Freelancers

Freelancers

The term Freelancers come in various forms. Whether one is an independent entrepreneur selling services or a Freelance worker offering their labour for cash. In the business of killing and protecting, the term Freelancers are usually associated with a group of mercenaries that bare such a moniker. These Freelance Mercenaries have become a small but noticeable security firm that has grown somewhat popular in the outer rim of the galaxy. Yet many sovereign nations view them as a nuisance because of the many questionable activities they've conducted. None the less they're the least hated group in the galaxy as they've usually kept out of any major incidents that would reflect poorly on the Freelancers. Their alignment in the grand scheme of things usually favour those who pay them, with or without ethics.

History

Though mercenaries have been active throughout human history, many work either by themselves or for the PMCs Weston-Yamada employs. One such man, known as “Python” was the leader of a small but noticeable band of guns for hire. These mercenaries slowly gathered more and more recruits as demand for their services increased. This necessitated the official formation of the “Freelancers guild” to manage the increase in demand. The Freelancers guild or the Freelance Mercenaries officially formed during the later years of the colonisation efforts that spanned the known galaxy. Some viewed them as nothing more than a cheaper and worse alternative to security forces, like the USCM and other security firms. Other colonists saw them as the better option due to their availability to protect them, for a modest price.

Their central base of operations is an old retrofitted mining asteroid located between the UA and RESS border nicknamed “Inner Sanctuary” due to being just outside the legal reach of the law. It is also where they train their mercenaries. Usually where there’s a colony in the outer rim, there’s a small Freelancer outpost, in which the mercenaries are stationed. In the Neroid Sector, they operate the Irkala Station, a trading hub for commerce and a base of operations to send out Freelancers for assignments. Since the Dust Raiders left the system quite some time ago, they’ve received a lot more demand for their services and they are quite keen to supply them with protection for the right price.

Equipment and Training

The Freelancer mercenaries are a mixed bag when it comes to general competence and equipment. Some are either eager colonists that want to seek adventure among the stars, while others see it as an opportunity to get out of their current situation, whether it is to pay off their debts or just down on their luck. When contracted into the Freelancers guild, they’re issued a uniform and a surprisingly well crafted armour set almost rivalling the protection of lesser militaries. The firearms are reliable for their troubles, even considering the age of them. They have to pay off the equipment during the course of their contract. Some prefer to bring their own equipment, which usually consists of personal weapons and or attachments.

The Freelancers are trained by retired instructors from various militaries around the galaxy. They aren’t as disciplined as normal bootcamp grunts since their main motivation is the price rather than pride of service. Their firearms prowess on the other hand is similar to the soldiers fresh out of bootcamp. The Freelance unit leaders are trained by the Lieutenants of Python. They receive much more diverse training in both leadership and first aid to properly lead the Freelancers they’re assigned to.

Elite Department

The Freelancer guild employs mercenaries to conduct security, funding their operations. They also have a mining and salvage operation to further increase their funding. This is mostly kept as another part of the guild, so they do employ a more professional and elite mercenary group in the mining and salvage operations for “protection”. This group is far better trained and equipped, than the bog standard Freelancers that are contracted into service. They could even rival the infamous PMCs that Weston-Yamada owns. Yet such notions are rather speculative, for now.

Events

After the loss of the Dust Raiders in Neroid Sector. The Freelancers saw this as a prime opportunity to commandeer the munitions and supplies from the now abandoned USCM bases in the sector. They scavenged through the outposts taking anything they could find. Though the Dust Raiders did manage to relocate most of their supplies back to their ship, they did have to scuttle a good portion of their munitions that they couldn’t bring back. Luckily for the Freelancers and other interested parties, they stumbled upon small supply caches the Dust Raiders failed to destroy. This gave them access to more modern firearms of the time, which also allowed them to sell USCM weapons on the black market to deepen their pockets.

Ranks

Mercenaries

Role	Description
Freelancer Mercenary	A Regular Freelancer Mercenary. Contracted to fight for their paychecks for 2 years. Their skills are quite diverse due to many of them coming from either colonies or retired soldiers that can't stay away from the battlefield. Though general competence varies from merc to merc. The Mercenary's equipment, while dated are as effective as any modern day soldier on the battlefield.
Freelancer Medic	A Freelancer Mercenary Medic. Similar to the bog standard mercenaries, they come from the colonies to seek adventure or profit among the stars. These medics are usually retired or disgraced medical personnel who want to continue with their craft. These mercenaries medics are comparable to Squad Medics of any military. Their equipment is similar to them as well with defibrillators and medical belts to boot.
Freelancer Officers	The Freelancer Mercenary Officers are the brains of any operation and negotiation. These Officers are better trained than the Regular Mercenaries on leadership as well as being a substitute for medics. They're equipped with similar weaponry to the regular mercenaries, tactical binoculars and a surprisingly protective beret to let your Freelancers know who's in charge.

Elite Mercenaries

Role	Description
Elite Mercenary Miner	An Elite Mercenary Miner. In the salvage fields and in the mine-shafts, they're glorified labourers with fancy and protective armor to shield them from accidents that may happen during mining and salvage operations. Yet for those in the know, they are highly skilled soldiers in the field of combat. The firearms they wield are the same as normal Freelancers but they are much better trained with what they have than any soldier on the battlefield.
Elite Mercenary Enforcer	The Elite Mercenary Enforcers are the security personnel during salvage and mining operations. They are equipped just like any other mercenary in the Freelancers but get the same training as the other Elite Mercenaries. Rumours have it, is that the Enforcers are trained by Python himself in the art of combat.
Elite Mercenary Engineer	Elite Mercenary Engineers are a jack of all trades when dealing with electronics, demolition or bog standard construction. Just like the other Elite Mercenaries, their training is the same in terms of combat prowess but they specialise in the engineering aspects of salvage and mining.