Specter Systems / SPECSYS

OPERATIONAL POLICIES MISSSecurity Clearance: OMNI-BLACK // COUNCIL EYES ONLY Subject: Organizational History & Strategic Timeline (2950 – 2955) Home System: Nyx Base of Operations: The “Anvil” (Undisclosed Location, Glaciem Ring) Status: Sovereign Independent Contractor

2950: The Hadrian Betrayal & The Exodus
“The UEE promised safety. They lied.”

In the golden era of 2950, the founders of Specter Systems were not rebels; they were high-logistics officers for Helios Transport, operating out of the core worlds. They believed in the system. They believed that UEE advocacy patrols would keep the trade lanes safe.

The Incident: On September 12, 2950, the illusion broke. The “Hadrian Convoy”—carrying rare volatile ore—was ambushed by a massive pirate fleet utilizing military-grade electronic warfare suites. The convoy’s escort consisted of “Civilian Standard” Vanguards, chemically governed to adhere to UEE safety laws. When the pirates jammed their radars, the escorts couldn’t target lock. When the pirates overloaded their shields, the safety breakers tripped, shutting down the ships to “prevent reactor stress.” The convoy was annihilated. The founders, watching from escape pods, realized that compliance was a suicide pact.

The Decision: The survivors refused to return to UEE space. They pooled their liquid assets, hijacked a heavy industrial salvage barge, and engaged their quantum drives for the jump point to the Nyx System. They chose Nyx for one reason: The UEE has no authority there.

2951: The Glaciem Arrival & The “Anvil”
“In the shadow of the asteroid, we found our forge.”

Nyx is a harsh, cold, smog-choked system. The founders arrived with damaged ships and limited supplies. They bypassed the populated mining facility of Levski on Delamar, knowing that even the “People’s Alliance” was too public for what they planned to do.

They navigated deep into the Glaciem Ring, a dense, navigationally hazardous asteroid belt. On March 4, 2951, scanners picked up a hollowed-out asteroid, likely an abandoned mining claim from the Messer Era. It was pressurized, shielded, and forgotten. They christened it “The Anvil.”

This year was defined by Survival Engineering. Cut off from trade networks, they had to scavenge parts from the debris fields of the Ring. They learned to strip components from destroyed pirate vessels.

The Innovation: Without UEE oversight, they began ignoring safety protocols. They hard-wired pirate energy weapons into industrial power plants. They realized that by running cooling loops through the freezing vacuum of the asteroid belt, they could run reactors at 200% capacity without overheating—as long as they stayed in the cold.

2952: The Levski Accord & The “Ghost” Ships
“We are the shadows that bite back.”

By 2952, the organization needed cash to fund their operations. They couldn’t take legal contracts, so they approached the People’s Alliance on Levski/Delamar. A secret meeting was held in the backrooms of the Grand Barter. Specter Systems offered a deal: We will hunt the violent pirate gangs plaguing the Nyx supply lines. You give us raw materials and ignore our unregistered transponders.

The Legend Begins: To protect their identity, Specter pilots painted their ships with a radar-absorbent matte grey coating (found in the Glaciem mines). They operated with transponders off, striking pirate convoys moving between Nyx and Odin. Pirates began reporting attacks by “Specters”—ships that appeared out of the smog, unloaded an impossible amount of ordnance, and vanished back into the asteroid field before scanners could lock them. The name Specter Systems was adopted shortly after. We became the boogeymen of the badlands.

2953: The Engineering Renaissance (Project Citadel)
“Standard Hulls are just suggestions.”

With resources flowing from Levski and salvage from dead pirates, the “Anvil” base expanded. 2953 marked the transition from repairing ships to redesigning them.

The founders realized that retrofitting Drake or Aegis hulls had a limit. The structural integrity of a Cutlass could not handle the massive power plants they were building.

The Whitebox Division: A dedicated team of engineers was separated from the combat pilots. Their sole job was to design a proprietary chassis.

Project Citadel: The concept for “The Dagger” was born here. They wanted a ship built around the massive Size 4 reactors they had perfected, rather than trying to fit the reactor into a ship.

The Prototype Lab: Deep inside the Anvil asteroid, the first “Frankenstein” ships were built—heavily modified Connies and Corsairs with exposed wiring and bolted-on armor plates, serving as testbeds for the technologies that would eventually go into the Citadel.

2954: The Pyro Gateway Conflicts
“We held the gate when no one else would.”

Nyx connects directly to the Pyro System, a notorious hellscape. As the Xenothreat and Nine Tails gangs began mobilizing in Pyro for their invasion of Stanton, they first tried to push through Nyx to establish supply lines.

Specter Systems became the unofficial guardians of the Nyx-Pyro Jump Gate.

The Skirmishes: For six months, Specter Systems engaged in high-intensity guerrilla warfare against Pyro gangs.

Tactical Evolution: This conflict forced the creation of the “Ground-Pounder” Division. Pirate boarding parties were common. Specter Systems trained elite FPS teams to fight in zero-G and depressurized environments. They developed “Breach-and-Burn” tactics, utilizing heavy flamethrowers and grenade launchers to clear pirate Caterpillars.

The Reputation: Specter Systems proved that a small, hyper-advanced force could hold back a numerically superior enemy. They didn’t fight fair; they fought with engineered superiority.

2955: The Sovereign Power (Present Day)
“We are the Law of the Void.”

Today, Specter Systems is the open secret of the Nyx System. We are no longer just a ragtag group of survivors; we are a paramilitary industrial power.

Operations: We run high-value escort missions from Nyx to Stanton for clients who need “Total Security.” If a client hires Specter, they aren’t paying for a ride; they are paying for a guarantee.

The Fleet: Our fleet is a mix of heavily modified production hulls and our own experimental prototypes.

Project Citadel Status: The keel for the first true Specter Systems chassis—The Dagger—has been laid in the main hangar of The Anvil.

Diplomatic Status: We maintain a “Cold Neutrality” with the UEE. They know we exist, but they don’t come into the Glaciem Ring to find us. As long as we hunt pirates, they look the other way regarding our illegal weapon mods.

We are the children of Nyx. Forged in the cold. Built for the kill. We are Specter Systems.