Lore: The Syndicate

Introduction

“Have you ever heard a coworker speak disparagingly about NanoTrasen? Have they voiced complaints about wages? Workplace safety? Perhaps they've even made remarks disrespecting Central Command officials? Such talk can often be a sign of growing resentment amongst your neighbors. Sometimes it’s just idle chatter, where a fellow has worked a long shift and the sweat in his eyes has got him all ornery. Sometimes, however, it’s a sign that darker forces are at work! If you see someone acting suspiciously, or gabbing in an uncommon way, report them to your local Security team immediately! NanoTrasen: See Something, Say Something, Save Yourself.” [Excerpt from Warning Signs: The Syndicate and YOU, a NanoTrasen training film recorded in 2532]]

In a galaxy brimming with potential - both scientific and financial - one might expect to find a relatively stable and vibrant ecosystem - not unlike the ocean. However, over time those who are better adapted, more efficient, or simply fortunate will rise to the top of the food chain and grow in strength and sophistication. For decades the Megacorporations expanded throughout the galaxy at roughly the same rate, their influence and ability to outpace the competition in a state of constant fluctuation. When Nanotrasen discovered Phoron, this balance was upset at last, establishing a new apex predator.

Aided by Phoron’s unique viability as a fuel source and its near-boundless research potential, NanoTrasen quickly secured galactic rights to the harvesting and production of the rare material. The enforcement of this policy was made all the more easy due to the fact that Phoron’s availability appeared to extend only to a few select planets already under NT control. With a monopoly on what was quickly becoming the most vital resource in the galaxy, NanoTrasen decided which corporations survived, and which would slowly languish and collapse in on themselves.

Yet, no entity is invincible, no matter their dominance over an ecosystem. Since the dawn of time, smaller entities have learned to band together to overwhelm a larger opponent. So it was that three of the corporations spurned by NanoTrasen and denied access to Phoron banded together to try and combat their monolithic foe. Although none of the Triumvirate’s member Corporations exist today in their original fashion, the precedent they established led to the unofficial formation of the Syndicate. The Syndicated Corporations - as they privately preferred to refer to themselves - ranged from successors of the original Triumvirate to smaller criminal enterprises who sought to make a name for themselves in the galaxy.

Lacking in individual resources and technology, Syndicated Corporations maintained uneasy alliances and varying degrees of cooperation with their partners, for although every member of the Syndicate espoused a desire to return the galaxy to its original state of equilibrium and capitalistic competition, each of them truly desired to supplant NanoTrasen as the dominant force in the galaxy. Indeed, oftentimes the biggest enemy Syndicate operatives faced on assignment were other agents pursuing the same target, or those executing an agenda running counter to their own.

Desperate to reclaim their power, and expand it, Syndicated Corporations eventually saw their common goal come to fruition. As more sources of Phoron were uncovered and the long-running campaign of corporate espionage and open military action took its toll, Syndicated corporations began to secure their own sources of the coveted material. True to form, as soon as the companies became able to focus on their own interests, they turned against each other with the same ferocity they had directed towards NanoTrasen, bringing an end to the tumultuous period known as The Phoron War. Many of the Megacorporations behind the Syndicate still exist on the galactic stage, though many others have since dissolved or rebranded.

Although its stranglehold on the Phoron market has been broken, NanoTrasen remains the hegemon of the Frontier, and thus the company's employees and Central Command officials must remain ever vigilant, lest those less deserving of the mantle find it within their grasp. The pervasive attitude of paranoia and suspicion adopted by veterans of the Phoron War may still be felt today, and many senior NanoTrasen staff and Officials carry sharp instincts cultivated over many decades of hardship. The newer crop of NanoTrasen employees, by comparison, may not remember the true ferocity of the Phoron War, and are often regarded as too trusting or naive by their more weathered peers.

Syndicated Corporations

“DDO Recovery Team Salamander has since confirmed that, based on the debris dispersal and radiation readings, Covert Research Station Weeping Buffer 12 was indeed successfully infiltrated by a Syndicate Nuclear Operations team. A lack of correspondence with the local Central Command relay prior to the Delta Alert suggests the Syndicate team infiltrated and executed their assignment covertly. Casualty projections to follow.” [Intercepted report on alleged Syndicate operations in a neighboring sector. The timestamp and header have been heavily encrypted.]

By most estimations, the Phoron War raged across the Frontier for just under seventy four years. Over the nearly three quarters of a century of fighting and defending its dominance, NanoTrasen engaged in both open and covert hostilities against Corporations all across Frontier space. Not every faction or element that took part in the Phoron War may be listed below, as multitudes of smaller companies, contractors, and organizations rallied to the Syndicate's cause to try and further their own interests.

Gorlex Manufacturing Corporation / Gorlex Marauders (Defunct)

History

Widely considered by most authorities on the matter to be the primary force behind the formation of the Syndicate, GMC began its long and rocky career as an arms and war materiel manufacturer. Favoring ballistics to the growing trend of laser weaponry, Gorlex did its best to keep NanoTrasen’s own weapons development programs off the market. As the face and nature of combat progressed, Gorlex found itself to be dealing less in armaments and more in manpower. When the Phoron boom struck, Gorlex quickly found itself swept off of the galactic stage. Supplanted by Hephaestus Industries, a corporation conveniently possessing a much friendlier trade relationship with NanoTrasen, the Gorlex Manufacturing Corporation rebranded as the Gorlex Marauders.

Forming a coalition with the equally disenfranchised remnants of Donk Co. and Waffle Co. - formerly bitter corporate rivals - the Gorlex Marauders would go on to launch a decades-long campaign of corporate espionage and direct terrorism both against NanoTrasen and its allies; especially Hephaestus Industries. Many questions have been raised regarding the mechanism by which the Gorlex Marauders were able to maintain their war on NanoTrasen in the face of overwhelming attrition. Speculation that NanoTrasen themselves were secretly providing partial funding the Gorlex Marauders has been suggested, but has historically been roundly rejected.

It is widely accepted that the Marauders’ partnership with Waffle Co. provided the Syndicate with access to a steady flow of pliable and eager manpower. Regardless of wherever else the Gorlex Marauders received funding from, ultimately their primary source of funding came to be Cybersun Industries. Cybersun Industries, itself a former competitor of the now ubiquitous Ward-Takahashi GMC, provided more and more raw funding to the Gorlex Marauders as time went on, until at last the larger corporation bought out or otherwise displaced Gorlex’s original leadership and assumed control of the Syndicate.

Modern Day

Their purchase by Cybersun Industries formally dissolved the Gorlex Marauders, but loyalists of the Syndicate’s founder may still be encountered to this day. Gorlex Marauders Loyalists are a dying breed, having been almost entirely eradicated both by NanoTrasen and her allies, or their group’s own successors.

Though the Gorlex Marauders used to operate throughout most of known space, today the largest evidence of their presence is the odd incident of extreme violence or the worn-over stamp of their original factories on hardy Syndicate gear.

Ethos

The Gorlex Marauders espoused focused and explosive violence as their core approach. The original Marauders were proud and heavily armored, often utilizing combat mechs and heavy artillery to cause irreparable damage to their foe’s factories and ships. This ethos, while effective in the short term, almost certainly contributed to their eventual downfall as their victims quickly adapted and responded with equal aggression and zeal.

Early Gorlex Marauders were known for their bombastic approach; often utilizing illegal ballistic weapons such as the infamous Syndicate Revolver, specialized explosives like C4 bricks, or the trademark red Energy Sword. Marauders wanted to be seen and recognized for what they were. This precedent for wanton violence generated greater resistance, but the Marauders never adapted. To this day, Gorlex Marauder loyalists may still be seen rampaging through the halls in pursuit of their self-assigned goals, howling madly as they throw bombs and assault their victims with any implement on hand.

Criminal Activities

The Gorlex Marauders were notorious pirates, and would often hijack vehicles for salvage or reassignment. To fund their operations, the Marauders would sell arms and ammunition produced in high volumes by their factories. As time wore on, the Marauders’ loss of these assets saw them driven to slave dealing and chemical production just to keep numbers up and coffers full. By the time of their dissolution, the Marauders were little more than roving gangs of mercenaries and raiders.

Cybersun Industries (Defunct)

History

In the time before Phoron, Cybersun Industries operated along much the same guidelines as it would afterwards. Known across the galaxy for their cutting edge cybernetic enhancements and their formidable research and development teams, Cybersun was one of the go to manufacturers for organic to silicon interface tech. Famously dismissive of NanoTrasen’s experiments with Mind Machine Interfaces and their plans to develop Artificial Intelligence, Cybersun Industries had more than enough funding to stand toe to toe with its corporate rival. In fact, Cybersun only barely lost the bid on the exploration rights for the system where NanoTrasen would discover Phoron.

When NanoTrasen skyrocketed to the top of the market, it violently upset the galactic status quo. Of those affected, Cybersun was struck hardest of all. Cybernetic patents and promising new minds were bought up by NanoTrasen, or the corporations more closely aligned with its ideals. Although Vey-Med and Ward-Takahashi were already giants in their own right, their power increased even further as NanoTrasen funneled assets away from Cybersun and to its competitors.

With their back to the wall, Cybersun was forced to begin studying more unorthodox applications for their technology. Corporate research had always been a morally grey field, but with little choice but to begin dabbling in black tech, Cybersun’s R&D departments dove headfirst into ostensibly forbidden areas of study; mind manipulation, illegal nanotech, and black market cybernetic modification. Through the sale of both its goods and services to other unsavory elements, Cybersun gained a position within the hierarchy of the Syndicated corporations. Intent on training the elite corps of shock troops that would avenge their losses at the hands of NanoTrasen, Cybersun eventually bought out the Gorlex Marauders and absorbed them into their own hierarchy.

Unfortunately, even these acquisitions were not enough to secure Cybersun’s return to glory. NanoTrasen had picked its allies well, and without clean lines on Phoron for research and development of its own, Cybersun remained beneath the heel of the galactic juggernaut. At long last, with Gorlex’s manufacturing capabilities long crippled and Waffle Co’s own dwindling resources drastically reducing the number of recruits, Cybersun was whittled down to nothing by NanoTrasen’s own covert response teams.

Modern Day

Cybersun’s gradual dissolution was a messy and complicated affair. Although NanoTrasen never officially commented on the matter, it is evident that forces intent on ending Syndicate interference in galactic proceedings sealed the company’s fate. The remains of Cybersun were bought up by a number of different companies, most notably Vey-Med, Ward-Takahashi, and NanoTrasen. As far as the galaxy is concerned, Cybersun as an entity is now dead and gone. However, the company was infamous for its ability to brainwash and enhance. The likelihood that Cybersun sleeper agents are still alive and free, unknowingly awaiting activation, is a reality that NanoTrasen has yet to acknowledge.

Although they have disappeared from the galactic stage, many old cybernetics still bear the Cybersun logo and brand name. For corporate entities who once engaged in subversive combat with the company, Cybersun exists today as a boogeyman creeping around every corner, just waiting for its chance to strike.

Ethos

Agents trained by Cybersun were masters of infiltration and covert action. Although some of this may be attributed to the intense cycles of brainwashing and cybernetic programming agents were subjected to, it cannot be disputed that Cybersun Industries had a talent for selecting its operatives. Cybersun’s covert employees were trained to maintain a low profile at all costs, and to complete their objective using covert means. Often, beyond whatever implants or enhancements the agents already possessed, Cybersun would even advise against the use of Syndicate gear.

Cybersun Operatives are known to eschew overt Syndicate technology, often foregoing access to any illicit technology at all. Intent on maintaining their cover, Cybersun agents will stage distractions, plant false leads to implicate others, and engage in careful and deliberate strikes on their targets. Most Cybersun operations are meticulously planned for hours or days, and executed within minutes.

Criminal Activities

Naturally, Cybersun operatives were prone to engaging in corporate espionage. Their targets would range from assassination and kidnapping, to sabotage, to simple theft. In all regards, Cybersun were the ultimate covert operatives. Often a Cybersun agent could kidnap their target, bring them in for programming, and return them unnoticed. The efficacy of the company on this front has lead to a lasting sense of paranoia amongst NanoTrasen’s Central Command branches that although the company is dead, many of its victims may still lay waiting.

WIP

Everything below this marker is currently being written. I've just sat on this for too long and I want it published finally.

Kynde Group Pharmaceuticals (Waffle Co Successor)

A Bio-Tech Research Firm that can use brainwashing and hypnotic programming

Local Syndicate Sympathizers

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Author: Captain277

Lore
Corporations	NanoTrasen, Frontier Megacorporations, Minor Corporations, The Syndicate
NanoTrasen Specific	NDV Marksman, Paracausal Monitoring Division
Other Organizations	ITV Talon, System Defense Force, The Orion Confederation
Worldbuilding	Extradimensional Mechanics, FTL Travel, Galactic Landmarks, Legends, Mysteries, and Rumors, Metaphysics and Paracausality, Technology of the 2500's, The Timeline
Contribution Data	Lore Submission Templates, Roadmap for Lore Development