Trans-Stellar Corporations

These are the big corporate forces whose reach cover numerous star systems and whose economic might rivals many governments. Whilst SolGov does prevent them from becoming directly politically powerful, and local authorities ensure they stick to local laws, corporations will be corporations - they're all about their profits.

Many corporations do have their own security forces, ranging from security guards to paramilitary asset protection. Some of the largest TSCs own armed naval vessels which they will happily use against pirates or raiders, or occasionally to leverage support from intimidated local governments. The richest corporations are sometimes equipped well enough to make even governmental military forces jealous, thought their smaller forces makes this much more achievable.

While most TSCs have a core area of focus, almost all of the major players also operate a wide range of competing consumer products and services, often accumulated over many years of aggressive acquisitions. Sometimes these retain the brand-names prior to integration in order to maintain brand recognition and the illusion of consumer choice. It's rare for a successful international brand or chain to maintain independence from TSC ownership for long, and while many retain varying degrees of operational independence, they remain financially beholden to their parent corporation.

Almost definitionally, most TSCs operate their own banking services.

Major TSCs

NanoTrasen Materials Science Corporation Who you probably work for NanoTrasen is one of the foremost research and development companies in SolGov space. Originally focused on consumer products, their swift move into the field of Phoron has lead to them being the foremost experts on the substance and its uses. In the modern day, NanoTrasen prides itself on being an early adopter of as many new technologies as possible, often offering the newest products to their employees. In an effort to combat their complaints about being "guinea pigs", Nanotrasen also offers one of the most comprehensive medical plans in SolGov space, up to and including cloning and therapy.

Ward-Takahashi General Manufacturing Conglomerate Consumer Manufacturing Electronics, software, vehicles, weaponry, furniture, and the kitchen sink Ward-Takahashi focuses on the sale of small consumer electronics, with its computers, communicators, and even mid-class automobiles a fixture of many households. Less famously, Ward-Takahashi also supplies most of the AI cores on which vital control systems are mounted, and it is this branch of their industry that has led to their tertiary interest in the development and sale of high-grade AI systems. Ward-Takahashi’s economies of scale frequently steal market share from NanoTrasen’s high-price products, leading to a bitter rivalry in the consumer electronics market.

Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals Pharmaceuticals Giant Medicine and medical equipment Zeng-Hu is an old TSC, based in Earth itself. Until the discovery of Phoron, Zeng-Hu maintained a stranglehold on the market for medications, and many household names are patented by Zeng-Hu-- Bicaridyne, Dylovene, and Tricordrazine all came from a Zeng-Hu medical laboratory. Zeng-Hu’s fortunes have been in decline as NanoTrasen’s near monopoly on Phoron research cuts into their R&D and Vey-Med’s superior medical equipment effectively decimated their own equipment interests. The three-way rivalry between these companies for dominance in the medical field is well-known and a matter of constant economic speculation.

Gilthari Exports Luxury Consumables Alcohol and luxuries Gilthari is Sol’s premier supplier of luxury goods, specializing in extracting money from the rich and successful. Their largest holdings are in gambling, but they maintain subsidiaries in everything from VR equipment to luxury watches. Their holdings in mass media are a smaller but still important part of their empire. Gilthari is known for treating its positronic employees very well, sparking a number of conspiracy theories. The gorgeous FBP model that Gilthari provides them is a symbol of the corporation’s wealth and reach ludicrous prices when available on the black market, with licit ownership of the chassis limited, by contract, to employees.

Vey-Medical Medical Equipment Bitter contender for the medical market, inventor of cloning Vey-Med is one of the newer TSCs on the block and is notable for being largely owned and operated by Skrell. Despite the suspicion and prejudice leveled at them for their alien origin, Vey-Med has obtained market dominance in the sale of medical equipment-- from surgical tools to large medical devices to the Odysseus trauma response mecha and everything in between. Their equipment tends to be top-of-the-line, most obviously shown by their incredibly human-like FBP designs. Vey’s rise to stardom came from their introduction of resurrective cloning, although in recent years they’ve been forced to diversify as their patents expired and NanoTrasen-made medications became essential to modern cloning.

Hephaestus Industries Arms Industry Security supplies, security contracts, lots and lots of weapons Hephaestus Industries is the largest supplier of arms, ammunition, and small military vehicles in Sol space. Hephaestus products have a reputation for reliability, and the corporation itself has a noted tendency to stay removed from corporate politics. They enforce their neutrality with the help of a fairly large asset-protection contingent which prevents any contracting polities from using their own materiel against them. SolGov itself is one of Hephaestus’ largest bulk contractors owing to the above factors.

Grayson Manufactories Ltd. Mining and Construction Raw minerals to building materials Grayson is the largest bulk parts supplier in SolGov space, with significant secondary interests in mining. While unable to obtain total market dominance owing to the ease of setting up competing operations, Grayson’s vertical integration of the market gives them a competitive edge, frequently building factories on the same asteroids they mine out. Many other TSCs have Grayson parts at the beginning of their chain of supply.

Aether Atmospherics and Recycling Green Giant Atmospherics equipment and green technologies Aether has found its niche in bulk gas collection and supply. They conduct atmospheric mining of gas giants and sell the products to space colonies throughout the galaxy and to the various low-grade terraforming operations on Sol’s garden worlds. Aether is headquartered on Titan, and the success of this home-grown TSC gives hope to many Titaners who want increased self-reliance for Titan.

Morpheus Cyberkinetics Cybernetics Corp Cybernetics for cybernetics - Positronic focus The only large corporation run by positronic intelligences, Morpheus caters almost exclusively to their sensibilities and needs. A product of the synthetic colony of Shelf, Morpheus eschews traditional advertising to keep their prices low and relied on word of mouth among positronics to reach their current economic dominance. Morpheus in exchange lobbies heavily for positronic rights, sponsors positronics through their Jans-Fhriede test, and tends to other positronic concerns to earn them the good-will of the positronics, and the ire of those who wish to exploit them. Morpheus is also known for a deeply sarcastic sense of humor, in part inspired by their Mercurial leanings.

Xion Manufacturing Group Industrial Equipment and Heavy Duty Cybernetics Function over form Xion, quietly, controls most of the market for industrial equipment. Their portfolio includes mining exosuits, factory equipment, rugged positronic chassis, and other pieces of equipment vital to the function of the economy. Xion keeps its control of the market by leasing, not selling, their equipment, and through infamous and bloody patent protection lawsuits. Xion are noted to be a favorite contractor for SolGov engineers, owing to their low cost and rugged design.

Minor TSCs

Bishop Cybernetics High Quality Cybernetics High-quality augmentations Bishop’s focus is on high-class, stylish cybernetics. A favorite among transhumanists (and a bête noire for bioconservatives), Bishop manufactures not only prostheses but also brain augmentation, synthetic organ replacements, and odds and ends like implanted wrist-watches. Their business model tends towards smaller, boutique operations, giving it a reputation for high price and luxury, with Bishop cyberware often rivaling Vey-Med’s for cost. Bishop’s reputation for catering towards the interests of human augmentation enthusiasts instead of positronics have earned it ire from the Positronic Rights Group and puts it in ideological (but not economic) competition with Morpheus Cyberkinetics.

Oculum Broadcast Media Giant News from all across the spectrum Oculum owns approximately 30% of Sol-wide news networks, including microblogging aggregate sites, network and comedy news, and even old-fashioned newspapers. Staunchly apolitical, they specialize in delivering the most popular news available– which means telling people what they already want to hear. Oculum is a specialist in branding, and most people don't know that the reactionary Daedalus Dispatch newsletter and the radically transhuman Liquid Steel webcrawler are controlled by the same organization.

Focal Point Energistics Energy Supply All things electrical Focal Point casts a wide net over the various markets relating to electrical power. Primarily catering towards the developing market, they supply both electrical power itself (using a massive fleet of FTL-equipped solar arrays) and the generators, APC control chips, and other amenities that help ensure loyal clientele.

Centauri Provisions Food Conglomerate The largest brands of food and drink - most of them are Centauri Headquartered in Alpha Centauri, Centauri Provisions made a name in the snack-food industry primarily by being the first to focus on colonial holdings. The various brands of Centauri snackfoods are now household names, from SkrellSnaks to Space Mountain Wind to the ubiquitous and edible Bread Tube. Their staying power is legendary, and many spacers have grown up on a mix of their cheap crap and protein shakes.

Stealth Assault Enterprises Mercenaries “Asset Recovery” and guns for hire SAARE have consistently the worst reputation of any TSC. This is because they are a paramilitary group specializing in deniability and secrecy. Although publically they work in asset recovery, they have a substantiated reputation for info-theft and piracy that has lead to them butting heads with the law on more than one occasion. Nonetheless, they are an invaluable part of the Solar economy, and other TSCs and small colonial governments keep them in business.

Proxima Centauri Risk Control Private Security Asset protection firm with legendary discernment PCRC is the softer, PR-friendlier version of SAARE, specializing in defense and security ops. PCRC is a favorite for those with more money than troops, such as certain colonial governments and other TSCs. Competition with SAARE is fairly low, as PCRC enjoys its reputation because SAARE exists. PCRC is also known for corporate bodyguarding and other low-risk security operations.

Einstein Engines Fallen Energy King Engine designs, emergency generators, and old memories Einstein is an old company that has survived through rampant respecialization. In the age of phoron-powered exotic engines and ubiquitous solar power, Einstein makes its living through the sale of engine designs for power sources it has no access to and emergency fission or hydrocarbon power supplies. Accusations of corporate espionage against research-heavy corporations like NanoTrasen and its chief rival Focal Point are probably unfounded.

Wulf Aeronautics Shipwrights The backbone of modern spacefleet construction Wulf Aeronautics is the chief producer of transport and hauling spacecraft. A favorite contractor of SolGov, Wulf manufactures most of their diplomatic and logistics craft, and does a brisk business with most other TSCs. The quiet reliance of the economy on their craft has kept them out of the spotlight and uninvolved in other corporations’ back-room dealings.

Major Bill's Transportation Transport Shipping and passenger transit giant with an annoying mascot The most popular courier service and starliner, Major Bill’s is an unassuming corporation whose greatest asset is their low cost and brand recognition. Major Bill’s is known, perhaps unfavorably, for its mascot, Major Bill, a cartoonish military figure that spouts quotable slogans. Their motto is “With Major Bill's, you won't pay major bills!”, an earworm much of the galaxy longs to forget.

Kaleidoscope Cosmetics The Genetic Frontier Textiles, personal care, and cosmetic genetic modification. The newest TSC on the galactic stage, Kaleidoscope products are already found almost everywhere in human space, with a massive market share in personal care and textile products. Originally known for their high-quality ingredients and natural fibres obtained through genetically modified plants and animals, in recent years the company has branched into the emerging market for cosmetic body modifications, pushing the envelope - or the limit - on what the Five Points allow, and has immediately come under Transgressive Technologies Commission scrutiny.