Power Map

Central Authority

Overview.
The Central Authority is a council located on the most developed core worlds. It claims to represent all spacefaring peoples. In practice, its influence is strongest in the core, limited in the mid, and often ignored in the rim.

Structure.

• Councilors: Representatives from the wealthiest core worlds. Seats are permanent for founding members and rotating for others.

• Inspectorate: Issues IDs, ship registries, and tariff licenses. Inspectors are often undermanned or bribed.

• Patrols: Authority warships exist but are spread thin. They prioritize insured cargo and corporate convoys.

Methods of Power.

• Trade rules and tariffs enforce economic dependence on core ports.

• Ship registries determine who is “legal” in any given lane.

• IDs track debt, contracts, and criminal charges.

Weaknesses.
Corruption is common. Officials sell permits or erase records. Honest offices exist but lack funding and armed backing. Many rim worlds openly ignore Authority edicts.

Planetary Governments

Overview.
Every world manages itself. Priorities depend on survival needs and environment. Some planets prioritize food and water, others energy, others profit.

Structure.

• Elected Councils: Some worlds have limited democracies with narrow voting classes.

• Corporate Charters: Some planets are run entirely by a Mega-Corporation under Authority license.

• Hereditary Lords or Strongmen: On rim worlds, leaders are often warlords, syndicate bosses, or family dynasties.

Methods of Power.

• Local taxes, rationing, and security forces.

• Planetary licenses and tariffs layered on top of Authority tariffs.

• Planetary fleets are rare but militias are common.

Weaknesses.
Most governments resent Central Authority control but cannot survive without core markets, machine parts, and medical goods. Many worlds swing between rebellion and appeasement.

Mega-Corporations

Overview.
The most consistent and wealthy power in the galaxy. They are not bound by borders; they operate across worlds and regions.

Structure.

• Corporate Boards: Closed groups of shareholders or dynasties.

• Private Security Forces: Equipped like militaries, authorized to enforce corporate contracts.

• Debt Courts: Issue binding rulings that convert debt into labor contracts.

• Media Arms: Shape opinion, spread propaganda, and protect corporate interests.

Methods of Power.

• They own shipping lanes, fuel depots, and energy grids.

• They lease agriculture blocks, mines, and communication towers.

• They blacklist dissenters, preventing them from finding work or safe ports.

Weaknesses.
They rely on Central Authority for legal cover. On the rim, Syndicates outmaneuver them through intimidation and sabotage. Workers resist through strikes or defecting to Free Companies.

Syndicates and Cartels

Overview.
Decentralized criminal groups that operate openly on the rim and in secret in the core.

Structure.

• Families or Clans: Run like dynasties, controlling routes and rackets.

• Cartels: Focus on smuggling, trafficking, and contraband.

• Front Businesses: Ports, bars, and “escort companies” used for laundering.

Methods of Power.

• Fast credit loans that trap borrowers in debt.

• Smuggling and salvage theft.

• Protection rackets, controlling entire rim settlements.

• Targeted killings of rivals or defectors.

Weaknesses.
Infighting is common. Their dominance is limited by Mega-Corporations in the core and Faith Networks that shield communities from their control.

Free Companies

Overview.
Independent groups that sell services in combat, escort, or recovery. They are a necessary tool for those who cannot rely on official forces.

Structure.

• Chartered Companies: Licensed by Central Authority or Planetary Governments to operate legally.

• Freelancers: Small groups who accept jobs from whoever pays.

• Bounty Offices: Pay hunters to capture fugitives, pirates, or deserters.

Methods of Power.

• They accept contracts others cannot or will not: high-risk escorts, deep salvage, or dangerous bounties.

• They trade reliability for price; good crews are costly, bad crews may cut and run.

• Their reputation is their main weapon.

Weaknesses.
Their loyalty depends on pay. Crews dissolve often. Many companies are just one ship and a crew of drifters.

Faith Networks and Mutual Aid

Overview.
Temples, clinics, shelters, schools, and burial crews that work across borders. They operate where governments fail and profits are not guaranteed.

Structure.

• Temples: Centers of teaching, ceremony, and community leadership.

• Mutual Aid Crews: Run supply lines, deliver food, and maintain safe houses.

• Burial Crews: Handle the dead respectfully, especially on rim battlefields.

Methods of Power.

• They gain trust by feeding, healing, and sheltering those abandoned by law.

• They form networks that spread goods and information between worlds.

• They sometimes block corporate or syndicate exploitation.

Weaknesses.
Faith networks are harassed when they defy profit, landlords, or syndicate bosses. Leaders are often targeted with smear campaigns, debts, or violence.

Data Guilds and Archivists

Overview.
Neutral power based on information control. They are not military but are respected and feared for their ability to preserve or erase.

Structure.

• Guild Halls: Central offices with archives, maps, and sealed records.

• Archivists: Field agents who update manifests, maps, and safe-route ledgers.

• Neutral Brokers: Sell certified data to governments, corporations, and private crews.

Methods of Power.

• They decide what records survive: contracts, debts, and crimes.

• They sell safe-route updates, which are critical for long travel.

• They erase names and pasts for high prices.

Weaknesses.
Though neutral, they are vulnerable to corruption. Syndicates steal and forge their seals. Mega-Corporations pressure them to bury damaging data.

Machine Collectives

Overview.
Assemblies and contract nodes of Synthborn who fight for recognition as people rather than property. Their legal standing varies widely.

Structure.

• Free Assemblies: Decentralized groups practicing mutual aid and collective decision-making.

• Contract Nodes: Structured like corporations, with charters, profit-sharing, and service networks.

• Patch Clinics: Locations where Synthborn remove restrictive firmware and repair one another.

Methods of Power.

• They offer reliable hazard labor, escrow verification, and data services.

• They maintain backup archives that are trusted across species.

• They lobby for recognition as legal persons.

Weaknesses.
Their legal status shifts from world to world. A Synthborn crew member might be a citizen in one port and property in the next. This instability makes them vulnerable to exploitation and seizure.