Post by Darth Xaos on Apr 23, 2015 0:41:00 GMT
The Galaxy was a very different place in 30 ABY than it is today. The Yuuzhan Vong War was over and the planets that would soon form the Union still kept their plans utterly hidden. Despite the utter devastation the War had brought, it had also brought about the unification of the New Republic and Imperial Remnant into the Galactic Alliance. The strife that had dominated galactic politics since the rise of Palpatine seemed to have finally ended after the appearance of a common enemy. Many people on planets that had been spared the Vong’s attentions began to feel very hopeful for the future.
The name of the game for GA Chief of State Cal Omas in those days was restoration. The Vong had devastated more than just planets and their populations by invading; the trade lanes that had linked the Core with the Rim worlds were hopelessly disrupted. While the New Republic had been able to use federal grants to keep private freighters moving at such a rate that the Rims were well supplied (and the Imperial Remnant’s territorial location had meant this problem didn’t exist for them) the GA wasn’t so fortunate. The unprecedented size of the Alliance meant that this old system could never really be restored to full working order.
The solution presented itself in an unlikely source: a class-action suit. This suit was levied at the Imperial Remnant by the planetary governments of Neimoidia, Skako, Kooriva and Castell, who demanded reparations for the Imperialization of the Old Republic Guilds at the end of the Clone Wars. Seeing an opportunity to kill multiple birds with a single stone, Cal Omas convinced the planets to drop the suit and, in exchange, brought to the Senate floor the Imperialization Reparations Act of 30 ABY. Brought about as it was in the climate of a Senate seeking to rebuild a damaged Galaxy the Act passed swiftly.
The bill, in short, permitted the reconstitution of the Techno Union, Corporate Alliance, Commerce Guild and Trade Federation. The purpose for these revived Guilds was similar to that given to them on their first founding: to enable stable trade between the Core and Rim worlds. The Guilds, eager to make up for decades of lost profit, instantly set about fulfilling their mandate. By the dawn of 31 ABY the Rim worlds could once again rely on goods coming from the Core.
This rosy picture was not to last long, however. Ever since the rise of the Obsidian Union the Guilds (especially the Trade Federation, who handle the lions’ share of the Outer Rim routes) have lived in a state of near-constant pirate attack. This is exacerbated by the fact that the Reparations Act (as concessions to the Imperial Remnant) contains clauses that prevent the Guilds from keeping a standing army or war fleet and bars them from seeking representation in the Senate beyond that already provided to their planets. Unable to build defensive fleets or petition the Senate for heavier escorts, the Guilds have come to rely on hiring mercenaries and pirates to defend their lanes. Since the majority of these outlaws ultimately owe allegiance to the Union, the Guilds are essentially paying the GA’s archenemy protection fees.
The strain this arrangement puts on the relations between the Guilds and the GA government cannot be overestimated. Under the Daala administration many Guild officials have been arrested for treason (or simply disappear into the night) while more and more aggressive Union privateers cut into the Guilds’ profits. The fact that their caravans are only being targeted because they fly the GA flag is not lost on the Guilds and is combining with an ever-growing frustration with a draconian and unresponsive Alliance government to disenchant the Guild leaders.
Currently recognized Galactic Guilds:
Commerce Guild:
Headquartered on Castell, the Commerce Guild has a severely mixed reputation. Specializing in purchasing and reviving failed businesses and devalued properties; depending on who you ask this makes them moral businessmen looking to fix failing economies or corporate predators looking to turn a buck on the unfortunate. As more and more planets flock to the Obsidian Union the Commerce Guild finds its investments being seized by the worlds’ new revolutionary governments.
Corporate Alliance:
Having been hit the hardest by Imperialization this Guild has embraced he role of the Galaxy’s middlemen in order to keep their portfolio fluid. Consulting firms, legal representation, deal brokering, stock investment and speculation are the new CA’s bread and butter. Though they lack physical assets for the Obsidian Union to raid they do continue to lose clients when their planets go over (no one wants to do business with a GA-backed company on Union worlds).
Corporate Sector Authority:
Having never been fully Imperialized, the Corporate Sector received no significant reparations from the Act of 30 ABY but they were included in the trade franchise it created. With the possible exception of the Trade Federation, the Corporate Sector is the hardest hit by Union privateers. Abutting the Stygian Caldera on its spinward edge, it’s practically a day trip for a Union pirate to fly into the Corporate Sector and return fat with loot.
Intergalactic Banking Clan:
Like the Corporate Sector, the Banking Clan was never Imperialized. This has made them one of the wealthiest of the Guilds and ensured their stable place in the Galaxy. Every organization needs loans from time to time and the Banking Clan has a roster of prestigious debtors that would put the guest list at a swanky party to shame. Of all the Guilds the Banking Clan has the least to fear from the Obsidian Union. Indeed, the old links between the Clan and the Sith have been the basis for many a covert loan to the Unionists (including the one that funded the construction of New Bethrezen).
Techno Union:
Droids, automated factories and cutting edge mechanical research are the products the Techno Union offer the Galaxy. Operating primarily on planet Skako, the Techno Union has innumerably assembly lines churning out their goods. If it clicks or whirrs chances are the Techno Union had something to do with it. Because of the nature of their business the Techno Union is relatively insulated from pirate attacks (it’s the Trade Federation who is legally responsible for stolen shipments, not the Techno Union manufacturers). However, there are many in the GA government who use this fact to accuse the Techno Union of collaborating with the Obsidian Union (though the Techno Union claims that such accusations only exist because they share an organizational term in common with the Obsidian Union).
Trade Federation:
Perhaps the Guild that most contributes to the Act of 30 ABY’s mandate, the Trade Federation ensures that there are always trade caravans moving between the Core and the Rims. The Federation has perhaps the most infamous reputation among the Guilds due to its invasion of Naboo prior to the Clone Wars but it has dedicated significant cash to fixing this image. Some of these efforts are subtle and effective - such as financing the publication of historical papers that call into question the Naboo’s victim status in the affair - while others aren’t - for example their new mascot, Gary the Gungan.
The name of the game for GA Chief of State Cal Omas in those days was restoration. The Vong had devastated more than just planets and their populations by invading; the trade lanes that had linked the Core with the Rim worlds were hopelessly disrupted. While the New Republic had been able to use federal grants to keep private freighters moving at such a rate that the Rims were well supplied (and the Imperial Remnant’s territorial location had meant this problem didn’t exist for them) the GA wasn’t so fortunate. The unprecedented size of the Alliance meant that this old system could never really be restored to full working order.
The solution presented itself in an unlikely source: a class-action suit. This suit was levied at the Imperial Remnant by the planetary governments of Neimoidia, Skako, Kooriva and Castell, who demanded reparations for the Imperialization of the Old Republic Guilds at the end of the Clone Wars. Seeing an opportunity to kill multiple birds with a single stone, Cal Omas convinced the planets to drop the suit and, in exchange, brought to the Senate floor the Imperialization Reparations Act of 30 ABY. Brought about as it was in the climate of a Senate seeking to rebuild a damaged Galaxy the Act passed swiftly.
The bill, in short, permitted the reconstitution of the Techno Union, Corporate Alliance, Commerce Guild and Trade Federation. The purpose for these revived Guilds was similar to that given to them on their first founding: to enable stable trade between the Core and Rim worlds. The Guilds, eager to make up for decades of lost profit, instantly set about fulfilling their mandate. By the dawn of 31 ABY the Rim worlds could once again rely on goods coming from the Core.
This rosy picture was not to last long, however. Ever since the rise of the Obsidian Union the Guilds (especially the Trade Federation, who handle the lions’ share of the Outer Rim routes) have lived in a state of near-constant pirate attack. This is exacerbated by the fact that the Reparations Act (as concessions to the Imperial Remnant) contains clauses that prevent the Guilds from keeping a standing army or war fleet and bars them from seeking representation in the Senate beyond that already provided to their planets. Unable to build defensive fleets or petition the Senate for heavier escorts, the Guilds have come to rely on hiring mercenaries and pirates to defend their lanes. Since the majority of these outlaws ultimately owe allegiance to the Union, the Guilds are essentially paying the GA’s archenemy protection fees.
The strain this arrangement puts on the relations between the Guilds and the GA government cannot be overestimated. Under the Daala administration many Guild officials have been arrested for treason (or simply disappear into the night) while more and more aggressive Union privateers cut into the Guilds’ profits. The fact that their caravans are only being targeted because they fly the GA flag is not lost on the Guilds and is combining with an ever-growing frustration with a draconian and unresponsive Alliance government to disenchant the Guild leaders.
Currently recognized Galactic Guilds:
Commerce Guild:
Headquartered on Castell, the Commerce Guild has a severely mixed reputation. Specializing in purchasing and reviving failed businesses and devalued properties; depending on who you ask this makes them moral businessmen looking to fix failing economies or corporate predators looking to turn a buck on the unfortunate. As more and more planets flock to the Obsidian Union the Commerce Guild finds its investments being seized by the worlds’ new revolutionary governments.
Corporate Alliance:
Having been hit the hardest by Imperialization this Guild has embraced he role of the Galaxy’s middlemen in order to keep their portfolio fluid. Consulting firms, legal representation, deal brokering, stock investment and speculation are the new CA’s bread and butter. Though they lack physical assets for the Obsidian Union to raid they do continue to lose clients when their planets go over (no one wants to do business with a GA-backed company on Union worlds).
Corporate Sector Authority:
Having never been fully Imperialized, the Corporate Sector received no significant reparations from the Act of 30 ABY but they were included in the trade franchise it created. With the possible exception of the Trade Federation, the Corporate Sector is the hardest hit by Union privateers. Abutting the Stygian Caldera on its spinward edge, it’s practically a day trip for a Union pirate to fly into the Corporate Sector and return fat with loot.
Intergalactic Banking Clan:
Like the Corporate Sector, the Banking Clan was never Imperialized. This has made them one of the wealthiest of the Guilds and ensured their stable place in the Galaxy. Every organization needs loans from time to time and the Banking Clan has a roster of prestigious debtors that would put the guest list at a swanky party to shame. Of all the Guilds the Banking Clan has the least to fear from the Obsidian Union. Indeed, the old links between the Clan and the Sith have been the basis for many a covert loan to the Unionists (including the one that funded the construction of New Bethrezen).
Techno Union:
Droids, automated factories and cutting edge mechanical research are the products the Techno Union offer the Galaxy. Operating primarily on planet Skako, the Techno Union has innumerably assembly lines churning out their goods. If it clicks or whirrs chances are the Techno Union had something to do with it. Because of the nature of their business the Techno Union is relatively insulated from pirate attacks (it’s the Trade Federation who is legally responsible for stolen shipments, not the Techno Union manufacturers). However, there are many in the GA government who use this fact to accuse the Techno Union of collaborating with the Obsidian Union (though the Techno Union claims that such accusations only exist because they share an organizational term in common with the Obsidian Union).
Trade Federation:
Perhaps the Guild that most contributes to the Act of 30 ABY’s mandate, the Trade Federation ensures that there are always trade caravans moving between the Core and the Rims. The Federation has perhaps the most infamous reputation among the Guilds due to its invasion of Naboo prior to the Clone Wars but it has dedicated significant cash to fixing this image. Some of these efforts are subtle and effective - such as financing the publication of historical papers that call into question the Naboo’s victim status in the affair - while others aren’t - for example their new mascot, Gary the Gungan.