| Belvedere Refinery | |
| Owner | |
| ALG Waste Disposal | |
| Location | |
| D-3/4, New London |
CLASS: Abbey
GRAVITY: Complete
DOCKING: Yes
AMENITIES: Yes
CREW: 640
Belvedere Refinery was constructed in 827 AS in response to challenges in clearing up New London. Initially intended exclusively as a smelting point for the vast quantities of military grade scrap endangering Planet New London, its role was later widened to include the salvaging of the Southampton Debris Field and the wreck of Southampton Shipyard itself. Belvedere is intended to provide Bretonia with an alternate source of Basic Alloys for the foreseeable future.
ALG were initially barred from bidding on the reclamation contract due to their opposition to Bretonia and close affiliation with the IMG during the Aland Crisis. Despite this, the Crown's position was eventually softened through a combination of mediation hosted by the Federal Government of Rheinland, Gateway Shipping lobbyists, and a highly competitive tender offer that significantly undercut BMM's bid on price.
ALG also had their eyes on the traditionally BMM dominated Bretonian MOX market, expanding the station in 828 AS to incorporate MOX production plants. Ultimately, BMM would successfully complete the restoration of LD-14 in 830 AS, removing their need to collaborate with Belvedere and cutting off ALG's access to Leeds' uranium fields. Despite this, by utilizing the proprietary ALG Toxic Waste recycling process and Rheinland-Sigma uranium supply network, the station has continued to produce competitively priced fuels.
The strategic value and risk associated with MOX production has raised concerns among politicians who serve BMM-reliant constituencies, with the corporation itself agitating against foreign groups being involved in the MOX supply chain. To allay these concerns, a larger than normal BPA garrison has been placed on the station to monitor each stage of the enrichment and production process. The ALG operated facility also represents a huge gain for Gateway Shipping, who have historically faced distinct political challenges in securing shipping contracts within the capital.
Bribes & Missions Offered
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News
| [834 AS] Kusari minister cancels ALG contract |
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NEW TOKYO -- 833 -- Shortly before the execution of the Roppongi cleanup contract between ALG and the Kusari government, the Minister of Industry and Development personally intervened to void his department’s negotiations. Citing "security concerns and political unreliability", the Minister disqualified ALG from further involvement. The contract was then awarded directly without tender to Samura Heavy Industries. ALG has condemned the move as “the lowest and most despicable of state corruption”, and threatened to take immediate legal action to protect their investments and reputation. Samura has pledged prompt action to make New Tokyo’s orbit safe -- despite the Keiretsu having no experience in this field of work. |
| [833 AS] ALG reports escalating attacks in New Tokyo |
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NARITA OUTPOST -- 833 -- In recent months, ALG employees have reported a sharp increase in intimidation attempts by suspected Hogosha agents. The Rheinland-originating corporation says its Kusari-based personnel have been subjected to stalking and harassment, with several managers forced to leave Narita Outpost after personal information about their families was leaked to Farmers' Alliance terrorists. The corporation says these threats are linked to the ongoing negotiations for the decontamination of Roppongi Station. State Police have advised they are investigating ALG’s allegations. |
| [833 AS] Admiral Found Guilty Over Dublin Disaster |
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BATTLESHIP ESSEX -- 833 AS -- A military tribunal today announced its findings on the loss of the Dublin system and the conduct of the Battleship Essex on that day. The panel found that Admiral James Byng was ultimately responsible for failing to do his utmost to prevent the loss of Dublin and the New London jump gate. A number of charges were raised regarding 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 judges finally concluded that Byng's conduct would typically have warranted a capital sentence, but commuted this to a dishonorable discharge on account of the admiral's exemplary service during the Gallic War. Representatives speaking on Byng's behalf decried the tribunal as a sham and claimed that he was being scapegoated by corporate, government and intelligence 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 would be crushed and the system brought to heel in short order. |
| [833 AS] Cambridge on the Line |
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NORFOLK -- 833 AS -- The number of recorded Corsair incursions across Cambridge has increased by 193%% in the last 3 years. According to Captain Edwards of the Battleship Norfolk, this is simply a result of the successes in detecting and reacting to attacks. "You can't respond to a Corsair you don't know is there," he noted. "The Cambridge Line ensures we know when and where to deploy our resources for maximum effect." Retired Major Jane Gilliam disagrees. "The Line was never fit for purpose," she says. "The Regents lobbied London to keep it, and so the pantomine continues." It is speculated that the spike in Corsair raids may have been prompted by increased resistance elsewhere, or a shift in their internal politics. Regardless of their true motivations, Interspace Commerce has recognised the elevated peril and adjusted its premiums accordingly. |
| [832 AS] Roppongi cleanup negotiations enter final stages |
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WICHTER STATION -- 832 -- After a demanding pre-tender selection and contract negotiation process, ALG are on the verge of finalizing a new deal for the deconstruction of the Roppongi Wreck in the New Tokyo’s orbit. The station was destroyed early last year when a dirty bomb was detonated aboard by the Farmer’s Alliance. The new contract would be a significant milestone for ALG, providing both high profile, valuable work, but also a significant expansion of the corporation’s relationship with the otherwise conservative Kusari market. ALG already handles much of Kusari’s Toxic Waste disposal from civilian corporate shipyards. |
| [831 AS/747 AGS] Gate Corps Clash Over 'Blackout'! |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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. |
| [831 AS] Cost of Rebuilding too High? |
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NEW LONDON -- 831 AS -- Bretonia continues to face a difficult and lengthy recovery process following the conclusion of the Gallic War. The Bretonian people initially accepted this, and quietly pledged to come together and struggle on. While Bretonia is now witnessing an extraordinary rate of growth, it has come at the cost of severe cuts and harsh industrial quotas. Professor Timothy Ball of the Economic Review Institute says, "the recovery we've witnessed so far has been uneven, mainly benefiting Bretonian corporations and Crown agencies. If dividends of recovery are not felt by the average citizen, this inequality could become a major point of domestic political contention." |
| [829 AS] Marauding in Manchester |
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MANCHESTER -– 829 AS -- Reports from the Manchester system have now been confirmed by BPA and Bretonian intelligence officials: Liverpool Border Station, guarding over the Magellan jump gate and serving as the command center for police operations in the system, has been destroyed in what is being deemed a terrorist attack. Yesterday at 2200 hours SMT, nearby Sheffield Station and Kingston Border Station received automated distress signals from Liverpool, indicating an emergency aboard the station. Guild patrols redirected from Sheffield arrived on the scene within minutes, finding the border station destroyed. Search and rescue operations headed by Guild and BPA units commenced immediately and successfully salvaged several escape pods bearing several dozen survivors, who were immediately delivered to hospitals on New London. BPA spokesperson Sandra Halling held a press conference earlier this morning. According to joint police and BIS investigations, Liverpool was destroyed by antimatter explosives planted aboard the station. Their detonation caused a catastrophic chain reaction, resulting in the station's own reactors melting down and exploding. Of the estimated one-hundred-twenty persons on board at the time of the attack, seventy-eight have been reported as dead or missing. \So far, no party has taken credit for this heinous attack. However, Bretonian police surmises that it was likely perpetrated by either the criminals known as the Mollys or the infamous pirate organization, the Lane Hackers. The attack occurred following a significant redeployment of local Armed Forces units to the Cortez system for the purpose of joint operations with Libertonian security forces. This, says Halling, may have allowed terrorist sympathizers to exploit undermanned BPA patrols and smuggle illegal explosives through Manchester's ice fields, onto Liverpool Station. While investigations continue, Bretonian Police Authority has reinforced patrols within Manchester and established traffic controls at Kingston Border Station and Birmingham Station. Traffic to and from Liberty has been advised to reroute through the Cortez system. |
| [814 AS] ALG announces Sigma-13 milestone |
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HELGOLAND STATION -- 814 -- ALG representatives have announced that all commercially viable salvage has now been retrieved from the Yanagi Cloud debris field in Sigma-13. This means the project now enters its second and most hazardous phase, which focuses on the clearance of material deemed too contaminated or dangerous to be recycled, such as unexploded mines and heavily irradiated or otherwise contaminated ship hulls. ALG’s cleanup effort has repeatedly missed project milestones, which the corporation blames on poorly motivated Junker subcontractors. It now forecasts final debris clearance for 824 AS. |
| [812 AS] Daumann battleship contract greenlit by courts |
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ODER SHIPYARD -- 812 -- Following a protracted legal dispute, the High Court has dismissed ALG’s legal challenge to the award of the Next Generation Bismarck contract to Daumann Heavy Construction. This clears Oder Shipyard to begin serial production of the Battleship Bremen. The tender award to Daumann attracted significant controversy after the Schweizer Commission found that the corporation’s practices during the buildup to the Colony Wars were likely fraudulent or deceptive. As a result, the government has proposed clawing back paid funds by garnishing income from any state contracts and mineral sales. Anti-corruption activists have protested that this is effectively rewarding criminal conduct with repeat business. |
| [806 AS] Kruger CEO Ousted as ALG Takeover Fails |
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ESSEN -- 806 -- The partnership between ALG Waste Disposal and Kruger Minerals has dramatically collapsed. Frustrated by perceived Kruger mismanagement, ALG moved forward with plans for a hostile takeover by buying out key private stakeholders. Kruger’s outraged family board immediately implemented a number of ‘poison pill’ clauses and sought emergency funding from New Berlin investors to fend off the acquisition. A deal was struck with the wealthy Puttkamer family which saw Sebastian von Puttkamer appointed as board chairman, and CEO Wolfgang Schwarz dismissed. Investors have long considered Kruger to be in poor health, needing radical restructuring to restore profitability. Share prices for both companies fell on the news of the failed ALG takeover. |
Rumors
NOTE: Page generated on the 07/06/2024 at 15:55:47 UTC