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The Frankfurt System (Rheinland space) is located in the end of the Rheinland territory, between New Berlin, Munich, and Sigma-13. During the 80 Year War is when most of the expansion of the system took place as the system was the to be used as the staging ground for attacks into Sigma-13, however by the wars end most of the system was left ruined and mostly abandoned with GMG raiding parties that ceased several years before the Nomad War doing nothing to improve the situation. For these reasons the Bundschuh have placed their base in this system, and it is used by other pirates to attack opportunity targets making a quite dangerous travel for traders. It is also rumored to contain a military research facility.
System Overview
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Astronomical Bodies
Stellar Objects
- Taunusfeld
- Westerwald
- Sudnebel
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Industrial Development
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Faction Presence
Lawful Factions
Corporations & Guilds
Unlawful Factions
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Planetary Bodies
- Initially charted in the original exploration of the Frankfurt system in 82 A.S., the planet Holstein was ignored for centuries by the government as its primary concern was the industrial development of Rheinland. Eventually, with the help of prominent politicians on New Berlin, Kruger Minerals succeeded in obtaining the financial loans from Interspace Commerce in order to terraform Holstein, which started in 519 A.S.
- With the outbreak of the Eighty Years war between Rheinland and the GMG in 589 A.S., the terraforming operations were abandoned as Kruger hastily pulled out of the system. The Frankfurt system became a staging point for military supplies moving to the frontlines in Sigma 13 for many years, with little corporate activity, until the war came to an abrupt end in 668 A.S.
- After the war, Kruger suffered a stock crash and was forced to make considerable reparations to the Gas Miners Guild, and its operations in Frankfurt never really recovered, with the mining corporation focusing more attention on the Omega 3 and Omega 7 systems. Republican Shipping seized upon the opportunity to acquire the Mainz Storage Facility in orbit of Stulingen, a moon of Holstein, with Daumann constructing Mannheim and a number of deuterium gas miners in the atmosphere of the gas giant Heidelberg.
- With the end of the Nomad War, Kruger Minerals offered to transfer ownership of the planet Holstein to Daumann in exchange for the gas miners on Heidelberg. Daumann readily agreed, and upon gaining the rights to the planet, eagerly restarted the terraforming process. Since the planet is already habitable, although with somewhat unpleasantly cold conditions, a number of settlements have already sprung up on the surface under Daumann's watchful eyes, with the current population settling at slightly over 60 million. It is expected that the terraforming operation will be completed within the next couple of years, so patrols have been stepped up to ensure the final stages are completed without interruption.
- Owner Faction: Daumann Heavy Construction
- Location: D/3
- Diameter: 14,320 km.
- Mass: 6.00 x 10e24 kg.
- Terrain: Terrestrial
- Temperature: -29°C to 17°C
- Escape Velocity: 12.11 km/sec
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Heidelberg
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- A large gas giant with substantial traces of deuterium and tritium in its upper atmosphere, Heidelberg is currently being mined by Kruger Minerals from their base on Mannheim Station in orbit.
- Location: C/6
- Diameter: 29,949 km
- Mass: 13.98 x 10e24 kg
- Terrain: N/A
- Temperature: N/A
- Escape Velocity: 19.21 km/sec
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Stulingen
- A moon of the planet Holstein, Stulingen is a hot, dry world warmed by internal volcanic processes. With no atmosphere capable of supporting life and no known valuable resources, it is highly unlikely that anyone will attempt to construct any facilities planetside. Republican Shipping constructed Mainz Storage Facility in orbit to conduct shipping transfers between the GMG and Rheinland.
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Nebulae and Asteroids
Taunusfeld
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- A field of bare rock asteroids, this was once a staging area for military operations during the 80-Years War. The field was later abandoned after Rheinland's bitter defeat at the hands of the Gas Mining Guild (GMG). Ironically, probes have begun to detect a substantial Bundschuh presence in the field, though the exact nature of their activities is currently unknown.
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Westerwald
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- The Westerwald cloud is a massive, copper coloured nebula, covering the west side of Frankfurt. Bundschuh and Unioners are prolific within the cloud, launching attacks against the Mainz Storage Facility. Military forays into the cloud have also become more frequent in recent times. The government claims that they are searching for a supposed jump hole, but there are rumours that the government is operating a clandestine base within the cloud. Due to the cloud's utility as a staging ground, the military has instituted measures to keep civilian traffic away from the area. All who enter do so of their own volition and should not expect to find friends within, whether military or otherwise. Proceed at your own risk.
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Sudnebel
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- The Sudnebel is a huge outcropping of the Walker nebula covering the entire southern outskirts of the Frankfurt system. Due to it's sheer size, the nebula has not been fully charted. The nebula consists of fine particulate dust which confuses most sensors. Hessians often launch raids out of the nebula, attacking both Mannheim and the lane leading to New Berlin.
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Space Stations
- Originally built by the Imperial government at the beginning of the Eighty Years War to serve as a forward base against the periodic GMG strikes into Frankfurt, the Mainz station is known for its dual role in those times, serving as both a defensive fort and a storage facility for whatever H-Fuel supplies could be liberated from Sigma-13. It managed to endure for the entirety of the war (including several organised attacks on Holstein itself), only to become a symbol of imperialist aggression after the decisive victory of the GMG in the Battle of the Yanagi Cloud ignited the first sparks of civil unrest in Rheinland.
- With the coming of the Popular Revolution in 672 A.S., much of the Mainz garrison was withdrawn to New Berlin to help contain the population, and the station fell into disrepair shortly. The turning point in its history came when the reformed Rheinland government decided to change it into a way station for foreign shipping, to encourage freight companies to expand. The Mainz station was set out for auction in early 694 A.S., and Republican Shipping, Rheinland's leading transport company, managed to buy it out in a winning bid. The last military personnel were evacuated from the station a year later.
- The newly renovated Mainz Storage Facility was officially opened for business in 702 A.S. Its H-Fuel tanks left over from the war with the GMG were refurbished as a valuable asset, and the station legally became the drop-off point for Kusari fuel heading into Rheinland. Nowadays, the Mainz Storage Facility is one of the biggest shipping ports in Rheinland, invaluable to both the economy and shipment security in Frankfurt.
- Location: D/4
- Class: Abbey
- Gravity: Partial
- Docking: Yes
- Amenities: Yes
- Population: 200
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- Officially Mannheim Station is owned by Kruger Minerals and they use the base to mine deuterium from the nearby gas giant of Heidelberg. Originally constructed in 670 A.S. by Daumann, Mannheim never made much profit, although Daumann used it more for the prestige of owning the only H-Fuel manufacturing facility in Rheinland than for making money directly, for it gave them a bit more power, especially over their Kruger rivals.
- Eventually, however, as the after-effects of the Eighty Years War faded away, Daumann made several deals and swapped the ownership of Mannheim and its gas miners in exchange for the ownership of the Planet Holstein. Kruger, happy to be rid of its failed terraforming project on Holstein, was unaware of the raw material deposits that Daumann surveyors had found on Holstein, nor of Daumann's intent to restart the terraforming process. Nevertheless, Kruger has made a reasonable amount of money out of selling H-Fuel at an extremely high cost to the Rheinland Military, who have had little choice but to buy it from Kruger, for the Gas Miners Guild would charge the Rheinland Military an exorbitant price.
- Location: C/6
- Class: Sanctuary
- Gravity: Partial
- Docking: Yes
- Amenities: Yes
- Population: 400
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- Fulda Border Station is the command center for the Rheinland Federal Police in the Frankfurt system. The Federal Police is tasked with handling the interdiction of all illegal activity in the area, including drugs, smuggling, and pirate activity. They also maintain a watchful eye on the Gas Mining Guild (GMG).
- Location: E/1
- Class: Chapel
- Gravity: Complete
- Docking: Yes
- Amenities: Yes
- Population: 100
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- Believed to be founded by a group of New Berlin University students in 679 AS, the movement had much support among the liberal elite of New Berlin, tired of the corrupt practices of the government that had led them to financial ruin near the end of the 80-Years War. During the Dresden rebellion of 700 AS, the Bundschuh found their first official cause -- shipping supplies "liberated" from Frankfurt to the Kruger and Daumann rebels. Three months after that, sympathetic maintenance workers started sabotaging Daumann manufacturing operations in New Berlin. The industrial heart of Rheinland stopped beating, and the Popular Revolution had begun.
- Five years later the Emperor was overthrown,, and a new coalition government was established in its place. While the Bundschuh initially pushed for a full investigation into the activities of companies such as Kruger Mining and Daumann Heavy Construction, more pragmatic elements within the government decided that for the newly formed Rheinland Republic to succeed, it needed the support of the aristocrats who controlled those and other major companies. Both Kruger and Daumann were eventually required to pay substantial reparations intended to "improve the Rheinland Republic for the good of all people," and all Rheinland companies were forced to comply with a newly ratified Workers' Rights Convention.
- By 715 AS business in Dresden had more or less resumed as usual. The Bundschuh were driven underground, an impractical brand of idealism ill-suited to building a consensus among the many different government factions and the aristocrats who controlled the purse strings. The Bundschuh took the ideological high route, attracting the purists dedicated to overthrowing the corrupt Rheinland regime represented by the government, Daumann, and Republican. The Red Hessians adapted the more pragmatic approach of stealing and plundering in the guise of fighting the powers that be. As a result, the Red Hessian ranks swelled, and the Bundschuh dwindled.
- The Bundschuh have always looked to the Unioners, LWB, Red Hessians, and disgruntled Republican, Daumann and Kruger workers for possible recruits. So they maintain a distinct note of neutrality towards the criminal groups, although they find the Red Hessian practice of indiscriminate piracy distasteful. They prefer to focus on Daumann, Republican, and military bases, although they do raid a ship on occasion for supplies, preferably Samura or Kishiro, as they have no more love for Kusari than the rest of the Rheinland.
- Location: D/3
- Class: Unknown
- Gravity: Complete
- Docking: Yes
- Amenities: Yes
- Population: Unknown
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- After the Nomad war ended in 802 A.S., the resulting economic upswing in all four Houses finally gave Rheinland the financial stability to begin reconstructing its capital ship fleet. With the commissioning of the Battleship Westfalen in 803 A.S., the first of the Bismarck class, it wasn't long before more followed it. The Battleship Koblenz was launched in 809 A.S. and was immediately stationed in orbit of the planet Holstein to protect Daumann interests from the Red Hessians.
- Of late, the attacks against Holstein have slacked off, and the Rheinland Military high command eventually decided to relocate the Koblenz to guard the classified Schatten military research facility.
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 Schatten Research Facility
- Schatten Research Facility was constructed some time during the year 803 A.S., but beyond that, nobody seems to be able to agree on much more. The base is well protected within the alien minefield in the Frankfurt system, virtually inaccessible save for one entry passage.
- The base itself is the headquarters for major Rheinland special operation projects, which obviously makes it quite a tempting target. However, the division of Black Legionnaires, some of the toughest ground troops in Sirius, stationed on the base for internal security and the high presence of military vessels in and around the station based off of the battleship Koblenz make an assault almost impossible.
- Beyond that, nobody is quite sure what goes on within the station. It's essentially a giant Faraday Cage; no transmissions get out of the base, and there hasn't been a tool invented that can penetrate the electronic shielding. Reports range from experiments in genetic manipulation, to cybernetic enhancements, to Nomad technology, and even to the Nomads themselves.
- It has been rumoured, from time to time, that the research facility is the command centre of the BDM, the Rheinland office of naval intelligence, but nothing has ever been confirmed or even slightly validated. No sortie sent against the base, from the Unioners, Red Hessians, or even one memorable attack from the Corsairs, has ever breached the station defences, and it seems likely that for now the secrets of Schatten will remain safe.
- Owner Faction: Rheinland Military Guard
- Location: D/3
- Class: Mosel
- Gravity: Complete
- Docking: Yes
- Amenities: Yes
- Population: 4K
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Jump Gates and Holes
Federal Republic of Rheinland
