The Mariners

The Mariners are a totalitarian raider state operating out of their headquarters in The Sprawl, a large above and under aquatic complex designed pre-war to combat rising tides in Wilmington, North Carolina. They control several major settlements in the local area, keeping order while taxing them heavily for their own benefit. Their ranks are made up of raiders surprisingly similar to the classic raider stereotype; drug-filled barbarians. They are among the few factions in the wasteland to have an actual proper navy, having a flagship which is a repaired and rebuilt cruise ship which has become a sort of mobile military base. Accompanying their flagship is the rest of their navy, which is made up of repaired yachts and other small consumer boats.
== History ==
The Mariners were formed around 2268 by an infamous raider warlord only known as 'The Admiral', a raider who rose to power with his sheer physical strength and tactical power. Nobody knew what he truly looked like, as he always wore a suit of scrap and skull adorned T-51 power armor, which has now become something of a relic amongst the raider states of North Carolina, currently being in the hands of The Mariners. The Admiral was so influential in the region, that even the non-Mariner raider states that formed in opposition of The Mariners view him as something of a legend. The kingdom initially was a large collection of raider warlord states controlling The Sprawl and the rest of Wilmington, with The Admiral ruling a warlord state that controlled much of what is now The Sprawl. The Admiral was able to unify all these warlord states under one banner through a grueling series of wars and tense negotiations, eventually forming what is now The Mariners. To celebrate the triumph, The Admiral established his seat of government in The Sprawl, creating a throne decorated with skulls, including species such as Humans, Ghouls, Molerats, and even one Deathclaw at the center.
After the war, a time of peace began. The Mariners began to focus internally and started building The Sprawl into a Pitt-Esque raider city. The Sprawl would grow into a city for all the unwashed rejects of the 'civilized' cities of the eastern American wasteland to come to. Slavers, Chem dealers, normal merchants, and all other sorts would come to The Sprawl for the surprising law and order instated by the brutal Raider government. Thousands would cross the wastes to reach The Sprawl, some just coming to attempt and see the mythical 'Admiral' with their own eyes. 
=== Post-Admiral ===
The Admiral would die in his sleep in 2276, leaving his new empire to his son, The Serpent, who is currently the leader of The Mariners. As a sort of vengeance to nature for the death of his father and the beloved warlord of The Mariners, The Serpent led an 8 year campaign of brutal conquests into the surrounding republics and independent settlements to expand the power and influence of The Mariners in the name of The Admiral. After his death, The Admiral's coveted T-51 suit would be sealed away in a secure location at the headquarters of The Mariners' government in The Sprawl. The Serpent's campaign of war would end in 2284, with 11 settlements and republics being conquered by The Mariners in this time period. After this, The Mariners would enter yet another era of growth and peace, with The Serpent focusing on attracting traders to The Sprawl and greater Wilmington. In this time, The Mariners would hear word of a relic of the old world located in a harbor in an old world city north of Wilmington. This great relic was only known to The Mariners as 'The Fortress' at the time, but something about this Fortress made The Serpent send an expedition northwards to the city of Norfolk.
==== The Battle of The Fortress ====
As the expedition arrived in Norfolk, they quickly discovered this 'Fortress'. A massive, looming ship was somehow triumphantly standing amongst the ruined ships of the port of Norfolk. This ship was a derelict Cruise Ship from before the war, somehow still standing with minimal sectors of the ship destroyed. The expedition returned to The Sprawl, reporting their discovery. In this report, they detailed that there were people currently living in The Fortress. The Fortress was at the time occupied by a settlement that had erected their city in this ship, and did not feel keen on surrendering it to a raider warlord state. The Serpent was not pleased with this, he rallied the legions of The Mariners to launch a full assault on The Fortress with the goal of seizing the ship and beginning attempts to repair it. Once the legions of raiders arrived in Norfolk, the battle nearly immediately begun with marksmen from The Fortress firing the first shots of the battle. The Fortress had already heard word of the incoming raider battle, so defenses and ambushes had been established in the ruined alleyways and streets of Norfolk to hinder the oncoming legions.
Their defenses were able to give The Mariners a run for their money, but the battle was ultimately won by The Mariners. The battle resulted in nearly two thousand casualties in the ranks of The Mariners, but their deaths were not in vain. Repairs quickly began on the fusion core that previously powered the ship, with The Mariners having at least a good enough knowledge of how to repair the fusion cores of boats due to their base being a literal Marina. In around a month, The Fortress was repaired and moved south to dock in The Sprawl as a jewel in the crown of The Serpent. After nearly a year and a half of repairs and renovations, The Fortress became the mobile fortress that it is today, with residential barracks for soldiers, recreational areas, even makeshift naval guns akin to those on military ships pre-war, and more. Local rumors even say that the coveted T-51 of The Admiral was moved from The Sprawl to The Fortress after repairs ended.
==== The Thrall's Revolution ====
In the time after the battle of The Fortress, a large chunk of land in the territory of The Mariners had grown rebellious. This land had been formerly owned by a large coalition of settlements and Order separatists, and they had been subjugated by The Serpent's 8 year campaign of war. The land had already been rebellious since the start of the occupation, so as a way to govern the area in an easier way, The Serpent appointed a military government to control the area as a sort of vassal state which would be called 'The Battle Thrall'. This government would locally govern over the area, controlling the land with an iron fist in almost a post-war raider police state. The civilians would begin to get unruly, however, and active rebellions would be sparked by an event of police brutality in a town known as 'Cagetown'. These officers had beaten 19 people needlessly, killing 9 of them, and had then forced 4 people associated with the gang the other 19 were in to fight eachother to the death, with the survivors of the other 19 being an audience, then killing the winner.
After the massacre, active rebellions began. The most prominent of these was formed by a 'War Council' out of a derelict Mass Fusion factory, although this was not known to The Mariners at the time. After about 3 months after The Cagetown Massacre, war was officially declared by The War Council, which had assimilated most of the rebel groups into their organization. The group declared themselves to be a new nation, claiming all land of The Battle Thrall to be the territory of their new nation, The Unshackled Thrall. War began, and already it was not exactly going well for The Mariners. In a few weeks, The Thrall's forces had overrun most of the major cities in the area, including Cagetown. As a measure to try and do nothing but kill soldiers for The Thrall and use the momentum from a possible victory to push onward, plans began to be drawn up and soldiers were mobilized for an assault on Cagetown.
When the assault was launched, The Thrall had already set up a defense that was suspiciously set up according to the battle plans made by The Mariners. The battle was lost and Cagetown's defense held, with the loss resulting in heavy demoralization amongst the ranks of The Mariners. After severe interrogations, it had turned out one of the high ranking military officers that was involved in the planning of the assault was a rat for The Thrall. This officer was publicly executed in The Sprawl, his legs broken, tied together, attached to 3 cinder blocks, and tossed into the Atlantic Ocean.
The war was slowly going horribly for The Mariners, and the higher ups acknowledged this. In a last minute attempt to atleast kill the leaders of The Thrall, a large army was rallied and mobilized to attempt and find The Thrall's headquarters. After it was located, a long siege happened, resulting in another horrible loss for The Mariners. After the battle, The Mariners surrendered.
== Military ==
=== Organization ===
The military of The Mariners is not very organized, with the military being structured with The Serpent at the top, a war council, and several commanders who rule over large legions of soldiers. Their individual commanders mostly use varied tactics, but there are some uniform strategies. Commanders will often instruct their soldiers to use tactics similar to scorched earth tactics, burning down buildings and blowing up infrastructure, such as bridges, highways, etc.
=== Equipment ===
==== Uniform ====
There is no consistent uniform for The Mariners, with raiders often adorning scrap armor. The only thing that will almost always be on a raider who is in The Mariners is an armband with a white skull drawn on it. Raiders will usually be seen with mixed and matched armor, some having custom made armor cut out of scrap metal and others having actual armor they scavenged or looted, like police vests, helmets, etc. 
==== Weapons ====
Like the uniform of The Mariners, there is no standard issue weapon for raider soldiers. Raiders will often have patchwork weapons, pipe guns, and even just ordinary objects that they were able to turn into a weapon. The Mariners are one of the few factions that produce their own guns, but this is not as robust as the New California Republic's service rifle production. The Mariners, instead, have dedicated workshops that rapidly produce patchwork guns. This often leads to soldiers being armed with literally useless guns, or guns that break after a few shots due to the rushed production.
== Relations ==
* The Unshackled Thrall
The Mariners still hold heavy animosity towards the Thrall ever since their uprising against The Mariners, but no actual action has been taken due to the greater threat that is The Order.
* The Order of The Stronghold
The Order is the greatest threat to The Mariners, with all Order members being on a KOS status for Mariner soldiers. No war has been declared yet, however.
* True Eastern Brotherhood of Steel
Not much is known about the True Eastern BOS, along with the Brotherhood as a whole, mostly due to how far away they are. However, in the one encounter The Mariners had with the True Eastern Brotherhood, the Brotherhood had been firing at them in their exit from the harbor holding The Fortress after they repaired the ship and fired it up.
Category:Faction
Category:Factions
Category:Raiders
Category:North Carolina