Aralsk Research Station

From Discovery Wiki
Aralsk Research Station
Owner
Sirius Coalition
Location
D/E-5, Omega-52

CLASS: Volya

GRAVITY: Complete

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Limited

CREW: 3000

Aralsk Research Station, in low Aralkum orbit, is the Coalition's primary research, development and shipbuilding facility. The station is heavily guarded by Coalition Military patrols, and no vessel is permitted to dock without authorization.

Aralsk Research Station was built to house the Aralsk Research Division—a group of brilliant minds hard at work advancing Coalition science and reverse-engineering captured technology. Most Coalition ships and weapons were prototyped here, modified from samples traded for with allies or taken from enemies.

The station has limited shipbuilding facilities for building and testing the Research Division's designs. The tachyon cannons used by Coalition fighters were designed here, as was the Storm-class gunboat and the fearsome Typhoon-class destroyer.

To take advantage of Aralkum's helium-rich atmosphere, the facilities also include a fuel refinery, making it the main source of H-Fuel controlled by the Coalition. Its output can supply in-system patrols by local fleets, but struggles to keep up with demand of Coalition strike groups launched into more remote parts of Sirius.

The station's trajectory is constantly degraded by impacts and friction from debris in the Aralkum Belt. Course-correction is only possible by making use of the fuel it harvests. This is necessary to avoid being sucked in by the gravity well of the gas giant below, but only further reduces its H-Fuel output.

In 830 AS, the Premier ordered significant expansion of Aralsk, adding shipbuilding factories, slipways, and industrial smelters to process resources mined from the Aralkum Belt and imported from the Coalition's trading partners. With these upgrades, Aralsk is now the primary shipyard facility of the Coalition, producing and servicing both capital ships and strike craft. However, the station's fuel consumption increased accordingly to almost three quarters of its output, making it one of the most expensive bases to maintain in the entire Sirius Sector.

Bribes & Missions Offered

Bribes
Missions


Commodities

Imports
Commodity Price
Robotics 39$
Ablative Armor Plating 77$
Hessian Tears 141$
Energy Field Equipment 67$
Rum 26$
Light Arms 161$
Titanium 43$
Vodka 7$
Zinc 78$
Counterfeit Computerware 92$
Gold 251$
Oxygen 6$
Water 6$
Food Rations 48$
H-Fuel 171$
MOX 51$
Basic Alloy 57$
Super Alloy 61$
High-Temperature Alloy 59$
Superconductors 63$
Pharmaceuticals 46$
Polymers 36$
Optronics 117$
Consumer Goods 54$
Engine Components 72$
Artifacts 131$
Consumer Goods 131$
Bio-Neural Processors 177$
Azurite Gas 119$
Xeno Relics 206$
Iridium 148$
Nanocapacitors 60$
Quantum Multiplexors 67$
Synth Paste 38$
Aluminium 170$
Munitions 72$
Xenobiotic Filters 68$
Exports
Commodity Price
Deployable Mining Container 50,000$
Black Market Pharmaceuticals 78$
Hull Panels 103$
Black Market Munitions 55$
Black Market Augments 56$
Scientists 560$


Ships sold


Ship Class Price
Coalition Gunboat Gunboat 1,132,506$
Coalition Heavy Transport Heavy Transport 1,546,005$
Pilgrim Liner Liner 1,910,000$


News

[832 AS] War Returns to Omicron Theta!

FREEPORT 9 -- 832 AS -- Omicron Theta was the site of clashes between the Outcasts and Corsairs for many years, with the Zoners of Freeport 9 surviving in the middle of this uneasy equilibrium. Everything would change late last year when the Outcasts withdrew from the system, and the Corsairs boarded and occupied Freeport 9. Now, the Outcasts have returned in force and the fighting is fiercer than ever as they look to win back lost ground; early clashes saw the loss of the Corsair Battleship Fes and Outcast Destroyer Bella. The Outcasts have been open about their intent to destroy Freeport 9 so long as it remains in Corsair hands, to the dismay of the expelled Zoners who hope to regain the station through diplomatic means. The Core have also been spotted operating in the system, intervening to precisely strike valuable targets and seemingly prevent either side from gaining a decisive edge. Extreme caution is recommended when travelling through the region.

[831 AS] Corsairs Pillage Freeport 9!

CORFU -- 831 AS -- The Corsair occupation of Freeport 9 has sent shockwaves through the Zoner community. The Corsairs had accused the station of allowing their enemies to launch raids into Omicron Gamma, with violent rhetoric escalating after the death of an Elder's son.

As Crete demanded the Zoners of Theta turn over any Hunters aboard their stations and surrender docking control, the Freeport 9 administrators were confident that some kind of compromise could be found. A delegation from Gran Canaria was requested to assist with negotiations, due to the close ties between Zoner and Corsair communities on the planet.

Tragically, the Corsairs interpreted this delay as refusal, and launched a surprise attack while the delegation was en-route. Many of Freeport 9's crew are now being held as hostages while the Corsairs pillage the station. An urgent conclave has been called on Gran Canaria to discuss the Zoner response, while militias on Pygar have taken up arms in case the violence spreads.

[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.

[830 AS] Tempers Flare over Pygar Colony!

PYGAR -- 830 AS -- The Zoners have seen many trials over recent years, with the Bretonian invasion of Gran Canaria being one among many. It was this occupation that forced many settlers off-world, with some braving the deadly storms of Pygar to eke out a difficult existence under the barren planet's surface. The arrival of Zoner colonists in Omicron Theta has not been met with warmth by all, however.

The Corsairs see the Pygar colony as a direct competitor for the region's scarce resources, with Elder Garcia warning that there would be "dire consequences" should Freeport 9's biodomes reduce or divert their exports to Planet Crete. Whispers of alien ruins and Artifacts discovered below Pygar's surface may also antagonize the Corsairs, who rely on the Artifact trade as a source of wealth. The hardship of Pygar's extreme conditions and the uneasy relationship with the Corsairs has already led many colonists to consider a return to the now liberated Gran Canaria.

[826 AS] Justice on Two Fronts

HAMBURG -- 826 -- The Unioners have long been suspected of treachery, however it was only recently that fate delivered an influential Unioner Artifact smuggler into Hessian hands. Cracking under persuasive interrogation, the pilot spilled dirty secrets about cooperation with the Corsairs. Fortuitously, The Unioners have approached us with a plan to seize Vierlande Prison, and have asked for our assistance in persuading the Coalition to contribute. Little do they know they have sprung the perfect trap for themselves. We shall wait for the collaborators to exhaust themselves in the battle, then launch an attack of our own.

[825 AS] Ronneburg reports Omega-5 situation ""critical""

RONNEBURG -- 825 -- Hessian commanders in Omega-5 have reported the heaviest losses in decades, amid a severe supply crunch. Vital material from Dresden has been disrupted by recent combat operations there, and the need to take a far longer and more hazardous route following the loss of Omega-11 to solar storms. As a result, Hessian fighters are suffering from munitions shortages and must ration the use of missiles, mines and weapons platforms. Now Dresden has been fully secured, it is hoped this will allow for material production to be significantly ramped up in the coming months. The Corsairs have sensed this narrow window of opportunity and are pushing us hard. In the meantime, The Coalition have committed its own reserves and industrial support to staunch the bleeding.

[822 AS] Freital lost to solar storms

FREITAL BASE -- 822 -- Omega-11's star has continued to grow more and more violent - we have lost almost a dozen ships trying to cross the system in recent weeks. Of even greater concern, the vicious solar storms have begun to impact local Jump Holes. The connection to Omega-5 recently fell out of phase alignment for nearly 16 hours, while the Dresden Jump Hole also shows signs of instability. Daumann has already fled, abandoning Solaris Station and ending local Diamond mining. As a result, commanders have issued the order to withdraw until conditions improve. Our supply chains between Dresden and Omega-5 are being urgently rerouted to compensate.


Rumors

Sirius Coalition
  • Most of our top scientists, including the head of the Aralsk Research Division, practically live here, and even bring their families in.

    It's not that they like the assignment. But this station seems to have the government's eye when it comes to granting research funds, you know how it is. And being so close to Aralkum is brilliant for research. The high-gravity conditions are a big help for many experiments, and we can stress-test our designs in a live environment!


  • I hate being assigned here. That gas giant creeps me out. It's like it's going to swallow up the station. I can't imagine what it's like for those who have to go down there. And don't get me started on all that debris floating around outside. They say it helps hide the station, but to me it seems more likely to get us all killed. I hope I get rotated outta here soon.


  • Jiangxi bombing? Look, I didn't tell you this, but the government was really quick to cover the whole thing up. Officially it was enemies of the Coalition, not that there's a shortage of those.

    But people are talking, and they say an entire Coalition fleet went missing over it. So there's a theory, all sorts of theories floating around that it was our own ships that bombed it. I don't know what could have happened to make them turn traitor. Alien mind control, maybe. I sure wouldn't follow an order to fire on my own House.

    Whatever happened, I know a lot of people got arrested and sent in for a full medical exam, and not everyone came back out.


  • Have you seen what passes for the news in the Houses? Sometimes we catch broadcasts of their "free press" and they're so profit-driven and full of fearmongering. You have to watch hours of ads to get to the actual news and then they show how awful everything is over there to distract the people from looking inward.

    Our state-run broadcasting services have strict guidelines to make sure only informative news and quality entertainment programs reach our citizens. Yeah, I saw the Premier's latest speech, why do you ask?


  • We use so much of the fuel we mine just to keep this station afloat. If the government keeps piling expansion projects on our facility, we won't have any left for our ships! At least it's not too hard to get it shipped in from Sirius.


NOTE: Page generated on the 07/06/2024 at 15:55:47 UTC