The Commerce Federation (CFed)
The CFed is a loosely affiliated federation of corporations who protect each other for higher profits and personal advantage. The CFed will allow any company to enter as long as the governing board agrees they may enter the federation. The CFed originates in Tetra controlled space but has expanded into systems far across the galaxy.
The CFed provides organized protection against threatening governments such as the Imperium or the Oni Empire. Such nations will often threaten commercial interests that are not native to their own nation. Members of the CFed are usually powerful enough that they have their own personal military, these private armies can be called together to fight someone who threatens any member of the CFed.
The current real threat to the CFed are the pirates of the Disari Run, an active CFed presence patrols or escorts all craft that travel through this sector. These pirates threaten to bring trade between the CFed members and the Commerce Guild of the Commonwealth to a stand still.
History
The Tetra are the largest member race in the CFed, only small pockets of Tetra are not from one of the corporations in the CFed. The Tetra left their home world, Terra, over 2000 years ago and expanded quickly into nearby systems. The Tetra expansion was slow but they encountered numerous new races in their culturally rich sector. The Tetra formed trade and commercial alliances with many races, many of whom have disappeared since the time the alliances were formed. The Imperium was encountered only 700 years ago, first contact was under optimal conditions but both sides felt uneasy about what each had to offer. The Tetra are primarily a hyper-capitalist society the Imperium were a hyper-militaristic society. Relations lasted for 200 years when it deteriorated into war. The war was devastating to the Tetra, whole worlds were destroyed including Terra. The conflict destroyed civil society, leaving them in limbo without a governing body. The only remaining organizational elements were the corporations of the outlying worlds who were spared planetary bombardment. These remaining Corporations began to fill the void left from the collapse of government, seven of the most powerful corporations even negotiated the cease fire with the Imperium.
The corporations eventually became civil society, everything was privatized and handled by either one of the large corps or by a small outsourcing company. A body was formed to organize and arbitrate between these powerful corporations, the Commerce Compact Federation is a semi-ruling body over the corporations. The CFed creates no rules except that corporations cannot openly fight each other. To arbitrate disputes the CFed possess a Judicial Department that contains judges and, feared, Justice Agents who can infiltrate and remove threatening elements to the CFed. The CFed is overseen by a board of directors and a President who is more CEO than President, and is the Commander and Chief of the Military when forces need to be marshaled. Corporations who have members on the board automatically assume their private military will be used regularly by the Justice Department and the President.
Life in this corporate society is very similar to being a member of any other nation, except that when you change companies that you work for you are in essence changing your nationality. Corporate employees work for their corporation generation-ally, and hold opinions of their parent company that are patriotic in nature. This relationship exists because corporations completely take care of their employees, they provide housing, medical, and recreational perks for all employees and expect complete loyalty. A spy is a necessary evil but amongst Tetra they are still considered scum because they betray people who have put trust in them, and it raises the questions of whether the people who hired them will trust them.
Culture
The Tetra live in a hyper-economic culture were economic status determines personal status. Corporate Citizens are the common term for citizens of the CFed, they see themselves as belonging to their parent company not the CFed. All corporate citizens live in a structured society were status or rank is very important. As a consumer society your personal worth is the second most important attribute just after your perceived rank to the corporation.
Social paradigms of the Tetra are Job, Rank, and Family. First comes the corporation because with out The Company then the other two would be nonexistant. Second is Rank, your rank with in a company determines your value and gives you power over others. This power is important to maintain face and profit to one’s self. Third is family, while third on the list all companies are generous to benefits for and required by a family. Family is important to the Corporation because family makes new consumers. The Tetra have evolved into a sexless society when it comes to merit. Only the prejudices of a specific individual may effect perceived worth.
Family and Marriage
Family is a core value to the Tetra and to CFed Corporations, who provide valuable and needed benefits to their employees. Families are ‘nuclear’ with extended family living near by but not usually with each other. With in the family the parent corporation is exemplified, and given patriotic status to ensure the next generation will continue to improve The Company.
Love is love; emotions guide corporate citizens just as any other society. Emotions cannot be allowed to rule the company and thus the person. Tetra feel love and passion and desire to mate but in acceptable society these emotions are not allowed to disrupt civil and corporate society. This produces conservative morals that espouse marriage and monogamy but the consumer world still pushes and pulls the ‘me’ factor. This tension between cultural identity and consumer identity is central to understanding the Tetra as a race. They can be selfish to the point of destruction but will always give 110% to their job.
Education
The Tetra are provided an education by the parent corporation, but all things have a cost including education. Primary education is all but free and mandatory so that Tetra will become minimum productive members of society. Advanced education is expensive but companies will provide exclusive work contracts to those who meet entrance qualifications.
Education at the primary level is taught in schools but advanced education is taught by apprenticeship in the ‘real’ world. The Tetra dislike the University concept and consider them a waste of resources. They feel training should be done hands on and not on a theoretical level. The apprentice also takes less time to train then a student.
Technology
The members of the CFed have various technology levels all are generally PL 6 but some companies possess PL 7 understanding with one technology or the other. Technology will vary with each company.
The Nano-ware initiative has just recently reached full swing. Created through negotiations by the Benari Empire and the Imperium, Nano-ware is being introduced to Tetra society and changing the way they interact with their technology. The nano-ware tech of the Imperium is quite advanced and heavily used to make their Military the dominate force in the galaxy. With the arrival of the Niephiem the need to make other militaries more effective has created an influx of technological exchange. The Imperium does not need to improve the technology of the CFed but their own self preservation has made them agree to help upgrade CFed technology. The corporations love having access to nano-ware technology but the agreement required that CFed companies make them and the Imperium required that the CFed pay a hefty royalty to make them.
Military
The CFed military is not an organized organization, they are all private contractors from member corporations. Companies who possess members on the board of the CFed or who have a siting President see their Military units take center stage in boarder patrol and defense. This is the price for have the power and prestige of the CFed seat.
The only corporate independent entity is the Justice Department, the Justice Department has it’s own budget and even makes it’s own income performing requested audits of rival companies to search for evadence of corporate malfaence. The JD is made up of Judges and Agents, agents are the bulk of the employees and they are highly trained espionage and investigation experts who have ‘High Authority’ which is a privalaged position granting a form of Diplomatic Immunity from Corporate Laws and the right to kill. Justice Agents are feared as the bogey men of the CFed.
Terra
The CFed has been in existance for 500 years in that time they have rebuild terra into a thriving trade planet which is literally a hub for travel through out the galaxy. Hundreds of corporate owned cities are scattered across the planet but the main attraction of Terra is The Mall. Terra’s moon is entirely devoted to shopping. The Mall is the largest enclosed shopping center in the galaxy, and located at a hub of galactic travel.