AETHER SYSTEMS
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Zef Halo
made this div and I got it LEGALLY
AETHER ETERNAL
Few corporate names in the Galaxy have endured as much turbulence - or as many regime changes - as Aether Systems. In the chaotic events following the collapse of the Coreworlds, when entire Sectors fell into political freefall and once-dominant corporations fractured under economic shockwaves, Aether Systems did something few megaconglomerates managed: it survived. Not only did it survive - it adapted, migrated, and ultimately re-forged its identity within the stern but opportunity-rich framework of the Mandalorian Empire. Today, Aether Systems stands as one of Ferrix's most influential industrial and technological pillars, a symbol of how ruthless pragmatism combined with clever engineering could carve space for prosperity amid galactic upheaval.
During the Alliance era, Aether Systems specialized in the design and manufacturing of Starships, as well as Megastructures, and was known for being the engineering masterminds behind such structures as the Keera Major Orbital Array and the Sky Trenches of Endor. With the loss of the Coreworlds and the Galactic Alliance beginning to fracture, Aether Systems faced a triple crisis. Contracts defaulted as planetary governments dissolved, and completed orders remained in drydock waiting to be transported or purchased by other interested parties. Supply chains began to collapse as those few stable hyperlanes remaining after the Planeshift were heavily contested. Finally, internal divisions sharpened, with several regional subsidiaries attempting to secede from the company. When the Galactic Empire surged through the Core and consolidated control, many corporations were dismantled, nationalized, or absorbed. Aether Systems' executives realized the company's survival required more than retrenchment - it required relocation to a stable power with both appetite and capacity for technological expansion.
Aether Systems survived through a strategy that insiders later called "Corporate Hibernation". Instead of resisting or attempting to profit aggressively from Imperial demands, the company dissolved several of its high-profile divisions - specifically the Keera Major Orbital Array - before transferring most operations to shell companies. It quietly evacuated key research staff and personnel to new facilities in the Unknown Regions and Wild Space, and allowed the Empire to assume it was functionally irrelevant. By the time anyone realized the company still existed, it was already deep within the Mandalorian Empire.
Ferrix, known for its rugged independence, industrial culture, and resilience under successive regimes, was not an obvious choice at first. However, after the rise of the Mandalorian Empire, the world became a strategic hub - valued for its skilled labor force, shipyard infrastructure, and local respect for craftsmanship and discipline. When Aether Systems arrived on Ferrix under a limited Mandalorian charter, many locals met them with suspicion. Corporations had exploited Ferrix before; Ferrix never forgot. But Aether Systems did something unusual: they integrated rather than imposed. They reopened abandoned foundries, repaired heat-scarred fabrication lines, and - most importantly - hired Ferrixian Laborers not as temp workers but as long-term partners. Their leadership adopted a local organizational structure emphasizing craft-mastery, guild systems, and operational transparency - practices the Ferrixian community valued deeply.
The Mandalorian Empire's expansion has created enormous demand for Starships and Vehicles. Aether Systems filled these needs with speed and precision as they were contracted to produce a series of smaller crafts for the Mandalorians. The M5-A Scyk-type Interceptor was the first delivered; a highly modular Interceptor that was easily produced in mass quantities, and was colloquially known as the Mando TIE or Mandalorian TIE Fighter. This was followed in short order by the M15-A Kimogila-type Heavy Starfighter, whose design was largely inspired by the successful Aether GS-01 and BTL-S10 K-wings - both previously designed and manufactured by Aether Systems for the Galactic Alliance. The Kom'rk-type Combat Transport was the largest of the three designs produced under the contract with the Mandalorian Empire - it was often compared to a Corvette rather than a tride-and-true Transport, though still retained many of the original design features and aesthetics of its predecessors. The final production line of the contract to be completed was the M42-A Krayt-type Gunship.
During this time, while the core of Aether Systems was focused on designing the new line of vessels in contract with the Mandalorians, a small group was tasked with creating a vessel that could push the boundaries of the unknown. This team of designers and engineers eventually created the DSS-10 Ka'ra-type Surveyor Ship for the Mandalorian Star Corps with the intent of pushing the boundaries of a recently shifted and chaotic galaxy. This same design team would later revisit the original blueprints of this vessel when the Mandalorian Empire announced the formation of the Iron Wolves - a new take on the otherwise ancient traditions of Force Users by placing an emphasis on and infusing the teachings of the Force with the Mandalorian Culture and Ethos - resulting in the production of the DSS-22 Ba'jur-type Tho Yor.
The arrangement between the Mandalorian Empire and Aether Systems strengthened both sides: The Mandalorians gained a reliable industrial engine, and Aether Systems gained stability, resources, and security. Mandalorian leaders valued competence and reliability more than corporate allegiance, allowing Aether Systems to operate with minimal interference. What mattered was results - and Aether delivered.
Despite its resilience, the Galactic Alliance had been embroiled in a protracted war for years with few - if any - moments of peace and prosperity between and had suffered repeated setbacks, continuous defeats, and faltering morale due to the near-endless conflicts over the years with the Mandalorians, Dark Empire, Sith Order, and now the Galactic Empire. The strength of the Galactic Alliance had been dwindling, and fractures had shown for years - when the Alliance went to defend the world of Atrisia, the dam broke, and the Galactic Alliance collapsed. This event was catastrophic for many Coreworld-based organizations hoping for stability, and the political collapse triggered massive market implosions in multiple Star Systems, territorial reshuffling as planets attempted to claim neighboring systems to bolster their own resources and defenses, spikes in piracy, and loss of intersystem communication networks. Aether Systems survived only because it had already abandoned the Core - its distributed operations allowed it to absorb the shock while competitors evaporated.
After the Alliance's fall, Aether Systems is no longer the sleek, politically entangled Corporate Technocracy it once was. It has evolved into something more rugged, adaptable, and quietly influential. The company is characterized by the deep Ferrixian cultural integration, with guild-masters and Ferrix-born engineers occupying senior leadership. It has adopted a hybrid Mandalorian design philosophy, prioritizing durability, modularity, and battlefield repairability. A reputation for honor contracts, a trait valued in a galaxy where trust is often in short supply. Ferrix residents have begun to refer to the company as "Aether Ferrix" rather than the older name, a subtle acknowledgement that the corporation has become part of the planet's social and industrial identity.
During its rebirth, the company returned to its roots of niche products and also began to take on more industrialized and specialized vessels, further deepening the Ferrixian culture into the fabric of the Corporation. The Aether GS-02 was also a rebirth - a redesigned and retrofitted variant of the older GS-01 - while the Mandalorian contract was the spark that lit the furnaces, it was the GS-02 that fanned the flames. In short order, the company was once more producing specialized vessels like the Aether MF-02 and the Aether MSS-21 - a Medical Frigate and Medical Shuttle intended to work together. These were quickly followed by the Aether FT-02 - a Fleet Tender designed to support and supply vessels in a larger fleet.
The company returned to its roots in warfare with the production of the Aether EF-60a and Aether CC-82 - both manufactured and introduced to the Galaxy in quick succession. The EF-60a is a Frigate designed to fulfill the roles of an Escort or Patrol craft, while the CC-82 was a hybrid vessel, toeing the line between a Light Cruiser and Light Carrier. What followed was the highly successful and impressive SD-30 production line that included four variants - A dedicated Carrier (SD-30a), a Command Ship (SD-30c), an Escort Destroyer (SD-30e), and a Heavy Destroyer (SD-30s). Aether Systems also produced the CR-51 production line during this time, with the designs intended to provide a suitable and reliable Corvette to the Galaxy, and included three variants of its own that included a Pocket Carrier (CR-51c), a Strike Corvette (CR-51s), and a Heavy Escort (CR-51e).
More nostalgic designs also saw a resurgence during this era - with Hapan-inspired Starships being redesigned, refitted, and put into production. The first among these was the Aether SD-M05, a variant of the Megos-class Star Destroyer. This was followed by the Aether BD-55 - a variant of the older Hapan Battle Dragon - and the Aether NC-Q01, a variant of the Hapan Nova Cruisers. There was also the Aether HC-80, itself a variant of the Quasar-class Heavy Cruiser that had been designed by upscaling the smaller Nova Cruisers. Aether Systems also produced the Aether LC-C32, a diplomatic vessel inspired by the older Consular-class Light Cruisers in use during the Old Republic.
With the company embracing the Ferrixian cultural integration, a series of more industrial-styled vessels also made an appearance. The Aether MC-19 was a mining variant of the older Aether CM-03 and was vital in tapping the resource-rich asteroids and recovering salvage from the Ferrix System. The Aether ICC-15 was a specialty-designed Intersystem Cargo Craft to haul cargo and had often been supported by Aether DCC-02, an autonomous droid cargo craft utilized to assist in moving cargo around in the Ferrix System.
Though maintaining a presence in the Unknown Regions, Aether Systems' executives speak cautiously about expansion beyond Mandalorian borders, but with the stability the Empire currently provides, the company's future looks secure. Whispers have already begun to surface of its next-generation project - codenamed Echo Anvil - that is rumored to be a new class of vehicle, one that could revolutionize frontier development. If that project succeeds, Aether Systems may become more than a survivor of past galactic collapse. It may become one of the architects of whatever galactic order emerges next.
