I dislike the implicit divisions into 'legitimate' and 'illegitimate' powers, even more than I dislike the attitude that all power anywhere outside of our own hands is suspicious, and more suspicious if we started it.
Going by the Bursar's backstory, that is not the case in quest-canon. She very much meddled in internal politics and economic issues, for the good of the Empire as a whole.
Edit: whoops, through this was Francesco when i quoted it. My point for her was that the merchant empires she ended had spent decades thumbing their noses at the authorities. Decades. Worried about small fry and potential problems, she is not.
...
And this is why. For me, the relevant question is: Does it make the lives of the people it impacts better or worse?
So, first order effects- Less piracy. EIC gets another mercenary wing, in addition to caravan guards. Bunch of people die in battles.
Second order effects- trade increases. Fewer people die or are rendered destitute by piracy. Large areas of formerly lawless territory see an increase in security, but without representation.
Third order effects- the EIC gets maybe a bit more willing to throw its weight around against opponents? The border princes maybe try and pivot from piracy to settlement construction centered on the rivers, under the new naval umbrella? Dwarves and Karag Nar experience a bit more cross-pressure in their internal politics. The empire gets richer.
So I think it a clear win.
I am less worried by it, because I have a feeling that if the EIC doesn't do it, some other organization will, and unless it's the dwarves, it will be one I trust less than the EIC. Also, with the EIC's focus on long-term profits, any trade up the Blood River will lead to profit as people go through Karag Nar.
And hopefully, we can get it to partner with Barak Varr's (and K8P's) river-navies, which will be an additional ethical rudder for the organization.
I really don't think anyone will. This is not claimed territory, heck the nominal legitimate authorities are the pirates. Babies take a ton of infrastructure and resources, and the EIC is really the only player besides the dwarves in this space with those. Even the dwarves have bigger things to worry about, and are likely to patch and pray in this area. (Barak Var gives first priority to it's blue-water Navy, and K8P still had the steward spending an entire turn getting basic things like blacksmiths and mines up and running.
No one is coming to help.
This is part of why I opposed/still oppose the EIC combat navy: the dwarves are already doing this for their national security, so there's no reason for the EIC to invest in this itself unless it wants to undertake independent combat operations.
The main reason I see is to take pressure off the dwarves. They are REALLY not know for long-ranging patrols in strength to hold big areas of territory- kinda the opposite of fortresses. Plus, as above, they have bigger fish to fry. This is a problem that mainly impacts EIC, is sized right to be dealt with by EIC, and is something the dwarves would regard as a gift to have part of the weight taken up. Only risk is conflicting orders and laws, but the EIC and dwarves are closely intertwined enough I regard the risk as minimal.
To take a step back from the EIC and armed naval vessels, we should take a moment to remember that the river will already be patrolled by Barak Varr and K8P. It's in their interest to ensure that the EIC can go hither and yon with goods since if it's too dangerous then the EIC simply won't travel the route.
That doesn't mean they have enough resources, or attention to do it 100%. I'm betting that the spike we are seeing is with increased dwarven patrols anyways- the opportunity is just too large and alternatives too scarce. More protection is good, and will allow legitimate settlements and businesses to grow around the river trade.
