FBG| Free Brigands of Gallia - Information

[FBG| Free Brigands of Gallia]

Free Brigands of Gallia

ID: Gallic Brigands

IFF: Gallic Brigands

Tag: FBG|

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General Information

The Free Brigands of Gallia, are a loosely affiliated group of experienced pirates, smugglers, assassins, and ex-royal police pilots. The Gallic Brigands are the largest criminal "organization" in Gallia, with their influence stretching from the Gallic Core Worlds to the Tau's.

While Brigands try to maintain a "good guy" aura of medieval highway bandits who robbed the rich and gave to the poor, they often do the opposite, robbing smaller shipping companies in favor of larger corporations, this has however, become a more difficult task with the collapse of the Gallic Crown, and Gallic Royal Police, who were once their protectors. Brigands are innumerable, and are a force to be reckoned with; they hold an iron grip over the Gallic black markets, controlling more than 65% of all black markets in Gallia.

Gallic Brigands do not often involve themselves in political affairs, only known to be barely tolerated by the Council in the past. However, they are frequently seen amongst the Maquis, hoping to pillage anything and everything they can get their hands on.

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History

Not much is known about long past history of the Gallic Brigands or how they came to be. It is likely that as piracy grew within Gallic space, unorganized criminals banded together for greater achievability and eventually settled the Free Brigands of Gallia as a permanent identity.

In recent years, the Gallic Brigands were allies of the Council, Unione Corse, and Maquis, although the Council barely tolerated them, and the Corse work with them out of necessity, not because they want to. When the Gallic Confederacy was founded, and the Council legitimized, the Brigands found themselves in a tough spot, now being on the sharp end of the stick, and even more so, with the formation of the Gallic Union, With most bases the Brigands operating being compromised. Despite the worst case scenario being present, the Brigands sheer numbers are enough to buy time to evacuate, should the Gallic Navy make an attempt to assault any of their facilities.

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Permanent Installations

Lavars Base

Lavars Base is a large Brigand based located in the Isere Nebula, Languedoc. Originally just an asteroid base used by the Brigands to raid convoys travelling through Languedoc, Lavars saw an upgrade due to being a important transition point for the Council and Maquis fighters heading to attack Royal Navy forces near Nimes and Remoulins. This resulted in a more intensified expansion project supported by the Council, effectively shaping Lavars base into its current form. Effectively turning it into the largest Brigands station.

Beaumont Depot

Beaumont Depot is a Brigand Depot located in Ill-de-France. Built in 303 AGS, Beaumont was at first a hastily patched up bulk in space intended as a hideout for the Gallic Brigands raiding the nearby mining operations inside the Saint-Cloud Asteroid Field during Gallia’s earlier interstellar expansion. Looted copper and silver ore then got sold off for cheaper prices to smaller corporations not keeping up with the competition GMS gave, giving the Brigands the untruthful connotation of prideful medieval highwayman stealing of the rich to distribute it to the poor, which they use to appeal to the lower strata of Gallia.

This also lead to an influx of new pirates, who were formerly employed as mining and industrial workers. Unhappy with the harsh working environment, they turned on their former employers. The bulk of the stations’ initial hull was comprised of junk and stolen materials from Beauvais construction sites. With the station hoarding more loot and growing in riches, it was eventually rebuilt and expanded to fit the more romantic picture that the Brigands have in mind.

Eventually the asteroid field was stripped of valuable ores, which forced the pirates to adapt to their newfound circumstances. With a recently discovered in-system jump hole leading to the other side of the system, they found themselves in a prime spot to stage raids against convoys from Beauvais Production Facility, to steal various industrious goods, profiting from it to sell it to several trading partners which are in need of said goods for their ambitions like the former organization called The Council.

With the arrival of Nox, a drug originating from Provence, the former simple hideout turned into a booming black market becoming the primary distributor to the higher-class Planets of Gallia that popularized the drug despite the Government's attempts to curb its spread.

Nowadays Beaumont is frequently visited by various parties, including pirates, freelancers and covert agents of Gallic corporations. The opening of Gallia only contributed more of a high rise in profits making Beaumont the primary gallic black market rooted strategically inside the heart of Gallia.

Pelussin Base

Pelussin Base was construced circa 500 AGS in Lorraine by the Brigands as an outpost for strike groups flying raids against the nearby tradelanes. Over recent decades, Pelussin was expanded with whatever Brigands could steal from corporate ships in order to better accommodate its ever-growing slave population. In recent times, Pelussin reached the status as primary hub for slave trade in Gallia, capable of harboring almost two-and-a-half times as many slaves as the bases permanent population.

Pelussin is also a major trade hub for Sirian underworld trade, and is the primarily stop and drop off point for most lawfully undesirable cargo coming into Gallia.

Boulogne Base

Boulogne is a large asteroid base that has been haphazardly expanded with numerous artificial components. It is mainly maintained by the Gallic Brigands and their affiliates, but a number of other groups own and operate certain parts of the station. Despite (or possibly due) to its desolate location, Boulogne is considered to be one of the best places to "disappear" to if the law is getting too close.

Navy patrols rarely go near the base, as the Brigands make sure that the "rumors" of ships vanishing among the asteroids in that region are not unfounded. While the base is fairly isolated, the inhabitants of Boulogne are hardly ever idle: power struggles between various minor criminal groups are frequent, smugglers come and go with some of the most exotic goods that the black market can offer, and night life on the station never stops. In a way, Boulogne is home for eternal night, with Nox in no lesser demand than water or air.

Salbris Base

Like most asteroid bases in the Core Worlds, Salbris is a chaotic, messy and crowded place. It is located on the route from Orleanais to Picardy, controlling a popular smuggling route. In addition to the Gallic Brigands who control the base, smugglers of many other unlawful factions live on the station. A good size of the base population doesn't belong to any particular group at all, but are outlaws ready to do whatever job they can get, so long as it pays well.

Epernay Base

Epernay is an old Brigand base which was used as a staging ground for raids against EFL and GMS convoys bound for Burgundy. It became redundant when the Council captured Marne, as the Brigands could relocate their activities planetside to the Council authorities' blind eye. Nowadays, Epernay's corridors are far more active than they've been in decades.

The arrival of the Confederacy and legitimization of the Council has put the Brigands in a complicated, ambiguous situation; their contribution to the war effort afforded them tolerance from the Council, but not the Republique and certainly not from the Gallic Union succeeding the Confederacy. Due to the exposed nature of the base, Epernay's patrols are running overtime to ensure the base a significant time advantage should the Gallic Navy ever decide to attack the base.

Montauban Base

Most of the Gallic Brigands who came from Languedoc with the Council fleet stayed on Toulouse, but some chose to secure their own outpost at the very beginning. Within the gloaming depths of the Ariege Nebula, they found a suitably large asteroid in orbit of Planet Prades. Docking ports and hallways were built inside the asteroid by Brigand workers and IMG engineers that were hired to help with base construction.

Nicknamed Le Donjon Cramoisi - The Crimson Keep - the romantic, swashbuckling hedonism that holds such a grip over Brigand bases in the core worlds like Salbris and Pelussin is notably absent from Montauban. The Brigands of Roussillon lack the luxury of earthly pleasures, and the station is more often than not home to various criminals hiding from the preying eyes of the Gallic authorities.

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Diplomacy

The Gallic Brigands aren't too picky on who they work with, as long as there is some sort of financial or physical gain from said cooperation. However, there are parties the Gallic Brigand has differing views on.

Approach to Diplomacy

Acquaintances	Undecided	Targets	Hostile
Unione Corse	Everyone Not Listed	Gallic Metal Service	House Militaries/Poilce
Maquis		EFL Oil and Machinery	Gallic Gendarmerie
Independent Gallic Smugglers		Ill-de-France Shipping	Gallic Royalists
		Other Corporations or Independents	Aliens

The Brigands were once isolated in Gallia, Like all Gallic factions initially, Once the minefields to Sirius were breached, the Gallic black-market flooded with incoming and outgoing commodities from all around Sirius. Opening the Brigands up to many new suppliers, friends, and adversaries. Business interactions between Brigands and Sirian individuals and factions happen almost entirely at Pelussin and other Brigand facilities located on the fringes of Gallic space. Brigands have no hostile bearing to any vessel hauling contraband within Gallic space. (except for lawfuls of course)

The Brigands stance on making new friends are as stated above, as long as the party in question is providing something positive to the Brigands, and primarily materialistic provide, they're willing to work with just about anybody, as long as it brings home something at the end of the day.

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OORP Section

If I've missed anything, forgotten a key piece of lore, or if you just have a recommendation of something to add to spice up the write up, post what you think in the feedback thread.