Mao-Kwikowski Mercantile ("Mao-Kwik" or "Maokwik") is a company owned in part by Jules-Pierre Mao, assumed to be the result of a merger between his company and Kwikowski Mutual Interest Group. It is one of the fifty largest corporations in the Belt and is based on Luna.

History

The corporation was originally a legal firm involved in the failure of the Venusian cloud cities (which were slated to be built by Tycho Manufacturing and Engineering Concern) eight decades ago. The lawsuit, after the project fell through, lasted for decades, and Mao-Kwik earned a significant amount of money, which allowed them to diversify and expand, mostly into interplanetary transport.

For most of the company's life, they were focused on further expansion and domination of the Belt and Outer Planets. Multiple companies from different industries, like Pinkwater Security and Protogen, were bought by Mao-Kwikowski Mercantile as subsidiaries. The company had no problems with the many complaints lobbied against by not just Belters, but Earthers and Martians too, as they had some of the best lawyers and money one could want. With that, any problems of security forces using aggressive force, subsidiaries using exploitative practices, or the company itself being accused of becoming a monopoly could be swept under the rug.

Involvement with the Protomolecule

In 2342, the MCR landed on Saturn's ice moon Phoebe to survey it for ice mining. When core samples from the moon were investigated, however, silicate samples were found, and the Martian government approached the Protogen Corporation, a subsidiary of Mao-Kwikowski Mercantile, as a co-sponsor of a long-term research facility. Protogen discovered the alien agent, informing Mao-Kwikowski Mercantile's CEO Jules-Pierre Mao of the discovery, dubbed it "the protomolecule", and began experimenting with it. Later, under Antony Dresdon and Jules-Pierre's orders, Protogen killed all Martian scientists on the Phoebe station to hide their discovery for themselves.

Eros Incident

They supplied nearly everything Protogen used on Eros and to construct Thoth Station, such as medical equipment, the radiation rooms, the surveillance and encryption infrastructure.