*** Inter Galactic News ***
RAT returns under Harry Hawker. The organisation is rebuilding practically with outposts and a credit system that rewards deeds, treating the past as a clean slate.
Flagritz–AFT war continues. Over a month of fighting with comparable losses; AFT rejected Flagritz surrender terms and attacks are increasing.
FCN removes AFT from Acropolis. Sporadic reports say the FCN has forcibly ejected the AFT from the system; no official comment available.

***THE RATS ARE BACK

The re-emergence of the RAT and the Rise of Harry Hawker

**By the SSS Editor**

There are names in the Periphery that refuse to stay buried. They vanish from charts, their ships disappear, bases go dark and their contacts scatter, until eventually the organisation itself becomes little more than a story told by old spacers who remember when things were supposedly more interesting. The RAT was one of those names.

Standing for Raiding, Acquisition & Trade, the organisation emerged during the rise of the Confederacy and established itself in the less respectable, though often considerably more profitable, corners of interstellar commerce. Raiders, smugglers, traders, thieves and opportunists could all find a place beneath its banner, provided they were willing to do business. At its height, the organisation was reputed to possess hundreds of ships, an extensive network of contacts and a reputation that travelled considerably further than its own territory. There was even an old Periphery saying, “You are never more than six systems from a RAT.” Then the name disappeared.

Exactly what happened has never been established. Some accounts suggest the organisation collapsed after the old Confederate period, while others believe portions were absorbed into larger concerns. Another theory has persisted for years, that it never truly vanished at all, but simply went quiet. Whatever the truth, the name eventually became little more than a piece of history.

Now it has begun appearing again, with Harry Hawker at the centre of its resurgence.

The new 'gaffer' appears to have inherited rather less of the organisation's former glory than its problems. Years without clear direction have left ships and infrastructure in need of attention, assets requiring assessment and an operation that needs more than a familiar name if it is going to function again. The early signs suggest Hawker understands that. The organisation is therefore being rebuilt from the practical end, with production, trade and maintenance taking precedence over grand declarations. It is establishing the foundations required to operate in the present day. Outposts are being established and considered as practical facilities for storage, maintenance, staging and trade. A single facility might simply provide somewhere for a ship to stop and resupply, but several begin to form a network, and networks were always among the organisation's more valuable assets.

Perhaps the most unusual part of the rebuilding, however, is the rumoured 'RAT credit system', which is evidently already being used to record how individuals and organisations engage with the returning operation.

The SSS understands that credits are not simply handed out but are fundamentally earned through actions. Making contact and establishing a friendly relationship earns an initial measure of credit. Someone who approaches the organisation openly but makes it clear that they would rather maintain their distance can still earn credit for being straightforward. An offer of assistance earns more, while actually following through with practical help earns further credit. Tangible contributions, such as donating ships, equipment, modules or other useful resources, carry greater weight again.

In other words, the ledger records deeds rather than promises. A conversation can open an account, but what someone actually does determines how much credit they accumulate. Exactly what those credits will eventually buy remains deliberately less certain. They may translate into favours, access, assistance, opportunities or preferential consideration when the time comes to ask something of the organisation. Their value is likely to depend upon both the size of the contribution and the relationship behind it. What is clear is that Hawker intends to remember who helped build the new organisation while it was still finding its feet.

The system also provides an important clue to how the returning leadership views the past. The re-emergence of the RAT is being treated as a clean slate opportunity by their new leader. Previous disputes, old hostilities and whatever history may exist between the organisation and others do not necessarily have to dictate what happens next. A group that once regarded the name with suspicion may find that the relationship can be different this time around, provided both sides are willing to approach it on new terms.

Hawker has already announced his arrival on the political scene. The opportunity to engage was there for everyone. Not everyone chose to answer. That does not automatically make those who remained quiet enemies, but it does mean they have missed an opportunity to establish themselves while the books are still being written. When a new gaffer announces his arrival and leaves the door open for people to decide what sort of relationship they want, choosing not to walk through it is itself a decision. Silence can be deafening.

For those who have made contact, the credit ledger therefore represents more than a running tally of favours. It is becoming a record of the new relationships being built around the organisation, separate from whatever may have happened before. Those who contribute now have the opportunity to shape how they are regarded in the future, while those who choose to remain on the sidelines will have less influence over what is written beside their name.

That approach appears to extend into the wider political landscape. Hawker is studying who controls what, where borders are open or restricted, which relationships are useful and where the organisation might encounter resistance. Several groups have already established a position, while others have yet to do so. Rather than rushing into formal alliances or territorial ambitions, the new leadership appears intent on understanding the landscape before deciding where to place its weight. That process could prove particularly important as the organisation expands beyond its immediate rebuilding work. Exploration is expected to become a larger part of its activities once the foundations are secure, and a larger fleet may eventually follow, potentially including more capable warships. What those ships will ultimately be used for remains unclear, but there is little reason to assume an organisation with this history will be content to remain purely commercial.

The Peripheries spent a long time forgetting the name. Hawker's challenge is to make people remember it without simply recreating what existed before. If the current rebuilding succeeds, the result will not be a historical curiosity dragged back into the light, but an organisation adapted to a very different landscape, equipped with new infrastructure, new relationships and a system that places value on what people actually do.

The Rats are back, and this time Harry Hawker is keeping the books.***

***Submission from the Flagritz

The Flagritz Republic has now been at war with the Association of Free Traders for over a month. Numerous battles have been fought across a number of systems with the AFT losing a number of outposts some of them important bases in the +Redacted+ systems. The AFT have had a number of small victories wiping out sizeable numbers of FLZ warships with losses comporable on either side. The Flagritz offered terms for surrender to the AFT this past week detailing the return of captured FLZ ships and personnel and the return of a platform in Halo which was boarded and captued by the AFT. Terms which were refused by the AFT to the surprise of the FLZ who consider Drax to be a little crazy for rejecting terms.
The war now seems to be continuing into its second month with the FLZ increasing the frequency of attacks upon the AFT.***

***AFT removed from Acroppolis
The FCN have forcibly removed the AFT from the home system of Acropolis according to sporadic reports coming from the system, the FCN PD was unavaliable for comment***

*** Affiliations ***

AFT Association of Free Traders (54) - Drax
BHD - Brotherhood (63) - Dracolith
CAT - Catchan Felini (55) - Elisa Purr
CIA - Combined Intelligence Agency (64) - Laton CIA
CON - Continuum Collective (24) - Veridian
DEN -Dewiek Elder Nation (67) - Aadolf
DNA - Displaced Naplian Alliance (66) - Wodenzoon people
DTR - Detinus Republic (58) - Morley Decker
FCN - Falconian Republic (70) - Writ N Anser
FEL - Felini Tyranny (49) - Kr'Shan
FLZ - Flagritz Republic (47) - Kayxaer
FET - Frontier Exploration & Trade (56) - Cu Chulainn
GTT - Galactic Trade & Transport (52) - Xavier Fox
KRL - Krell (30) - Namica
KRT - Krell of the Reverence Temple (37) - Cyn
KST - Kastor Kastorians (12) - Kastor
MOH - Mohache (73) - Listens
NHS - Noble Houses (41) - Roy Roberts
NLF - Naplian Liberation Front (38) - NLFHQ
RAT - Raiding , Acquisition and Ttrade (17) - Harry Hawker
SMS - Stellar Mining and Smelting (53) - MikhailM
WMB - Wimble Nations (25) - zz
WOD - Wodenzoon Industries (61) - Wodenzoon people

* Leader MAY be inactive, affiliation may be active
** Only known contact, please update us if this is incorrect.

NPC / FoC: ARC, CIV, CGT, FRE, HBO, HEF, IND, ISP, JCN, MEK, MRC, PIR, PRV, TCA, TRN, KAS
Inactive: ANT, COD, DOM, GCE, HEX, HVE, IDC, IMP, RIP, RCF, SKW, TAG,

*** Submissions ***

By private message to SSS Associate Editor or via Mica if you prefer to remain anonymous.