The Rust Tide

Leader

No single leader -- a rotating war council of seven captains called the Maw

Structure

Near-anarchic. Ships affiliate loosely, cooperate on large raids, and otherwise operate independently. The Maw meets to settle disputes and plan operations but has no enforcement power.

Goals

Survival, first. Wealth, second. They raid anything that can't fight back and strip it to the hull. Many crews are former colonial workers who lost everything in the war.

Philosophy

There is no civilization left to betray. The war proved that the powerful will sacrifice the weak without hesitation. Rust Tide crews have simply accepted what they are.

Limits

Murdering children is the only recognized hard line -- even among the Maw. Everything else is subject to circumstance. Several captains have started arguing this limit should extend to unarmed medical ships, but it hasn't passed yet.

Rivals

• The Scarlet Wakecompetition and judgment
• Mercenary groups hired to suppress them
• Iron Shore Holdingswho would rather see them dead than negotiated with