Back at the start of 2024, I was having a conversation with a couple of fellow mercenaries about our desire to find more ground combat opportunities without changing our squadron alliances. This gave rise to an unusual idea...what if we started a completely new kind of group? Not a squadron, faction, powerplay group, or alliance, but rather a "union" of players. Rather than unifying around a political ideology, membership would be voluntary and non-exclusive, based on an interest in ground combat, fair play, and mutual respect. All members would remain fully independent members of their own squadrons, free to pursue their own interests as normal. The Mercenary Union was born. Within the first few weeks, our membership exploded, impossibly crossing all traditional boundaries between groups. It's been eight months, and the group continues to grow!
I wanted to share this with Frontier Developments and the larger Elite: Dangerous community. On paper, The Mercenary Union should NOT work! Our membership includes squadrons from the Federation, Empire, Alliance, independent powers, and pirates. Rival groups even peacefully coexist in our group. We've expanded beyond ground combat to include a CQC League, and we are increasingly including space combat and PVP. Any member squadron can request support in defensive conflicts (wherein a faction or power is defending systems they have established control in), and such conflicts are vetted by our Coordinators and shared to the larger group as a "defend-in-kind" Dispatch. It's a surreal thing to see, for example, an Imperial squadron helping an Alliance player group, or pirates defending Feds, but it happens! We rarely lose a war, Meanwhile, our code of conduct and rules of fair play help create higher quality interactions between groups, and we are increasingly a venue for diplomatic dialogue.
The Mercenary Union continues to defy expectations and grow. I believe Frontier Developments may find our existence an interesting addition to the lore, as with the Fuel Rats and Hull Seals. I suspect the community will find the mere existence of this group to be interesting. Despite the controversies and politics that sometimes divide our community, it is still possible to bridge those divides.
If you want to learn more or join, you can find us at https://mercenaryunion.guildtag.com.
I wanted to share this with Frontier Developments and the larger Elite: Dangerous community. On paper, The Mercenary Union should NOT work! Our membership includes squadrons from the Federation, Empire, Alliance, independent powers, and pirates. Rival groups even peacefully coexist in our group. We've expanded beyond ground combat to include a CQC League, and we are increasingly including space combat and PVP. Any member squadron can request support in defensive conflicts (wherein a faction or power is defending systems they have established control in), and such conflicts are vetted by our Coordinators and shared to the larger group as a "defend-in-kind" Dispatch. It's a surreal thing to see, for example, an Imperial squadron helping an Alliance player group, or pirates defending Feds, but it happens! We rarely lose a war, Meanwhile, our code of conduct and rules of fair play help create higher quality interactions between groups, and we are increasingly a venue for diplomatic dialogue.
The Mercenary Union continues to defy expectations and grow. I believe Frontier Developments may find our existence an interesting addition to the lore, as with the Fuel Rats and Hull Seals. I suspect the community will find the mere existence of this group to be interesting. Despite the controversies and politics that sometimes divide our community, it is still possible to bridge those divides.
If you want to learn more or join, you can find us at https://mercenaryunion.guildtag.com.
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