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Rumors and
Events A summary of rumors and events happening outside of gameplay during or before the campaign to date. NOTEABLE EVENTS (In chronological order) 1. The Bonaventure Class Explorer Amundsen (SDCR-4) failed to report back to Gateway (HM+00 0000) as scheduled by December of 2356, and was declared Missing. The Amundsen was further declared Lost when it failed to return by December of 2357. The whereabouts of the ship and its complement of 120 are currently unknown. The SDC is offering a reward of up to $1 million Solarian Dollars for information leading to the location of the Amundsen or any remains of the ship and crew, and up to $500,000 Solarian Dollars for any conclusive proof of the ship's fate. 2. The Bonaventure class Explorer Intrepid (SDCR-5) was stolen from its berth near Gateway Station in the Gateway System (HM+00 0000) on 17 August 2357. It is currently believed that the theft of the Intrepid was conducted by her former commanding officer, Captain Drake Skyler. The SDC is offering a reward of up to $10 million Solarian Dollars for any information leading to the capture of Skyler or the recovery of the Intrepid. 3. The nihilst group End of History, possibly acting with the backing of Aztlan, attacked the tiny asteroid mining outpost of The Alamo in the HM+35 0552 System with the intent to destroy it. The nihilists were themselves defeated by the spirited defense of the miners and the heavy mining laser of the Prospector class mining vessel Clementine (AMC-116), and the three survivors of the attack remanded to the custody of the Captain Jan Mercer and his ship, Enterprise (AMC-003). The three survivors refused to testify against their organization, were convicted of piracy in high space by a court convened by the SDC, and were executed by hanging on 29 July 2360 in the city of Capital Main, on the planet Fury, in the HM+53 0102 System, despite protests from the United Nations and the human rights group Amnesty International that they should be turned over to the International Criminal Court for trial and sentencing. 4. Astral Queen class passenger liner Astral Temptress (AMC-104), operating under the Astral Adventure Cruise Line company during a chartered cruise for dignitaries and investors for development projects in Sagittarius, was attacked and boarded in November of 2360 in the Destiny (HD+47 0309) System by three pirate vessels of the Citoyen D'Honneur class. The pirates are part of the Ebon Veil organization, a group of expatriate French privateers who served both sides in the conflict between Manchuria and the Western Alliance, as well as against Russia in the undeclared Commerce War with Manchuria. The pirates plundered the wealthy passengers of their valuables as well as helped themselves to various luxury goods stocked onboard the liner, and left without causing serious casualties among the passengers and crew. The Sagittarius Development Corporation is now offering a cash reward of up to $1,000,000 Solarian Dollars for information leading to the capture or destruction of the Citoyen D'Honneur, Terreur des Cieux, or Sang De Vierge. Ship's Masters are advised not to engage these vessels unless necessary to protect their ships and crew, but to report any sightings of these and any other pirate starships to the SDC as soon as possible. 5. The Astral Queen class passenger liner Astral Adventuress (AMC-105), operating under the Astral Adventure Cruise Line company (Fury, HM+53 0102 System), was found in a wrecked condition in June of 2361 by a prospector operating in the far reaches of the HB+55 1522 System. The ship was holed by weapon fire and had suffered severe internal casualties as a result. The Astral Adventuress was lost with all hands. All cargo was gone, apparently seized by the attackers. The ship was conducting a chartered colony mission to an undocumented system 24 parsecs from Gateway. Last contact was 26 December 2360, with a routine radio call to the SDC operated Research Station Victor One outpost on the surface of the planet HB+55 1522 VI as the liner passed within 0.14 AU. The SDC is still investigating the incident, but has issued a preliminary ruling of the vessel being lost to a pirate attack by an unknown ship or force of ships. No materials linked to the Astral Adventuress' cargo holds or passengers has been known to appear for sale since the last known contact with the vessel. The attack is believed to have occurred within the HB+55 1522 System during transit to the next Jump Point. Human remains recovered from the wreck are being held in the Scherzo System (SAG+55 2007) at the SDC outpost at Forte for analysis and pending any next of kin arriving to claim their loved ones. 6. The armed yacht Celestial Phoenix (AMC-127), was attacked by the Dahan Feng Hao (AMC-241) or a similar vessel using the same registry, in the Midgard System (HD+54 1018) on 13 September 2361 near the Scherzo System (SAG+55 2007) jump point. A spirited battle followed, in which the Dahan Feng Hao, a Corsair conversion of the Wanderer class free trader, was destroyed. The crew of the Celestial Phoenix boarded the wreck and managed to take several prisoners, who were then remanded to the custody of Captain Jan Mercer of the Enterprise (AMC-003) on the 26th of September in the Scherzo System. 7. The Oberon class frigate Portia (AMC-019) encountered an unidentified vessel in the far reaches of the HB+55 1522 System in late September of 2361. The unknown vessel failed to respond to hails and executed a stardrive jump to an unknown destination shortly after being encountered. The incident is being made public in the hope that the identity of the attackers of the Astral Adventuress (AMC-105) may come to light. 8. The Pirates of the Ebon Veil are believed to have attacked the Sojourner class free trader Bodhisattva (AMC-113) in the Rostov's World System on 29 September 2361. The Bodhisattva was boarded without incident, the cargo taken, and the crew robbed but released unharmed. 9. The armed yacht Celestial Phoenix (AMC-127), in the company of the Cimmeron class armed merchant Sagittarius Chapparal (AMC-026), and the Wanderer class free trader Dahan Jin Xian (AMC-147), encountered and were attacked by the Pirates of the Ebon Veil on 28 October 2361 in the Aquilla System (SAG+56 0107) while transiting to the Fury System (HM+53 0102) Jump Point. All three vessels resisted the pirates, especially the Dahan Jin Xian, which appears to have been a Corsair class ship masquerading as a Wanderer, and succeeded in driving them off with heavy damage to two of the three ships. 10. The Ceres Metals Corporation merchant starship Ceres Mercury (AMC-253) was reported overdue on 2 February 2362, when it failed to report to the Fury System with a shipment of platinum and iridium as well as other base metals for delivery to Mercer Heavy Industries. The ship was last seen at its port of call in the HD+36 2309 (Paydirt) System on 20 December 2361. There is reason to believe the ship has been hijacked. 11. The Connestoga class merchant Frontier Spirit (AMC-224) was declared lost by the New Horizons Colonial Development Company on 30 April 2362 after failing to appear at its scheduled port of call of Fury. The last known location of the Frontier Spirit was the Frontiera System (HD+40 1336), where it made its scheduled pre-Jump radio call on 18 January 2362. RUMORS These are rumors that the player characters have heard from time to time in passing, from friends and associates, or have seen published in less reputable media outlets. Their veracity is unconfirmed - some rumors may be completely false, others the gospel truth, while the rest are some combination of the two. Concerning the Stargate Crash 1. The Stargate was destabilized by a nihilist group known as the End of History, a far left organization whose central tenet is that the human race is a cancer metastasizing across the universe and must be stopped. The Sagittarius-Orion Stargate in particular is an abomination because it allowed the human race to spread to another spiral arm of the galaxy. 2. The Stargate was destabilized by Aztlan covert forces as revenge for the SSTE's ban on any Aztlan related ships, cargoes, or citizens from using any of the SSTE's stargates. 3. The Stargate crash was accidental as a result of deflating the wormhole too quickly in response to threats against it. The SDC lists the cause of the crash as unknown while spreading rumors of terrorist attacks in order to cover up its own incompetence and potential liability from the disaster. 4. The Stargate was intentionally destabilized by the SDC, effectively making them the rulers of all human space in Sagittarius and cutting off any outside competition from the Great Nations. Concerning Foreign Powers in Sagittarius 1. The Manchurian Government has infiltrated the expatriate colony at Jin Xian and developed a shipbuilding and manufacturing company that is producing weapons, mecha, and starships for an eventual takeover of the Sagittarius Arm by Manchuria. The SDC, by freezing out all of the Great Nations, has effectively cut its own throat since no one will come to their aid. The crash of the Stargate, while removing Manchuria's ability to seize the Sagittarius Arm for itself, has done nothing to affect their agents' plans on Jin Xian. 2. The French have smuggled as many as three Ypres class frigates into Sagittarius via chartered ULCC cargo ships to spy on colonial development and to determine SDC intentions and capabilities as possible threats to deliberate French expansion and annexation of the spiral arm. The collapse of the Stargate has cut the French ship(s) off from outside support, and they have since turned pirate. There is some speculation that the Ebon Veil pirates which have begun to plague shipping in Sagittarius are connected with the French frigates, if they in fact do exist. 3. Every Great Nation and several criminal empires have active intelligence networks in Sagittarius spying on the Aurimas family and their works. A multinational effort to destroy the SDC and annex the spiral arm under either Western Alliance or United Nations jurisdiction was underway, and was foiled by the Stargate crash. 4. The SDC is covering up the existence of alien civilizations whose ruins have been uncovered on several worlds. If conclusive proof of intelligent non-terrestrial life in Sagittarius were made public, it would at long last answer the question of whether or not humanity was alone in the universe. The SDC is concealing any such proof so that they can consolidate their hold on any alien technology they have found and cement their power over Sagittarius before others can find examples for themselves. 5. The Black Dragon Society, a quasi-mythical secret society comparable to an Asian Illuminati, and composed of various Chinese, Korean, Thai, Filipino, and Japanese criminal, corporate, and political elites intent on domination of all Human Space, has come to Sagittarius along with other Great Nations to size up Sagittarius for an eventual takeover. The SDC's apathetic attitudes towards governance and its hands off approach to the political destiny of the colonies has fostered a sense of weakness that has drawn groups like the Black Dragon Society. Because they are Asian, members of the Black Dragon Society control the Jin Xian and Shun'gyou colonies. Concerning Piracy and other crimes in Open Space 1. The notorious Pirates du Voile D'Ébène (Pirates of the Ebon Veil) are rumored to operate out of either the Tortuga (HD-37 4529) or Cora's World (HM-40 2634) Systems. The SDC has been unable to confirm these rumors, nor does it have the ships or manpower to make a thorough search of the systems. The Sagittarius Development Corporation is now offering a cash reward of up to $1,000,000 Solarian Dollars for information leading to the capture or destruction of the pirate corvettes Citoyen D'Honneur, Terreur des Cieux, or Sang De Vierge. Ship's Masters are advised not to engage these vessels unless necessary to protect their ships and crew, but to report any sightings of these and any other pirate starships to the SDC as soon as possible. 2. Several ships have been reported lost in distant star systems well removed from the SDC's sphere of influence centered on Gateway. The SDC has been unwilling to send investigators on such a long and expensive trip to determine the facts of these cases, as piracy or mutiny in deep space is the most likely cause of the incidents. 3. The left-wing nihilist group End of History has infiltrated Sagittarius in the possession of a stolen autofab facility and a host of templates for weapon production. They have become discreet arms dealers, selling to colonies and corporations in the hope of fostering a massive armed conflict in Sagittarius that will destroy the interstellar infrastructure of the Arm and finally stop the spread of the cancer known as Man. They are not rumored to have nuclear weapon manufacturing capability yet, but that they are attempting to secure a supply of plutonium or highly enriched uranium to rectify this situation. 4. A notorious mercenary assassin has taken refuge in Sagittarius following the recent killing of Manchuria's Vice Premier, Qiu Chengde. In addition to the Manchurians wanting the assassin dead, the British embassy on Fury is also rumored to be searching for him for the assassination of the NuLabor Party's Minister of Defense, Gerry Brooks, in 2356. Little is known of the assassin's identity other than that he is Eastern European in origin. 5. The privateer vessel Dahan Feng Hao (AMC-241) was operating with the tacit approval of the Dahan corporation when it was destroyed in combat with the armed yacht Celestial Phoenix (AMC-127), owned by Fa Enterprises of Sagittarius in the outer reaches of the Midgard System (HD+54 1018) in mid-September 2361. Speculation as to why the two ships fought centers on a corporate brushfire war between Dahan and Fa Enterprises. Concerning the Mercer and Aurimas Families 1. Joachim Mercer, the oldest son of Frederick Mercer, is building a private military with his proposal for the Armada of the Mercer Compact and its component Army of the Mercer Compact forces. While the AMC is ostensibly a defensive and peacekeeping force to maintain order and interstellar trade in the wake of the Stargate Crash, Joachim's revelation of his own personal Pegasus Class light cruiser Callisto (AMC-001), a ship already in existence well before the Crash, indicates that he was planning the AMC's formation even before the migration to Sagittarius. 2. The Aurimas family is composed of clones and tweaks of Gavin Aurimas, with only his grandchildren being sired in the traditional manner. Gavin Aurimas, while one of the greatest scientific geniuses in human history, is a very sick man afflicted with advanced malignant narcissism. The entire Sagittarius project was created not as a sanctuary against the ethnic and political violence of Earth and her colonies, but as a massive ego trip that would establish him as a god. The crash of the Stargate was no accident. 3. Frederick Mercer is showing signs of senile dementia, which are being covered up with radical drug therapies in order to present a competent front during these desperate times. Joachim Mercer is currently his father's puppet master, but all of the Mercers are behind him in the furtherance of his ambitions. 4. The Aurimas family is a cesspool of incest, madness, indolence, greed, and even murder. There are very good reasons why they hide behind a sprawling walled compound on the banks of the Palanquin River on Fury's primary city of Capital Main and are rarely seen in public. A private cloning and biotech engineering ward within the compound creates people and creatures to satisfy the most depraved urges of Gavin's progeny, and some believe, even Gavin Aurimas himself. 5. In the convenient absence of the other SDC partners with the crash of the Stargate, the Mercer family is preparing to seize control of the SDC with the connivance of the sole remaining major SDC partner, the Bank of Sol. The Aurimas family will be made a buyout offer they cannot refuse, and will be sidelined in their compound on Fury, comfortable, but well guarded. Gavin Aurimas will remain on the SDC Board of Directors as a figurehead, with no voting power. |
