Corporations, Factions & Organizations

BLUE SUN

Without a doubt, the ubiquitous Blue Sun is the richest and most politically connected corporation in the system. Blue Sun is on every planet, in every home - rich and not so rich alike. For all its fame, it is also one of the most shadowy institutions in the 'Verse. The Blue Sun logo is everywhere: on T-shirts, billboards, posters, food cans, etc. The logo has become so much a part of daily life that people don't even notice it anymore. Blue Sun products are considered essential to a person - like water and breathing. The company doesn't operate retail outfits, but every shop stocks its products. While not the best on the market, Blue Sun products are the most reliable. If you buy Blue Sun, you always know what you're going to get. There are never any surprises - good, bad, or otherwise.

Blue Sun produces a lot of different things, but concentrates mainly on the basics of life. Folk will always need food and drink, and Blue Sun is there to sell it. They hold the monopoly on packaged foodstuffs, and their products have become essential to people on the newly terraformed worlds. 

Greed and corruption took over the company eventually, profit is the only thing Blue Sun things about. It's an open secret that Blue Sun engages in deadly corporate espionage and then calls in favors from powerful government officials to cover their tracks. Its subsidiaries and shell corporations have branched out far from food and service industries, going into computer systems, communication technology, and even spaceship design. They have even gone as far (as whispered and rumored by some) as to conduct experiments involving living humans. Only top executives have a good grasp on what the "big picture" is when it comes to this mega-corporation. Its research and development division is a mysterious place, guarded by security equal to top secret Alliance military projects.

THE CMC

The Corone Mining Consortium (CMC), formed just before the war, is made up of several of the most powerful mining corporations of the system. Those corporations were having a problem with prospectors mining claims on their own. Individually, the corporations couldn't muster the resources to put the small fry out of the business. By combining, they could afford the best lawyers, pay off the right politicians, and acquire the technology needed to buy up claims, drive people off their land or simply make it unprofitable for the lone miner to keep operating. Corone will first try to buy any claim that appears to be wort a full mining operation. If that fails, they buy a piece of land nearby, and then encroach on other folk's claims by digging tunnels underneath them. When the locals complain, they are told it was a unfortunate accident that caused the company to strip their assets. Few locals can afford to take the company to court to get back what was stolen. Corone keeps costs down by making use of indentured workers. Some even claim they use slaves, going so far as to pay well for human cargo and never mind where it came from. On the flip side, they've been known to employ the locals they put out of business, promoting them to positions of authority and paying good salaries. They recognize the skills these people have, and hope the loyalty can be purchased with platinum or credits.

Corone does not operate every mine in the 'Verse. Not every claim is worth bringing in the expensive technology. Most locals have learned to keep real quiet about any major finds on their land, though Corone agents always seem to be in every two-bit mining town, poking around in the hope that they can loosen a few tongues with bribes, trickery, or threats. In some areas, the Miners' Guild has taken on the Corone Consortium and won, bringing about improved condition for workers and justice for those who lost property.

ISKELLIAN

There are many tech companies throughout the system, producing everything from computers to lasers, and Iskellian is the largest. Iskellian holds the Alliance contracts to produce arms, spacecraft, and weapons for their troops. The products it sells are the best money can buy, and what Iskellian charges for its wares more than makes that points. Given that the Alliance buys arms from Iskellian, the Alliance has laid down the law that none of these weapons can be sold to anyone else. However, Iskellian does manufacture weapons for civilian use. These are not the same weapons that the military buys, of course, but they are the same high quality and have the same price tags to prove it. such weapons are rarely seen on the outer worlds and few are on the black market. If you can get hold of an Iskellian weapon, you count yourself lucky.

UNIFIED RECLAMATION

There is a lot of trash in the 'Verse, and Unified Reclamation owns it. The company began small with a few garbagecows, but its founders were wise enough to see the potential of trash hauling and, by taking out huge and risky loans, they were able to secure an exclusive contract with the Alliance government to haul off folk's refuse. At Unified Reclamation, they consider garbage a growth industry. Picking up dirty diapers isn't a very glamorous job, but someone has to do it and it makes for a very good living. Where Unified Reclamation struck gold wasn't diaper pails, however. Real money comes from issuing licenses for legal salvage. Currently Unified is the only system-wide operator allowed to claim salvage rights. Due to the sheer magnitude of a system-wide salvage on their behalf. The small operator can go through the local government to obtain a salvage license, but that involves mounds of paperwork and fees. Such licenses are more quickly obtained by going through Unified Reclamation, though they see to it that you pay for the convenience. Small operators make more money if they run unlicensed, illegal salvage operations. Best to be careful though, as things can get right ugly if United catches you poaching on their territory. In fact, you'd better hope that the Alliance catches you doing illegal salvage before Unified Reclamation gets its hands on you.

YOU-GO

One of the top five fuel and maintenance companies. You-Go stations support most of the Rim, and many Border planets, particularly in the Georgia system. You-Go is wholly owned by You Ge, and managed from its headquarters on a private moon in Blue Sun.

S&M TRANSPORTS

Shulan-Maersk, one of the larger long distance haulers. Sophisticated computer routing systems send Shulan-Maersk vessels on seemingly labyrinthine journeys, hence the nickname S&M Transports. These odd routes were alleged to solve the traveling salesman problem in real time. The computers that manage this are rumored to occupy an entire city on Liann Jiun by some of the less computer savvy folk in the 'Verse. Shulan-Maersk occasionally employed charter or independent vessels (usually mid-bulk or light transports) to meet the larger ships en route. These jobs are not strongly sought after because they inevitably require waiting for precise moments to launch or dock, then having plans change suddenly when the computer says so. Shulan-Maersk pays for the time and fuel, but it can be hard on a crew, especially if food is running short.

ANS

Aqua-Negra Seguridad (ANS) is one of the Verse's top private security companies. It started during the Unification War (working with the Alliance) but against stereotype, it quickly snatched up many Independent Veterans to fill its ranks. ANS has the dubious reputation of being the 26th century's Pinkertons, willing to do anything for a client. Morality be damned. Still, ANS does have its own rules, and its people are usually fiercely loyal to the company.

VOLKER HI

Volker Hovermotive Industries is a smallish hovercraft manufacturer that specializes in high end luxury hovercraft and wheeled vehicles. Volker HI is the epitome of high end. The Volker Family based in Ariel owns the business but shares its construction bases with Blue Sun and other industries.

NBC

New Byzatine Chemicals is a major corporation based in Londinium that focuses on agricultural enhancements, genetic engineering, and plant science. NBC frequently tests new products on the Border and Rim for eventual use in the Core. This sometimes results in a less than scrupulous use of controls and safety precautions.

PM7-4

PM7-4 (less formally known as Project Maverick by the applied field subjects) is a freelance mercenary training program that was first applied at the start of the Unification War, and respectively shut-down at the end of it. While the program was not known to the public or even the soldiers that interacted with the mercenaries (at least not to a knowledgeable extent) their presence was noted slightly. Often referred to as "Nooners" by soldiers that worked with them while commissioned with PM7-4 equipment. The program was questionable, hired by both sides of the war it was being funded by the Alliance primarily to function as an experimental testing and training ground for prospective soldiers and their psychological structuring. The subjects were often subjugated to series of psychological, physical, and social exercises on a regular and tiring basis. The subjects from the program were very rarely used in conjuncture with one another on the field, and between the applied manipulation often developed into paranoia, insomnia, and in some more unfortunate cases psychotic breaks from reality.

JIESHU-CHAI