Status: Independent Neutral Organization
Established: 2071 (9 Years After the Fall)
Scope: Citywide – All Major Settlements
Function: Contract Brokerage, Ranking Authority, Escrow & Arbitration
The Mercenary Contract Board (MCB) is the primary contract-clearing authority for independent operators across New Hope City and its surrounding settlements. It is not corporate, not governmental, and not aligned with any enclave — yet nearly every major power uses it.
If a job is dangerous, deniable, politically sensitive, or simply too costly for official forces, it goes through the Board.
The MCB does not deploy troops.
It deploys contracts.
And in 2092, contracts move faster than armies.
In the years following the Fall (2062–2070), mercenary work was chaotic. Payment disputes ended in violence. Clients disappeared. Operators vanished unpaid. Multiple teams took the same contract without coordination. High-value objectives were ruined by interference and ego.
The Board was established in 2071 as a neutral escrow intermediary — a ledger system backed by enforceable consequences. At first, it was a fortified office and a protected data vault.
Over two decades, it became infrastructure.
By 2092, most legitimate mercenary contracts flow through the MCB by default.
The Mercenary Contract Board maintains permanent outposts in every major settlement, including:
The Bastion
The Freedocks
The Scar
The Greenreach
The Tidemark
Highspire enclaves
Select outer settlements and trade hubs
Each outpost functions as:
A contract posting terminal
An escrow verification office
A ranking review station
Neutral arbitration ground
Violence inside a Board outpost results in immediate, permanent blacklisting.
Even gangs respect that line.
Clients submit contracts specifying:
Objective
Location
Threat estimate
Time constraints
Discretion level
Full payment deposit into escrow
No deposit, no listing.
Contracts are categorized by:
Infected Density
Political Sensitivity
Environmental Risk
Duration
Equipment Requirement
Mercenaries review listings in person or via encrypted Board terminals.
The Board does not judge morality.
It verifies viability.
The MCB ranks mercenaries from E-Tier to S-Tier based on performance, not reputation alone.
Ranking Criteria:
Completion rate
Survival consistency
Contract compliance
Collateral impact
Peer and client feedback
Threat tiers handled successfully
Tier Breakdown:
E-Tier — Entry-Level / Unproven
D-Tier — Operationally Capable
C-Tier — Reliable Professional
B-Tier — High-Risk Qualified
A-Tier — Elite Multi-Environment Operator
S-Tier — Extremely Rare. Strategic-Level Asset
Any mercenary may accept any contract — but rank determines payout percentage, trust weighting, and priority access.
Each contract lists a base payout.
Payout percentage is determined by rank:
E-Tier: 60%
D-Tier: 80%
C-Tier: 100%
B-Tier: 110%
A-Tier: 120%
S-Tier: 125%
The remaining margin funds:
Risk insurance pools
Arbitration reserves
Board operations
Hazard compensation structures
Higher-tier mercenaries receive:
Faster escrow release
Advance funding eligibility
Priority in contract selection
Emergency extraction arbitration support
Lower tiers receive:
Slower resolution
Reduced guarantees
Restricted access to classified contracts
Rank is currency.
Performance is leverage.
The MCB’s authority comes from neutrality and data control.
If a client attempts non-payment:
Funds are already locked in escrow.
If a mercenary breaches contract terms:
Rank penalties, payment seizure, or suspension follow.
If catastrophic failure occurs:
The Board conducts review quietly and decisively.
Blacklisting is permanent and citywide.
Blacklisted operators lose:
Contract access
Escrow protection
Reputation viability
Settlement entry privileges in some regions
In practical terms, blacklisting ends a mercenary career.
The Board is staffed by analysts, auditors, archivists, and risk evaluators — not soldiers.
They value:
Documentation
Predictive modeling
Behavioral pattern tracking
Absolute neutrality
Their unofficial maxim:
“We do not decide what should be done.
We decide what it costs.”
Board employees rarely carry visible weapons.
They rarely need to.
Officially independent. Quietly utilized.
The Council uses Board contracts for deniable actions and off-ledger operations.
Professional but cautious.
The UDF distrusts freelance violence but acknowledges the Board reduces chaos.
Frequent clients.
Escort missions, salvage disputes, maritime enforcement — many pass through the Board.
Transactional.
The Carrion use the Board for external enforcement but never interfere with Board property.
The Mercenary Contract Board uses a deliberately restrained symbol:
A balanced scale intersected by a vertical line
Matte steel and dark blue coloration
Clean, neutral geometry
It communicates:
Balance.
Measurement.
Finality.
It is meant to be seen without being feared.
The MCB is not a faction of ideology.
It is an economic regulator of violence.
It does not care who wins.
It ensures someone gets paid.
In a world rebuilt on contracts,
that makes it indispensable.