Editing Invidious (Individual Merchant-class JumpShip)

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Originally a free trader, the ''[[Merchant]]''-class<ref name=MHB>''Mercenary's Handbook 3055'', p. 57</ref> [[JumpShip]] '''''Invidious''''' is best known for its association with the [[Gray Death Legion]] between [[3024]] and ca. [[3057]].

It should not be confused with the ''[[Invader]]''-class [[Invidious (Individual Invader-class JumpShip)|vessel of the same name]] that was operated by the Gray Death Legion by [[3056]].

==History==
===Free trader===
A deck officer by the age of twenty, [[Renfred Tor]] and his four brothers bought equal shares in a dilapidated old freighter that they named the ''Invidious''. At some point around ca. [[3018]]<ref>Based on Tor then fleeing to the Lyran Commonwealth, spending five years on small contracts then accepting a six-month contract with House Mailai that would bring him to Trellwan in 3024</ref> they tried to smuggle arms to a rebellion that was crushed (quite possibly Duke [[Anton Marik]]'s rebellion in [[3015]]), forcing Tor and his crew of fifteen to flee to the [[Lyran Commonwealth]]'s [[periphery]] border. There they spent five years on short-term contracts and one-way cargo hauls, barely enough to keep the ship operable.<ref name=DTR>''Decision at Thunder Rift''</ref>

===House Mailai and the Oberon Confederation===
Eventually, the ''Invidious'' arrived at [[Drovahchein II]] in the [[Erit Cluster]] where Tor accepted a six-month contract with [[House Mailai]] in return for a complete overhaul of his ship. In return, he was assigned to ferrying Viscount Olin Vogel from [[Tharkad]] to [[Oberon VI]], then to [[Trellwan]] under House Mailai colors, followed by moving an assistant of Vogel between Trellwan and Oberon VI several times.<ref name=DTR/>

On the last trip from Oberon VI to Trellwan, the ''Invidious'' was caught up in a scheme. Jumping to a planetless  A2 star for recharging, it was waylaid by another JumpShip. The Oberon personnel were killed, cargo was exchanged and one or both of the freighter [[DropShip]]s carried by the ''Invidious'' was crudely outfitted with weapons. Once the ''Invidious'' arrived at Trellwan, Tor was forced at gunpoint to pilot that DropShip down to the planet where it was used for a sneak attack on the local garrison. Tor figured he would be killed as soon as the shooting stopped, hid and later managed to escape from the ship into the city.<ref name=DTR/>

===Escape from Trellwan===
Meanwhile, the ''Invidious'' had remained at the system's nadir [[jump point]], scheduled to move to [[Luthien]] under her captor's orders. Together with [[Grayson Carlyle]], Tor managed to secure a DropShip, disable the planetary communication link, and dock the DropShip with the ''Invidious'' before the JumpShip could be warned. He found only eight [[Draconis Combine]] men aboard, plus the entire remaining crew. Jumping out of the Trellwan system, the ''Invidious'' could alert the Lyran Commonwealth of the coup that was occurring on Trellwan, and ultimately avert the world's takeover by Draconis Combine forces.<ref name=DTR/>

===Working for the Gray Death Legion===
The ''Invidious'' subsequently remained with Grayson Carlyle and his newly formed [[Gray Death Legion]] when they moved to [[Galatea]]. Still registered as a free trader, it was the ''Invidious'' that deployed her number two DropShip, the ''[[Phobos (Individual Trojan-class DropShip)|Phobos]]'', to the [[Verthandi]] system for the Gray Death Legion's first mercenary contract in [[3025]]. It jumped back out again immediately after recharging its jump drive, but returned after a prearranged time. Again the ''Invidious'' was used by the Gray Death Legion to relay a critical message off-world, which would ultimately contribute to their success in fulfilling their contracted mission.<ref>''Mercenary's Star''</ref>

After the betrayal at Helm, the Legion moved landholds to [[Glengarry]], accepting a contract with the Lyran Commonwealth in [[3028]]. The Legion used three DropShips for their missions: the two ''Union''-class ''[[Phobos]]'' and ''[[Kaos]]'', and an ''[[Overlord (DropShip class)|Overlord]]''-class, the ''[[Juno]]''. They then docked with the ''[[Invidious]]'', an ''Invader''-class Jumpship.<ref>''A Rock and a Hard Place'', p. 104 (Invidious shown to transport three DropShips, indicating an Invader-class)</ref>

The ''Invidious'' was officially registered as part of the Legion's Transport Division by the time of the Gray Death Legion's contract with the [[Free Worlds League]] and their conquest of [[Sirius V]] in [[3028]],<ref>''The Price of Glory'', p. 17</ref> until at least [[3055]].<ref name=MHB/>

===Parting ways===
At some unspecified point in time prior to April [[3056]] Renfred Tor had passed away peacefully, leaving his daughter Katrina to continue the family business. She inherited the old ''Invidious'' and the business ties with Gray Death Legion, becoming the Legion's senior ship captain.<ref>''Blood of Heroes'', pp. 71-72</ref> "A year or two" before December [[3058]] the ''Invidious'' parted ways with the Gray Death Legion.<ref>''Operation Excalibur'', p. 278</ref> Its ultimate fate is unknown.

This seems to have been a gradual process. Katrina Tor was still with the Legion when the [[Second Skye Rebellion]] saw them attacked on [[Glengarry]] in April 3056, but the Legion already had a second JumpShip named ''[[Invidious (Individual Invader-class JumpShip)|Invidious]]'' among their roster, this one an ''[[Invader]]''-class vessel which was also the one to bring critical relief forces to Glengarry eventually.<ref>''Day of Heroes'', pp. 63 ("Aerospace Transport Company"), 87 (''Invidious'' shown to transport three DropShips, thus confirming it is has more [[hardpoint]]s than a ''Merchant''-class vessel)</ref> (It also was the ''Invader''-class ship that was destroyed in the [[Hesperus]] system in [[3065]], and not the original ''Merchant''-class vessel.<ref name="TDTp102">''The Dying Time'', p. 102, "Chapter 13"</ref>)

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
*''[[Blood of Heroes]]''
*''[[Day of Heroes]]''
*''[[Decision at Thunder Rift]]''
*''[[Mercenary's Handbook 3055]]''
*''[[Mercenary's Star (novel)]]''
*''[[Operation Excalibur]]''
*''[[The Dying Time]]''
*''[[The Price of Glory]]''

[[Category:Individual JumpShips]]
[[Category: Individual Merchant-class JumpShips]]