AMENDED APPLICATION
O(A)-FILE//7-1286κ
O(A)-FILE//7-1286κ
ENCLAVE OR OUTPOST // Outpost
NATION NAME/PROPRIETOR // 'Draeva-Ishaik Heavy Industries'
NAME OF ENCLAVE/OUTPOST // Harriers' Haven (colloquial); Artificial Satellite SemiSynch-ORB 7-1286κ (officially)
LOCATION OF ENCLAVE/OUTPOST // Stable Semi-synchronous Low Orbit, Kythira
DESCRIPTION •••
While the records maintained by the Liu Xiu Maritime Authority regarding Artificial Satellite SemiSynch-ORB 7-1286κ (SS-ORB 7-1286κ or, simply, 7-1286κ), more commonly known as "Harriers' Haven," are partial and fragmentary, what can be deduced is that the installation's presence in the system pre-dates not only the system's jurisdictional transfer to the Imperial Star Republic, but the initial settlement of the system (and the subsequent establishment of the Liu Xiu Neutral Zone) by the Phanite Republic. Records from this period, as noted, are partial and fragmentary, with many having either never having been acquired or were subsequently lost following the Jiwao Skylift Disaster; any and all review of such documentation should include sincere considerations as to potential (in)accuracy.
Initial records indicate that Harriers' Haven, under its file designation of "SS-ORB 7-1286κ," was purchased under detailed contract by the now-defunct Rohvada Mining Consortium (also known as the "Rohvada Group") sometime between 19.0010 and 19.0020 Galactic Standard Year. Modified based upon Rohvada's specifications, 7-1286κ began life as a part of the Steadfast Model 36(C) line of orbital installations produced between 18.9000 and 19.0500GSY by Ordess-Taul Industrial Engineering (a Betan megaconglomerate specializing in station and orbital installation manufacturing, and one of few period corporations to outlast the Great Betan Collapse). Ordess-Taul's Steadfast line, while now woefully outdated and obsolete by most contemporary industrial standards, was one of the most popular of its day; boasting the considerable capability of housing up to 1,800 permanent residents (with room for between 500 and 700 temporary occupants), the Steadfast Model 36(C) was designed with permanent, deep space industrial operations in mind - namely fuel harvesting and planetoid mining.
Under Rohvada's direction, SDF-0095043.32 (the station's manufacturing identification code) was engineered to cater toward not merely employee residency, but specifically for fuel harvesting collection and storage; as a consequence, SS-ORB 7-1286κ was initially designed to be able to berth one large-scale hydrogen-2 carrier, as well as one intermediate-scale resource harvester and three small-scale long-haul freighters (to the addition of administrative vessel and shuttle berths). This modification from the Steadfast's factory specifications, however, seems to have been at the cost of nearly 600 occupancy units, cutting SS-ORB 7-1286κ's initial compliment by a third. At the time, SS-ORB 7-1286κ was equipped with one long-range ansible and one short-range/system-wide ansible, allowing - conceivably - for long-range, corporate communications as well as system flight control and mining/harvesting supervision.
Upon delivery by Ordess-Taul, the Rohvada Mining Consortium was equipped with a permanent harvesting/mining installation around Kythira, still one of the most profitable Jovians (with regard to fusion fuel extraction and asteroid capture mining) in the Liu Xiu System. Exact date of delivery is unknown, though believed to be no later than 19.0020GSY. It is known that between 19.0020 and 19.0400GSY what would become Harriers' Haven served as one of the Rohvada Mining Consortium's most profitable endeavors, despite a contemporaneous period of heightened fuel extraction in and around Kythira's orbit by direct competitors; nevertheless, due to baleful mismanagement and corporate malfeasance, Rohvada was doomed. The Rohvada Mining Consortium declared bankruptcy in 19.040GSY and subsequently liquidated much of its assets, including its Kythira installation; Rohvada, subsequently, underwent a brief period of restructuring, only to eventually be broken apart in 19.0520GSY.
Purchased during liquidation in 19.0400GSY, SS-ORB 7-1286κ came into the ownership of Voss'mar Enterprises, a shripwright start-up operating out of the Delta Quadrant. Having recently received a considerable windfall, Voss'mar began searching for new clientele and scouting for locations to build what, according to contemporaneous media reports, was slated to be the "largest and most progressively-designed [orbital retainer]" in Voss'mar's already impressive history. Renowned mostly for the construction of civilian luxury craft, to include the Voss'mar Whip-O-Will luxury speedster (an inter-system capable, micro-jump civilian stellar yacht still popular with collectors), the shipwright intended to branch-out into the engineering and manufacture of both commercial and, ideally, military craft. At the time of its purchase, records indicate SS-ORB 7-1286κ was initially intended to become a temporary administrative hub in the Gamma Quadrant and, more locally, to serve as a prospecting and surveying outpost for the purpose of designing the aforementioned orbital retainer with the intent to install such in orbit over Kythira.
Aside from initial, factory customization, Voss'mar Enterprise's ownership of SS-ORB 7-1286κ marks the beginning of a long history of in situ modification and retrofitting, leading eventually to Harriers' Haven's notoriously "hodge-podge" appearance. Voss'mar, departing from Rohvada's largely practical considerations, began modifying the station with "comfort" in mind. Described by some as "scatter-brained" in design philosophy, Voss'mar largely did away with the largest berths, retrofitting them to hold numerous smaller craft - though, at the time, strictly those capable of mating with Voss'mar's contemporaneously-criticized moor-couplings; it further expanded shuttle berths to service a larger compliment of administrative staff - an act that was coupled with the addition of several luxury residences (believed to have since either been dismantled, replaced, or ad hoc sub-divided). Of all of Voss'mar's outlandish additions, the construction of an entire annex for two large oxygen gardens was the most ostentatious; in the short, three year period of Voss'mar's ownership of SS-ORB 7-1286κ, while the gardens functioned (in the sense life grew and flourished), the systems meant to be used to assist the station in atmospheric control and processing were never activated.
In 19.0430GSY, numerous executives of Voss'mar Enterprises were indicted across multiple jurisdictions for various charges - the most notorious being several criminal indictments charging Voss'mar with gross negligence regarding the propensity for their proprietary moor-couplings to not simply refuse to mate with others seeing widespread use, but when they did mate, to disastrously fail, leading to (at times) explosive decompression and venting. Almost immediately after these indictments, Voss'mar Enterprises habitually abandoned their ventures outside of the Delta Quadrant, including SS-ORB 7-1286κ, seemingly overnight. (Following the acquisition of SS-ORB 7-1286κ by the Sieda Development Group in 20.0007GSY numerous Voss'mar records were found still intact, despite years of dereliction and squatting.) When many in Voss'mar were found guilty in late 19.0430GSY, the company officially disbanded, leaving many of their spacial assets unsold and derelict; SS-ORB 7-1286κ received its first official classification as a "derelict station" in an international registry on 11-18-19.0430GSY.
Few records remain that involve SS-ORB 7-1286κ's dereliction period between 19.0430GSY and the Phanite Republic's eventual annexation of the Liu Xiu System. Conjecture based upon sparse reports seeming to reference the station do exist, but are largely sourced from unreliable witnesses or criminal elements. It is known that between 19.0610 and 19.6900GSY the orbital system of Kythira saw numerous attempts by free colonists and resource harvesters to take advantage of the otherwise untended system of Liu Xiu; as a consequence, it is believed that during this period SS-ORB 7-1286κ likely experienced sporadic periods of habitation and squatting. What few visual observation records exist seem to indicate some degree of ongoing modification and retrofitting, though the nature of these changes seem to indicate no overarching plan or goal, indicating a probability of ad hoc, necessity-based changes. For a brief period circa 19.7000GSY, the installation is believed to have served as a narcotics/psychoactives manufacturing facility, largely based upon sporadic evidence by policing authorities coming into contact with materials found in the possession of narcotics traffickers that purported "a station in [the Liu Xiu System]" being used as a production facility; no single narcotic or psychoactive has been definitively traced-to or confirmed to have originated from SS-ORB 7-1286κ during this period.
Not long before the Liu Xiu System's acquisition by the Phanite Republic, based upon orbital models produced by the Liu Xiu Maritime Authority in 20.0015GSY, SS-ORB 7-1286κ suffered severe damage to its orbital correction system; based upon its slowly declining orbital trajectory (until its eventual repair in 20.0016GSY), it is speculated this was caused by a burst-phase micro-meteorite impact. Damage to the station at the time of the Phanite Republic's initial acquisition of the system, while present, was largely superficial and readily explained by the better part of a century without repair or maintenance, but lacking any indication of an impactor of substantial mass. Regardless, SS-ORB 7-1286κ's unstable orbit would come to add to the myth of the station as Harriers' Haven - particularly among those who took berth within it, testifying as to the difficulty in bypassing Kythira's not-insubstantial debris envelope in order to approach at a safe angle to the installation (an act made all the more difficult by its sometimes highly unstable elliptic horizon).
In 20.0007GSY, immediately before the slated "opening" of the Liu Xiu Neutral Zone, SS-ORB 7-1286κ was purchased as a bulk acquisition by the Sieda Development Group (a real estate conglomerate operating out of the Sieda System - also known as "Losieda" - in the Beta Quadrant). It is during its period of ownership by the Sieda Development Group that SS-ORB 7-1286κ gained its moniker of "Harriers' Haven," so termed due to the reputed company the station attracted during the Group's ownership of the installation. Being largely disconnected from its main front of properties in the Beta and Alpha Quadrants, the Sieda Development Group employed a supervisory custodian to oversee and administer the station; now notorious among the more sordid free traders and merchants in the Liu Xiu System, Amaad "Grits" Griteesallovari is believed to have, following the Sieda Group's initial refurbishing of the installation, run SS-ORB 7-1286κ as his own personal fiefdom.
Soon before Griteesallovari's custodianship was officially installed, the station underwent a brief period of refurbishment and retrofitting under the Sieda Development Group's direction. The largest of SS-ORB 7-1286κ's berths, having been sub-divided by Voss'mar Enterprises for smaller moorings, was entirely sealed off from outside observation and closed as an approachable port. (To date, the Liu Xiu Maritime Authority is uncertain as to the reasoning, and following the station's latest acquisition, the berth has returned as an approachable port with sub-divided, universal moorings.) Sieda oversaw the installation of several new ansible systems, the most notorious two being the "Roughneck Radio" ansible station (which broadcast contemporary music and news reports to the outer orbits of the system) and the so-called "Kythira Buzzer" (a confirmed long-range ansible that, perplexingly, seemed to send nonsensical noise transmissions). Further, the Sieda Development Group is known to have repaired at least much of the station's exterior and believed to have "tidied-up" the interior, though the Group failed to repair its orbital correction system.
Following its refurbishing, virtually all changes and modifications to SS-ORB 7-1286κ were conducted, seemingly, under the unilateral authority of Griteesallovari and contractors hired by the same. Reports from talkative clients who frequented Harriers' Haven have reported that "Grits" primarily operated a dive-bar off the primary sub-divided berth (once an intermediate-scale berth requested by the Rohvada Mining Consortium), allowed the operation of a brothel of considerable ill-repute, and permitted sporadic lodging by clients willing to tolerate the otherwise decrepit state of the installation. Voss'mar Enterprise's oxygen gardens were reportedly sealed - or otherwise inaccessible - during Griteesallovari's oversight of SS-ORB 7-1286κ. Most notoriously - and still present, facing toward the Windrose of Infinities on average - it was under Griteesallovari's administration that the infamous graffiti, believed to be a slight against the United Star Empire's Office of Verge Affair, was produced, declaring, "FUCK THE OVA-RIES!"
Beyond these apparently "sanctioned modifications," virtually all information obtained by the LXMA's Security Division, either through drone surveillance or eyewitness interrogation, indicates a considerable degree of degradation aboard SS-ORB 7-1286κ during "Grits'" tenure as the Sieda Development Group's superintendent. Accordingly, as indicated in witness testimony, beyond the "business section" of the station (to include Griteesallovari's tavern and operations office, the aforementioned brothel, several habitation modules, and the primary sub-divided berth), Harriers' Haven was in a state of abject dereliction despite its ownership - this is to include power shortages; reportedly, beyond the aforementioned portions of SS-ORB 7-1286κ, much of the station went a majority of its time either with inadequate power supply or lacked power entirely. Based upon the assertions of some, "Grits" largely left the remainder of the station not only without maintenance, but without monitoring; according to several eyewitnesses, victims of failed business dealings or simple crimes of passion had been left to rot in dank, abandoned corridors deep within the bowels of the installation. At least one witness described Harriers' Haven as an "open sewer," both figuratively and non-figuratively - an observation supported by the fact that, evidently, throughout Griteesallovari's tenure SS-ORB 7-1286κ's sewage and refuse compaction and ejection systems were never refurbished to an operational state.
Due to its general disrepair and poor oversight, Harriers' Haven would have gained a reputation; it was due to Griteesallovari's willingness to harbor "grey" and even "black market" merchants, however, that it gained its infamy and name. On numerous occasions, SS-ORB 7-1286κ has reportedly housed narcotics traffickers, smugglers (of both commodities and sapients), illegitimate salvors, and pirates. Equally, more than a handful of LXMA Security Division- and foreign-identified wanted suspects, criminals, and bounties have been intercepted and apprehended either coming-from or en route to Harriers' Haven. This has repeatedly caused it to gain some degree of attention from both the Liu Xiu Maritime Authority and foreign entities under charter within the system. To date, despite its transfer of ownership, Harriers' Haven largely maintains its ill-begotten reputation and infamy as a freeport willing to accept patronage by those suspect by others.
Following the transfer of jurisdiction over the Liu Xiu System from the Phanite Republic to the Imperial Star Republic, things apparently changed for "Grits" and the Sieda Development Group as a whole. With the installation of Watchtower Starbase in Kythiran orbit and the re-branding of the Neutral Zone to the "Liu Xiu Special Economic Zone" by the Imperial Star Republic, it is believed that Sieda's willingness to either tolerate Griteesallovari's behavior or willingly cooperate diminished rapidly and drastically. This came to a head in 20.0016GSY with the believed confluence of "Grits'" failure to oversee the maintenance of Harriers' Haven and the station's own, compounding repair costs, resulting in the sale of the installation by the Sieda Development Group directly to Draeva-Ishaik Heavy Industries (an apparent megaconglomerate operating out of the Beta Quadrant) without the assistance of a broker, officially ending Griteesallovari's superintendency of SS-ORB 7-1286κ.
Since Draeva-Ishaik Heavy Industries' acquisition of the installation, radical changes appear to have been made in two, dispersed stages. Following initial acquisition, the sealed, primary berth designed by the Rohvada Mining Consortium was un-sealed and, to date, is visibly a working, sub-divided berth. Similarly, shuttle berths installed by Voss'mar Enterprises were re-opened, while ones previously installed as a part of the station's original design have been retrofitted to permit two vessels in-scale with frigates to dock, while still permitting a smaller, sub-divided berth for lesser-mass vessels. The oxygen gardens installed by Voss'mar Enterprises appeared to have been refurbished, but have since been gutted as a part of Draeva-Ishaik's second retrofitting cycle; while the modules for the gardens and their overall annex remains, remote telemetry has indicated that most flora have been removed. Within the first week of occupation, SS-ORB 7-1286κ's refuse and sewage systems were apparently made operational once more, and now eject debris and matter on a semi-regular, bi-weekly basis. Most significantly, following Draeva-Ishaik's acquisition, the installation's orbital correction system was apparently repaired, stabilizing it into a low, but safe, orbit around Kythira.
Draeva-Ishaik's second retrofitting and modification cycle began in early 20.0017GSY and is believed to still be ongoing. As noted, the previous Voss'mar oxygen gardens appear gutted; at this time, it is believed much of the oxygen/carbon cycle aboard Harriers' Haven is being controlled through artificial means, such as through use of a Carbon Sorbent Atmospheric Recycling (CSAR) system. Intermittent construction that began soon after the station's latest sale, previously unidentified in intent, has since continued at a largely unabated pace; the LXMA Security Division has confirmed through public record that such appears to be a new superluminal communications assembly. Interestingly, sporadic and unconfirmed reports seem to indicate that at least one ansible array in this new assembly is operational, as several merchant vessels have reported errant interference while traversing the Gemini Belt. Most interesting to observers around Kythira and Pylos is the apparent active power supply now noted over much of the station; while under Griteesallovari's tenure, much of the station remained dark, tracking and navigation lights now appear functional across most of its surface - ignoring damaged or missing light assemblies and sporadic, un-repaired damage.
Despite Draeva-Ishaik Heavy Industries' apparent commitment to repairing the station, a shadow if infamy still lurks over Harriers' Haven - and, as of late, appears to be growing. While under Griteesallovari's superintendency characters of disrepute and commodities of suspect provenance were a constant parade to and from the station, no overt hostility toward system inhabitants was ever suspect. This changed on 04-27-20.0017GSY when a refueling carrier near Paxos was engaged by what was described as "two, high-speed, interception craft"; as detailed in an LXMA Security Division public report, these craft apparently "engaged in traffic harrying" of the carrier, and reportedly "fired several shots 'across-the-bow'" of the carrier in a reported attempt to force it outside of the planet's immediate vicinity, and thus beyond the Security Division's distress signal response envelope. The carrier was capable of sending a distress call before this occurred, however; though unknown, it is believed the two craft were able to intercept the distress call, as they reportedly fled to the Gemini Belt (and beyond) before SecDiv arrived from Watchtower to intercept. Based upon public documentation that drew upon recovered, remote drone footage and course telemetry, the two craft would have begun their flight in the vicinity of Harriers' Haven, specifically in the shadow of the Kythiran moon of Pylos.
To date, the LXMA Security Division has not provided information directly linking the armed attack craft (an explicit violation of the Liu Xiu Maritime Authority Transit Code) to Harriers' Haven, though the apparent correlation has lead to increased suspicion and speculation.
Regardless of sometimes overt scrutiny, however, Harriers' Haven remains an apparent port-of-call for various traffic of visibly suspicious character. While under "Grits'" custodianship Harriers' Haven was a known dive suspected to be frequented by free traders, independent colonists, and the occasional smuggler, this sort of suspected traffic has nearly doubled since early 20.0017GSY when word of a new dive bar opening aboard SS-ORB 7-1286κ began to spread; initially identified by an individual arrested in Freeport (an enclave of the Free State Republic) as the "Faint of Heart," the dive bar has apparently become a destination for not merely suspected smugglers and illegal, intra-system salvors, but suspected bounties, arms traffickers, narcotics producers, and mercenaries. Whether this has been authorized by Draeva-Ishaik Heavy Industries or is being conducted without their license is currently unknown; regardless, the Faint of Heart, in addition to the services provided by any other saloon, apparently provides lodging for travelers sanctioned by the station's administration and, supposedly, operates a brothel to some degree - though the state of such, its provisions, and its clientele are currently unknown.
With Harriers' Haven's shifting proprietorship throughout its life, countless (and ongoing) modifications, and an ever-persistent air of infamy and ill-repute, it is little surprise that more legitimized and well-branded vessels and shipping ventures tend to avoid its proximity while operating in Kythira or Pylos' orbit. Nevertheless, it remains a substantial part of the myths and legends surrounding Kythira and, in turn, the whole of the Liu Xiu Special Economic Zone. With changes still ongoing and a new proprietor just beginning to show its colors, the future of Harriers' Haven remains as volatile as its sordid past.
Initial records indicate that Harriers' Haven, under its file designation of "SS-ORB 7-1286κ," was purchased under detailed contract by the now-defunct Rohvada Mining Consortium (also known as the "Rohvada Group") sometime between 19.0010 and 19.0020 Galactic Standard Year. Modified based upon Rohvada's specifications, 7-1286κ began life as a part of the Steadfast Model 36(C) line of orbital installations produced between 18.9000 and 19.0500GSY by Ordess-Taul Industrial Engineering (a Betan megaconglomerate specializing in station and orbital installation manufacturing, and one of few period corporations to outlast the Great Betan Collapse). Ordess-Taul's Steadfast line, while now woefully outdated and obsolete by most contemporary industrial standards, was one of the most popular of its day; boasting the considerable capability of housing up to 1,800 permanent residents (with room for between 500 and 700 temporary occupants), the Steadfast Model 36(C) was designed with permanent, deep space industrial operations in mind - namely fuel harvesting and planetoid mining.
Under Rohvada's direction, SDF-0095043.32 (the station's manufacturing identification code) was engineered to cater toward not merely employee residency, but specifically for fuel harvesting collection and storage; as a consequence, SS-ORB 7-1286κ was initially designed to be able to berth one large-scale hydrogen-2 carrier, as well as one intermediate-scale resource harvester and three small-scale long-haul freighters (to the addition of administrative vessel and shuttle berths). This modification from the Steadfast's factory specifications, however, seems to have been at the cost of nearly 600 occupancy units, cutting SS-ORB 7-1286κ's initial compliment by a third. At the time, SS-ORB 7-1286κ was equipped with one long-range ansible and one short-range/system-wide ansible, allowing - conceivably - for long-range, corporate communications as well as system flight control and mining/harvesting supervision.
Upon delivery by Ordess-Taul, the Rohvada Mining Consortium was equipped with a permanent harvesting/mining installation around Kythira, still one of the most profitable Jovians (with regard to fusion fuel extraction and asteroid capture mining) in the Liu Xiu System. Exact date of delivery is unknown, though believed to be no later than 19.0020GSY. It is known that between 19.0020 and 19.0400GSY what would become Harriers' Haven served as one of the Rohvada Mining Consortium's most profitable endeavors, despite a contemporaneous period of heightened fuel extraction in and around Kythira's orbit by direct competitors; nevertheless, due to baleful mismanagement and corporate malfeasance, Rohvada was doomed. The Rohvada Mining Consortium declared bankruptcy in 19.040GSY and subsequently liquidated much of its assets, including its Kythira installation; Rohvada, subsequently, underwent a brief period of restructuring, only to eventually be broken apart in 19.0520GSY.
Purchased during liquidation in 19.0400GSY, SS-ORB 7-1286κ came into the ownership of Voss'mar Enterprises, a shripwright start-up operating out of the Delta Quadrant. Having recently received a considerable windfall, Voss'mar began searching for new clientele and scouting for locations to build what, according to contemporaneous media reports, was slated to be the "largest and most progressively-designed [orbital retainer]" in Voss'mar's already impressive history. Renowned mostly for the construction of civilian luxury craft, to include the Voss'mar Whip-O-Will luxury speedster (an inter-system capable, micro-jump civilian stellar yacht still popular with collectors), the shipwright intended to branch-out into the engineering and manufacture of both commercial and, ideally, military craft. At the time of its purchase, records indicate SS-ORB 7-1286κ was initially intended to become a temporary administrative hub in the Gamma Quadrant and, more locally, to serve as a prospecting and surveying outpost for the purpose of designing the aforementioned orbital retainer with the intent to install such in orbit over Kythira.
Aside from initial, factory customization, Voss'mar Enterprise's ownership of SS-ORB 7-1286κ marks the beginning of a long history of in situ modification and retrofitting, leading eventually to Harriers' Haven's notoriously "hodge-podge" appearance. Voss'mar, departing from Rohvada's largely practical considerations, began modifying the station with "comfort" in mind. Described by some as "scatter-brained" in design philosophy, Voss'mar largely did away with the largest berths, retrofitting them to hold numerous smaller craft - though, at the time, strictly those capable of mating with Voss'mar's contemporaneously-criticized moor-couplings; it further expanded shuttle berths to service a larger compliment of administrative staff - an act that was coupled with the addition of several luxury residences (believed to have since either been dismantled, replaced, or ad hoc sub-divided). Of all of Voss'mar's outlandish additions, the construction of an entire annex for two large oxygen gardens was the most ostentatious; in the short, three year period of Voss'mar's ownership of SS-ORB 7-1286κ, while the gardens functioned (in the sense life grew and flourished), the systems meant to be used to assist the station in atmospheric control and processing were never activated.
In 19.0430GSY, numerous executives of Voss'mar Enterprises were indicted across multiple jurisdictions for various charges - the most notorious being several criminal indictments charging Voss'mar with gross negligence regarding the propensity for their proprietary moor-couplings to not simply refuse to mate with others seeing widespread use, but when they did mate, to disastrously fail, leading to (at times) explosive decompression and venting. Almost immediately after these indictments, Voss'mar Enterprises habitually abandoned their ventures outside of the Delta Quadrant, including SS-ORB 7-1286κ, seemingly overnight. (Following the acquisition of SS-ORB 7-1286κ by the Sieda Development Group in 20.0007GSY numerous Voss'mar records were found still intact, despite years of dereliction and squatting.) When many in Voss'mar were found guilty in late 19.0430GSY, the company officially disbanded, leaving many of their spacial assets unsold and derelict; SS-ORB 7-1286κ received its first official classification as a "derelict station" in an international registry on 11-18-19.0430GSY.
Few records remain that involve SS-ORB 7-1286κ's dereliction period between 19.0430GSY and the Phanite Republic's eventual annexation of the Liu Xiu System. Conjecture based upon sparse reports seeming to reference the station do exist, but are largely sourced from unreliable witnesses or criminal elements. It is known that between 19.0610 and 19.6900GSY the orbital system of Kythira saw numerous attempts by free colonists and resource harvesters to take advantage of the otherwise untended system of Liu Xiu; as a consequence, it is believed that during this period SS-ORB 7-1286κ likely experienced sporadic periods of habitation and squatting. What few visual observation records exist seem to indicate some degree of ongoing modification and retrofitting, though the nature of these changes seem to indicate no overarching plan or goal, indicating a probability of ad hoc, necessity-based changes. For a brief period circa 19.7000GSY, the installation is believed to have served as a narcotics/psychoactives manufacturing facility, largely based upon sporadic evidence by policing authorities coming into contact with materials found in the possession of narcotics traffickers that purported "a station in [the Liu Xiu System]" being used as a production facility; no single narcotic or psychoactive has been definitively traced-to or confirmed to have originated from SS-ORB 7-1286κ during this period.
Not long before the Liu Xiu System's acquisition by the Phanite Republic, based upon orbital models produced by the Liu Xiu Maritime Authority in 20.0015GSY, SS-ORB 7-1286κ suffered severe damage to its orbital correction system; based upon its slowly declining orbital trajectory (until its eventual repair in 20.0016GSY), it is speculated this was caused by a burst-phase micro-meteorite impact. Damage to the station at the time of the Phanite Republic's initial acquisition of the system, while present, was largely superficial and readily explained by the better part of a century without repair or maintenance, but lacking any indication of an impactor of substantial mass. Regardless, SS-ORB 7-1286κ's unstable orbit would come to add to the myth of the station as Harriers' Haven - particularly among those who took berth within it, testifying as to the difficulty in bypassing Kythira's not-insubstantial debris envelope in order to approach at a safe angle to the installation (an act made all the more difficult by its sometimes highly unstable elliptic horizon).
In 20.0007GSY, immediately before the slated "opening" of the Liu Xiu Neutral Zone, SS-ORB 7-1286κ was purchased as a bulk acquisition by the Sieda Development Group (a real estate conglomerate operating out of the Sieda System - also known as "Losieda" - in the Beta Quadrant). It is during its period of ownership by the Sieda Development Group that SS-ORB 7-1286κ gained its moniker of "Harriers' Haven," so termed due to the reputed company the station attracted during the Group's ownership of the installation. Being largely disconnected from its main front of properties in the Beta and Alpha Quadrants, the Sieda Development Group employed a supervisory custodian to oversee and administer the station; now notorious among the more sordid free traders and merchants in the Liu Xiu System, Amaad "Grits" Griteesallovari is believed to have, following the Sieda Group's initial refurbishing of the installation, run SS-ORB 7-1286κ as his own personal fiefdom.
Soon before Griteesallovari's custodianship was officially installed, the station underwent a brief period of refurbishment and retrofitting under the Sieda Development Group's direction. The largest of SS-ORB 7-1286κ's berths, having been sub-divided by Voss'mar Enterprises for smaller moorings, was entirely sealed off from outside observation and closed as an approachable port. (To date, the Liu Xiu Maritime Authority is uncertain as to the reasoning, and following the station's latest acquisition, the berth has returned as an approachable port with sub-divided, universal moorings.) Sieda oversaw the installation of several new ansible systems, the most notorious two being the "Roughneck Radio" ansible station (which broadcast contemporary music and news reports to the outer orbits of the system) and the so-called "Kythira Buzzer" (a confirmed long-range ansible that, perplexingly, seemed to send nonsensical noise transmissions). Further, the Sieda Development Group is known to have repaired at least much of the station's exterior and believed to have "tidied-up" the interior, though the Group failed to repair its orbital correction system.
Following its refurbishing, virtually all changes and modifications to SS-ORB 7-1286κ were conducted, seemingly, under the unilateral authority of Griteesallovari and contractors hired by the same. Reports from talkative clients who frequented Harriers' Haven have reported that "Grits" primarily operated a dive-bar off the primary sub-divided berth (once an intermediate-scale berth requested by the Rohvada Mining Consortium), allowed the operation of a brothel of considerable ill-repute, and permitted sporadic lodging by clients willing to tolerate the otherwise decrepit state of the installation. Voss'mar Enterprise's oxygen gardens were reportedly sealed - or otherwise inaccessible - during Griteesallovari's oversight of SS-ORB 7-1286κ. Most notoriously - and still present, facing toward the Windrose of Infinities on average - it was under Griteesallovari's administration that the infamous graffiti, believed to be a slight against the United Star Empire's Office of Verge Affair, was produced, declaring, "FUCK THE OVA-RIES!"
Beyond these apparently "sanctioned modifications," virtually all information obtained by the LXMA's Security Division, either through drone surveillance or eyewitness interrogation, indicates a considerable degree of degradation aboard SS-ORB 7-1286κ during "Grits'" tenure as the Sieda Development Group's superintendent. Accordingly, as indicated in witness testimony, beyond the "business section" of the station (to include Griteesallovari's tavern and operations office, the aforementioned brothel, several habitation modules, and the primary sub-divided berth), Harriers' Haven was in a state of abject dereliction despite its ownership - this is to include power shortages; reportedly, beyond the aforementioned portions of SS-ORB 7-1286κ, much of the station went a majority of its time either with inadequate power supply or lacked power entirely. Based upon the assertions of some, "Grits" largely left the remainder of the station not only without maintenance, but without monitoring; according to several eyewitnesses, victims of failed business dealings or simple crimes of passion had been left to rot in dank, abandoned corridors deep within the bowels of the installation. At least one witness described Harriers' Haven as an "open sewer," both figuratively and non-figuratively - an observation supported by the fact that, evidently, throughout Griteesallovari's tenure SS-ORB 7-1286κ's sewage and refuse compaction and ejection systems were never refurbished to an operational state.
Due to its general disrepair and poor oversight, Harriers' Haven would have gained a reputation; it was due to Griteesallovari's willingness to harbor "grey" and even "black market" merchants, however, that it gained its infamy and name. On numerous occasions, SS-ORB 7-1286κ has reportedly housed narcotics traffickers, smugglers (of both commodities and sapients), illegitimate salvors, and pirates. Equally, more than a handful of LXMA Security Division- and foreign-identified wanted suspects, criminals, and bounties have been intercepted and apprehended either coming-from or en route to Harriers' Haven. This has repeatedly caused it to gain some degree of attention from both the Liu Xiu Maritime Authority and foreign entities under charter within the system. To date, despite its transfer of ownership, Harriers' Haven largely maintains its ill-begotten reputation and infamy as a freeport willing to accept patronage by those suspect by others.
Following the transfer of jurisdiction over the Liu Xiu System from the Phanite Republic to the Imperial Star Republic, things apparently changed for "Grits" and the Sieda Development Group as a whole. With the installation of Watchtower Starbase in Kythiran orbit and the re-branding of the Neutral Zone to the "Liu Xiu Special Economic Zone" by the Imperial Star Republic, it is believed that Sieda's willingness to either tolerate Griteesallovari's behavior or willingly cooperate diminished rapidly and drastically. This came to a head in 20.0016GSY with the believed confluence of "Grits'" failure to oversee the maintenance of Harriers' Haven and the station's own, compounding repair costs, resulting in the sale of the installation by the Sieda Development Group directly to Draeva-Ishaik Heavy Industries (an apparent megaconglomerate operating out of the Beta Quadrant) without the assistance of a broker, officially ending Griteesallovari's superintendency of SS-ORB 7-1286κ.
Since Draeva-Ishaik Heavy Industries' acquisition of the installation, radical changes appear to have been made in two, dispersed stages. Following initial acquisition, the sealed, primary berth designed by the Rohvada Mining Consortium was un-sealed and, to date, is visibly a working, sub-divided berth. Similarly, shuttle berths installed by Voss'mar Enterprises were re-opened, while ones previously installed as a part of the station's original design have been retrofitted to permit two vessels in-scale with frigates to dock, while still permitting a smaller, sub-divided berth for lesser-mass vessels. The oxygen gardens installed by Voss'mar Enterprises appeared to have been refurbished, but have since been gutted as a part of Draeva-Ishaik's second retrofitting cycle; while the modules for the gardens and their overall annex remains, remote telemetry has indicated that most flora have been removed. Within the first week of occupation, SS-ORB 7-1286κ's refuse and sewage systems were apparently made operational once more, and now eject debris and matter on a semi-regular, bi-weekly basis. Most significantly, following Draeva-Ishaik's acquisition, the installation's orbital correction system was apparently repaired, stabilizing it into a low, but safe, orbit around Kythira.
Draeva-Ishaik's second retrofitting and modification cycle began in early 20.0017GSY and is believed to still be ongoing. As noted, the previous Voss'mar oxygen gardens appear gutted; at this time, it is believed much of the oxygen/carbon cycle aboard Harriers' Haven is being controlled through artificial means, such as through use of a Carbon Sorbent Atmospheric Recycling (CSAR) system. Intermittent construction that began soon after the station's latest sale, previously unidentified in intent, has since continued at a largely unabated pace; the LXMA Security Division has confirmed through public record that such appears to be a new superluminal communications assembly. Interestingly, sporadic and unconfirmed reports seem to indicate that at least one ansible array in this new assembly is operational, as several merchant vessels have reported errant interference while traversing the Gemini Belt. Most interesting to observers around Kythira and Pylos is the apparent active power supply now noted over much of the station; while under Griteesallovari's tenure, much of the station remained dark, tracking and navigation lights now appear functional across most of its surface - ignoring damaged or missing light assemblies and sporadic, un-repaired damage.
Despite Draeva-Ishaik Heavy Industries' apparent commitment to repairing the station, a shadow if infamy still lurks over Harriers' Haven - and, as of late, appears to be growing. While under Griteesallovari's superintendency characters of disrepute and commodities of suspect provenance were a constant parade to and from the station, no overt hostility toward system inhabitants was ever suspect. This changed on 04-27-20.0017GSY when a refueling carrier near Paxos was engaged by what was described as "two, high-speed, interception craft"; as detailed in an LXMA Security Division public report, these craft apparently "engaged in traffic harrying" of the carrier, and reportedly "fired several shots 'across-the-bow'" of the carrier in a reported attempt to force it outside of the planet's immediate vicinity, and thus beyond the Security Division's distress signal response envelope. The carrier was capable of sending a distress call before this occurred, however; though unknown, it is believed the two craft were able to intercept the distress call, as they reportedly fled to the Gemini Belt (and beyond) before SecDiv arrived from Watchtower to intercept. Based upon public documentation that drew upon recovered, remote drone footage and course telemetry, the two craft would have begun their flight in the vicinity of Harriers' Haven, specifically in the shadow of the Kythiran moon of Pylos.
To date, the LXMA Security Division has not provided information directly linking the armed attack craft (an explicit violation of the Liu Xiu Maritime Authority Transit Code) to Harriers' Haven, though the apparent correlation has lead to increased suspicion and speculation.
Regardless of sometimes overt scrutiny, however, Harriers' Haven remains an apparent port-of-call for various traffic of visibly suspicious character. While under "Grits'" custodianship Harriers' Haven was a known dive suspected to be frequented by free traders, independent colonists, and the occasional smuggler, this sort of suspected traffic has nearly doubled since early 20.0017GSY when word of a new dive bar opening aboard SS-ORB 7-1286κ began to spread; initially identified by an individual arrested in Freeport (an enclave of the Free State Republic) as the "Faint of Heart," the dive bar has apparently become a destination for not merely suspected smugglers and illegal, intra-system salvors, but suspected bounties, arms traffickers, narcotics producers, and mercenaries. Whether this has been authorized by Draeva-Ishaik Heavy Industries or is being conducted without their license is currently unknown; regardless, the Faint of Heart, in addition to the services provided by any other saloon, apparently provides lodging for travelers sanctioned by the station's administration and, supposedly, operates a brothel to some degree - though the state of such, its provisions, and its clientele are currently unknown.
With Harriers' Haven's shifting proprietorship throughout its life, countless (and ongoing) modifications, and an ever-persistent air of infamy and ill-repute, it is little surprise that more legitimized and well-branded vessels and shipping ventures tend to avoid its proximity while operating in Kythira or Pylos' orbit. Nevertheless, it remains a substantial part of the myths and legends surrounding Kythira and, in turn, the whole of the Liu Xiu Special Economic Zone. With changes still ongoing and a new proprietor just beginning to show its colors, the future of Harriers' Haven remains as volatile as its sordid past.
