Corporations 

Many religions have a concept of devils: beings of ceaseless cruelty, deceit, and torment. If devils existed, I’m fairly sure they’d have nothing on an intercorporate lawyer. Even Armournauts run when they come knocking.

Commerce has shaped the Cluster since the first interstellar contacts. The Venti Republic understood earlier than most that trade was only valuable if somebody built the markets first, so they invested in ports, exchange programs, language standardisation, Venti currency, exclusive trade rights, and common commercial law. It was excellent foresight. They helped create the system that would later make them rich.

Now corporations are more powerful than most worlds. Banking, research, resource extraction, infrastructure, mercenary work, and private fleets all depend on them, while intercorporate law has become the common framework across much of the Core, Jambles, and Frontier. The megacorps agreed ordinary law was not favourable enough, so through money, force, and legalese they built their own.

Surabhi

A leading Cluster conglomerate specialising in advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, and automation technologies. Its products are ubiquitous across industrial and consumer markets, from factory systems to household assistants. Surabhi is known for lavish research investment, aggressive acquisitions, and a market position so dominant that many worlds rely on its systems before they realise they cannot afford to replace them.

Highland

The Cluster’s most prominent genetic-engineering research organisation. Officially, Highland creates no commercial products. Its work is limited to research overseen by the Superpowers under the Cluster Research Agreement and the Interplanetary Nations Coalition’s ethical research code of practice.

Many of its researchers have gone on to found their own companies, often with significant investment from Highland. Some of these companies have dubious reputations. Rumours abound: custom organisms, gene-editing kits, immortality serums, and other miracles that somehow never appear in Highland’s official reports.

Benandonner

The largest private manufacturer of Mobile Ordnance Armour in the Cluster. Only the Superpowers' domestic production can match the scale and variety of Benandonner’s output, and no MOA company can match its profits. Its products are favoured by Armournauts across the Cluster, even as they become increasingly expensive.

Its slogan? "You can't put a price on victory."

Convenient from the people who send the invoice.

Zhànchē

A private company situated in Lunar Union territory and majority-owned by the Union. Something of an experiment, Zhànchē supplements Strategic Defence Initiative production while turning a profit on Union armaments. It predominantly produces armoured fighting vehicles: armoured cars, main battle tanks, and other rugged, reliable machines built for hostile worlds and worse roads.

McCool Exo-Harness

McCool markets itself as the backbone of any military or industrial enterprise. Its exo-suits have set the standard for safety, ease of use, and performance. Its most popular product is the gravity-assist frame, which allows gravity-affected individuals to better tolerate the rigours of planetary gravity. Its patented Exo-Hosen are considered essential equipment for any modern infantry soldier.

Priestley

Priestley took power armour in a new direction. Traditionally, power armour was built for breaching and close-quarters combat. Priestley expanded the role, designing suits for general battlefield use and direct engagements with armoured fighting vehicles and mechanised offensive assets.

The strategy is risky for both the company and the wearers of its products, but it resonated with enthusiasts and professionals alike. Priestley has earned a notable place among power armour developers by pushing the field towards more versatile, multifunctional military technology.

Lanyor Legacy Creatures

The leading cultivator and curator of Terran flora and fauna in the Cluster. Known for recreating endangered and extinct organisms from Old Earth. Lanyor develops sustainable farming practices to meet high demand, and its stock includes cats, beef, and unicorns. It is considered second only to the lifeform vaults on the Temple Habitat Worlds.

Lanyor prides itself on maintaining unadulterated, authentic Old Earth specimens, as if anyone can verify that claim.

Shennong

The largest pharmaceutical conglomerate in the Cluster, believed to have originated on Old Earth. Since then, Shennong has acquired numerous major competitors and has become especially known for advances in nutrient therapies, gravity-sickness treatments, hormonal therapies, and gene supplements.

Rogue elements within the corporation were later found to have used connections with the Vox Moralis movement to market products to followers of Hiram Iskaniel. These included semen-retention supplements and a nootropic called Viscerebri. Shennong condemned the products, issued extensive recalls, paid settlements, and moved quickly to distance itself from the movement.

Corvus Engramics

A pioneer in engram technology, Corvus Engramics leads the field in systems for encoding, storing, and retrieving memories and information. Its research has helped turn theoretical neuroscience into practical applications: memory augmentation, advanced data storage, personality modelling, and other systems best left out of corporate hands.

Colloquy

A leader in neuroimaging technology and brain-computer interfaces. Its flagship product is the transcranial magnetic interface, used to treat neurological trauma, stimulate targeted brain regions, and enable thought-based system control. Depending on the licensing, Colloquy might produce a medical miracle or an interrogation tool.

SEASIDE Manufacturing

The manufacturing arm of Seaside, a private military contractor older than most nations in the Cluster. Created to supply Seaside’s armament needs, Seaside Manufacturing produces weapons and vessels at immense scale.

Seaside’s orbital installations are nations unto themselves, and its fleet rivals those of the Superpowers. Many have called Seaside the Cluster’s first true megacorporation.

Balharn Heavy Industries

The largest mining company in the Cluster and the most extensive workers’ cooperative in history. Balharn recently celebrated recruiting its thirty-five-millionth employee. It’s largely self-sufficient in manufacturing equipment and maintains significant investment in research and development.

Its future is uncertain, however, after being outbid for lucrative Frontier expansion contracts by the Lagrange Nations Assembly.

Yowcan Arms

A major defence contractor specialising in military technology, advanced weaponry, cybersecurity, and surveillance systems. Yowcan is a key supplier to both government and private defence sectors, known for heavy investment in next-generation combat systems and battlefield intelligence infrastructure. Yowcan’s greatest innovation: selling war through fancy analytics.

Summit

Summit dominates the Cluster energy market, from fossil fuels and renewables to fusion and fission reactors. Renowned for large-scale energy infrastructure, it has become a major Temple contractor.

Summit is currently involved in early research towards a Dyson sphere programme in collaboration with the Temple, a project that could secure its place within the Temple’s growing corporate hegemony.

Otanamics

A major player in quantum computing and advanced materials science, known for breakthroughs in algorithm design, encryption, and next-generation computational systems. Otanamics sells itself as the future of data security.

Gladstone Logistics

Operates one of the largest and most efficient supply chains in the Cluster, providing transport and logistics services across multiple sectors. Gladstone is known for advanced routing systems, automated warehouses, and autonomous shipping fleets. It has become crucial to the continued exploration and colonisation of the Frontier.

Nimbus Aerospace

A prominent aerospace corporation specialising in space exploration technology, satellite deployment, and space tourism. Nimbus’s interstellar research has led to ambitious projects in commercial space travel, advanced propulsion systems, and deep-space exploration.

Ryla Financial

A leading Cluster financial-services corporation providing investment banking, asset management, and insurance. Ryla is known for sophisticated financial instruments, high-stakes trading strategies, and a prominent role in Cluster financial markets and economic forecasting. It predicts disasters with impressive accuracy, usually after financing half of them.