Calixian Privateers

“Lower your void shields, silence your guns, open your coffers, and be glad that I am as much a gentleman as I am a brigand.”
–Festio Borealis, Lord-Captain of the corsair Falcon’s Grasp
In the distant reaches of the Koronus Expanse, where
Imperial authority is weak or non-existent, where the
laws of the Empire hold no sway, there is often little
distinction between the activities of legitimate merchants
and brutal pirates, pioneers and the rapacious architects
of pocket empires, explorers and smugglers of ill-gotten
treasure. Thankfully, a Calixian Privateer knows where he
stands on all counts, in both the eyes of his peers and the law.
Bound to the power blocks of the Calixis Sector by special
clauses, known as Letters of Marque, buried deep within the
punctilious language of their Warrants of Trade, these select
Rogue Traders are empowered to prey upon the interests and
ventures of their patron’s rivals in the Expanse.
Calixian Privateers are not the snarling lapdogs of their
patrons, and take any such assertion as a grave insult and a call
to duel. Rather, Privateers protect their benefactors’ interests
in the Expanse in exchange for a safe port of call, the political
capital that comes from friends in high places, and a certain
amount of legal dispensation for their more questionable
activities. Officially, a Calixian Privateer’s mission is to protect
and defend. The trade routes, outposts, and
colonies of the Expanse
are all vulnerable to
the predations of
Freebooterz, pirate
fleets, and unscrupulous
merchants. However,
most Privateers are loath to
sit back and wait for these
threats to strike. Instead,
they forge deep into the
Expanse, actively seeking out
potential foes and destroying
them wherever they are found.
Any salvage and treasure claimed
in these forays is carried back
to the Privateer’s patron,
registered as the spoils of war,
and unloaded at a hefty profit.
The fact that most Privateers
consider the convoys and outposts
of their patron’s rivals to be threats
worthy of dispatch is not
mentioned in polite society,
but it is clear to all that
the bloody trade wars
outlawed by Sector Governor Marius Hax have simply moved outward into the Expanse.
The fact that Governor Hax does little to curtail the issuing of
Letters of Marque, and has been known to issue them himself,
is taken as a sign that he intends to keep such conflicts out of
his sector, but within his sphere of influence.
Because Calixian Privateers openly engage in activity that
is considered morally unsound at best and outright illegal at
worst, they must frequently deal with the dregs of society, from
smugglers, criminal syndicates, fallen nobles, and slavers, to entire
populations rendered destitute by the actions of other Privateers.
By maintaining close ties to these unsavory types, Privateers
are able to build sprawling power bases and support networks
beyond the influence of their patrons. When times become hard
and conflicts arise between a Privateer and his patron, these
shadowy allies and reluctant accomplices are turned to for aid.
Privateers who cultivate such alliances often find themselves
rulers of piratical kingdoms and criminal empires. A wise patron
keeps a close watch on their Privateer, lest he become too
successful and begins to question the need for his relationship.
There are as many different types of Calixian Privateer as
there are Warrants of Trade. For every ruthless brigand there is
a gentleman thief, for every raiding marauder, a champion and
defender of the people. For every destitute Rogue Trader forced
into servitude while seeking an ally, there is a browbeating
pirate king with a patron living in virtual imprisonment within
the gilded gage of a palatial estate. The two traits all Calixian
Privateers have in common are close ties to their patrons and
well-earned reputations, both good and ill.
Mordred Drakenholm is a Calixian Privateer, captain of the raider Red Talon, who plies the routes of Winterscale’s Realm, hunting ships and traders allied to House Krin. Once, within the Egarian Dominion, he ran afoul of Lord-Captain Aoife Armengarde, who stalled for time with words. Their battle turned into dinner upon his ship, where Mordred was glad to learn that his intelligence was incorrect and that she was not working for House Krin. She, in turn, was glad that she had tricked him into believing she did not work for House Krin.
==Becoming a Calixian Privateer==
All one needs to become a Calixian Privateer is a patron and
a Warrant of Trade amended with a Letter of Marque. Viable
patrons include corporations, Imperial nobility, merchant
houses, Navigator Houses, Planetary and Sub-sector
Governors, Rogue Trader Dynasties, and wealthy guilds. The
roster of potential patrons is long, giving enterprising Rogue
Traders their pick of allies. Attaining a Letter of Marque is
more problematic. While some would-be patrons loudly
proclaim their ability and desire to issue Letters of Marque
to any Rogue Trader willing to pledge their service, most
often patrons and Dynasties must petition each other, and
the Adeptus Terra, for the privilege. It is for these reasons
that many keen Rogue Traders pore over the legal minutia
of their Warrants, hoping to find a notation indicating a
Letter of Marque that was never rescinded and that they
can claim by birthright. Many a well-to-do citizen of
the Imperium has been rudely awakened only to find
a Rogue Trader’s ship darkening the skies over their
estate, her captain demanding the same hospitality
once afforded a long-dead ancestor.
Required Career: Rogue Trader
Alternate Rank: 2 or Higher (7,000 XP)
Other Requirements: A
Rogue Trader must possess the
Renowned Warrant Talent before
becoming a Calixian Privateer.