As some of you may or may not know, Director of Operations Liam Adama is taking a short break from the day-to-day management of Bowex due to medical reasons. He'll be back soon enough. As an interim measure, I am being appointed as the Acting-Director of Operations. Usually the Board of Directors will leave the Firm to its own devices and appoint a DO from within your ranks. This time, we saw fit to take a direct hand in events ourselves.

Until Sir Adama returns, I shall be acting in his stead, ensuring the Firm's managers are working to a sufficient level of competence and efficiency. In turn, they will be monitoring junior staff for the same qualities. Incompetence or lacklustre effort on any tier of the Firm's hierarchy will result in extremely adverse consequences for the employee in question. Consequences that may well be terminal to said employee's career.

For those of you who do not know of me, I served for 16 highly decorated years in Her Majesty's Armed Forces. I was honourably discharged at the rank of Captain, after my wing was shot down by a massed Molly ambush. I lost my hand, forcing my retirement. I briefly served one term as a New London Royalist MP in the Commons, before finding employment in the Ministry of Trade and Industry. I have since been knighted for my efforts to the realm. After a further 10 years of service, I was appointed to the Bowex Board of Directors as a senior industrial overseer.

For those who are wondering, my hand was augmented. Replaced. I'll be running this corporation with an iron fist, and woe betide any of you who refuse to fall in line. In the space between Sir Adama's departure for respite leave and my appointment, things have grown lax. That changes now.

Managers with queries may forward them to my office. Employees with queries may forward them to their managers. Division Directors and Managers, I expect to see you personally as soon as humanly possible.

Me? I didn't do anything to him. Why would I? Besides, this guy looks like an utter berk.

Wait... Can the DO read our InfoNet private memos?

Recent intel we've acquired has given us a location of a rather important commodity: Iridium. For some time, the Board of Directors and Mr Cromwell have been interested in finding a supply of this vital resource. Now we've discovered a station selling the stuff in bulk, we want to investigate. Shortly, we will be dispatching a convoy to the Omicron Delta system, for a reconnaissance in force. The Clydesdale Brigade will be heavily utilised, alongside the services of a single transport. I'll be coordinating the mission from the cockpit of the BES Aird, one of Services' repair ships.

Our destination is Freeport 11 in Omicron Delta. This is a Zoner installation at the very edge of explored space. We're not sure where the source of their Iridium is; it may be mined from a free-floating asteroid field, or perhaps a nearby planet. That's one of our aims - to discover where the stuff is coming from and how much of it they have. Beyond that, we'll be buying as much refined Iridium as we can hold, then transporting it back to Scarborough Shipyard in Newcastle. From what our agent reported, we can expect heavy resistance from Corsair pirates, should we be discovered. Consequently, we'll be making sure we aren't. I want this to be inconspicuous, not a fire-fight.

Due to the danger of this run, the pathfinder convoy is purely voluntary. Captains and crews who participate will receive a hefty ExSec bonus for their troubles. This operation itself will be happening within the next week.