Fleeters

The Fleeters were a union of space-faring humans living in the Sol System. Formed from the remnants of the Lorne corporation who many of their original number worked for, before the company went bankrupt, these people spent almost all their days living in space and rarely set their feet on solid ground. While they later went on to develop a central meeting place in *Outreach Station* they held no central government unlike that of the Roslin Federation, Martian Unity or Nagasaki Conglomerate.

Their people quickly gained notoriety for being thrill seekers and explorers. Most of their people and outposts were destroyed in the Three Day War, but despite this they were no less important. Their expertise were vastly depended on for the mining of resources to build the Arks as well as protection from pirates.

## History

### Lorne Corporation

The Lorne Corporation was founded in 2009 by Johnathan Lorne a brilliant scientist. The whole design behind the Lorne Corporation was to design and build structures in space. They managed to design a relay station in Earth Orbit that helped ships reach Mars from Earth, most famously being Madeline Ulrop the first person to step on Mars. With this breakthrough the Lorne Corporation had a boom in business, being at the forefront of both military and civilian contracts for space flight and travel.

They are most famously known for the *Crucible Class Cruiser* designed in 2039 as the first combat vessel capable of operating in space at one hundred and fifty one meters long the lorne Corporation had Governments from all over the world lining up to buy as many as they could afford, which let Johnathan Lorne put as high a price tag on it as he wanted. This profit was only augmented by the fact that the ships, while easy to fly once airborne, were notoriously hard to get into the air due to the technology at the time and needed to be launched from Lorne launch sites of their own design, bringing in even more money every time one of the ships needed to launch.

Shortly after in 2041 Johnathan Lorne passed away under unknown circumstances and his daughter Rosetta took over the company. With rising political tensions she expanded the company to have a base of operations in every first world country, while also spending considerable resources to set up a mining operation within the asteroid belt. By

2050 the Lorne Corporation was the only company with a base of operations on every continent, on both planets and in the asteroid belt (Ceres station). As Interplanetary operations became more commonplace as did piracy which resulted in the creation of the Lorne Security Corps in 2051, their own privately security. Within five years they were the largest privately owned fleet of ships.

Though this is when things began to go down hill, despite being the largest contractor for off world minerals profits began to decrease exponentially as each of the worlds Governments (By this point the political landscape was dominated by the United States of the Americas, European Confederacy and the United Korean State) started their own programs to construct space craft and weapons, with their own facilities they didn't need to pay the extortionate fees that the Lorne asked for.

By the year 2073 the Third World War was at it's peak, and the Lorne Corporation fell to pieces. While other companies moved to absorb it's assets on Earth, and Mars, Ceres station remained autonomous. The people on the station having lived there for years, with their children growing up on the station, to remain independent.

### Fleeters

When the end result was the 'Lorne' or 'Fleeters' becoming Independent it didn't happen overnight. There was chaos for a period of time, people left back to Earth or Mars not entirely sure what they were going to do with their lives. One of the revolutionaries behind the Fleeter cause and one of the few *leaders* the Fleeters have ever had was Captain Troy Harper.

Troy Harper was the commander of a Lorne Security Force vessel called the *Trinity,* having lived and breathed space ever since he was a young boy when his parents moved to Ceres station. He was strong headed, a little bit reckless and definitely liked to live on the dangerous side. So during the war when the Lorne had started to falter and fail he set his eyes on Ceres station declaring it an independent state with no ruler and no agendas only free people.

The system didn't instantly work, the power hungry still grabbed for whatever influence they could gain only to be shot down, something that would later lead to the stigma that Fleeters were lawless primitives. Troy Harper with other like minded Captains decided that the best thing they could do for these people who had been left abandoned was to form some form of law. Known as *Harpers Law* they are the only rules that the Fleeter people follow, and even then only cover the most serious of infractions such as murder, rape and theft.

Ceres became the only stable in the lives of the Fleeters, as the Third World War ended they agreed to continue to work for the Conglomerate and the Federation in supplying them resources, neither nation having the resources to set up their own outer space mining operations. Over time it became cheaper just to pay the Fleeters to do the work, and safer due to the extreme risks that working and living in outer space posed. Those who sought a life of thrill and adventure joined these people. Politicians didn't exist only ship Captains. The population experienced a boon of those wanting to escape the confines of the dirt.

### *Outreach*

Captain Kirk Anderson was the mind behind *Outreach Station*. The Fleeter people had grown in number, self reliant and each Captain did what was best for their own crew but at the same time with the turn of the century, in 2102 Kirk Anderson realized that now with the Martians to contend with to produce resources, given that Mars was close enough to the Asteroid belt to be a contender, the Fleeters while retaining their freedom needed some form of centralization without giving up their individuality that made them who they were.

His answer was *Outreach* a testament to the Fleeters as a people. Built on the edge of the Sol system it was started in 2105 and construction finished ten years later with the entire purpose being to show the dirt dwellers what the Fleeters were capable of when they worked together, though it was equally to show his fellow Fleeters what they were capable off. He became the Captain of the station, and formed the Fleeter Council. A group consisting of all the Captains the Fleeters had, anyone with a ship could be on the council and your background didn't matter. Working by a cause of majority vote the council was more or less a gentleman's agreement for when they needed to work together. While the Council couldn't force it's demands on anyone ships typically followed what the council said, knowing that the council could help them in future be it in a combat situation or for trade.

Since then *Outreach* has become a tourist trap for dirt dwellers, many of them going far out into the solar system to see what the Fleeter life was all about. Some never left again enjoying the thrill of life with few rules. Some went as far out simply to purchase the latest in cybernetic enhancements that elsewhere was only available to the military. It became a constant staple for a free people, constantly being modified and enhanced.

### Complete Devastation

While the first of April 2196 is a date humanity won't soon forget, it is violently burned into the minds of all Fleeters.

Dozens of ships docked, the station hosting three million souls as the Devastator fleet appeared and tore through the station as if it wasn't there. There were few survivors as any ship capable fled deeper into Fleeter space, though this was just the beginning. The Devastators were unrelenting pushing through Fleeter space, the Fleeter repeatedly called for aid from the Federation, Conglomerate and Unity to no avail. They lost stations all over the solar system and more prominently they lost their outpost on Titan.

It wasn't until the battle of Ceres that the Martians finally joined in. Realizing that this posed a significant threat to everyone and not just the Fleeters they sent a small fleet to assist the Fleeters at Ceres to gauge the enemies strength. The Lorne lost the station however they successfully managed to evacuate the station, though the cost was high. Only one Martian ship sruvived the encounter but this only served to solidify the bond between the Fleeters and the Unity.

As such when Unity, Conglomerate and Federation fleets finally banded together in Martian Orbit the Fleeters were there too, though in smaller numbers as many of the ship Captains decided to try and save their vessels and their people, finally the scourge was defeated.

### Post-War

The Fleeters gained recognition on Mars for their assistance, despite the fact Mars never truly came to their aid. Refugees were welcome and the best Martian Academies were open to the next generation of Fleeters wishing to try and gain an education. While the Fleeters was not *technically* a nation the Martian Unity tried to keep their interests in the council. It was a busy time for the Fleeters, even more so when the second wave of Devastator ships was detected. With the formation of the Genesis Project, and each nation trying to bolster it's military asteroid mining became even more important. United Earth Council (UEC) ships worked under Fleeter ships in the belt, following their orders, and the best Fleeter engineers were almost guaranteed a place on one of the Arks.

When the Devastators finally came back in 2216 while some Fleeters decided that they'd go down kicking in what was going to be the most heroic battle humanity ever faced others had their captains band together and turn the jump drives out of the system. Having lived in space their entire lives their intention was to do the exact same things the Arks were doing, and run.

## Government and Military

The Government and Military don't work the same as a conventional society. The entire point of Fleeter society was to give people freedom to live their lives, with the exception of living under *Harpers Law*.

### Captains Council

The Captains Council was formed in 2115 after the construction of *Outreach* was completed. Every Captain under the Fleeter banner could request to have a seat, and rather than an actual government it was more of a union. The council had no real authority over any ship in the Fleeter fleet they could all agree to cut off trade with a certain ship or to not give it jobs if it broke any of the rules and so it was worth individual Captains to try and keep in good stead with the council.

Though it rarely had to punish ships and instead it's primary function was to co-ordinate efforts and resources to where they were needed.

### Military

*Every* ship was armed in the Fleeter fleet to some degree or another. Though those once belonging to the Fleeter Security Corps were the most heavily armed and recognized their role in keeping tabs on pirates and ensuring that Fleeter space was safe for everyone. Most ships had a select sector that they patrolled, and charged a fee for passing through it. However after the Captains Council formed the council paid for the upkeep of security forces.