BARD PAPER: DANI9004

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Iron Butterflies

by Peter Gray

Headquarters: Errogel/Atsah/Deneb and Dophkah/Atsah/Deneb

Organisational Data: Founded in 1143. A number of free traders in Atsah Subsector survived the first wave of Vampire attacks in the late 1130s. Led by a remarkable woman named Kux Harper-Caleva, the Atsah merchants banded together on their own in an effort to keep local interstellar trade alive. RQS agents began to assist the group early in its genesis, and eventually it became a large free trader collective, and then kingmaker for the entire Vanguard Way.

The influence of the RQS is found throughout the Iron Butterflies' entire hiearchy. This explains in large part the division of responsibility between both Errogel and Dophkah. Unlike the Souk, however, the role of the "rock" is more supervisory, as the Butterflies have strongly resisted their excessive control, and because the existence of the Corfinium Corps gives the Regency a military presence in the trailing part of the subsector anyway. The collective has largely blue collar origins anyway, and that work ethic still colors their organisation and relationship with each other and their homeworlds.

Despite their homespun appeal, the group has used their near trade monopoly to leverage the acquisition of many of Atsah's richest resources. Individual ship captains/owners have purchased most of the subsectors mines and richest agricultural areas. Through a selective amount of both economic and military pressure, a growing number of local warlords have been subordinated to the "Iron Barons", and the traders now effectively control most of the subsector through both unseen intermediaries and overt political alliances. Most of the Butterflies have used this wealth to enrich themselves, their crews and their homeworlds of Errogel and Dophkah. Many owners plan to trade their assets in exchange for factory equipment and newer ships, and effectively become the subsectors entrepenuerial elite in the process.

Ships

Ships

Mercantile

1x7000 ton Van der Waals Science Cruiser