STGOD 2K5 Main Game

[Glimmervoid]

The Furry excited hyperspace guns blazing. Around her the entire 4th and 12th fleets were emerging in to real space. The fleet was 100 ships strong, there weapons fire would have appeared as a second sun to any one looking up from the asteroid.

First Commander Cal More was in over all command of the combined fleet much to the irritation of the First Commander of the 12th fleet which ship for ship out numbered the 4th. But the Tan Marlin the 12th First Commander was commanding from a cruiser of the line and Cal More from a Pocket Battle ship giving him field command authority.

Cal More called out to his communications officer “Send a hyperwave communication to the Consensus tell them we have knocked 3 patrol ship analogy and are about to fire on the asteroid.”

With the pirate ships destroyed the Fleets opened fire on the asteroid. Not with full power however. The low powered shots shattered the asteroid in to thousands of pieces. The Xsytems then went to work attaching smart mines the chucks.

When the Pirate fleet returned home it would, last still travailing at near relativist speeds, crash in to a cloud of derby which would then explode destroying or at least crippling a large part of there fleet.

Pirates had to learn the Joven Consensus was out of bounds.

OOC:No losses due to overwhelming numbers. 5 Xsytem’s needing small repaired none of which requires space dock.

[Spyder]

"Tactical, all hostiles eliminated."
"Receiving a response from unidentified vessel, audio only."

"Nashtari vessel," Came a generic male voice over the speakers, "I wish to speak to your commanding officer. I am in posession of important information regarding pirate activity throughout this region. I am also in posession of incriminating evidence linking the Independant Trade Authority to recent raids."

Greer grabbed a headset from the comms station and switched it on. "This is Commander Greer of the NRS Hlondath Raider. I'm listening."

**Replaying recorded message...**

"Is this line secure?"

"Quit worrying, no one's listening."

"I asked you, is this line secure?"

"Yes! Jesus fucking christ you sound like my mother"

"We can't afford to be traced, if anyone ever found out what we were
doing the deal's off."

"Look, whatever man. Where's the next hit?"

"Poriatus."

"Poriatus!? You're fucking nuts! Poriatus not only sprouted mystery
missiles but the fucking Hub's crawling all over the system! What the fuck am I supposed to do at Poriatus?"

"Calm down, you're not hitting the planet. The arrangements have been made, all you have to do is hit an unarmed freighter out on the system edge then dissapear before anyone knows you're there. We'll have the standard ITA escort, during the attack they'll pull away and scuttle their ships, make it look authentic. The destruction will be blammed on a nearby missile platform supposedly kindly donated by Poriatus' new trading partners. When the wreckage is examined the only evidence they'll find is a consignment note for a missile shipment signed by the head of some random aerospace corp within Nashtar."

"You're going to turn this into a Nashtari gun control issue?"

"Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is a very bad thing, Nashtar would have to clamp down on the corp for supplying the weapons and would be obliged to remove them from the colony by force or they'd face discredit from their allies for proliferating dangerous weapons to rogue colonies. I imagine this would probably strain their relations with the hub as well, considering their recent interest in the system."

"Alright, so what's in it for my boys?"

"Besides your usual fee?"

"For this kind of op, that just doubled."

"...Alright. Besides twice your usual fee, once we can prove that colonies with weapon systems are a danger to trade ships we can petition governments to remove them, not just from Poriatus but from all the other systems where they've been installed as well. We get our contracts back and you get uncontested control of the rim worlds."

*Click*

"Uh oh."

"Uh oh? What's uh oh?"

"Umm, nothing it's just...oh shit."

"What?"

"Fuck!"

What's going on?"

"Fuck, fuck fuck! Someone's listening!"

"What!? You said this was secure!"

"There's a fucking bug! Shit!"

"Lock on to the carrier and trace the signal. Do it now or we're all dead."

"Alright, hang on..."

**End recording**

The voice of the man from before came back on the line.

"You'll find that voice pattern will match an ITA official by the name of Samual Hague. He has an office on Orodan. I also have communications logs between ITA representatives and various rogue corps that have since been shutdown by local law enforcement due to pirate activity. I also have information regarding funds transfers between ITA holdings and members of the Eastern Spacers Pact that have recently been brought under investigation for supplying weapons and ships to unregistered privateers, several of which have been discovered in the debris of recent engagements. The debris I'm currently floating in now probably also match those recently purchased by the Spacers Pact.

I'm transmitting everything I have now."

*Beep beep beep* A moment passed as the information sifted into the system.

"You should be able to verify all the information I just sent through your own communication relays placed around your border worlds, (coordinates where transmissions would likely have been intercepted were included with what I sent you.) As well as through the financial history for the ITA's accounts they have on Nashtar."

[Dahak]

Blue Pointe Station

The recon drones appeared first in one of the disembarkation zones and checked local space. Once it was deemed clear, the rest of the fleet appeared in the zone.
Gravitic engines came online and gracefully accelerated the small fleet out of the zone.
A channel was opened to Blue Pointe Station's station officer. "This is Admiral Elaine Lundstrom of the Stuart Corporation. We require a parking space and would like to meet with your official representative. Lundstrom out."
The fleet was to show the dedication and interest the Stuart Corporation in the concept and the 40 kilometer long Behemoth Götterdämmerung and its accompanying fleet perfectly showed this interest.
The Sparatan fleet was noted and a friendly greeting was sent. One should always be polite.

[InnocentBystander]

"Not at this time, although I would like to point out that we will also, with your premission, be stationing several wings of bombers here and two wings of fighter craft."

Blue Pointe Station
Overlook

"I'm sure rapid deployment space can be made for your craft, I'll see that your request is sent to the right people. The regions of space your ships will be sent to are far less... civilized than what your people might be used to. The policy is agressive, the protection of the lanes at any cost, your ships will be both on active patrol, and on call at all times, while on duty. Missionaries of the Blue Order are throughout the sector, on diplomatic or aid missions, and your ships will be expected to render aid to them whenever necessary. They've also got some new equipment for your ships, temporary observation drones, short duration interdiction field generators, communications equipment, lots of stuff. Every ship will need to stay docked with the Station for a day, while the equipment is transfered and crews are briefed on the equipment." he spoke as they eat their meal, "The key here is coordination." he chuckled. "Your ships may find themselves working with ACIN or Sabai warships, or who knows, in the protection of the trade lanes."

A channel was opened to Blue Pointe Station's station officer. "This is Admiral Elaine Lundstrom of the Stuart Corporation. We require a parking space and would like to meet with your official representative. Lundstrom out."

Blue Pointe Station

A databurst was sent to the Stuart Corporation ships, detailing the docking procedures. They included flight paths, emergancy procedures, berth umbilicals, and included everything in auto-pilot form, if they so chose. Communication with the station was often not necessary, it was all automated, yet Blue Pointe Station never failed to respond to a Hail, and this one was more important than most.

"This is Blue Pointe Traffic Control, you have been cleared to dock on Command Pylon's Docking Ring, please proceed at your leisure. I will inform the Mother Superior of your arrival, please have an enjoyable and productive day here at Blue Pointe Station, if you require further assistance please contact Station Priority Services, Local Channel 5C11E, extension EE7." the voice was that of a yong woman, she remained on the line for a reply.

The large Stuart Corporation fleet moved to their berths along the Command Pylon's docking ring, this was designed for Military hardware specifically. A group of ACIN ships had recently departed, making ample room for the Stuart ships. As they approached their berths, massive umbilical tubes unfurled from the station, meeting up with airlocks and fuel/cargo transfer ports, ready to move tons of men, fuel, or equipment between the station and the ship at a moment's notice. The Mother Superior Elizabeth Catherine waited patiently by the Götterdämmerung's primary airlock for the Admiral to disembark.

[consequences]

Hyperspace
Shi Convoy Mike Golf Nineteen

Convoy escort duty for the Combine was normally a joke, especially with the resurgence of powers actively conducting pirate suppression. So it came as more than bit of a shock as the convoy bound for the Gornath Confederacy was abruptly yanked out of ftl.

Even as the crewmembers raced for battlestations, the four shurikens and their destroyer leader came around into formation, imposing themselves between their charges and the seven escorts and one cruiser hull arrayed against them, with a freighter hanging much further back generating an Interdiction field.

Desperate messages for help were sent as the dozen transports scattered, only to be met with a wall of jamming. The five defenders recklessly lunged forward, their only hope to break past the attackers and kill the Interdictor before they died so their protectees could escape. The range decreased sharply, the five ships closing through extreme and long range without firing, and the pirates missile bays remaining strangely silent as well.

Finally on reaching optimum missile range, the five ships belched forth an astounding array of ordnance for such a small group, emptying all of their external ordnance and going to maximum rate fire on all tubes. A cloud of death swept towards the eight attackers, only to be met by a professional military's level of jamming from all but one target, which worked to entice as many missiles to attack it as it could. Matters were further compilcated by the Interdictor's efect on ftl projectiles.

The one broken down unmanned frigate vanished in a ball of flame, but it had drawn nearly all of the protector's fire upon it, and the other ships swiftly dealt with the relatively few leakers, taking only minor hits. The few missiles that had gone astray continued briefly onwards before vanishing from sensors amidst a series of explosions.

The oncoming five ships desperately continued their attack as the brigands opened fire, energy weapons finally coming to bear. The lead two gunboats suffered hit after hit, staggering in formation before one broke in half, the second shattering under the cruiser's main battery. Then the escorts were upon them, slashing through pointblank range to strike two of the attackers full on. The destroyer swept pastand towards the freighter, but turned upon detecting the emergence of still more marauders in the path of the fleeing transports. Striving to ram the cruiser, it almost made it, but took a full sustained broadside to the face, and vaporised ignominiously.

The first wave of attackers took a few brief minutes to run down and obliterate any wreckage that could conceivably have been a message buoy or drone, while the second wave swarmed over the transports, wiping away crew sections with precision fire. The last three transports, seeing this brutal treatment and having time to react, contrived to immolate themselves with engine overloads. Each surviving hulk was mated up to a pirate vessel, and forcibly dragged into hyper.

A few minutes later, capacitors fired up along the tracks that the missed warp missiles had taken. The drones were expensive, needing to be miniaturised enough to be mated to a standard warp missile, and each gunboat had only had one, with the destroyer carrying two. two of these had been rendered non-functional by interdictor interference, and one had physically run into a targetit couldn't see well enough to avoid, but this left two to quietly slip into ftl and proceed towards Shi territory.

_______________________
Light Cruiser Deceiver: Bridge

Captain Trantor looked over the loss reports with digust "This is how well we do when we outnumber them three to one?"

The cloaked figure beside him responded in a mechanical rasp "You were warned of their tenacity Captain. Be glad that none of them contrived a means of escape."

"Some chance of that."

"Just remember, we will take steps to remove any trace of our involvement if your government fails, Captain. Never forget your place."


Losses:
4 Shuriken class escorts
1 Wakizashi class destroyer
12 assorted transports

[Dahak]

Blue Pointe Station

Sometimes, the Corporation was at a loss why these other humans still were so fond of primitive communication systems, as they were so much inferior to their own form, but it was a mystery it could live with. The Corporation certainly wouldn't give away that particiular technology for free...
"Blue Pointe Traffic Control, acknowledged. We will begin docking maneuvres momentarily."
The fleet moved closer to the large station, but only the Götterdämmerung actually docked. As it moved closer, small ripples on the perfect surface appeared and formed into airlocks. With surprising elegance and grace for such a huge warship it moved closer and finally connected with the airlock. It took only slight adaptations to connect the airlock tightly with the ship. The rest of the fleet stayed slightly away, endlessly moving among themselves, like a oversized fish swarm.

Admiral Lundstrom 'gated close to the airlock and then walked off the ship and into the great station to the greeting officials. She chuckled inwardly as she saw a slight shock flicker over the faces of the waiting delegation when they saw her and her small entourage. They certainly weren't used to full-fledged Admirals and warship's commanding staff with the apparant age of 18 year-olds and perfect looks.
"Mother Superior, I assume?" she slightly bowed. "I'm Admiral Lundstrom. Thanks for meeting us on such a short notice. We had some pirate business to attend to in the vicinity, and as we may stay around here for a short while, for maneuvres and, well, 'showing the flag', we thought it would be a good idea to stop by and say hello," she pleasantly smiled.

[Spyder]

Sevden: Marshal's Log

"It's been more then two months since we last had any outages, our stores have never been more full. They've commisioned the construction of additional infrastructure to house the materials that we've been receiving now for some time. The offerings come not only in product but in service. They've been teaching us new techniques and introducing us to new methods in order to maximize food production. The aquifiers they
ve provided alone are worth their weight in platinum. And the cost of all this, about a quarter of our current livestock exports, an absolute pittance compared to the projected growth over the next financial year.

I've been keeping in touch with some friends of mine on Poriatus, Tau Alpha Rho, Segmin and Varta. They've all been reporting the same thing, trader's offering deals training and defense solutions against raiders. A few names keep popping up here and there, a few in common and in the same place. I'm convinced there's a connection.

Now, the odd thing is that not only are these colonies hearing from these people but the Hub's also getting in on the act. They swoop in, undercut the traders, then broker deals for trade lane protection against pirate activity. Personally, I'm quite fond of some of these worlds and the people that inhabit them, but quite frankly they're dirtballs, each and every one. Why the hell are they worth the Hub's time? I can only imagine that the Hub must be as curious about these 'benefactors' as I am. Too add more to the mix, one would assume that the Hub activities would put these traders on the defensive, force them out into the open. Instead they took the hit and even commissioned the hub's services in distribution. It's madness, what could they possibly hope to gain from such a deal?

From the looks of things the Hub's just as much in the dark as we are, you can tell by the way their trade escorts tail the traders when they enter the system. Courtesy trade escort my ass. Anyway, from what I can tell the bulk of the food that's being gathered is being distributed to a variety of places including mining ops, industrial colonies and some other places where the populace is either starving or impoverished.

The question I keep coming back to is, why? Is there some kind of conspiracy to boost all these micro-economies and if so to what end? Are these acts of random madness or are these the actions of some altruistic entity trying to breath life back into a broken galaxy one world at a time? Perhaps more insidious motives lie under the surface, something everyone's missing.

I intend to find out."

[Rogue 9]

"Tactical, all hostiles eliminated."
"Receiving a response from unidentified vessel, audio only."

"Nashtari vessel," Came a generic male voice over the speakers, "I wish to speak to your commanding officer. I am in posession of important information regarding pirate activity throughout this region. I am also in posession of incriminating evidence linking the Independant Trade Authority to recent raids."

Greer grabbed a headset from the comms station and switched it on. "This is Commander Greer of the NRS Hlondath Raider. I'm listening."

**Replaying recorded message...**

"Is this line secure?"

"Quit worrying, no one's listening."

"I asked you, is this line secure?"

"Yes! Jesus fucking christ you sound like my mother"

"We can't afford to be traced, if anyone ever found out what we were
doing the deal's off."

"Look, whatever man. Where's the next hit?"

"Poriatus."

"Poriatus!? You're fucking nuts! Poriatus not only sprouted mystery
missiles but the fucking Hub's crawling all over the system! What the fuck am I supposed to do at Poriatus?"

"Calm down, you're not hitting the planet. The arrangements have been made, all you have to do is hit an unarmed freighter out on the system edge then dissapear before anyone knows you're there. We'll have the standard ITA escort, during the attack they'll pull away and scuttle their ships, make it look authentic. The destruction will be blammed on a nearby missile platform supposedly kindly donated by Poriatus' new trading partners. When the wreckage is examined the only evidence they'll find is a consignment note for a missile shipment signed by the head of some random aerospace corp within Nashtar."

"You're going to turn this into a Nashtari gun control issue?"

"Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is a very bad thing, Nashtar would have to clamp down on the corp for supplying the weapons and would be obliged to remove them from the colony by force or they'd face discredit from their allies for proliferating dangerous weapons to rogue colonies. I imagine this would probably strain their relations with the hub as well, considering their recent interest in the system."

"Alright, so what's in it for my boys?"

"Besides your usual fee?"

"For this kind of op, that just doubled."

"...Alright. Besides twice your usual fee, once we can prove that colonies with weapon systems are a danger to trade ships we can petition governments to remove them, not just from Poriatus but from all the other systems where they've been installed as well. We get our contracts back and you get uncontested control of the rim worlds."

*Click*

"Uh oh."

"Uh oh? What's uh oh?"

"Umm, nothing it's just...oh shit."

"What?"

"Fuck!"

What's going on?"

"Fuck, fuck fuck! Someone's listening!"

"What!? You said this was secure!"

"There's a fucking bug! Shit!"

"Lock on to the carrier and trace the signal. Do it now or we're all dead."

"Alright, hang on..."

**End recording**

The voice of the man from before came back on the line.

"You'll find that voice pattern will match an ITA official by the name of Samual Hague. He has an office on Orodan. I also have communications logs between ITA representatives and various rogue corps that have since been shutdown by local law enforcement due to pirate activity. I also have information regarding funds transfers between ITA holdings and members of the Eastern Spacers Pact that have recently been brought under investigation for supplying weapons and ships to unregistered privateers, several of which have been discovered in the debris of recent engagements. The debris I'm currently floating in now probably also match those recently purchased by the Spacers Pact.

I'm transmitting everything I have now."

*Beep beep beep* A moment passed as the information sifted into the system.

"You should be able to verify all the information I just sent through your own communication relays placed around your border worlds, (coordinates where transmissions would likely have been intercepted were included with what I sent you.) As well as through the financial history for the ITA's accounts they have on Nashtar."

Greer paused for a moment. This was beyond his authority, way beyond...

"Acknowledged. Would you be willing to accompany us to Joyous Gard to speak with someone more able to act on this information?"

[Spyder]

Greer paused for a moment. This was beyond his authority, way beyond...

"Acknowledged. Would you be willing to accompany us to Joyous Gard to speak with someone more able to act on this information?"

"I'm afriad that will not be possible. I'm out of time. I've also provided you with a list of sources where the communication logs and transaction records can be verified. You will find it is all legitimate. Use or pass on this information to whoever you see fit.

Goodbye Commander."

Without another word the vessel's jump drives spun into operation. With a flash of light it was gone, nothing but silence and ITA sponsored pirate debris in its place.

[InnocentBystander]

Westrin Union
Joquxy’ll VII

Often noted as one of the key players in the Trifocal Wars, the Westrin Union’s sizeable industrial base, and large commercial market have made it wealthy and idle, among the vast smaller powers of the Western Rim. While the Joquxy’ll system is not very close to the lane itself, the lane passes relatively close to the Union’s Space Port on Hyr’anax III. Unlike many of the more trivial nations along the Rim the Westrin Union’s relative proximity to “civilized” space made it an ideal destination, it could service and sell goods to foreign buyers are great prices, but was only on the edge of the less civilized regions of space, making the journey relatively safe.
With the construction of the Great Western Trade Lane the safety zone for commercial shipping significantly expanded, encompassing dozens if not hundreds of new worlds. The Westrin Union was now just as safe a destination as any other along the lane, and because of this has lost much of its prowess, though it has seen some economic growth.

High in orbit above the paradise that is Joquxy’ll VII hung Arameda Station, while hundreds of ships were currently docked at the station, it was the Dauphine, a Blue Order ship, that was the point of interest. Carrying Reverend Mother Khy’lane and her small diplomatic entourage, its purpose was to secure the nation, and perhaps reignite its interest in local affairs. Similar scenes were seen in small ports all over the western rim, Order Diplomats skillfully plied their knowledge, pressing the goals of the Order upon those whom they met with. Some nations greeted them with open arms, offering what meager services they could provide, one or two frigates, sometimes a handful, enough to locally enforce some small tract of space that made up the Great Lane. Yet some nations resisted, preferring to benefit from the Lane without compensation, or using it to further their own insular political designs. These designs, however, were not always a bad thing, of course.

“Councilmen, I agree, the Westrin Union has a responsibility to it’s people, but I will assure you that what little resources you devote to the land will offer significant returns. As your people have seen, there are always buyers, be they Westrin Consumer Electronics, New Harlem battle suits or United Socialist Confederacy beef, all will find buyers coming through the lane.” Reverend Mother Khy’lane was giving another one of her speeches to the Union Council. After some trivial debate and questions the council session ended, and the Reverend Mother returned to the Dauphine for the evening.

“This could work to our advantage,” councilor P’trugen said again, the six other men around the table stopped talking and gave him their attention; they were the Reform Party leaders. “Such an organization could directly compete! In this sector alone there are a dozen worlds of value, and we would be its leader. Why should merchants travel to far off worlds when we are perhaps a day’s less travel.”
“You’re suggesting direct competition with Blue Pointe?” one asked.
“We shall simply strain the best before it gets there. We could build our own deep space trade hub, think of the wealth it would bring the Union.” P’trugen was obviously in love with his own idea.
“The Union doesn’t have those kinds of resources! The Blue Sisters have financiers throughout the ACIN, not to mention all the other so called “civilized” nations deeper in the west.” the party chairman rebutted.
“We could with the help of the USC, New Harlem, the Grox, we could do it, we’ve got contacts throughout the region, and we simply appeal to their greed…” he chuckled.


Not a unique scene, as minor trade organizations began to emerge in the region, pooling resources and technology to better establish themselves. Credits flowed from the core and east through the Western Lane, and everybody wanted to siphon off as much as they could.

[Marcao]

SNN (Sabai News Network)

Sabai economy on the expansion

With the establishment of blue pointe station trading hub and the formation of various new hyper lanes the Sabai economy is on the expansion. The economic initiatives between various western nations have begun to bear fruit, among them shorter transit times for goods and improved commerce and trade. The Sabai government has wasted little time in reaching out to local star nations in order to continue to spur the growth of the economy.

Over the last three months no less than eight new trade agreements have been established between the Sabai and neighboring stellar nations. These trade agreements encompass a wide range of goods from high end consumer goods to military hardware and are by and large made possible predominantly by the establishment of various hyper lanes located through out western space. The trade agreements hint at a pronounced shift in Sabai foreign policy. Camelus Loriet, an economics professor at the University of Lanei had this to say.

“I am not surprised by the proactive steps the Sabai government is taking in aggressively reaching out to neighboring nations. With the galactic situation being what it is and the formation of blue point station the move to secure new markets for Sabai goods is sound. If the Sabai nation is to continue its role as a leader in its area in the galaxy it must maintain a sound economy and if anything expand its sphere of influence.”

SNS Black Baron on good will tour

The SNS Black Baron the latest Ahriman-class Dreadnought built by the Sabai navy and the most expensive warship ever built by the nation is currently canvassing Western Space in what many have called a good will tour. The state of the art warship has visited no less than six sovereign nations located in western space. The Sabai minister of defense is currently traveling aboard the vessel and has been involved in high level diplomatic meetings with representatives of the ruling bodies of each nation that has been visited.

Sabai Navy establishes four resupply bases in western space

The Sabai Navy has established four major resupply bases in western space in order to assist the resupply and rearmament and its ships in western space. The need for these resupply bases has been a hot topic of debate over the last few months considering the increasing presence of Corsair Republic warships in the region. Nonetheless, commanding elements of the Sabai Navy had pointed out that with the expansion of trade in the region and the steady increase of traffic in the western hyper lanes the Sabai Navy needed to secure its place as a leader and made certain that its warships were able to resupply themselves in the field.

The Sabai Minister of Defense had this to say.

“The Sabai Navy continues to uphold its obligations to itself and to its allies in that its ships will be on call to counter any attempts to disturb trade or the peace and prosperity of western space.”

When asked if rumors that more of these resupply bases will be built the minister of defense answered without question.

“The Sabai Navy is always evaluating its needs and objectives depending upon our strategic needs.”

Peace in Desgara

The four year long civil war in Desgara has ended. As of sixteen hundred hours in this day, the Desgaran conflict has ended beneath a Sabai led peace initiative. The exact details of the peace initiative have as of yet not been released to the public, although the latest accounts suggest that a conference later today shall touch upon the details of the cease fire and the formation of a government. The conference is timed to coincide with the arrival of the SNS Black Baron in the system. Acheron Vestal had this to say on the matter.

“Over the last six months delegates from our nation have been involved in diplomatic contact with both sides of the Desgaran conflict. It was our hope that we could manage to end the conflict and help in ushering in a new age of prosperity on the Desgaran nation. The news that a cease fire has been agreed upon and that peace is within Desgaran reach fills me with joy. It is my hope that the damage that four years of conflict has caused the people Desgara will heal as quickly as it caused and that Desgara and its people will embrace its sovereign destiny.”

[Agent Fisher]

"Not at this time, although I would like to point out that we will also, with your premission, be stationing several wings of bombers here and two wings of fighter craft."

Blue Pointe Station
Overlook

"I'm sure rapid deployment space can be made for your craft, I'll see that your request is sent to the right people. The regions of space your ships will be sent to are far less... civilized than what your people might be used to. The policy is agressive, the protection of the lanes at any cost, your ships will be both on active patrol, and on call at all times, while on duty. Missionaries of the Blue Order are throughout the sector, on diplomatic or aid missions, and your ships will be expected to render aid to them whenever necessary. They've also got some new equipment for your ships, temporary observation drones, short duration interdiction field generators, communications equipment, lots of stuff. Every ship will need to stay docked with the Station for a day, while the equipment is transfered and crews are briefed on the equipment." he spoke as they eat their meal, "The key here is coordination." he chuckled. "Your ships may find themselves working with ACIN or Sabai warships, or who knows, in the protection of the trade lanes."

"Of course."

[Spyder]

Poriatus Six

The colonist approached the freighter operator as he was loading his cargo.

"Hey."

"Oh, hello Bryan. Just picking up the usual, how's the wife?"

"Heh I'm keeping my distance. There's a case of flu going around and she got hit pretty hard, she looks like death."

"Is it serious?"

"No, no. The doctor's on to it. Those anti-viral meds we picked up on Laremy's last visit seem to be doing the trick." Bryan smiled. "Besides, she's had worse."

"That Laremy guy always seems to have a solution for everything." The Freighter operator remarked. "Quite strange really."
"Yeah, he's an odd one but I think he's on the level. He's been coming through for us so far and he's even helped us set things up with the hub. He's a good guy Laremy. I trust him."

"If you say so Bryan. So anyway, what can I do for you?"
"You heading to Tau Alpha Rho by any chance?"
"Yeah, it's my next stop. Why, need a lift?"
"As a matter of fact, yeah. Got a spare seat?" Bryan asked. This was one of the reasons why it always pays to maintain good relations with your regulars, catching the jump seat in a freighter was vastly cheaper then chartered interstellar travel, especially when you live out in the middle of nowhere.

"I think we can manage that. So what's the big attraction on TAR?"

"Got a call from the governor there. Apparently a few of the smaller colonies are meeting there for a conferrance. A lot of our trading partners will probably turn up. It'll be a good opportunity to get to know the neighborhood."

[Rogue 9]

Greer paused for a moment. This was beyond his authority, way beyond...

"Acknowledged. Would you be willing to accompany us to Joyous Gard to speak with someone more able to act on this information?"

"I'm afriad that will not be possible. I'm out of time. I've also provided you with a list of sources where the communication logs and transaction records can be verified. You will find it is all legitimate. Use or pass on this information to whoever you see fit.

Goodbye Commander."

Without another word the vessel's jump drives spun into operation. With a flash of light it was gone, nothing but silence and ITA sponsored pirate debris in its place.

Greer cursed. "Comms, put in a call to Joyous Gard. We need a fleet salvage tender out here to pull up all this debris, see if we can determine origin or recent activity. Also, transmit the information given to us by the freighter to NRI and Fleet Intelligence, encryption level Alpha."

"Aye, sir."

Nashtar Republic Intelligence headquarters, Nashtar

Analyst Higgins' mouth was stretched into a thin line as he read over the last of the transcript of the recording. He had listened to the recording itself several times over, but he always had an easier time reading the printed word.

"Gary," he called across the office to his supervisor. "I think we need to kick this upstairs."

"Agreed," answered Gary Burns. "Also, I know this was CCed to Naval Intelligence, but I'll make sure that Space Command knows all the same. Might want to get a few destroyers out to Poriatus."

[Thirdfain]

Marco Polo Station
Amerigo System
Union of Cornerian States

-::-

Marco Polo Station saw a thousand ships a day, ranging from massive megatankers to shoddy little tramp freighters. Commander Johan Wend enjoyed looking over the shoulders of his space traffic controllers as they hummed along with the business of keeping the vessels moving. He was glad he had wound up at this posting, dealing with nice, semicivilized traders and civvies. Better this by far than off fighting the Communists or dealing with the twisted politics of the main fleet. Why play loyalty games with the ever-fluid upper ranks of the Union, when here he could basically run the place as he pleased so long as he kowtowed to whoever managed to kill his or her way into the Commissioner's palace on the planet below. It was rare that the quiet job was interupted by an actual *military* matter- such as the arrrival of a Commonwealth warship into the system.

Johan's interest was piqued. He loomed over the shoulders of Lieutenant Indrae, a green kid just out of the Saipan military school.

<< This is the CNS Cardinal Mazarin to Marco Polo Control. We are here on enforcement business. Have you had a vessel of the *following* specifications through in the last standardday?>>

The destroyer was of standard Commonwealth design- an Alcyone-class vessel of the Provincial fleet. She was a kilometer-long teardrop more heavily armed than a venerable Star Destroyer, but without the launch bays or large complement of troops. She came to a rest on her ion drives a couple thousand kilometers from the vast bulk of the Union space station.

" Marco Polo control to Commonwealth vessel, we have seen that vessel through."

Indrae may be green, but he kept a sharp eye on the manifests, and knew what was docked or leaving.

<<Roger that, Marco Polo Control. That vessel is carrying a dangerous criminal wanted by the Commonwealth. Send us a docking plan immediately.>>

Johan was shocked. What the hell did this bitch want again?

Indrae's jaw was a little slack too. Kid didni't know how arrogant the Sunnies could be, apparently.
"Uh, Mazarin, please state your intentions."

<<Repeat, we require immediate docking space. Get the fucking stick out of your ear, you have a dangerous criminal on board.>>

Johan snatched the comm headset from his edgy comm officer. It was time to take matters into his own hands.

"Look, you impatient fuck. All berths are full, and I don't like your tone."

That'll show those arrogant pricks...

<<Who is this?>>

"This is Commander Johan Wend, and I've had enough of you bullying my space traffic control staff. This station is sovereign territory, and damned if I'm letting you dock without a statement of intent."

<<And this is Captain de Fregate Simone D'ettiene, and I plan on catching my quarry. Open a berth. I intend on searching your station from top to bottom.>>

"Madam Captain, I'm afraid that's not a goddamn option. This is sovereign territo..."

<<Commander, I don't intend on wasting any more time, You are forbidden from allowing any vessels to depart. Sending files on our quarry now.>>

Johan's eyes flickered up and down across the data feed file. The man's holobust spun slowly as a stream of words scrolled by. The sallow-faced fellow's nation of origin and citizenship were clear. Johan's anger built slowly, until he got to the rap sheet.

Wanted under charges of terrorism, espionage and conspiracy against the government of the Commonwealth? What the hell?

"You've got to be joking, Mazarin. What is this bullshit? This man is a citizen of the Cornerian Union."

<<Yes, a citizen and a spy. You didn't really think that you'd get away with inciting revolt on a Commonwealth world, did you? Open a berth, allow my marines on board, and forbid any vessels from leaving, and I might just forget this whole incident once your pet agent provacateur is safely on board.>>

Red telltales lit up across a series on consoles in the station's control center.
"Sir! The Commonwealth vessel is raising shields!"

Johan stared at his underling incredulously. Destroyers of the Alcyone class were tough birds, but no match for a major station like his own.

Stupid bitch.

"Marco Polo to Commonwealth vessel, I'm opening a dialogue with my superiors on planet. Please hold..."

Johan exhaled as he put down the headset.

"Alright, get me a line to the commisioner's palace. I don't plan on starting an international incident over some dumbass Intel guy too lazy to take his cyanide."

A lieutenant scurried to obey, but no sooner had he reached for his console when another set of telltales went off.

"Commander, we have a ship breaking it's berth ahead of schedual."

"WHAT? Order the vessel to hold position, and send a security team down..."

"Too late, sir, it's already out. Someone turned off the docking beam."

<<Commander, order that vessel to hold position, or by the Ancestors I'll blow it out of space.>>

"SIR! I'm reading weapons charged on the Commonwealth vessel, she's tagging the shuttle with flidar!"

"Get a fucking pinnace in space, lietenant, and order that ship back into berth!"

<<Repeat, shuttle, return to station or we will open fire.>>

Johan wiped sweat from his brow. "Weapons online, target that destroyer and open me a channel."

The station's not inconsiderable firepower turned it's baleful eye to the kilometer-long Commonwealth warship.

"This is Marco Polo Station to Commonwealth vessel, kill your targetting sensors immediately, repeat, kill targetting sensors. You are in Cornerian Union territory, and that shuttle's right on top of us. You open fire and you might hit the station!"

<<No, Marco Polo Station, you will do as I say. Do you really want to fire on a vessel of the Commonwealth Provincial Fleet?>>

Another light went off as a seperate comm screen opened up. The planet's commissioner's meaty face glared from the screen.
"Commander, you are to ensure that shuttle's safety by any means necessary. This is our sovereign territory, and that shuttle contains a representative of this government."

Johan couldn't believe his ears, but the oaf was his superior.

"Yes, Commissioner, I'll do what ever's in my power to..."

"Sir! power spike from the shuttle, it's spinning up FTL drives... SHIT!"

The green junior officer's mouth was agape.

<<That was your last warning, Marco Polo Station.>>

Alarms lit off across the command deck. "Sir, the Mazarin just opened fire! We've been hit, P-beam impact on the fifth shield sector."

Johan slammed his intercom.

"All hands, battle stations! Tactical, open fire on that destroyer!"

"Commander, what is going on up there?"

"Sir, direct hit on the shuttle, it's gone, sir, I think that the Sunnies hit us with a stray,"

"Contact, contact, we have shield flare from the Mazarin, report shield flare and possible atmospherte venting..."

"Stray shot? Tactical, cease fire!"

"Lock lost, sir, Mazarin dumped decoys and is spinning up to FTL"

"GET ME A LINE OPEN!"

"Negative, sir, Mazarin's laying out EW... hyperflare, repeat, hyperflare, she's jumped!"

Johan slumped back in his chair. He suddenly felt a hundred years old.

What the fuck just happened? What have I *done?*

-::-

[SirNitram]

Galactic News Network.

Corsair Republic Expanding; Analysts Suspect More Systems To Be Absorbed.

This Monday, the Corsair Republic announced it was annexing sixteen new worlds; all of them pre-warp, and the majority pre-atomic. This brings the total of low-technology worlds absorbed into the sprawling Black Alliance to twenty seven, all in the past six months. This expansion period appears to be focused on the Galactic West, in what is obstensibly being billed as an attempt to civilize the Wastes in that region, occupied by the MOSPAC forces before the Great War.

Representative Andrews, de facto ruler of the Republic and most powerful Overlord of the Black Alliance, made one of his rare public appearances to promote the move to his people. To wild applause, he stated 'It is the responsibility of those in power to share power, not horde it. While we live in an age of Abundance, others live in squalor, filth, poverty, and scarcity. By sharing our technology and civilization, we can improve billions of lives.'

Treaties dating back to the First Terran Disaspora forbid interaction or intervention with pre-FTL nations, but the so-called 'Prime Directive' treaties were never signed by the Black Alliance member-states. Their public plans include the use of rapid-fabrication, flash-learning, and automated labour technologies to rabidly bring these worlds up to high levels of technology, while bringing much-needed medical technology and defenses to their systems.

Critics across the galaxy are characterizing the move as brazon, blatant imperialism, and a destabalizing action in the Western Spiral. Occupied and primarily held by the fledgling Western Alliance, the Western Spiral has seen sharp declines in piracy since the return of the Black Alliance. The sections annexed currently see the lowest rate of piracy in Known Space, outside of the Entente.

Analysts are predicting a continuing expansion of the meritocratic power into lesser groups, with additional space being divided between the Corsairs and their local allies. Black Alliance spokespeople could not be reached for comment.

[Captain tycho]

'My servant, this news is rather disquieting.'
'It truly is, great one. We cannot be idle while these powers expand, we should-'
Attack?. No. However glorious my servants, they are vastly outnumbered. Rouse the others, I command. Turn the tide of the galaxy against them. Then we shall see.

[Ace Pace]

Galactic

Admiral Petrach was in the briefing room, with the rest of the command staff, watching endless replays of the GNN broadcast announcing the Black Alliances taking over more systems.

General Derak, in charge of manpower said,"This is all bullshit, all their doing is swooping in and bribing those colonies into giving them men."

"Isn't that exactly what we're doing here? If we publicly attack them over this we'll just get slapped around" Lias, the commanding officer in charge of PR was allways afraid of slightly insulting anyone.

At that moment Petrach spoke "We will not be making any kind of public statment untill we have more facts and anyway their on the other side of the galaxy,who cares?

However nor will we stop our plans, have we had contact from the NRS? We need those supplies to finsh the station, otherwise we will still be vulnerable, the fleet cannot leave this post without the station being able to defend itself"

"No, no replies from the NRS, we're thinking of sending a message droid to make it clear we need those supplies however" Communications.

"Understood, however, with that we should speed up our own plans, we need a bigger manpower base and we still have those mysterious benefectors, we will be sending a trade delegation to that ridiculous conferance yes?"Dereck wasn't going to let the issue go, with phase 2 of the plan relating to the dirt-balls about to go forward he worried about every man.

"Obviously, the Negotiator, with Wrain onboard will leave tommarow, meanwhile we will begin phase 2 when he arrives, when they can't react as quickly.

We are agreed?"

The vote, a complete formality, passed, with a minor change, phase 2 would be put into operation immediately.

[Glimmervoid]

Emergence session of Joven Consensus. Time log 01.45

Master Speaker: I call this emergence session to order. Master of Water what do you have to report,

Master of water: My intelligence assists report several major happening in galactic events. The three suns Commonwealth appears to be near war with the Union of Cornerian States. My sources tell me several shots were fired.

Also of perhaps more concern the Black Alliance annexed sixteen new worlds. If they continue to expand we may be in danger our selves.

Master of Fire: is there any way we could speed up ship production?

Voice of Moon 2: Not with out going on to a full wartime footing and that could be seen as a sign of aggression by nearby states.

Voice of North: We should try and strengthen our bonds in the Stuart Corporation. If war was to come our way we might need a power full friend.

Voices of joint eleven: We agree. We should peruse a formal defence pact in view of resent events.

Voice of Moon 1: But what do we have to offer. Our navy is small, are crews green on anything but pirates.

Voice of Moon 3: Maybe we could take on convoy guarding responsibilities for them.

Master of Fire: we barely have sufficient fleet to protect all our worlds as it is. And you want to send large parts away.

Master of Earth: Maybe we could offer good trading terms to them. Then they would have a vested interested in keeping us alive.

Voice of South: The idea has promise.

Master speaker: we will vote on it then.

10 votes for, 1 against.

So it is decided we will open up full trade at excellent terms with the Stuart Corporation, pending there approval of course, at once. Send the message at once. We will talk about the defence patch at a later point.

Emergence session of Joven Consensus end. Time log 03.43

[Glimmervoid]

To Stuart Corporation
From Joven Consensus.

We would like to open full trade negotiation at your convenience. We believe we have a lot to offer each other. In both trade and future partnerships.

Yours The Joven Consensus.

[Captain tycho]

Code: Select all

+Encrypt Key v.90199291 Online, Tightbeam Wave modulated+
To: Aglatarian Hub Diplomatic Corps
From: Saint Vesuvius, First High Lord of Aurora and Most Holy Servant of the God-Emperor of Man

I believe current events necessitate a personal meeting between ambassadors regarding future diplomatic and military actions to be taken against the agressors of the Black Alliance and other nations. Such a meeting should take place here on Aurora itself, for security purposes.

-----------------

Quietly, on Aurora and other Sabbat worlds, the Chapters were being roused, brought up to full operational status in the depths of their sanctums.
The Ordo Xenos, the branch of the Inquisition charged with gathering data on outside forces, activated a dozen espionage cells that have laid dormant for years.
And finally, burst transmissions ordered all fleet commands to step up to Stand-by Alert.

[Pablo Sanchez]

A message travelled to agents of the Black Alliance in the hands of couriers...


To Grand Master Andrews of the Black Alliance

I am the head of the Triads, and it is my will to meet with you, face-to-face. You will return a message to one of my known agents, setting the time and the place. Do not trouble yourself with such concerns as how I will arrive at your chosen location. Time and space are mere illusions.

I await your response.

[consequences]

Combine News Network
"The news you should bloody well verify for yourself"

The Combine in answer to concerns raised by certain Galactic powers about the Bozon spike recently emitted from their territory has issued the following statement: "They're all dead, so please focus your efforts on ensuring your own security.

No official word has yet been given about the fate of convoy Mike Golf Nineteen, and all that is known is that it failed to arrive in the Gornath Confederacy, where sources have stated its destination was to be. Officials in the Shi Combine Merchant Marine Association and Navy have declined to comment. A very senior official that we aren't about to say the name of is quoted as saying "There will be blood for this, enough to float our dead to Heaven from wherever they may lie."

In related, but happier news, Senior Liason Brigadier General Hino is reported as saying that cooperation from the Gornath Confederacy has been simply astounding since the unfortunate incident of six months ago. Since they have accepted our aid, piracy in the region has dropped by a startling 95%, crime in general is down 70% since our liason teams have started supporting their law enforcement personnel. He laughed off concerns that Shi forces were engaged in any sort of underhanded occupation effort. "We're just here to make it a better place", he said, and revealed that everything but the permanent embassy would be gone within six months if things continued to go as well.

In response to the recent Corsair announcement, the Combine has begun a program of aid to nearby underprivileged civilisations, targetting six for the initial missions. Imperial Auditor Genko released the following statement: "If other nations are willing to let those less fortunate suffer and die, that is certainly their concern. We won't let their apathy and lack of moral fiber dictate our actions."

[Spyder]

Tau Alpha Rho
Colonial World

The colonial world of Tau Alpha Rho had the beginnings of a major centre for galactic commerce in the same way that the farmers of Poriatus had the beginnings of the next great pan-galactic empire. There was still a bit to go but in the meantime Tau Alpha Rho would serve as a focal point for the small-time colonial trading, the kind of thing that most of the larger nations wouldn’t even batter an eyelash at if they disappeared off the face of the galaxy, at least up until recently.

Tau Alpha Rho was just slightly more built up then the other regional colonies, most of the buildings were new, the resources needed for their construction and maintenance gathered from their new trading channels.

Bryan Quinn of Poriatus Six entered the convention centre, the gathering was already underway.

“...I don’t see what the problem is. We’re not the helpless colonials that we once were. We have the missile defence systems, we’ve all seen first hand how effective they are. It’s still highly unlikely that we’ll even see the Corsair Republic anywhere near this region and if they do come our way then we’re going to have a few surprises waiting for them.” the Sevden representative placed his hands back down on in front of him.
“A surprise that’ll be forgot as soon as their commander says to himself ‘Oh, that’s right, I brought a navy along didn’t I?’ This isn’t an episode of Baywatch 9,000 we’re talking about here. We’re talking about warships, big fucking warships!” The Subastus representative raised his voice.
“What? We got the Hub don’t we?” Interjected the representative from Holstead.
“The Hub? You think the Aglatarian Hub’s going to stick its ass on the line for us? Buddy when the shit hits the fan they are going to be out-o’-here faster then you can say ‘market share’.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Like fuck I don’t! They’ve never been interested in us, they’re only interested in our suppliers!”
“Bullshit!” One representative shouts.
“It’s true!” Another argues.
The shouting continued as the argument spiralled out of control.

Their voices were immediately silenced by a piercing screech coming from a speaker beside the chair of Marlon Wellesley, representative of Tau Alpha Rho, the person who called this meeting. “This isn’t going to get us very far.” He looks up to see Bryan standing in the corner, somewhat bewildered at the sight of the arguing representatives. “Ah Bryan, glad you could make it. We were just getting the pleasantries out of the way. Take a seat.”
Bryan takes a seat between the representatives from Varta and Haron.

“Now,” Wellesley continues, “when I called you all here the plan was to discuss the emergence of various trade parties throughout the region. You all know the ones I’m talking about, the ones that came to us with promises of growth, prosperity and a secure future then actually kept their promise.”

“Independent trade company 22780.” The Vartan representative smiled.

“We’ve all got them registered under different numbers but we all know when we’re dealing with them, the connections are undeniable. Yes, we’re talking about the so called ‘independent traders’ but given recent events we’re going to be discussing them in a slightly different context to what I had originally planned.
We all know there’s going to be a war. The Corsair Republic is on the expanse and I’m sure by now you’re all aware of the shooting that took place between the Commonwealth warship and the Cornerian space station. War could spill out in any direction. We need to take a good look at our current situation and plan for the worst. I think we should consider the possibility of pooling our resources and using them to generate a force we can use to defend our systems from incursion.”

There’s chatter among the other representatives. “That’s crazy. Suppose we managed to form a militia. If someone really wanted to attack us that badly would that really stop them?”
“No,” Wellesley replied. “it won’t. If this goes ahead I don’t want there to be any illusions about our probable capabilities. We won’t have the capacity to repel a full scale invasion and it is unlikely we’ll ever have that kind of capacity. At this stage our goal is to make any potential incursion costly and inconvenient. We already have one element on our side and that’s because our colonies are small and our placement scattered, the benefits from invading us are limited. If we can field even a small group of combat capable ships it should be enough to ensure that incursions into this area won’t be worth anyone’s time.”

“Alright, so where do these conspirator benefactors of ours fit into that?”

“Well, if we’re going to pool our resources then we need to focus on exactly what those resources are, where they’re coming from and what else is available.”

“That’s a noble plan but given how little we know about them how do you intend to find all that out?” Asked the representative from Veristo.

“Simple. We’re going to ask them.” Wellesley taps the button next to his chair. “Send them in.”

The door opened and in steps the ‘independent trader’ known to his colleagues simply as ‘Jack’.
“Whoa.” Jack immediately stops dead in his tracks as Trista backs up right behind him, followed by Laremy.
“They’re all here.” Jack whispers to the pair behind him, noting the site of roughly thirty colonial officials sitting around the meeting table.
“Most of them anyway.” Trista whispers back.

“Oh, ‘ello everyone,” Laremy smiled with his usual charm in a way that anyone could mistake for pure naivety.

“Jack, Mr Laremy, Trista. I’m glad you could all make it. There’s something we need to discuss.”
Wellesley gave it to them straight. After presenting them all the information that the colonies had gathered on the trio it became apparent that the “independent trader” façade wasn’t going to fly anymore. The other representatives all gave their pieces; the questions that kept getting repeated were “Who are you?” and “Why are you helping us?”

After the group finished confronting the trio they each took a moment to compose their thoughts. Laremy eventually laughed out loud,
“Well the second one’s easy; the answer is because we can.”

There was whispering among the representatives.
“What? You do a nice thing for someone and they go get all suspicious on you, I dunno,” Laremy chuckled.

“Are you trying to tell us that supplying us with weapons to fend of pirates, giving us tools to help our crops grow, keep our machines running, keep our people healthy, this was all done just out of kindness? That’s mad.” Responded the Otarian rep.
“No it’s not.” Laremy dismissed.
The Otarian rep paused for a moment, “Yes it is.”
“Nah, trust me, it’s not.”
The Otarian rep shook his head, “Trust you? You’re trying to tell me that you’re selecting poor colonies at random and overhauling their infrastructure just because you’re a bunch of really great guys!”
“It’s not that ‘ard to comprehend is it? Just look at us, we’re obviously fantastic.” Laremy grinned,

“Bryan, you trusted my judgement didn’t you? Back at Poriatus you called me and asked me about the trade deal the hub was offering.”
“Umm...” Bryan thought for a moment, “yeah, that’s right. You told us all about dealing with interstellar traders, and how we should keep our options open. Your advice was always sound so I figured you’d give me an honest opinion.”
“I could have told you to tell them to piss off, but I didn’t. The second you told me what they were offering, I knew what was happening. Bryan, you know as well as I do that no interstellar trader worth their salt would trade in grain when there’s a million other currency markets out there. They were looking specially to undercut our prices, they’re probably as curious about us as you lot.”

“You let the Hub pick up the contract.” Spoke the representative from Eron.
“Of course we did. If we let the hub pick up the contract it means you guys get more stuff and the boss doesn’t wind up forking out for it. Of course we stuck around, had to make sure you lot had enough of a headstart so they you could compete against the bigger distributors without worry. They even offered to patrol your trade routes, we were going to do it ourselves but with them doing it, it meant we didn’t have to move our bigger ships around so much; made it way easier to keep them out of sight, but still within range if anything went wrong.”

“Exactly how many ships do you have?” Wellesley asked.

“Enough,” this time Jack responded, “That is enough to give anyone threatening your worlds a little scare. Defending against a full-scale invasion from a foreign power, that’s another story. It’s not so much the numbers as it is the logistics. Your colonies span over thousands of light-years, we simply can’t be everywhere and resupply would be awkward to say the least.”

“What about if our colonies were able to present a united front? Fuel your ships anywhere in the region, pool our resources with yours, start contributing ships and supplies?”

“It would be possible to set up some form of defence plan, yes. But be very careful where this line of reasoning takes you, if you all join together and start working as a cohesive entity then yes you will become stronger but you’ll also become more visible. You’d become a target to any rogue nation that noticed the cohesive infrastructure you’d need to form for it to work. I’m not saying don’t do it, but I am saying to carefully consider the risks.”

“We will Jack. I can guarantee that.” Wellesley responded. “If we asked you, would you be with us?”

“We’ll support whatever you decide.” Trista spoke. “That’s what we’re here for.”

Wellesley smiled, “I think we’re all going to need some time to confer. Before we do so however there is one last thing.” Wellesley paused. “You still haven’t told us who you are, or where you’re from.”

“That one’s a little more difficult to answer.” Replied Jack, “If we told you now, there’s a chance that you could all lose everything. I’m not willing to take that chance, not yet.”

“Then how about just a name, you don’t have to tell me what it means, where it’s located, what it’s resources are. Just a name, something that we can identify you people with.

The trio looked at each other. Trista gently nodded her head.

Jack faced Wellesley and the rest of the representatives. He spoke in a loud voice,
“New Eden.”

[Dahak]

Galactic News Network

The recent announcement of the Corsair Republic has caused debate throughout the galaxy and smaller nations in the western galaxy fear they might be next. Despite requests, the Corsair Republic has refused to give interviews.
In a surprising move, the Stuart Corporation, one of the other major powers in the western galaxy and member of a fledgling alliance there, has granted us an interview and allowed outsiders to enter one of the mysterious cities floating in the atmospheres of gas giants the Stuart Corporation calls home.

GNN: CEO Jocelyn Gladstone, thank you for this interview. It was a rather surprising decision.
Gladstone: Yes, Mr. Syler, we have been reclusive, mayber too reclusive, in the past. It is a leftover of our history, if you will. Having been isolated for the last three thousand years tends to form habits. We intend to change that in the future.
GNN: Reclusive, but not inactive. You have been in quite some affairs and maneuvres in this galaxy. Will we see a more active Corporation?
Gladstone: We don't suddenly dive headlong into it. But our interests shifts. The friendship with the Sabai is a fruitful one, the Blue Pointe Station project has benefited us greatly, and we are trying to bring our weight into this profect even more. The alliance, the pact, we have formed with the Corsair Republic and the Sabai is also a move to further stabilise this region of space.
GNN: The Corsair Republic, yes. You are of course aware of their recent expansion. What is your take on it?
Gladstone: As our partner, we support the Corsair's decision. In the unsecure times we live in, it is only fitting that the strong nations try to protect the weaker ones from pirates or other tragic events.
GNN: With this move, the Republic has violated some very old principles and treaties for the protection of pre-warp civilisations.
Gladstone: It is the easy road to step back and let those 'protected' nations strive and struggle, and possibly fail, to achieve their full potential, to be embraced by the galaxy. With the help of others, they won't suffer on their way.
GNN: But who is to say they won't be enslaved, or used by the more advanced, more powerful nation?
Gladstone: If we just watch and let it happen, aren't the deaths of people that could have been helped by more advanced nations more a reason to help? But it is also in the interest of those nations to make use of these pre-warp civilisations once they have reached a level of advancement. When one invests, one expects a return.
GNN: As an alliance partner, will the Corporation make expansionist steps, as well?
Gladstone: We always expand. But we make it slower, and it doesn't make head lines in the glactiv press. Mostly, because our need for rel estate greatly varies from those of most other nations. We will of course consult with our allies, but I can tell you, that we will protect fledgling nations in our vicinity from pirates or other sinister factions. It would only benefit ourself.
GNN: What do you...