"We're almost completely sure they're Kingdom-aligned, yes" Proconsul Tolchen told the voice on the other end of the scrabled hyperwave call "But they're not completely useless as far as our own aims are concerned, either – there's been… three?… yes, three times where they've been prepared to accept contracts to do work for us, no matter how much we'd have preferred they do so at other times as well in the past few cycles".
"That's unexepcted" the voice replied "Helpful, though. Our own intelligence in the Unaligned Worlds and the Uncharted Territories is spotty at best right now – if these Irregulars are prepared to help fill in the gaps in our coverage, we'll just have to accept that anything they find out will end up in the hands of the kinglovers' leadership as well as with us".

"We'll need to be extremely careful dealing with them" Proconsul Tolchen warned "especially that big one in charge. He thinks he's funny, he has a real attitude problem – but he takes his work seriously. The Sebaceans have been encouraging unrest among the unaligned worlds and the more unstable of those beholden to both us and the Nebari's Establishment – whether simply to attempt to increase their territory or for some other reason, I don't know".

"My own sources in military intelligence have had more luck than our Ministry operatives and the assets under their control" the voice replied "No one's got any hard proof… but it appears that some of the more influential Sebacean leadership consider these Irregulars to be just as much of a problem to them as we are. Probing independent worlds is likely to be more of a test for the Irregulars than it is for us".

Procnsul Tolchen snorted at that, after which he said "They have proven to be even more of a hindrance to Peacekeeper ambitions in these parts than they have to ours, that's true! Do you have any orders for me – in regards to the Irregulars or concerning other matters?"

"You know our general plans for your sector of space already, Proconsul" the voice replied "As for the Irregulars… watch, listen, but for now do nothing in regards to them unless it's clear that it will benefit us as much or more than it does them".