Black Hole Traders / BKHT

This group consists of freelancers, mercs, bounty hunters, ex Advocacy agents and former UEE pilots. We fly an assortment of craft but are single minded in their goals.

Detailed History for the Black Hole Traders Syndicate coming soon.

Humble Beginnings

On October 12th, 2527 SET, three friends struggled to pick up the pieces after the RSI Jumpdrive manufacturing facility they had worked at for generations closed it’s doors. No warning, no severance, not even a think you. They just rolled up to work like any other day but when they got to the gate, it was locked and there hung a sign.

Plant Closed

We regret to inform you that due to the dwindling populations in this sector, RSI is unable to meet the output required to maintain operations at this facility.

-Mgmt

Over the previous 15 years, more and more people had been leaving to seek out new live on Terra. Everyone saw the writing on the walls – work crews getting smaller, work orders weren’t flowing in as quickly as they once were, engineers started coming by less and less – by no one wanted to admit it.

Well, now they had no choice.

Though the plant no longer employed anywhere near the amount of workers it once did, the sudden closure of the facility still had an undisputed impact on countless lives. Some were lucky enough to find other jobs near by. Some were able to move to one of the neighboring sectors to find suitable employment. Still others were not so lucky and joined the growing population of vagabond earthlings that the colonization of Terra left in its wake. There aren’t many history books around that still mention THAT side of the story. But these three? Well, they had a different plan in mind.

Rags To Riches

Unwilling to leave the home they and their ancestors had known for millennia, but unable to sustain a life with few jobs available and more businesses closing their doors everyday, they were facing few options. They needed a miracle. What they got, was an idea.

Pooling they last of their remaining funds on what might be the most important gamble of all of their lives, the friends scraped together enough to purchase a beat up old cargo vessel. They had just enough left over for a full tank of fuel and some spare credits to cover a few docking fees, and with that, they formed “Packages From Home” and began making runs from Earth to Terra delivering supplies.

As it turned out, the older generation longed for many of the familiar things they had grown accustomed to on earth that they were unable to get on Terra. By now, the younger generations were almost 100% natives, born on Terra, and found items from Earth to be Exotic, must-have rarities from a foreign world. It was all a bit strange really, but as long as they were buying it, Packages From Home was happy to bring it. They even began transporting Terran goods back with them on their return trips to Earth further increasing their profits and helping to intermingle the two cultures.

All in all, the early days of Packages From Home were an enormous success and after five years their reputation, along with the continued growth of the UPE, allowed them to diversifying their cargo and expand their route to more far reaching systems. The cold war with the Xi’an was still very new which left a lot of cargo runners scared to venture too far from the safety of the inner most UPE controlled areas. This created a very profitable situation with very little competition for those willing to take on the extra risk. Packages From Home thrived in this vast and open market expanding their fleet and becoming one of the largest and most well known trade delivery services in the UPE.

When the first Tevarin War broke out in 2541, their reputation truly paid off in the form of several military contracts moving supplies to the Naval Forces on the front lines. After Imperator Messer I created the UEE, Packages From Home maintained their relationship with the Military and expanded their influence in the trade industry across the verse.

The Greater Good

Around 2550 the leaders of the organization decided they had had enough of the ever growing tyranny and oppression served up by Ivar Messar. Through their travels within and among the various systems, they had learned of a few pockets of resistance and decided to join the cause. Using the fictitious name “Black Hole Trading Company”, Packages From Home began making covert runs of supplies for the resistance. Their close ties within the government and specifically the Military forces, also allowed them to begin trading in a much more valuable commodity than ever before – Information.

By the time the resistance was common knowledge throughout the verse, Packages From Home was deeply rooted in the rebellion. What had started as simply providing a way for the rebels to get supplies and information back and forth between their factions had developed into full blown espionage. Communications being moved within the government didn’t always make it on time. Sometimes the details were no longer accurate. Weapon and supply shipments arrived a little ‘lighter’ than they were when they were sent. Meanwhile, those that refused to give in to the Messar Era propaganda machine grew stronger and stronger. Government raids on known rebel bases often turned up empty. Sometimes all signs pointed to the inhabitants having left hastily, as if the rebels had advanced warning of the coming raid. Sometimes, UEE insurgents arrived at the coordinates contained in their top secret communications to find no signs of a structure or of recent inhabitants of any kind.

No Good Deed…

But, nothing lasts forever and eventually, the UEE realized that “Packages From Home” and “The Black Hole Trading Company” were one and the same. The company moved its base of operations to the fringes of space and officially adopted the name Black Hole Traders. Though they never resorted to all out piracy, you’d never know it by the way the UEE hunted them down. At one point, members were so few and spread so far across the verse, that it looked as if soon there would be no one around to continue what those three friends had started so long ago.

Then, when the 2nd Tevarin War broke out in 2603, the UEE was forced to turn their attention elsewhere. This provided the perfect distraction for BHT to be able to regroup and rebuild their organization. By the end of the war, most of the heat was off. The military no longer actively hunts us down, but they don’t exactly sing our praises every time we enter UEE space either. But hey, that’s ok by us, just as long as we’re still get to bring in the credits.

A Home for Lost Children

more to come
When you’re good at what you do, growth is inevitable, whether you want it or not…

2945 and beyond

more to come