Copyright © 1997, 1998 by Kevin Clark ( kevinc AT cnetech DOT com).  All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer

Background

[ Kuroishi's coordinates ] puts [ it ] only 5.05 lightyears from Earth, even an extremely dim brown dwarf should have been picked up long before 2298 this close to Earth.

Very true, considering that the ISBIP ( Inter-System Baseline Interferometry Program) was started in the early 2260s.

Would [ the fact that the Japanese vessel Tosa entered the system in November of 2298 ] not put them into direct competiton with the effort out of Ellis using stutterwarp tugs?

We have to remember that the whole "Kuroishi brown dwarf" topic took place on the Genie computer system back around 1989 or 1990.  One person there was a proponent for Japanese exploration/colonization, and he wanted to give them their own "Arm" ( the 61 Cygni cluster).  He invented the secret accidental discovery, by Japan, of Kuroishi so that the Japanese would not need tugs ( or disposable engines - like the Bayern) to reach their cluster.

If you like the idea, you can use it in your campaign, but this brown dwarf was never official versus "Back Door" and "ISO 417" which were in GDW sanctioned articles.  There are also political power implications addressed later in this article.

Also the stutterwarp tugs would be able to travel directly from Earth to 61 Cygni without the need for the brown dwarf ( hmm why did they go from Ellis 10 jumps out rather then from Earth?)

Perhaps the Americans wanted limited privacy, although they would not gain much, as other nations could spy on the departure/arrival times at Ellis, almost as easily as doing it at earth.

The only other possibility is economics.  Opening the American Arm at Ellis, would give Ellis' economy a boost.  Ellis would be the last "piece of civilization" before the new frontier.  Factories and jobs would be created on Ellis to support the new exploration/colonial wave.  Just like St. Louis benefited from being the gateway to the American West in the 19th century.

Tug links: Ellis and Earth compared

Ellis has only one tug link that leads beyond the American Arm:
(AmA) Ellis
      Dist Arm Star/System Name
      11.0 CyC DM+68 946 A

This star is part of the cluster which contains 61 Cygni.

In comparison Earth has tug links from the Core to the following Arms
and clusters:

(Cor) Sol
      Dist Arm Star/System Name
       9.5 AmA Seurier

       8.3 FrA Bessieres A
      10.9 FrA Ross 128

       8.6 ChA Sirius A
       8.8 ChA Qinyuan
      10.6 ChA L789-6
      10.7 ChA Epsilon Eridani A   ***   *****
      11.2 ChA Epsilon Indi
      11.4 ChA Lacaille 9352
      11.4 ChA Procyon A           ***

      10.2 CyC Ross 248
      11.0 CyC 61 Cygni A
      11.0 CyC 61 Cygni C
      11.3 CyC Groombridge 34 A
      11.5 CyC Groombridge 34 B
      11.5 CyC DM+59 1915 A

Key: Cor = Core ( Earth and Tirane)
     AmA = American Arm    FrA = French Arm
     ChA = Chinese Arm     CyC = Cygni Cluster

*** Both of these tug routes really open up the "Latin Finger" of the Chinese Arm.  I am sure INAP is very interested in acquiring stutterwarp tug technology.  It would slash the time needed to transport colonists and goods from Earth to their colonies, and back.  It would make an interesting spy/techno-thriller style scenario/campaign, with the players as either Trilon or INAP personnel ( or "hired guns").

***** This was the path of the trip used to prove stutterwarp tugs were possible.  Mr. Stanton flew the Odysseus from Earth to Epsilon Eridani in May of 2296, with the aid of the tug Ajax.

Political Consequences

The fact that the 61 Cygni Cluster can be reached also from Earth by tug will have interesting consequences if any garden worlds are discovered:

1) America will see it as an extension of their arm.

2) The other starfaring nations on Earth will see it as a new "Arm" - naturally deserving their own nation's name on it ( especially if they don't have an arm already).

Things could get ugly fast, there are 48 stars ( some are multi-star solar systems) in this cluster linked by routes of 7.7 LY or less.  A lot of new real estate to argue/fight over.

With access restricted to tugs, only a few nations could get there and stake a claim, but adding the "Kuroishi brown dwarf" lets anyone who can rent/buy a ship stake a claim on the new "Arm" ( it is now 7.7 LY or less the whole voyage).

The nations fighting the Kafer War would have a hard choice, if the non-participating nations made a surprise push in say 2303 to colonize the "Cygni Arm" using the brown dwarf.  Do America, Britain, France, and Germany keep their national focus and will on fighting the Kafer, or shift instead to making sure they get their "fair" share of the new arm.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kafer plans on owning it all.