intelligence

MALCOLM CHASE ARMSTRONG was born to Chase and Rena Armstrong on Kedsu Reef, Hadrian System, in 2895, he has lived most of his life in space, either on the repurposed space stations that make up Kedsu or on spacecraft travelling the trade and diplomatic routes between UEE, Xi’An and Banu space. Armstrong’s father was a senior advisor to Delilah Havers, the founder and “Matriarch” of Kedsu Reef and at an early age, Malcolm was exposed to many cultures, races and lifestyles.

Armstrong’s education came primarily from his experiences at Kedsu and he often accompanied his father on trade or diplomatic missions into both Xi’An and Banu controlled space. Armstrong also benefited from his father’s foresight in establishing an exchange program for students that saw Humans, Xi’An and Banu study abroad in order to gain a deeper understanding of each other’s history, culture and motivations. The Starbright Foundation allowed Armstrong to study with the Xi’An on their normally closed planet of Rihlah V, where he focused on Xi’An language, history and the peculiar art form of Xi’An diplomacy. He graduated with a degree in Diplomatic Studies and Interspecies Policy in 2918.

During this time, Armstrong came to understand the power of information and personal relationships. Neither was particularly meaningful without the other. Due to his father’s failing health, 28-year old Armstrong assumed his father’s role at Delilah’s request. Over the next 20 years he built up numerous contacts among the Xi’An, the Banu, many UEE corporations and several high ranking UEE officials whom he felt he could “trust”. This network allowed the Kedsu Reef to dominate and control virtually all trade into and out of Xi’An space.

As he neared his 50th birthday, Armstrong began to recognize the growing decay and rot at the center of the UEE. The UEE kept taking more and more power away from the outer systems and local UEE influence kept growing stronger. Looking for an alternative, Armstrong discovered the Aurora Project then being launched by Daniel Altier. Introduced by a mutual friend, Altier was impressed with Armstrong’s knowledge and experiences at Kedsu Reef. Together, they agreed that while his experience in diplomacy and trade negotiations could certainly benefit the Aurora Republic, it was Armstrong’s network of contacts and information brokers that would best guide and protect the effort as it moved forward. As a result, Altier offered Armstrong the role of Director of Intelligence for the Aurora Republic and Armstrong immediately accepted. Armstrong relishes the challenge to build an organization that will truly look out for and protect the interests of all its citizens, not just those in powerful positions.

Malcolm’s first council was to suggest Dan look up a Mr. Darren DeHaan as a possible candidate for Secretary of State. Malcolm had crossed paths with the slightly older DeHaan on several occasions, including once when they were both scholars under the Starbright Foundation and he had always been impressed with Darren’s knowledge and demeanor.