| Freedom of the Sea Society | |
| |
| Political Information | |
| Government: | Naval hierarchy |
| Leader Title: | Captain |
| Leader: | Henry Comstock
Angelique Reynolds |
| Motto: | "From sea to bloody sea" |
| Societal Information | |
| Location: | New York Harbor |
| Headquarters: | USS Banner |
| Population: | approx. 450 |
| Notable Members: | Henry Comstock
Angelique Reynolds Jackson |
| Historical Information | |
| Founded: | 2255 |
| Founded by: | Henry Comstock
Angelique Reynolds |
| Policy Information | |
| Goals: | Destruction of Piracy |
| Allies: | Federal Republic of Libeteria
Freedom Fleet |
| Enemies: | Newark Pirate Association |
| Status: | active |
A society of vigilantes determined to rid the world of piracy.
Foundation
Henry Comstock was an adventurous man as a young man, born in the Big Easy 2230 he grew up watching the people of The Big Easy hang pirate after pirate as they were hauled in and arrested, for their crimes. His father Thomas Comstock personally led a group of vigilantes that would hunt down pirates, attacking their crews, wrecking their ships and burning or sometimes freeing whatever filth they carried. Yet like most kids who grow up with lawmen fathers Henry began to go against his father, he idolized the free, rich and adventurous pirates as they rode the waves of the Caribbean, fighting the monsters of the deep, digging up treasure and in general living the kind of life the young Henry wanted. You see despite his father's seemingly important role in the Big Easy Henry's family was rather poor, living in a small shack outside The Royaume the family survived on whatever they could grow, hunt or trade and that wasn't much.
When Henry was only six his family was attacked by vengeful pirates who killed his father, raped his mother and slit her throat leaving little Henry with the corpses of his family. He walked all the way to The Royaume where he stayed for a few weeks in the alleyways and on the streets, he eventually ended up staying with a kind clergy of the local churches. Henry took to his new home with great dislike for those who took him in, he disobeyed, misbehaved, broke shit just did anything to piss off his new friends. Yet the clergy didn't cast him out or even spank him, they understood he had lost his parents and realized this was his way of dealing with that loss. Henry soon changed his behavior as he grew older, but the fourteen year old Henry was still a loner, he spent most of his days working at the church he attended, hunting and doing odd jobs for folks around town but never really interacting with those around him. Henry was one day called to help repair the home of an elderly woman as he went home that night a thin, sickly, stray dog wandered out of an alleyway and began to follow Henry. Several attempts to get rid of the dog failed and soon Henry accepted that the dog would follow him all the way home. Upon his return back to the cathedral the dog promptly trotted in after him, not wanting to kick it out Henry fed the dog some scraps from his dinner and decided he anted to keep the dog, naming it Jackson.
Henry soon grew old enough to leave the cathedral and at age twenty-two he said goodbye to the clergy that raised him and left the Royaume and The Big Easy as a whole. In the world he and Jackson found endless adventures from discovering old Spanish gold in the swamps, to finding and fighting a sea monster with a group of Rafters, to hunting the most dangerous game the swamps had to offer. Henry eventually earned a ride to the Florida Keys and became acquainted with the Caribbean Exploration Commission and soon earned a job with the group, with little success in regards to rediscovering islands of the Caribbean but again having plenty of stories to tell around the campfires during the night. Yet it was while he was
Ms. Reynolds
attempting to locate the Bahamas (being WAY off course) he discovered the USS Banner sitting at its docks in Boston harbor. A pre-war replica of the venrable USS Constitution, the Banner was partially sunk and had a sharp list to the right. However, the ship intrigued Henry, and he became determined to get her floating and sailing again. He made a trip after trip to the surrounding area and making repairs to the ship and trying to get it back to working order. It was while he was going to look for scrap wood to make repairs to the hull that he met Angelique Reynolds, she was a beautiful girl from the Capital Wasteland, she was the ideal woman for any man and Henry quickly took a liking to her and for his efforts he got the living crap beaten out of him, Angelique was not about to let Henry get fresh with her. The two quickly became friends afterwards and both made the Banner their project working on it day and night and eventually they got it floating again, they could hardly believe their luck and then they hit the a wall. What now? Henry suggested that they improve the Banner and make the waters of the ocean piracy free. Angelique liked this idea and both again continued to work on the Banner adding metal armor to the sides, adding two turret
Constitution during repairs and retrofitting
ts on the sides, encased in metal they had welded onto it. The ship remained primarily wind powered, but the two realized that the ship's speed would be greatly reduced due to their "additions" to the ship, so after getting some help from a local machinist they installed a propeller and engine into the ship giving it added speed, the final improvement was the addition of a metal ram on the front of the ship. As for armaments the two managed to get the old cannons back into working order and with the abundance of old cars, scrap metal and other forms of metal that could be salvaged the ammunition was nearly endless. So as their ship took sail from Boston the two "celebrated" in fact they "celebrated" so much that Angelique would walk with a limp for the next couple of weeks and Henry had blood in his piss for the next week.
A Pirate's Life Ain't For Me
The two thought they were on top of the world except they were only two people and a dog on a rather large ship, so when they passed the perpetual naval warzone that was New York harbor every pirate, raider, slaver and hooligan with a raft and an oar attacked them, they fought them back after an hour long battle with both being injured in the fighting, even Jackson had gotten a knife to the abdomen when he bit the kneecap off a raider. So as the three sailed along the coast, patching themselves up they realized they were going to need people to help with the ship so when they pulled into the ruins of Charleston they found a great deal of people willing to join their crew. Faced with the horrors of land they figured whatever was out there was better than what was on the land. The crew was formed out of these volunteers and after getting
Mr. Comstock
some more veteran sailors from the Keys and drafting a few Rafters the crew was complete with the new recruits being drilled in how to use the old weapons day after day until they got it down and they became a well disciplined crew ready to take on piracy, their group was aptly called the Freedom of the Sea Movement as it defended every the right to sail the seas.
They went up and down the coast from the pirate ridden South Carolina coast all the way back to the big easy attacking and sinking whole fleets pirates as they attempted to combat the massive juggernaut that attacked them. Yet for all its success its lasting impact was nil, when a crew of pirates was killed, their ships burned and their treasure taken there was always somebody willing to take their place and thus the war dragged on and on for the crew of the USS Banner, but never did they falter, the rewards were too great and the fame was even better. So when the Federal Republic of Libeteria began to fight the pirates inhabiting Newark Bay and the surrounding New York Harbor the Banner was soon on the scene offering its assistance and soon the Banner was fighting alongside the FRL Maritime Patrol Force and played a major role at the Battle of Ridger's Sound. The Constitution has officially accepted the offer of the FRL to serve as a Privateer for the FRL government and thus has spent most of its time in the NYC area, as of late, they have tried on several occasions to force an entry into Newark Bay with little success and thus has busied itself hunting down pirate lords and mining the crap out of Newark Bay.
Henry and Angelique still run the Banner and will accept new recruits as needed, but as of right now the crew is more concentrated on fighting the war on piracy then its public image.
Membership and Organization
The ranks on-board the Banner are your standard naval ranks with the only constant being Henry as the Captain and Angelique as the First Mate. Membership aboard the USS Banner is usually rather exclusive, restricted to the most veteran of sailors, but from time to time landlubbers will be picked up to fill gaps in the crew (mostly powder monkeys). However, once you're aboard you belong to the ship and its crew, you mess up expect to be flogged in front of the whole crew. At any rate life aboard the Banner is rough with most newcomers coming down rather quickly with seasickness or dysentery, thus why most folk hesitates before coming aboard.
Powder Monkey
The lowest of the low aboard the Banner, this position is occupied by either young men or the newest and greenest members of the crew. These men carry buckets of powder up from the magazine down below for use with the cannon crews, it's a rather hazardous job.
Gunner's Mate
This position is usually held by two crew members as they're in charge of cleaning, loading and firing the cannons. These men are right at the brunt of the action and usually have the highest mortality rate with one out of every two being killed during the course of the battle, despite the addition of metal armor.
Gunner
This man or woman is in charge of aiming the cannon and just in general commanding the cannon crew on how to do their job. They're usually more veteran than the Gunner's mates and have more experience. They usually drill their crews till they are proficient at their job of killing the other bastards before they kill you.
Carpenter and Electrician
These two positions serve the purpose of repairing the ship when damaged, keeping the ship's systems working fine and just making sure the ship is being held together by something more than prayers and some ancient rivets. They are usually the most skilled at their jobs and are proficient with a welder, as they are a hammer or solder gun. There is only two of each so they are considered valuable persons.
Blacksmith
This is arguably the most important of the post on board the Banner, there are two blacksmiths both of which maintain the ancient canons, help with repairs and smelt, form and create the rifles, carbines and pistols most of the crew use in combat. Both are proficient in metal working and weapon making and thus the weapons they create are rather accurate, deadly and efficient to use. Thus, they have had to deal with numerous attempts to kill them by the pirates that fight the Banner, thus they have a special squad of marines that protect them.
Master-At-Arms
The commander for all the gun crews he is the most senior of the gunnery crews, with countless hours at the guns fighting the enemies of the ship. He is also the officer in charge of moral, meaning that if someone screws up or disobeys a command the Master-At-Arms will whip, beat or just in general maim that person until he doesn't want to disobey again.
Marine
This is a rather self explanatory position, whenever there is an enemy ship that has been disabled or stopped in some manner these men throw down planks of wood and charge across to take the ship, they're a tough bunch, armed with black powder pistols, carbines and rifles along with your average sabre. These men are also the only crew with actual uniforms with combat armor painted a Navy Blue. Many are former hunters or snipers and thus are very good shots, making them deadly during a boarding. They also have the job of repelling attackers when the ship is in turn boarded.
Helmsman
This man has the job of steering the ship, trying to avoid massive rocks and lining up the ram so it can take out enemy ships with ease. Again, this is a rather senior position that is only held by the luckiest of the few. Yet the Helmsman hardly ever gets to work at his job due to Henry being liking to steer the ship itself in combat.
Notable Sailors
John Mustrasson
A young man saved from drowning after pirates sank his raft, he was saved and brought aboard the Banner. Staying on with the crew to repay them for saving his life, and to make the seas somewhat safe to travel. Originally a Powder Monkey, he saw and repaired a potentially fatal leak in the hull during one intense battle, catching the eye of one of the carpenters. Since then he has been an assistant to him, learning the trade and how to make full repairs for the day that he takes over as a full carpenter.
Contributed by: Walrusking
Ratshank
A strange sub-human savage that the Society found drifting on a raft made of plastic bottles and human hair, Ratshank was once part of the savage Idaho mutant-raider clan known as the Bloodborne. How he ended up in the middle of the ocean is something no one could rationally figure out, as Ratshank only speaks in disturbing riddles and bloodthirsty screams. One thing is for certain though, he considers his fellow sailors as his own family, and when he's not scaring the bejesus out of them ranting on and on about finger paintings made of human flesh, he's usually risking life and limb to rescue them from the jaws of death. As Ratshank is too unstable for any single station, he acts more like the ships pet or mascot, actively hunting down and eating vermin such as rats and radroaches, tying knots that only he knows how to untie, and generally scrambling about the boat singing bizarre shanties. But when the time comes for battle, Ratshank is a terror to behold, is manic savagery and bloodlust, not to mention his impeccable skill with his cleaver and sawn-off shotgun, make him every pirates worst nightmare in the close corridors of a pre or post war vessel. Aside from these duties, many crew members have learned that Ratshank's mood usually indicates the weather, if he is surly and solitary, a storm may be coming soon.
Ratshank wears his signature hockey mask, a pair of bright orange jumpsuit bottoms, some football cleats, and his various tattoos all over his bare upper body. Though appearing rather scrawny, he is surprisingly muscular, capable of tackling and beating to death men almost twice his size with ease. Ratshank, as with most Bloodborne, is completely bald, and his left arm (which is his preferred cleaver arm) is noticeably longer and more muscular than his right
Contributed by: T42
Osman Zizar
A pirate captain himself, Osman Zizar found himself in the company of the FSS after his own crew mutinied and left him for dead in the New York Harbor. Vowing revenge, he signed up aboard the Banner with full intent to abandon ship once they had dealt with his former crew. Somewhat contrary to his wishes, he served for many months without finding a trace of them. Eventually becoming fed up with the lack of leads, he attempted to escape in the dead of night. He hopped off the deck and promptly struck an escape boat, killing him instantly. To this day, the crew believes it was nothing more than a tragic suicide.
Contributed by: LMG
Dominique Le Rouge
An old sea dog if there ever was one, Dominique Le Rouge is an oddity in that he is a Canadian, from Novia Scotia, to be exact. Le Rouge has had a long life of fifty-five years on the ocean as a privateer, fisherman, and pirate at times. Living his whole life on the ocean, he has seen the northern lights in the icy waters of the arctic circle and felt the tropical breeze in the sunny seashores of Veracruz, and in that time he has gained a good bit of experience and many stories to tell which have always entertained the crew at nights.
Brought aboard after a skirmish off the New Jersey coast that left the Banner badly undermanned, Le Rouge quickly proved himself as a capable deckhand and leader, able to do most any odd job. His true talent wasn't discovered until two months after he joined when the ship's cook was killed by a stray bullet in a battle off the coast of Massachusetts. Le Rouge took over and was able to make out of what little the galley had, one fine meal after another. Because of this he was appointed the ship's official cook, a position he faithfully serves.
When he isn't cooking for the crew, he regularly likes to help them out and deck, oftentimes sticking up for more inexperienced deckhands when the master at arms comes down on them. His other unofficial roles are being a translator as he is fluent in French which comes in handy when The Banner finds itself in formerly Canadian waters, and serving as an adviser to Henry and Angelique, sharing nearly five decades of wisdom with them on sailing and tactical matters, acting as a mentor to the young duo.
He carries on him at all times a cutlass and a .45/410 revolver citing the versatility of being able to fire conventional .45 rounds or .410 bore shotgun shells out of it as well as the reliability of a revolver over semi-automatic pistols, especially in the salty and oftentimes freezing conditions. However, he scarcely uses these weapons as Henry has personally forbidden Le Rouge from fighting in all but the most drastic conditions citing his age. However, he really keeps Le Rouge from fighting for two reasons: the advice the old sea dog has to offer and his phenomenal cooking, both of which would be lost were he to be killed on the gun decks or in a boarding party.
Contributed by: FB77
Mort
Born as Lincoln "Linc" Reagan before the Great War in the Coastal Plain of Virginia, Mort is the only ghoul marine aboard the Banner. Mort is two-hundred-twenty-four years old and filled with stories about his life, although he's only been a sailor for twenty-five of those years. Nonetheless, Mort is a skilled sailor and swashbuckler (although he doesn't use a buckle) along with his role as an icon to the crew because he earned his title and respect.
Mort joined up with Captain Henry very early on, before he reached Charleston in fact. The two met at an arms market in Norfolk while Henry was docked there. The conversation started with guns and ended with Linc being pseudo-impressed into service. At first it was weird having a ghoul abroad and after more joined Henry's ranks it was more racially awkward. Because Linc was turned into a ghoul immediately after the War, he has lots of extra tissue, tumors, and patches, and is why he covers his whole face and wears goggles along with long sleeve cotton shirts to cover his grotesque body. Henceforth Linc was known as "Rags" to the crew because he never showed his face; he was more or less their mascot before Ratshank came aboard.
Rags started out as a "powder zombie" carrying explosive barrels up to the gun deck until he proved he could lead after a gunner died during a battle off the coast of St. Augustine, Florida. Over the next few years Rags earned the respect of the other gunners and the gunner's mates with his sharp decisions, risky attitude, and high success rate. By 2260 Rags was quite liked aboard the ship and was famous for his drinking as he could out-drink anyone he met. It was also in 2260 that Rags found his calling, sword fighting. It was a stormy daybreak near the Jersey coast when the Banner was boarded after losing a cannon fight with five pirate vessels. The main deck was a warzone and the cannons were damaged so Rags made the call that the gunner crews would fight with their revolvers and raiding knives. Led by Rags, the gunner crews stormed the main deck and fought like demons until every invader was brutally murdered. With Rags once again victorious Henry made him a marine to which every hand on deck cheered "Aye!" and "Ho! Ho!". It was also at this moment that Rags was given a new name, Mort, given to him by Dominique Le Rouge. Mort took this with comfort, but ironically "mort" in French means dying- a jest at Mort's ghoulification.
Since then Mort has become more of a figurehead and idol to the crew of the Banner. Mort also no longer covers his face, embracing his zombiness and wearing a very iconic blank red bandana over his scalp, tied in the back along with his long sleeve flannel shirts and in the winter months a retro 18th century blue officer's overcoat. For weapons Mort uses a Chinese straight sword and a. 357 blued wood-grip Ruger Blackhawk revolver.
Contributed by: Musie
Katrina and Lee Webber
Mr. & Mrs. Webber
The Webbers are the literal odd couple of the U.S.S. Banner crew, one a charismatic Cajun electrician, the other a cold tribal marine. That did not stop them from eventually marrying each other, because as the old proverb says, opposites attract.
Katrina Snake, as she was known then, was picked by the U.S.S. Banner in the ruins of Charleston. A Cottonmouth tribal by origin, Katrina and her people had fled to the "place of their ancestors" to defend themselves from a band of Vault 87 super mutants that focused on completely wiping out the Cottonmouth Tribe, for fun. Katrina was one of the last capable fighters left and was readily accepted onto the ship's marines. However, her tribal background gave some odd quirks. This included lots of tribal superstition and suspicion of the one they called "Rags" and the other ghouls. When Ratshank came aboard, she tried to shut herself in the hold to get away from him. Katrina is still very loyal to the Captain and Angelique for rescuing her and her tribe and fights "like a demon".
Lee Webber was picked up in a seedy joint in the Big Easy. A creole, he used to be an electrician on a river boat casino, but had recently been fired when the boat was destroyed by Klan mines. Coming aboard, Lee's easygoing attitude and intelligence made him many friends among the crew. Having a rudimentary understanding of French due to his creole roots, Lee and Dominique Le Rouge often converse on subjects the rest of the crew can only imagine.
As the Banner roved the seas, emotions became more clear on both sides. Although there was flirting and even some smooching at first, Katrina and Lee only began to really connect after the ordeal in New York, when they were both captured by the NPL (National Pleasure League). Forced to survive the abuse of the NPL, they had only each other. This and their ingenious plan involving gunpowder, a teddy bear, and a stripper pole is what led to them escaping back to the Banner. Since then, the two have had a healthy relationship and even got married in the chapel of Liberteria, as per Lee's Catholic upbringing. Then that night, Katrina began the Cottonmouth marriage ritual...
Both still reside on the U.S.S. Banner and will for the foreseeable future. No plans on settling down yet, of course.
Contributed by: MongoosePirate
Armaments
Due to the extreme age of the cannons the crew for the most part uses only black powder for the cannons and thus for the ship's arms. The carbines, pistols and rifles you find aboard are all black powder based and thus create quite a bit of smoke during battle, one must think how backwards that is and its a wonder how they don't get trashed by everyone they fight well the fact is that the crew who wield these ancient weapons are very skilled in their use. The marksmen can hit a target 600 yards away and the sailors have had their fair practice with the guns. Yet the rifles and carbines aren't one shot muskets either. The revolvers have five round cylinders, the carbines all can be loaded with up to six shots at a time and thus are rather deadly in combat, the rifles are break action and most marines can reload it within twenty seconds thus the weapons seeming obsolescence is negated due to this fact. All weapons are made aboard the ship using materials that are formed by hand and formed by the ship's blacksmith.
The Freedom Fleet
The Freedom Fleet is basically a giant fan club for the FSS, this group made up of people inspired, saved by or just anyone who took what the Freedom of the Sea Society was doing and applied it to their own means. This group basically takes whatever craft that is seaworthy, arms it and sails it into battle with mixed results. They are successful but to a point, they may win battles against pirates on the high seas but they lack the organization and cooperation to seek out the pirate's bases and destroy them, they're instead more willing to do daring rescues of ships under attack or save your average damsel in distress, mostly anything that'll improve their reputation and boost their ego. The fleet is mostly made up of glory seekers and egomaniacs most of whom are so stubborn that they simply refuse to help their fellow captains get anything done that doesn't benefit them. In the end the few sailors who actually want to go after and destroy the pirates are few and far in between, so their may be noble but in the end its clouded by the egos of many of their captains.
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