We are many, yet we know not where we all are. The present may have us far apart, but the past unites us. Don’t forget where you come from. The time is now to reunite

The Beginning.

■ UEE Advocacy Commando group Task Force 99 began as a group of elite pilots with the 999th Test Squadron. The pilots served with the 999th during the first Tevarin war and continued to serve once the war subsided in 2546. The pilots of Task Force 99 remained with the 999th during the early period of Ivar Messer’s reign as Imperator. Late into 2547, Imperator Messer requested a group of highly skilled pilots from the 999th Test Squadron be assigned to assist with tracking down particularly dangerous entities. Twenty pilots were selected for their particularly aggressive style, unparalleled efficiency, familiarity with experimental spacecraft, and their above average scores in ground warfare drills. These twenty pilots would be reassigned to a clandestine force within the Advocacy, a Commando group known as Task Force 99 in honor of their service with the 999th. Unlike most Advocacy agents, Task Force 99 would work in cells, with multiple Commandos being dispatched on classified missions to capture or kill extremely high value targets. As the successful missions mounted, Task Force 99 became the subject of whispers among regular agents of the Advocacy. Referred to simply as the 99, these twenty Commandos would go on to boast a 100% success rate while suffering no fatalities.

The Reputation.

■ In 2553, Task Force 99 was assembled in its entirety and dispatched on a high-profile mission to exterminate a nest of fugitive pirates operating from an abandoned science station. While the orders were to simply eliminate the station and confirm its destruction, an act of pure arrogance resulted in the 99 engaging in a clandestine infiltration to extract the leader of the pirate group for questioning. After successfully infiltrating the station, the boarding members of Task Force 99 quickly realized the people seeking refuge aboard the abandoned science station were not pirates, but families including women and children. Upon capturing a military aged male in possession of weaponry, members of Task Force 99 brought him back to their gunship for questioning. During questioning, they learned that the station was filled with citizens fleeing the rule of Imperator Messer, and that a high-profile member of the resistance movement was hiding among their ranks. Realizing they had been dispatched as an execution squad, Task Force 99 returned the male to the station and made their way back to the Advocacy to report their findings.

The Betrayal.

■ Upon their return, each member of Task Force 99 was taken into custody and court martialed for disobeying orders. All twenty Commandos were convicted of their crimes; stripped of their rank, medals, awards, and ultimately dishonorably discharged. Left with nothing but disgrace and the clothing on their backs, these pilots set out to make credits the only way they knew how. As former members of Task Force 99 set out as mercenaries, work was difficult to come by. Their trials had been spectacles, their treasonous acts common knowledge, and many referred to the pilots as the “Mandos” who simply could not be trusted. The pilots split off into cells, moving further out into the galaxy in search of contracts and credits. As years passed, and the pilots of Task Force 99 created small groups of trustworthy contractors, the shame of their service began to fade from public memory. Despite their destitute existence and difficulty finding work, members of the 99 refused to cross that line into outright criminality. Although the founding members would never shed the tarnish of their names, their children and grandchildren would build a reputation as highly effective contractors with uncompromising honor and principles.

The 99.

■ After centuries in the shadows, the end of the Messer Era would finally bring redemption for the former members of Task Force 99. In an act of transparency, classified files from the Messer Era were made public and the true exploits of Task Force 99 came to light. The descendants of the original twenty pilots, and the members of their cells, would find acceptance in the public eye. The insult normally levied at anyone found to associate with a descendant of the 99 would take on a new meaning. The term “Mando” would come to represent honor and bravery in the face of fascist rule. The cells, spread throughout the galaxy at large, began seeking out one another to bask in their new-found acceptance. In 2951, the last cell of task force 99 descendants would agree to join the others in forming a solitary group of mercenaries and bounty hunters. While still loyal to the individuals within their cells, the descendants took up the mantle of Task Force 99 and remain committed to the principles of Honor, Professionalism, and Credits.