Once again, armed members of the Nine Tails have managed to seize sections of Crusader’s floating city and turn some of the very systems designed to protect it against those attempting to retake it.
Under the command of Mendo Ren, Nine Tails forces have occupied key platforms around Orison, established defensive positions, and compromised local Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) systems. These IFF inverters effectively turn the area’s defensive network against legitimate security forces, restricting friendly air access while allowing Nine Tails forces freedom of movement.
The result is an extraordinary situation: one of Stanton’s most prominent population and commercial centers has once again been forced to rely on outside assistance to restore order. Crusader Security has been unable to resolve the crisis alone. Once more, Crusader is reliant on outside help, which it has called upon to clear the occupied platforms, dismantle Nine Tails defenses, and ultimately remove Ren and his commanders. This certainly is not the first time this has happened—and most likely won’t be the last.
Who are the Nine Tails?
It would be a mistake to dismiss the Nine Tails as just another collection of poorly organized pirates. Their history suggests precisely the opposite.
The organization first gained widespread notoriety following a brutal attack on Terra in 2938 that left dozens of law-enforcement officers dead. Since then, their operations have expanded considerably. In Stanton, they established themselves around GrimHEX and have repeatedly demonstrated an ability to coordinate large groups, disrupt infrastructure, and directly confront legitimate authorities.
Their methods are deliberately theatrical. Nine Tails violence is not simply a means of stealing cargo or earning credits. Their attacks demonstrate that established authorities can be challenged, embarrassed, and displaced. Every security force they overwhelm strengthens that message. And few targets deliver that message quite as effectively as Orison.
Crusader’s Security Problem Is Becoming Difficult to Ignore
This is not Orison’s first encounter with the Nine Tails. The earlier Siege of Orison followed remarkably similar circumstances: Nine Tails forces seized platforms belonging to Crusader, compromised their defensive systems, and forced Crusader Security to depend on the CDF to reclaim them.
Years later, Orison finds itself confronting the same enemy—and many of the same vulnerabilities. It comes as no surprise that even the UEE thinks Crusader is severely lacking in its enforcement of the law. Generally, all the megacorporations in Stanton—with the exception of Hurston—have already been scrutinized for their lack of commitment to security.
On top of that, the UEE has made it clear that it neither has the resources nor the desire to police the Stanton System. The Navy is currently far more heavily involved in the Vanduul War to have spare resources to fight criminals and pirates for extremely wealthy megacorporations.
And yet, Crusader Industries has shined for decades as a beacon of humanitarian efforts and aid—one of the few megacorporations that seemed to genuinely care. Its founder, August Dunlow, was a fervent anti-Messer political activist who ensured that the company he built would always donate a portion of its profits to charity.
This explains why Crusader is perhaps less militarily focused than other companies like Hurston Dynamics. While Crusader does build military-minded aircraft—bombers, heavy fighters—its weapons are often still manufactured by others, and the backbone of its fleet still consists more of logistical support ships and, of course, commercial vessels like its highly popular Genesis Starliner.
One could say that Crusader is an optimistic company, investing more in its people, charities, and the future. From the start, it was Dunlow’s goal to make a profit to fund charitable causes—likely those that helped victims of the oppressive Messer regime, and perhaps even those that aided its downfall.
And yet, Crusader is failing. A company that has garnered an image as a charitable organization has become a laughingstock—a company unable to properly administer its own security, letting criminals take over entire stations nearby and being constantly outwitted and outgunned within its very own city in the clouds.
Many people are calling for Crusader to reduce its massive donations and instead increase its budget for its severely underfunded security. In fact, Crusader has even underreported crime in the past, hoping the problem would somehow go away. But it hasn’t—it has only grown worse.
Why Should the USC Care?
Orison may belong to Crusader Industries, but what happens there is not irrelevant to the Confederation.
The USC has developed a significant presence around Orison (it being the USC Stanton HQ) and has cultivated relationships with both the local community and representatives of Crusader Industries. Recent debates within the Senate—including the Stormwall Protection Act—demonstrate that Crusader is no longer merely another distant corporation or another destination on a star map. USC citizens live, work, trade, and operate in this area of Stanton. Its stability, therefore, affects us.
But there is a deeper reason the Siege should attract our attention. The parallels between Crusader and the USC are striking. Yes, one is a confederation and the other a megacorporation with ownership of an entire planet and its moon, yet both share the same philosophy and have undertaken similar actions in the past.
The USC itself began as a megacorporation, HAWK Industries, centuries ago. Like Crusader, HAWK Industries was in the business of ship construction, focused on giving the best service for a fair price. The company had existed even before the founding of the UEE and continued to operate within it for centuries.
It was during the dictatorial Messer Era that HAWK Industries slowly began to split away from the UEE. Like Crusader, HAWK was deeply opposed to the Messer regime, helping where it could and pushing back against its increasingly authoritarian rule.
This is where the stories of the two diverge. While Crusader Industries remained a megacorporation within the UEE, it continued to fund resistance efforts and charities. HAWK Industries, however, chose to break from the UEE entirely and form its own government: the United Space Confederation. Crusader, of course, never became its own nation with its own government, but it did purchase an entire gas giant with its many moons for its headquarters and production facilities—facilities that it must now secure and protect.
The similarities do not end there. Those familiar with USC history know that the UEE fully abandoned it during its greatest hour of need. Yes, the relationship between the USC and UEE had been strained from the start, but never one of war or outright hatred—especially after the fall of the Messer regime. And yet, when the Vanduul invaded the USC’s home system, the UEE simply stood by and watched as the USC lost its home and had to scramble to flee to Terra with whatever it could salvage.
Crusader now seems to be undergoing a similar fate. While Crusader is, of course, responsible for its own security, it is still located within the borders of the UEE, inside a system under its protection. And yet, Crusader is once more under heavy attack by a large, system-spanning criminal organization, and the UEE is nowhere to be found, insisting that Crusader is responsible and that the UEE will not intervene.
Orison Is Somebody Else’s City—Until It Isn’t
It would be easy to view the Siege as Crusader’s problem alone. But history rarely confines the consequences of instability to the people whose name is printed on the property deed.
The Nine Tails operate throughout Stanton. Criminal organizations learn from successful operations. Tactics that work once are repeated, refined, and eventually used elsewhere. Today, an IFF network on Orison was compromised. Tomorrow, it could be a cargo installation, a station, an outpost, or infrastructure relied upon by USC citizens.
Yes, Crusader is most definitely at fault for letting the Nine Tails fester around its holdings. Crusader must increase its security spending or, at the very least, rethink its security strategy for the foreseeable future.
But we cannot allow Crusader to fall entirely into the hands of the Nine Tails. And unlike the UEE, the USC is always there to help those in need. After all, we are Stronger Together, and we should always stand together, no matter what.
Sure, we may not be able to fully rid Stanton of the Nine Tails, but we can certainly help defend Orison and make it a safer place once more.
With that, we welcome the Navy’s initiative to dedicate an entire week of its tour of duty to helping the people of Orison— to reclaim their homes and restore safety to Crusader.
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