To: The Gaian Guard [The War Within]

Evening, Gaians. Ya'll don't know me, but I know you. Hell, do I know you. Name's Leo Harrington. I was a Fleet Captain in the Hellfire Legion for twenty years. I was there when Drake Thastus ordered us out into the independent worlds, I was there during the schism.. I've seen it all. Now most of these kids have forgotten about me, but I still carry a little bit of weight and I just might happen to know a thing or two about winning a fight. That's what I've been doing for twenty years and I'm still here, so I strongly suggest you hear me out.

The Legion ain't what it used to be. This.. this 'Commonwealth', these outsiders they're letting in.. this ain't what Thastus intended. So I retired. I've sat back, I watched and took it all in stride.. but now the mountainside view from my cabin is a strip mine. Now I'm talking to you, because I think you're the only people who have an idea of what that's like.

Now.. I know a place, an abandoned facility at the edge of Vespucci in the Veracruz field. Atacama, they called it. It's old, its rusty, but for the past month we've been piecing it back together. And now, we've found somethin'. A jump hole, leading to the Inverness system.

We're a hundred and fifty men strong. Two gunboats and a full wing of Prosecutors. We're willing to throw in with you entirely. Now I suggest you think strongly about what I'm offerin' here. This is a beachhead in Commonwealth space. This is how you hit them back for every mining op and tourist attraction they bring to Vespucci.

And one last thing.. this so called Lord Commander Locklear the Commonwealth voted in.. man's a puppet, plenty of Legionnaires wouldn't be sad to see him go, but I can do one better. He's out on a hunting trip right now on Guadalajara, on his side of the mountain, where there aren't any minin' operations... Man doesn't even know he's the one bein' hunted. Now I'm willin' to hand him over to you alive.. so long as you're willin' to let me do the honors.

So tell me.. do we have a deal?

Yeah, yeah.. s'pose I've got to throw you a bone first. Here, straight out of the so called Legionnaire's handbook they give out to every recruit that washes up on our doorstep. Detailed info is provided on the Legion's primary bases, the geography of Vespucci, and modus operandi. Should be very useful should decide to move on in and test the waters.

Legionnaires Handbook

(01-28-2015, 12:05 AM)Hellfire Legion Wrote:

[b]________Getting Started________

If you received this, congratulations, you have been accepted in the ranks of the Hellfire Legion. This is the pilot's handbook given to new recruits, spend some time reading it as it contains a lot of information that will prepare you of what lies ahead.

You are one of us now, it is your duty to become a useful asset that will help us attain our goals. In return, The Legion provides food, shelter and an almost-normal life within Vespucci. Your first objective is to study our assets, diplomatic agenda, our operations, and our goals.

________Master Yourself________

First things first, you need to learn about our home system before anything else.

Monterrey: The place you should be right now, a hollow planetoid, heavily shielded and modified to house a large number of people and manufacturing facilities that produce and maintain the Legion's fighters and other small crafts. It also has massive cargo storage to stockpile supplies for future use. Your squad leader has requested a Prosecutor or a Cutlass to be assigned to you along with the necessary equipment.

Dreadnought Ravager: The Cerberus of Vespucci, safeguards our home from invaders as well as provide the Sabre fighters as an alternative to the Prosecutor, should the pilot need it.

America Base: A station that serves as a trading hub of the Legion where allies and other sympathisers are able to sell, buy or donate resources, all imports and exports go through here and for this reason it is the HQ of the Logistics division.

Planet Guadalajara: A planet that has been settled by our colonists, they are consisted of liberated slaves, ex-military pilots that resigned, civilians, Xenos, refugees from Bretonia etc. Its primary defense is a jamming field to prevent enemy scans on the planet should an invader manage to slip in. A docking ring is in the plans for construction in the future.

Planet Iridescencia: A beautiful yet deadly planet that remained unexplored due to the harsh environmental conditions, stay away from it and the only reason for you to remember it is because of the Humboldt jumphole few clicks from it.

You are now well informed of your new home, Legionnaire.. almost. Due time you will learn of our greatest asset which is classified, prove yourself loyal to the Legion and you may find it one day.

The Hellfire Legion has two groups, the secondary which you belong, and the primary, their ships use the [HF] tag. They form the core of the Legion's fighting force, as well as handle diplomacy and governance of the Legion. You should never be afraid to contact them if you require assistance or have any questions. If you decide that the secondary group is not good enough for you, you may request a transfer in their ranks.

________Diplomatic Agenda & Contraband________

Now the most vital part, know who your friends and enemies are. By friends I mean the Mollys, a group based in Bretonia who we have deals of every kind, they are a good bunch. Our other friends are the Red Hessians in the Rheinland-Omega part of Sirius, and while we are separated by a long distance, we have a solid partnership. Our closest allies both in terms of distance and relations are the Xenos. We got each others' back and they are vital to ensuring the success of our operations in Liberty. Treasure them!

Now the other important part on our diplomatic agenda. If you see any ship belonging to the Liberty Navy, Security Force or Police and our latest addition the Gallic Royal Navy, you shoot it until it's dead. Your life depends on killing him before he kills you because they won't show you any mercy. The other parties you should be wary of are the Liberty Rogues, the Lane Hackers, the Outcasts, random pirates, bounty hunters and definitely the Junkers. They are all parasitic elements that mostly harm innocent civilians, something we do not condone and they should be shot on sight. We've added the Bounty Hunters in the parasitic category, as they prey upon organizations such as the Hellfire Legion, Blood Dragons, Hessians, and Mollies as well as simple pirates. Make them bleed.

Keep an eye on the cargo of all freighter and transport class ships, as Cardamine, Slaves, Artifacts, Nox, Synthetic Marijuana and Liquid Cardamine are considered contraband and should be destroyed. Except for the slaves, you free those.

________Operations________

Patrols in Liberty are staged from Ouray in the Colorado system, they are small and provide information before a large-scale operation takes place. These operations are usually a mixed Xeno-Hellfire battlegroup lead by their respected leaders and usually end up in chaos. You should avoid partaking in one if you do not have confidence in your skills.

Other operations are often organized in the California, Cortez and Humboldt systems, which mostly have to do with Rogue cleansing, slave liberation and purgification of their slavers who are mostly Rogues and cardamine shipment interception.

Remember! Our top priority during an operation is the safekeeping of the civilians, give them a helping hand whenever you can by escorting them to their destination, but you should not move yourself too far from our influence. As a rule of thumb, once they leave Liberty's border worlds they're on their own.

________End of Introduction________

As for the minin' ops, I honestly can't say. I do know that things are gonna get a whole lot worse once DSE rolls in and starts doing their thing. Shame about the cabin, but I'll just have to move on.

Oh, and one last thing.. we've got somebody very special waitin' for you at Atacama. The jump hole is located near planet Elgin in Inverness. We'll be waitin' for you on the other side.