in an almost mythical aura, often fueled by the Outcasts themselves.

Bribes & Missions Offered

Bribes
Missions


Commodities

Imports
Commodity Price
Robotics 34$
Ablative Armor Plating 105$
Black Market Munitions 173$
Medical Equipment 66$
Detroit Light Arms 152$
Military Surplus 1,106$
Counterfeit Computerware 220$
Oxygen 17$
Water 9$
Food Rations 26$
H-Fuel 60$
MOX 48$
Basic Alloy 36$
Construction Machinery 49$
Pharmaceuticals 46$
Hull Panels 56$
Optronics 63$
Consumer Goods 49$
Engine Components 92$
Gallic Enfer Blasters 98$
Black Market Blasters 136$
Black Market Light Arms 207$
Kemwer Technologies 252$
Volgograd Ordinance 226$
Black Market Augments 112$
Synth Paste 47$
Marines 1,241$
Munitions 53$
Xenobiotic Filters 64$
HazMat Canisters 57$
Xeno Relics 183$
Exports
Commodity Price
Deployable Mining Container 50,000$
Casualties 65,263$
Crew 237$
Black Market Pharmaceuticals 199$
Toxic Waste 44$
Cardamine 116$
Daumann Side Arms 128$


Ships sold


Ship Class Price
Gladius Light Fighter 15,052$
Carabela Heavy Fighter 18,108$
Rapier Very Heavy Fighter 23,679$
Falcata Mk II Bomber 70,726$


News

[834 AS] Dons applaud Crayter military

MALTA -- 834 -- Crayter and IMG efforts to extract the slave rabble from Freeport 10 have proven to be an amusing diversion. Acting on a plan devised by Dons Wenceslau and Ricci, our warriors allowed the slave transports to slip away while inflicting a devastating toll on their escorts. Tau-37 is now littered with Crayter corpses. Don Ricci applauded Crayter leadership from his Maltese villa. “It’s very impressive, the Republic managed to take a cheap publicity stunt and turn it into a diplomatic crisis,” he noted, referring to the destruction of the liner Nagapasa. “Of course, the best is yet to come.” Many of the slaves aboard Freeport 10 were Liberty Insurgency prisoners of war, trafficked by the LPI; the paraded slaves are living, breathing evidence of Liberty malfeasance.

[833 AS] Decisive Victory Over Stabiline Menace

SIGMA-17 -- 833 -- For decades Atka has been a thorn in the Outcasts’ side. Nuisance became an existential threat with the release of Stabiline - Cryer’s pale imitation of Cardamine. Four years ago we damaged production, but failed to finish the job due to intervention by both the GMG and the Corsairs, who we suspect Cryer had bribed as mercenaries. To ensure success in our current campaign, the Dons committed to a masterful strategy of deception. An attack on the Corsair-occupied Freeport 9 emboldened Zoner Militants to take up arms, prompting the Corsairs to draw in reinforcements from across the Sigmas. While the Zoners spent their lives as a sacrificial distraction, our own ships redeployed to the true objective, achieving Atka’s complete destruction.

[833 AS] Cardamine Shortages

MALTA -- 833 AS -- While the slave rebellion has been crushed after more than a year of fighting, many plantations and their warehouses were burned or severely damaged. Fortunately, the Dons had prepared for this eventuality - the cartels were required to pool supplies to service the distribution network in "maintenance mode". This means maximum emphasis is placed on supplying fully dependent pawns, with Cardamine stocks distributed on a key-by-key basis to ration out supply. Despite these measures, demand for Cardamine skyrocketed, triggering armed conflicts between the various network participants and driving prices to dizzying heights. While we have slowly suppressed these prices as supply recovers, they remain an impediment to orderly market function. The Dons expect production to return to pre-rebellion levels over the next four years as destroyed infrastructure is rebuilt.

[832 AS] Righting Past Wrongs

AUGUSTA -- 832 AS -- The fires of revolt still smolder on Malta, but we have no time to count our losses and mourn our dead. We are forced to steel our hearts and once more rise to defend ourselves from outsiders who would see the Outcasts destroyed.

We of course speak of the Corsairs, who exploited our people's moment of tragedy to seize Freeport 9 as a forward base. The Corsair occupation of the Freeport represents an existential threat to the Maltese people, and their raids upon our very home cannot and will not be tolerated. The Battlecruiser Augusta has led a force into Omicron Theta with orders to destroy the station and its biodomes, disrupt the Corsairs, and annihilate the Artifact trade that funds them.

Already we have won a great victory by striking down the Battleship Fes, with the Battleship Delos surely soon to join it in the grave. The Dons have promised a handsome payment to the cartel of each pilot that kills a Corsair in Omicron Theta.

[831 AS] Corsair Threat Looms over Theta Aggression

IBIZA -- 831 AS -- The barbaric Corsairs have made their move in the Omicron Theta system, seizing control of Freeport 9. While this does remove another Bounty Hunter hive from our borders, it provides the Corsairs with an unacceptable forward staging ground for their own raids.

Ibiza Station has been reinforced with additional guard squadrons and placed on high alert, in case this is the precursor to a larger Corsair fleet movement. Once the current disarray on Malta is resolved, the Cartels will turn their attention to matters of security, and the fleets will be free to strike terror into the hearts of our foes once more.

The Corsairs may feel they have won themselves a great prize in Omicron Theta, but the Freeport is no fortress and a biodome is a fragile thing. The Corsairs say they were forced to act to secure their territory. Soon enough they shall learn that men in glass houses should not cast stones.

[831 AS] Jump Hole Upheaval Causes Chaos

HEISENBERG -- 831 AS -- Jump holes across Sirius have become increasingly volatile and chaotic over the last year, with Professor Sophia Nagel from the Heisenberg Research Station linking the unusual phenomena to the Pulse. The Pulse was an unprecedented blast of hyperspace energy that was detected immediately prior to last year's jump gate Blackout.

Professor Nagel and her team are certain the Pulse originated from outside Sirius, but are otherwise no closer to identifying its source or mitigating a future Blackout event. "Following the Blackout, we began to see immediate signs of jump hole destabilization in multiple different regions, with many ultimately falling out of phase alignment altogether", she commented. The dramatic upending of Sirius' jump hole network has already prompted many groups to abandon stations and withdraw from systems that appear to risk being cut off.

While months-long trips between the stars are possible thanks to the Liberty Engine and many centuries of innovation, few ships are designed or provisioned to make such arduous journeys. Those who were displaced by Sirius' redrawn map hope that system connections will return, while adventurers and explorers rush to discover new routes.

[831 AS] Malta Ablaze!

MALTA -- 831 AS -- A slave rebellion has raged for months on the planet Malta as increasingly-organized rebel slaves have managed to take over some of the more sparsely populated and difficult-to-traverse areas. Our operations have been further complicated by the slaves' acquisition of sensitive planetary defense installations; our own defensive installations have been turned against us!

While it remains unclear how the rebels learned of the orbital installation locations, it is possible that some of the more benevolent masters did not consider their slaves to be a serious security threat and allowed them access to portions of critical infrastructure. The Dons do not know how they will approach this pressing fact, but it is clear that the laxity of their brothers and sisters has allowed the rebellion to put up unexpectedly strong resistance.

Despite this, the slaves themselves seem to realize the futility of their struggle as Outcast forces in Omicron Alpha have managed to disable most of the IMG and CR ships that attempted to smuggle aid and reinforcements to the besieged rebels. As the Outcasts succeed in gaining tactical and strategic superiority and their forces regain lost territory, the end of this rebellion is only a matter of time, blood and sweat.

As a final act of revenge, the slaves aimed their weapons not only against the Outcasts themselves, but also against the reason they were brought here: Cardamine. As such, plantation fires stretch from horizon to horizon across the rural regions of planet Malta.

[831 AS] Slave Uprising on Malta I

MALTA -- 831 AS -- Across the planet Malta, widespread fighting rages as more and more slaves join the rebellion against their Outcast owners. Armed slaves have found it easier to conquer rural solitudes and vast swaths of plantations while the major cities have managed to quell the rebellion in its infancy.

The slave rebellion itself began in the mines of the planet Albegna when the Benitez Cartel executed 200 slaves for sabotaging a mining facility. This cruelty resonated throughout the mining colony, even among the usually trouble-free slaves, and they quickly gained control of the mining facility, including Don Juan Benitez himself, who was to oversee the execution. When the Benitez Cartel learned that their Don had been executed by the slaves instead, they ordered the liquidation of the mining colony.

Although the Albegna mining colony revolt was resolved in less than two weeks, promises by other Dons of 'precautionary measures' across the board, which most slaves interpreted as more mass executions, sparked a widespread slave uprising across Malta. Although the slaves themselves would hardly have been able to resist the well-armed Outcasts, the rebels had the element of surprise in the form of caches of smuggled weapons and other military equipment.

As war rages on planet Malta between desperate slaves and their surprised masters, all Outcast forces from Sirius are recalled to planet Malta to quell the rebellion as quickly as possible. With the IMG and CR taking advantage of weakened Outcast influence in the Tau Region, the question arises as to whether this was all planned by their neighboring foes.

[830 AS] Cardamine Operations Expand In Response To Falling Profits

MALTA -- 830 AS -- The Maltese Cartels are scrambling to increase Cardamine production after a meeting between heads of influential families that revealed a general downturn in their profits, caused by a cascade of issues in our distribution network.

Our smuggling routes have come under increased scrutiny from law enforcement throughout the Sirius Sector, causing an increase rate of failure for our smugglers. The independent smuggling contacts are also increasingly reluctant to continue their work as the risks begin to outweigh the rewards. That in turn, has a secondary effect of making people turn to the filthy Cryer for their Stabiline, a fake remedy for Cardamine withdrawal that we can only describe as snake oil, filling up pockets with false promises.

Dissenting voices painfully point out that this is the first time in a century where we have seen three consecutive quarters of falling profits, with several minor Cartels allegedly facing bankruptcy amid the disaster. The Dons have quickly silenced such assertions, reassuring the public that the Orange Dream will continue to grow.

To address the situation, the Dons demand ever-greater Cardamine yields, launching unprecedented expansion efforts. Steps will be taken to secure the product's shipping. In addition, they plan to import a large labor force from the colonies to bolster the Maltese plantations. This undertaking will require a coordinated effort from Maltese Navy captains, independent smugglers and subverted Sirian assets to acquire and ship slaves en masse to Malta.

[735 AGS] Sirian Campaign Picking Up Steam

NEW PARIS -- 735 AGS -- The Royal Navy is claiming victory after victory in the Bretonian colonies. After successfully flushing out what appears to have been local pirate forces, our forces took the sparsely inhabited "Edinburgh" system with only token resistance. The first real test of our forces against the enemy came in the toxic wasteland called Leeds, where the first heavily inhabited planet lays. Enemy resistance was stiff, but our forces have managed to gain the upper hand in virtually the entire system. This puts the Gallic Expeditionary Forces in a position to strike at New London, and the heart of Bretonia. Military analysts predict that all organised Bretonian resistance will falter if New London falls, and that taking London itself would mean a quick end to to the war, avoiding needless bloodshed.

[734 AGS] The Reconquest Begins

NEW PARIS -- 734 AGS -- King Charles XI addressed the nation today to announce the beginning of the Great Reconquest, the reclamation of the rich and fertile regions of Sirius stolen from the rightful control of Gallia by the Libertonian and Bretonian traitors.

"My faithful subjects! We have stood by long enough while the ravenous remnants of the Alliance feasted upon the lands they have eyed for themselves from long before the landing! We know what they did to assure themselves domination, we know that they led Coalition forces to our sleeper launch site so that they may escape like the rats that they are, and take the best of this region for themselves. All their actions must have consequences! Starting from today, they will be running once again. They will run, or they will be included into the rightful control of House Gallia! Hail the reconquest!"

The crowd gathered at Ile du Palais cheered throughout the speech. The first Royal Navy units are expected to reach and pacify Tau-23 within days, officially marking the first step on the road to victory.

[733 AGS] The 2nd Gallic War: True Goals of the Council

BRIANCON -- 733 AGS -- The so-called Second Gallic War that was inspired by the Council two decades ago is nowhere near its ending. The Council, the powerful and wealthy group formed mainly by Royal Navy and Royal Police deserters, and financed by semi-legal businesses and criminal cartels of the Core Worlds, is sometimes described as a revolutionary movement. Yet, through the course of the war the Gallic media collected evidence that Council is nowadays more like a state within a state, having its own bureaucracy, enforcement agencies, and even newly established oligarchy that came into fortune due to the war.

The Council leaders claim that their goal is to change the government of Gallia and overthrow the monarchy, in addition to breaking the isolation of Gallia from the rest of Sirius worlds. According to our today's expert Robert Broussard, Doctor of Economy and senior consultant of Solar Engineering and Ile-de-France Shipping, the Council never had an intention to overthrow the New Paris monarchy. "Our information on the Council agenda is mainly based on their own public announcements and press releases. Yet, New Paris is so far from the Gallic Border Worlds that the Council will not be able to overtake the Core Worlds by force, even if all Border Worlds fall under their supreme rule," - Broussard says, - "On New Paris and other prominent worlds of Gallia, public support for the warlike actions of the Council is relatively low, and the Council is aware that the chances to inspire revolts in the heart of our nation are very slim."

Independent analysts estimate black market operations in Gallia rising by 150%% during the last 30 years. At the same time, frequency of pirate attacks had risen twice in the Core Worlds, and more than three times in the Border Worlds. This unprecedented wave of piracy occured mainly because of the demand for various smuggled goods that the Council generates, and because of the overall chaos caused by the war. Royal Police was caught unprepared by this new dangerous tendency, unable to defend corporate and civilian shipments. The pirate groups are expected to grow even larger now that the path to Sirius was breached by the Council in Languedoc. Being able to take advantage of this new development, pirate groups like the Unione Corse, Gallic Brigands, and Maquis now plan their expansion into Sirius, searching for new markets and recruiting more pilots.

The Council supports those pirate groups almost openly, in return for their help against the Royal Navy. Sporadic raids of Brigands and Maquis never cause significant losses, but play a crucial role in delaying Navy operations against the Council. Almost every asteroid field and nebula in Gallia is now swarmed with ships of various unlawful groups. It remains unknown for how much longer the Council resistance will continue, but it is already evident that there are forces within the Council and within the pirate groups interested in using the war as a source of income. For the Council leadership, political struggle and the well being of their own people appears to be less important than gaining personal wealth and power. This is the reason why the Council would never support any peace negotiation initiatives.

[735 AGS] Cardamine the New Scourge of Gallia?

NEW PARIS -- 819 AS -- Royal Police spokesmen dismiss media reports of widespread abuse of the new drug Cardamine within Gallic society, but arrests for drug related offenses seem to be on the rise. Cardamine, which has an unknown origin, seems to have spread throughout the upper tiers of Gallic society quietly, and has only received media attention after becoming a dominant force in street level crime. Some blame contact with Sirius as the source of the problem, pointing to a conspiracy among the Sirius Houses to afflict Gallia with degenerate addictions. One prominent politician called for investigation of the Junkers as the likely culprits who introduced Cardamine to Gallia, but so far his allegations have been seemingly ignored by the Royal Police. Inquiries to the Royal Navy about whether Cardamine has shown up in cargo interdictions on Gallia's borders have gone unanswered.


Rumors

Outcasts
  • 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.


  • 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.


  • 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.


  • 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.


  • 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.


  • 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.


  • 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.


  • 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.


  • 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.


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