Marauders

### Abilities

Emergency protocol, Project titan, Flexibility, Starbase upgrade, Strike squadron, Elite squad, Undercover agent, Black market.

> Shad’ir’ion - "Only a barbarian would leap so readily to a lethal purpose."
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The Marauders are a faction of the Terran race, principally characterized by a reputation for military prowess and an aggressive approach to solving diplomatic problems. They are often described as the sword to the Terran's shield by the other races of the galaxy.

## Origin

The Marauders came to be out of necessity. Following the culmination of the Perseus War, the Terrans, having learned to be wary of their templar neighbours, began to expand their territory on the rimward edge of their space. Terran military forces were restricted in size, a sanction imposed by the Assembly for their use of dark-matter weaponry to defeat the Stalkers, and the forces they could deploy quickly became insufficient to effectively patrol and defend their entire territory. While their expansion remained close to existing Assembly space, this was not a major concern, but as more and more colonies, many unsanctioned by the Terran authorities, began to flourish in more remote locations, it became harder and harder to offer adequate protection.

The Assembly relaxed its restrictions in 500 ATA, and the Terrans duly began to expand their forces. However, the constant tension with the Templars resulted in a policy of establishing defence in depth around Modeus and the more traditional Terran territories, and the outlier colonies were increasingly left to fend for themselves.

The colonies, in response to their perceived abandonment, began to develop their own militias, in defiance of the Terran government's directives. Initially these militias were concentrated on local defence, but in 949 ATA, the Oceanhill militia came under the command of Esther Montford, a retired military officer. Montford, a charismatic and decisive leader, recruited personnel and materiel from other colonies to bolster her forces, and established a protective presence in the outer colonies dedicated to defending all the systems, not just her home. Within five years, "Montford's Marauders" had assimilated all the local militias into one organized force.

The Terran government moved to try and disband Montford's forces, but were met with fierce civil resistance in the outer systems by populations who viewed the bold commander as their champion. Tensions continued to rise until early in 958 ATA, when the voting population of every system beyond Oceanhill declined to elect any representation in the Congressional election, triggering a constitutional crisis.

Montford, sensing her moment, deployed her entire force to Oceanhill and took military control of the colony, declaring the founding of a new Terran state. She then sent her strongest political ally, Jorge Oliveira, the governor of Oceanhill, to the Assembly with a request for arbitration on the grounds that the election result presented a clear mandate for separate statehood. After months of negotiations, the Assembly granted the right to secession, and the Commonwealth of Free Terran States was born. The Terrans, bitterly disappointed, labeled their cousins pirates and thieves in an attempt to blacken their reputation with the other races. In response, the newly minted Commonwealth government thanked them for the compliment and decreed that, in honour of Montford's contribution, the nickname Marauder was to be worn as a badge of pride, a practice enthusiastically adopted by the new faction's military.