Fesperi Trade Alliance (Fes-pear-ree Trade Alliance)
The Fesperi Trade Alliance, or FTA, is a coalition of manufacturing companies that operate throughout the Epsilon Star Cluster, specifically in the Thacarro system. Initially founded toward the end of the Quad Pirate Wars, the FTA helped maintain a stable manufacturing sector during the worst of the fighting in the Thacarro system.
In the early years of the FTA, the organization kept close ties with the Fesperi Consortium. But fears of being viewed as an extension of the Fesperi government drove the trade alliance to branch out on its own. Today, they are one of the more influential organizations in the Thacarro system.
The Early Years
The Fesperi Trade Alliance was the brainchild of Cirmall Larlane. A retired member of the FarWorlds Exploration Corps, Cirmall was used to conflict. What he found on Fesperi was a fight he couldn’t ignore.
Fesperi had rapidly become a self-sufficient colony. The economy was booming, but was under the control of three powerful companies. They maintained a combined monopoly on materials and goods for the system. Small businesses were frozen out of the market. Some of those closed their doors or sold out. The businesses that didn’t, received midnight visits by corporate enforcers.
Those predatory companies were Madsen Manufacturing, Shankar-Koga Mining, and Coreward Systems. Together they controlled 90% of the commerce in the region. The Fesperi government struggled to break the monopoly, but lacked the evidence to press charges.
The colonies were suffering, so Cirmall did something about it.
He knew to break the death grip on the economy; the government needed hard evidence of the corporations breaking trade laws. But small businesses needed protection as well, otherwise they would be squeezed until gone.
Cirmall took a lesson from history.
The retired captain organized a modern day ‘trade guild’. A loose alliance of businesses who would regulate fair prices between themselves and their customers. They charged the three rival corporations with an inflated premium. This organization, this ‘Fesperi Trade Alliance’, became a united front against corporate corruption.
But their corporate rivals weren’t content to let this new threat go unanswered. They swiftly fought back, both with a price war, and a quiet physical one. Rumors of blackmail and even assassination attempts became common news.
In the end, the hard, bloody resistance paid off.
The FTA had meticulously gathered enough evidence against the three corporations to take them to court. The Fesperi Consortium council found in their favor and broke up the three corporations. New trade laws were established in hopes to prevent this from happening once more. In the end, The FTA had broken the death grip on the economy, establishing a balanced market for the system.
Quad Pirate Wars
The Quad Pirate Wars had been in its third bloody year when the FTA won its battle in the Fesperi court system. Fighting between the four major pirate clans had reached its worst, spilling over the Epsilon systems like a bloody wave. Slipstream channels were choked with either hypermines, wide debris fields of wrecked starships, or pirate cruisers waiting for their next victim.
Ships were grounded, and outposts starved. But the FTA wouldn’t go down quietly.
Using a fleet of armed Trinity, Avernus, and Norfolk class freighters, the FTA took the fight to the pirates. What they lacked in firepower, the FTA made up for in skill and cunning.
In less than a standard Solar month, the FTA became a wild card, “fifth front” to the four-way pirate war. They broke blockades, delivering needed supplies to desperate outposts and colonies. Pirate marauders were led into traps set by rival pirate clans.
Along the way, the FTA numbers grew with help from Thova Transport Systems, and the Fesperi System Navy. By the end of that Solar year, Cirmall Larlane and the FTA may not have started the Quad Pirate War. But their influence was the turning point that brought the savage war to a conclusion.
Assets
After the Quad Pirate War, the FTA decommissioned much of its rag-tag fleet. But it still maintains a modest amount of ships to maintain the supply lines between outposts, colonies, and worlds. But ships aren’t the FTA’s greatest asset.
Of anything, that would be the collection of markets and trade centers littered across the Thacarro worlds. Owned and operated by members of the FTA, these marketplaces are a secure location for merchants to transfer, trade, and sell their wares. Mercenary companies that are also members of the FTA handle security for the markets.
Part of these FTA markets is a ‘guild house’, or meeting hall, where FTA pilots and other members can find shelter, repairs, and other supplies as needed. These guild houses, and the opportunity they provide for open discussion between member businesses and companies, are the greatest asset for the FTA.
The organization maintains its headquarters in the Devonworks district of Juno on Fesperi.
Founder
Cirmall Larlane
Current Leader
Dressa Trydeggar
Headquarters
Devonworks district of Juno on Fesperi, in Thacarro System
Primary Role
Merchant/Trade Alliance
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