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There's something different about the people Juni knows in this system. They're so strong in their convictions -- kinda makes me forget about more trivial things. That reminds me - I still haven't gotten paid! Well, in any case, we're off to intercept some transport with one of the heads of the Kusari government, Governor Tekagi, onboard. I've read about this guy in the news. I thought he was working for peace, but if there's anything I've learned, it's that things aren't always as they seem.
We ended up taking this really backwards way to Honshu, mostly due to the fact we had to join up with a Blood Dragon wing. I've heard of these guys before. They're this weird type of "good pirate" that roams throughout Kusari. People say that they're the best pilots anywhere in the colonies. That doesn't help explain Juni's piloting abilities. Well, we still have one more leg on this journey. We have to get that transport out of impound and get it to the Blood Dragon home, the legendary Kyoto Base.
We got the transport! That actually wasn't too hard, but I think that's due in part to Ozu. I've never seen anything so surgical before. Ozu's men knew exactly what to do. It was almost poetic. No wonder these guys are known as legends.
Tekagi wasn't aboard and neither was the Tome! Ozu seems unphased by all of this -- I don't know how. I guess this all just comes naturally to him. I can see why everyone around here reveres him so much. So this is the legendary Kyoto Base. I guess I'll take some jobs and earn some scratch while Ozu and the Blood Dragons come up with another way to find the Tome. This place isn't much to look at, but they've got some great equipment here. I can certainly get used to the way they dress.
News
CHANCELLOR WANTS PEACE
Advance word from the Shogun and Governor Tekagi is that Chancellor Niemann is willing to follow all of the directives outlined by Kusari, Liberty, and Bretonia if he is allowed more rights to territories in the Border Worlds. This is being considered by the Shogun, who has called a meeting with several of his top generals to review security concerns.
TEKAGI RETURNS IN TRIUMPH
Governor Tekagi returned home after an extended meeting with Chancellor Niemann on New Berlin. While the fatigue of the journey appears to have taken its toll on the usually animated Governor, the meeting itself was reportedly a success. As a goodwill gesture, the Governor returned with 150 Kusari citizens who had been held hostage in Rheinland. The rest, we are told, will be returned in stages.
HOSTAGES BEING DEBRIEFED
Governor Tekagi met privately with Shogun Edo immediately upon his return from New Berlin. There is no formal word yet from this meeting. Meanwhile, Intelligence officials have reportedly begun the process of debriefing the recently returned hostages. It is hoped that they will be reunited with their families and co-workers in the very near future.
KUSARI TRANSPORT LOST
With no clues to its disappearance, officials have classified the transport that recently failed to report in from the Border Worlds as lost. The ship and crew names are being withheld until the families can be notified.
TEKAGI EXHAUSTED FROM TRIP
After his return from Rheinland, Governor Tekagi is said to have refused food and sleep and might be ill. Though there is some speculation that he might have been exposed to something on the journey to or from Rheinland, sources close to the Governor say that he needs to rest.
BLOOD DRAGONS ON THE MOVE?
Local authorities have reported that the Blood Dragons may be on the move again. Informants and intercepted communications alerted them to this possibility. However, there is no concrete evidence to support this assumption. The Shogunate has said that the Blood Dragons do not represent a significant threat to our security at this time.
THE BATTLE FOR OMEGA-5: FREISTADT
The war between the Red Hessians and the Corsairs has been fought for many years. After countless losses on both sides it appears that neither faction can claim victory. The Red Hessians have greater numbers, but the Corsairs are the superior pilots and have better equipment. Someday this war will come to an end, but not before one of these two powerful forces is brought to its knees. Omega-5 is a dangerous system to enter, since both sides will likely fire on any vessels within the battlefield.
NO JUNKERS IN KUSARI: ROCHESTER
Ever wondered why there are no Junkers in Kusari? The answer is simple: the Hogosha. The Junkers want to expand into every corner of Sirius space, hoping to exploit the underworld trade in each House. But, true to their isolate nature, the Kusari crime syndicate has kept the foreigners out of Kusari systems. Open conflict has not erupted between the two opposing factions because it is not the Junkers' way to wage open war. For now the enterprising scavengers will bide their time until an opportunity in Kusari presents itself.
THE CHILDREN OF HISPANIA: TRAFALGAR
It is rumored that the two fiercest pirate groups in Sirius both came from the same ship; the lost Sleeper Ship Hispania. While this is only hearsay, many believe the tales to be true about the two great factions. Nowadays, both the Outcasts and the Corsairs clash in incredible battles of skill and grace, but these rivalries occur primarily because of territorial disputes in the Sigma Border Worlds and southern Bretonia. There is no intrinsic hatred between them, only a ruthlessness that goes beyond any common ties.
THE GOLD OF DUBLIN: TRAFALGAR
The Corsairs have poured into Bretonia from the southern Border Worlds to find rich hunting grounds and fields of Gold. This has put them at odds with the Bretonian criminal group the Mollys, who claim Dublin and its Gold as theirs. A fierce struggle has ensued between the two for the right to be Bretonia's dominant pirate faction. It appears as if the Corsairs are holding their own against the tenacious Mollys, but only time will tell who has the right to pilfer the queen's coffers.
KINDRED SPIRITS: DARMSTADT
There are two groups within Sirius that have never met each other, yet fight for almost the same exact things in different houses. The common link between the groups? Synth Foods. The Farmers Alliance of Kusari and the LWB of Rheinland are both fighting the Liberty corporation desperately, in an attempt to rid their homelands of the ever encroaching food pastes that feed the majority of Sirius. The LWB is particularly interested in ending the Synth occupation of Planet Stuttgart, while the Farmers Alliance is battling for control of the Kusari food markets.
CHANGING THE STATUS QUO IN KUSARI: KYOTO
The Hogosha crime syndicate is trying to keep things as they are in the Kusari Empire. This brings them into conflict with the Blood Dragons, a faction whose primary goal is to overthrow the government. It also puts them at odds with the Golden Chrysanthemums, another group that it striving for a revolution in Kusari, but for different reasons. The Dragons wish to eliminate government corruption and the Golden C. aim to bring about a new age for women, yet the common goal for these two groups brings them together as allies against the Hogosha.
NEUTRAL GROUND FOR EVERYONE: ROCHESTER
It doesn't matter what group of criminals you belong to, unless you are a Xeno. You are always welcome at a Junker base because you are a potential customer for black market items. From Molly Gold to Corsair Artifacts, the Junkers are willing to buy, sell or trade it all. They also deal in basic Commodities and therefore supply many outlaws. Junker bases also serve as neutral areas for criminals to meet without conflict.
BOUNTY HUNTERS: DESPISED BY ALL: HOUSTON
Criminals who've gone bad and have no problem hunting down their own join the Bounty Hunters Guild. Every crime organization in Sirius has lost many of their numbers to this group and will lose more. The worst insult to most pirates: Once the Bounty Hunter was just like him or her but now is a lap dog to the corporations. Hunters know the Jump Hole networks and how outlaws operate, which makes them more dangeorus than police or military. If you have the opportunity to kill one of them, don't hesitate.
THE XENO ANGLE: OURAY
Many do not understand the radical view that the Xenos take against foreigners and Junkers. The Xenos are the remnants of Liberty's working-class population in Colorado and Texas. The group blames foreign business interests for the closure of most Liberty factories. Having been kicked to the bottom, Xenos see their only option as clawing their way to the top. Any outsiders are enemies to them, including the Junkers.
THE CARDAMINE CONNECTION: BUFFALO
The trade and use of Cardamine has brought three criminal factions together around the Outcasts, who produce the most powerful narcotic. The Golden C. use Cardamine as part of their ritualistic subculture and distribute it into Kusari space. The Lane Hackers trade valuable shipping information to the Outcasts in exchange for the drug. Finally, there are the Rogues. They supply and shelter the Outcast smugglers on their way through Liberty space. This symbiotic relationship has been very effective in spreading the drug throughout Sirious.
REFORMERS SEEK END TO CORRUPTION: BRUSCHAL
The Bundschuh of Rheinland and the Blood Dragons of Kusari are organizations that have committed themselves to political ideals over promises of gain by way of murder and piracy. The two groups are motivated by the desire to root out corruption from within their respective governments. The similarities between the Bundschuh and the Blood Dragons are illuminating: both groups believe that it is the influence of corporations that has steered the leadership of their Houses towards corruption and decay. It is also very unlikely that a Bundschuh has ever met a Blood Dragon.
ON A RAZOR'S EDGE: FREEPORT 10
The relationship between Zoners and Outcasts is a precarious one. The Outcasts view the Zoners as somewhat useful, so they do not attack them. The moment that the Outcasts no longer find the Zoners necessary, they will have no compunctions about slaughtering any who are in or near their space. The IMG have a much worse rapport with the faction. Outcasts will kill any miners they come across in the northern Edge Worlds. The last thing that Outcasts want is undue attention by outside factions in their territory.
THE ZONERS IN SOUTHERN SIRIUS: FREEPORT 9
Corsairs and Zoners get along reasonably well because of the large quantities of Corsair Food produced on Freeport 9, but there is some question as to whether operations like it will continue to be allowed to operate so freely by the Corsairs. The presence of Bounty Hunters in Zoner freeports has been the source of mounting tension between the Corsairs and their deliberately neutral neighbors.
MINING IN THE BLOOD: THE HOOD
The IMG miners, who operate the Hood, get along well with the Mollys, who purchase most of their supplies from the merchants aboard the derelict battleship. Both groups are miners, and though the Mollys have no true allies, the IMG probably come the closest. The IMG are Molly sympathizers, though they have chosen not to criminalize themselves within Bretonia. Like the Mollys, many IMG are former BMM employees, and both groups share a mutual and understandable hatred for the oppressive Bretonian Mining firm.
RED HESSIANS ACCEPT FELLOW MINERS: FREISTADT
Though it has been a long time since the Red Hessians were exclusively miners, they can still apreciate the work that the IMG does to operate independently of corporate and House control in Sirius. Red Hessians and IMG conduct business at the IMG base Freistadt in Omega-7, where they trade Commodities of all kinds from basic supplies to engines. Historically a Bretonian organization, Rheinland miners flocked to the IMG after the 80 Years War, and the common ancestry between the two groups is not overlooked by either faction.
HOGOSHA BOSS ASSASSINATED: NEW TOKYO
Noted Hogosha criminal Taki Fujimata met an unfortunate demise in his residence a few days ago at the hands of Blood Dragon commandos. Fujimata was responsible for the strikes upon six intelligence-gathering operatives that were in position in New Tokyo. His death insures greater mobility and safety for our undercover agents in the capitol. Fujimata was a well-liked figure within the Hogosha leadership, and rumors are already circulating that a reprisal attack may soon be forthcoming.
SAKURA STRIKE PLANNED: CHUGOKU
With the approach of the Sakura Festival, the Blood Dragons will mourn the anniversary of the fall of the Hideyoshi Shogunate. This is a day of great shame not only for the Blood Dragons, but for all the people of Kusari. It is our sacred role to reestablish a legitimate government. On this anniversary Kusari will be reminded of how our honor was taken from us. Expect a day of reckoning during the upcoming Sakura Festival. Our leaders shall not let the travesty that occurred centuries ago be forgotten.
A CLOSE CALL: KYOTO
Two Kusari Naval Forces fighters were intercepted yesterday by a patrol near the Hokkaido Jump Hole. It was theorized that they stumbled across the Hole in the Kayo Cloud by accident. Five more ships were immediately dispatched to the area, and the hunt began. The two ships were destroyed just as they were about to exit the system. Fortunately, the high electromagnetic interference present in the Kayo Cloud most likely prevented them from making contact with the Matsumoto.