Chapter I

Rogue Traders. Free men who traveled wherever their whims took them. Champions of the unknown. Through sheer force of will these men conquered the stars.

"What load of shit," thought Captain Darus to himself as he examined glow of objects originating from the virtual image projector that had cast an encompassing pall over the dark and barren room. After forty years of exploring the vast space of the void, Darus knew the reality of a Rogue Trader was far removed from the fantasies spun by colonist around the warm pyre.

That reality was no more apparent than when he examined the map of the galaxy in front of him. A 3D interact able display, the visual spectacle had long lost its novelty to the veteran captain. Instead it had become a source of continuous consternation, a physical manifestation of the limits that chained his ship and crew to the cold ground of reality.

Walking through the display Darus tapped one of the floating orbs that represented the remote planet of Argos. A new light flickered on to his left as the wall sized display came to life and began transmitting information on the planet. Climate, population, natural resources, culture, and planetary history were all available, courtesy of the Administratum Informational Database or AID. The AID listed the planet as a peaceful Agri world. It also gave a list of planetary interests pertinent to Rogue Traders, such as a request for a survey mission to their nearby sister planet imaginatively dubbed Argos II.

This was interesting because Darus knew for a fact that the planet had been in a state of constant war for the better part of the last thirty years, as settlers on Argos warred with the colonist on Argos II for control of the system. They were not requesting a survey mission of their sister planet, a mission that had been accomplished almost a century ago. Instead they were seeking assistance by galactic authorities to destroy Argos II's populace.

That was the problem with the AID. For every one up to date and accurate data file there were dozens of files that had not been updated for decades, files that were recently updated but with intelligence centuries old, or just blatantly false information. Darus once ran across a data file that detailed a planet's primary export as rainbow magic and claimed the planet was populated by unicorns.

The AID was meant to serve as a galactic encyclopedia for Rogue Agents. The reality was a potential deathtrap. Just about every Rogue Trader in the galaxy was familiar with the tale of Pious Titulous. An entitled young man who had inherited control of his vessel from his father's hereditary Warrant of Trade, Pious first mission as a Rogue Trader had been to ship a company of soldiers halfway across the Eastern Fringe to a recently colonized border planet. The cost of transportation and the upkeep of the soldiers on his ship nearly bankrupted the young captain. When he arrived in orbit around the planet he was immediately set upon by a fleet of pirates who had been in control of the planet for nearly fifty years. Now completely bankrupt, his ships maimed, he practically crash landed on the nearest safe planet. It was the first and last time he would ever use the AID. Shortly thereafter he was summarily executed by the Inquisition for heresy. His crime was the theft of war resources in an attempt to sabotage the Imperium of Man.

Darus snorted remembering the tale. That was Imperial bureaucracy for you. Darus quickly snapped his hands together, closing the planetary file, and then tapped another floating orb.

The wall screen quickly lit up again, but this time the information came from a different source. Local Information Networks or LIN's were the real intelligence of Rogue Traders. As their name suggested these informational databases were far smaller in scope. But the information they contained was far more accurate and recent. It was from these databases that Rogue Agents dictated where and what they would do.

But LIN's were far from perfect. First, the databases were only located on select planets which meant Rogue Traders were forced to visit specific systems. The cost of travelling to this system and uploading its LIN had already wormed a deep hole into his treasury.

The second issue was how many LIN's were restricted. Knowledge was power and so Rogue Traders and data dealers had developed a monopoly on many LIN's. And even if one was given access to a LIN it did not mean that the Rogue Trader was given access to ALL of the LIN which could leave out crucial information or potential jobs.

It was just one of the many thousand ways that the life of a Rogue Trader failed to live up to its fantasy.

Darus scanned the potential list of interests. This particular LIN was located on the planet Chassis. The planet was renowned for its planetary defense force. The planet possessed a Writ of Arms from the Administratum that allowed it access to advanced war technologies. They did not possess any Warp-capable warships but they did possess a large flotilla of ships with powerful anti-orbital capabilities and a space port with extensive defenses. The planet was virtually impervious to pirates and held a firm monopoly on space travel in the system. As a result most interests dealt with out of system jobs. Supply shipments to planets outside the range of the PDF patrols that could be susceptible to attacks. Surveyor missions into the nearby Galalin system. Requests for setting up new mining installations in the Kole system.

Darus shook his head. None of these would work. He continued to flit through the files before finding one that stood out to him. Specifically the commission of 500,000 credits. The Chassis planetary governor needed an escort for an ambassador to colonists in the Galalin system. Easy enough. His eyes continued to scan until he found it – the catch. The colonists were located in a system rife with pirate activity. Suddenly the reward became more credible. The planetary governor needed two things. A warp-capable craft and ship capable of taking on pirates with little risk. Vessels that met such a bill were few and far between but his ship the Fidelis was more than up to task.

Concluding his search, Darus quickly moved to deactivate the projector in the center of the room. Darkness once again descended upon the chamber as he moved toward the exit. He had his next mission.