TORTUGA DOMINIONS

Origins and History

The Tortuga Dominions are a result of the Reunification War against the Taurian Concordat. During the latter stages of that conflict, the Federated Suns 237th Light Cavalry Regiment was all but destroyed in a wasteful penetration raid against the Taurian outpost of Sterope. Unable to hold their positions and unwilling to be thrown into the vicious fray somewhere else, the 237th opted to jump outward into the unknown. A generation after settling a small, pleasant world beyond the fringes of the Federated Suns, the newly formed Pirates of Tortuga began operations against their callous former comrades in the Federated Suns.

With equipment and machinery won at gun point from half a dozen Davion worlds, the Tortugans began to expand their foothold in their new world. Within a century, they were stable and self-sufficient enough to begin colonization efforts of their own. By the early 2700s, the Tortugans had settled five neighboring star systems. Abundant radioactives and raw materials on these newly claimed worlds helped the rise of what has since become known as the Tortuga Dominions.

Of all the Bandit Kingdoms in the Periphery, the Tortuga Dominions maintain the largest spacefaring navy. Estimates place the size of the Tortuga jolly rogers at about 15, though a lack of spare parts and machinery has forced the Tortugans to cannibalize several of these.

In the last two centuries, the Tortuga raiders have struck deep into the Federated Suns and the Taurian Concordat. Already known for utter depravity and ruthlessness, it appears that the Tortugans are becoming more desperate as their planets are now finally beginning to run out of resources.

Over the years, Tortuga has been stripped of almost all its ore, and it is currently nearing ecological exhaustion. An estimated sixty thousand brigands of every description inhabit Raiders Roost, the sole settlement on the planet. Most live in conditions of near destitution, as the major share of captured booty goes to Dame Trevaline's most experienced cutthroats.