-[Cartel]- The Cartel - Printable Version

The Cartel began when smugglers realized they needed to stick together. The House police and military factions were picking them off one by one with ease. They were too spread apart, too vulnerable. Because of this, they were losing profit margins. They were losing money at an alarming rate. Plus, pirate factions had no way to "fence" their stolen goods. They were forced to take them to their home station, often times losing credits because of it. They needed a middle man, someone to take the stolen cargo to a base in House space to sell. So when a smuggler by the name of Kasumi Masuyo stepped to the stage and made the suggestion for all smugglers to form under one banner, many answered her call...and so The Cartel was born.

The symbol of The Cartel was created to represent the different sides of Sirius and the advent of "chaos". Chaos being the ability to cause massive confusion for smugglers to slip by undetected. The symbol represents Sirius in the following order.

The top arrow represents the unknown systems.
The arrow to the right represents the distant Omicron systems.
The far right arrow represents Liberty.
The one below that represents Rheinland.
The bottom arrow the represents the Corsairs and the Omega systems.
To the left of that represents Bretonia.
The far left arrow represents the Tau's and Gallia.
Finally, the arrow just above the left arrow represents the Outcasts.

While The Cartel is known to fly under the tag "-[C]-", they keep up appearances with the House Military's and Police by obeying all laws if at all possible. They will try to avoid police/military at any cost, only sacrificing their cargo when they absolutely must to live to smuggle another day. They will obey all laws posted by the Lawfuls and will only disobey when in direct conflict of a contract. It is their goal to stay on the House factions good side, even though it goes against everything they are...for if they are backlisted, they will not be able to fence the goods of the criminal element that allows them to thrive.

While The Cartel was formed by Kasumi Masuyo, the faction itself has no real leader to speak of. However, while there is no leader, there is a single point of contact for negotiations for contracts. This allows a free flow of contracts with no rank structure, allowing the members to function separately without giving their "leader" away. (//OOC Now, of course a leader will have to be designated by the admins for control and what not. That will obviously be me, but inRP, there will be no leader to speak of).

Contracts are run by The Cartel on a regular basis for the criminal element of Sirius. If that be running cargo picked up from pirating, fencing stolen goods for a cut of the pay, or simply smuggling contraband into house space, The Cartel does it all. It is important to know, however, that they do not take sides in any criminal element conflict. They will not be hired to steal cargo, equipment, or any other good from another unlawful faction. Any attempts to forge a contract of such a sort will be ignored.

There are two groups of people within The Cartel: Initiates and Members. Initiates have to prove to the rest of the members that they can smuggle any kind of contraband through house space without being caught...and if they are caught, they must talk, bribe, cheat, or run in order to get their cargo to it's destination. Failing to do so will probably result in the initiates death...if not, The Cartel will claim no affiliation with said member.

Each smuggler under the banner of The Cartel lives by the "Smugglers Code". This is a loose fitting code of ethics required by each member to follow to be a perfect smuggler. This code is:

-Only sacrifice your cargo if you have to survive. Otherwise, cheat, lie, beg, steal, bribe, or run to get your cargo to it's final destination. Remember, cargo isn't worth your life.
-If a contract tells you to drink, you drink. If it tells you to jump, you jump. If it tells you to fly into a sun at max cruise speed, slay your client. Have your wits about you and follow your own code of ethics if all else fails.
-Know your path. If a system ahead has a known Bounty Hunter or Lawful, know your way around that system quickly and without too much thought. Think on your feet.
-Know your ship. If you don't know your ship, you're going to be dead faster than you can shake a stick at. Know it's limits, know it's speed and agility. This will save you one day.
-Always aid your allies. The people in The Cartel are your family. If they are in need of aid, help them even if it is at great risk to your own life. Saving them might just save yourself.

The Cartel are gaining momentum in Sirius quickly. Pirate factions have already taken note and of their intentions. Are you ready for them? Are you ready to be all that you can be?

Are you ready to become a smuggler?