"Oh, they're out there alright. I've never met them, but I know they're oout there. Think about
how well known the stories are. Now think about how easy it would be for some two-bit
band of hucksters to pass themselves off as the Dark Wheel and start trafing on their
reputation. Doesn't happen, does it? Not for long, anyway. Whenever someone tries to
usurp the Dark Wheel name, sooner or later they get quietly shut down. And that's how I
know"
- Felicy Farseer, explorer
The Dark Wheel is the name given to a legendary group of adventurers, explorers,
investigators and treasure-hunters, the existence of which is so lacking in corroborative
evidence that it is generally considered a myth. The group is often mentioned in
connection with the equally unsubstantiated 'Raxxla'.
Those who believe in the existence of the Dark Wheel consider it to be a continous and
clandestine organisation operating since the very earliest days of interstellar travel.
According to the lore, only a handful of the bravest and most competent pilots of each
generation are honoured with an invitation to join the group. It is futile to attempt to
contact the Dark Wheel on one's own initiative, however - it is always they who initiate
contact, initially in disguise, revealing their true identity only once a suitable test of
courage and skill has been discreetly administered, and passed.
Opposing theories assert that new members are selected on the basis of lineage, with
existing members covertly training their children and revealing the fact of their
membership only when the child is ready. Conversely, some members are believed to go to
great lengths to prevent their children from ever become involved, the the group's
secrets are dangerous.
According to self-professed Dark Wheel expert Lyta Crane, a conspiracy theorist and
'people's journalist' who has painstakingly assembled an archive of relevant data, the
original group was based in a disused starport orbiting the eighth moon of an unnamed
gas giant. The station was toroid, hence 'wheel', and operated with a minimal power output
so as to avoid detection, hence 'dark'.
Crane believes that this starport is still in use, and is the only means whereby the genuine
Dark Wheel can verify its identity; new inductees can examine the record and artefacts
preserved there, and thus satisfy themselves that the group has indeed been operating for
centuries. No such starport has ever been found, however, and rival experts have accused
Crane of forging her evidense in order to maintain the revenue from her billions of
followers.
Over the years, many people have claimed to be members of the Dark Wheel, to have
identified some or all of the group's members, or to have discovered the group's location,
but the contradictory nature of these claims suggests that most of them, if not all, are
untrue.
In 3300, a group identifying itself as the Dark Wheel emerged in the Shinrarta Dezhra
system, which is not accessible to pilots of lower than Elite rank. It is not apparent if the
group is a legitimate descendant of the original Dark Wheel, a reconstruction, or merely an
opportunistic imitator.