The Sky-Raiders

The Sky-Raiders are a collection of warbands, colonies, and assorted refugees and criminals, who either could not or refused to be a part of life in a proper nation. They hold a strong hatred of New Terra and of the Federation, who in turn see them as terrorists, and of Isollis. Relations are acceptable with Tallon, who frequently uses them as mercenaries, though the Sky-Raiders are so divided that these all are no more than generalizations, all of which have many exceptions. Though their reputation suffers, many of the common people hold them in high regard, due to their self-proclaimed nature as freedom fighters, and as a refuge for the downtrodden and oppressed.

Structure

The only real common rule is that Amalda Talidas is generally accepted as the highest authority, though not all recognize him as such, and he does not rule directly, instead letting the different bands of Sky-Raiders operate as they choose, only rarely intervening in their operation when he believes it necessary for moral reasons or for the Sky-Raiders as a whole. Different bands of Sky-Raiders are typically named for their leaders, as Silver-Sky Raiders is named for Amalda “Silver” Talidas, though additional names, as well as the title of the leaders themselves, are up to the whim of the individual war and leaders.

History

The Sky-Raiders were a mercenary-military-unit operating out of a large space station known as the ‘S.R.S. Eternal’. They had a population of ~800,000, of which ~600,000 were military personnel and the rest were support, and they sustained themselves off of trade, loot, and military contract. They were founded in 2491 by an AWOL Federation Officer, and they built the Eternal in 2566 out of parts salvaged from captured Federal ships.
They attacked other petty nations whether by contract or simply so as to take whatever they could from their victims. They sustained themselves largely from recruiting local pirates and other criminals - as well as anyone willing and able from those they attacked or took prisoner -, as the birth rate could nowhere near keep up with the deaths they suffered in combat, and they took anyone that they could as prisoners.
Then, in 2,600, one company freed the prisoners and led a rebellion, putting the Sky-Raiders under the Command of Shock-Sergeant Amalda Talidas, nicknamed ‘Silver’ for his finesse and his skill in manipulation. He immediately declared that they would not rely prisoners anymore, and their enemies would all have the choice to join and be forgiven, turning the Sky-Raiders into a refuge for those not welcome elsewhere. He made the former prisoners into soldiers and declared freedom and liberty to be the highest priority, reorganizing the chain-of-command into a much more freeform structure with very little in the way of official policy, as opposed to the strict military procedure all members had followed beforehand.

Type

Geopolitical, Tribe

Demonym

Sky-Raider

Subsidiary Organizations

• Silver-Sky Raiders
• Third Fleet