Game with inherited space station

Question

I am trying to remember the name of a PC game where you are the child of an asteroid miner.

The father dies in some sort of tragic accident (maybe) and you inherit his mining rig. I think you are then accused of his death (or something else) and are sent to a prison. You break out and somehow are contacted by a long lost relative (aunt, grandmother, not sure) and you are guided to an old space station (pirate base?).

It was 3D, quite advanced for it's time (Freespace era), you have to steal cargo from staging areas etc.

I seem to remember that the ship you get from the base is called by a birds name like Storm Petrel or something like that.

Once you got the station I think you could either inherit or recruit other characters, one of which was a cargo hauler guy who would come in after you had blown some ship up and collect the cargo on a sort of flatbed transporter.

It had some sort of jump gates that had an incoming and outgoing side (red and blue I think).

I can't really remember when I played this but I suspect that it is at least 20 years old (2000 or earlier)

It was a PC game, similar to Freespace, you flew the ship like a fighter pilot. It had simple RPG elements like deciding how to upgrade the station and ships etc.

Can anyone remember the name of this?

Answer 1

I'm 95% sure you're talking about Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos.

Sadly I never got to play that game much. As I recall some mission was bugged for me and I couldn't progress. So I never saw the ending. But I do remember the beginning of the game as you described it.

The main character's dad is killed by some wealthy corporate boss in the intro. The main character is a kid at the time and manages to get away with dad's ship but is caught and sent to prison.

Years later, as an adult, he breaks out with some friends and makes his way to a derelict pirate station that is hidden away somewhere and belonged to his grandma. He takes over the station and becomes a pirate. Eventually fighting other pirates, corporations, and even aliens.

And the Storm Petrel is actually the first fighter you get in the game. So you remembered that name perfectly.