A Lost Brother, Part 1

Jed wasn't the same.

Normally, he is always focused on his work. Having served several years in the Imperial Navy as well as earning the rerspect of the Sarum Family, Jedadiah had developed a reputation for getting many an agent out of trouble. When the war broke out with the Minmatar, he didn't hesitate to seek out ways to serve his empire.

Oh, hello. My name is Jonas Calvin. I am a long time friend and confidant of Jedadiah Theodoulos, second in line to the patriarchal head of the House Theodoulos. The Theodoulos family has never been big, but their ties to both the Sarum Family as well as Ardishapuran Dynasty are strong. This strength has made them wealthy; quite wealthy.

Anyways, Jed really wanted to serve his empire. The Matari Invastion brought home the need to stop the barbaric onslaught, and Jedadiah never was the type to sit back when his help was needed.

At first I thought things were going well. Jed was always careful who he associated himself with. Through the help of several contacts in the Domain Region, he narrowed down the alliances he was interested in joining. He never wanted ties with pirate corps, and though Jed never had troubles working with "foreigners," like most Amarrians he preferred the companionship of his own people the most.

Jed had narrowed down the list to two alliances. The first was Curatores Veritatis Alliance. For years, CVA has had a strong reputation of being defenders of the Empire, as well as having little to no tolerance for pirates. They had pushed back the pirates South of Domain and had established the region of Providence for the Empire. The second alliance caught his attention even more. It wasn't as large as CVA, but their reputation was so strong, and Jedadiah was drawn to it almost instantly. This was the Vigilia Valeria, also known as VV. Like a Syrikos Hound, they have an undaunting reputation to lock onto a target and not allow anything to deter them from their mission. Jed didn't have to say anything. I knew his heart was with this group.

That morning I met up with Jed at the family's hanger in Irnin VII.

"Good morning, Sir", I greeted him. "How did things go with your interview?" I knew he had an interview with Marshal Gangleri of the Vigilia Valeria Expeditionary Forces, which is the VV branch for the Amarrian Navy.

"Fine, fine", he replied; appearing to be deep in thought.

I didn't notice it at first, but later on while thinking back on that moment, I realized that Jed wasn't fine. He appeared to be a bit sullen, and more introverted than he normally is. Yet, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary so I hadn't given it a second thought; until later.

After breakfast, Jed came into the Capsuleer's Lounge and announced that he had a rather large project for me to perform.

"Jonas, I need to consolidate much of my assets and I am going to need your help", he started off. "We're going to clear out all the hangers in both the Ebtesham as well as the Youl Clusters, and move them to a more secure location."

This was different. Jed had acquired a large amount of assets in these clusters serving both the Amarr Navy as well as the Sarum Family, and I knew that this was going to be no small feat.

"Very well Sir", I replied. "Where are we moving to?"

His answer almost made my heart stop.

"The Bleak Lands", came his response.

That was when I knew things were not fine.