Far Frontiers Gateway Sector #2

[Murph]

017-2511 Gateway News Service- Aki

An exploration vessel from the Gateway Exploration Service arrived on Aki today, and reports that they have found evidence that the world of Bedrock (C0808X) has evidence of once having life on it. Orbital surveys have discovered ruins of ancient cities on this world which is classified as E852000-0.

The survey vessel Beagle has spent several months in system mapping out the system, and discovered that the sole habitable world which has been called Bedrock appears to have suffered a terrible orbital strike with numerous impact craters being found on the surface, which could be the reason for the lack of surface water on the planet due to crustal cracks.

The Beagle sent its two mapping pinnaces on numerous low level mapping passes over the world’s surface. No signs of life could be found, but since the Beagle is not equipped for initial landing surveys, no landing was attempted. Air samples taken reveal some pollen in the atmosphere, with an oxygen-nitrogen thin atmosphere. There are some traces of odd particulates in the atmosphere which would indicate either extreme volcanic activity, or debris from orbital strikes some time in the past.

Photographs and videos of the structures show possibly a TL 2/3 civilization which appears to have completely died out. There is no visible evidence of any high tech civilization on this planet, and several of the cities appear from the evidence to have been subjected to some sort of orbital strikes. The photographs seem to indicate that life became extinct on this planet sometime between 20-25,000 years ago, which would place it in the time frame of the battles between the Lords of Darkness and the Precursors.

The data is being sent off to Gateway with the request that a landing be attempted. The Beagle will head to Shangri La for refitting, maintenance and resupply before heading out into the Near Dark subsector.

 

[Murph]

018-2511 Gateway News Service- Poictesme/Gateway

The old, almost abandoned, science station on this world has come back to life with the discovery of rich mineral finds close to the station by freelance prospectors. As most of the base is underground, and parts had become almost derelict due to the draw down of scientific personnel, the 100 year old facility was really showing its age before the final staff departed leaving only a very small 50 person care taking staff on hand.

With the discovery of subsurface water in good quantities, a miner named George “Rocket Fist” Gonzales moved in to the station with the permission of the caretakers. He found several old fissures on the lower levels of the station which were never really explored when the base was built and just closed off. In what he later called his “mother of a lode”, he discovered metallic spherules of Onnesium in several of the fissures, he quickly filed a claim under the abandoned property act of 2399 since the station was in effect abandoned.

Taking out over 200 kilos of the valuable metal, Rocket Fist found himself embroiled in a lawsuit from the Gateway Federation government claiming his finds were government property. The Supreme Judicial Court of the Gateway Federation has finally handed down its ruling.

In the ruling, it determined that while the facility was in “standby” or caretaker mode, the Government had allowed the miners to set up shop on the planet having essentially abandoned its facilities. And since no contract was required for the miners to operate or that all finds become government property, the Federation government has waived its claim of sovereign rights and cannot use Eminent Domain over the finds of the minerals, which revert back to the miners.

Furthermore, the Federation government is required to pay standard mining interest rates to the miners for the seized or in the case of Rocket Fist Gonzales, the unlawful sale of his property without his permission. The government has been fighting this for several years, and with this ruling the miners have free access to their mines once more. The government was given 72 hours to pay all of the claims since it appeared that they were arguing to the court that it would take them 4-5 Terran Standard Years to pay the outstanding claims, and longer in some cases. The court did not find this argument persuasive and ordered all payments to be rendered in 72 Terran standard hours, or the Federation would have 10% added each day the payment was late.

This represents a huge set back for the Gateway System Ministry, and will force them to treat miners much better in the future. A bill has been proposed in Parliament to force all future mines of this type to sign their lease from the government, and give the government Eminent Domain rights to any “strategic materials” found. However the Prime Minister Gonzalez-Cenisac has said that he is opposed to this bill, and would urge it not pass. It looks like 45% of the Parliament is in favor, 47% opposed and the rest undecided at this time. In light of this uncertainty, the Gateway Stock Exchange saw an enormous sell off of Mining stocks, and overall dropped 5 points in trading, causing the directors to halt trading for two days.

The old station has now become the hub of mining operations on Poictesme, and in the surrounding orbit of the Gas Giant as the existing facilities are now repurposed to support the mining operations in Cabell Orbit. Several of the old Geological Survey stations have also been taken over by mining operators and their crews as bases for mining on the surface of this inhospitable planet.

 

[Murph]

019-2511 Gateway News Service- Freedonia

A bill to formalize the National Anthem “All Hail Freedonia” with standard music, lyrics, and tempo has met vigorous opposition from groups across the political spectrum, with those opposed claiming that being able to sing the anthem as they wish makes part of the charm of Freedonia. The author of the bill said that all he wants is for the National Anthem to at least sound “normal”. He was shouted down by those in the gallery and by many other legislators.

 

[Murph]

023-2511 Gateway News Service- Xanadu

The Guillotine files has claimed another scalp as the head of the opposition party in the Senate as he was exposed as being paid for by BioGen and Fusigon. Also he used his influence to get his children accepted to the best schools, and then to get them jobs with very prestigious firms on Xanadu.

While this sort of nepotism is winked at on Xanadu as long as it is not too blatant, everyone in power does much the same for their children, whether they are competent of not. In the case of the leader of the Opposition, his daughter, was given a job in the Prosecution Service, and moved rapidly up to supervisory positions, she is known as a spoiled princess who shows up and works maybe 3-4 hours a day before heading off to the golf course, or shopping while constantly berating subordinates for her failures.

His son avoided military service by getting a medical waiver, and is now a senior manager for Xanadu Shipyards in charge of new business. He is thought of as a perfumed prince who comes in, spends perhaps 10-15 hours a week actually at his office, and the rest is spent on the golf course or in karaoke bars “drumming up new business”. Our source tells us that he is accomplished at pinning failures on subordinates and others to remain in his position. The file also shows he is involved in an extensive bribery ring where suppliers provide him with both “gifts” and kickbacks for contracts sent their way.

A gift that keeps on giving, the Guillotine file has sent shock waves through Xanadu power circles as the rich and powerful wonder when it will be their time in the spotlight. In the meantime Anna Kim has departed for New Texas where we are told she will be staying for a few months. She was escorted by her “bodyguard” and were seen holding hands as they took the shuttle up to the Empire of the Rising Sun, a King Richard class liner headed to New Texas. She also had quite the security presence with her since rumors are that she is the one suspected of releasing the Guillotine files.

 

[Murph]

025-2511 Gateway News Service- Nidhogg

Four bodies were found on the edge of the cold zone, and Omega Tech EMR staff say they appear to have been shot to death by laser fire. It appears that they were employees of Yaroslavl Mining company, which is a Nidhogg based subsidiary of New Drakkensburg Mining and Exploration.

The deceased persons were stripped of all valuables, and their ATV was also ransacked by unknown persons. The area they were in at the time of their deaths is called Cold Creek Canyon, which is one of the main routes leading up to the Anserra glacier on the cold side.

Omega Tech was able to determine that they had been searching for radioactive in the canyon, when they were attacked. There are tracks of two other At Vs in the area which headed back in the direction leading to the world river. The bodies had been semi preserved due to the temperatures which were hovering around 0C. A local trapper found the bodies, and called in to the starport for EMR services.

The area of the canyon is not heavily traveled, and so it was purely by chance that the bodies were found. We are told that the sample storage bins did show a low level of radioactivity which indicates radioactive ore had been in them sometime in the near past.

Yaroslavl Mining has asked Omega Tech to conduct an investigation into the deaths of their employees, which is a standard practice on this world which has no government and no world police agency. A spokesman for Omega Tech said that they have opened a case at the request of Yaroslavl Mining.

 

[King Midas]

025-2511 Gateway News Service- Nidhogg

Four bodies were found on the edge of the cold zone, and Omega Tech EMR staff say they appear to have been shot to death by laser fire. It appears that they were employees of Yaroslavl Mining company, which is a Nidhogg based subsidiary of New Drakkensburg Mining and Exploration.

The deceased persons were stripped of all valuables, and their ATV was also ransacked by unknown persons. The area they were in at the time of their deaths is called Cold Creek Canyon, which is one of the main routes leading up to the Anserra glacier on the cold side.

Omega Tech was able to determine that they had been searching for radioactive in the canyon, when they were attacked. There are tracks of two other At Vs in the area which headed back in the direction leading to the world river. The bodies had been semi preserved due to the temperatures which were hovering around 0C. A local trapper found the bodies, and called in to the starport for EMR services.

The area of the canyon is not heavily traveled, and so it was purely by chance that the bodies were found. We are told that the sample storage bins did show a low level of radioactivity which indicates radioactive ore had been in them sometime in the near past.

Yaroslavl Mining has asked Omega Tech to conduct an investigation into the deaths of their employees, which is a standard practice on this world which has no government and no world police agency. A spokesman for Omega Tech said that they have opened a case at the request of Yaroslavl Mining.

Bandits? Claim jumpers? Megacorp shenanigans? We shall just have to wait and see...

 

[Murph]

Ah, that is part of the ongoing mystery....

 

[Murph]

New Texas and Freedonia.

 

[Murph]

For those who get the emails of the newsletter, I just sent the completed sector map which is too large to attach here. Thanks to Peter who cleaned it up and did yeoman work making it look decent in photoshop, he did an utterly amazing job on it.

 

[Murph]

There was just so much in this latest newsletter, that I have elected to post the whole thing here:

 

[Murph]

055-2511 Gateway News Service- New Texas

The famed New Texas fuel service stations known as “Duc-ee’s” has announced that it will be expanding from its New Texas home, to Gateway, Xanadu, Sutekh, Freedonia, and Friedland very soon. As all those who live on New Texas, Coffeeville, and Dustball are aware, Duc-ee’s is famed for not only its inexpensive fuel, but is impressive stores which have superb coffee and other beverages, BBQ sandwiches, breakfast delights, and their famed jerky.

It is known as “the Black Hole of Shopping” since people who stop to fill up the grav car end up spending way too much money inside on things that they never knew they needed until they walked inside this mecca of consumerism. It restrooms are famous throughout the galaxy for their size and cleanliness. Most walk out asking themselves the question: “What happened? I just needed fuel, and to use the facilities, how in the heck did I spend 60+ stellars on “stuff”?”

Local chains on all of those worlds are fighting to prevent the Duc-ee’s stores from arriving, since they will force those stores to up their game. So, as the owners of Duc-ee’s say: Come on in, and stop a while. We have what you need, and what you did not know you needed” Here at GNS, all we can say is try the fudge, and the candied pecans. Now we have to convince our bosses that the charge for 200 stellars for jerky, BBQ, chips, and sundries should be “office expenses!”

Note to all: If you have never been to a Buc-ee's gas station with its 120 gas pumps, massive shopping, and ultra clean restrooms, you are missing out on something. Their BBQ sandwiches are good, very good.

 

[Murph]

061-2511 Gateway News Service- Sulawesi

Shocking absolutely everyone, and catching all experts completely off guard, Enclaves Hammerfell and Sulawesi-Orsoni have agreed to an offer by the Imperial government of Xin Zhongguo to purchase their colonies outright. The amount is being withheld at this time, but apparently the Imperial government, getting tired of the constant chaos on the border of its colony has offered quite the still undisclosed sum to the governments of the two enclaves to become part of the Empire.

Observers expected a military option where the Imperial troops took over the two fractious colonies, but the Emperor has decided on the “carrot” approach to these two enclaves who were known for raiding the Imperial colony on Sulawesi. With this purchase, the Imperial colony has roughly doubled its size, and is insulated from most of the other enclaves by the CloudFall mountain range.

This purchase could indicate a new method for the Imperial government to acquire territory on Sulawesi, without the need for fighting or conquest, and eventually put an end to the balkanization of this world. The government of the two enclaves, electing to find “greener pastures” as part of the settlement have taken ship for parts unknown, but with greatly expanded bank accounts it seems with 95% of the leadership headed off world as quickly as they can book cabins on ships headed to other worlds.

Already Imperial police and investigators are making arrests for those who are not pleased with the change in management in the two former enclaves and are causing a ruckus. New Drakkensburg, through its ambassador has filed a strongly worded protest over the “unlawful, and illegal occupation, and bribery” of the two enclaves which up to the takeover had been client states of New Drakkensburg.

 

[Murph]

065-2511 Gateway News Service- Xanadu

Chen Yu Chan of the Red Phoenix has been convicted of several offenses in court. He was sentenced to life in prison at the prison station. Once the verdict was read, a disturbance broke out in the courtroom as members of the gang began hysterically wailing, and throwing chairs. Eleven members of the Red Phoenix were arrested for disorderly affray, and taken to the central jail in Shambhala City.

The headquarters of the Jade Carp gang was shot up by three unidentified members of another gang who then fled on grav bikes. We are being told that the leader of the Jade Carp was wounded, and three of his subordinates were killed in the attack. Police tell us that the suspicion is that the Red Phoenix was settling scores with the Jade Carp since there is a suspicion that the Jade Carp leadership turned informant and tipped off the police as to the whereabouts of Chen Yu Chan which led to his arrest.

Police have no leads as to the location of the assailants at this time, but the bikes were found in an industrial area of the city, and were reported as having been stolen some weeks prior. The Red Phoenix is fighting to maintain its turf, reports are reaching us that the former second in command Randall Liao has taken over the gang.

Liao is seen as both less inclined to open violence, but just as ruthless as Chen when it comes to protecting the gang. He is seen as a much stricter disciplinarian than Chen who was regarded as a bit lax as well as being a “loose cannon” by some of the members of the gang who chaffed under his leadership.

We have a police source who has told us that the Red Phoenix is recruiting heavily at this time, with members looking as far afield as Hades Station for potential recruits. The new leader has removed all restrictions on cyberwear by members of the gang, which, we are told, has led to an upsurge of illegal modifications at the various black cyberwear clinics in the capital, and other cities on Xanadu.

The Red Phoenix has lost its position as a “top tier” member of the Black Dragon Tong coalition of gangs, having moved to a second or third tier at this time. The Jade Carp was poised to move up into the place that the Red Phoenix formerly held, but the killings might have derailed that move. The other contender for the position are the members of the Golden Dragon clan, which have kept a relatively low profile, but are considered one of the clans most likely to resort to force to defend its territory.

The Blue Heron gang has disbanded after the latest police arrests, as well as the elimination of its command structure in inter-gang fighting. The Blue Heron was one of the oldest gangs on Xanadu, but its position had slipped from the top tier to a 3rd tier gang dependent on some of the larger gangs for its existence. Police spokesmen tell us that the Blue Heron has essentially ceased to exist, with its former members being picked up by other gangs as low level muscle at this time.

As the fallout from the Guillotine files continues, the political landscape on Xanadu is changing with where it will end up, being anyone’s guess. The old system of patronage, favors, family connections, secret alliances with various criminal gangs, has gone up in smoke, with too much attention being brought on those connections.

Two major law firms have been forced into acknowledging their ties with organized crime, with both firms firing their CEOs along with a number of employees who have been identified as “fixers” with deep underworld connections in an attempt at damage control. The game of “We don’t know them, we have never dealt with them, and we certainly are not going to go down with the ship” is in full swing among top tier law firms on Xanadu which are scrambling in light of the revelations of the Guillotine files.

 

[Murph]

068-2511 Gateway News Service- New Texas/Forsaken

This hot world which is unpleasant at best has been the site of a new “Gold Rush” as rich metal strikes have caused an influx of miners. Forsaken D830510-C is not a world for the weak, or careless. The mines here deal with both solar flares, extreme temperatures, lack of surface water, as well as other environmental hazards. But the 119,000 colonists on this planet have turned it into a boom town with stunning success.

In one of the recently opened mines, rich veins of thorium, uranium, and other valuable metals have been found causing a rush to the region. Gold is apparently so common that miners are processing gold bearing ore as an afterthought. Current theories of planetary formation are at a loss to explain this worlds rich mineral troves.

There is a downside to all of this however. The planetary facilities are no prepared for such an increase in population, which is causing many unforeseen issues with providing basic living conditions to the newcomers. To combat this, the New Texas government has implemented a “wait list” for potential prospectors so that they can ensure proper life support services for the newcomers.

Already almost at the limit of what its facilities are able to handle, the main settlement of Port Inferno has sent an urgent request to the government of New Texas for assistance in expanding its infrastructure. Other smaller settlements are joining in this request since they are close to the limits of their environmental systems.

Adding to the chaos, are the number of out system miners who have started flocking to this planet. There was a small riot at the downport when a group of 70 prospectors were told that they had to leave the planet temporarily due to lack of capacity in the air and water processors to provide for them. Starport security had to call on other law enforcement agencies for assistance in putting down the riot. The damage to the port was extensive, and all the prospectors have been arrested and are being transported to New Texas where they will stand trial, and then be deported from the New Texas system.

Miguel “Lucky Dog” Gomez is reported to have walked into the assay office,and dropped a 5 kilo platinum chunk on the desk and asked for his money. He said that his mine is doing well, so well, he is thinking of sending off for “One of them thar mail order brides, since a man gets a mite lonely out there, and needs some company”. This is his 4th large deposit of metal from his claim. Lucky Dog is also responsible for the deaths of six claim jumpers who attempted to take over his claim by force.

He is represented by Peters, Lopez, and Chou, attorneys who are some of the most used lawyers by miners determined to protect their claims. When we asked Gabriel Chou about the rumors of the claim jumpers, he told us that his client had merely exercised his rights to self defense, with a grand jury determining that he was well within his rights.

After dropping off his platinum chunks, and other finds, Lucky Dog was seen visiting the local branch of Madam Lulu’s in order to “blow off some steam before getting back to the mine”. He stood all the patrons to drinks, and left well lubricated, cleaned and relaxed after his visit to Madam Lulu’s. Madam Lulu’s place is the most fr