Black Sun's Future in Imperial Union Uncertain
Hacked by: Rayus Kestyn - Faction: ViskCor News Network
Date: Year 17 Day 166 Location Unknown
"Black Sun has been the target of much in the way of smear campaigns and propaganda by the New Republic that tries to vilify our differing methods of governance," were the words of then-Dark Prince Banquo Knox, as he established Black Sun's position within the second Imperial Union alongside the Galactic Empire and Tresario Star Kingdom. Hailed as a major victory of the crime syndicate after years of turmoil with the Galactic Alliance which erupted from two former Chiefs of State having direct ties to the leadership of Black Sun. Black Sun has a long and checkered past, but the most memorable moments of Black Sun's history lie in their takeover of the New Republic in its infancy. Black Sun agents infiltrated, scammed, and killed their way through the New Republic - plundering countless dozens of unique starships and technology, along with conquering a few worlds. Black Sun's chaotic rise to power would not end there. They would go on to claim The Antarian Rangers and Aurora Technologies, collecting their worlds and their assets for their own. Establishing themselves as a full-fledged government and forming diplomatic relations with other major powers was seen as an end to the days of guile and deceit as a form of leadership. But how do those relationships within the Imperial Union and the rest of the galaxy fare today? According to both internal and external sources, those relations may be on the rocks more than ever.
Most recently, a young Herglic named Henry Farlander was caught in a fully-fledged scamming ring which targeted Imperial citizens. After failing to scam Neria Derycke, Grand Marshal of CorSec, out of 250,000,000 credits - Henry quickly moved to another target, Draven Diesel. He was able to con Draven out of his Strike-Class Medium Cruiser and an Arquitens Light Cruiser. Within hours of these actions, it was reported that Henry Farlander had been captured and killed thanks to quick work by Vandal Archibald, a member of the Black Sun Family. When asked about what had happened to the ships, Vandal was quick to implicate another individual of the scamming ring - Horatius Solomon. According to Mr Archibald, Horatius had sold him the ship Henry was on days before and he had been the mastermind behind the whole scam. However, new information recently came to light pointing to Vandal Archibald himself as the ringleader who had instructed Henry to target Imperial citizens, using Horatius as a scapegoat for his actions, and using Black Sun as the conduit for executing his plans.
Despite Vandal's actions against Imperial citizens, it didn't seem to slow down his growth potential within Black Sun. Recently oathed into the Family by Dark Prince Jeor Knight, Mr Archibald was quick to accuse Minister Gavin von Ismay of treason against Black Sun. Without so much as a single question or interrogation of the facts, the Dark Prince swiftly ordered von Ismay’s execution. In exchange for the information Vandal provided, inside informants report that Jeor had promised him a manufacturing company sponsored by Black Sun for himself and several other members of the government organisation who were working with Vandal. Whether Black Sun knew about the scamming ring targeting Imperialists is unknown, however Vandal used his position in the Black Sun Family to obtain wealth and obtain the privileges necessary to conduct his scams against them smoothly. Logs show that Vandal may have been attempting several scams against high-ranking Black Sun officials as well and once the extent of the plans had been made public, reports from inside Black Sun indicate that Mr Archibald was executed after an emergency assembly of the Family Council.
To the informed observer, these allegations may serve as a thermal detonator to the connection between Black Sun and the Galactic Empire. Relations between the two governments have been strained since the departure of the former Dark Prince Banquo Knox and after Cait Catra and Niobe Asha departed Black Sun with a number of Star Destroyers and other assets, the Empire's trust in Black Sun waned further. Black Sun lost its status as a legally recognized government in the galaxy at that time too, causing only further issues. Relations improved slightly during Underlord Alexander von Ismay's reign as the Empire provided several billion credits in planetary development aid, however restricted technology remained off the table. A source on the Family Council indicates that Black Sun remains on a 'restricted technology ban' for two years, largely due to the instability of it’s leadership and a lack of trust and cooperation between the two governments. Within Black Sun, the Dark Prince has moved swiftly to solidify control of the Government under his reign quot; though reportedly with many missteps. In just a couple of months since his reign began, several high-ranking Family members resigned and a few have been executed by his order. In regards to the Family Council, both the Vigo of Defense and Vigo of Interior positions remain empty while other Vigos have been severely restricted in their powers and responsibilities. Sources from inside Black Sun have said execution powers and credit transfer privileges have been revoked from all members of the Family Council, and that additional measures of security have been taken to protect all Black Sun assets.
The Dark Prince has also called all Family members to the BSS Ill Gotten Gains to swear their loyalty to him, a process being described as a method of “weeding out” those not loyal to the new leadership of Black Sun. With Black Sun Family members targeting Imperial citizens in a series of scams and a reported crisis of leadership in Black Sun lurching towards paranoia, there is little question as to why the Galactic Empire might distrust them with their most powerful warships. The real question that remains is how much longer can one expect the Galactic Empire to tolerate the chaos of Black Sun as a member of the Imperial Union?
