// TRADE COMPANIES

Ironway Cargo Guild

"Your word, our freight. Both arrive intact."

Faction: Independent Keth (affiliated with Ashveld Covenant)

Home station: Duskhollow Station; secondary presence at Confluence Station and Redwatch Outpost

OL range served: Early through mid-game (OL 5–60)

Contract tiers: Tier 1–3

Character

The Ironway Cargo Guild predates the New Concordat. It was built by Keth freight pilots who refused to work for Praxar-aligned carrier operations after the Third Border War - hauling cargo under the Praxar banner meant hauling the wrong kind of cargo, with the wrong kind of consequences if it was found.

Ironway operates on the Keth honor system in its most practical form. When Ironway says the cargo will arrive, it will arrive. When Ironway says a route is safe, it is safe or they would have told you it wasn't. When Ironway says the contract terms are the contract terms, they mean all the terms, including the ones that protect you.

This makes Ironway deeply trustworthy and occasionally very difficult to work with. Their time windows are strict because they believe imprecision is disrespect. Their reputation system is unforgiving below Trusted because they genuinely don't want contractors they can't rely on. Their reward multipliers for on-time and early delivery are the highest of any launch company because they believe the work deserves fair payment.

Standing with Ironway also grants partial standing with the Ashveld Covenant faction. Ironway is one of the cleaner paths to Keth-space trust.

Voice

Short sentences. Direct statements. No hedging, no qualifications that aren't real conditions. Keth voice register throughout - questions are professional expectations, not curiosity.

"Cargo: Ashveld-series hull plating, 6 units. Redwatch Outpost, freight bay 3. Window: 28 minutes. You'll make it if you fly straight. If you don't make it, we'll know why. We won't accept an explanation that involves bad routing decisions."

"Delivered inside window. Cargo intact. You're building a reputation. Keep building it."

"Forty minutes late. Goods accepted. Contract marked late. Three late contracts in the last twelve: we'll talk. This isn't a warning. It's a record."

What They're Actually Moving

Hull plating, drive components, weapons hardware (legal, Concordat-licensed), medical supplies for Keth frontier stations, salvage materials from cleared combat zones. Ironway will also move cargo that other shippers won't touch - not illegal cargo, but cargo from places other shippers prefer not to be seen: contested nav points, recently de-escalated war zones, stations that just changed hands.

At Tier 3, Ironway has classified contracts: sealed cargo from Ashveld faction leadership. These don't say what's in them. Ironway doesn't ask. Neither should the contractor. The payout reflects that.

Reputation Tiers

Routes

Primarily Keth space and the approaches to it. Confluence Station is their cross-racial hub. They have routes into neutral space (Wreck Field, Crucible) but nothing into Varath industrial core or Meridian deep space - they have no political reason to trust those stations with their cargo.

Sample route names:

• Frontier resupply: "Duskhollow to Forward Station Kherak - Standard Load"
• Combat zone logistics: "Redwatch Outpost - Post-Engagement Materiel Recovery"
• Classified: "Ashveld Secure Freight - Recipient ID Required at Destination"