The Organisation Space Pirates 03

In this post I continue my reviews of pirates who work for the Organisation. This time, the three figures featured were all produced by Citadel Miniatures in the 1980's for the Rogue Trader game, which as I mentioned before, was the original title of Warhammer 40,000. Suffice to say, these figures are long out of production, which is such a shame, as many of them were high quality sculpts.

At the far left is Kort Kosyga, an ambidextrous human smuggler who has a ridiculous sense of dress. Kort grew up on Starhaven, a giant asteroid that travels through space, and is known to a select few as the headquarters of the Organisation, a massive, galaxy-spanning criminal empire. Kort's parents were both space pirates and they led a gypsy-like existence as they rarely stayed at any one location for too long. However, they would frequently return to Starhaven, which they all regarded as home. At the age of 11, Kort settled down for three years on Alpha Oram, a rich agricultural planet in the Mercura star system. Here, he excelled in sports and outdoor activities. But the urge to travel ran deep in his veins and he took a job as a space jockey on board a small Class III pirate raider. After three more years he signed on as a gunner on board much larger pirate ship, a Class V scout ship. Once again, he stayed with the ship for three years. He really wanted to pilot his own ship but the Organisation were not ready to trust him to captain his own vessel just yet. Instead, he was assigned to another pirate crew, but this time as co-pilot. The agreement was that if he performed well on this tour of duty, he would be given command of his own ship. This was all the incentive he needed and he worked hard and kept his nose clean. So, at the age of 23, he was given command of a Class III fast attack craft, named The Golden Dagger, with a crew of 20. He excelled at his job and ten years later, he and his crew are in high demand for pirate raids and dangerous, illegal missions.
Kort is a very striking individual with his long spiky, white hair, handsome face, sparkling blue eyes and heavily muscled body. However, when it comes to fashion, Kort makes his own rules and loves to wear outlandish, garish and mismatched clothing. He says he dresses to impress, and whilst he certainly does make an impression on everyone he meets, it most likely is not the impression he was hoping for! Kort rarely fails to deliver on any job he is offered, except on the odd occasion when something beyond his control has gone wrong, such as a double cross. He has survived a few of them, whilst his double crossers have survived none. Kort is rank grade 7 and is armed with a high quality laser pistol with scope-sight and a high quality short sword.

Next to Kort is Aleseus Thorson, a massive human street thug who never shows pain or discomfort. He was born and raised on the planet Fabius 5 in the Antares starsector. His parents ran a gymnasium in the capital city of Colonia Maximus. Colonia Maximus (formerly New Los Angeles) is an industrial centre, the only one of note on the planet, which tends to specialise in the outfitting of colonial expeditions heading for the Mercantile League out-worlds. It is also the headquarters of the Mercantile League Survey Service. The rest of the planet is essentially engaged in agriculture. Aleseus's parents encouraged their only son to attain high levels of physical fitness and to excel at sports at school. Aleseus was a typical jock, who was noted for his running prowess. His academic knowledge was below average but neither he nor his parents were at all concerned. Upon graduating from high school, Aleseus enrolled in a running club. For seven years he achieved success after success, winning many medals and trophies. However, he fell in with a bad crowd and was soon in trouble with the local authorities. After one bar-room brawl, he was arrested but let off with a caution. The manager of the running club was furious with him. He took a dim view of Aleseus's increasingly belligerent behaviour and dismissed him from the club. Aleseus was beyond caring and turned to a full time life of crime. He was recruited by one of the capital city's crime families as a bruiser, due to his superb physique. Two years after joining the crime family, he was approached by a flamboyantly dressed starship captain called Kort Kosyga. Kort saw him as a kindred spirit and offered him a job on his ship, The Golden Dagger. Kort was very persuasive and Aleseus accepted the posting. His role on board the pirate ship is almost the same as his role with the crime family - he deals with anyone Kort regards as a threat or an obstacle. Aleseus is not the brightest of people but he is very loyal to Kort. In combat, he tends to be gung-ho and impulsive, as he frequently acts before thinking. His crew mates, and others who know him, regard him as a vicious brute. He is rank grade 5 and is armed with a plasma caster rifle and a high quality knife.

Finally, is Loretta Masaryk, a deadeye human assassin who frequently suffers from insomnia. Loretta was abandoned as a baby as soon as she was born and placed in an orphanage on the planet of her birth, Maat 2. Maat 2 is an airless planet exhibiting many of the characteristics of Luna in the Solarian system. The human community live in five domed cities and a number of mining settlements. It is also noted for its lawlessness due to its corrupt officials. Loretta had a tough childhood but she soon learnt how to defend herself and how to fight dirty. At the age of 13, she and a few other orphans absconded and teamed up with a gang of street thugs known as the 203s. They got up to all sorts of trouble but her life of crime was cut short, when she was arrested in her 16th year. She served a six year prison sentence, which toughened her up even further. However, upon her release, she decided to fight crime instead of being a part of it. With her street smarts and criminal know how, she enlisted as a bounty hunter and for the next two years she made a good career of it.
Her life was was turned around, when after a high profile arrest she made, she was contacted by a middleman for the Organisation. He was on the lookout for suitable candidates for a team of elite assassins to work for his superiors. Loretta carefully considered the offer and after a few days, she accepted the deal. So, she became a member of the Organisation's Assassination Bureau, a role she excelled at. For the next 12 years she performed countless assassinations with a 90% success rating. Twice she has been promoted and now she is in command of a group of 50 assassins.
One of her few failures, and the one which caused her the most hurt, occurred three years ago. She was assigned a solo mission to terminate a corrupt casino owner who had been holding out on his Organisation paymasters. However, the local authorities were also after him, and knowing how well connected he was, had placed a termination bounty on him. It was Loretta's bad luck that a highly skilled bounty hunter called Julia "the Ice Lady" Frostorm took on the bounty. Loretta tried to thwart Julia but "the Ice Lady" was always one step ahead of her and in a dramatic confrontation, Julia stabbed Loretta in the right eye, abruptly ending their clash. Julia also claimed the bounty for killing the casino owner. This infuriated Loretta and she has vowed vengeance on "the Ice Lady." She had her right eye replaced with a cybernetic implant. She does whatever is necessary to achieve her goals. She works hard and plays hard but ever since her clash with Julia Frostorm, she has frequently suffered from bouts of insomnia. Loretta is rank grade 7 and is armed with an assault laser rifle.

Note that both Yussef "One Eye" Kobe (see my previous post) and Loretta Masaryk have had run ins with Julia Frostorm and that they both lost an eye in the encounters. They are just two of a long list of people who would like to get their hands on Julia and extract bloody revenge. Watch your back, Julia!