Sunderland Research Station

Sunderland Research Station

File:Br07 02 base.png

Owner

Bretonia Intelligence Service

Location

F/E-2, Newcastle

CLASS: Hawking

GRAVITY: Complete

DOCKING: Yes

AMENITIES: Yes

CREW: CLASSIFIED

Sunderland Research Station was constructed in 612 AS next to the strange alien ruins that were discovered fourteen years earlier in 598 AS. It is the largest and most important research facility that the Bretonia Intelligence Service controls. Details of what actually occurs inside the station remain unknown to the public and all personnel working onboard are made to sign strict secrecy agreements.

Bribes & Missions Offered

Bribes

Bretonia Armed Forces Bretonia Intelligence Service

Missions

Bretonia Intelligence Service

Commodities

Imports

Commodity Price Robotics 34$ Energy Field Equipment 74$ Oxygen 12$ Water 12$ Food Rations 41$ H-Fuel 197$ MOX 30$ Pharmaceuticals 39$ Optronics 105$ Consumer Goods 24$ Bio-Neural Processors 159$ Azurite Gas 181$ Xeno Relics 264$ Nanocapacitors 63$ Quantum Multiplexors 58$ Synth Paste 24$ Xenobiotic Filters 60$ HazMat Canisters 54$ Passengers (Bretonia) 424$

Exports

Commodity Price Deployable Mining Container 50,000$ Propaganda 100$ Crew 231$ Scientists 447$

Ships sold

Ship	Class	Price

News

[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 pedigree and modern innovation. Phasing out the aging Crecy class destroyer, the Agincourt’s enhanced fire control systems and hardy armor will allow it to excel in the roles championed by its forebearer. 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] Cambridge on the Line

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.

[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/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.

[831 AS] Cost of Rebuilding too High?

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

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.

Rumors

Bretonia Intelligence Service

You must have noticed those alien ruins outside. Most scientists here believe they belong to an ancient race known as the Daam-K'Vosh. We haven't really managed to decipher most of the markings yet, but we think we're close. What we've learned thus far suggests that this was some kind of automated outpost. Only the most trusted and respected scientists from Cambridge are allowed to come here to study this alien station and the artifacts it contains. We ship quite a lot of the more interesting ones to Cambridge for further study, although always under heavy military guard. That used to draw a lot of unwanted attention - but nowadays less so, since this system has a lot of military activity going. The structure's defensive shielding wasn't always operational. It powered itself up in late 800 AS, during what most people refer to as the Nomad War. What caused it to power up is unknown, but it doesn't seem to have had any ill effects. The shield appears to be all but impenetrable from both ends, but the walkway we made into the structure seems unaffected. It's the only way in, or out, of that alien base. We get most of our supplies via transports from Scarborough. Most of them come under heavy escort, as the Mollys often try to hijack them. We don't get as much trouble from the Outcasts as we used to, but even they will raid an unescorted transport if they think they can get away with it. Do you see the long walkway heading into the alien structure? The scientists have excavated an entrance into it before the shield went up. Thousands of artifacts have been found in the ruins, it will take decades to catalogue them all. Most of them appear to be inert, and so far we've not learned that much about them. Were they decorative? Or are they similar human books? I hope time will tell. Back before the Nomad war, Dr. Kendra Sinclair was one of our foremost Xeno-archaeologists, but she disappeared. There are rumours that she joined the Order, but we don't know very much about that organisation, beyond that our government has labelled them as dangerous terrorists. But I knew Kendra, and she wouldn't join such a group. There must be more to it.

Bretonia Armed Forces

Some of the scientists that arrive here are so scared at the sight of the alien ruins that they leave immediately. Others get nosy, sometimes a bit too nosy. One recently tried to get into a top security restricted area earlier, without the appropriate authorisation. Turns out he was a Kusari spy. How the hell he got a job I don't know. He didn't look Kusari, that's for sure. Anyway, the Intelligence Service took him off our hands. We won't be seeing that bloke again. I hate having that damn battleship hanging around outside the station all the time. Its crew are jittery enough at the best of times. When the alien station suddenly raised it shields in 800 AS they actually opened fire on it! Not that it did them a whole lot of good, the shield didn't even destabilise. I'm glad the station didn't also have an automated offensive system. The pressure on the scientists here for actual results is immense. With the loss of Leeds, Bretonia needs a miracle, and the government is looking to this facility to provide it. Given the power of that shield surrounding this base, I can't say I blame them. Problem is the eggheads haven't even figured out how the alien language works. So even if they've left a manual detailing exactly how to replicate such shields, they wouldn't be able to read it. Recently one of the Scientists started acting very strangely, like he'd had a complete personality switch overnight. We later heard that he had stolen a ship and fled deep into the nebula, and that the Bretonia Armed Forces were out looking for him. Maybe the pressure for results got to him. First the war with Kusari, and now the Gallic invasion is creating more pressure from the military command in New London. Quite a few of them hope we can find alien weapons to help in the war effort. I'm not sure if it's wise to be tinkering with technology we don't fully understand yet though. I hear that's what caused the mess in Rheinland in late 800 AS Don't get on the wrong side of Sunderland's commander. She's one tough bitch. Her name is Brigadier Jennifer Connelly, and she was assigned to this base by the Bretonia Armed Forces to keep an eye on everything here. Fair play though, she runs a tight operation and conditions have improved under her command, but she's also quite unforgiving of idiots. Mess about and you'll be sent back to Cambridge quicker than you can say "hey Jen, nice ass".

NOTE: Page generated on the 07/06/2024 at 15:55:46 UTC