MEET OUR STORYCAST

Since the conception of TITAN Contractors' Internal Affairs service, prominent characters in the story, introduced through the articles and other events, were usually faceless, only represented through the articles themselves. This changed with our storycast document, which adds an extensive list of characters important to the lore of TITAN Contractors.


Each prominent story character has been given a face, with their own personalised ID card giving you an insight into them as a person, with a small background to accompany their card. There is also a factions section to give you an insight into the most prominent story factions in our narrative.


Go ahead, and Meet Our Storycast and Factions, who enrich our stories with their diversity.

SQUADRON COMMANDER : AURORA ADAIR

Once a private security guard for an independent mining company, Aurora Adair worked for TITAN Contractors' Centurion SF as a combat specialist. Her initial entry into the squadron was fairly turbulent - a testament to her perseverance. Her family that lives in Sol aboard the Li Qing Jao starport was almost killed by the historic Nine Martyrs attack while TITAN Contractors was carrying out counter-NMLA operations.

On another occasion, Aurora was ejected out of an emergency airlock aboard the Solaris fleet carrier into space, and was narrowly rescued by BLUSTAR Operations. In spite of these cascading events during her employment, Aurora has stood undeterred, and made a name, albeit a small one at the time, in the squadron. Over time, her involvement in CSF operations aboard the carrier - namely protecting it from EMBER's attacks - increased, and, while she was still just a specialist, Aurora continued to set her sights on other goals.

On the 10th of July 3307, the Squadron Commander of TITAN Contractors at the time, Quinton Marshall, was killed in a terrorist attack performed by EMBER - a terrorist group focused on striking TITAN assets, with an assumed goal of capturing the T.O.C. Solaris fleet carrier. A compact explosive detonated aboard his personal ship, killing him immediately. The incident shocked the squadron and destabilised operations, but Aurora - determined to find a way to have more freedom to help the squadron - considered applying for a Pilots' Federation Commander license. While she did not have experience flying and operating ships, a Captain from CSF Eclipse assisted her journey and, with the help of the flight simulator, Aurora was ready to apply as an independent Commander.

During her application, an encrypted will written by Quinton Marshall was discovered in his quarters. After some debate, independent Commanders assisted Mantis Analytics in decrypting the will. Contained within were the instructions on how to perform the immediate legal transfer of all his personal assets to one individual of his choice - Aurora Adair. This shook things up, with many crew citing Aurora as too young and naive for such a position, while others wholeheartedly approved of her leadership. Regardless, Aurora soon came to be highly respected by the squadron thanks to her commitment, determination and skill.

Despite many mistakes, revelations and troubles throughout her journey as a Commander, there is no changing the fact that Aurora has stood her ground and taken an immense responsibility upon herself - one that she still isn't quite sure how to handle. 

Aurora is married to her significant other - Commander Isabella Levine.

You can read Aurora's full biography here. 

COMMANDER : ISABELLA LEVINE

Born in the system of Ekono as an Imperial citizen, Commander Isabella Levine is an independent Commander apart of TITAN, and is married to Squadron Commander Aurora Adair.

Thrown into the turbulent events that followed the squadron in 3307, Commander Levine's skillset has allowed her to prove herself as a welcome addition to the squadron and its roster of Commanders. Her most notable operations include rescuing SC Adair in October 3307 from a Thargoid surface site, partaking in a Centurion SF raid on a settlement controlled by the squadron's enemies, and joining the fight against the EMBER Syndicate - to name a few.

Prior to joining TITAN, her area of expertise revolved around mercenary work or freelancing numerous different contracts, but also deep-space exploration as somewhat of a hobby. Unfortunately, when she later joined TITAN and began to assist its operations, a job gone wrong followed her and drew the attention of Imperial security forces. 

The squadron has, as a result, utilized its resources to prevent and rescue Commander Levine from being falsely framed and arrested by the Imperial Internal Security Service as a terrorist, due to a complicated hauling operation which unknowingly led to her transporting supplies for a Neo-Marlinist Liberation Army cell. The squadron's interference ended up exposing a rogue IISS agent's personal vendetta against Commander Levine's family, and led to her being exonerated - albeit her Imperial citizenship was revoked. 

Regardless, before becoming a Commander, much of her skillset stemmed from a young age, ultimately caused by her father's pressure to join the Imperial Navy. Her parents - Karl and Ava Levine - both held fairly prominent positions within the Empire. Her father captained an Majestic-Class Interdictor, a capital-class vessel sported by the Empire's military. Being so strongly loyal to his superpower, Karl was determined to make his daughter follow in his footsteps - pushing her to the 'best, most perfect and proficient version of herself'.

However, Isabella cared little for Imperial politics, cultures, ceremonies, and the society it bred, and in actuality, saw little of her parents. Instead, her caretaker - an Imperial slave as per tradition - was practically the only 'parental figure' she knew. Her father, in the rare times they could spend time together, would instead have her undertake training, or impress long lectures upon her. While this had its special bonding moments, Isabella ultimately had little contact with her parents.

Her mother - an Imperial Senator - was around even less, and practically never showed up to many functions. At the time, her father never elaborated on the reasons why, but that was something Isabella would learn much later on. Into adolescence, her father soon made her undergo professional combat lessons from a naval trainer, which included hand-to-hand combat and accuracy training. This clashed with her rebellious nature, as Isabella loathed the idea of servitude in the Empire, but she pushed forward in order to make her father proud.

By the age of 14, Isabella could adequately defend herself in hand-to-hand combat, and by 15 could accurately shoot a firearm. Upon entering early adulthood at 20, the pressure in which to join the navy amplified by her father, and after reluctantly accepting, Isabella joined the local Imperial Navy forces of Ekono. Although she quickly resented it, she learnt how to pilot an Imperial Eagle, and soon became a rather proficient pilot. Noted by her superiors, she soon was promoted to the pilot of a Vulture, in which she was assigned a co-pilot. But, her resentment for the Empire and what had been forced upon her grew, resulting in her increasing disobedience.

Despite her efforts to force her superiors to discharge her from the Navy - going as far as to unprofessionally fraternize with her assigned co-pilot - her father's status and influence was able to maintain her in the Navy. This led to frequent disagreements between the two, a much more disgruntled Isabella, and a slowly fracturing familial relationship. Unable to handle serving the Empire any more, Isabella went against her father's wishes directly, and dropped out of the Imperial Navy at the age of 23.

Directly after effectively cutting those ties, she turned her focus to the Pilots' Federation, seeking to become an independent Commander - something she already had her eyes on for a significant amount of time. Her training and qualification was swift, and before Isabella knew it - she had officially become a Pilots' Federation Commander. Her adventures began here, leading her to numerous frontiers across the galaxy, going as far as partaking in the Distant Worlds 2 expedition which journeyed across the Milky Way.

Unfortunately, becoming a Commander also marked a rough chapter of her life. Midway through 3307, Isabella discovered that, rather than being conceived naturally, she was artificially gestated in an exo-womb by her father and genetically manipulated prior to her birth. This fractured the marriage between Karl and Ava, as Isabella's mother was revealed to be incapable of having children. Being so fiercely loyal to the Empire, Karl saw this as a disgrace, but still wished for them to have a child of their own.

By birthing Isabella via artificial means, Karl reportedly saw an 'opportunity' in which to genetically manipulate her as well, ensuring enhanced genes that included discrete augments. It was supposedly hoped by her father that, by ensuring Isabella was 'perfect', she would marry into a wealthy Imperial family, and go on to continue the 'Levine legacy'. Naturally, this news was rather distressful to Isabella, as it went against her every expectation.

Unfortunately, this distress led to mistakes, and with her involvement in the moral grey world of mercenary work and freelancing, Isabella took a job that unknowingly assisted a Neo-Marlinist Liberation Army cell. This led to her arrest, and a suspension of her Commander license, but with the little proof against her, she was later released. Desperate to cut ties with what she had been tricked into doing, Isabella moved on and was once again caught in the midst of another incident.

Dragged into a faction dispute, Isabella was contracted to eliminate a group of scavengers who had garrisoned a company settlement. Undertaking the job in a desperate need to clear her head, she suddenly learnt that several details were being hidden from her. Although the scavengers were present and hostile, she stumbled across a young teenager by the name of Violet Watkins, who hid within an industrial building containing massacred civilians. Violet revealed that her father had been killed, along with the other industrial workers, after a mistake led to the local company murdering civilians in an attempt to cover it up. With no remaining family, Isabella took Violet under her wing and went up against the force of the company she had been hired by. Ultimately, despite the risks and difficulties involved, the two were able to expose the company, and what they tried to do.

This turbulent history culminated into Isabella's realization of her loneliness, and how she had figured she became something worse than what her father intended. Although no elaboration was given, it was clear many other jobs prefaced Styx, all forcing her to question her morals. After sending Violet off to school and paying for her education, Isabella moved to seek something bigger, and a place in which she could start anew. With the active recruitment running at the time, this swiftly led to her stumbling upon TITAN Contractors.

Although her new start in TITAN was far from peaceful, her close support of the squadron led to her meeting Commander Aurora Adair, who had just been promoted to the position of Squadron Commander. Throughout TITAN's hardships, and the significant loss faced, the two managed to maintain a close friendship, sparked by their dynamic nature together, and the operations they had undertaken alongside the squadron to expose a dark enemy. 

This friendship bloomed into a relationship after one month, which began on the 20th of December 3307, and evolved further into the duo being officially engaged. Despite the numerous struggles, obstacles faced, and revelations made along the way, Isabella and Aurora have remained as close as ever, committed to the squadron and each other. They are now happily married, and still maintain contact and guardianship over Violet Watkins.

CHIEF OF OPERATIONS : AVERY RAMIREZ

The Chief of Operations aboard the Solaris, Avery Ramirez is the public figure of the Operations Crew, and chiefly responsible for making the ultimate decisions of the squadron, alongside Squadron Commander Adair.

Born an Imperial in the Cemeiss system, Avery's efficient and organised way of managing complicated tasks makes her proficient at her job, and a perfect fit for TITAN Contractors. Her fortitude has allowed her to mostly maintain a clear head in the face of danger - one prime example being the time when the squadron was plagued by terrorist attacks - and above all, she has constantly prioritised the safety of the squadron, its Commanders and its crew. 

On the 3rd of June 3308, Avery was present aboard the T.O.C. Solaris Q4V-40N during its most catastrophic disaster yet - caused by the EMBER Syndicate. Sustaining significant injuries as a result of a failed carrier jump, Avery was later evacuated to another squadron carrier, the T.O.C. Mortal Dictata H1X-NTW, within TITAN for treatment. However, in an effort to effectively sever the squadron's command structure, several EMBER mercenaries stormed the Mortal Dictata on 30th of June, managing to assassinate several members of the operations crew. Avery was one of the two survivors of the original operations crew, and carries a scar across her face as a reminder of TITAN's history - as well as their perseverance and bravery.

CHIEF OF RESEARCH & STRATEGY: ELLIOT GODDARD

Previously apart of an independent Federal-based intelligence company, CORS Elliot Goddard, is the leader of Mantis Analytics. Taking great pride in his work for TITAN, Elliot and his team do their best to ensure that the squadron receives the best security and network services it can, as well as further research and strategy.

Mantis, under command of Elliot Goddard, is responsible for assisting almost all squadron operation decisions. Liaising closely with Avery Ramirez, Mantis retrieves all the information TITAN could need to make the right decisions in the field.

On the 3rd of June 3308, Elliot was present aboard the T.O.C. Solaris Q4V-40N during its most catastrophic disaster yet - caused by the EMBER Syndicate. Sustaining fairly severe injuries as a result of a failed carrier jump, he was later evacuated to another squadron carrier, the T.O.C. Mortal Dictata H1X-NTW, for treatment. However, in an effort to effectively sever the squadron's command structure, several EMBER mercenaries stormed the Mortal Dictata on 30th of June, managing to assassinate several members of the operations crew. Elliot luckily did not succumb to the attack, but is now only one of the two survivors of the original operations crew.

CHIEF OF SECURITY : JAIDEN STAFFORD

Born an Alliance citizen in the system of Gateway, Jaiden Andrews Stafford displayed an investigative prowess at a young age - mostly owed to his father being an Alliance Interpol officer. Many qualities of his father were impressed upon him, which quickly led to Jaiden studying to become an Interpol officer when he became a teenager. Before he could apply to the academy, however, his father was killed in action during a deadly Interpol raid on a high security pirate stronghold.

This only fuelled a desire to do right by his father, and - against his mothers wishes - Jaiden Stafford applied and successfully became an Interpol officer. For several years, he worked hard to serve his father's legacy, and did so successfully. Jaiden has solved dozens of cases and apprehended many more criminals in his time, and a fulfilling career eventually led him to retire and settle down with his wife - moving to his father's birth system of Diso.

However, Jaiden struggled to shake off ties to his old job - his expertise making him suitable for private investigations or mercenary work. For some time, Stafford worked as a part-time 'mercenary', usually for private clients who needed closure from dismissed court cases. However, with one bad job almost landing Jaiden in hot water, his wife implored him to seek a more stable outlet for his skill. This led him to apply for a security position in TITAN Contractors, who at the time were hiring new personnel.

His expertise proved valuable to TITAN, and eventually resulted in the formation of the 'Peacekeepers', an elite branch of the Solaris carrier security teams, mostly comprised of ex-military and well-trained security personnel - who operate in an independent fashion to ensure no one in the squadron is exempt from the law.

Unfortunately, with a large part of the Peacekeeper agency present aboard the T.O.C. Solaris, many Peacekeeper officers were killed during the squadron's conflict against EMBER. Following the resolution of the conflict and the squadron's subsequent victory, numerous vacant spots remained in the operations crew. Despite the risk to his personal life and the harsh decisions faced throughout his employment with the squadron, Stafford volunteered to step up as Chief Of Security for TITAN, leaving his role of Chief Peacekeeper to his direct subordinate - Chief Profiler Lauren Dawson.

CHIEF OF MEDICAL : NOVA WYNTER

Nova Wynter was born in the Urcia system to a fairly rich Imperial family, but raised by an indentured caretaker. With her family's status in the local Senate, she hardly saw her parents, and remained in the shadow of her older sister. However, the expectation of Nova rising to honour within her family was clear - supposedly including a planned marriage to a wealthy competitor of the Wynter family. However, this expectation was but a falsehood.

With Nova's sister surpassing her by the standards of their parents, Nova was quickly shunned and effectively disowned by her own family. At the age of 19, she was quickly overwhelmed by exorbitant costs placed upon her by her parents, and was practically forced to pay rent and other living expenses - way beyond any combined cost. Unsure of how to handle the situation, she gave in to her parents and utilized her savings to afford the new costs placed upon her.

From her interview account, the final straw was her overhearing a conversation between her parents, which revealed that she was considered a 'disgrace', and that her parents never intended to birth her in actuality. Overwhelmed by the revelation, Nova packed what little belongings she had and fled aboard a cargo shuttle as a stowaway. The journey soon took her to an impoverished, independent system, where she was forced to live in less than ideal conditions for two years.

The system - one of many forgotten backwater locations - had been exploited by the Empire to mass-produce refined metals obtained from strip mining. The work was extremely hazardous with proper equipment lacking, and with the poor conditions, many miners and refinery operators succumbed to various diseases or injuries. At first, Nova made a point of keeping to herself, but the injustice of the situation inspired her to eventually act. Scrounging together medical supply kits that she stole from local security stations, Nova utilized a jailbroken tablet and what little knowledge she could gather to help treat the injured personnel.

The beginnings of this endeavour were small at first, but soon Nova had started what was effectively a small clinic, capable of treating the mild and severe injuries sustained by the miners. This slow rise to fame earned her a small name in the system, and soon she was able to convince a Hauler pilot to provide her a small, but steady supply of medical equipment with the few credits she was able to scrounge together. The clinic continued for a while, but the system was soon seized by an independent faction once more. After a surprisingly short conflict, local Imperial forces simply yielded control.

From there, conditions aboard the starport - and throughout the system as a whole - dramatically improved. Nova's clinic was quickly noticed by the system's new leaders, and rather than suppressing it and arresting her for stealing supplies, she was funded directly to run a local medical care center. Nova received proper training from external advisors, and the funds from her new benefactors quickly accelerated the growth of her new care center.

Eventually, in search of a new beginning, Nova relinquished control of her care center to a good friend of hers, and with the significant credits she had amassed, went on to start a new life. Her search for a new endeavour landed her a recruitment spot in TITAN Contractors after spotting an advertisement for the newly opened BLUSTAR Operations division. First starting out as a medical consultant and nurse, later events in the squadron - albeit turbulent and hazardous - accelerated Nova's progress to medical officer.

Following several major attacks on the squadron, including the death of almost the entire original operations crew, Nova's skills were once again put to the test. Her previous expertise and steady control over situations led her to swiftly become a suitable candidate for the squadron's Chief Of Medical position - left vacant after the squadron's successful victory against the EMBER Syndicate. Now, Nova Wynter leads the BLUSTAR Operations division, linking it with the rest of the squadron and the skilled medical team aboard the T.O.C. Solaris.

CHIEF OF ENGINEERING : DEMI AZURE

Born an orphan in the Losna system, Demi Azure knew little to nothing of her biological parents. Rather, her entire childhood was spent in the home of a supposed family friend. Considering this, there was little wish for her to seek more information, already comfortable with the living she had been provided with.

While her adoptive parents could not afford any official education, they ran a ship maintenance and upgrades business - overhauling and repairing spacefaring vessels. Exposed to the ways of mechanical engineering from an early age, it was inevitable for Demi to quickly fall into the business of repairing and maintaining spaceships upon becoming a teenager. Although she was not interested in piloting or space travel exactly, her fascination with the intricacies of the ships she worked on daily only grew.

Soon, she was somewhat of a prodigy among the mechanical business her adoptive family ran. Quick with her hands and quite knowledgeable even at such a young age, Demi continued to work at the family business into her young adulthood. As the business grew, so did its operations. With this new expansion, an opportunity for zero-g salvage operations was quick to land in her lap. Receiving a short training course, Demi moved on to become a zero-g salvager, cracking open space debris and derelict vessels for whatever valuables might hide within.

Although salvaging had its risks and fair share of disturbing sights within long abandoned vessels, it ultimately sparked Demi's dormant fascination with space. Short salvage operations would turn into hour-long stargazing opportunities, floating there in the dark void. For many, being inches away from the cold vacuum in an enclosed suit was terrifying, but for Demi, it was electrifying and incredible... much to the annoyance of her mission partner.

Each conversation brought up about it grew her yearn for something more, and in her late 20's, there was little holding her back anymore. Inspired in a conversation by her salvaging partner, Demi soon quit her job at her family business, and waved goodbye to the previous chapter of her life. Looking forward to new horizons, her searching soon brought her to TITAN Contractors, which was actively seeking to grow its operations.

By joining very early on, Demi became a maintenance crew member of the Solaris, working on repairing and maintaining ships. The work involved a much larger selection of challenging, complex vehicles ranging from dozens of different mission types. Rather than civilian ships, her and her crew tackled military vessels operated by TITAN and its Commanders. The work was exhilarating, and her existing expertise soon accelerated her to the position of lead engineer aboard the Solaris.

Accepting the risks that came with the job, Demi has worked tirelessly to ensure the squadron's vessels and its flagship carrier run at full capacity. During the lethal conflict against EMBER, Demi was one of the few survivors from the failed carrier jump aboard the T.O.C. Solaris Q4V-40N. With the loss of much of the squadron's engineering crew, Demi's skills were put to the most extreme of tests - bring the T.O.C. Solaris and its crew home.

Organizing a repair initiative, Demi's coordination rallied together what crew remained, and called upon Commanders to deliver supplies crucial to repairing the T.O.C. Solaris. The initiative was a complete success, and her efforts ensured that the squadron's flagship returned home safely. Despite all odds being against her and her crew, Demi rose to the challenge and embodied the very spirit of TITAN. Following the squadron's victory against EMBER, Demi's hard work and perseverance did not go unnoticed. She was shortly promoted to Chief Of Engineering after the end of the conflict, and goes on to oversee engineering, maintenance and operations aboard the T.O.C. Solaris, and across the squadron.

CHIEF OF SPECIAL OPERATIONS : MEDDLEY FAUST

Born in the system of Ausci, Meddley Faust was raised within the shelter of a criminal gang. His parents reportedly served the local mafia, running data courier and cargo transport jobs. From an early age, Faust's role in serving the mafia was practically predetermined, and when he was to grow older, he would serve the mafia's more 'involved' operations.

His parents were quick to disagree, and attempted to make arrangements to prevent this from happening. However, they were exposed, ultimately betrayed by a close family friend who they thought they could trust. In exchange for payment, the plan of Faust's parents were revealed to the mafia's top brass. Already stretched thin due to the pressure from local security forces, this angered the very leaders of the mafia, who believed that Faust's parents may have been complicit with system authorities and were trying to prevent them from growing their manpower.

Although not elaborated on during his interview, Meddley simply stated that from that point onwards, his parents quietly 'disappeared', and he was left in the custody of the mafia. Upon becoming a teenager, he was trained how to shoot, hack and evade system security forces. Knowing no different, he obliged and continued to serve the mafia, from wetwork operations to snatch and grabs. While he did not elaborate on the exact number of individuals killed, or what he was brought to do in the mafia, his time soon came to an end when he was arrested in 3289.

Sentenced to eight years in prison, Faust served the full length of his sentence until his release in 3297. By that time, the mafia - having been diminished by OMNIPOL - was completely dismantled, and his criminal record complicated being hired for any potential jobs. With what little credits he could scrape together, Faust instead worked to put his life back together, working menial jobs that were slightly accelerated by the expertise his time in the mafia had given him.

By the end of 3298, he had secured a comfortable position far from his old life, and soon turned his sights on joining a private security group. High-stakes security jobs in distant systems were one way for an employer to turn a blind eye to one's past, and so Faust joined a roaming band of mercenary contractors called 'HAZSEC'. Focused on primarily ground operations, HAZSEC secured abandoned military installations, frontier settlements and scavenged industrial sites - essentially whatever was required by their client.

With his previous expertise, Faust's time in HAZSEC was spent mostly on the periphery of space, sometimes in systems long-forgotten by society. The areas were rundown and plagued by scavengers, pirates and raiders - sometimes even recovery operations in Thargoid space, which, as he put it, 'were admittedly not as exciting'. HAZSEC saw some significant success and dozens of completed contracts, expanding Faust's repertoire rather extensively. For 9 years, he served HAZSEC, and to this day the company still continues - albeit their flow of work stagnated to more simpler tasks.

Determined to move on once more with the new qualifications and skills under his belt, Faust searched for another independent company that may take someone of his calibre, and landed upon TITAN Contractors. The rest is simply history - his skillset, expertise and experience arguably challenged even dedicated military operatives, and landed him a spot right in TCON's mercenary army - Centurion SF.

Following the numerous conflicts the squadron has powered through, Faust's eventual leadership of special operations force 'Tethys' proved instrumental towards the fight against the EMBER Syndicate. With the squadron just barely managing to emerge victorious, his dedication and loyalty to the squadron was promptly noticed. With the vacant spots left behind by the unfortunate deaths of many of TITAN's previous operations crew, he now fills the shoes of Chief Of Special Operations, guiding CSF joint operations across the squadron, as well as facilitating cooperation within all divisions.

CRYPTOGRAPHY SPECIALIST : KYLE RYDER

Hailing from the independent system of LHS 1212, Kyle Ryder is a cryptography specialist apart of Mantis Analytics. Brought up surrounded by technology and a wealthy family, Kyle lived what most would call a sheltered life, attending private schooling and following in his father's footsteps by wishing to become a ship engineer. However, as time went on, Kyle's affinity for computer manipulation and hacking began to show, most prominently at 16 when he broke into the encrypted communications of local system authorities - albeit he was never caught at the time by authorities.

At 19, however, just before moving onto university, Kyle was arrested for 'accidentally' cracking an intelligence database belonging to system military in LHS 1212 which reportedly contained some low-level - but classified - military information. Prosecuted in an independent court, Kyle was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment and a hefty fine - but successfully applied for parole a year into his sentence, on the condition that he served a contract with OMNIPOL on an intelligence case.

His assistance proved invaluable to the case and surpassed the expectations of his parole officers. As a result, his sentence was appealed and a few months later, Kyle was released from prison. For six years, Kyle continued to pursue his passion - but in a more legal manner, joining an independent intelligence firm that had contracts with the Federation and Alliance. The firm soon dissolved later in late 3306, which led to Kyle joining TITAN Contractors in January 3307 when new personnel were onboarded to staff growing squadron divisions.

Now, leaving his past behind and hardly talking about it, Kyle's expertise has proved to be an asset to the squadron, placing him in the role of cryptography specialist, where he directly assists Commanders with various squadron investigations. When queried by interview staff about his family, he stated that 'his parents never truly approved of his work and what he did, but he remains in contact with them regardless, and splits half of his salary to supporting them and his older brother'. 

Following the squadron's conflict against the EMBER Syndicate, Kyle has made somewhat of a name of himself in Mantis Analytics. With only a few of Mantis's personnel surviving the squadron's biggest disaster faced on the 3rd of June 3308, Kyle has been vital in maintaining the security of the squadron's network and its carrier. Despite being offered a promotion, Kyle declined - wishing to remain more hands on with regards to the cybersafety of TITAN, and its operations.

CAPTAIN : ROCCO LOCKE

Born in the independent system of Upsilon Andromedae, Rocco Locke is a Centurion SF Sergeant and the fireteam leader of Sabre 1. Raised aboard the Carlisle City starport, Rocco's primary years involved him being dragged into the system's aggressive recruitment efforts by the Bureau of Upsilon Andromedae Justice Party. After a failure to obtain a degree in law, it became imperative for Rocco to sustain himself in a system that didn't offer what he wanted.

Essentially forced into the Bureau Justice Party's tactical combat corps - the UADF - Rocco soon found his new position as a security force operator to be an inadequate supplement for his wish to be apart of something greater. Usually, the UADF was nothing more than disorganized at best, and usually reserved its troops for peacekeeping and expansion operations. He tolerated this for quite some time, before quitting his job and forced to flee the Upsilon Andromedae system after being marked as a defector.

Since then, Locke has taken a large interest into mercenary work, including trying to join the Pilots' Federation as a Commander. While never obtaining that goal of becoming a Commander, Locke joined a small mercenary operation known as the Sceptre League, which primarily focuses its efforts against the safeguarding of sensitive assets and VIPs. Deployed to numerous different frontiers, Rocco's skillset has soared extensively as he has been involved in numerous protection operations defending delivery routes against pirates, or taking on other, similarly-sized private forces to defend the interests of his clients.

Unfortunately, the Sceptre League did not last very long. After the group's dissolution, Locke continued his hunt for more mercenary work, which led him to eventually land on TITAN Contractors. Joining Centurion SF - TITAN's private army - he was put through gruelling training, nothing like he had ever experienced before. However, despite that, Rocco has since, like many others, come to call TITAN as his home, citing that 'TITAN has given him a chance to explore an avenue of his life that he has never known'. 

In Centurion SF, Locke has proved his mettle in vicious combat and daring operations against the squadron's enemy, the EMBER Syndicate. Sometimes doing things his own way, Locke has ultimately understood what it means to be apart of TITAN, and has done whatever he can to ensure the safety of his home. Following the defeat of the EMBER Syndicate and the pyrrhic victory obtained by the squadron, Locke survived the final battle, and was involved in the final capture of the enemy's carrier - The Black Edge.

His efforts and bravery were most certainly noticed by the operations crew, and him - alongside several operatives - received promotions. Advocated for by Chief Of Special Operations, Meddley Faust, Locke was promoted to Captain, from his previous rank of Sergeant. He goes on to lead his now-expanded Sabre team, under the banner of Centurion Special Forces.

HEAD OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS : WILLIAM MAYWEATHER

Head of Internal Affairs, William Mayweather is responsible for organising and writing Internal Affairs articles. With the delivery of honest and concise information being his primary motto, William focuses on delivering articles covering galactic news that affects the squadron, as well as squadron events.

Following no particular alignment, Mayweather was born in Sol, but quickly migrated to an independent system when he was able to. Initially working for a small, independent news company, this new endeavour was quickly squashed following the competition of larger journalism firms and news services like GalNet and Vox Galactica. Now, with his loyalty being to TITAN Contractors, he strives to deliver where his predecessors failed. 

ARCHIVED STORYCAST

Below are storycast members that have been archived for various reasons, typically due to character death. 

ASHLEY MARSHAL

Responsible for ensuring the health of the squadron crew, Ashley Marshal was the chief medical officer for TITAN Contractors, and the operations coordinator of BLUSTAR Operations - TITAN's search and rescue agency.

Originating from Sol, Ashley was an experienced medical doctor and physician, however since her assignment to TITAN Contractors, she pursued a more management-like approach to her work - instead of carrying out the field work. 

Ashley Marshal was killed on the 30th of June 3308 after an attack carried out by EMBER mercenaries aboard the T.O.C. Mortal Dictata H1X-NTW. This carrier was used as a rescue point following the Solaris disaster on the 3rd of June 3308, which left the flagship carrier in ruin, and thousands of crew dead. While some of the operations crew survived the disaster, the remainder were assassinated during the Mortal Dictata raid. 

COMMANDER BENJAMIN GRIFFIN

Originally an officer in the Federal Navy, Commander Benjamin Richard Griffin was the Joint Special Operations Commander aboard the Solaris. Responsible for liaising and organising Centurion Special Forces and Mantis Analytics Command, Benjamin maintained a rather bold approach to his work throughout his service, and always ensured that a task gets done.

Once a Commander as well, Benjamin stepped down from his previous life in favour of training mercenary forces. His loyalty and dynamic nature makes him suitable for handling the military forces of TITAN Contractors. Since the retirement of Commander Nicholas Idaho - the previous leader of CSF who was succeeded by Captain Kyle Lucas - Commander Griffin has focused on integrating new tactics and protocols to make CSF more efficient, with the assistance of the CSF-Peacekeeper Joint Council. 

Benjamin Richard Griffin was killed on the 30th of June 3308 after an attack carried out by EMBER mercenaries aboard the T.O.C. Mortal Dictata H1X-NTW. This carrier was used as a rescue point following the Solaris disaster on the 3rd of June 3308, which left the flagship carrier in ruin, and thousands of crew dead. While some of the operations crew survived the disaster, the remainder were assassinated during the Mortal Dictata raid. 

CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUEZ

Head of Security aboard the T.O.C. Solaris, Christopher Rodriguez was responsible for maintaining security and safety within the squadron. While noted to be slightly arrogant, it was undeniable that his talent and skill made him an efficient, but strict security officer who fit right in with the squadron's line of work.

Of Alliance descent, Christopher believes in equality and fair treatment, but also a strict balance of law. His personality projects upon security personnel under his command, enforcing a peaceful but authoritative environment within the squadron - but his jurisdiction is limited aboard the Solaris carrier. 

Christopher Rodriguez was killed on the 30th of June 3308 after an attack carried out by EMBER mercenaries aboard the T.O.C. Mortal Dictata H1X-NTW. This carrier was used as a rescue point following the Solaris disaster on the 3rd of June 3308, which left the flagship carrier in ruin, and thousands of crew dead. While some of the operations crew survived the disaster, the remainder were assassinated during the Mortal Dictata raid. 

ASSAULTER CONNOR SHEPHARD

Born to Oberon and Victoria Shephard in LHS 331, Connor Shephard was quickly dragged into his father's selfish obsession and fascination with Thargoid technology at a young age, much to his mother's dismay. This often resulted in multiple domestics between his parents, usually ending in his father storming off and taking his ship, a run-down Hauler, off into deep-space. He would return days later, continuing his fairly crazed ramblings about the Thargoids. At one point, his father Oberon began to seriously consider joining and associating himself with the Far God cult, but thanks to a series of raids performed by the Federal Intelligence Agency - Oberon's communications with a Far God leader were identified, and he was issued a stern warning by Interpol officers in person, who were acting on behalf of the FIA.

Undeterred, Oberon continued his passionate pursuit of joining the Far God - whereas Connor's mother would use Interpol's visit as an example as to why he should stop. On one final, specific occasion, Victoria threatened to divorce Oberon and evict him, but the threat only angered Oberon, causing him to attack Victoria in a sudden rage. Unfortunately, she was murdered by him that day, and Oberon fled his home with his son, Connor. The official case report suggests that Victoria was stabbed multiple times in her upper body and throat - and when interview staff questioned Connor, he seemed to express a slight surprise, but suppressed all other emotions.

Connor stated that he was not acutely aware of the circumstances relating to his mother's death and did not witness it directly - only heard it from within his room. Shortly after, his father came and grabbed him, whisking him off to his ship before he could say goodbye to his mother. His father's excuse was that his mother "didn't agree to come with", so he left her there. The both of them travelled via his father's hauler to a run-down, undisclosed location, where they met with several Far God leaders. It was essentially from there that Connor was 'brainwashed' and integrated into a Far God splinter group, which later developed to become Hivemind - the same cultist group responsible partially for several squadron attacks.

However, an extensive background check into Connor's activities suggests he had hardly any responsibility organising or commanding strikes. Despite being his father's second in command, Connor primarily orchestrated logistics when he was old enough - logistics that would primarily enable worships at Thargoid surface sites to occur. While he did not wish to make his father angry by openly stating this, he claims to have secretly loathed every minute of being around those "freaks", or so he called them. However, he still shared a close attachment to his father, as the only active parental figure in his life. By all accounts, despite his obsession and hot temper, Oberon Shephard was a good father, who gave Connor the skillset to survive in such a dangerous galaxy.

When Oberon was killed in a Thargoid surface site at HIP 18117 after a confrontation with TITAN's own Squadron Commander Aurora Adair, Connor felt compelled to find out who did this. However, Aurora was not responsible for Oberon's death - instead it was a mercenary known as Orion Drake - who had manipulated Hivemind, a covert black-ops merc group known as Paladin Interstellar, as well as TITAN Contractors, all under the persona of 'AC'. When Orion's true identity was revealed, Connor figured that it was him who killed his father, and thus began his hunt. Connor never was able to get justice directly for his father - as a series of events exposed SC Adair as the one responsible for killing Drake - and as such his purpose faltered.

Bearing no ill-will towards the squadron, despite TITAN being mostly responsible for weakening Hivemind enough for Orion to kill his father, Connor decided to sign up and join Centurion SF, becoming a soldier within TITAN's private army. He stated that he "respects the decision Commander Adair made", and would like to continue to work with the squadron to hunt down its enemies - the ones who ultimately caused all of this. 

Unfortunately, during the worst disaster ever faced by the squadron on the 3rd of June 3308, thousands of crew succumbed to an unknown incident that led to the majority of CSF personnel and crew going suddenly rogue, and attempting to murder the 500 or so crew that remained. It was later confirmed that Connor Shephard was one of the casualties among the rogue forces. 

CDL KYLE LUCAS

Previously an OMNIPOL officer, Captain Kyle Lucas retired from the OMNIPOL forces after five years of service and pursued a mercenary line of work. Eventually, with TITAN Contractors fitting the bill, Kyle joined Centurion SF.

His rise to Captain was swift - primarily due to his skill, efficiency and leadership capability. Most squads lead by Captain Lucas are ruthlessly efficient against enemy forces - years of practise in OMNIPOL have lead to a critical understanding of human predictability.

Following the resignation of Commander Nicholas Idaho - who was previously Centurion SF's divisional leader - Kyle Lucas formed a small council of CSF captains which grew slightly following Idaho's resignation. Eventually, Lucas assumed the role of Centurion Divisional Leader, after discussions with the operations crew. He also formed the CSF-Peacekeeper Joint Council, which would go on to ensure that CSF acted reasonably and within legal bounds. 

Kyle Lucas was killed on the 30th of June 3308 after an attack carried out by EMBER mercenaries aboard the T.O.C. Mortal Dictata H1X-NTW. This carrier was used as a rescue point following the Solaris disaster on the 3rd of June 3308, which left the flagship carrier in ruin, and thousands of crew dead. While some of the operations crew survived the disaster, the remainder were assassinated during the Mortal Dictata raid. 

OPERATIVE TORI MAY

Tori May once served in the Federal military as a dropship trooper. With dozens of combat deployments spanning two years, Tori's service was brought to a swift end after she was critically injured in combat during her last deployment.

Due to the injury, she was forced to retire from her position, and took a support role within the Federation's military. She eventually left, dissatisified with her predicament, and studied various subjects in her personal time to keep herself busy while in recovery - one such subject being biology. Now, all Tori has to remind herself of her injury is a scar - which she described as a 'beauty highlight' in jest.

To accomodate her new role in TITAN, Tori received extra specialist training, and was, for a short time, a qualified exobiologist serving Centurion SF for the TSV Journey mission. However, shortly after, Tori was arrested after a series of events led Solaris security to believe she was involved in a terrorist attack against a carrier within the squadron. Eventually, it was determined that Tori was apart of a previously unknown CSF division - Praetor Black Ops (now known as CSF Sentinel) - who were trying to specifically stop the attacks.

She was released and issued a new license after Sentinel's existence was revealed. During her time within the squadron, she grew a strong attachment to Commander Aurora Adair when they were both CSF soldiers, and despite Aurora eventually becoming Squadron Commander, they maintained a great friendship for quite some time. However, after expressing her feelings for Aurora and facing rejection, the two gradually split apart as their paths in life diverged, leading to Tori becoming estranged completely to Aurora, and creating a deep anger towards her.

Unfortunately, during the worst disaster ever faced by the squadron on the 3rd of June 3308, thousands of crew succumbed to an unknown incident that led to the majority of CSF personnel and crew going suddenly rogue, and attempting to murder the 500 or so crew that remained. It was later confirmed that Tori May was one of the casualties among the rogue forces. 

ORION DRAKE

Orion Drake was a private mercenary responsible for manipulating and attacking TITAN Contractors. While much of his background is unknown, it is believed that Orion Drake operated as a freelance mercenary offering his services to anyone who would pay the right price. With morals out the window, Orion offered his expertise to anyone who needed it in infiltration, manipulation, and when the situation required it - combat and force. Subsequently, this led to a light affiliation with Paladin Interstellar - a covert black-ops mercenary group wanted for heinous warcrimes in federal and imperial jurisdictions, a bounty of which roughly amounts to 1 billion credits.

However, what is known about his background is that Orion had a brother, Leonard Drake. Before his career change to profiteering mercenary, Orion worked as a security official at his brother's settlement. The settlement was nothing special, and was situated towards the Pleiades Nebula, mining raw minerals and occasionally retrieving the random alien artefact. This made it a perfect fit for Hivemind - the radical Thargoid-worshipping terrorist group who needed to gain territory to continue spreading their influence. Leonard Drake reasonably refused Hivemind's demand to hand over the settlement, which resulted in his swift death, at the hands of soldiers commanded by the Herald.

Naturally, Orion was infuriated. Ruined by his brother's death, Orion abandoned the settlement and lurked in the shadows, slowly looking for ways to take down Hivemind for vengeance. This led to him gaining skills and ultimately stepping up as a mercenary. When he made contact with Paladin Interstellar - a whole new world opened. At the time, the squadron was already plagued by one of Hivemind's terrorist cells, codenamed EMBER, who was acting independently of Hivemind's orders. Having done damage to the squadron already, TITAN was effectively prepared to declare war against Hivemind and EMBER, making it the perfect opportunity to use TITAN to get to Hivemind.

Using Paladin's resources and large amounts of credits - the origin of which is unclear - Orion paid off black-ops mercs and inspired them to spark a war between Hivemind and TITAN, which led to the former being weakened heavily. By the time TITAN had realized that Paladin Interstellar was involved, Orion Drake had a clear shot at the Herald of the Final Chapter, Hivemind's leader. However, his plan did not go as smoothly as he thought. Arriving at HIP 18117 to confront the Herald and kill him, he also encountered Squadron Commander Aurora Adair - who had arrived at the site first to bring Hivemind to justice. Killing the Herald and injuring Commander Adair, Orion Drake reportedly announced his dominance, and the truth of how he used the 'AC' persona - representing Hivemind - to spark a war between TITAN and Hivemind.

Initially, it was thought Orion Drake escaped the site and left Commander Adair for dead - but it was later confessed by Aurora that she had killed him at the site, using his arrogance against him to take a sudden shot. However, Aurora - feeling extremely strongly for the suffering Paladin had caused the squadron - opted to hide Orion's body within the surface site, lying about his death, and use his 'presumed escape' as an excuse to declare war against Paladin, and bring them to justice. However, the guilt associated with this eventually caused her to break and admit her mistake. Despite this, her confession was met with a fairly positive response - and while there was disappointment, many believed the same; that Paladin Interstellar must be held accountable for the hundreds of deaths they have caused within the squadron.

Orion Drake's body was recovered from HIP 18117 with the help of independent Commanders. Despite sustaining heavy corrosive damage to his suit and body, investigative teams were able to reconstruct and simulate an identification card of Drake, based off personal background data recovered through official channels. While Orion Drake may not pose no threat to the squadron anymore - his former associates at Paladin unfortunately do, and have refused to stand down in spite of his death. 

LIEUTENANT RILEY KAIRO

Orphaned at a very young age, Lieutenant Riley Kairo was a rebellious, young teenager who hated her youth - which eventually molded into a hatred for herself. Her rough childhood eventually left her to join the Alliance Defence Force as a pilot when she was 21, angry at the world for taking her parents away from her. Feeling hopeless and as if there was nothing left to live for, she hoped the ADF would give her a purpose or at least provide a distraction or outlet for her problems.

However, the ADF, while it may have been dealing with small-scale combat in systems it controlled, never deployed her to an active combat zone. She spent most of her time performing routine military tasks, most of which bored her, and encouraged her issues to slowly eat away at her. In 3303, when Thargoid attacks began to manifest, Riley felt herself being drawn towards the proposition of AX combat, and immediately put in her volunteer notice to join an Aegis AX unit. Her anger and internal problems pushed her along through training, and a few months later, Riley was deployed alongside her unit to fight back a Thargoid incursion. They were successful, and for once she felt relieved - but the adrenaline rush and the risk of death became a dangerous addiction.

Disaster struck a year later, after a deployment went wrong and resulted in the death of most of her AX unit, almost costing her her own life as well. This caused her massive mental trauma, effectively ruining her life. She was honourably discharged from the AX corps thereafter, against her wishes, and a dark period of her life began. However, trying to move on with good memories from her team, Riley received specialized therapy for around three years, which helped, eventually allowing her to make peace with what happened. Still wanting the 'feel of military work', Riley applied for a position in TITAN Contractors as a CSF special operative. When asked by interview staff if they should omit her personal trauma from her background, she declined, stating that 'she couldn't allow herself to forget about her unit, and how they finally made her life feel like it meant something'.

Unfortunately, Lieutenant Riley Kairo, seeing the turbulence the squadron faced, was soon to leave TITAN after the several lethal situations it had faced.

FACTIONS

Below are factions relevant to TCON lore.

TITAN CONTRACTORS

TITAN Contractors is an independent mercenary corporation comprised of hundreds of Commanders and thousands of personnel - with equally diverse capabilities. Founded approximately on the 5th of August 3305 by Commander Quinton Marshall, the squadron started out with only a few members, led purely by Commanders. As time progressed, the squadron eventually grew exponentially and offically registered as an independent corporation on the 23rd of January 3306 and scaled up its operations.

Operations undertaken by the squadron usually include all sorts of activities, from humanitarian aid and trading, to combat, mining, exploration and more. To enable this, the squadron funds and operates several divisions - though these were not originally considered when the squadron was first created. For the most part, the Squadron Commander of the corporation undertakes high-level decisions and supplies the budget, while the operations crew is responsible for the overall management of the squadron. Thus, the command hierarchy can be considered fairly relaxed, with the exception of military operations undertaken by TITAN's private army.

Several prominent events have occurred during the squadron's lifetime, all corresponding with its growth. On the 7th of October 3306, the T.O.C. Solaris fleet carrier was introduced to the squadron, subsequently became the flagship carrier of the corporation - and incidentally has been sabotaged or damaged multiple times by hostile parties. On the 19th of January - though not publicly announced - TITAN created an elite security branch called the Solaris Peacekeepers - solely intended for security use aboard the carrier. Later, the Peacekeepers became an independent law agency funded by TITAN, to enforce squadron law.

On the 5th of February 3307, Mantis Analytics was unveiled as TITAN's new strategic command division, focused on analytical work. In tandem, Centurion SF was unveiled on the 23rd of February after ex-military and security personnel were put through their paces through a rigorous 15-day training course. Thereafter, over 500 soldiers joined CSF and marked the creation of TITAN's own mercenary army, used to protect its interests. Thanks to their extensive training, most, if not all CSF soldiers can be compared to the average special forces operative - highly trained, well-armed and motivated.

On the 19th of March, BLUSTAR Operations was established as the squadron's search and rescue agency in response to the 'Nine Martyrs' bombings performed by the Neo-Marlinist Liberation Army. Roughly a month later, on the 4th of April, the squadron's fourth division, PANDORA Logistics, was established - and as a result all four divisions began to cover the various aspects of TITAN Contractors, as well as onboarding thousands of personnel.

However, during its time - despite its incredible growth - the squadron has faced turmoil and disasters that have resulted in numerous deaths or expensive damages to the squadron. While it has fought through these obstacles thanks to help of its Commanders and diverse divisions, Squadron Commander Quinton Marshall was killed on the 11th of July after a terrorist attack detonated an explosive aboard his ship. This action, while it did not directly jeopardize the continuation of the squadron, dealt a significant blow. The terrorists were subsequently arrested, bringing the months of attacks to a close, but a new leader was still to be considered for the squadron.

In what almost appeared to be total luck, a will located in Commander Marshall's quarters was found to have planned the promotion of CSF specialist Aurora Adair - who 'coincidentally' was already undergoing a Pilots' Federation evaluation to become a Commander - to the position of Squadron Commander, and to receive all his assets and total ownership over the squadron upon his death, effective immediately. This occurred on the 29th of July, and on the 9th of August, Commander Aurora Adair became the second Squadron Commander of TITAN Contractors.

While this seemed to be a coincidence as Aurora had never personally met or known Commander Marshall, a series of convoluted events revealed that Quinton had personally known and been working with Adair's father - Federal Admiral Isaiah Adair - to expose a harmful corruption plot with the Federation. To avoid being stopped by the current attacks against the squadron, Quinton used the terrorist attack to fake his death and effectively slip into the darkness, but this was revealed on the 14th of December 3307 after Adair's father was killed 3 days prior, prompting Quinton to require a meeting with Aurora to discuss the longevity of the squadron - and his wish for her to remain the leader of TITAN.

Despite these events, cutting it close with various injuries, and the will being potentially invalidated by Quinton's faked death, Aurora has remained the de-facto leader of TITAN Contractors, with her position and Commander status being evaluated as legitimate by Pilots' Federation authorities and the Bank of Zaonce. In reality, the machinations of Aurora's father - who happened to be a Triple Elite Commander - allowed her to obtain her Commander license faster than usual, as well as allow Quinton's plan to work effectively.

Now, TITAN Contractors' size and strength has increased exponentially, with over six hundred soldiers employed by CSF, and thousands of crew belonging to squadron operations across multiple different squadron carriers, including the T.O.C. Solaris which still remains in operation. Hundreds of Commanders have banded together under the TCON banner, and continue to enhance the diversity and capabilities of the squadron - a success that can only be owed to them.

See our lore repository for more information.

THE CRIMSON VENATORS

BELONGS TO THE EMBER SYNDICATE STORYLINE

The Crimson Venators were an ex-Federal black operations group that defected from their respective naval command several years ago in 3304, supposedly along with information about core Federal military operations. The group was known to have consisted of 18 Federal black-ops operatives, with the name of their group being a reference to their previous military callsign, the 'Red Hunters'. In order to conceal their identities, the Venators opted to utilize individual callsigns instead - such as 'Dawn' - with little trace remaining of their real names.

Despite their small size, the Red Hunters were a formidable enemy, well-trained in counter-terrorism operations and black operations. Much like many elements of their kind, the Red Hunters' specialty was officially suppressing criminal and terrorist operations within Federal borders. However, their skill and expertise attracted the attention of a dark organization within the Federation, who were illegally developing a prototype superweapon. This organization, known as The EMBER Syndicate, relied on its deep roots and influence within the Federation to keep its existence a secret. However, their covert nature could not protect them from infighting, and several members of the corrupt organization fled with leaked, encrypted details of EMBER's illegal superweapon. 

By utilizing their influence, EMBER was able to gain control over the Red Hunters, who were issued orders to perform clean strikes on settlements under 'terrorist control'. Not questioning these orders, the Red Hunters carried out operations against settlements, killing personnel who had betrayed EMBER and wiping out all traces of the information pertaining to the EMBER's illegal superweapon - the MARS Project. To the Red Hunters, these operations initially appeared no different to their usual tasks, however there were strange oddities on each mission that did not align with their orders.

It is believed that when the Red Hunters had sufficiently served EMBER, they would be killed by the syndicate. However, some members of the Red Hunters ceased their blind following of the Federation, and began to question their recent operations. They soon became aware of what they had been manipulated into doing, and that their objectives were falsified, but it was too late. The Red Hunters were successful with their missions, and had successfully managed to keep EMBER a secret. However, upon learning of this corruption and betrayal, the Red Hunters were contacted by an Admiral by the name of Isaiah Adair.

The Admiral revealed that, for a lengthy period of time, he had been tracking and recording information of The EMBER Syndicate. It had been too difficult to obtain critical, undeniable intel that could expose EMBER without simply being suppressed, so the Admiral requested the assistance of the Red Hunters. They refused, believing that Admiral Adair was moving too slowly and had little to offer. Against his wishes, the Red Hunters defected, hiding their traces and agreeing to expose EMBER their own way. The only member to not defect with the Red Hunters was their most recent addition - Combat Specialist Aurora Adair, the daughter of Admiral Adair.

It is believed, based off data obtained by the squadron much later, that a turbulent personal life led to Aurora Adair in being planted within the Red Hunters by her father, who pressured her into navy service. This was presumably done in order to give Admiral Adair further links in which to expand his information chain, but the effort backfired horribly when EMBER seized control over the same squad he had planted her into. Although not entirely clear, some intel suggests that EMBER was aware of Admiral Adair's efforts all along, and tricked him carrying on with his hopeless mission in an attempt to snuff out his every attempt and option.

Upon defecting, the Red Hunters effectively transformed into the Crimson Venators, becoming a mercenary group that would go on to gain extreme notoriety in several independent systems. During their attempts to gather funds and resources for the mission to take down EMBER, the Venator's leadership deteriorated, and led to them ultimately following breadcrumbs planted by EMBER. These breadcrumbs were designed to counter Admiral Adair, who had turned to his daughter in order to convince her into joining the independent mercenary corporation known as TITAN Contractors.

By encouraging Aurora to join TITAN as a 'new start', the Admiral planned to repeat the cycle - this time detached from any superpower or government - under the belief that only an outsider with the right tools could bring EMBER down. TITAN, being truly independent, served as this new foundation - as it was the last personal link Isaiah could trust. By a desperate chain of events, Admiral Adair had previously enlisted the help of Sergeant Adrien Marshall to help with his efforts to expose EMBER. However, Adrien was soon abruptly discharged from the navy - and before Isaiah could intervene - killed in a 'pirate raid' at his home port.

Strongly believing the 'pirate raid' to be a direct warning or result of EMBER, Isaiah disappeared into hiding, much like his daughter had before. The death of Adrien Marshall later resulted in the death of his wife, Myra Marshall, who was suffering from a terminal disease. The Marshall family could not afford the modern medicine to treat the disease, and the loss of Adrien - the sole breadwinner of the family - had disastrous consequences. However, these unfortunate chain of events led to Adrien's son, Quinton Marshall, becoming a Pilots' Federation Commander, and soon started the TITAN Contractors squadron.

Seeing this as an opportunity, Isaiah was able to convince Commander Quinton Marshall of EMBER's involvement in his father's death, and for him to join his efforts to expose them. As a contingency, the two agreed to leave behind a will that would promote Isaiah's daughter, Aurora Adair into the position of Squadron Commander. This will, unbeknownst to her, would also contain heavily encrypted information regarding EMBER. It was hoped that the squadron's continuity under her leadership would protect this information.

Unfortunately, EMBER's breadcrumbs that the Crimson Venators followed led them directly to TITAN, and - alongside several proxy entities established by the syndicate - they initiated a lengthy conflict that resulted in significant damage to the squadron. The goal of the Venators was to obtain the datapad containing the will and the encrypted information, in an effort to do what they believed Admiral Adair was incapable of doing. The first conflict, while TITAN emerged victorious, made the squadron vulnerable enough and granted the Venators the ability to infiltrate the Solaris flagship and steal the will.

However, by doing so, the Crimson Venators played right into EMBER's hand. Utilizing the datapad, they were manipulated into killing Admiral Isaiah Adair to prevent his further efforts, and the Venator's were summarily wiped out by a hired assassin. What happened to the datapad next is unclear, but it is believed that it was regained by EMBER, promptly exposing all of Admiral Adair's efforts and placing Commander Aurora Adair and TITAN Contractors in grave danger.

EMBER's resulting influence was used to spark infighting within TITAN, as it turned out they had maintained records of the Red Hunter's real identities, and seeded information in order to implicate Commander Adair. While effective for a short period of time, the squadron quickly figured out that there was more to her past than met the eye - starting a several month-long conflict to bring EMBER to light.

Although the Crimson Venators no longer exist, two of their members survived - excluding Commander Adair. After being pardoned later by the Federation once TITAN emerged victorious in a pyrrhic battle against EMBER, the remaining Venators were released and expelled from Federal space. They presumably went on to resume living normal lives, away from military conflict.

See our lore repository for more information.

THE EMBER SYNDICATE

BELONGS TO THE EMBER SYNDICATE STORYLINE

The EMBER Syndicate, also known as the 'Syn Group' or simply 'EMBER', is a fatalist terrorist organization responsible for the creation of the PROTOFNEX-02WRD33 'MARS' Project, an illegal, extremely powerful superweapon utilizing hybrid human/Thargoid technology.

This organization hails from a defunct Federal weapons research group codenamed Ophidian, previously composed of researchers and technicians. However, over the years, EMBER's strength and power has grown exponentially, despite its relatively small size. An exact date for the formation of EMBER is unknown, but it is presumed to be around 3302, two years after the official cancellation of the MARS Project. Previously, the weapon was being prototyped and actively researched within official Federal bounds, however the ethical concerns of the project complicated its development - something that would haunt the project even after its departure from the Federation.

Ophidian's original goal was to research interactions of alien technology, and later weaponizing it. The remit of their research was particularly placed on the infrasonic and electromagnetic effects of Thargoid devices, which later became a core part of the MARS Project - the first prototype weapon incorporating Thargoid technology. However, many Admirals and researchers assigned to the project did not agree with the existence of the weapon after witnessing its effects in testing.

The project was defunded in 3300, and its personnel reassigned to other experimental projects. However, the Admirals originally responsible for authorizing the project silently disagreed with the Federation's supposed 'cowardice', believing that a weapon such as the MARS Device would give them a superior edge over their enemies. Three high-ranking Federal officers - Admiral Zamaya Ambrose, Rear Admiral Gideon Serrano, and Rear Admiral Reuben Darien Keaton - agreed to continue the project in secret, enlisting many of the original research personnel. 

Unsurprisingly, these personnel were likely tricked into working for EMBER, unbeknownst to the fact that they were leeching resources from the Federation to continue research and development of the MARS Device. Zamaya's status in the navy likely eased the process and kept suspicion to a minimum, but it did not take long for infighting to start within the group over the project's moral qualms. This reached its breaking point when several of the original researchers split, fleeing into Federal space with whatever data they could. Blackmailed and effectively held hostage, a large majority of the research team remained, and EMBER began to use its growing shadow influence within the Federation to manipulate assets into maintaining their secret.

Most notably, this is where the Red Hunters were brought beneath EMBER's wing, unknowingly tasked to hunt down these fleeing researchers, eliminate them, and wipe any intel they stole regarding the MARS Superweapon. Numerous Federal settlements that agreed to harbour these fleeing researchers were suppressed and branded terrorists by the Federation, all due to EMBER's manipulation and plan to wipe them out. Around this time, it is suspected that EMBER was acutely aware of those who had tried to expose its existence, such as Admiral Isaiah Adair, which may explain why they particularly picked the Red Hunters. It is likely that - once the Red Hunters had finished their task - they plotted to wipe out the squad, along with its newest member, Combat Specialist Aurora Adair, to ensure Admiral Adair could never fulfill his goal.

However, EMBER failed to anticipate the Red Hunters realizing what they had done early, and the group was able to defect before they could be stopped. With Aurora Adair disappearing into hiding, and the rest of the Red Hunters becoming the Crimson Venators, EMBER had to pick its next moves carefully. It is unknown how much they knew of Admiral Adair's efforts, but it was presumably enough for them to figure out that he had involved independent mercenary corporation TITAN Contractors, after reaching out to its leader at the time due to a family link.

By enlisting Commander Quinton Marshall's help, the Admiral hoped to utilize his daughter as a contingency to uphold TITAN, as a way to alternatively wipe out EMBER if they failed. To try stop this, EMBER handpicked a private military company that it could manipulate - named Paladin Interstellar - which had a history of carrying out criminal operations against the Federation. Its size was suitable for the scale of EMBER's operations, and its expertise a perfect match to the task at hand. Using Paladin as a proxy, EMBER was able to fund and guide Paladin into attracting the attention of the Crimson Venators.

What occurred next is unknown, but it is believed that the Crimson Venators were led to Paladin via breadcrumbs planted by EMBER. Agreeing to assist Paladin, the Crimson Venators followed these same breadcrumbs that would ultimately lead them to TITAN Contractors. Information planted by EMBER allowed them to learn of the hidden datapad and plan set by Admiral Isaiah Adair, which would promote Squadron Commander Aurora Adair to the owner of TITAN. At this point, the Crimson Venators had likely devolved so far into their mercenary operations, that there was little remaining concern of the goal they had tried to attain. The majority of their members were now in it for the money or infamy, and those who remembered what they had originally set out to do were either silenced by fear or were consciously complicit.

Regardless, the Crimson Venators were manipulated carefully to prevent information cross-over, and were led by Paladin in beginning a conflict with TITAN. The goal of this conflict was to originally assassinate the first Squadron Commander, Quinton Marshall, however he was able to successfully learn of the impending attack under Admiral Isaiah Adair's guidance, and faked his death. This set in action the contingency plan, placing his daughter into the position of Squadron Commander. It was hoped that her leadership would be able to protect the hidden datapad, which contained both the will as well as encrypted data partially exposing EMBER. However, the importance of the datapad was never made clear, and as such this effort failed.

Throughout the intensive conflict against Paladin, the squadron's private army, CSF, emerged victorious and neutralized Paladin in its entirety. However, TITAN had been left vulnerable, granting an opportunity for the Crimson Venators to steal the datapad aboard the squadron flagship. This datapad once again exposed Admiral Adair as the whistleblower of information, and - under covert pressure from EMBER - the Venators were tasked to assassinate him.

After murdering Isaiah Adair aboard his home starport in Sol, EMBER contracted an assassin to clean up any traces of the Crimson Venators, as well as ultimately assassinate Commander Aurora Adair. It is assumed that the datapad was either destroyed or fell into enemy hands, but regardless the information could no longer be obtained and used by the squadron. With their usefulness expended, a large majority of the Venators were caught off-guard and succumbed to the assassin sent after them, except for two who managed to escape. However, the assassin did not complete their objective, and instead refused to kill Commander Adair - reportedly citing that she did not match the expected target profile.

This assassin, who remains anonymous, went to assist TITAN, but EMBER's alternate plan was quick to expose Commander Adair's prior involvement in the Red Hunters. This led to the squadron turning against her, and prompted her to flee, leaving the squadron exposed. Throughout this all, EMBER had continued to develop the MARS Project behind the scenes, constructing it aboard an unregistered fleet carrier known as The Black Edge T4J-64F. With the squadron's leader disavowed, EMBER took advantage of the spreading mistrust and paranoia among TITAN's crew, and used it to successfully deploy the MARS Device against the T.O.C. Solaris Q4V-40N, intercepting the carrier as it performed a jump.

The weapon's full-scale deployment was successful, resulting in a catastrophic failure aboard the Solaris's Frame Shift Drive that almost tore the carrier apart. Emergency failsafes were able to wrench the carrier out into an empty system, but havoc had already overtaken the carrier. Extreme damage had spread throughout the Solaris's interior, and thousands of crew perished in the failed jump. Thousands more had been left injured, and as the squadron struggled to pick up the pieces, EMBER moved to finish TITAN off.

However, the assassin previously tasked with killing Commander Adair, opted to trail after her. He learnt of the failed jump, alerting Aurora of the news. In an effort to return to the carrier and assist, they were caught in the second activation of the enemy weapon. Shattering an already mentally broken crew, the weapon's primary effect against human targets struck, inflicting violent psychosis within a significant portion of the Solaris survivors. The squadron turned against itself, leaving only a small group of survivors to fend off a rogue horde of crew that had turned incredibly violent and unpredictable.

Only a little over 400 crew survived the endeavour, leaving the squadron's divisions in ruin with only approximately 100 CSF soldiers left to protect them. Several Commanders and command personnel did survive the second activation, as well as Commander Adair herself, but her sudden return did not exactly inspire trust. Pledging to bring down and expose their enemy, she revealed that - after fleeing the squadron - she had returned to Sol, and infiltrated the Li Qing Jao starport undetected. Returning to her parent's home, she was able to uncover a second databank left behind by her father, although no trace of the rest of her family was found.

With the databank in their possession, the squadron went on to follow a trail left behind by Admiral Isaiah Adair. Throughout EMBER's active and constant interference, TITAN was able to repair the T.O.C. Solaris flagship and slowly recover four keys crucial to unlocking the databank. Upon application of these four keys, the squadron unlocked the databank and made a shocking discovery - an entire information repository had been left behind by Aurora's father exposing EMBER, the MARS Device and their operations.

In a last-ditch attempt to win, the squadron utilized this information and drew in the attention of EMBER, who was desperate to prevent TITAN from releasing the information. Attempting to draw the resources of the Federation, TITAN provided a copy of the data to Federal authorities, but pure digital information was cited as little physical proof as to EMBER's existence and functional superweapon. With no options left, the squadron entered a final stand, rallying all of its resources to clash against the syndicate directly. On the 16th of November 3308 - after days of fighting - the squadron finally intercepted The Black Edge carrier, and launched a final assault.

However - unable to anticipate the full strength of EMBER's weapon - the squadron was caught off-guard by a powerful electromagnetic pulse mid-assault, caused by the enemy intentionally overloading the MARS Device. The weapon scrambled and disabled all nearby vessels and squadron carriers, wreaking havoc in the surrounding area before The Black Edge promptly retreated, and escaped into the black. The entirety of the squadron's combined arms force that had boarded the carrier in an attempt to stop it, including several Commanders and the squadron's leader, was lost.

With barely any crew left and no military remaining to protect itself, the squadron mothballed its operations and complied with a Federal investigation. For two weeks, the squadron ceased its functions and relieved its crew of its duty, allowing them to return to their family. However, an interstellar distress signal was soon detected near the Elephant's Trunk Nebula, prompting Commanders to investigate. Upon searching the area, independent pilots stumbled across a transponder signal matching The Black Edge T4J-64F. Recon indicated that the carrier was idle and drifting - as well as completely out of fuel.

Rescue teams and scouts that later arrived at The Black Edge soon announced that the enemy carrier had successfully been captured by friendly forces, and the MARS Superweapon destroyed. After the enemy carrier fled, the squadron's combined arms force was able to push through and break the enemy's forces, neutralizing what remained of EMBER's mercenary force. Unfortunately, several casualties had been sustained, including Squadron Commander Aurora Adair, who sustained a life-threatening injury. An emergency operation to refuel The Black Edge completed in record time thanks to the assistance of Commanders, and the carrier was soon returned to the bubble.

The remnants of Centurion SF, the Commanders and militia forces they had rallied, were rescued and brought aboard the T.O.C. Solaris Q4V-40N. The carrier, serving as sufficient evidence for the Federal investigation, was provided while medical teams triaged the casualties and brought them aboard the squadron flagship for treatment. The squadron had officially emerged victorious - but at an immense cost.

Ultimately, the Federation ruled that The Black Edge served as proof of EMBER's operations, and the MARS Superweapon's existence. Data obtained aboard the enemy carrier pointed towards several EMBER cells that had been thrown into disarray, following the effective dismantling of their main headquarters. CSF forces had managed to successfully apprehend two of the Admirals responsible, Zamaya Ambrose and Reuben Keaton, who were promptly arrested by FIA authorities. The efforts of TITAN had not gone unnoticed, and soon the Federal investigation concluded, along with a full pardon of TITAN Contractors, the Crimson Venators, its Commanders, associates, as well as Squadron Commander Aurora Adair herself.

With EMBER dismantled at last, the Federation - having no use of The Black Edge - left it in the squadron's control, and declared the case closed. With such a massive victory obtained, the squadron and its crew ultimately shared an empty feeling over such a pyrrhic battle. Despite their sacrifices, and the trials they had faced over months, EMBER was effectively gone in less than two weeks. Thousands of innocent lives had been lost, all to destroy a prototype superweapon.

With this chapter closed at last, TITAN Contractors has struggled to its feet once more, and begun to rebuild. Squadron Commander Aurora Adair was able to survive her life-threatening injuries, along with many more of the injured casualties. The Black Edge was seized as a squadron asset after being factory reset, and the squadron began to refactor and improve its operations. While the situation served as a testament to the squadron's perseverance and foundation, one can never forget those who had been lost, and the damage that had been sustained.

In memory of those taken by EMBER, the squadron pledged to grow stronger, and larger, than ever before.

See the exposed EMBER databank here for more information.