"The Ebony Tower is a fortress built by parties unknown. Theories abound as to its origins, but nothing has ever been conclusively proven. Today, it houses various anti-corporate splinter groups - activists, militant protestors and eco-terrorists comingle within its echoing confines, plotting all kinds of doom for the headless monster of capitalism."

"Nice to meet you. My name is Ystvia Lamuette, and I'm one of the chief coordinators of FON's activities in this constellation. Preaux tells me great things about you; apparently you can be of great help in our struggle. I'd like to get a feel for you myself, nonetheless. Show me how fast you can be. There's a rare specimen of plant, a Colelian spider spruce, sitting in the Core Complexion Warehouse at Deltole. Bring it back to me within 15 minutes and I'll reward you handsomely. Then we can talk about what needs to be done for our organization. "

Warning: The schedule to complete this mission within the time frame required to receive the bonus is tight, so do not procrastinate.

"So here's the situation, then. There's a guy named Alarus Ekire. He's the most militant person within our ranks - a real piece of work. Most of us have disagreed with his methods in the past, but he has an authoritative air about him which rouses admiration in the weak. For this reason he's never short of followers, and has managed to maintain his position within FON.

It has now been brought to our attention, due in no small part to your diligent work, that Ekire is the weed in our garden, the one that's been causing all this trouble in the past few weeks. We have to get rid of him, but we can't kill him. If the Wiyrkomi spin doctors have the opportunity to make him into a figurehead, we're finished. So we need to try and smoke him out, lure him into revealing himself.

We need to lay the groundwork first, though, and try to undo some of the damage he's caused. First off, we need to send the clear-cut message that FON do not wish to cast their lot with known cutthroats and murderers. To this end, we need to put our own propaganda machine to work.

There is a Serpentis outpost in one of the outlying systems. According to our intel, no detachments are stationed there at present. I want you to head out there, destroy the outpost, neutralize any opposition you may find, and report back to me. One of our other operatives will shadow you to the area and record the attack, so we can spin this to our advantage and hopefully countermand any bad publicity. "

" The photographer who recorded your strike has given his footage to the post-production people. We should see something from them soon.

We've decided there's no choice but to take the Ekire matter into our own hands. According to our intelligence, he has something like four hundred men under his command, conducting his terrorist operations. Some of them are our own FON activists, others are mercenaries - Navy rejects, working for the highest bidder.

The Deltole system is a key tactical location; many of Ekire's mercs are stationed at an outpost there, and we have solid reports that they're preparing to stage some sort of attack on the Wiyrkomi factory there. This must not be allowed to happen.

We need you to conduct a pre-emptive strike on the outpost, eliminating any personnel you find in the vicinity. As you're not flying under our flag, there should be nothing linking you to the FON, and indeed there can't be - we would never survive the political backlash. Please know that we don't undertake the killing of people lightly. It's our hope that this is the greatly lesser of two evils. "

"We need to move fast. The situation is evolving in unexpected ways. No no, don't sit down. I'll explain this as fast as I can.

While you were out on your last assignment, Ekire himself was mortally wounded in an assassination attempt by unknown assailants. We suspect Wiyrkomi, of course - they have the most to gain from his death, both politically and pragmatically speaking. Likewise, if he dies we stand to take a massive political blow.

Ekire is currently at the Egonics Inc. Development Studio at Parchanier V, bleeding severely and fading fast. Due to a rare blood condition he contracted in an Umokkan jungle while serving as a Legion marine a decade back, transfusion via normal means would kill him. For the procedure to be at all possible he needs an aortal purifier, a seldom-used piece of medical equipment which they don't have at that particular station's med bay.

I need you to head out to Auderne immediately, to the Poteque Pharmaceuticals Biotech Production plant there, and pick up what may be the only aortal purifier available in this whole damn constellation, then bring it out to the doctors in Parchanier. His life - and our success in our campaign here - may very well depend on your speed in this matter. "

"Alarus Ekire is safe and sound, thanks to you. We've uncovered solid evidence of what he's been up to in the sector, and we're making arrangements to have him delivered to the proper authorities safe and sound. There's only one loose end that needs tying up, after which we can go back to business as usual, sticking it to the man. You see, I have this large shipment of wheat here that desperately needs to get dumped in the cogs of the Wiyrkomi station in Fluekele… *grins wickedly* "