"Bring the fire of the Gods to bear."
-Hephaestus Industries motto.
Hephaestus Industries is the go-to name in defense contracting whether you're a frontier settlement, a corporate security force, or an established army. There's very little that can't be purchased from Hephaestus, ranging from small arms, to body armor, autonomous drones, and even advanced aircraft and mechanized units. Even among megacorporations, Hephaestus is an industrial giant whose sheer output is only matched by the rugged quality of its products. On the Frontier, Hephaestus products don't just carry a reputation of satisfaction among their customers, but tales of how Hephaestus-brand equipment kept them alive where anything less might have failed them. While Hephaestus has far from a total domination on the armaments market, their generalized product line-up allows their equipment to reach a much wider appeal than more specialized weapons manufacturers.
History
Early History
"The strength of Mars, the heat of Helios, and the power of the immortals made for mortal men."
-Early Hephaestus Industries advertisement for the G1A Laser Rifle.
Hepahestus Industries can trace its history four hundred years into the past, when humanity first became aware of the sheer scope of alien civilization beyond Sol's boundaries. Based out of Hellas Planitia, Hephaestus Industries was formed several years prior to first contact as Mars flourished independently from Earth. In those days, Hephaestus specialized in ballistics that were either mimicries or improved copies of older firearms. While a mildly successful weapons company in their own right, Hephaestus never made much of an impact with this equipment, beyond civilian and certain private security usage on Mars.
This changed when a call came from the Martian Coalition Armed Forces to develop a laser weapon from acquired Skrell technology. Facing heavy competition from other Martian arms companies, Hephaestus research staff worked tirelessly on understanding Skrell advancements and striking a balance between cost and effectivity on the battlefield. The Hephaestus G1A was the product of this research, almost immediately launching the company off the ground and into the eyes of not only the Martian government, but humanity's soon-to-be collective government as well.
Further refinements in the G1A's design eventually led it to be adopted by the Terran and Martian divisions of the Orion Confederation's armed forces. Hephaestus soon opened up factories on Earth and Luna in order to keep up with the orders from humanity's defenders. The revenue from these sales allowed Hephaestus to steadily grow as time went on, expanding their product lines to include heavier armaments that soon supplemented their small arms in use among Orion Confederation defense forces. This period saw Hephaestus acquire many other companies, both in the defense sector and beyond it, allowing them to expand their research and development into areas that were beyond the immediate production of weaponry.
The Frontier
"When pirates invite themselves in, give 'em a Hephaestus welcome."
-Advertisement for the Hephaestus KS-40 12 gauge shotgun.
Humanity's expansion into the frontier was what allowed Hephaestus to begin its ascension from a large arms manufacturer and defense contractor to a true megacorporate superpower. Now not only were Orion's forces purchasing Hephaestus equipment, but so were frontiersmen whom those very defense forces could not fully protect. Hephaestus went beyond providing arms to frontier colonies and established support networks, using earlier acquisitions to set up their own fleet of transport ships and escorts, in addition to establishing a private security force for these vessels. Hephaestus factories were set up across dozens of systems, providing numerous opportunities to colonists and allowing the corporation to better supply its premier consumer base with the tools for their safety and security.
The Frontier Act of 2274 only strengthened these ties between Hephaestus and the colonies, soon turning planets with Hephaestus factories to Hephaestus factories with planets. It was around this time that the corporate headquarters on Mars made the decision to relocate to Orlov IV in the Vitalya system on the frontier, perhaps recognizing the importance of consolidating its presence in this market. By the dawn of the 24th century, Hephaestus was a mighty, established force in the frontier, now no longer following the flow of colonists in settling worlds, but leading the charge in exploring space themselves, taking claims for territories that would best suit the growing megacorporation's needs.
With Hephaestus's newfound territory came the usual problems of controlling such an area. New worlds could have hostile fauna, which were easily enough dispatched by Hephaestus survey teams. Attacks from pirates on Hephaestus ships saw further refinement of their space forces, though the real wake-up call for Hephaestus's private forces came when territories on the borders of Hephaestus's control came under attack by hostile forces belonging to Zendai Foundries. While there are long standing rumors that Zendai was pushed to action by Gorlex Manufacturing, a similar ballistics manufacturing corporation that would later become embittered in conflict with Hephaestus, it's generally accepted Zendai fought on its own terms.
Zendai's forces were primarily PMCs they hired to do their own fighting, a staple of intercorporate warfare at this time. These contractors were, however, provided mostly with Zendai equipment as a rudimentary form of "standardization" despite the differing companies. Hephaestus, on the other hand, simply utilized their pre-existing security forces, hardened by years of anti-piracy operations, to defend their territory while organizing a proper offensive force.
Raids from Zendai typically saw Hephaestus installations come under specific, targeted assault meant to cripple Hephaestus's production capabilities, seemingly more interested in forcing the company to bleed money than to take their territory as one might expect from older conflicts. This, along with later intercorporate wars, marked the strategy going forward: assaulting a corporation's vital infrastructure until it could no longer afford to wage war.
When Hephaestus struck back, it did so with a coordination and expertise that far exceeded Zendai's patchwork hired army. Hephaestus's forces resembled a professional army in all but name, wearing military-grade body armor as they charged in with support from aerial fighters and armored vehicles. Hephaestus's fleet vastly dwarfed Zendai's, allowing them to completely hammer enemy forces with total aerial superiority.
Hephaestus refused to conform to Zendai's way of waging war (ironic, given future events during the Phoron War) and instead opted to steamroll through their contracted forces to directly assault Zendai's facilities. With Hephaestus bearing down on their doorstep, Zendai entered into negotiations, though these would damage the corporation enough that they ultimately dissolved after the Bluespace Flicker took place not long after.
Hephaestus's internal strength allowed them to emerge relatively unharmed from the two-year long Bluespace Flicker that disrupted travel across the Frontier. In the aftermath of the Flicker, however, Hephaestus was approached by another megacorporation: NanoTrasen. Badly affected by the disruption of their primary business model, NanoTrasen was left stretched thin by social unrest in regions under their control. The alliance between NanoTrasen and Hephaestus benefited both parties in the end, with Hephaestus reaping the benefits of allying with a rather prominent megacorporation while NanoTrasen utilized Hephaestus equipment and personnel in quelling the unrest in their territories. It was this alliance that marked a new chapter going forward for both corporations, especially as Hephaestus had been chosen over a number of other weapons manufacturing groups, including their eventual rival: Gorlex.
The Rye-Egress War
"Hephaestus kept us alive in Rye-Egress. The laser rifle in my hand? Hephaestus. The guns on the mechs? Hephaestus. The fighters in the air? Hephaestus. If you lost a limb, Hephaestus had something for that, too."
-Staff Sergeant Duncan Wright, 13th Infantry Division.
The 25th century saw Hephaestus emerge stronger than ever, and, in fact, only grew their strength in the years to come. One of the significant events that took up the 2420s was the Rye-Egress War, which Hephaestus was heavily involved in. Hephaestus had conducted business with the inhabitants of Rye-Egress, known as the Mikoyans, for sometime prior, providing them with industrial equipment and logistical support that came with typical frontier colonies. A crucial aspect of Rye-Egress that separated it from other worlds was the presence of what was then-known as "Element P" on its surface.
While the importance of Element P, later known as phoron, was not known at the time, the high-quality parts and equipment the Mikoyans sometimes offered in their exchanges with Hephaestus caught the corporation's eye. Despite escalating tensions between Rye-Egress and the Orion Confederation, Hephaestus remained a business partner to both factions. On the one hand, the Orion Confederation could not afford to make an enemy of someone whom they purchased from in bulk for their forces, while Rye-Egress was all too happy to have Hephaestus's industrial capabilities benefit them, even if they were selling products to what would later be known as their enemies.
When tensions finally boiled over into open conflict, Hephaestus continued to straddle the lines between both sides. Hephaestus was more than happy to continue their bulk orders to Orion's soldiers while also giving Rye-Egress the support they needed in exchange for Element P. One of the major points of sale to the Mikoyans were in weapons to equip their mechs, eschewing advanced laser technology that Hephaestus was known for in exchange for conventional mortars and autocannons that were more suited to the Mikoyan's technological level. It's even been suggested the Gorilla mechs used by the Mikoyans originated from Hephaestus patents.
However, as time went on, Hephaestus steadily leaned closer towards the Orion Confederation. In order to fit their needs in the air war against the Mikoyans, Hephaestus established a new subsidiary, Hephaestus Aeronautics. Designed to counter the Mikoyan's aerial superiority, Hephaestus worked closely with Orion engineers to design new atmospheric fighter designs alongside providing further logistical support for the newly developed Durand mech that Orion soldiers fielded in response to the Mikoyan's mech doctrine (partially due to Hephaestus's own aforementioned support). Eventually, Hephaestus ceased its sales to Rye-Egress entirely, going so far as to allow its security forces to bolster Orion Confederation operations to bring a sooner end to the conflict.
After nine years of conflict, Rye-Egress came under the Orion Confederation's control. As a result of the help they so generously provided to Orion, Hephaestus was given first bidding on the economic "reconstruction" of Rye-Egress, effectively exploiting the world's natural resources (especially its phoron, as the potential for the element had become steadily realized around this time courtesy of NanoTrasen). Rye-Egress, now integrated into the Orion Confederation, became effectively another mining and manufacturing planet under Hephaestus's direct thumb. The items Hephaestus had once sold to and bought from Rye-Egress could now be manufactured with a fraction of the cost.
To further curry favor with Orion, Hephaestus opened up a civilian line of prosthetics based on its military line-up. Veterans of Rye-Egress were immediately drawn to the Hephaestus craftsmanship, especially when several had utilized the military models during the war itself. This proved especially popular with mech pilots who had given up parts of their bodies to keep up with Mikoyan pilots on the battlefield. With some of the knowledge gained by studying Mikoyan "Warborn" prosthetics, Hephaestus gained some technological advancements of their own. Although many in the Orion Confederation and almost everyone on Rye-Egress lost something in the war, Hephaestus only strengthened their reputation with Orion and gained a crucial reserve of phoron for future use.
The Phoron War
"In other news, a violent fire broke out earlier at a Gorlex Manufacturing facility on Tano III. Eyewitnesses say they spotted several unidentified men in dark combat armor on the premises before what sounded like weaponsfire was heard from inside. Local authorities have yet to comment on the cause of the blaze."
-Oculum News Network report, dated 2517.
Due to their connections with NanoTrasen and their prior acquisition of Rye-Egress, Hephaestus was one of the first corporations to receive NanoTrasen's assistance in researching and applying phoron to a variety of products. With its research and production centers booming with the innovation brought on by phoron, Hephaestus underwent yet another period of vast expansion, acquiring several smaller corporations to pad out other areas on the market to specialize in. It's around this time that serious research began into the field of robotics, with Hephaestus using the knowledge gained from Rye-Egress to pursue humanoid synthetics for possible military application.
No success comes easy, however, as Hephaestus found itself the target of the Syndicate's desire to carve a way into the phoron market from which they had been locked out of by NanoTrasen. As Hephaestus was the primary weapons supplier for NanoTrasen, they were a key asset to take out of the fight for the Syndicate. In addition, one of the founding Syndicate members, Gorlex Manufacturing, had a long-standing rivalry with Hephaestus. Gorlex saw Hephaestus's energy weapons (and the occasional ballistic weapon) as pushing their primarily projectile-based equipment off the market. While tensions with Gorlex had boiled over into skirmishes in the past, usually between their space forces, this marked the first time where things escalated into open hostilities.
Hephaestus, much like NanoTrasen, found itself the constant target of Syndicate infiltration and assault. Sabotage on Hephaestus factories was common in this time period as Syndicate agents used fake identities or outright brainwashed Hephaestus personnel into gaining access to their facilities, doing as much damage as they could before silently slipping away. Naturally, Gorlex also embarked on their usual sprees of nuclear destruction, which were especially effective against Hephaestus's spacebound stations and manufacturing plants, with several being replaced by a floating radioactive debris field.
As with its earlier conflict against Zendai Foundries, Hephaestus was keen to go on the offensive against the Syndicate rather than remaining mostly defensive like NanoTrasen or entirely neutral like Vey-Med. At the same time, it sought to rectify what it saw were issues in its security systems that resulted in Syndicate infiltrators getting into Hephaestus facilities at all. This occurred with the rollout of the "Minotaur"-type combat synthetic, a (mostly) humanoid machine designed for efficiency at an affordable price, allowing them to be mass produced in staggering numbers.
The Minotaur augmented Hephaestus's existing security personnel and became a key support unit for organic strike teams meant to bring the fight to the Syndicate. Once the Minotaur's production was in full swing, Syndicate listening outposts, covert bases, and even their established facilities became targets for Hephaestus. Most of the corporation's might was focused on Gorlex, however, who they (correctly) deduced would do the most harm if permitted to continue operating in the long term. The Minotaur and ensuing synthetics were not perfect, however, with several being turned against their masters due to Cybersun's specialization in electronic warfare. As the Phoron War went on, lessons gained from these errors were used to better perfect and define Hephaestus's autonomous units going forward.
Gorlex was eventually folded into Cybersun partway through the Phoron War. Nevertheless, Hephaestus continued strikes on strategic locations, ensuring that the Syndicate could never quite pull off all the operations it wanted to, taking some of the heat off Hephaestus and, in turn, NanoTrasen. When the Syndicate finally collapsed, however, Hephaestus notably stayed clear of the post-Phoron War economics, allowing NanoTrasen, Vey-Med, and its new competitor in the firearms market, Ward-Takashi to instead pick off the remnants of Cybersun while Waffle Co faded into bankruptcy. Unlike NanoTrasen, Hephaestus never made any moves against Donk Co as they were never a target of its propaganda, mostly due to their high reputation across the Orion Confederation and frontier space as a whole.
Modern Day
"RETURN TO YOUR DESIGNATED QUARTERS. THIS GATHERING IS IN VIOLATION OF YOUR CONTRACTS, SEE SECTION 16, SUBSECTION 4. DISPERSE OR FORCE WILL BE UTILIZED."
-Hephaestus "Cyclops"-type riot control synthetic putting down an anti-automation gathering.
Hephaestus left the Phoron War mostly unscathed by the decades-long conflict. Aside from several lost and damaged facilities, the loss of NanoTrasen's phoron monopoly scarcely affected Hephaestus due to their possession of Rye-Egress and their product line-up only marginally relying on phoron at all. Business for Hephaestus has remained the same as it continues to sell to innumerable factions, well-entrenched in its position as a top weapons manufacturer.
However, the successful implementation of automated weapons in the Phoron War opened a new line of inquiry for Hephaestus research and production. Hephaestus rapidly grew the divisions responsible for their first automatons and soon explored different models for varying combat situations. It didn't take long for Hephaestus to gain a selection of military and police-grade robots for current and new buyers alike.
These innovations also marked a sharp rise in a reliance on automation among Hephaestus facilities. Asset protection forces became heavily augmented by machines of varying purposes, and the number of organic security personnel being hired sharply declined in the years after the Phoron War. Rumors even began to crop up of prototype starships that were entirely controlled by AI, ranging from singular ships to rumors of an entire test fleet of AI vessels with minimum organic oversight.
Hephaestus remains tightly knit with both Vey-Med and NanoTrasen, all three corporations frequently sharing resources and knowledge between each other, only solidifying their respective positions in their individual markets. At the end of the day, Hephaestus Industries remains unmatched in its reputation for functional weaponry, and with the sheer diversity of its product line and consumer base, it's hard to see this giant of industry falling anytime soon.
Life Under Hephaestus
When first expanding across the frontier, Hephaestus established itself in a number of systems. Its control over these systems is looser compared to some of its competitors. In lieu of ground-based installations, most of Hephaestus's manufacturing plants, storage facilities, and asset protection garrisons are stationed in orbital structures throughout the systems under Hephaestus control. More permanent installations are located on the surfaces of less habitable worlds that are instead valuable for the vast deposits of natural resources, allowing Hephaestus to mine the materials for its weapons without relying on an external company to supply them.
Hephaestus does heavily guard the planets it does control, though, with the aforementioned mining outposts being accompanied by ground-based garrisons, though usually ones in a smaller scale compared to those that serve as a hub for protection forces meant to patrol the entire system. The majority of Hephaestus's space installations are for manufacturing, which is, expectedly, an automated process, relying on assembly lines and robotic limbs to put together enough equipment to arm a planetary defense force in only a few hours. Most Hephaestus employees are meant to keep these lines running smoothly rather than actively participate in the act of building weapons themselves.
Hephaestus research and development occurs in their own dedicated facilities rather than being mixed with the production lines. Rather than risk R&D being conducted in deep space research stations, most of it occurs in laboratories on worlds within systems under Hephaestus purview. These labs are often just as difficult to get in and out of as their space counterparts while also being surrounded by civilian infrastructure. Typically, specific labs specialize in a certain product line, ranging from weapons to armor and vehicles, split between mechs, ground vehicles, and aeronautics.
For the research and production line personnel, the day's end is marked by transportation to the civilized worlds within their systems, or specialized habitats if available. As a human corporation that began its expansion with the exploration of the frontier, Hephaestus built and acquired several Island-type space colonies (commonly known as O'Neil Cylinders) in systems that lacked habitable worlds but still contained planets valuable for their natural resources. These cylinders not only contain housing for Hephaestus workers, but also various smaller chains of commercial stores and businesses to be more lively for workers off-hours, alongside bringing in extra money for Hephaestus with contracts to house these businesses aboard the colonies.
The largest of these artificial colonies is Fortress Etna near the orbit of Orlov IV. While Hephaestus was originally headquartered on Orlov IV itself, work began on converting an asteroid into a more independent space for the corporation. After several decades of work, Fortress Etna was established as Hephaestus's corporate headquarters. Fortress Etna, true to its name, is nearly impenetrable due to being built within several layers of rock alongside hardened metal. Fortress Etna serves as a functional workplace for those designated to be stationed there, while also accommodating the megacorporation's elite in elegant quarters paired with more luxurious recreational spaces. Despite this, they are spartan when compared to actual resort planets.
Workers on mining planets and within garrisons, however, stay within their facilities for longer periods of time. Compared to other sites, though, these are both intended for long term habitation, containing self-sufficient food, water, and recreation facilities. Increasing shifts towards automation have seen a decrease in the organic personnel working these sites, alongside the addition of specific jobs and spaces meant towards the maintenance of these synths.
Hephaestus's shipbound crews tend to rest up between deployments at any of the aforementioned facilities, depending on where they arrive. It's not uncommon for crews to rest at their destinations as well, should they have the time. Said crews get rotated frequently to give them the chance to rest between trips. As with other aspects of Hephaestus's logistics and production, starship crews have been supplemented by synthetics in recent times, alongside several vessels being converted entirely into AI-controlled transports.
Internal Culture
Hephaestus corporate culture tends to be competent and strict, born of many centuries of conflict and work to secure their place as a megacorporation. Workers are often amicable with each other and typically have friendly bonds encouraged by sharing living spaces off-duty. This is best seen among mining personnel, who tend to share close bonds with each other over the long deployments they can have with the corporation. On-duty, though, Hephaestus personnel are characterized by competence and a focus on their work, especially as much of it relates to keeping production lines smoothly running. The internal culture of the company emphasizes attentiveness and focus, but does not control how employees spend their off hours.
Their asset protection functions in a more strict manner by comparison. Although having access to military-grade equipment, the culture is not like a military, but more so a private defense force. Hephaestus is their employer at the end of the day, and as such they still have a vested interest in ensuring the safety of personnel and material while not being fanatically loyal. All the same, Hephaestus training ensures that the military standard of their equipment is matched up with similar training, designed to ensure security teams can stand up to hostile fauna, pirates, and even hostile agents from other corporations. In the heat of battle, Hephaestus combat personnel can be relied on having a cool head and quick response to just about any threat.
Products
Hephaestus's product lines are capable of singlehandedly arming a nation. They're most well-known for their energy weapon small arms, ranging from pistol to rifle-sized, but all following Hephaestus's design philosophy as weapons meant to fulfill a function first and foremost. The main market for their small arms are private security and professional armed forces, being simple to use but effective at their intended role. Hephaestus does produce several more specialized ballistic designs, such as the KS-40 combat shotgun and PTR-7 anti-material rifle, originally introduced in the Rye-Egress War at the request of OriCon infantry forces. While their ballistic weapons are few and far between, they round out their arsenal and allow them to provide extra flexibility for specific combat scenarios.
Hephaestus doesn't produce any mech designs of its own, but it offers several weapon designs for various production models, ranging from autocannons to mortars and flamethrowers. It does, however, produce larger armored vehicles such as APCs, IFVs, tanks, and fighters meant for space and atmospheric function. Their aeronautics line-up is rounded out by a civilian-focused series of jet planes, using Hephaestus's military knowledge to create maneuverable but easy to control jets. A more recent product line has seen Hephaestus market their own aesthetic packs for fighters, allowing them to look flashy while retaining their original functionality.
A mixed civilian-military product line are Hephaestus's prosthetics. The only difference between the two are certain tune-ups that make the civilian models fall within certain restrictions, ensuring their users can't punch through someone's ribcage or conceal a shotgun within their forearm. Hephaestus augmentations remain popular among veterans and civilian military appreciators alike, though those of a lower economic class may find it difficult to afford the price tag attached to these prosthetics. Their military-grade counterparts lack these restrictions, and as a result are often better than the limbs they replace. Although not especially exotic compared to models from other corporations, their ruggedness ensures they can continue functioning through the thick of battle.
Hephaestus offers a few different lines of body armor, though their most famous set is the Icarus combat suit. The Icarus is one of few military-grade armor suits available on the frontier, a fact made all the more evident by the price of certain models, meant to entice frontiersmen into purchasing it. The Icarus can often be found among militia field medics, deep space structural engineers, and even some armed forces and corporate security teams. One noteworthy corporation to have purchased from Hephaestus is Onkhera Synthetic Solution's subsidiary Necropolis Industries, who extensively modified the Icarus to better suit their heavily augmented operatives.
Their latest product line are their aforementioned automatons. This line-up is meant for military and police use over potential civilian applications, though some models are intended to be affordable for frontier militias to support their forces. Hephaestus's robots greatly differ between models, some intended for general purpose use while others fill more specialist roles on the battlefield. Hephaestus robots have become a common sight among the defenders of corporate facilities or police forces putting down civil unrest. A major selling point of these machines, taken from experiences during the Phoron War, is their lack of intelligence. While this makes them only capable of following very basic commands (and can make them tedious to update) it reduces the risk of them being turned against their masters, alongside limiting the harm they can do if such an event occurs.
Corporate Relations
Hephaestus retains close ties to Vey-Med and NanoTrasen, engaging in an exchange of research and equipment between the three megacorporations. This is best seen with NanoTrasen, with the two having frequently engaged in joint research projects that produced equipment like the NT/HI-S-1 Secutor standard issue sidearm for NanoTrasen's security divisions. The Hephaestus G40E laser rifle and LAEP90 Perun energy guns are equally ubiquitous within NanoTrasen armories. Lawson Arms is another corporation that Hephaestus has close ties to, the two corporations working together to develop the LAEP90 Perun. Many Lawson Arms weapons are not built in their own factories, but Hephaestus ones, another signifier of their relationship.
With Gorlex Manufacturing becoming defunct at the end of the Phoron War, Hephaestus's main competitor in the weapons market now stands to be Ward-Takashi. Although known for manufacturing dozens of other products used by many megacorporations (Hephaestus included), Ward-Takashi's weapons are almost as ubiquitous as Hephaestus's. At the same time, their own prosthetics serve as a competitor to Hephaestus's on the market, albeit with their own strengths and weaknesses that set them apart from Hephaestus. Hephaestus has yet to take any significant steps against Ward-Takashi, seeing it as either a nonissue with Hephaestus's own entrenched position in the weapons market or not wanting to risk another conflict so soon after the Phoron War's end.
The Orion Confederation remains a bulk buyer of Hephaestus equipment, ranging from small arms all the way up to their armored vehicles. Other national powers like the Hegemony, Vikara Combine, and Adhomai avoid being reliant on Hephaestus given their domestic weapons production industries. Still, Hephaestus products can still be found among a diverse array of frontier settlements where they stand as a revered household name. Hephaestus rarely restricts who it does business to, and remains popular even with other established corporations. Even if Hephaestus's weapons get turned against them from a less reputable buyer, their ample asset protection force ensures such an attempt is short lived.
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Authors: tehanon113, input provided by GysgtMurphy