Battleship Essex

Battleship Essex

File:Br05 04 base.png

Owner

Bretonia Armed Forces

Location

B-6, New London

CLASS: Dunkirk

CREW: CLASSIFIED

ARMAMENT: CLASSIFIED

The former home of the Bretonian Armed Forces in the Dublin system, the Essex was the gatekeeper to New London. Boasting one of the most veteran crews in Bretonia, the fleet gained decades of experience fighting the Mollys in Dublin before going on to play a decisive role during the Gallic War. The Essex fleet was instrumental during the Siege of New London, routing the Corsair Battleship Athos and causing the collapse of the Gallic Trinité flank.

In 831 AS, the Second Revolt broke out on Graves Station. It quickly became apparent that the Mollys had instigated the mutiny, after their agents took control of the base and broadcast the execution of a number of high ranking BMM officials. Political pressure from New London following threats of further broadcasts forced the Essex to deploy immediately, rather than waiting for reinforcements or further intelligence.

Avoiding the mistakes of the Battleship Hood 80 years earlier, the Essex took position at the edge of the Graves Gold Field where it acted as a staging post for the boarding action. Bretonian Marines quickly breached Graves, however they found the station abandoned. Realizing the trap, the Marine commander ordered an immediate retreat moments before the Mollys detonated pre-placed mining charges, scuttling the base. Waves of Molly squadrons immediately began closing on the Essex, in an attempt to pin it in place.

News of a separate assault on the Jump Gate revealed that this was yet another diversion. After confirmation was received that a bomb had been detonated on the gate housing and its core was showing signs of destabilizing, a full evacuation order was issued. The Essex successfully fought its way out of the system, inflicting brutal losses on its attackers. While the battleship successfully made the jump to New London, several of its escort cruisers were lost when the gate exploded.

The Essex currently guards the non-functional Dublin jump gate in New London, having recently returned from Portsmouth Shipyard where it received unspecified "modernizations". It remains responsible for coordinating patrols into the Cumbria Asteroid Field and enforcing the Dublin Blockade. It is rumored that the Essex has standing orders to allow Corsairs to enter the system, and to kill anything leaving.

Bribes & Missions Offered

Bribes

Border World Exports Bretonia Mining & Manufacturing Independent Miners Guild Bounty Hunters Guild

Missions

Bretonia Armed Forces

Commodities

Imports

Commodity Price Robotics 26$ Ablative Armor Plating 100$ Gin 27$ Medical Equipment 22$ Detroit Light Arms 80$ Corsair Pilot 61$ Outcast Pilot 76$ Pirate Pilot 18$ Coalition Pilot 85$ Molly Pilot 64$ Gaian Pilot 65$ Militant Pilot 84$ Military Surplus 448$ Oxygen 4$ Water 4$ Food Rations 12$ H-Fuel 100$ MOX 16$ Basic Alloy 23$ Construction Machinery 42$ Pharmaceuticals 20$ Hull Panels 30$ Optronics 122$ Consumer Goods 27$ Engine Components 100$ Daumann Side Arms 101$ Gallic Enfer Blasters 104$ Synth Paste 20$ Marines 734$ Munitions 44$ Xenobiotic Filters 55$ HazMat Canisters 37$ Passenger Cabin (Bretonia) 10,444$ Royalist Pilot 101$ Xeno Relics 204$

Exports

Commodity Price Deployable Mining Container 50,000$ Crew 202$ Criminal Cells (Bretonia) 13,917$ 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.

[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.

[833 AS] Admiral Found Guilty Over Dublin Disaster

BATTLESHIP ESSEX -- 833 AS -- A military tribunal has found that Admiral James Byng was guilty of failing to do his utmost to prevent the loss of Dublin and the New London Jump Gate. The charges concerned the deployment and disposition of forces under Byng's command, the botched boarding of Graves Station and the decision to retreat from the system. The admiralty judges commuted a capital sentence to a dishonorable discharge, noting the admiral's exemplary service during the Gallic War. Representatives speaking on Byng's behalf decried the tribunal as a sham, claiming he was being scapegoated by the corporate and government interests who bore actual culpability for the uprising. The Battleship Essex continues to maintain a blockade of Dublin, with government sources stating that the Molly terrorists will be crushed and the system brought to heel in short order.

[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.

Rumors

Bretonia Armed Forces

The Mollys are smart about their attacks. They attack in several different parts of the system simultaneously so we have to split our forces. The trouble comes from not knowing which attacks have the greatest number of ships. When they attack they do as much damage as they can, and then they split up and get out, making the chase very difficult. We usually only bag one or two of them - if they make it to the Arranmore asteroid field we have orders to abandon the pursuit. The most embarrassing epoch in Bretonian military history was the time right after the Founders Day Revolt. The destroyers made the first mistake by following the Mollys into an asteroid field and ran into a minefield. Even worse was when the Hood made the same mistake and got too badly crippled to make it back home to New London. It was decommissioned and stripped of all weaponry, engines, supplies, and materials, but the hull was left mostly intact. Some independent miners later salvaged her and turned her into a Freeport. A bloody disgrace that is. I escort the BMM Gold shipments that leave the system and the supply shipments that return. My role is to protect the goods at all costs. We have two wings flying the escort missions: one to defend against attack and one to pursue the attackers after they are repulsed. The captain of this battleship does not underestimate the cunning and ability of the Mollys in this system. This is not true of the former captain of the battleship Hood, which is now a nest of criminals, vagrant miners, and other similar filth. The Hood was abandoned after being badly damaged in a Molly trap. It should have been scuttled more thoroughly if you ask me. There are two groups of criminals operating in Dublin. The Corsairs, who hail from somewhere deep in the Omega's and steal whatever they can get their hands on. They are common thieves, but with a vicious nature. Then there are the Mollys, who were once Bretonian miners. They chose the revolt against the Crown over their labor conditions and they are by far the most numerous criminals in Dublin. The two groups fight each other as well as us. It is hard to go on the offensive against the Mollys. Their tactics avoid a direct head-on assault that would allow us to bring our heavier assets to bear. Instead, they favor rapid, fast strikes from multiple directions, then disperse within minutes. Wolfpacks, really... The flipside is that if one of our patrols happens upon a lone Molly, he's as good as dead. With all the trouble at the fronts in Leeds and Newcastle, some of my subordinates think we'll be retasked to the frontline soon. What they don't know is that we might already be on it. The Mollys are treacherous - I would not put it past them to throw an accord with Gallia. If Gallia tries to use Dublin as a flank for attacking New London itself, we'll be the last line of defense here. But I doubt that will happen. The Mollys want this system for themselves, and throwing their lot in with Gallia means their dreams of self-rule go out the window. The separatists in this system are only part of the problem; the Corsairs also pose quite a threat to the Gold mined here. Aside from Corsairs and the Mollys, there are all kinds of criminals in this lawless system and that is why we run patrols by the Hood. All the criminals in this system get their supplies here. I don't understand why there are Bounty Hunters in this system. If the military can't curb the crime in this sector, then there is not much that common rabble will be able to do about it, either. I think that if the Gold shipments from Graves keep decreasing, Lady Edmund and BMM will be replaced with someone who can do the job right.

Bounty Hunters Guild

The Bounty Hunters Guild maintains a presence on this ship because we have been hired to assist the military in curbing pirate activity in this system. We go places that the military might not, and the tactics we employ might not necessarily be allowed by military code. That makes it easier for us to get the job done. Whenever the Mollys make an attack, the corporations that pay my expenses expect me to bring back some heads. I have to go searching for the Mollys in their own territory -- the asteroid fields. This is where the Mollys are most dangerous. Remember, they are miners, so they know the asteroids better than anyone else. The dragnet that the military creates to stop pirated or illegally mined Gold from leaving the system is not as effective as they would have you believe, or else how would the Mollys continue to fund themselves? They are getting their Gold out of the system through various Jump Holes, but in smaller ships.

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