Description
Sirius A Jump Gate serves as threshold to the all-Freebooter system of Sirius A. It’s a place rich in commerce, chaos, and caprice – but proudly poor in law and order. The Freebooter culture of forward-thinking reinvention is on display everywhere, with nothing looking, sounding, or working quite as it does elsewhere.
There’s a smug glee among the locals here, borne largely from the untouchable status which the so-called ‘Apples of Discord’ weapon system provides. Even the great powers tread carefully in Sirius, and those passing through would be equally wise not to upset their ‘Booter hosts.
Chronicle Text
The entrance and exit to the Apples of Discord is one oiled by smugness and the imminent threat of violence. Heavily armored Freebooters lounge around the station, taking great delight in the discomfort they bring to Gaule and Consortium travelers (heavily) paying for the right to pass through a system that is a strategic hub in its galactic position. The atmosphere here on the Sirius Jump Gate, patron station of opportunity, leaves no doubt that you are entering a system belonging entirely to a Freebooter collective.
Arrival Text
Welcome to the Jump Gate, pal. This here is the ravenous dog that guards the entrance and exit to the Apples of Discord! Watch yer step…
Statistics
System: Sirius A
Affiliation: Freebooter
Level: 13
Legal: 3 (Low)
Orwellian: 3 (Low)
Areas
Bank (Golden Apple Wealth Management)
More of a bunker than a bank, this places offers some safety for one’s currency against the thieves and robbers of a lawless system.
Behind fortified doors, clusters of well-armed security contractors eye proceedings with steely menace. Customers of all stripes conduct swift business here, no questions asked.
NPCs
Brig (The Bullpen)
Long ago a Consortium facility for criminals, this place now serves as a detention unit for private ship captains refusing to pay the freebooter transit levy for passage through Sirius.
The cuboid holding cells have clear glass fronts. Gawping locals often stop to enjoy the gallery of ransomed pilots and officers. Most captives relent within a few days and are released upon making their payment.
NPCs
Employment (Employment Center)
Official employment sparks little excitement for ‘Booters and the Employment Center bears the consequences of this. The cramped and largely forgotten unit in the station’s outer sectors offers only basic services, delivered via the few still-functioning terminals.
Career Advisory (Follow the Dream Advice Zone)
This strange corner seems to be a satirical spin on the traditional careers advice center, with tongue-in-cheek motivational quotes displayed on the walls. One of the terminals has been hacked to flash every few units with the words; “Your limitation – It’s only your imagination!!” by way of a screensaver. Those wishing to obtain more useful info can still do so on one of the untampered terminals at the back.
Side Jobs (Odd Jobs Bureau)
The Odd Jobs Bureau is a nickname given to a still-functioning wall terminal which locals use to advertise paid errands and casual work. Either side of it, broken terminals sport cracked screens or glitch with half-complete start-up loading bars that have been on 99% for the past cycle.
| Name | Description | Credits | Statistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel Decorator | The Sandman's Embrace Hotel is getting a makeover. Imaginative designers wanted! | 135 | 3x Intelligence |
| Kidnap Scout | Got a keen eye for spotting wealthy but naive visitors to the gate? Come see Brazen in the Port. | 160 | 4x Stamina |
| Sirius Transit Levy Assistant | It's simple: non 'Booters pay a levy to pass through Sirius. But some Captains need it explaining in more detail. Loquacious individual required for said purpose. Visit Catamaran Shingle for info. | 110 | 3x Intelligence 2x Social |
| Social Media Bot Supervisor | Raise Apples awareness on the Mesh. Easy work. Good money. Come see Mantis in the Government Center. | 150 | 4x Intelligence |
Discreet Work
Sometimes jobs are offered by those who need to be able to deny involvement. Don't ask too many questions; you won't get many answers. And don't be surprised if you wind up in the brig or sickbay.
Gaule Embassy
The Gaule Embassy on the Sirius Jump Gate is a place very much fraught with barely contained tension. Embassy security, at least what scant measure is afforded to Gaule personnel here, stand at clearly uneasy attention while groups of freebooters, heavily armored almost to the point of smugness, lounge about just outside the perimeter, making no attempt to hide their presence.
The staff within the squat establishment that insinuates the bare and offhand allowance of its presence on the lawless station, seem equally tense and harangued by their station here.
While no hostilities seem to take place, the awkward intensity that is very palpable in the stale air has most travelers finishing up what business they require in hushed and brisk manners before making a hasty exit.
NPCs
Government Center
This former Consortium admin hub is now little more than a cluster of dust-covered counters and abandoned offices. The entry signage has been ‘updated’ with the use of a flame weapon to torch over the word ‘Government’. Only ‘Services’ remains legible. But even that promises more than is actually on offer from the few black market ration hawkers who can usually be found here.
NPCs
Info Hub
Holo screens illuminate the area as news sources flow like a river of data from one terminal to the next. Occasionally, some government drone will adjust a particular metric or record another before buzzing about their duties.
Syndicate Services
A number of recruiters, both in physical as well as hologrammatic form, interact with would-be members or peruse applications on the wall of terminals that lines this room.
VIP Lounge
Soft music and soothing lights drift through the atmosphere in the lounge. Robotic waiters clad in shiny (but not too shiny) chrome wheel between Citizens, dispensing smooth looking beverages.
Inn (The Booters’ Bliss)
The Booters’ Bliss is a compound of lively units dedicated to exchange of credits for hospitality.
Bar (The Sore Noggin)
Synthehol flows freely in The Sore Noggin. Unusual sonic experiments blast from the audio system; the sticky tables are never wiped, and rowdy fun sometimes turns ‘brawly’. It’s wild, relentless, and different – exactly how the ‘Booter locals like it.
NPCs
Hotel Rooms (Sandman’s Embrace)
The hotel’s original design has been heavily ‘Booterized. Now, the Sandman’s Embrace is a veritable ship-smash of clashing neon, randomized strobe lighting, and odd-looking decorative objects forged from re-purposed metal.
‘Booter reinvention also extends to the rooms. Here, guests can expect floor-ceiling mirror effects and bed frames made from re-cycled ship parts, from torpedo launch struts to rail cannon mounts.
NPCs
Lounge (The Banter Box)
The Lounge offers seating made from repurposed objects on which ‘Booter locals sit in groups, jabbering away with friends old and new. Ripped-out hull insulation foam has been shaped into a sofa of some sort. Opposite, there are two large seating cushions with clear plastic covers that reveal inner stuffing made from thousands of used ration wrappers.
NPCs
Port
Over half of Sirius Jump Gate’s internal volume is taken up by Port facilities of one kind or another. Its noisy bustle reverberates through the station’s structure.
NPCs
Shipping Bay
The Shipping Bay is largely automated, with containers and smaller packages passing along a series of conveyors equipped with contents-scanning sensors. Smuggling is hardly a crime here, but there’s still an imperative to monitor potentially-hazardous cargo.
Docks
A plethora of oddly-customized private ships can be found in the busy Docks. Some vessels have been repainted along highly idiosyncratic lines; clashing neon stripes, intricate patterning, and flaming skulls are just some of the designs on show. No self-respecting ‘Booter would travel in a vessel whose hull didn’t at least reflect some of their forward-thinking spirit.
Local Shuttles
As is typical for Freebooter stations, no public shuttle services are available to and from Sirius Jump Gate. However many ‘Booters have lucrative ‘business ventures’ and can afford the Quantum Telepheresis facility here, operated by a group of perpetually-bemused Benevolent Dynamics staffers.
Interstellar Shuttles
Non ‘Booter arrivals to the system disembark nervously from Interstellar terminals here, sweaty palms clenched tight around handles that protrude from hip holsters. In stark contrast, braided and face-pierced Freebooters usually set foot onto the Port’s regocrete floor with a shriek of homecoming joy. Over in departures, where a similar mix of ‘Booters and great powers citizens await outbound shuttles, the emotions are reversed.
NPCs
Ruins (Rubble Town)
On a generally-dangerous station, the Ruins should be considered positively lethal. The air stinks due to inadequate humidity regulators; alarms blare incessantly, and warning lights blink on the few still-working safety sensors.
The Ruins occupy the station’s outermost decks which have remained prone to accidental air venting even to this day. As such, they’ve never been appealing to those of a sensible disposition and instead attract the stations’ less risk-averse residents.
The Ruins serves up danger in all sorts of flavors. Scavengers pick through The Wrecks, fighting savagely for overlooked prizes among the debris. Syndicates, under license from station authorities, renew buildings and facilities within the Syndicate Districts. And The Wilds are nothing short of a warzone, where the toughest Syndicate militia battle hardened criminals in an endless struggle for spoils and turf.
NPCs
The Wrecks (The Junk Yards)
The air swirls with dust here, endlessly disturbed by the activities of local scavengers. Some use power tools to accelerate their work, often laying the foundations for grisly accidents with circular blades and power grinders.
On any given day the Wrecks pivot between desolate emptiness and sparse population by desperate people avoiding prying eyes, bandits, and merchants looking for some cheap and interesting wares. It can be worth your time to pull on a pair of gloves and dig through the debris in the wrecks in search of something useful, just keep your wits about you during your excavation. You never know who's watching in the wrecks.
The Wilds
The intermittent patter of distant firearms here has been compared to the sound of soft terran rain of old Earth. But the locals here have little time for turns of phrase, being otherwise occupied in blasting and shredding each other to bits.
Regocrete debris left over from the fighting litters walkways and the bodies - or body parts - of the fallen are not always swiftly cleared.
Syndicates use these bullet-riddled spaces for insecure storage, and many a bandit has been cut down attempting a bold raid on someone else’s well-guarded cache. Once a benign web of service tunnels; every inch of The Wilds now serves treachery and murder. Deep in the festering darkness, heartless animals track their prey guided by primordial instinct. Only fools come here without first securing a serious weapon and a clone back-up.
Security
The Security office is a hub of people with an interest in security of one kind or another. Clusters of private bodyguards representing all the major providers do a brisk trade with non ‘Booter visitors wary of the system’s dangers. No official station security exists but something akin to the role is loosely filled on occasion if a ‘Booter self-nominates for it.
NPCs
"Galactic Destinations" text
Today’s issue is a special travel advisory for those considering a visit to Sirius Jump Gate. As the entry point to an all-Freebooter system, this place makes quite the first impression. Here are some handy pointers to ensure it’s not one you remember for the wrong reasons…
Pay up!
Most spaceship captains can expect a payment demand on entry to the system. This covers transit permissions. Our advice here is simple: pay up! The Jump Gate’s Brig is already full of those who tried to evade this levy. Don’t make the same mistake they did.
As a strategically-positioned system, Sirius is an essential transit route for through traffic to Luyten’s Star, Kapteyn’s Star, and Wolf 359, to name a few. Such traffic volumes ensure the ‘Booters of Sirius will never know empty pockets!
Credit$ & bond$ galore!
It’s worth repeating, just for the avoidance of doubt. The ‘Booters of Sirius Jump Gate are neither short of currency – nor the many things credits and bonds can purchase in this universe. There are few legal restrictions on ‘Booter activities. The more enterprising among them have taken full advantage, and the results are evident here. Just don’t go prying too much into the details of their ‘business activities’!
Paradoxically, although wealth is abundant here, it’s not a safe place for it. Visitors are advised that robbery – and even kidnap – is a common enterprise, fueled by low law and Orwellian levels. Those who insist on carrying valuables on them should invest in a bodyguard or three!
How do you like them apples?
You’re probably thinking the great powers aren’t overly fond of this haven of banditry and anarchy. Especially in such a strategically-vital system. And you’d be right!
It’s well known that neither Gaule nor Consortium forces enjoy being taken for dupes here. Nor do they relish the steady enrichment of their ‘Booter hosts every time a freighter requires passage through the system. And yet, the situation persists. Why? Well, that’s where the so-called ‘Apples of Discord’ come in.
Maintained by hacktivists on nearby The House of Congo, the entire system allegedly possesses a powerful weapon, known colloquially as ‘the apples’. Their threat involves the trigger of a chain reaction in the systems’ twin stars, which would obliterate anything within the system. This notion is sufficient to keep the great powers at bay, even if the weapon’s viability is the source of speculation.
Enjoy the ride!
In the interest of balanced reporting, we should also point out that the Jump Gate offers visitors the possibility of a ‘Sirius-ly’ good time. There’s rarely a dull moment on a station where the Bar never shuts.
Stay safe and have yourselves an enjoyable – and possibly very lucrative – time aboard the Jump Gate!
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