"Sömuleiðis, liðsforingi." The old man returns, in passable, Hamburg-accented, Icelandic.





The man is old to exception. Like most Unioners, he carries the conventional adornment of subcutaneous cybernetics inplanted into his face – mostly functional quality of life improvements, radiation mitigation magnets and stimmers. Tanned hard by a spacer’s life under hard UV and a thing magnetosphere, he is the physical opposite of his counterpart in all traits except gravitas.


"Major Kreutzer."

He leans into his chair, without propping himself.

"Your men are welcome to board any southern Syndicliga bases, LWB or Unioner, of which you are aware in Rheinland’s south. There will be no resistance, if you do not give them cause to defend themselves. If you find Corsairs aboard the station you may dispose of them as you desire. The Corsairs have renged on our neutrality agreement and the status quo and plunged themselves into the Rheinland underworld. The history of Unioner co-operation with the Corsairs was always a simple one; we relayed artifacts to Liberty, in return, the Corsairs kept their influence outside of the Rhein restricted to Frankfurt and Munich only. the Animosity between former Arbeitsdirektor and Generalmajor Heinrich excepted and the resulting engagements within Dresden, that has forever remained the extent of Unioner Corsair alliegance. The black market is our territory, as piracy is yours. We used the weapons we had to keep the Corsairs out. There is no potential for further growth. Our culture has evolved around the design, construction, and sale, of engineering. The Corsairs refuse to use any ships or equipment other than their own. It is insulting, but we respect the customs of others till they interfere with ours. Anna Heinrich's administration discovered the same when she tried to strong-arm us into peace with the Bundschuh. We do not work for free. The Corsairs do. They have bonded themselves with the Gas Miners Guild, despite prior hostility and backing the Samura Keiretsu. They have gone to war with the memories of all of those who died during the eighty years war, not to mention the Arbeiters who have survived, outcast by their own state, by the Republic they implemented. If the Corsairs had realised they’d be trampling more than memories, perhaps they’d shown restraint. Of course, they did not, and here we are."

The slightest twinge of a grin materialises under the Unioner's heavy moustache.



"We do not work for any foreign Empire any more than we work for Heinrich. It is well documented that we are vassals of no-one, save the people, with, or without, the consent of our corrupt Republic. That idealists and conservatives took our sole agenda of returning Rheinland’s shipwrights and farmers to the quality of life we once enjoyed – to a time when socialism and the state existed side by side, Kaiser or not; there was no unemployment and the people were wealthy, healthy, alive. The whisper of the Unions shook the corporations till their ribs crawled through the soil we trod. There was no need for terrorism, piracy, smuggling. No need for gang warfare, when the courts would protect us all."

He blinks. A system projection map materialises, winking into the space between the camera and his face. A bent pyramid of Rheinland and its peripheral systems. The Unioner core systems; Bering, Hudson, Thuringia, Hamburg, Cologne, are showcased in Green. The LWB operations zones; Stuttgart, Omegas Seven, Two, and Fifty two, materialise in yellow. Peripheral systems such as Puerto Rico, Munich, Texas, materialise in Red.

"Our only base of operations in the south, factoring the incorporation of our Bewegung brothers and sisters, is Krefeld base, in northern Cologne." He gestures, the base's status and occupation information flashing onto the viewscreen. "It is deep within the west; our traditional territories, where our parents, through our descendants, have lived out their lives, free from the repression, and the slave markets, of the Globalists. They are secure and well protected, well-armed, well-provisioned. Many more Unionisten will join them, in due course. You know of this base – it once was a trading post. It still is. War changes economics, just as it changes all things."

He snaps the screen transparent with a clap of his hands.


"You are a soldier. You’re not here to listen to an old man such as me prate about history, or common causes, or what eroded link snapped what chain, but to carry out orders. I will be short - you may use your own discretion as to if you relay this to your comrades."




"Our peace with the Corsairs was one of counting what Iron we had to mold. You see, we do not physically crack the resources we depend upon from the stellar void, as the Hessians do. We make do with what we can salvage or buy. The fields in which we reside have no resources. Crete is barren, but it has steel to export. The Corsairs are no friend of the Rhein. Even the empire, Long before the time of the Hesse, knew so much. The split that started with the murder of the Schulman expedition, near five hundred years ago, has, and will, fester. But we are men of the Union. We live, we reside, in the Rhein, not the Omega cosmic creche, or the alien wastes of the Omicrons. When the Rhein returns to such places, we too, shall return. When the conflict between your people and the Corsairs began in earnest, we Unioners did not back one side or the other because it did not touch our borders. Corsairs, nor Hessians, threatened our people. We made a pact with both sides, to honour and protect our own, for the Rhein cannot do without advocacy, anymore than the miners revolt of Dresden could have survived your loss. This is why we funded the Hessians in your movement’s infancy, not that it inpacts present affairs.

Arbeitsdirektors Abendroth over twelve years ago, and Garen, nearly two years past, and their regimes, their backing of the Corsairs, are dead. They died with their beliefs, for their beliefs. New comrades are in power, captain. They have already altered the strategic field. We have sacrificed much to undermine the Corsairs, who have increasingly provoked both the Rhein and the Union, insulted our past, wounded our present, and threaten our future. The days of non-intervention are gone. We honour peace. Yet we will fight together."

He pulls up the starmap, thumbing open the Frankfurt system, noting station information over the last two years. To the surprise of the Hessians, the map is complete with both a Corsair and a Unioner facility, both previously undisclosed.


"The one Corsair permenant presence within the Rhein, in the Frankfurt system, has been overrun by the Bundschuh, after suddenly losing their supply chain. This is our doing. We were providing the Corsairs with logistics in the hope that they would use the resources to combat the Gas Mining Guild. Instead, they chose to back the Guild – a sworn enemy of the Rhein, of socialism, of the wealthfare state, and the cause of the Union’s exile. We avenged ourselves; There remain no more Corsair bases in the Rhein. Yet in return, we had to dissasemble our Speyer supply depot, in case they came looking for evidence. There is now no permanent Unioner presence in Frankfurt at all – a sacrifice we made, to stop the Corsairs. All without a shot. That is the Union way; labour deserves payment; we are no man’s slave. It will remain our way."

The bases wink out of existence as the starmap updates with the present months.



"The only assets in the Omega systems of Unioner design are refuelling points and picket cruisers, guarding Jumpholes against the MND and BDM. They are light, hidden, and mobile. They will take you intensive time and resources to destroy for zero strategic gain. Our men are equipped and trained to combat you. You will waste time and resources you can use against the Corsairs. We will waste time fighting against you instead of against the Corsairs. The exercise would be fruitless and only aid our enemies. I do not know if the Corsair legend of cannibalism is true, in its most physical sense. Yet they would like nothing more than to see Rheinlanders consuming Rheinlanders, Major Kreutzer."

The man rounds away, motioning as if to end the transmission. Mid-reach, he halts, hesitating, but there's no indecision in his eyes.

"We, too, believe that all debts must be repaid. It is what give us the faith to make this communication. Anna Heinrich’s squadron cast the first blow of the war, fired the first shot. Unioners use this as the rallying cry for vengeance, the first betrayal. Your own people view our now-dead trading pact with the Corsairs as a betrayal. Each act to right one another’s treachery, only to further each other’s crimes. We must trust one another. We must end the cycle before we become famed as cannibals ourselves."

He closes a mottled fist over the contours of his jacket, indicating his heart.

"Act in good faith, do what you came here to do, hunt the Corsairs only. Our debts are paid, Major. Are yours?"