“We gather here the phantoms of war.
You never hear the children crying, lost in the horror.
The widows weep, when they see the two officers at the door.
The soldiers stay silent, who lost their limbs and their morrows.
This dojo is a monument, to their pain, and to their will to live.
A reminder for the warmongers, that you reap what you sow.”
Synopsis[]
House Reticulum and the 14 Red Dogs Triad are both dealing with the Underworld. On one hand, the 14 Red Dogs deal with the lower class. The Non-Humans, the Serfs, the Freemen and the Corporates. On the other hand, House Reticulum deals with the higher class, nobility. The Bloodlined, the Houses Minor, the Houses Major and the Imperial House.
This in-lore alliance depicts the binding of these two markets.
Both factions share their resources to help each other, and both rule the Underworld.
This alliance uses the Platte Station as headquarters.
The Front[]
In order to work on such business, House Reticulum and the 14 Red Dogs Society have founded the Orthus Initiative.
A dojo that takes in refugees from the war and the isolated population severed from the Empire by the Scream and try to help them back into society through basic training.
This is a natural continuation of the 14 Red Dogs Sector-Wide Care System, and a way to fulfil the objectives of the Boran Initiative.
This dojo receives populations from Bora, Teuthem, Orpheus and Diomikato.
Technician Formations with Reticulum Crafters[]
Reticulum Crafters send a few different crafters every week to help train those refugees in useful skills so that they may help in a variety of positions within Reticulum or the 14 Red Dogs. For Reticulum this means having serfs come help work around the forge and repairing boats, buildings, and other important things around the infrastructure of Aomori. It allows the 14 Red Dogs Society to gather many PR materials to prove the good work of the charity.
Martial Discipline with Reticulum Wielders[]
A few yakshas are sent to teach the basics of self defense in case of emergencies of homeworld invasions. Classes deal mostly with how to disarm an armed opponent, but also can extend to the rudimentary basics of how to wield a dagger.
Contribute to society via charitable missions with the 14RD[]
Reticulum offer bodyguards for missions to dangerous hot-zones in the galaxy to allow for more dangerous missions into warzones to assist civilians. This includes bringing helpful technology that Red Dogs may not have access to, and helping set up field hospitals throughout the sector.
Refugees are allowed to join the charity programs of the 14 Red Dogs Society depending on their skills. Whether it is to rebuild homes damaged during conflicts, help agricultural restoration of burned farms, teach and form orphans to a profession or even fund gathering missions, anyone can contribute to society during times of conflict.
Responsible Weaponry Lobby[]
Both House Reticulum and 14 Red Dogs Society lobby for more restrictive use of weapons with high amounts of collateral damage, decrying the wanton destruction to bystanders in the current conflict. House Reticulum, for the lack of skill and precision the use of such weapons represents.
As a consequence of this lobby, the value of the covert operations both parties are known for are increased. Acts of sabotage, assassination, blackmail, all become more essential to cracking the opponent's defenses.
The Business[]
The Orthus Cant[]
The Reticulum Assassins and the 14 Red Dogs Triad have their own Cant and vocabulary. The Orthus Cant is a combination of the two, with obscure references to the ancient culture of Aomori and Hong Lu. The true meaning of these historical references is forgotten, but the words have been repurposed to carry the meaning of the dark machination of the Initiative.
The kanjis that are used for these historical references don’t mean anything in 3200. A Velan expert in history could potentially find their true meaning, but to every member of the Initiative they are just words of the Orthus Cant.
Underworld - Sai no Kawara 賽の河原 (Children's Limbo)[]
Access to every corner of the Underworld
The 14 Red Dogs provide safe passage and vouch for House Reticulum so that they can make business in the criminal world of the freemen under the supervision of a Red Dog.
In return House Reticulum provide safe passage and vouch for the 14 Red Dogs so that they can access with more ease the criminal world of nobility.
The agents helping both side travelling in the Underworld are called Dōrokujin 道陸神 (folk deities who administer the border between this world and hell; also associated closely with roads and travel). If any Reticulum agents or 14 Red Dogs that needs help on a turf/land, they can ask knowledgeable members to meet with a Dōrokujin.
Children's Limbo was in Japanese folklore a riverbed in the netherworld where the souls of departed children do penance. When a member say they have something to do with the opposite circle of the Underworld, they reference the crossing as a river.
A Red Dog meeting with a Reticulum would use in a phrase “going up river” and vice versa for a Reticulum meeting a Red Dog.
Maltech - Kitsune no takara 狐の宝 (Fox’s Treasure)[]
Access to the market of maltech and guildtech
Via reunions through the Orthus Initiative, House Reticulum and the 14 Red Dogs gather to trade knowledges,materials and credits on these very dangerous technologies. While the 14 Red Dogs provide most of the material, the Red Dog R&D department work along the Reticulum Crafters to research and craft terrible tools with questionable ethics.
The members refer the maltech and guildtech as “Fox coins”, which are lucky charms sold by souvenir shops. When a member has maltech or guildtech to sell, they show a “Fox coin” and say “Lucky Day”. Someone who made a product out of these technologies say “Lucky night”.
Training - Sekishi jugyō 石獅授業 (Teachings of the Stone Lions)[]
Access to the Empire's best martial training
Through the Wànnéng Wǔjutsu (Universal Martial Art) and the Reticulum dojos, the Himitsudo aka the Hidden Way is now improved by the Wielders, giving the 14 Red Dogs Security Department an deadlier edge.
Reticulum teachers that mentor Red Dogs are called Sekishis 石獅 “Stone Lions”, the stone guardians of temples recurrent in both Aomorian and Hong Luan cultures. Sekishis are known and respected by the Triad. Should one of them bring friends in dangerous establishments controlled by the Dogs or knowledgeable members of the Underworld, they will be left alone.
The meeting between a Wànnéng Wǔjutsu dojo and a Reticulum dojo is called Sekishi jugyō.
Assassination - Yomi no en 黄泉の園 (The garden of Yomogi)[]
Joint Assassination Contract Market
Jobs that pass through Reticulum backchannels are offered to Red Dog’s if deemed appropriate by Reticulum’s classification. Including Jobs that are passed up, deemed too risky, or just not paying enough. Those and more are available for Red Dogs, who act as a second filter. If the contract is suitable for their agents, they will take it, otherwise the contract will be sent in the Yami Shiragiku’s darknet.
This network is called “the garden of Yomogi”. In ancient Aomorian and Hong Luan folklore, Yomogi or Yomi was the land of the dead. When a Red Dog assassin says they have a contract from a Reticulum, they reference the contract as a “flower from the dead garden” and the hirer as a “gardener”.
Impossibly dangerous contracts are called Kamihana 神花 “Divine flower”. In Orthus Cant, a member generally reference it as a flower of divine beauty. Contracts like these leads to certain death, but a survivor would become a legend.
Orthus Cant exemples[]
A Red Dog assassin had an agreement with a Reticulum Crafter to test a maltech weapon for an assassination contract. The target is somewhere in the Core, a the assassin needs help to get on the planet. The Dog talks to a Reticulum serf that is part of the Initiative.
In Orthus Cant they could say :“I’m having a lucky night thanks to a fox. This friend gave me a bouquet of flowers. So I was wondering if a Dōrokujin was around, I’d like to share”
Translation :”I got maltech on me from a Reticulum Crafter, they gave a contract. Where is the Orthus attaché, I’d like to make a deal”.
Other coopérations[]
Access to the core/noble's properties[]
Red Dogs, through the assassin contracts, are offered transport through the Reticulum network of supply ships that run throughout most of the core worlds. This allows for easy boarding and passage throughout noble property.
Usually acting as serfs, the Red Dogs assassins hide themselves via extensive training of serf etiquette.
Access to the House Legal Support[]
Vouching for Red Dogs court cases is done through a funneling of cash. Bribes to judges through untraceable means and the like are on the table to prevent any sort of leak. Even, assassination of “uncooperative” people.
This support is only used for important members of the Triad.
Access to the illegal drug market[]
The craftsmanship of House Reticulum combined with the 14 Red Dogs extensive knowledge of chemicals is a boon to the alliance, and a good way to make profits.
Joint Intelligence Network[]
The 14 Red Dogs IT Department and the connections of the Reticulum family allows a good safety net of information between the two factions in order to react accordingly to the hazard of war.
Origin[]
Yaksha 蛇首 Zhou Yijun was a key actor in the construction of the partnership between the House and the Dogs. Zhou is a former Asura, living on the Platte Station in the Alvero system. He isolated himself and his followers as his ego and eccentricity grew. The ravage of time, if his family is to be believed. Their isolation allowed them and their followers to discreetly sharpen their art in the criminal world. They rapidly build a good reputation within the Yami Shiragiku, and by extension, the 14 Red Dogs Triad.
438 IT “13 Eyes”, the information broker of the Yami Shiragiku was their first serious contact. They sold some valuable data on the maltech business on Hong Lu. The Ex-Asura was on their watchlist for a while, surveying which contract they took and what hunting grounds they were using. Their tense relationship with Crux was documented, but the “13 Eyes” wasn’t sure how far they would go. They came up with a special contract, securing the Reticulums a turf on Hong Lu if they took the lives of some Crux spies. It is at this point that they were reported to 459s as valuable partners, when they concluded the mission without any trace.
With time, they gained the trust of the Triad, and with it a better understanding of the Dogs’ business. They realised that the Triad was far more powerful than they first expected. Walking freely on Hong Lu and other Triad turfs across the sector with charitable folks, facilitate the logistics and sneaking maneuvers by reducing cost and time transit by a non-negligent amount.
But what was really attracting the eyes of the Ex-Asura, was the unique access to maltech and guildtech. Allowing their crafters to break through frontiers, they would never imagined for their deadly tools.
As time passed, the Yaksha went about killing nobles and corporate types that had opposed or displeased him during his political career with the help of the Triad. Eventually someone investigated these murders and put the dots together. House Reticulum realizes that Zhou is behind the killings. By greasing some Dogs’ paws, the House learned that he was using the Pack to get the necessary people and supplies in place for these operations, and realized how useful the partnership has been for him.
And how useful it could be for Reticulum.
However the House couldn’t accept the reckless murders of Zhou Yijun, he was a threat to their secret. They send powerful Yakshas along with the best wielders available to make sure the danger was dealt with swiftly. Zhou is a skilled wielder with a retinue of highly trained students and acolytes at his side, but he knows that once the House decided he must die there is very little he could do to stave off that death. He surrendered, at one condition :
set up a meeting between the heads of the Triad and the heads of the House, and to provide a neutral meeting ground on Platte station.
Eventually the Orthus Initiative is born, and Platte is chosen as their base of operations.