Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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Silk Holdings

Corporation Name: Silk Holdings

Headquarters: Drogheda. Silk’s Drogheda headquarters includes a Lagrange-point shipyard and a sprawling, well-defended starbase city on the planet. Kallea Port, as it’s known (after legendary hyperspace explorer Freia Kallea), is the largest spaceport on the Mara Corridor, and wholly owned by Silk. Kallea Port encompasses landing fields and construction facilities all across a patch of Droghedan desert. Surface hyperloops and hovertrains connect Kallea Port with Drogheda’s great cities and palaces. Kallea Port is open only to traffic from Silk’s contractors and business partners.

Locations:
Mara Corridor and Environs
The Mara Corridor is a super-hyperlane, the first created in thousands of years. Silk created it and grew around it. At nineteen separate starbases, Silk offers docking, fueling, medical, repair, and shipbuilding facilities from the Death Wind Corridor to the Perlemian. Silk also employs a network of former Omega Protectorate hyperspace monitoring buoys to track major traffic (such as fleets) and provide forewarning. A number of minor and midsize shipyards are found along the Corridor. Major hubs include Dressel (particularly Moreau Station, former home of the Vagrant Fleet), Drogheda (whose surface and Lagrangian shipyards constitute Silk’s headquarters), Daalang (which also boasts a RimSAR regional search-and-rescue hangar), Saleucami, Void Station, Ukio (Silk’s former headquarters, as of several years ago), and Boz Pity. The Mara Corridor connects the Perlemian Trade Route to the Corellian Run and the Death Wind Corridor.
Manaan -- For many years now, Silk has been the sole exporter of kolto and kolcta from Manaan. Silk’s Ahto City and Hrakert Rift facilities have weathered multiple invasions, and it was Silk that assisted Grandmaster Kiskla Grayson in the repair of Ahto City. To maintain kolto production, it was also Silk that arranged for ancient Firaxa sharks to come from other kolto-producing worlds after the death of the Progenitor at the hands of the One Sith. Selkath are employed by Silk at every level.
HALCYON Network -- Silk maintains ‘space train’ transit/trade connectivity throughout the Mara Corridor, and connecting the Corridor to Manaan.

Companion Clusters
Using and creating proprietary hyperroutes, Silk has spent many years facilitating trade within the Rishi Maze. Silk products and services are found throughout the Maze, forming an ubiquitous touchstone for the Maze’s explorers. Silk subsidiary Reardon Mining also has a strong presence in the Maze. Silk likewise maintains a presence in Companions Esk and Grek, using proprietary hyperroutes to facilitate exploration and trade in these risky and desolate regions. A RimSAR node at Kamino provides the Maze with at least some access to search-and-rescue services.
HALCYON Network -- Silk maintains ‘space train’ transit/trade connectivity throughout the Rishi Maze.

Mon Calamari Territory
Dac -- In the long years since the fall of the Sith Empire, Silk has spearheaded the return of the Mon Calamari diaspora to their forcibly depopulated homeworld. For several years, Silk owned and refitted the great Dac shipyards, before selling them to Mon Cal interests. Silk maintains strong relationships with nearby Mon Calamari colonies, including Ruisto and the Tidal Circuit, and keeps portions of its shipbuilding capacity on this territory.
HALCYON Network -- Silk maintains ‘space train’ transit/trade connectivity throughout Mon Calamari territory. This has been instrumental in the repopulation of Dac.

Corporate Sector and Levantine Wild Space
Etti IV -- The capital of the Corporate Sector, Etti IV is Silk’s largest customer in the region. For many years now, Silk has provided Etti IV with system-level resources, including customs stations and defensive technology. Etti IV functions as Silk’s regional distribution node, giving access to major worlds throughout the Corporate Sector.
Iferetes -- Silk has a longstanding near-monopoly on the kolto produced on Iferetes.
Levantine Wild Space -- Silk was instrumental in opening the region now called Levantine Wild Space, part of which is overseen by the Silver Sanctum Coalition. Silk maintains a well-defended, proprietary hyperroute to Laekia, a route which is much quicker than its competitors. Laekia, the moons of Kyrikal, Hagron’s World and other nearby planets rely on Silk for their connection to the galaxy, the more so since the Levantine Sanctum merged with the Silver Jedi Order and lost influence over the region.
Teth -- The remote planet Teth, located at the midpoint of the Triellus Trade Route and the Shag Pabol, is a trade touchstone for its region of Wild Space. Many years ago, Silk was contracted to build an extensive, secret base underground. After the client abandoned the facility, its designer, Jorus Merrill visited it and found it gutted but usable. Silk began to employ the Teth base as a waystation for transit along the Triellus, a back-road route whose popularity had grown since Baobab Astrography began selling Triellus maps. Teth is also a major location for the Silk subsidiary Rahvin.
HALCYON Network -- Silk maintains ‘space train’ transit/trade connectivity throughout former Levantine Sanctum territory, including large portions of Silver Sanctum Coalition territory, and the entire Corporate Sector.

Tion Cluster and Environs
Lianna -- A highly developed world, centerpiece of the Tion Cluster, Lianna is essentially owned by Santhe Corporation. Silk’s longstanding business relationship with Santhe has increased Silk’s presence on Lianna. Silk’s Lianna facilities allow distribution and outreach to the entire Tionese region, including major worlds like Chandaar, Jaminere, Voss, Raxus, and Desevro. Regionally, Silk’s products benefit from Santhe’s immense distribution network.
HALCYON Network -- Silk maintains ‘space train’ transit/trade connectivity throughout former Tion Hegemony territory, connecting with the Perlemian Trade Route, the Mara Corridor, and the Tion Trade Nexus.

Unknown Regions and Environs
Verkuyl -- One of two bacta-producing worlds in the galaxy, Verkuyl was rediscovered by Silk and re-connected with the galaxy. Silk, through longstanding Vratix partnerships and the brand name Consolidated Bacta Ltd., controls virtually all bacta production on Verkuyl.
Annaj -- A regional trade nexus and former capital of the Fringe Confederation, Annaj is Silk’s local operations hub.
HALCYON Network -- Silk maintains ‘space train’ transit/trade connectivity throughout former Fringe Confederation territory, extending as far as Rakata Beta, the Ssi-Ruuvi star cluster, and Dasid Anya. This network is centered on Verkuyl and Annaj, connecting with the Sanctuary Pipeline, the unfinished Blood Trail, and other major routes.

Western Reaches
HALCYON Network -- Silk maintains ‘space train’ transit/trade connectivity throughout former Omega Protectorate territory, including all current Galactic Alliance territory. This network connects with the Corellian Trade Spine, Rimma Trade Route, and Hydian Way. It focuses on major worlds like Fondor, Thyferra, Sullust, Sluis Van, and Naboo.

The Moross Badlands and the Kathol Outback
Ceto -- Silk has a longstanding near-monopoly on the kolto produced on Ceto.
Dayark -- Silk has top secret connections to a location on Dayark, a major world of the isolated Kathol Republic.
HALCYON Network -- Silk maintains ‘space train’ transit/trade connectivity throughout former Moross Crusade territory, including all current Black Rose territory, connecting worlds as far-flung as Kal’Shebbol, Ceto, Exocron, and Demonsgate. Note that any hyperspace transit to Exocron and Demonsgate takes several months at the best of times, even with much faster hyperdrives than HALCYON trains can boast. Note also that passage through the Kathol Rift is psychologically difficult. Suffice it to say that, after the Moross collapse, trains to Demonsgate run regularly but infrequently.

Operations:

  • Hyperlane creation and service provision (starbase operation, fuelling, starship repair/maintenance, recreation, etc.).

  • HALCYON ‘space trains’. The HALCYON mass transit/shipping network connects most of the galaxy, including half the Unknown Regions and the Rishi Maze. At one point or another, HALCYON networks connect directly with all six super-hyperroutes: the Perlemian, the Corellian Run, the Corellian Trade Spine, the Hydian Way, the Rimma, and the Mara Corridor.

  • Shipbuilding, with a sideline in speeders.

  • Shipyard creation. Over the years, Silk has built the primary shipyards for several major governments and corporations.

  • Kolto. Silk has a virtual galactic monopoly on kolto, and (at this time) a complete monopoly on kolcta.

  • Bacta. Silk has a virtual monopoly on the bacta produced by the planet Verkuyl.

  • Investment and development, including the Silk Family of Companies program, which has involved combinations of sponsorship, partnership, and/or partial ownership. At various points, many immense corporations have been under the Silk umbrella in one way or another, before most were spun off at a profit for all concerned. These include Mon Calamari Shipyards, Eshan Drive Yards, Rahvin Industries, Akure Executive Interstellar, Iron Crown Enterprises, Reardon Metalworks, Baobab Astrography, and RimSAR, among others.
Rationale:
Overview
Silk Holdings is the original Tier Six corporation. It was created by Alndys ‘Alna’ Merrill (née D’Lessio) and Jorus Merrill, the explorers who carved out the Mara Corridor. Originally, Silk was designed as a means of consolidating the many space stations and facilities acquired along the Corridor. With the unprecedented revenue of the only privately owned super-hyperlane in the galaxy, not to mention the first such route to be built in around four thousand years, Silk expanded rapidly and consistently. Entire interstellar corporations have been built from the gleanings of Silk routes’ secondary service opportunities. Thus far, with the exception of occasional violence on Manaan, Silk has completely avoided the damage of the galaxy’s great wars, while profiting from them through shipbuilding and service contracts on a largely neutral basis. Silk provides essential services to the entire Rim and several of the galaxy’s wealthiest regions (primarily the Tion Cluster and the Corporate Sector), and its stock has risen consistently since the IPO.

Shareholder History
The original shareholders were Jorus Merrill (45%), Alna D’Lessio Merrill (45%), and a Nautolan named Qae Shena (10%). After a relatively short amount of time, the Nautolan’s partnership was edged out and his shares redistributed, putting Jorus and Alna at 50% each.

Eventually, the Merrills realized that they had preferred their old lives as explorers and salvagers. They put 10% of Silk in trust for their young daughter Mara, and handed the rest over to a family member and a longstanding employee, gratis. The resulting shareholders were Aldiel D’Lessio (45%), Selka Ventus (45%), and Mara D’Lessio Merrill (10%, managed by a trust).

After a tenure as CEO, Selka handed her share of the corporate reins to the reclusive Aldiel, and sold her stock in Silk. She ensured that the company would remain in the hands of the founders’ appointed successor, and used most of her shares as an IPO (initial public offering) to officially put Silk stock on the market -- a process which netted an obscene amount of money for both Selka and the company. Later, Mara Merrill came of age and began exercising her rights as a stockholder.

The current shareholders are Aldiel D’Lessio (51%), Mara Merrill (10%), Danger Arceneau (5%), and the heirs of the deceased Jared Ovmar (5%). The remaining 29% is publicly traded.

Tier: 6

Description:
Mandate
Silk’s mandate, as laid down by its founders, is to bring freedom of transportation to the galaxy. Silk has been instrumental in re-connecting far-flung worlds, pulling them out of the isolation of the Dark Age. Its proprietary routes and transportation networks have been the foundation of major governments. Silk charges reasonable tariffs, and pioneered the ‘ugly freighter principle’ espoused by Jorus Merrill: make ships as cheap as possible, and sell them everywhere. Affordable vessels like the Tachyon, Washburne, and Tempus Ardet classes have made interstellar mobility and opportunity available to millions of families. Meanwhile, the elite designs of the master shipwright Alna Merrill have contributed to the immense success of interstellar transportation corporations like Arceneau Trade. Also, Silk’s proprietary modular shipyard designs have allowed several massive governments and corporations to drastically increase production of their own starships. Thanks to Silk, the underprivileged and desperate across large portions of the galaxy can often find access to a host of cheap transit options.

Hyperlane Construction Division
Although Jorus Merrill no longer works for Silk, a number of proprietary hyperlanes were forged under his administration. In the long years since then, Silk has become one of the galaxy’s top employers of hyperspace explorers. Its status as the only corporation to ever build a private super-hyperlane has been challenged, but not successfully, by the dangerous, unfinished Iron Crown/AEI ‘Blood Trail’ route through the Unknown Regions. Silk maintains ongoing agreements with Merrill’s small mapping company, Baobab Astrography, by which Silk fleshes out and develops newly discovered routes while offering Baobab logistical support and office space. The Baobab arrangement, however, is a sideline subcontract. Silk’s staff of explorers is nearly unmatched. Many have their roots in the Vagrant Fleet, or have trained at the Levantine Astronautical Academy, where Merrill was once an instructor.

Hyperlane Service Division
Along the Mara Corridor and various other proprietary routes, Silk offers a wide variety of services to independent shippers. Jorus Merrill was known to remark that he and his wife had built an intergalactic empire of truck stops. Food, fuel, entertainment, repair, refit -- you name it, Silk and its associates can provide, based on everything from Shokita and Chaavla stations to ancient Cardan Fours and XQ platforms. The Mara Corridor boasts gas stations from Mara TibX and Fuels, confectionaries from Mirai Cookies, and services from a host of other providers through longstanding agreements with Silk. Through its subsidiary Rimsoo Search and Rescue (RimSAR), Silk offers free rescue services along its lanes, or a subscription service that reclaims vessels as well as surviving crew. More than one pirate crew has found it necessary to cut short a raid before they can take the spoils, and there’s no pirate flotilla in the ‘verse that can match a Silk patrol group for firepower and regional awareness.

RimSAR subscription services dovetail with Silk’s omnipresent repair/refit operations and hyperspace monitoring functions. It’s entirely possible to experience a crippling accident or pirate attack near the Mara Corridor, have rescue teams on-scene in minutes, get transported safely to a Silk station within hours, and have your ship fixed within days. A basic level of safe service is guaranteed to any traveller on the Corridor; for those who can pay, all sorts of expedited features are available. Silk also retains good relationships with multiple ship insurance firms. If your coverage is good enough, you could walk out the door with a replacement Silk vessel in a matter of hours.

Protection Division
Silk’s Protection Division handles procurement, logistics, staffing, and command functions for the company’s patrol forces. Silk has been known to deploy full-scale warfleets in order to protect its interests. Bel Iblis-class command ships and Ackbar-class heavy cruisers feature prominently. The largest combat fleet ever deployed by Silk totalled roughly 18,000 metres, a force amassed from reserve assets without compromising far-flung defenses. Silk’s exact naval strength is unknown below the executive level, but suffice it to say that even its remotest facilities have access to sufficient defensive assets. Silk does not wish to project a militant image. Most travellers on Silk routes, even when danger threatens, never see more than a few patrol ships or the occasional Bel Iblis with escorts. Protection Division often provides paid escort for convoys and personal transports, along or near Silk routes. Many Protection Division employees are veterans from the Omega Defense Force, or have trained in naval tactics at the Levantine Astronautical Academy.

Silk’s Protection Division has little significant deployable ground strength, apart from the security forces assigned to the corporation’s few planetside bases. Silk simply doesn’t land armies. The company does, however, employ high-quality space combat specialist teams for anti-pirate and counter-boarding operations. Silk also has a longstanding security contract with Firemane for certain routes.

Outreach Division
Silk has a complex code of ethics and best practices covering first contact, import/export, and extraction procedures relative to newly re-discovered worlds. Silk’s leadership faces serious questions regarding the appropriateness of connecting re-discovered worlds to the galaxy. A few worlds, pre-technological or otherwise vulnerable, are kept secret at various levels, as per longstanding directives from the founders. In general, however, if Silk errs it does so on the side of connectivity. Silk is a corporation, not a humanitarian organization; to sustain itself, it must turn a profit. In general, when a lost world is rediscovered, Silk offers products and services while evaluating the planet and star system. Frequently, less-developed worlds are nurtured as potential customers and partners while other portions of their star systems are charted and mined. Many employees in Outreach Division have trained in ethics and first contact issues at the Levantine Astronautical Academy.

There is a cost to local industries, which often can’t compete with offworld products for quality and pricing. However, since Silk is interested in long-term transit connectivity, secondary industries (hospitality, etc.) tend to grow rapidly, and Silk attempts to avoid ‘resource curse’ situations when possible, so as to nurture a large customer base. On most worlds, the result is arguably a net benefit for both Silk and the locals, especially considering the increased quality of life that comes with mass import of kolto, bacta, and kolcta.

Outreach Division works closely with Hyperlane Construction Division.

Pharmaceuticals Division
When it comes to protecting the integrity of kolto, kolcta, and bacta production, Silk can be merciless in exercising its responsibilities. Silk is, at this point, the galaxy’s largest aggregate provider of these pharmaceuticals, though Omega StarCorp’s Thyferran holdings still have the edge so far as bacta is concerned. Broadly speaking, kolto is less effective than bacta, which is less effective than kolcta, which is less effective than the very rare, obscenely expensive, somewhat dangerous aspha serum. Silk has no aspha interests, but as the modern reinventor of kolcta, Silk is in a position to provide merely excellent, reliable pharmaceuticals to the entire galaxy. Thanks to Silk, kolto and bacta are available and affordable virtually anywhere.

One third of the proceeds of Verkuyl’s bacta production are, by longstanding agreement, held by Santhe Corporation. Santhe’s distribution network works closely with Pharmaceuticals Division and Hyperlane Service Division.

Shipwright Division
Silk is a noted shipwright. However, it uses a number of small-to-medium-capacity yards rather than massive centralized facilities. It also prefers to keep its shipyards away from gravity wells, placing them at Lagrange points or in deep space rather than in any easily droppable position. Silk shipyards are generally mobile in extremis, with moderate notice.

Silk focuses on freighters and transports, both the affordable and the elite, including the two-thousand-metre Connestoga-class -- the galaxy’s largest freighter. Silk produces capital ships, including limited lines of command ships, and has built several starfighter lines (including the nearly unmatched Rassilon-class). Historically, Silk made a large portion of the Levantine Sanctum’s military patrol and exploration complement. Silk does a brisk business in civilian vessels of all kinds. Although Silk has created its share of military-grade hardware, including arguably the finest hyperdrives in the universe, it is not the sort of shipwright that mass-produces Star Destroyers -- at least not without a truly compelling reason. For large military hardware requests, Silk often refers customers to top-tier shipwrights like Kuat Drive Yards, Santhe/Sienar, Mandal Hypernautics, Tenloss, and Corellian Engineering Corporation. Shipwright Division also handles the corporation’s sidelines in speeders and small-scale technologies.

Shipwright Division draws from the legacy and teachings of Alna Merrill, one of the great modern designers of civilian vessels, whose creations still have few equals. Many of the company’s senior shipwrights are ethnic Mon Calamari, and that design aesthetic permeated the company during the period when Silk owned the Dac shipyards. Although Silk’s lines of affordable freighters are not obviously Mon Calamari in aesthetics, many of Silk’s other vessels have follows those design principles or even been collaborative efforts with Mon Calamari Shipyards. For example:

  • The MC15 Niathal-class, possibly the galaxy’s best-selling shuttlecraft.

  • The Cilghal-class medical ships, once mainstays of the Republic in a more civilized age.

  • The MC33 Leechar-class modular yachts, beloved of starliner cruise firms.

  • The MC42 Ruisto-class exploration frigates, a common sight at the Rimward end of the Perlemian.

  • The MC70 Ackbar-class cruisers, noted starliners and immensely durable combatants, used to disproportional effect by the Underground at the Second Battle of Taloraan.

  • The MC180 Remembrance-class command ships, which saw heavy use against the Sith Empire and the One Sith.

  • The MC220 Bel Iblis-class, the flagships of the Levantines and now used by the Silver Sanctum Coalition, as well as Silk’s own fleets.
Suffice it to say, even now that the Dac shipyards are back in the hands of the Mon Calamari people, Silk’s shipwrights retain institutional mastery over Mon Calamari design principles.

Transportation Infrastructure Division
Silk is known for employing two varieties of vehicles that are colloquially known as ‘space trains.’ The first is the Reclaimer-class modular repair vessel, the visionary flagship product whose design auction raised much of Silk’s seed money. Long after Silk’s star had ascended and the buyer’s had waned, Silk bought back the rights to the design for a relatively low amount. Reclaimer space trains are often employed by Silk, ATC, and other major conglomerates, and are a common sight on most super-hyperlanes.

The second is the HALCYON system, a network of hyperjump relays and skyhook space elevators which can ferry modular trains from planetary surface to planetary surface. The HALCYON space trains make interplanetary mass transit much more affordable for the people of the galaxy. HALCYON skyhooks and standalone relay points can be found throughout the Rim, as well as portions of Wild Space, half the Unknown Regions, and even portions of the Rishi Maze. HALCYON networks link to every super-hyperlane. Through the HALCYON network, an average person can sit down on a train, get hoisted into orbit, go through a couple of dozen waystations and redirections, and step off that train just about anywhere else in the galaxy. It may take a while, sometimes a matter of weeks or even months, but it’s the cheapest possible way of traveling the stars. Silk’s Transportation Infrastructure Division maintains HALCYON facilities throughout former Omega Protectorate, Fringe Confederation, Moross Crusade, and Levantine Sanctum territory, along with the Tion Cluster, the Corporate Sector, Mon Calamari space, the Kathol Outback, the Rishi Maze, and the Mara Corridor, among others. HALCYON shipping connects, directly or indirectly, with every major hyperspace route. Transportation Infrastructure Division is among Silk’s largest and most lucrative divisions, and for a company that owns a super-hyperlane and a couple of galactic pharmaceutical monopolies, that’s saying something.

Other Divisions
Silk maintains other divisions appropriate to a corporation of this size, in order to serve various legal, logistical, research, and support functions.

Subsidiaries:

  • Reardon Metalworks (T2) - A wholly owned mining subsidiary, providing Silk with many of its raw materials in remote areas, and permitting major prospecting operations in new territory.

  • Rimsoo Search and Rescue, a.k.a. RimSAR (T2) - A wholly owned SAR/medevac service.

  • Rahvin Industries (T3, controlled by Kyros who never restored it after the November '13 crash) - A partially owned, independently managed subsidiary, focusing on small production runs of starships and droids, as well as sponsorship of even smaller companies. Rahvin does various covert projects and generally keeps a low profile; its ties to Silk are longstanding but rarely invoked. Its main benefit to Silk is its function as a minor residual income stream, though Silk has been known to purchase Rahvin drones and mining vessels for Reardon Metalworks. Likewise, Rahvin's subsidiary McYoda's is a staple of the Mara Corridor's most discriminating palates.



As of the date of this submission, and since the initial submission, a full product list is as follows:

  • http://starwarsrp.ne...-kolcta-geltab/ -bought in massive quantities by the Sith Empire, and publicly available along the Mara Corridor or wherever Silk products are sold
  • http://starwarsrp.ne...dium-transport/ -contracted, then mass-produced, a popular freighter
  • http://starwarsrp.ne...bulk-freighter/ -sold several hundred, both stock and custom, to Arceneau Trade, Black Sun, private buyers, and even the Jedi Order
  • http://starwarsrp.ne...9-the-disciple/ -designed by Jorus
  • http://starwarsrp.ne...ssile-corvette/ -contracted by Corek for Omega Protectorate, designed by Silk Holdings under a royalty deal
  • http://starwarsrp.ne...5-speeder-bike/ -probably the only publicly available and non-faction-affiliated speeder bike on the board
  • http://starwarsrp.ne...k-6-swoop-bike/ -probably the only publicly available and non-faction-affiliated swoop bike on the board
  • http://starwarsrp.ne...mbat-cloud-car/ -probably the only publicly available combat cloud car on the board
  • http://starwarsrp.ne...ss-starfighter/ -a publicly available starfighter line
  • http://starwarsrp.ne...ss-interceptor/ -a publicly available interceptor line
  • http://starwarsrp.ne...loration-craft/ -a publicly available exploration craft
  • http://starwarsrp.ne...-mining-vessel/ -created specifically for Silk's internal use
  • http://starwarsrp.ne...loration-craft/ -a frequently sold elite transport
  • http://starwarsrp.ne...onramp-halcyon/ -a revolutionary attempt to reduce the costs of cargo transport and mass interstellar transit
Company: Silk Holdings
Modification Made: Rewrote the submission and fleshed it out somewhat
Rationale: The existing submission was two years old. It still referenced things like the Sith Empire, and mentioned Jorus as an owner and so forth. Plus, frankly, standards for completeness have increased since last time around.

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