[hider=Repurposed Habitation Ark 0671, aka. The Wandering Fleet]
[centre][h2]The Wandering Fleet[/h2]
[img]http://img05.deviantart.net/74c9/i/2003/47/1/7/stdwl_jolly_roger_v_2___black.jpg[/img]
”We’re not robbing them. They’re handing over their belongings out of their own free will. Well, yes, our missiles may be locked on their ships, but that’s beside the point.”
[sub]Captain Alfredo Samuel Tenor upon collecting “tribute” from a bypassing trade convoy.[/sub][/centre]
[hider=Introduction]
The Wandering fleet is a collection of larger and smaller ships surrounding the repurposed ark known as Eldorado, which functions as flagship for the fleet. The fleet is for all intents and purposes a massive city of constantly shifting and changing components united under a very loose government of crime syndicates that possess varying degrees of wealth, firepower and will to cooperate. 
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[hider=Affiliation] 
While the fleet itself is neutral ground and in principle welcoming to all, the multitude of factions that exist on it have their own loyalties to the various nations of Eden - however, common among almost all the factions is a shared disdain for the Core Worlds, owing to the fact that many faction members are on the run from these very powers. All sorts of lawfolk and interpol organisations are also heavily disliked.
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[hider=Government]
The fleet’s government is decided by whichever crime syndicate can wrest control of the most territory, as well as some key districts like the space ports, oxygen farms, terrace farms, mineral and ice storages. The current syndicate in power is the Tenor Family, led by patriarch Alfredo Samuel Tenor. His family has considerable manpower, allowing him to hold the central engine room, starboard docks, starboard storage halls and the financial sector.

Other notable families include the Taixing Triads, who hold the bar and restaurant districts, led by mama Ma Yiyi; the Majagupta Family, who hold the stardocks on port side and the port terrace farms, led by matriarch Vinyasa Majagupta; Los Desperados, who hold little territory, but have an extensive black market that gives them access to weapons and mechanics, led by the feared Ahméd Gonzales. 
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[hider=Demographics]
[list]
[*][b]Humans:[/b] By far the largest population group. They’re humans, they’re numerous and they come from all around the cluster - some are mutated; some are clean; a lot of them are down on their luck, just like everyone else who ends up in the Hole.
[*][b]Simmie:[/b] The Simmies would be quite familiar to humans, seeing as they actually came with them. They are great apes brought along by humanity for experimentation. Eventually exposed to a brain-altering serum, the chimpanzees developed an almost human-like self-consciousness and understanding. While they are only 200 years old as a new subgroup of the great apes, they possess an almost eerie level of civility, having adopted a great deal of cultural norms from humanity. They still separate themselves in a number of ways, particularly by means of language, which they convey through hand signs and grunts. Simmies commonly work as mechanics, electricians, drone operators and construction workers on account of their agility and dexterity, or as translators when Mi-self Translate is down.
[hider=Simmie Appearance]
[img]https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/000/455/562/large/maarten-verhoeven-maarten-verhoeven002.jpg?1423232098[/img]
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[*][b]Putt:[/b] Putts come from the fringe desert planet of Demos 4, also known as Oppo. They’re slightly shorter than human males on average, standing on average 167 centimetres for both males and females, sly and business-savvy, hailing from a tiny desert planet where competition, exploitation and opportunism means survival. They are skinny and fragile, however, and make for poor soldiers. No, their speciality comes in the business of trade, them being among the finest salespeople around.
[hider=Putt Appearance]
[img]https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/002/809/877/large/brian-matyas-fb-c-11.jpg?1465978232[/img]
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[*][b]Qurok:[/b] Quroks are enormous humanoids hailing from the outer sector, specifically from Ripp. They have thick, leathery skin in the shade of meaty pink, earlike shapes growing out of their skulls made of bone, and have keen senses of smell. They stand on average 2,3 metres tall for both males and females. Ripp is a savage system, and Ripp 3 is a gruesome place to evolve, being a hellish landscape of toxic swamps, massive predators and an acidic atmosphere. Quroks originally evolved underground, where they formed colonies that would hunt on the surface. They developed enormous lung capacity, a natural resistance to toxic gases, and the ability to seal shut every orifice in their body and protect their eyes with thick layers of biological glass - if not for the cold of space, they would be able to survive by just holding their breath. As citizens newly introduced to interstellar society, Quroks have taken up work on industrial worlds and space stations, requiring very little oxygen to actually sustain themselves. Given that they only were discovered a little under a century ago, many of their tricks from hunting still remain, and many Quroks take up work as mercenaries and bounty hunters.
[hider=Qurok Appearance]
[img]https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/006/056/330/large/nils-meyer-nilscloseupb.jpg?1495712482[/img]
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[*][b]Daisan:[/b] Though their numbers are few due to the very limited access to their cyanobacterial food, there is a minority population of Daisan aboard the Wandering Fleet, famed for their ferocity in battle and skill with energy blades. They occupy their very own ship in the fleet, a small freighter colloquially referred to as "Lil' Hoke", where they have tried their best to mimic the bacteria-filled atmosphere of their home planet. These aliens bring their unique plasma technology onboard and gladly share it with all who are interested, leading to the Daisan being both respected and in high demand among pirate crews looking to bolster their firing line. Of the local two clades, the [name] and the [name], the [firstname] are known for shunning all sorts of ranged weaponry as the utmost cowardice and behead any members who so much as think about bringing a gun to a knife fight; the [secondnames], on the other hand, opt for a mix with quick switches between blade and side-arm, making them ideal for shock attacks.
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[hider=Military/Civilian Assets]
[hider=Civilian Assets]
Civilian ships and assets make up 97% of the fleet’s total number of ships, though hardly all of these could be classified as civilian - they merely look that way until unsuspecting victims come too close. 
[list]
[*][hider=The Ark]
[centre][img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2d/44/40/2d4440d7a5791b98603b18a14286ecb9.jpg[/img][/centre]
Once known proudly as “Xuanzang”, the 671st ark was once a proud member of the Sol fleet to escape Perseus. Now it’s a den of sin and crime, soaring through the stars reaping the profits of pirate raids, black markets, smuggling runs and bribes. As the centre of the Wandering Fleet, the ark is a host of businesses both bright and shady, most providing goods and services for travellers and residents.
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[*][hider=Model 9 Mawmaw-class Freighter]
[centre][img]https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/019/039/336/large/max-horbatiuk-shot-1-v2.jpg?1561734286[/img][/centre]
While there are only two in the whole fleet, the Mawmaw-class Freighters (most of which have been commandeered from other powers in the sector) are essential to transporting the minerals and goods of the fleet and also carry all the fuel, supplies and materials used to sustain the fleet at large.
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[*][hider=GM2177 General Purpose Light Freighter]
[centre][img]https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/002/754/988/large/michael-maurino-private-freignter.jpg?1465329824[/img][/centre]
A very common ship in the fleet, this freighter’s flexible model allows it to be modified to fit the owner’s needs: With life support modules installed in the container compartments, the ship can house up to a hundred human-sized humanoids with relatively roomy living space. Can also easily be filled with armed pirates and function as a raiding vessel or be filled with explosives and function as a catastrophically huge missile.
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[*][hider=”The Picassos”]
[centre][img]https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/016/661/612/large/tano-bonfanti-ships1.jpg?1552999679[/img][/centre]
In the Demos system on planet Oppo, homeworld of the Putts, there lived an engineer and artist by the name of Mubsup Ip. Ip was known far and wide for his colourful ships and quickly became a favoured manufacturer of the populace. This made the ships incredibly cheap and easily accessible, which is why there are quite a few of them in the fleet. Reliable like an AK-47 of the olden days, these ships are as popular as they are numerous.
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[*][hider=Tethered Stations]
[centre][img]https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/013/388/188/large/omar-sabrou-macao-def.jpg?1539359322[/img][/centre]
[centre][img]https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/013/644/025/large/omar-sabrou-macao10.jpg?1540543765[/img][/centre]
The fleet also brings along so-called “tethered stations”, space stations that are in any way tied to the fleet. These range from medical stations, bars, security beacons, observation stations, living quarters and much, much more. Unlike the ships, these are not very mobile on their own, and are thus dependent on the larger fleet to propel them along for the ride.
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[hider=Military Assets]
It should be noted at first that the Wandering Fleet can afford very few dedicated military ships; in truth, they do not really want to buy any, either. Repurposing civilian ships into vessels of war is both cheaper and looks much more inconspicuous up until the very point where any target ships are in firing range. The obvious drawback is that these improvised fighters are no good against actual fighters, so the fleet keeps a few actual military vessels on hand just in case. 
[list]
[*][hider=Kidd-class Battleships]
[centre][img]https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/004/050/101/large/eddie-del-rio-0057.jpg?1479837496[/img][/centre]
Like the Mawmaw freighters, these battleships number few in the fleet, being only two, as well; however, despite their age and appearance, their outdated weapons still pack a punch up close. They also each have their own small support squadron of ten fighter ships. 
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[*][hider=Wasp-class Fighter]
[centre][img]https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/030/077/200/large/oleksiy-rysyuk-shot-00-spaceship-fr-0.jpg?1599543953[/img][/centre]
A cheap, mass-produced fighter ship from the mid-cluster systems. Can be outfitted with both torpedoes and guns, and is speedy and nimble enough for the price. Their abundance also means spare parts come cheap, as well, so they are easy to maintain.
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[/list]
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[hider=Budget and Economy] 
The fleet’s most valuable asset is the fact that it is a mobile unit - a ship that can transport (or traffic) people and goods all across the cluster and never be easily traceable to one constant location. This cuts the need for administrative expenses on maintaining trade fleets and planetary garrisons, but means that any stay at any planet is always temporary, for better or worse. 

The syndicates of the fleet’s most profitable business is the mining, smuggling and sale of psyonium. They pay considerable money to gather any and all information on unexploited nodes and make certain that they are the first to arrive there or, if someone got there first, the very last to leave. This business has gotten them in a lot of trouble with the core powers before, which is why they primarily engage in this business in the outer sectors. Other notable businesses include the purchase and sale of weapons both legal and illegal, drug trafficking, human and non-human trafficking, “ship-flipping” wherein salvaged or stolen ships are repaired, restored and sold off to new owners, and the sale of precious technological or alien artifacts. Salvage from space debris is also a big source of income, particularly in the fringe worlds.

Servicing the people onboard is the central chamber of the ship. Once a multi-leveled storage chamber for cryopods and embryos, it has since grown into a towering slum with everything from apartments to bars to farms to stores to hotels and much, much more. This section of the ship keeps the local economy afloat, as merchants from all walks of life fill the hallways of the ship with goods like a crude shopping centre. It is referred to as “the City”.

[hider=Typical onboard farm]
[img]https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/032/231/205/large/jordan-verlaet-sans-titre-1.jpg?1605824257[/img]
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[hider=The lower decks of the City]
[img]https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/005/464/290/large/eduardo-pena-calle-256b.jpg?1491231428[/img]
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Not necessarily an important economic factor, but rather a social one, is the transport of core goods to the outer worlds. This “remittances”, as they are sometimes referred to, is the Wandering Fleet’s way of giving back to the planets and asteroids that fostered them. Of course, this isn’t a mindset held by everyone onboard, and just as many choose to help these places as choose to raid them right afterwards.
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[hider=History]
Once known proudly as “Xuanzang”, the 671st ark ran into issues quite rapidly after leaving the Sol system. Hastened construction efforts brought with them botched and overlooked faults, and life support systems broke down upon exposure to the overpowering energies of the Jump Gates, killing everyone onboard before the ship’s eventual arrival in the Eden cluster. Navigation systems and autopilot awaited commands that would never come, and so the “Xuanzang” drifted into the emptiness of space for centuries.

Only fifty years ago would the ship be rediscovered by chance - not by radar, but by sight, as a poor, penniless asteroid miner named Pelé Tenor, a Simmie from some backwater fringe colony, just so happened to dig for ice in an asteroid field that just so happened to hide one enormous asteroid. Of course, this proved to be no asteroid at all, but the “Xuanzang”, lost to time for six hundred years. Pelé immediately marked down its location and returned home, gathering the rest of his colonists and whomever else would like to come and proceeded to board the ark. Aboard, they found technologies they had never even dreamt of seeing in these boonies of space - everything from weapons, vehicles, ships and generators to life support, farming equipment, seeds and communication. Of course, some of it had been rendered useless by an eternity in the freezing temperatures of space, but overall, most of it seemed salvageable. And salvage, they did, taking everything that still seemed to work and filling up their ships for the black market.

It was at that moment, though, that Pelé’s son, Alfredo, suddenly got an idea - sure, they could sell all they had found and live rich as kings on their backwater planet; maybe they could even buy citizenship on a core sector planet. For many of his listeners, their attention stopped there, the keys of their ships turning around as they soared off to get rich. A subset remained to hear the “or”. Alfredo had grinned and thumbed back at the ship: Or, he had said, they could repair the ship, concentrate all their wealth in it and sail through the stars as kings and queens of commerce. While some still insisted on soaring off to sell their loot, Alfredo’s speech has stirred something inside the hundred or so people who remained, including his father - a sense of wanderlust coupled with a patience that only a strategist could match. Sure, the status as nouveau riche sounded fancy, but how would you keep up that growth? Nobody had the education to nail a desk job in a core world, anyway - at best, they could end up as floor scrubbers at some facility.

Nuh-uh, not for Alfredo and his folks - no, siree. They would become their own kings and queen, sailing through the stars and discovering all sorts of new sights that none of them had ever seen before. Pelé, Alfredo and the rest sold off what they had to to buy spare parts and got to work. It took twenty years to repair it entirely, and many of their workers passed away due to accidents, life support failure, pirate raids and more. However, as word spread of their project, many fringeworlders flocked to the scene, eager to join in on the adventures once the project was complete. With their help, the ark was eventually restored, though that was putting it nicely. It would never be as reliable as the day it left Sol, but at least it would travel. Pelé passed away only a year after its completion and Alfredo rose to the top, though he had already been the de facto captain of the vessel for decades by now. As the population of the ark grew steadily, he surrounded himself with his most loyal and made sure to keep an iron-fisted control aboard his ship. Given that these were fringeworlders, cartels, pirates, criminals and other scum were quick to seek refuge aboard the ship, as it was a fairly safe moving base and had basically no rules aboard other than “respect the head honcho or else”. While Alfredo was initially disdainful towards these people, he soon found that he could always claim a bit of the loot they brought back. Thus, the Black Contract was formed, the basis of existence aboard the “Xuanzang”, by now redubbed to “Eldorado”. 

You could stay aboard as long as you’d like if you paid your ticket fare. The fare? A percentage of your loot, labour or limbs, depending on what was most convenient. Eldorado quickly got itself involved with all sorts of piracy and smuggling business, particularly of psyonium, which remains their most profitable and vital business. As its renown grew, so did the number of people wanting to throw in their lot with the flagship. Soon, a fleet of vessels had formed, bearing everything from honest businessmen to pirates of the scummiest sort. Nobody knows how long the fleet may outrun the law, but for now, they are fairly safe.
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[hider=Characters]
[list]
[*][b]Alfredo Samuel Tenor, patriarch of the Tenor Family:[/b] A Simmie who appears to sport a lot more gray hairs than his volcanic temper would suggest. Tenor can swing between icy calm and molten rage in the span of seconds with little to no warning, a trait which has gotten many unfortunate messengers and careless negotiators beaten to near-death or shot on sight. He may be a loose cannon, but in a world like that of Eldorado, that’s just what one needs to be sometimes.
[hider=Appearance]
[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/752493424254386286/785193062938050620/jocelyn-millet-chimpanzee.png[/img]
[/hider]
[*][b]The Schumacher Sisters:[/b] A pair of notorious killers, Claire and Annabeth Schumacher are top of the class mercenaries that have taken up refuge on Eldorado, passing the time between contracts by engaging in gang wars and exploring the bars and gigolo clubs. 
[hider=Claire Schumacher]
[img]https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/014/320/041/large/miguel-iglesias-spacepirate9-piratequeen-concasco-artstation.jpg?1543479672[/img]
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[hider=Annabeth Schumacher]
[img]https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/013/494/954/large/miguel-iglesias-spacepirate6-sincasco-artstation.jpg?1539853187[/img]
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[*][b]Spencer “Spike” Schubert:[/b] A bonobo just trying to balance his life as a soon-to-be-father and his career as a member of the Snapjack Gang. He’s no foolish ape and tries to keep his head cool as much as he can, but the expectations of his peers often get the better of him and forces him to make decisions that may put the life of himself and his family in danger.
[hider=Appearance]
[img]https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/023/144/657/large/andrew-ariza-main-1.jpg?1578257035[/img]
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