The [[Indomitable Bastards Inc.|Indomitable Bastards]] continue to run afoul of mysterious [[Whistler Defense Force|navy]] personnel and even more mysterious phenomena. ### Stalked by [[WDF Dauntless|Dauntless]] After escaping from [[Grove]], the crew's dive was interdicted by a [[Gravitic Distortion]] and they were immediately attacked by [[WDF Dauntless]] - which chased them down to the moon of [[Roberts|Myrr]] and attempted to kill them in the sky and on the ground. The attack would've been impossible without both detailed readings from the crew's dive (which is reasonable), but also would require [[FTL Communications]] that exceed any currently-known method (in order to get the data to [[Roberts]] in time to interdict the crew). Much later while on [[Whistler|Demeter]], the crew learned about the [[Demeter Convoy]] that was brazenly attacked by [[WDF Dauntless]] in an act that nearly started a war with [[Republic of Jericho|Jericho]]. When the crew left [[Whistler|Demeter]], [[ITC A Series of Unlikely Explanations]] was attacked and destroyed by [[WDF Fidelity]], presumably because they thought the [[Indomitable Bastards Inc.|IBI]] crew was aboard. [[Jack Cartwright|Jack]] discovers that [[WDF Dauntless]] came to [[Foxglove]] mid-year wy601 and spent three days at a cluster of asteroids in [[Foxglove|Riker's Belt]]. [[Indomitable Bastards Inc.|IBI]] investigates in [[2023-07-15 - Indomitable bastards Session Notes|August of wy602]] and discovers an [[Arnite]] mine operated by [[Serendipity Systems]], a front company for an unknown entity based on [[Whistler|Trinity Station]]. They discover a [[Arnite Mining Device|device]] that uses sophisticated magnetic fields to cause [[Arnite]] to flow like a liquid and reform into precise ingots. While defending [[Anderson Northwinds]] on [[Helena]], the crew was assisted by [[Felicity Randall]] at the con of the stolen destroyer [[WDF San Anastasia]]. She sent an encoded packet to [[Cara Burton|Cara]], containing [[Recovered Endeavor Messages|encrypted communications]] recovered from [[WDF Endeavor]]. ### [[The Ancients]] The crew is let in on "the second biggest secret in [[Whistler's Reach|The Reach]]": the planets of the colonies are once inhabited (and some even believe created) by an ancient civilization dubbed [[The Ancients]]. After travelling through the [[Einstein-Rosen Gate|Ancient Gate]] to [[Jericho]] and meeting with [[Malachai Wheeler]], the crew believes that the operation in [[Foxglove|Riker's Belt]] was supplying [[Arnite]] to [[Jericho]] to repair their [[Einstein-Rosen Gate|Alien Gate]]. The crew catch the scent of [[Izzy Cordova]]'s trail as he left [[Helena]] after his encounter with the [[Einstein-Rosen Gate|Alien Gate]]. Through exhaustive research, [[Aiden Harlan|Aiden]] believes he's found the genetic sequence that allows [[Tomoe Gozen|Tomoe]] and others to control [[arnite]], amongst other things. His breakthrough came after cross-referencing the sequence with the self-replicating protein used to grow [[Calliope]]'s neural medium.