The Drowned War #12: Refuse, Survivor's Haven

"Why do you call it Refuse?"
"Because we refuse to die."

Refuse is the largest and most well-known Junk flotilla on Earth, while it provides some level of protection against Pirates and Bone Fishers the “Greatest Garbage Heap known to Man” has it's drawbacks primarily the rise of the Diver Lords and the dangerous commodities sold in the 24/7 market.

Originally set up by Oceanographer Jack Caldwell, and his engineer wife Bani to defend against pirate attacks, Jack and Bani worked tirelessly to fortify their home grabbing every bit of scrap that floated to the surface.
Desperate for any material they could find, and realizing the two of them were not enough to defend against a large attack Jack began contacting and negotiating with other refugees. Initially, Bani opposed his plan to combine their home with other lifeboats, but she acquiesced stating that they would need as much scrap as possible to build their fortifications.
Jack was able to develop a friendship with another survivor, Samuel Carey, via short wave radio. They combined their lifeboats and began forging alliances with pod cities.
One such settlement, grateful for help lent to them, disclosed the location of a functioning Naval Yard. Jack and Sam were aided by a few wayward adventurers in securing more than a few Naval vessels. Though decommissioned and badly in need of repairs, Bani was able to fix and combine these vessels into a floating city.

While it was a good start the settlement would need food and purified water.
Jack and Bani began laying the groundwork for a governing council, five industrious businessmen formed a crew with the intention of gaining control via salvage and commerce.

The Diver Lords, as they came to be called, took on dangerous missions to find old weapons and tech. They braved the dangers of Arboretum to bring back grafts for fruit trees.
Each mission, more dangerous than the next, brought the Diver Lords wealth and fame.
They naturally dominated elections and absorbed the counsel positions.

Jack protested the elections, partially because he suspected fraud, but when his body was found in a stairwell in one of the lower decks protests ceased.

Bani was heartbroken, she believed the Diver Lords were responsible and in her grief returned to the faith of her childhood.

Bani founded the Temple of the Floating Truth, derived from what she remembered of her family's Sikh faith. While publicly they seek to educate the settlement in teachings related to medicine and engineering; unofficially they seek to overthrow the Diver Lords.


The Temple of Floating Truth views the Diver Lords as the embodiment of the five thieves that oppose Sikhism. These “Five Thieves” (or five major weaknesses in character) steal a person's essence and pollute their will to benefit others. Spiritually they represent lust, rage, greed, attachment, and conceit.