The year was 800. The sector was being ripped apart by the Nomad war; with the infested Rheinland fleet attacking the Sirius houses almost at random, the Sirius Sector was not a safe or desirable place to be. Only weathered smugglers still dared to commune through the warring houses.
John Petrucci was a part of a very rich and influential family on Malta, heavily involved in Cardamine trafficking. He looked up to his Uncle Jacobs, the captain of the Maltese smuggling vessel Saletune. While his father did not wish him to personally get involved with the Cardamine industry; he wished John to stay behind on Malta and help with the business aspect of the Cardamine trade. John, however, being of stubborn mind and even hardier heart, didn't listen, and hitched a ride on board to Cali Base, in Tau-23.
The Saletune was part of a larger smuggling convoy bound for Liberty. They were to deliver a large supply of Cardamine to Buffalo Base, in the New York system. In the smuggling convoy were ships of many shapes and sizes, including the Eclipse and the Downfall. The only other ship that he saw before boarding was the Eclipse. The convoy was prepared to take a new route that had not been fully explored. Jacobs had obtained a map from a Junker in the bar of Cali.
The convoy had set off. The Junker's directions were only a little off. As they entered the system he had scribbled on a piece of paper as "Cortez", their scanners picked up incoming contacts. Scans confirmed it was a wing of mercenaries, armed to the teeth. Included in the wing of mercenaries were two Ageira Havok Mk II bombers. The two Stiletto escorts that the convoy was flying with were picked off like flies, allowing the mercenaries to turn their attention to the convoy. They caused massive damage, blowing off the defense turrets, destroying the cargo components, and destroying the engines, crippling each ship. They made sure each ship was venting massive amounts of atmosphere, then left, leaving the smugglers to die a slow, painful death.
Hours passed, Jacobs, Petrucci and the crew were finding it harder and harder to breathe. When their oxygen supplies were next to nothing, the proximity alarms started to go off. It was a Liberty Siege Cruiser, the LNS Agamemnon. The Agamemnon set power to its main cannon to finish off the helpless band of smugglers. The Captain of the Agamemnon, however, had an ego about the size of of a Rheinland Battleship, and began gloating. He explained to them that the Liberty Navy and several Libertonian Megacorps were participating in a collaborative effort to clamp down on the Cardamine trade. He explained that the Junker at Cali Base was paid a great sum of money for giving the smugglers the new route - which was indeed a trap. When the forward cannon was finally charged, the lights on the Cruiser dimmed, as all power was being diverted. Just as the Agamemnon was about to fire, it rocked with a massive explosion. Two more balls of light slammed into the Agamemnon, and the entire ship exploded in a blinding shower of fireworks against the blackness of space.
The smugglers had gotten lucky - when the mercenaries reported to the Agamemnon that the job was done, it broke away from its battlegroup to finish the job. The Hellfire Legion had intercepted the transmission from the mercenaries to the Cruiser, and acted quickly. The chance to take out a lone target of that size was too tempting to pass up. The Hellfire Legion towed the wrecks of the surviving ships to Vespucci. The crews of the smuggling vessels were treated well. They decided to work with the Hellfire Legion instead of heading straight back to Malta. In addition to retro-fitting their crippled transports with new engines and materials, they assisted the Hellfire Legion in many ways. The younger and the more daring members of the crew were taught piloting and combat techniques from the Legion while others helped build and repair ships as well as act as information gatherers. They were given ships by the Legion to assist with the acquisition of information and participation in military raids.
The smugglers were treated fairly by the Hellfire Legion. But they had to work for everything they were given. They realized at the rate they were progressing, they would never obtain the proper materials needed to repair their smuggling vessels, until two very interesting new people showed up on their doorstep. Alexa and Dwight Novak, two ex-Ageria employees, managed to intercept and track down the smugglers. Shortly thereafter, the duo offered their expertise they'd acquired while working for Ageira in exchange for their own protection and survival. These two were a valuable asset to James LaBrie, who was working on workarounds to gain access to the trade lane network.
Under the banner of the Vagrant Raiders, they were free to smuggle cardamine and ship materials between Malta and Liberty with their independent smuggling fleet. After scrounging up credits from the Cardamine smuggling "Hazard-payments", they were able to purchase ships from Hellfire and Lane Hacker bases in addition to assisting with construction. Their numbers were bolstered by people from all over Sirius: residents of Malta or Outcast stations, disgruntled Ageira employees, drifting Freelancers, and many others from every aspect of society.
Sadly, the period of grace and prosperity within the Raiders came to an end. During refueling operations at Sprague after the Battle of Freeport One, a wormhole appeared and sucked the Metropolis and Nightmare into it, splitting them up.. Damaged, the Metropolis and what was left of the Raiders support ships tried to repair the frail Spyglass to return home. In desperation, they sent a message out calling for help. The Neo Terran Front heard the message, and quickly came to the rescue of the Metropolis. During that grace period without guidance from the Overlord, the various ships of the Vagrant Raiders began to doubt the return of their leader and begun carving their own paths, leaving the ways of the Raiders behind.
When Petrucci and the Metropolis where able to return, he found that many of the Raiders had left, and set out to re-establish the Vagrant Raiders. Sadly, he would not get the chance. Soon after returning, he went into a coma due to radiation damage from the wormhole and lengthy repairs on the Metropolis. Without leadership, the Raiders began to drift apart again. Determined to not let this happen, two Raiders by the name of Blain Spike and Miles Green took command in the attempt to bring the Raiders back to their former glory. Shortly thereafter, the return of Harold Kane and Escher to high command brought new goals to the Raiders: Re-establish the Metropolis as the Raider base of operations, and return the Raiders to a state similar to but less abrasive than the original, Petrucci-led incarnation.
Today, the Vagrant Raiders seek a new meaning for life. The faction has stopped smuggling cardamine and slaves and has reforged its relationship with the Lane Hackers. Work has begun on friendship with the Coalition and other former mortal enemies including the Republic of Liberty and the Kingdom of Bretonia. The Raiders have become the main military force and founders of the new, independent house known as Natio Octavarium. They look to the future, envisioning a unique place in Sirius where they can both continue forward progressively as a house military while still retaining their roots as a simple band of vagrant raiders.
