Everything you'll encounter out in the Nyx System will probably have a label on it, from either NanoTrasen, Githari Exports, Hesphaistos Industries, one of the other Trans-Stellar Corporations, or even the Free Trade Union; marketing is everywhere. That is why you should know your ways around their inner workings, and what they're about.
There are Seven Trans-Stellar Corporations that really shape what happens in the Outer Rims of space, and control markets of goods throughout the stars. These are the wealthiest, most powerful, greedy, and controlling TSCs currently in existance.
A high-tech research company with a majority holding on phoron claims in the Nyx system and throughout the galaxy.
A manufacturing company that produces everything from consumer electronics, like PDAs and laptop computers, to home appliances and other miscellaneous items.
A large producer of luxury and alcoholic goods based out of their headquarters on Mars.
A mining company that serves as one of the largest providers of raw materials in known space. Recently, it has also begun to sell generic assembly materials for use in construction projects (metal beams, lattice, coils, etc.)
An atmospherics and recycling company based in the Sol system.
A pharmaceutical company renown for its recent advancements in medicine and questionable business practices.
A renown arms manufacturing and general security equipment company. Commonly known as the first trans-stellar to develop after the formation of Sol Central.
These seven are not the only companies around. There's dozens of others, and you can find them all here:
The Free Trade Union is different from other trans-stellars in that they are not just a company, but a big conglomerate of various traders and merchants from all over the galaxy. They control a sizable fleet of vessels of various sizes which are given autonomy from the central command to engage in trading. They also host a fleet of combat vessels which respond directly to the central command for defending traders when necessary.
They are in control of many large scale trade stations across the known galaxy, even in non-human space. Generally, they are multi-purpose stations but they always keep areas filled with duty-free shops. Almost anything is sold there and products that are forbidden or have insanely high taxes in other places are generally sold in the duty-free shops at very cheap and low prices.
They are the creators of the Tradeband language, created specially for being a lingua franca where every merchant can understand each other independent of language or nationality.
- Inuvaios Eclestra
A company more commonly known with its GalCom translation as Eclipse Innovations, or simply as Eclestra, the communication in Tradeband is so common there that it influenced its official name. When the human relations with other races improved, joint research efforts as well as collaborations in other industries began. Eclestra is one of the lasting initiatives, despite presence of giants in RnD like NanoTrasen. It accepts scientists and researchers regardless of race, gender, or religion.
Currently, the racial composition of Eclestra is:
- 27% Tajara
- 38% Human
- 8% Resomi
- 17% Skrell
- 10% Dionaea
Economy analysts suggest few reasons for the company's sustained operation. Smaller corporations usually cannot afford RnD, and so when material solution optimization, reverse-engineering, and proper calibrations of precision measurement equipment is needed, Eclestra can be relied upon to perform these tasks at a reasonable price, albeit at a slow pace.
Eclestra does not strive to maintain a roster of experienced scientists, but it collaborates closely with many education institutions, exchanging information on latest discoveries with them freely, offering students internships and scholarships during their study etc. Eclestra has taken a humanitarian approach to science as opposed to corporate one: No experimentation without thought of consequence, only to seek income.
People in Eclestra very well understand their position on the market, and keep in it. The Heads of Staff are aware that even though they could increase prices of their services, big shots like NanoTrasen would discredit the initiative. Instead they offer services no giant corporation would ever dare to offer and support the whole scientific community, making this its philosophy.
Inuvaios Eclestra as a corporation stands only among the small ones, but it is widely renown for growing new, fine scientific minds, making a very good mark in one's resume should their ambitions grow for a more corporate interest. It has never been about money for the people of the initiative, but about the belief information should be the effort of all races, and free to all races.
- Masslink Logistics
Dawnlight Celestial Defence, at its most advanced tech, possessed high-power railguns that could reach 52% speed of light of muzzle velocity. This was the fastest any weapon or even ship had ever gotten at the time. However railguns in their principle were expensive, they had to be mounted on high orbit or on a station, and had many more limitations.
All those limitations were no issue at all when Masslink discovered a way to utilize railguns for accelerating ships. Instead, there were other problems. Accelerating an electrically conductive 1480mm slug is one thing, but an entire ship with hundreds of thousands of kilotonnes of mass, even if at half the speed of light, imposed noticeable time dilation with unpredictable effects. To understand this phenomenon, Masslink needed funding and shipbuilding expertise, both of which was offered by Triple-S, under the condition the patents Masslink would have on the technology would be made public.
Eventually, Masslink was able to devise freighters and public transportation shuttles that could be accelerated to 40% speed of light with no negative effect on any material on board the ship, or hull integrity. After the release of the patents, other companies took over research and further explored the timespace phenomenon that came to be known as Bluespace.
Unfortunately, at this time Triple-S ceased funding Masslink, which left it in an inenviable position; while many other corporations advanced forward in regards of lightspeed travel, Masslink did have access to this technology, but had no means to reproduce it to capitalize on it. It ran an intrastellar transportation business until the late 25th century, when it was discontinued, and assets sold to Major Bill's Transportation and Shipping.