Dread Corsairs

**Dev. Status** | Conceptual

*"If you happen to be rich*

*And you find you are left by your lover,*

*And you moan and you groan quite a lot*

*You can take it on the chin,*

*Call a cab and begin to recover*

*On your 14-karat yacht! WHAT!?"*

- "Money Makes the World Go Round", from the 1966 musical *Cabaret*
The **Dread Corsairs** or **Corsairs**, is a Quantum minor faction; a group of highly dangerous modern pirates formed to bring a new golden age of corsairdom in the face of increasingly militarized waters. Though at first starting in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, this band of pirates and brigands has expanded to nearly every major body of water with sea access in the world, sometimes even being bold enough to engage in coastal attacks.

## Background

### High Tide, Low Life

The so-called Golden Age of Piracy is known to stretch from 1689 to 1725, in a time where the riches of the rest of the world were starting to become fully open to Europe, when military warships were unable to outclass vessels possessed by bandits. Famous names such as Blackbeard, Black Barts, and Henry Avery were known across the world. Perhaps lesser known, but no less problematic for maritime shipping, were the raiders operating in the Barbary Coast whose heyday substantially outlasted those of their Caribbean counterparts, the Indian Ocean-based pirates who plagued the shipping of Europeans and Asians alike, and the corsairs of the waters in both the Atlantic Ocean and the Sea of Japan.

Wherever a lack of government control over the coasts existed, pirates could be found throughout those parts of history. But in time, these traders and the nations behind them had enough. One by one, their hotbeds were silenced as governments moved in to establish order and security for their shipping. Military warships started seriously outpreforming the vessels pirates could make, merchant ships started protecting themselves with convoys - well-armored and armed ships that were simply too fast to catch. Virtually all nations agreed to consider pirates as enemies to all mankind, with punishment being swift, certain, and harsh. Once the conditions favorable to piracy disappeared, so did it.

For much of the rest of history, corsairdom on the high seas became more of a nuisance than anything, having fallen far from its former heights. When ships started being powered by steam and made of metal, it was believed that it was largely a hopeless cause, held to by just a few desperate stragglers who raided the occasional vulnerable vessel often mostly in port rather than during high-sea battles. However, the 20th century offered a chance for the pirates to be reborn as large-scale chaos started appearing once again. The rise of the Syndicate in particular was quite the boon, as their general disinterest in prohibiting private enterprise made the lands they claimed as their own hotbeds of piracy, starting up pirate raids in the Latin American and Mediterranean worlds.

The decolonization process similarly opened up many new unstable areas of the world, while the intensification of the Chinese Civil War made the potential stabilizing influence of a China in East Asia little more than wishful thinking. But currently, piracy was largely limited to motor boats and hijacked fishing trawlers ambushing unarmed merchant ships. Many nations responded to its increase by adding escort ships which once again proved to be an insurmountable barrier. However, a watershed moment for its great rebirth would be the secret conference at Kismayo. Here, the great pirate bands and captains of the world met to discuss a means to better enrich themselves.

A daring plan, forwarded by the Red Lady, a young but charismatic Albanian woman, was then decided upon. For pirates to truly thrive, they would need to be able to take on navies on a much more even basis. This would require one of the most audacious plans yet.

### Union and Theft

The first aspect of the plan was the simplest, the agreement to create a union of pirate bands into one organization to better organize operations around the world. Second came the real meat of the plan, to steal the secrets of SPAM and military naval engineering. On October 1960, the newly-formed Dread Corsairs organized a series of audacious raids in quick succession on II factories based around the world while others focused on acquiring plans for warships and military templates. Numerous WW2-era MCVs were stolen along with various plans for weapons. Sometimes called "the night of 40,000 thieves", the Corsairs snuck away with their loot and set themselves to work. Efforts at trying to track down the thieves stymied by a series of almost-suspiciously fortuitous shifts in the focus of the world powers and INTERPOL into conflicts in post-colonial Africa.

Now possessing ill-gotten loot, the Corsairs built for themselves bases along the Indian Ocean as well as secretive sea-rigs and ocean forts that would serve as bases for their great armada. Simultaneously, they created their navy and their marines, assembling a large fleet swiftly thanks to the sheer manufacturing power offered by SPAM. In February 1961, they struck. A wolfpack of three destroyers and five frigates flying the Jolly Roger sailed up near Tanzania and quickly gutted a small fleet of merchant ships. As the culprits were not successfully captured, the company in charge of the wrecked vessels were quick to simply declare the attack as an 'isolated incident' - something that cannot describe the next waves of raids that the Corsairs will pull.

Perhaps ignored by most world powers due to other pressing issues, the Corsairs evolved from a simple band of naval bandits to the world's biggest pirate organization to ever terrorize the seven seas. Their operations eventually became more than boarding merchant ships as even civilian cruise liners, private yachts, and even military vessels were raided and robbed by the Jolly Roger pirates. Beholden to no country, organization or corporation (although they sometimes find work within Syndicate-aligned port owners all too eager to shell out some of their cash just to hire them), the Dread Corsairs have shown themselves to be a major threat to the navies of all world powers to the point where it was declared mandatory that even civilian liners are to be escorted by at least three frigates for protection.

Not satisfied by the fact that the world's seas have once again become veritable playgrounds for pirates, the Corsairs have gotten wind of rumors of the riches of the recently emerged Atlanteans whose splendor and wealth can be located under their underwater domes. Splendor and wealth that has never been touched by the surface for millennia. Not wanting to let the opportunity to bring about the Second Golden Age of Piracy pass, the captains of the Corsairs have ordered their crews to hunt down any ships associated with Atlantis. What they intend to do with Atlantis' wealth afterwards is still unknown. How they intend to defeat the world's most powerful navy is another mystery.

## Crewmen & Fleets

*"You might say that I am nothing but an uncivilized lawbreaker... a lawbreaker guilty of boarding that merchant ship just off the coast of Roanapur. But when it comes down to it: can* you *really say you "naval forces" are freer than us? To be free in sinking the vessels of those who you dislike just because you are ordered to do so? To be free in abiding by your laws of the land that only defend those that are in charge of it all? And to think I was once like you, Admiral. But I have rejected the false freedom of the land, and in its place I have substituted my own. A freedom in the sea that allows me to experience what you land-huggers will never taste, one that allows you to enjoy real freedom...you'd make a good member of us, Admiral. Maybe you just need that little push."*

- Captain Dhanvant Darbha, during an interrogation

### Structures

 File:IconCorsair.png | Tavern | Far from a simple establishment where people can drink and have a good time, the Tavern is a reinforcement structure of the Corsairs, where you can hire some of the most badass pirate figures of today...for a hefty price.

### Deathmatch Reinforcements

**"Naftílos"**

While shrouded in mystery and speculation, this almost-legendary crew of pirates can offer their services to the Corsairs... demanding a hefty chunk of gold, glory and guns just for one moment of assistance.

 File:IconCorsair.png | Admiral Schutz | The most feared buccaneer on the seven seas, Schutz prefers not using weapons, instead climbing up allied ships and relying on his unparalleled leadership skills, heavily buffing the ship in question. He can even use his powers of persuasion to convince nearby enemies to join the Corsairs' cause!