![[Images/Apollo/stranded.png]] *Added to the Codex on* ***September 5th, 2023*** --- ### Quotes “An abandoned ship beached at the old Panama Canal has been revealed as a hotbed for Russian intelligence operations.” - US Mission Briefing “The situation has escalated across the entire channel. Interference from the U.S. has gone on long enough. We are sending a message, No-Pats: no quarter.” - RU Mission Briefing “I miss the old showroom. Panama’s display was something else. It was so clean and organized inside, you could think you were in the old world again.”[^1] - Crawford “The door is always open, Crawford. Make amends, and we can put Panama in the past.” - The Broker “Seeing that Dark Market ship in Panama kills something inside me. They’re making money hand over fist in the cradle that should have kept millions alive.”[^2] - Blasco <br> ### Description At the time of its creation in 1913, Gatun Lake was the largest manmade lake in the world. Designed to aid in the formation of the Panama Canal, it helped shepherd ships and trade for decades. Then the tides began to turn. Climate change brought a mix of devastating storms and long dry periods, stranding ships in the lake as their crews were forced to evacuate. Out of desperate need to keep the rest of the Canal alive, Gatun Lake was cut off and left to wither. By 2037 the water finally drained away, leaving moored ships in the sand to become rusting monuments of what once was. Yet their value as vehicles of trade was ready to be swept up by the highest bidder. In early 2040, [[Codex/Organizations/The Dark Market|the Dark Market]] established a base of operations in Gatun Lake. Having risen to prominence over several years in Europe and Asia, Gatun Lake represented their first big push into the Americas. As their American client base grew, so did its demands. Heists, assassinations and coups were part of an ever-expanding set of services. Since [[Codex/Key Events/The Blackout|the Blackout]], the acquisition of fallen satellite intel was proving highly profitable. The Dark Market quickly established itself as the number one broker by offering payment to any [[No-Pats]] willing to step out into these hazard zones and secure data drives from the satellites. While the Dark Market’s operations were global, their Gatun Lake headquarters perhaps became their most infamous, with a massive abandoned carrier having been repurposed as a slick showroom for the latest military hardware for sale. When the U.S. military uncovers evidence that links the stranded vessel to the suspected Russian attack of the Black Ridge facility, they move in to secure the site. With several Russian warships en route, conflict appears inevitable. [^1]: This is one of Crawford's loading screen quotes. [^2]: This is one of Blasco's loading screen quotes.