This organization seems to be an excellent place to begin our discussion regarding the modern day “mercenary”, or in my humble opinion the professional. The Brotherhood of Mercenaries was founded many years ago during the Great Ghost Dance and its aftermath in the 2020’s, though according to records I have recently found, several members of the now divisions have been working with each other for far longer than that. That said, initially this group was intended for a specific purpose, protect the people from the ravages of the Nights of Blood.
Now, while that initial purpose almost immediately breaks the true definition of a mercenary, it is reasonable to say that this intention initially brought them together and they may have made the switch later. Let us examine the known history of the brotherhood, along with their current standing organization and beliefs. It should be noted, that all of this is based on the information my contacts and I have been able to find. I freely admit I know far from everything about this group. Should anyone have credible information about the group, I would be more than happy to listen and pay for it if it is reliable. I seek the truth, and if I have missed it I would like to know.
The first piece of data that should be reviewed is the individuals that make up the known roster of the original mercenaries. The list I can find includes several notable individuals including Salvadore and Erza Ferrara, Tracy Appleton, Wilbur Chapel, Toblicain Alhambra, Ward O’Malley, and Wayne Reynolds just to name a few. From what we can see, several of these members have moved into separate groups. Salvadore has made his way through the Freedom Patriots, as well as the newly formed Devil’s Rejects with his brother. Tracy has been all over the world from the middle east with a pack known as the Sentinels and with the Wreckers.
Both of these individuals have shown loyalty to a side (both the rebels). That said, loyalty is not what would determine the loss of integrity as a mercenary. What I have also found is denial requests which are much more telling than the work that they have done. The brotherhood has never sent a group to work for the Natives, and several generals within the UCAS were turned down in the early days. The common factor among the generals is their stance between new and old world America. What is more interesting, is that while no written copy of their code can be found, there are recordings from long ago of it being spoken, and a refusal to work for the “other side” can be found. It would appear at least those who initially started this group, were quite far from a true mercenary.
Of the original members, there are a few that appear to have held true to the concept of a mercenary, at least on the surface. I am speaking of those individuals above who joined the Sea Wolves. Both Ward and Toblicaine appear to have followed the credits to the rich pirate family. Granted, with the alliances of old which we are now aware of, it is hard to tell how much cred had to do with it and how much was an old friendship. It is interesting for me from across the pond how much of the zealot nature can be seen from many of the allied groups, though I digress. In recent days, Toblicaine can even be seen to the follow the credits as far as working with new teams while seemingly on shore leave. My private investigators have not only seen him in Seattle, but even in Boston. As late as February he was even seen working with two different runner teams, the Devil’s Rejects and the Harbingers. It would appear this old goat has at least tried to remain a true mercenary.
Overall, this entire group does not appear to follow the same zeal for the credit as the Dandyman, and seem more interested in their common foe. An excellent example is the old school team the “Wolverines” (not to be confused with a singular Devil Dog). This team claims to be old school mercenaries, yet they work exclusively for Colonial and therefore, the Patriots. This organization is wrought with contradictions. Yet, despite all the smaller cases, the most obvious case of not being mercenaries is the declaration they themselves made. Back in 2073, they exclaimed that they will no longer work for the UCAS; a large national unit in the North America continent. While I do not fault them for this declaration as I hold no side in that revolution, simply by picking sides in that manner has violated their standing and therefore declassifies them as mercenaries.
At his point, I believe this component of my argument is complete. Be sure to pick up the next issue, due out in February 2074.
