Definition
The mercenary company turns a loyalty into an invoice. A character owes it a contract, a death, a silence; it can refuse the pay, the extraction, a clean record. The tariff is not the plot: the clause one opposes to a friend is.
It administers violence as a craft: shares, hostages, reputations. A client who does not pay, a recruit too bound, an extraction too expensive weigh more than a toast among brothers-in-arms.
Unlike a space navy, one can leave — if one pays the leaving. Unlike a merchant guild, the merchandise is bodies.
What the faction does to the story
- It invoices. Kill, keep, stay silent: every gesture has a price, sometimes unpaid, and someone named notices.
- It extracts or does not. Staying on the ground is a scene. Leaving too expensive is one too. The ticking clock has a coffer.
- It recycles camps. Yesterday's client is tomorrow's target. Morals are not the contract; changing camps is the job.
- It holds the record. A company reputation opens doors — or closes them forever. The name outlives the pay.
Structure and levers
| Role | Concrete power | Scene lever |
|---|---|---|
| Captain / colonel | Contracts, shares, discipline | Refuse a pay, sell a name |
| Quartermaster | Coffer, weapons, internal debts | Lie about the coffer, seize a lot |
| Specialist (medic, tracker) | Rare skill, ransom of knowledge | Refuse to operate, negotiate one's price |
| Recruit / contract hostage | Body, oath, family | Desertion, blackmail, testimony |
Anatomy of the faction
| Layer | Concrete detail | Narrative effect |
|---|---|---|
| Contract | Clause, break, a recycled camp | Loyalty has a paper, not a toast |
| Pay | Coffer, shares, a named unpaid | Every violence gesture is also a money scene |
| Extraction | Delay, price, a refusal to leave | The ticking clock has a mouth |
| Record | Reputation, sold name, closed doors | The company survives those it has paid |
Scenes that work
- The refused pay: they do not pay, or they pay too late. Nobody argues honour; the coffer does it.
- The extraction too expensive: a friend is still on the ground. To leave is to leave them; to stay is to break the contract. Invoice against bond.
- Yesterday's client: the target has changed name, not face. Recycling camps: to kill is already to have been paid by the other side.
Pitfalls to avoid
- Rate-card scenery — Counter-example: an assassination menu, tavern rates — and no pay refused. Chic mercenary work does not write the company.
- Unanimous brothers-in-arms — Counter-example: no invoice, no clause. A family with swords is not this sheet.
- The invisible client — Counter-example: nobody pays or betrays. Without an employer, the company has no plot.
- Desertion with no cost — Counter-example: leaving as one changes taverns. If leaving has not cost, the contract did not exist.
Genre variations
- Fantasy: billed blood oaths, a monster as a clause.
- SF: private militias, orbital extractions, war NDAs.
- Thriller: a burned team, a state client, a silence too expensive.
- Western / historical: a company too far from the prince; the pay arrives, or it does not.
Twists
- The company protects the target: the contract has been bought back; killing was no longer the job.
- The recruit holds the coffer: the veterans no longer know how to count; the record has changed mouths.
- Extraction is the contract: they were only paid to leave too late; staying was already the betrayal.
Famous examples
Fantasy
- The Black Company, Glen Cook
- The Witcher (contracts, not only the monster)
SF / space western
- Firefly (hired crew)
Resources
- Contrast with: space navy, law firm, merchant guild.
- Glossary: antagonist, stakes, ticking clock.
Revision checklist
- Does a character owe a contract, a death, a silence?
- Can the company refuse pay, extraction, record?
- Does the contract contradict a personal loyalty?
- Does a payment or an extraction have a deadline?
- Does a scene depend on a clause?