We've spent some time polishing things up, pirating, and raising credits for this and I think we're ready to take things to the next level. We're hoping you all agree, as we've put a great deal of time and effort into this.
For best results, listen to this while reading this post.
Pirate ID/Freelancer IFF
Introduction
Pirates and smugglers. Criminals and contrabandistas. Scofflaws and ne'er-do-wells. These are the Bretonian Buccaneers. A motley collection of cutthroats and pirates, the Buccaneers seek only one thing: wealth, and they'll get it in any way possible. For the most part, they take it from others, through force if need be.
Initially founded in early 453 AS, the Buccaneers were a crime gang originally based on Planet Leeds to leech cold hard credits from the working men and women of Bretonia. This unscrupulous attitude governed their mode of operating profits over principles. The gang were at first small time thieves, occasionally raiding freighter convoys to steal cargo and take hostages. Their reputation grew with their deeds and by the end of the year the Buccaneers were undergoing a period of exponential growth as members of the Leeds underworld flocked to their banner. Soon enough the politicians of New London had flagged the Buccaneers as a "considerable concern".
Their monopoly over Bretonia's space-borne organized crime was cemented when they began to expand in earnest. A small outpost was established in the smog clouds of Leeds, little more than a docking module and a life support system. Rapidly christened Sherwood Station, this tiny base was expanded over the following decade, with modules being added as resources could be sourced. Piracy flourished in the Leeds system, with seemingly little the BPA could do to stem the Buccaneers' meteoric success.
In the later months of 491 AS the Buccaneers turned their gaze upon New London they had long since operated throughout Bretonia, but the distance from friendly ports had been limiting their endeavors in the system. Deep inside the Southampton Debris Field, they made plans to construct a second base; the aptly named Plymouth Station a place where pirates of old had once set sail to find fortune or death on the high seas.
Plymouth was completed before the dawn of the 6th century, giving the Buccaneers a new launch pad from which to sally forth and bring fire to the stars. Over the next half a century the group solidified its role as the rulers of the underworld by ruthlessly cutting down competition and splinter groups before they could mature into dangerous rivals. This golden age of piracy continued until disaster struck in 565 AS.
A team of raiders led by the now much despised Captain Wallace Dunsburry happened across the Royal Liner Maelstrom. The raiders immediately destroyed the Liner's escort before laying waste to it's engines and sensor relays and boarding the stricken ship. After looting most of the ship's luxuries and killing many of the crew the Buccaneers retreated. But the raid had set a chain of events into motion that would cost the Buccaneers dearly, for Captain Dunsburry had killed King William I during the attack.
Upon inheriting the throne, the King's daughter Queen Eleanor I immediately set about on a campaign of revenge, mobilizing the Armed Forces to crush the Buccaneers. This crusade was happily supported by the politicians in Parliament who had been searching for a way to rid their house of the piratical blight that had beset it. The BAF were ordered to kill any Buccaneers they came across. The Buccaneers themselves were not used to fighting trained soldiers, having previously only had to contend with the feeble efforts of the BPA and escort fighters that accompanied their prey. This led to the single bloodiest period of the organization history as it's pilots were butchered.
Eventually Plymouth Station was discovered by Armed Forces scouts who knew there was a Buccaneer base somewhere inside the field. Knowing the BAF would be mobilizing a significant force to root them out, the remaining bloodied forces still present on Plymouth flew to the edge of the field to try and hold the law at bay. Taking heavy losses the defenders were slowly forced back to Plymouth, but not before two antique Nessie class battleships had been destroyed by suicide attacks. Plymouth was depressurized by the remaining battleships' fire, killing all that had been left inside. The few decimated survivors fled the scene of the battle, seeking refuge in the Leeds system.
Just over one bloody decade later, the Buccaneer's last bastion fell, as Sherwood Station was annihilated by Sir Thomas Scott's battle group. With their last port destroyed, the vast majority of the remaining Buccaneer pilots were arrested and summarily executed, with the remaining few disbanding in fear of their lives. In short, the Bretonian Buccaneers ceased to exist as a space-borne entity.
Over the following centuries the Buccaneers existed as a ghost of the prior grandeur. With all their ships destroyed, their resources stripped and their pilots dead, they were forced back to the state from which they had begun a small time crime gang on Planet Leeds. That is, until late 816 AS.
Late in 816 AS, while hiding from the Bretonian authorities on Trafalgar, a Buccaneer Lieutenant named Henry Morgan learned a great deal about the operations and methods of various other pirate groups. Being well aware of the Buccaneers' past, Morgan drafted a plan to restore them to their former glory. Upon returning to Leeds, he attempted to convince Captain John Hawkins of the merits of his plan, but the Captain was comfortable in his position, and unwilling to risk losing it.
With the backing of the other Lieutenants, and many of the other Buccaneers, the Captain Hawkins was voted out of his position, and Morgan was elevated to replace him. Since then, Henry Morgan invested a great deal into rebuilding the Buccaneers space-borne presence. After making a deal with the Junkers for docking rights on Trafalgar Base (which was, ironically, originally the Buccaneers' Plymouth Station), the Buccaneers began to be seen terrorizing the space lanes of Bretonia once more. Only time will tell if the Buccaneers have the ability, and the will, to return to their former glory.
General Information Naming Conventions
Buc|First.Last
Buc|Shipname for transports
Ranks Prospect
New members of the Buccaneers still on their trial periods. They've got to pay their dues before they're accepted fully into the Buccaneers.
Buccaneer
At this rank, the member has earned the respect of his fellows and can now be proudly called a Buccaneer.
Lieutenant
A Lieutenant has earned a lot of respect, brought in a lot of credits, and has been rewarded with increased authority and better pay by the Captain for his efforts.
Captain
The Captain is the leader of the Bretonian Buccaneers.
Buccaneer and above
CTE-3000 "Falcon" Civilian Heavy Fighter
BYC "Marauder" Heavy Borderworld Fighter
Series QX "Switchblade" Border Worlds Heavy Fighter
"Moldy Crow" Heavy Fighter
CTE HF "Kingfisher" Class Civilian Heavy Fighter
IR-7 "Raven's Talon" Very Heavy Fighter
CTE -6000 "Eagle" Civilian Very Heavy Fighter
Series Z "Sabre" Border Worlds Very Heavy Fighter
KS-1093 "Mafic" Civilian SHF
CTE-19000 "Roc" Civilian Bomber
WAR-4b "Waran" Border Worlds Bomber
Firefly Transport
Pirate Train
Series "DL" Border Worlds Transport
Lieutenant and above, or with Captain's approval
B-40-E "Percheron" Bretonia Transport
Pirate Transport
OOC Description of Activities
The Bretonian Buccaneers will primarily focus on piracy within Bretonia's borders, with occasional forays into it's bordering systems. This will include both cargo piracy as well as the traditional "taxing". Where possible, the Bretonian Buccaneers will also demand credits from other pirates acting within Bretonia as a sort of tribute for acting in Buccaneer space. We will avoid fighting with BPA/BAF forces where we can, as there is no profit to be had from attacking the government. Some of our pilots will also engage in smuggling operations based out of Trafalgar Base in New London. These routes will go into both Outcast and Corsair systems, as the Buccaneers are determined to remain neutral in the Outcast/Corsair conflict.
Political Affiliations [color=#33cc00]Don't Pirate [color=#009900]Maybe we like these guys, maybe we just don't want trouble with them. Either way, leave them alone.
Junkers
Mollys
Gaians
[color=#ff0000]Targets of Opportunity [color=#ff0000]Rob them blind if you can, run away if you can't. Death is bad for business, so don't take any unnecessary risks.
Everyone Else
Related RP
With a Yo Ho Ho
This one's the story of how we acquired our flagship, the Prison Liner Leviathan.
The Buccaneer's Bay
This is our watering hole, which we've been using instead of a message dump. Everyone does message dumps, and we wanted to be a little different.
Paper on Bretonian History
This wasn't written by a Buccaneer, but it goes in-depth into the battles after Dunsburry's Folly that resulted in the Buccaneers being nearly destroyed.
Current Roster Captain Forum Name: Capt. G. Thacker Character Name: Henry Morgan Ships: Buc|Leviathan (Prison Liner), Buc|Capt.Henry.Morgan (Eagle), Buc|Capt.Henry.Morgan. (Waran) Skype Name: glenn.thacker Time Zone: GMT -5
Lieutenant Forum Name: Drake Character Name: Ambrose Shelvocke Ships: Buc|Ambrose.Shelvocke (Sabre) Time Zone: GMT -5
Forum Name: Adamantine Fist Character Name: Edward "Lucifer" Blackburne Ships: Buc|Lucifer.Blackburn (Sabre), Buc|Cocytus (Pirate Transport) Time Zone: GMT -5
Forum Name: jammi Character Name: John Crown Ships: Buc|John.Crown (Waran), Buc|John,Crown (Crow) Time Zone: GMT 0
Forum Name: Roadrunner Character Name: Tony Bush Ships: Buc|Tony.Bush Time Zone: GMT +1
Buccaneer Forum Name: Ethan Morrow Character Name: Thomas Anderson Ships: Buc|Thomas.Anderson (Sabre) Time Zone: GMT -5
Forum Name: Unselie Character Name: Catalina A Blys Ships: Buc|Catalina.A.Blys (Bactrian) Time Zone: GMT -5
Forum Name: Donutman Character Name: Jack Malcom Ships: Buc|Jack.Malcolm Time Zone: GMT -5
Prospect Forum Name: Ogris Character Name: Mark Dixon Ships: Buc|Mark.Dixon Time Zone: GMT +1
Forum Name: Zeltak Character Name: Almando Mixel Ships: Buc|Almando.Mixel Time Zone: GMT +2
Forum Name: MarvinCZ Character Name: Brian Perry Ships: Buc|Brian.Berry Time Zone: GMT +2
Forum Name: Darkflight Character Name: Francis Drake Ships: Buc|Francis.Drake Time Zone:
Posts: 6,302
Threads: 329
Joined: Aug 2007
Staff roles: Story Dev Economy Dev
Would you be one of those Outcast gunboats we were forced to dispatch today? If so, I'm John.Crown, aka King. Please 'ta meet you. You have no idea how close to disaster I came though - a Skype chat opened and minimised Freelancer, and it took me like 5 seconds to get back ingame.:P
Ah yes. Didn't know it was today already, but no complaints.
I wish you all very good fortunes in pursuing official status.
Didn't meet you more times than a few, and those few you did not know it was me. Good experiences, so far.
Also, the names I see amongst your membership mostly speak for themselves, myself having respect for many of those I know from the list.
An original and refreshing idea considering the way other pirate factions are built, original to the limits which the influence from real life allow. Original in the Freelancer sense. We all know you robbed the poor pirates of Earth blind of their identity.:P
That however, I don't find a particularly bad trait, as long as it is utilized properly, which from my experience so far is.
Without any further ado, I give my support, for whatever little it may be worth, for your official status. Best of luck, lads.
I might even go through the gauntlet of hur hur with you fellas, if I find the time to join yet another faction.
May your parrots always perch on your shoulders, your peg legs never rot, your eye patches never fall off due to a lack of elastic support in an embarrassing fashion, may your cutlasses be sharp, may your wenches not be carps, and finally, may you call your enemies' mothers tarts.
Swift
<span style="font-familyalatino Linotype">
<span style="color:#000000">All morons hate it when you call them a moron.
Jack Handey Wrote:I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.
I have to admit, that I really like the Buccaneers. As long as they don't rob my waste convoys.:P
To be honest, I was missing a pure pirate faction like this. Sure, the Liberty Rogues are pirates also, but they are brutal bullies, imo. This faction has some romantic flair from the days, when the seven seas weren't discovered. And due to the fact that I know one or two of you pals from Skype, I can say that we have to expect excellent RP from you.
Glad you are going for it. For being pirates that run when the law turns up, you deserve official status. Everything I've seen from the Buc's has been good. Keep up the good work. Yaaarrrrrr!
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