Intrepid Dynamics / INTREPID

Following the “SynthWorld” initiative in 2872, the UEE began to find itself falling well behind schedule in their terraforming initiative in the Chronos system. By 2890, they found themselves under increasing pressure to remain on schedule despite a seemingly constant string of setbacks.
In 2891, a small group of transport pilots began taking lucrative contracts to provide mineral and construction resources to UEE terraformers in Chronos, who were desperate to remain on schedule and willing to make large, “off the books” payouts to avoid embarrassment. Their orders were often small-quantity, valuable shipments with very short delivery times. Seeing the opportunity to profit from the struggling venture, these pilots banded together to take advantage of their respective contacts to fill these high-margin deliveries. Needing a front for the payments, “Intrepid Dynamics” (INTREPID) was formed. For several years, the founding pilots enjoyed massive payouts from the UEE and were able to fund a modest mining and transport fleet of their own to increase the profit margin from materials.
Over time, UEE audits began to draw attention to suspicious spending within the SynthWorld project, resulting in increased regulation of INTREPID’s delivery contracts. This drastically reduced profit margins and delivery frequency to Chronos’ flagship project. No longer the credit generator it used to be, INTREPID decided to part ways with the UEE project and relocate to the Nexus system, where they could take advantage of their established mining infrastructure to continue a profitable mineral-delivery venture.
The approach of 2900 showed a large frontier expansion initiative throughout the UEE. Having established a stockpile of mineral and construction resources during several years of mining work and trading, INTREPID sought to again seek profiteering ventures in the low security regions of the frontier. These colonies often had a high demand for timely material deliveries and the company again flourished from competitive resource bidding between the struggling colony worlds. As human expansion began pushing towards Vanduul space, raids began to happen as the borders collided. Demands for short lead-time delivery of construction and repair materials were in more demand than ever. INTREPID’s fleet of transport ships rose to the profitable task of delivering materials to war torn colonies.
It wasn’t long before some of the influential personalities in Nexus took note of INTREPID’s frequent shipments to the frontier. Some organizations sought to move some of their more “private” cargoes to the frontier, where they could leverage the demand against scarce supplies of luxury items and recreational chemicals. Easily integrated into normal shipments, INTREPID pilots were able to accomodate these requests, augmenting their profits and gaining favor with the local syndicates and their black-market contacts.
After more than a decade of sporadic raids and general fear of the Vanduul throughout the frontier worlds, demand for INTREPID and Nexus’ resources remained high. Their shipments helped to build colonies’ defenses, rebuild ruin following raids and provide the populace some comfort from their struggles.
With the increase in shipment values, the risk to INTREPID’s transport operations did as well. To ensure pilot and shipment safety, INTREPID was able to work through their Nexus contacts to arrange acquisition of “excess” ANVIL ships at a deeply discounted rate. These ships formed a modest but effective security force that was regularly employed for scouting and transport security, with occasional discreet deployments in support of INTREPID’s partner interests.
With a long-standing record for evading detection and ensuring resource delivery under high-risk conditions, INTREPID soon found itself in an unexpected political dilemma. Approached by an agent of an unknown government employer, they were told that the organization’s more “questionable” shipments would be overlooked in exchange for the transport of certain key personnel to frontier worlds, no questions asked. Not interested in running afoul of the Advocacy or whomever employed this agent, the leadership agreed to quietly support these missions. Concerned about competing interest between the Nexus syndicates and whoever employed their new proxy, INTREPID was now carefully balancing the interests of itself and two competing entities.
After several years of successfully managing this odd partnership, INTREPID took note of a pattern of failing colonies that appeared to align with their “off-book” passenger deliveries. These colonies often experienced horrific construction or mining accidents, often resulting in some level of evacuation, and sometimes abandonment, of entire colonies. The affected colonies rarely recovered or flourished following these accidents. On the next contact with their agent, the INTREPID board posed a challenge on whether there was a connection between these charters and the unfortunate accidents befalling the frontier colonies. Given the length of their partnership, the agent disclosed that her employer had been spending a massive amount of money on colony relief; money that could better be spent repelling raids instead of reacting to them. It was further inferred that the abandonment of these colonies posed no great loss to the greater human initiative, and freed critical resources to support an offensive against the Vanduul.
This interaction left INTREPID’s board at the edge of their ethical limits. Turning large profits, even by moving questionable or unknown cargo, was within what they would do in the name of business. But, forcing human colonies to abandon their planets or fall to Vanduul raids was beyond what they were willing to accept.
Having reaped a healthy profit margin for over 20 years, INTREPID was financially secure but needed a way out. Engaging with some of their closer partners within Nexus, INTREPID confessed to their agreement with the mysterious agent and asked for assistance in severing the relationship. In exchange, they would lower their cut of outbound “sensitive” shipments for the next several years.
True to their agreement, the Nexus leadership ensured that INTREPID staff was never again approached by the proxy agent and no pressure was applied to INTREPID or its shipments to the frontier. No criminal charges were brought against the board, or no agency found it important enough to pursue into Nexus. Regardless, the organization was able to save face and ensure their security within their home system.
Now free from political pressures, INTREPID resumed business as normal. To this day, the company makes a healthy living utilizing Nexus’ many jump points to ship materials where the margins turn the best profits. They utilize their fleet to trade for construction material, mine valuable minerals and maintain stockpiles to support their next business venture. Their transport pilots maintain an excellent reputation among the universe’s most formidable blockade runners and can be counted on to deliver high-risk supply shipments to the most dangerous regions of space. Their Security Division is often deployed to respond to shipment threats or in defense of the company’s interests within Nexus. INTREPID relies on its agents throughout the galaxy to report on profiteering opportunities, market shifts and disaster intelligence, so the company can best stage materials and provide critical aid where it can best be used- and paid for.