Unioners

Unioners
Alignment	Unlawful

ALLIES:

Corsairs, Farmers Alliance, Liberty Rogues

ENEMIES:

Imperial Shipping, Bundschuh, Red Hessians, Coalition, Xenos, House Authorities, House Corporations

The Unioners are an outlaw group chiefly comprised of former Rheinland shipyard workers, operating as smugglers and shipbuilders-for-hire on the border between Rheinland and Liberty. While formed as something of a revolutionary group targeting Republican Shipping, the growth of smuggling partnerships with the Rogues and Corsairs tempered much of the movement's political fervor, and by the time the Rheinland Civil War had come to a close, most simply chose to continue on as pirates rather than abide by the peace treaty's terms.

Ships used

Ship	Class
Tiger Shark	Light Fighter
Dromedary	Freighter
Falcon	Heavy Fighter
Arbeiter	Very Heavy Fighter
Unioner Gunboat	Gunboat
Rheinland Pirate Cruiser	Cruiser

Bases owned

Base Owner System Region Davos Base Unioners Zurich Alsace Passage Pacifica Base Unioners Bering Independent Wedel Base Unioners Hamburg Rheinland Vierlande Prison Unioners Hamburg Rheinland Krefeld Base Unioners Cologne Alsace Passage

Bribes

Base Owner System Region Wedel Base Unioners Hamburg Rheinland Krefeld Base Unioners Cologne Alsace Passage Bristol Bay Station Bristol Constructions & Manufacturing Bering Independent Pacifica Base Unioners Bering Independent Mainz Storage Facility Imperial Shipping Frankfurt Rheinland Dawson Base Liberty Rogues Hudson Independent Freeport 8 Zoners Sigma-15 Sigma Border Worlds Heisenberg Research Station Freelancers Cologne Alsace Passage Kaiserslautern Depot Bundschuh New Berlin Rheinland Tennstedt Base Bundschuh Thuringia Rheinland Invergordon Salvage Yards Junkers Inverness Independent Kreuzberg Depot Junkers New Berlin Rheinland Planet New Berlin Rheinland Federal Police New Berlin Rheinland Cruiser Schwarzwald LWB Cologne Alsace Passage Invergordon Drydock Junkers Inverness Independent Planet Hamburg Rheinland Federal Police Hamburg Rheinland Bruchsal Base Bundschuh Frankfurt Rheinland Lagos Depot Corsairs Sigma-13 Sigma Border Worlds Vierlande Prison Unioners Hamburg Rheinland Davos Base Unioners Zurich Alsace Passage Cruiser Greifswald LWB New Berlin Rheinland

Rumors

Pacifica Base The Union that formed after the Alster Tragedy of 512 gained well-deserved benefits for the shipwrights and welders who built the transports that shipped goods throughout Sirius. In the decades that followed, the union grew stronger. When the 80-Years War broke out, we were sitting pretty on a mountain of government subsidies and contracts. The government broke those contracts and attempted to basically impose indentured servitude on us. We would have none of that. This base is mainly used as a smuggling waypoint and small production facility for our weapons. We mostly control this system now - only the Xenos oppose us, and they are no match for us. The Liberty Navy doesn't go far from the only working Jump Gate left in this system, and the Rheinland Military has completely withdrawn. In other words, we're as safe here as we'll ever be. The Unioners are a political organization fighting like many others throughout Sirius for the fair treatment of the working classes. For that we are branded criminals. And when you treat someone like a criminal, he eventually starts to think and act that way. So yea, we're pirates and smugglers now. That is what Rheinland, and Republican in particular, has made us into. Running Alien Artifacts from the Sigmas is much more dangerous these days. We've been doing this route for a few years now, but since the betrayal at Vierlande, the Bundschuh and Hessians will both gun for our smugglers on sight. Can't go through Hamburg's Kielfeld either, there's something bad in there. When the 80-Years War came to an end the Union joined the Popular Revolt to overthrow the Imperial government. There were no more government contracts, and unemployment skyrocketed. The reformed Republican Shipping used this as an excuse to fire every known Unioner and replace them with workers brought in from New Berlin, breaking every agreement they ever made with us. The government didn't want to step in, despite us helping them in the Popular Revolution, so we took matters into our own hands. It was the right thing to do. It still is. The Alster Shipyards were home to the Unioner movement when we were still a legitimate, political entity. Alster was established in 412 AS by Imperial Shipping to supply the Rheinland Empire with transport freighters, lifters, and repair ships. Imperial Shipping became known as Republican Shipping after the 80-Year War, and Imperial Shipping again during the Civil War. Funny how things repeat. We used to smuggle Hessian Tears to the Rogues, but that all came crashing down when the Hessians stabbed us in the back in '26. These days, the only time we can ship Diamonds out is when we can hit Hessian smugglers and steal theirs, or sneak a patrol into Dresden and grab them from the source. In 512 AS an explosion in the Alster Shipyards killed hundreds of workers. They formed a union and walked out on the Imperial Shipping executives. It was then that Imperial Shipping realized how valuable its workers were. Production ground to a stop, and they started losing millions of credits for each day production was halted. They tried to get the government to step in and declare martial law, but the conditions were so appalling that the government didn't step in. All Imperial could do was concede to our demands. With our old union destroyed after the Popular Revolt, we reformed and called ourselves the Unioners. We were formed to make Republican Shipping pay for the wrongs it had committed against its workers. To this day we exact our vengeance, and we'll not stop until Republican recognizes the Union and restores the worker rights that our fathers and grandfathers fought so hard for. Our old boss Imperial Shipping became Republican Shipping after the Popular Revolt. It was a dark time for the common laborer, and within months we lost all the rights we had been working to create for the past several decades. Republican Shipping really stuck it to the worker, using the weak economic situation to strong-arm the faltering union. In the end, it did them little good. They lost their most skilled workers, and with them, many construction contracts went abroad, to Kusari. We run Artifact shipments direct from the Corsair base in Simga-15. We don't need Junkers as middle-men any more. Not an easy run through Frankfurt and New Berlin, but decent profit. We sell some Artifacts locally to the Junkers, but most to the Rogues in Hudson. Bristol Bay Station This is a good place for supplies, the prices are fair and the staff treat you well. Don't let that fool you though, if you case trouble here they'll kick you out the nearest airlock without any hesitation. Dawson Base We would prefer to live in Rheinland, but Republican's influence is too strong. Now that the Jump Gates are blown, the Unioners in Bering are safe from the Rheinland Military. We've only got the Xenos and a few Bounty Hunters to worry about, and those we can deal with. Our base is through the Jump Hole to Bering. We don't really like to stay long in this system - the Xenos hate us for some reason. The Rogues here are a rough, uncultured lot, but they'll buy many smuggled goods. The war with Rheinland also makes High Temperature Alloys a commodity in demand here. We sell our smuggled Hessian Tears from Kreuzberg here. It's a dangerous journey through Hamburg, but well worth it. We've also got a new route, bringing in Alien Artifacts through Munich and Frankfurt. It's not healthy to get the two mixed up though. Wedel Base Wedel is a sore point for many Unioners. It was lost after the attack on Vierlande, when the Hessians and Coalition stabbed us in the back during the Betrayal of ‘26. They killed everyone aboard, no survivors. Before, the Corsairs were occasional and uncomfortable business partners. After, they became allies against a common enemy. The Hausbruch is one of several Pilgrim Liners the Unioners maintain. They’re usually tasked with picking up salvage or disabled transports in Bering. Then, we’d either drag them back to Pacifica or field strip any useful parts. Ransoming captured transports and crew was always profitable work. We’re rebuilding Wedel Station as a forward staging post in Hamburg. We can launch attacks on Alster Shipyard from here, and repel Bundschuh and Hessian raids on our territory. The Hessians don’t like us because we’re happy to smuggle Artifacts and take Corsair credits. The Bundschuh are more complicated. We crossed swords during the Civil War, and they’ve held a grudge since. Running Alien Artifacts from the Sigmas is much more dangerous these days. We've been doing this route for a few years now, but since the betrayal at Vierlande, the Bundschuh and Hessians will both gun for our smugglers on sight. Can't go through Hamburg's Kielfeld either, there's something bad in there. We used to smuggle Hessian Tears to the Rogues, but that all came crashing down when the Hessians stabbed us in the back in '26. These days, the only time we can ship Diamonds out is when we can hit Hessian smugglers and steal theirs, or sneak a patrol into Dresden and grab them from the source. I'm a salvager based off the Hausbruch. Normally that involves working on Bering's Liberty Navy or Insurgency wrecks, but it also makes us well qualified to try and shore up Wedel Station. We’ve patched the holes in the hangar so a crew can work out of it, so we'll probably be heading back to Independent Worlds soon. The Unioners received an amnesty when the Civil War ended. Nothing really changed for us though - Imperial Shipping wouldn’t recognize the Alster Union, and any other work we could do paid a fraction of smuggling and piracy profits. For a while the government paid us off to ‘keep the peace’ in Bering, but crime was easier and paid better. The movement was outlawed again within a year, but it was a great time while it lasted. For many years the Hamburg Unioners launched from Wedel Station, however that was destroyed when the Red Hessians betrayed us in '26. After that, we patched up Vierlande Prison, which lasted up until the Civil War ended and the Military pulled itself back together. Now we’re back on Wedel again. We run Artifact shipments direct from the Corsair base in Simga-15. We don't need Junkers as middle-men any more. Not an easy run through Frankfurt and New Berlin, but decent profit. We sell some Artifacts locally to the Junkers, but most to the Rogues in Hudson. Kreuzberg Depot There's a raiding party leaving shortly for the Dortmund-Bonn Lane. Someone heard a Junker talking about a Synth Foods transport coming in from Frankfurt with Fertilizers. They don't guard them as well as the Food shipments, especially Luxury Foods. We make our living smuggling Diamonds and Tobacco from here to Pacifica. Unioners carry them all they way to Dawson, where they are sold to the Rogues, who smuggle them past the Xenos in Hudson and Texas and across the final stretch in New York. Synth Foods blames us for the food shortages in Berlin. The truth is, most of their food is bound for the elites at Augsburg and Hawaii, where they can make much higher profits. Whether Rheinland starves or not is none of their concern. If you're looking to help our cause, haul some supplies like H-Fuel, Manifolds, Light Arms, and Consumer Goods up to Darmstadt. That's our base in the Ostnebel in Stuttgart. We often buy them in Vogtland, but they are much more expensive there. We use this base to attack the Republican Shipping imperialists within New Berlin. It's also a convenient place to purchase proper Rheinland Side Arms at a good price. Most of our brothers in arms are in Hamburg, waiting in the asteroid fields for any opportunities that may present themselves. The Junkers have approached us with a proposal to smuggle Artifacts into Dawson. We have not accepted, although it would be very lucrative and give us much more money to buy ships and weapons. If the Unioners became smugglers like the Rogues, then we would deserve to be called common criminals. It's also a dangerous proposition to become indebted to the Corsairs, even if indirectly. Krefeld Base We used to rely on the Hessians for finances, however after they betrayed us over Vierlande, we learned our lesson. Now we make our profit by intercepting their smugglers and doing some mining off the side. Though truth be told we have some plans in motion in Zurich too. That should help keep the Union stable. Cologne is a nice little fringe system with little danger to us. The ALG base next to Steinfurt also means we can get materials for our operations without too much Military presence around. This used to be a nice and quiet system, ideal for smugglers and revolutionaries alike. Unfortunately, the Red Hessians made such a commotion that Rheinland started paying attention. On the plus side we captured some of those Hessians during their evacuation. I'm sure they'll enjoy doing some actual productive work for a change, our Zurich operation will definitely benefit. The media always try to marginalise our cause, but it's simply not working anymore. The Unioners are growing, as are the other revolutionary movements in Rheinland. Soon we will be far too large to be ignored, and then the corporate pigs and their governmental puppets will finally be unseated in favour of a true People's state.

NOTE: Page generated on the 20/12/2024 at 17:26:36 UTC