Greetings friends!
Carrying on from my last post about the factions that comprise The Accord, I'm now here to present you with the opposing faction.
The Reavers
The Reavers are a new group to have established themselves in the Outer Fringe.
Comprising of individuals who disagree with the major players of the Accord, these groups of individuals formed together and attempted to splinter off as their own alliance.
Originally acting through peaceful means, the Reavers sought separation from the Accord and recognition as their own group so that they could settle worlds and towns in their own right under their own banner. The Accord however denied this representation and instead decreed that all worlds in the Outer Fringe was property of the Accord.
Ever since the denial of representation the Reavers have worked tirelessly to be given the rights and respect that they feel they deserve.
As with the Accord, the Reavers are made up of three main sponsors:
Raiders
When Humans arrived in the Outer Fringe they were under the protection and control of the UEF. Out of the numerous Arc ships that arrived to settle Honos there was a single ship that disagreed with this rule enough to leave the fleet and settle as far away from the UEF as they could.
The Ship in question was the UES Okami captained by long term UEF Colonel Benjamin Russell. Col Russell believed that while military rule was a necessary evil during the AI War, with the new world to settle and new boundaries to establish, only with a purely democratic government without leaders who are more aligned with military motives and less with their people would he and his crew be willing to pledge allegiance.
It was for this reason that the Okami landed in the Badlands on the furthest point away from New Brasillia. At this new site Col Russell and his ship of deserters settled the first independent town on Honos; naming it Free Port.
Calling themselves Raiders, as an abbreviation of 'Col. Russell's Raiders' they proceeded to make their own rules and laws within Free Port. It was within this time that Free Port began to prosper. There were no taxes or even direct currencies, instead everything was bartered via trade on what the owner of one item, talent or location believed said item, talent or location to be worth.
After two years of prosperity however, things suddenly took an unfortunate turn. On the anniversary of Free Port's founding a squadron of UEF Gunships arrived mid celebration and demanded that the citizens of Free Port surrendered to UEF governance. It was Col. Russell himself who met the negotiators in person to reject their proposal, for his disobedience the gunships opened fire on the celebrating populace; decimating their numbers and killing Col. Russell.
Since that night, an event denied by the UEF media to have occurred claiming it to be Raider propaganda to smear the proud and noble name of the UEF, the Raiders have been led by Col Russell's second in command Lieutenant Colonel Aiden Carter.
Lt Col Carter has since done much for Free Port including establishing a new mentality of might makes right and where as the town previously kept to themselves in peace now engaged in aggressive raids against UEF settlements.
It was after the anniversary attack on Free Port that the Raiders were invited to join the Reavers at the request of the Red Claw.
The Raiders are always welcoming to all races and classes providing they do not support the UEF. As a Sponsor, the Raiders will provide you with a wide range of repurposed weaponry and a robust but not very fast all-terrain-buggy allowing you to take part in raids on Accord settlements and reap the benefits from sowing seeds of fear and unease among the UEF supporters.
Those of the soldier class are highly viewed due to their skills with weapons, however the Slicker with it's stealth, brawling and black market connections are seen as too valuable to turn down, along with the skills presented by the Hacker in terms of spreading anti UEF propaganda.
The Red Claw
Consisting of a Kratel majority, the Red Claw were the original founders of the Reavers but will welcome into their ranks anyone who is willing to align themselves with their lofty goal of bringing an end to the Kratel Empresses' Matriarchal rule.
For longer than any living Kratel can remember, the males of the race have always been treated as second class citizens. Both smaller in height and muscle mass the male Kratel have been pushed around by the ruling female class, treating them as no better than slaves and breeders.
It was this way of life that was believed by all Kratel to be how things should be with the strongest ruling and the weakest serving. It was also because of this attitude that the Kratel believed they should have been the masters of their Hydan neighbours who were physically smaller than them, and also treated both genders as equal.
Over time there had been attempts at revolution, including the infamous storming of the Imperial Palace; where a large group of male Kratel had gathered under the cover of night and attacked the royal palace with nothing more than the rags on their backs and the claws on their hands.
The ferocity and determination of this attack were so great that despite the superior training, armour and weaponry of the Empress' Praetorian Guards, the revolutionaries had managed to fight their way to the Royal Antechamber before being incapacitated with nerve gas and later executed.
The after shock from this attempted Revolution was so great that the entire Empire feared for it's life. For this reason two steps were taken to ensure no uprising of it's like could ever happen again.
Firstly every male Kratel was lined up in rows within every Kratel city and town, with every second male being executed via firing squad. It was believed that this would thin their numbers drastically enough that they would not have the combined strength to attempt another uprising.
Secondly, for fear of future generations a biological agent was released simultaneously into the atmosphere across the Kratel homeworld and their imperial colonies. This agent while appearing to be harmless at first effected the very genetic structure of the Kratel meaning 80% of any future males would die during gestation; drastically reducing the number of males that would be born from then on.
It was only when the Humans arrived in the Outer Fringe that some Kratel began to question their ongoing tradition, and started speaking out about embracing the concepts of equal rights and a classless social system.
Most of these Kratel were quickly silenced, but one of their number; Lady Ekta Tramn who had previously been sent to the newly colonised world of Honos as a diplomatic ambassador, instead sought asylum on Honos before speaking out across Kratel communications about what she had seen first hand.
Lady Tramn spoke about the slavery experienced by the male Kratel, and how her time on Honos had shown her that both genders could be treated equally and that both the Humans and the Hydan were not weak by allowing both males and females equal opportunity. This caused outrage across the Kratel worlds as thousands of governesses called for Lady Tramn's title to be revoked and for the Humans to extradite her into Kratel custody so she could face trial for committing crimes of incitement against her own people.
The UEF refused allowing Lady Tramn to remain on Honos indefinitely and issuing a statement allowing any Kratel amnesty on Honos should they wish it.
As was expected and feared this caused a sudden surge of traffic to Honos comprising mainly of male Kratel and those females who were sympathetic to their cause.
It was shortly after that Lady Tramn created the Red Claw, a group designed to further the fight for male equality in the Kratel Empire, however the Empire was far from accommodating to its members and quickly labelled them as terrorists and outlaws.
In an attempt to set themselves apart from the oppression of the Empire, the Red Claw attempted to create it's own political station from which they could colonise worlds and begin both political and financial exchange. This group was named the Reavers.
As the head of the Reavers; Lady Tramn sought separation from the Accord wishing for their own triumphs and accomplishments to remain their own and not be subject to Accord taxes and tolls. The Accord however rejected the request for separation, deeming that both the Red Hand and it's umbrella operation; The Reavers owed the UEF and by political ties, The Accord reparations for their amnesty on Honos.
Desperate for freedom from what they saw as a new form of oppression orchestrated by the alliance of Humans and Hydan, Lady Tramn sought out the Raiders and took up residence within The Block; a super structure located within the Badlands used to house the Humans who could not afford to live within New Brasilia or it's UEF settlements.
Setting themselves up as Honos' black market, the Red Claw soon developed a name for themselves as infiltrators, traders and smugglers who are on the constant lookout for new agents to fight back against he Kratel Empire and the Accord whilst giving their own people a future they never thought possible within their own lifetime.
If you accept the Red Claw as a sponsor, you will gain access to Kratel technology including heavily armoured vehicles and a particular focus on melee weapons developed from their uniquely special metal alloy.
Your experiences will range from undercover smuggling rings to Imperial Supply raids and everything in between.
While the Red Claw will accept all races and classes, their melee focussed military will favour the Warrior subclass of the Soldier class while their subtly and smuggling ties will see the Slicker class perform exceptional well.
Unity
The Reborn, much like the Kratel Empire have many strong ties with the Accord, however are not official members. They regard themselves as the next stage of organic evolution and welcome everyone who is seeking to further their own existence.
Shortly after the arrival of Humans in the Outer Fringe however, a splinter group of the Reborn grew apart.
Calling themselves Unity they are lead by an individual Reborn who calls himself The High Father. This Reborn found that the numbers of nonReborn who were receptive to their message was drastically reducing with every month that passed. In some cases those who were previously receptive and therefore placed on a 'watch' list would go on to be unreceptive, something previously unheard of.
It was under the leadership of The High Father that Unity began it's forceful recruitment plan.
Where as The Reborn would only recruit willing people who were receptive to their message; Unity began to actively seek out those who showed the signs of receiving and through a course of abduction, mental conditioning and biological reconfiguring, forcibly adapted the receptive to become one of their numbers.
Due to these heavy handed techniques, Unity are now swelling in numbers, each one devout in their following of The High Father and his own perverted message of Reborn origin.
It was three years ago that Unity approached the Reavers for membership and cooperation, stating that if they agreed; all Reaver settlements and colonies would be spared from their recruitment drives.
Initially the Reavers disputed this application; Unity was feared as a terror organisation and any ties they held with the Reavers would bring them into question as well. This disputed ended however when Unity launched an unprovoked recruitment drive against a Reaver research station in the Frozen North. Not a single body was left and to this day it is unknown just how many; if any of it's inhabitants were receptors.
Reluctantly the Reavers appealed to the Accord for assistance but were rejected giving the Reavers little choice but to accept Unity's request for membership.
In the years that have followed Unity have proven themselves both fearful and useful allies. Their technology though unknown in origin far surpasses those of the other sponsors but is largely an untapped potential to those who are not Reborn.
To those who seek sponsorship from Unity there are many benefits including access to their technology including authorisation to utilise their biological and technological repurpose generators, turning both organic and technological enemies into temporary friendly agents.
Unity are welcoming to all races, but will favour other Reborn; utility their existing bionics to unlock greater usability from their technology and devices. That said, Unity are more than aware that Reborn are still regarded as outsiders by almost all of the Outer Fringe races, and as such are actively encouraging Agents to accept sponsorship without any form of recruitment necessary.
Joining their ranks will send you on Recruitment Drives where through initial diplomacy and later use of force you will swell the numbers of Unity in order to spread The High Father's message. You will also be dispatched to far flung locations in order to research long forgotten technology in the name of The High Father.
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And there we have it!
Both factions detailed out as best as I can. Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the Outer Fringe and I look forward to sharing more with you in future.
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
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