| Planet New Tokyo
|
- We in Kusari are changing our traditional ways and Kishiro is an example for the future. Unfortunately, Samura wishes to preserve the past. They are too close with the Hogosha, who are far more unscrupulous than they would like to admit. Rather than reforming their agricultural production methods to resist the advance of Synth Foods, they have chosen to expend their resources on lobbying the government and backing the Farmers Alliance.
- Bounty Hunters are not welcome in Kusari space, outside of the Shikoku system. The Kusari State Police prefers to take care of its own criminal problems. We do not need to rely on uncouth foreigners like the Bounty Hunters Guild to perform this task.
- The youth of New Tokyo are developing dangerous habits. They prefer the taste of inferior foreign Foods like Synth Paste to superior Kyushu brands. What little extra money they have goes into buying Libertonian Luxury Goods and smuggled Cardamine.
- Frankly speaking, I do not understand why we must persecute the Blood Dragons so strongly. They are not indiscriminate pirates like the Outcasts or Corsairs, only attacking Kishiro when they need supplies. Samura has a deep hatred for the Dragons that has not diminished over the centuries. Nonetheless, Samura employees are civilians going about their lawful business. So I must follow orders...
- The Kanto Field is directly behind Tokyo. It was once Kusari's most important mining area, many centuries ago. Now it has become a criminal gathering place. The Hogosha keep things under control for us in there. In exchange, we let them do as they please around their base, Kabukicho.
- The most difficult assignment for a Junsa like me is at Sapporo, within the clouds of Hokkaido. We must protect Samura's interests there at all costs. At least that's what Tokyo says. So we help protect a system that should be the exclusive domain of the Naval Forces.
- Life in State Police is not as simple as it once was. We and the Hogosha had an agreement. Smuggling Artifacts is fine, but not Cardamine. The Golden Chrysanthemums have disturbed this harmonious balance. They insist on importing drugs into Roppongi, where we cannot watch them carefully. IC is not very concerned with their activities, so there is little we can do.
- We believe there is a Jump Hole in the Kanto Field that leads to Kyushu and points beyond. From there, the Blood Dragons and Golden C. can access our system and attack the Kusari people. We are certain that the Hogosha know its location, but they will not tell us, as it is most likely used for Artifact smuggling.
- The Hogosha are not really criminals, like the GC or the Blood Dragons. They may engage in questionable behavior around Kishiro and foreign shippers' storage areas on occasion, but will never directly attack any ship. Artifacts are harmless trinkets. All this fuss with the bans outside Kusari seem rather extreme to me.
|
| Narita Outpost
|
- It is tiresome to guard against the Hogosha here. They patiently wait until all of our patrols are out. They seem to prefer shipbuilding materials, which is puzzling, because they take far more than they might use for their custom-built ships. I hear they've been spotted in Shinjuku on occasion. Apparently some of them work for Samura as salary men.
- I went on an assault patrol yesterday into Chiba. Suzuki-san was my patrol leader. We tracked two Blood Dragons for some ways before they discovered our presence and engaged us in battle. Suzuki-san was able to destroy both of them. I feel ashamed that I was not of more assistance.
- The life of a Kusari State Police Junsa is not really very exciting most of the time, unless you are posted in Hokkaido. Sapporo is the most dangerous assignment on the force. It is all clouds and radiation up there. You never know when the Blood Dragons or Golden C. will strike.
- I've never understood why they put it so far from everything else in the system. The official word is that Tokyo didn't want a congested trading area of shipping above the planet. Privately, I heard that they wanted to make it a little more costly and inconvenient for shippers like Republican to trade with Tokyo, giving Samura and Kishiro an edge on those trade routes.
- We believe there is a Jump Hole to Honshu in the Chiba Field, but they can be very difficult to locate. The Hogosha won't say anything, but we see many Artifact smugglers crossing the system to the Kanto Field, so we are certain it is there.
- We have problems with Hogosha stealing from the storage depots around this base. Narita is too small to store all of the cargo that is generated. The Hogosha are harmless, though -- just skimming a little bit from the Gaijin shippers.
- The Kusari government established this base to give foreign shippers from Rheinland and Bretonia a suitable location to trade their goods within New Tokyo space. Liberty corporations prefer to use the more accessible Roppongi Station above the planet.
- It is difficult being surrounded by so many foreigners all the time at this post. Our nation has fought everyone except Liberty in my generation. Now we have Rheinlanders, Bretonians and Gallians here. My ancestors fought to make Kusari a place free of foreign taint. These ships should be stopped at the border, and their goods transferred onto Kusari vessels to complete the journey.
- We run Trade Lane patrols towards Shinagawa and Yokohama. The Blood Dragons are the chief criminals in this area. They prefer to strike from the Chiba Field. It should really be a military matter, but they are otherwise occupied patrolling the border with Gallia - not to mention Hokkaido and the systems beyond it.
|
| Fuchu Prison
|
- This prison used to be in New Tokyo, but the government felt it was a bad idea to keep so many criminals in the capitol system, especially when half of the convicts here are Gaijin. Fuchu was moved here because it is the closest system to the Border Worlds, and there is but one habitable planet.
- The Kusari inmates at Fuchu are the most dangerous in all of our space. They deserve to be surrounded by the Gaijin. I wish that I did not have to be surrounded by them also, but I have no friends or family in the police force, so I am forced to take an undesirable post.
- The Golden C. usually attack from the Keiun. The bold Blood Dragons will attack from anywhere. Most of the other criminals fly within the clouds to hide themselves, yet the Dragons will cross in open space, daring anyone to give chase, even the military.
- Battleship Myoko was sent here to secure the Jump Gates and stop the flood of Gaijin criminals currently pouring in from the Border Worlds. I am glad they are here, but sadly they are not enough. If they did a better job, we wouldn't have half of this facility filled with foreigners.
- The military is often called in to help us when the Blood Dragons attack. We lack the equipment, fire power, and training to repel the Dragons. They attack here trying to free their brethren quite often. I don't know why we shouldn't execute them all as traitors right when they are captured.
- I cannot believe how often I see the ex-inmates of this prison in Shikoku flying around as Bounty Hunters. They do not respect the importance of laws and codes, so why should they be enforcing them? It is the greatest of hypocrisies spawned in foreign space.
- There is a Liberty Rogue here who always claims to be a Lane Hacker. He has been here three years, and every day he offers me more money to let him escape. I think yesterday he offered me enough to buy my own planet, the poor fool. I know he has no money. Even if he were a Lane Hacker I would not take his money; we aren't the LPI.
- The only other group that attacks this prison is the Golden Chrysanthemums. They do not have the skill or equipment that the Dragons do, but they are fearless. We kill plenty of them, but they are not disheartened. That dastardly Cardamine is such an evil thing. We must fight each day to keep the people of Kusari from falling to its allure.
- Many of the prisoners attempt escape when they are sent to the nearby ring to mine for Hydrocarbons. That is when security is at its lowest, because they are not surrounded by walls. We have been given permission to shoot and kill anyone who tries to escape while working.
|
| Planet Junyo
|
- The Golden C. are dangerous fanatics who do not care if they live or die. The Cardamine has made them mad. One tried to ram my ship. Fortunately, I dodged her attack and blew her craft to pieces.
- Sometimes I will buy fish here and take it to my family. Once I forgot to take the fish out of my ship, and it stayed there overnight. No matter how much I clean, it always smells very bad in the cockpit. The other police call me Squid-san now; it is very embarrassing.
- The Bounty Hunters are filth-ridden foreigners, but I must admit they are very good pilots. They kill many of the worst pirates in this system, and for that I am thankful. It should be Gaijin killing Gaijin anyway. Why must I risk my skin fighting smelly outsiders?
- Blood Dragons attacked the most recent convoy headed to Fuchu prison. We got the distress call and scrambled to help, but by the time we arrived the entire convoy was destroyed. Even the prisoner ship was demolished; there was no one left alive.
- The Saiun Cloud was so beautiful to me when I was first assigned to this system. Now I look upon its painted scape with fear, for there the worst of Kusari lurks. Even now I'm sure pirates wait for the next appetizing convoy to pass.
- I fly along the Trade Lanes between here and the New Tokyo Jump Gate. It is one of the most dangerous patrols in this system, and this is one of the most dangerous places in Kusari space. Needless to say, I am an excellent pilot.
|
| Ohashi Border Station
|
- The Blood Dragons are a formidable opponent for us. Our patrols are not enough to curb their piracy within this part of space. We try to keep the Jump Gate clear of riffraff and protect the prison convoys.
- I am glad that I do not work at the Fuchu prison. It would make me sick to be surrounded by so many bloodthirsty Rogues. Even stepping foot on Deshima makes my eyes water; it smells so foul there.
- The Blood Dragons are the greatest threat in this part of the system. We also encounter Golden C. and Farmers Alliance attack patrols on the Trade Lanes running from the Jump Gates.
- My daughter has joined the Golden Chrysanthemums. It is a terrible dishonor for my family, and I try to keep the fact secret. She was always a precocious child. I only pray she is killed without being identified.
- It is a pity that this system is so rife with criminals, since it is a very beautiful place. Sometimes I will sit and meditate upon this paradox. It is as if mud has been kicked upon a flower.
- There was a time when the only foreigners in Kusari were in this system. That was a wonderful time for our people, I'm sure. We wouldn't have any criminals to speak of except the Blood Dragons if things had remained that way.
- For many of our ranks it is better to work here. Our job means the most in Shikoku. This would be the entry point for many of the criminals that could plague our space if we let them.
- This station was built to protect the Gates to Kusari space. You may see many Gaijin here in Shikoku, but the number of foreigners drops greatly in the rest of our systems.
- The majority of inmates in Fuchu prison are Gaijin. This confirms our beliefs that the fewer foreigners we have in our space, the better it is for Kusari. I am not pleased that the government keeps lowering entrance standards.
|
| Planet Kyushu
|
- Though this system has limited resources, its proximity to the barrier makes it valuable because of the possible Commodities that can be exported into the Border Worlds. Many planners believe that this system is the gateway to Kusari expansion in the barrier. We were on track to dominate the Taus, then Gallia happened.
- The Hogosha don't really bother anyone in this system; they are usually just passing through. We can't divert manpower from the really dangerous criminals to see that Hogosha activity is one hundred percent legal. We let them slide a bit.
- Much of our time is devoted to rerouting Gaijin from this system into Shikoku. The populace of Kyushu does not look well upon foreign business entering the system, or any part of Kusari for that matter. This system is the home to the Farmers Alliance, after all.
- In 400 AS the Kusari government began offering huge corporate incentives to relocate operations here. It was mainly an effort to curb overpopulation problems in New Tokyo. Of the two keiretsu, Samura was the one who decided to invest in Kyushu.
- As farming technology has improved, the added efficiency has left many of the Kyushu youth with little or nothing in the way of jobs. We lose many of them to jobs in New Tokyo or Shikoku. Often times these youngsters will never return. I don't expect things will get better soon. The government is more inclined to cooperate with foreign companies. I tell you people are only going to get angrier here in Kyushu.
- The Kusari police usually operate only in the eastern half of Kyushu. We keep a watch on the Trade Lanes and Jump Gates leading into New Tokyo, and the military keeps an eye on the half of the system that leads from Kusari space into the Border Worlds.
- The police patrols that originate from the Kyushu planet cover the two dust clouds on the eastern half of the system. I fly a patrol that skirts the Seiran Dust Fields. The men in the other patrol wing keep an eye on activity going on in the Hayate Dust Fields.
- The Blood Dragons are becoming bolder by the day here. They are even growing heedless of the military presence. Their attacks range all over the system, but they focus upon Samura's research facility and Kyushu food shipments.
- This planet is known as the garden planet of Kusari. We have been growing rice here since 65 AS, when the first settlers arrived. Samura has organized the farmers into collectives to make Food production more efficient. Recent advances in technology have seen increased food production here, and Kyushu looks set to take back some of the ground they lost to Synth Foods in recent years.
|
| Planet Honshu
|
- Trade Lane patrols can get very tedious for a senior person like me, but they let me spend more time at home on Honshu with my family. They used to be safe, but that has recently changed. We were ambushed by Outcasts on a routine run to Akita yesterday. I lost my partner of 10 years in a flash.
- The Blood Dragons carry on their private war with Samura on the Trade Lane from Honshu to Yukawa. Samura is always issuing some distress call. They think we are their private security service. They forget that we must also guard Kishiro and the foreign shippers.
- Honshu is a cold and windy place. Fishermen once sailed its seas in search of the redfin. Most hybrid fish species that our ancestors carried with them on the sleeper ship never really took hold in the new environments of Kusari. The redfin was an exception, until they fished it to extinction.
- We have received orders from New Tokyo to take no prisoners among the Blood Dragons. Who else will fill our prison convoys bound for Shikoku? Anyone can be rehabilitated through years of hard work in the Fuchu prison Hydrocarbon processing factories.
- Honshu is a challenging post for a Kusari State Police officer. The Corsairs and Outcasts have discovered secret access points into the eastern part of the system from the Crow Nebula. We are not trained or equipped properly deal with these Edge World pirates.
- We do not need the Bounty Hunter Gaijin to do our difficult jobs for us in Kusari. The State Police has patrolled the fields and clouds of the Crow Nebula as long as anyone can remember. Our culture does not produce common criminals like the Liberty Rogues. Kusari internal problems are more political in nature.
- I've never been to the Hawaii in Sigma-19. A policeman's salary in Kusari is far too humble to afford that. I hear that they allow criminals like the Corsairs to land on their ship. Incredible! That would never be allowed in Kusari space.
- The Hogosha run their Artifacts across Honshu to Tokyo from Sigma-19. We have begged them to tell us the location of their Jump Hole so that we can stop the Outcast scourge, but they will not cooperate.
- I drew the Chuyu Cloud patrol this week. That means one thing -- Outcasts. They attack at will within the cloud, and there is little we can do to stop them. Last week an Orbital Spa shuttle was attacked and destroyed for no apparent reason. There were no survivors. That's bad for the tourist business.
|
| Akita Border Station
|
- We have heard that there is a Hole into Sigma-13, but the GMG will not tell us. They keep their secrets close; they are not truly Kusari anymore.
- The GMG has assured us that they can handle the criminal problem in Sigma-13, but this does not seem to be the case. They should bring in the military -- that would seal the border.
- I am under orders to not pursue Hogosha unless they have been caught stealing from storage depots. It is strange how the rules are always changing with regards to the Hogosha. Perhaps the rules will change again now we have new people in charge. The GMG seems to dislike them very much, unlike former times.
- The GMG and Kishiro haul H-Fuel past our lonely station. Rheinland companies like ALG and Republican are the other shippers using this area. Tokyo has said we must hold this line against the Edge World threat, yet reduces our strength on a regular basis.
- The Kusari State Police prides itself in being a highly ethical organization. Hogosha often attempt bribes when they are caught, but we will never accept them. The bureaucrats of Tokyo are another matter, however. There are many stories of the criminal bribes and gifts that are accepted by the rulers of our nation.
- Sometimes I wish that we could bring the Bounty Hunters Guild into Honshu. They do very well in the nebulas and know how to deal with difficult Edge World criminals like the Corsairs, but Tokyo will not allow it. They say we must show our bushi-do spirit and accept the challenge. Maybe will will have better luck convincing the new government.
- This one of the most difficult postings for a Kusari State Police officer in our colony. Maybe Sapporo is worse. The most dreaded patrol does a circuit into the Hiryo Cloud, where the Corsairs lurk. We had 50% casualties on it last month. That's enough to make one superstitious.
- I have one more year in the field, then I can get a desk job in Tokyo. No more stress like this, wondering if you will live another day. My wife and her parents are back there always asking about my return date. Maybe it's not so bad here ...
- There have been cutbacks at this post recently. Last week they transferred two regular patrols to Tokyo, citing lack of identifiable threats. Believe me, there is no lack of enemies here. The Outcasts and Corsairs have found that Kusari presents an easy target, especially with the military distracted by Hokkaido.
|
| Sapporo Station
|
- One day Sapporo will be converted into a large complex, much like Osaka. Then we will no longer be needed, assuming that the Blood Dragon and GC is gone. I do not believe that day is coming soon.
- Can I buy you a drink? I definitely need one. It was a difficult day. My unit was on a deep reconnaissance patrol in the Shiden Cloud, looking for the GC. We were engaged in battle with the GC for 15 minutes, and then they vanished. Our unit lost Takana-san and Ogawa-san. I was just singing karaoke with them last night, so sad ...
- Bounty Hunters would be useful up here. Samura could afford to pay them well, unlike us poor State Police officers. We do not like to take bribes. That is the privilege of the New Tokyo bureaucrats.
- We are here to support Samura's expansion into Hokkaido and beyond. It seems like a lot of trouble to mine Gas when there are plentiful supplies in the Sigma systems. But Samura is adamant that Hokkaido be developed, so here I am.
- I hear that the GMG was forced to pay a special 'reparation' tax to the government to help Kusari recover some of the loans given to the GMG during the 80-Years War - more specifically, to pay for the immense costs of constructing the Hokkaido and Tau-53 Gates.
- There are at least two Holes into this system: one comes from Kyushu, the other from Chugoku. Both are very well concealed in the clouds, where our sensors cannot pick them up. You know when you are close, though. The criminals become agitated and attack like a swarm of stinging insects.
- The Golden C. are the main problem in this part of the system. On the other side of the Gap, it's Blood Dragons. But that's the military's problem. Anyway, they like to attack the gas miners, or wait for supply ships to pass along the trade lanes.
- I've heard a drunk Samura manager brag that one day soon, Kusari will understand the Jump Gate technology that Liberty has controlled for so long. I wonder if it has anything to do with this project.
|
| Fukuoka Border Station
|
- There have been cutbacks at this post recently. Last week they transferred two regular patrols to Tokyo, citing lack of identifiable threats. Believe me, there is no lack of enemies here. The Outcasts and Corsairs have found that Kusari presents an easy target, especially with the military distracted by Hokkaido.
|
|
