Merchant Marine
The Merchant Marine is a trade organization of merchanters and cargo haulers who band together for mutual protection.
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Structure
The Merchant Marine is a loosely-organized, rowdy and quarrelsome lot, but they band together to protect their assets and their access to shipping. While Ardan SpellSword and Luwraek are permanent fixtures, the Advisory Council is elected annually.
Public Agenda
Publicly, the Merchant Marine exists to preserve safe shipping and access to trade in the spaceways. There is a great deal of criticism of the organization because it seems to give preferential treatment and access to elves and gnomes. They tend to rise to higher positions of influence than other species do, and the terms that are negotiated for the Merchant Marine in different systems tend to benefit elves and gnomes more than anyone else.
However, no one can deny that travel in the spaceways has been safer, and tariffs have been lower, since the advent of the Marine during the First Interstellar War (IW1). The leaders of the Merchant Marine, Ardan SpellSword and Luwraek, retired Avalonian Imperial Marine Corps, are old friends of the Imperial Crown, and they have leveraged their influence to create a much safer space for merchanters everywhere.
A Secret Reserve
It is whispered in spaceport bars that the Merchant Marine is, in fact, a reserve for the Avalonian Imperial Navy and Marine Corps. These rumours are true. Needing to demilitarize following IW1, the Avalonian Navy needed a place to keep a number of active ships they could call back into service at any time that would not require a lot of outfitting to make shipshape. It was Luwraek who conceived of putting decommissioned warships to work as escorts for the Merchant Marine, and Captain Lylas Madrimlian who thought of assigning retired marines as merchanter guards. Should the Navy need to go to war again, mobilization will be a much faster and easier process.Don't forget that you can click on the blue compass on the left to access the Table of Contents at any time!
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Peace, Prosperity, Freedom
Founding Date
1 Weeping Moon, 4650 AC
Type
Financial, Merchant League
Training Level
Semi-professional
Veterancy Level
Trained
Demonym
Merchant Mariners
Leader
Location
Comments