by Head_STSince the bulk of Alliance Federal Task Force 7 was lost to a savage Reaver attack and a scandal resulted from the corrupt behavior of certain Alliance Terraforming Commission representatives, the Federal peacekeeping mission on Ataraxia has largely been abandoned. A token Federal presence remains, but the operation of the mines has been entirely outsourced to the independent contractor Dexeldyne Industries. Dexeldyne is infamous among professional terraformers and mine operators for their rumored ties to the criminal underworld as well as their heavy-handed use of convict and slave labor, but the organization also has a strong reputation for getting the job done if the customer is not too fussy about such things as collateral damage and body counts.
The revocation of the Magistracy’s leasehold on Ataraxia in Federal court and the subsequent collapse of the Ataraxian Civil Authority, coupled with a weakening of the Alliance’s will to provide peacekeepers, has created a power vacuum in Freefall Camp. The Ataraxian Volunteer Militia, or the Browncoat Resistance, or possibly other armed groups, may attempt to put themselves forward as the rightful leaders of the community. Which one, if any, will prevail remains to be determined. The Followers of the True Path, with their secretive ways and supposed supernatural powers, are also a force to be reckoned with in the area.
Reaver raids have become less frequent, but no less savage. With little hope of Alliance aid or protection, transport and salvage vessels operate at their own risk. The lure of the profits to be made from transporting titanium ore and other less legitimate resources off world, however, is bound to draw ships back to Ataraxia.
