2 members
The Black Drift Collective / DRIFTC
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Piracy -
Trading
“RIGHT BY OUR OWN” – In a universe shaped by power, borders, and the illusion of morality, we carve our own path.
We are explorers, pushing past the edges of the known to uncover what others fear to seek.
We are pirates, taking what the ‘verse refuses to give and writing our own rules in the void.
History
⟡ HISTORY OF THE BLACK DRIFT COLLECTIVE ⟡
As compiled from recovered logs, fragmented comms, and survivor testimony.
I. ORIGINS IN THE BLACK (c. 2920–2933)
No one agrees on the exact day the Collective began.
Some say it started as a group of independent haulers and explorers who vanished along an unstable jump line near the Hades system.
Others claim it was born from a failed deep-space expedition funded by a private research group whose vessels never officially returned.
The most reliable accounts trace the roots to a scattered network of small crews—miners, drifters, smugglers, and ex-military outcasts—who worked the dangerous, unregulated borders of UEE space. These crews often shared intel informally, trading star maps and salvage tips to survive.
One name appears consistently in early references:
Captain Venn Mallick, Pathfinder and former cartographer for an unregistered jump-survey project.
After breaking ties with his employers under disputed circumstances, Mallick disappeared into the frontier with a handful of loyal pilots. Months later, those same pilots re-emerged escorting several heavily-modified ships laden with valuable salvage and unclaimed minerals.
Rumors spread fast.
A group operating beyond law.
Moving between systems like ghosts.
Profiting from wrecks no one else even knew existed.
This group became the first identified nucleus of what would later be known as the Black Drift Collective.
II. THE CONSOLIDATION YEARS (2933–2941)
During this era, a series of events forced the scattered frontier crews to band together:
1. The Eltanin Derelict Rush
When an enormous derelict cluster was discovered near Eltanin, dozens of crews—legal and otherwise—raced to strip it.
Conflict erupted immediately.
Mallick’s group took control of the most valuable sections not through brute force, but through cunning:
they moved at night, in EVA silence, securing reactor cores and data drives before anyone realized they were there.
Other crews took notice.
Efficiency. Secrecy. Results.
Many began coordinating with Mallick’s people, sharing intel and escort duties in exchange for a cut.
2. The Garrison Massacre
A well-known outlaw pack attempted to seize the Combined Drift assets by force.
The Drift did not match their aggression with more aggression—
they simply ambushed the attackers’ supply lines, cut their escape routes, and let the void finish the job.
Word spread:
The Drift protects its own.
3. Formation of the Command Circle
As more crews joined, leadership could no longer fall to a single captain.
Mallick established the Command Circle, a council of trusted operatives with different specialties—Pathfinders, Reavers, Harvesters, and Wardens.
With structure came identity.
With identity came loyalty.
With loyalty came power.
By 2941, the Black Drift Collective operated in:
Odin
Pyro
Tiber
Fringe systems with uncharted pockets
And abandoned lanes left from forgotten jump experiments
The UEE had no official records on them yet—only rumors.
III. THE SHADOW EXPANSION (2941–2950)
As corporate and UEE interests tightened their grip on the frontier, the Collective adapted instead of retreating.
New Salvage Territories
The Drift began mapping pockets of space unreachable or unprofitable for larger corporations.
Fuel-dead warships, research stations sealed by debris, forgotten Argo mining tunnels—
the Drift turned them into wealth.
The Ghost Routes
Pathfinders perfected a network of off-grid travel corridors using:
unstable mini-jumps
derelict station tunnels
asteroid field shunts
decoy transponder paths
These became known as Ghost Routes—
safer than they looked, deadlier than they appeared.
Shifting Morality
The Collective developed its now-famous ethic:
“Right is what strengthens the Drift.
Wrong is what threatens it.”
This period forged the philosophy that defines them today.
IV. THE NAMING OF THE DRIFT (2950)
The group still operated namelessly to outsiders until 2950, when a journalist embedded with a competing salvage outfit wrote:
“They move like a black tide in forgotten space—
a drifting shadow you don’t see until everything of value is already gone.”
The crews loved it.
They adopted it.
Thus: The Black Drift Collective.
V. MODERN ERA (2950–Present)
Today, the Collective is:
Part exploration faction — charting micro-jumps and unclaimed anomalies
Part pirate syndicate — striking with intent, never waste
Part salvage empire — turning the galaxy’s leftovers into capital
Part ideological refuge — a haven for those unfit for rigid authority
They maintain no homeworld, no fixed base, no official headquarters.
The Drift itself is their territory—
a shifting network of hidden caches, repurposed outposts, and mobile fleets.
Membership is selective.
Loyalty is absolute.
History is written only as needed.
The rest is lost to the void.
Which is exactly how they prefer it.
Manifesto
I. WE ARE THE DRIFT
Between the cracks of empires, beyond the glow of sanctioned space, lies the Black Drift—
a place of silence, shadow, and unclaimed potential.
We do not fear the unknown; we breathe it.
Every jump we make is a refusal to be limited,
every discovery a reminder that the universe still has secrets worth taking.
II. WE MOVE WHERE ORDER DIES
Civilized space clings to law, morality, and codes written for the comfortable.
Out here, those things dissolve.
In the Drift, value is determined not by permission,
but by whoever has the will to seize it.
We strike with precision, vanish without a trace,
and leave behind only rumors and wreckage.
III. EVERYTHING HAS VALUE—IF YOU’RE WILLING TO CLAIM IT
Asteroids, abandoned stations, forgotten wrecks, derelicts swallowed by time—
the galaxy wastes more than it protects.
We gather what the universe discards.
We salvage, mine, dismantle, refine, repurpose.
We build our strength from the bones of the forgotten
and the arrogance of those who thought their property was safe.
IV. OUR CODE IS NOT MORALITY—IT IS NECESSITY
The Black Drift Collective recognizes no binary of right or wrong.
We operate by a single principle:
If it sustains us, strengthens us, or secures us—
then it is ours to pursue.
We do not harm without purpose.
We do not steal without intent.
But we do not hesitate when opportunity rises.
Survival is not a sin.
Sovereignty is not a crime.
V. WE PROTECT OUR OWN
The Drift is merciless to outsiders,
but a sanctuary for those who carry its mark.
We honor loyalty.
We defend our collective.
No member drifts alone.
No victory is solitary.
No betrayal is forgotten.
VI. WE CHART A PATH THAT NO EMPIRE CAN CLAIM
Legislators write rules.
Corporations draw borders.
Governments build walls.
We break all three simply by existing.
Our discoveries are ours alone.
Our routes are carved in silence.
Our future is unwitnessed, unregulated, and unstoppable.
**VII. WE ARE THE SILENCE BETWEEN STARS—
AND THE FORCE THAT SHAPES IT**
In the void, there is no judgment.
Only motion.
Only will.
Only the Drift.
And we follow it wherever it leads—
into darkness, into profit, into legend.
**We are The Black Drift Collective.
Unbound. Unruled. Unapologetic.**
We take what we need.
We find what’s lost.
We go where no one else dares.
Charter
⟡ THE CHARTER OF THE BLACK DRIFT COLLECTIVE ⟡
PREAMBLE
In the shadowed corridors of the galaxy, where empires fade and forgotten lanes stretch across the void, we—the free, the unbound, the seekers of the Drift—declare the formation of The Black Drift Collective.
We establish this Charter not to limit ourselves, but to unify our purpose:
to explore without permission, acquire without apology, and endure without submission.
ARTICLE I — IDENTITY & PURPOSE
Section 1. Name
This organization shall be known as The Black Drift Collective, hereafter referred to as the Collective or the Drift.
Section 2. Core Purpose
The Collective exists to:
Explore uncharted space and pursue discovery beyond conventional boundaries.
Acquire resources—through mining, salvage, infiltration, and opportunity—as required for collective strength.
Operate independently of external authority, moral dogma, or political influence.
Protect the autonomy and prosperity of all its members.
ARTICLE II — PRINCIPLES OF THE DRIFT
Section 1. Sovereignty of Choice
The Collective recognizes no universal morality.
What benefits the Drift is right; what threatens it is wrong.
Section 2. Value in All Things
Every derelict, asteroid, wreck, route, and moment holds potential.
The Collective shall seize opportunity wherever it manifests.
Section 3. Loyalty Above Law
Members shall prioritize the safety, secrecy, and survival of the Collective over all external laws or obligations.
Section 4. Silence of the Void
Information about the Collective’s locations, operations, and leadership is to be safeguarded.
Loose words drift farther than ships.
ARTICLE III — MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Entry
Membership is open to individuals who demonstrate capability, discretion, and alignment with the philosophy of the Drift.
Section 2. Expectation of Conduct
Members shall:
Support fellow operatives in pursuit of shared goals.
Respect internal hierarchy and mission command.
Contribute skills, resources, or intelligence when called upon.
Uphold the secrecy of the Collective’s routes, caches, and intentions.
Section 3. Removal
Betrayal, sabotage, or disclosure of sensitive operations shall result in immediate severance from the Collective—by exile, force, or circumstance.
ARTICLE IV — LEADERSHIP & STRUCTURE
Section 1. Command Circle
The Collective shall be guided by a Command Circle—a council of proven members who have earned authority through action, not title.
Section 2. Roles
The Collective recognizes several operational pillars:
Pathfinders — Explorers and navigators of uncharted regions.
Reavers — Leaders guiding the Collective toward its goals
Harvesters — Miners, salvagers, and acquisition teams.
Wardens — Protectors of members, assets, and secrets.
Merchants — Dealers, fences, and smugglers.
Members may shift roles based on skill, need, or mission.
Section 3. Decision Authority
The Command Circle holds authority over:
High-risk missions
Collective resource distribution
Conflict resolution
Strategic alliances or hostilities
However, no leader may demand a member act against the survival interests of themselves or the Collective.
ARTICLE V — OPERATIONS & CONDUCT
Section 1. Exploration Protocol
Pathfinders shall map unclaimed routes, derelict fields, and resource-rich regions, but such data belongs to the Collective as a whole.
Section 2. Acquisition Protocol
The Collective obtains resources through mining, salvage, negotiation, trade, or selective force.
Target selection must align with strategic value and operational necessity.
Section 3. Engagement Protocol
Unprovoked violence against insignificant or powerless targets is discouraged—waste invites retaliation.
Purposeful action, however, is always sanctioned.
Section 4. Asset Sharing
High-value discoveries, caches, and routes shall be reported to the Command Circle for coordinated use benefiting the Collective.
ARTICLE VI — SECURITY & SECRECY
Section 1. Operational Silence
Members shall not disclose mission details, Drift routes, staging zones, or Collective assets to outsiders.
Section 2. Identity Protection
The Collective does not require members to reveal personal histories, previous allegiances, or reasons for joining.
What matters is loyalty here and now.
Section 3. Threat Response
Any entity threatening the Collective’s secrecy or territory shall be met with decisive force, sabotage, or erasure.
ARTICLE VII — AMENDMENTS
This Charter may be expanded, altered, or reinterpreted by the Command Circle as circumstances evolve.
The Drift is not static—nor is its law.
**IN THE BLACK WE TRUST.
IN THE DRIFT WE RISE.
IN THE VOID WE ARE FREE.**