Tasty Lore for Tasty Humans

Governments and Organisations/Corporations/Corporation Bible.md

@@ -37,9 +37,6 @@ An ancient Earth military manufacturing concern. While their name has mostly fad
 # Nakamura Engineering
 A large construction and manufacturing corporation. Manufactures engineering equipment including hardsuits, RCDs and engine parts, and acts as a construction company for stations.
 
-# DeForest Medical Corporation
-A pharmaceutical company. Produces hypospray, various medical equipment, and operates civilian hospitals throughout human space.
-
 # HONK Ltd.
 A clown corporation. Famous for being the first to harness bananium. Produces clowning equipment, including hardsuits, synthetic banana shoes, and banana cream pies.
 

Governments and Organisations/Corporations/Jim Nortons.md

@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# The Jim Norton Story
+
+## Humble Beginnings
+Born in 1932 in Trois Rivieres, Quebec, to a lumberjack and a mountie, Jim Norton was, from his first breath, a true patriot for Quebec and Canada.
+
+Growing up in the great wilderness of Quebec, Jim became a natural outdoorsman, felling trees and becoming well known for his magnificent beard. He also developed a penchant for ice hockey, joining the Trois Rivieres team to play in the NHL.
+
+Funneling his success in hockey into his passion for coffee, Jim opened the first Jim Norton's branch in 1965 in downtown Trois Rivieres, and from there it would expand across Canada rapidly. By Jim's death, there was a store in every major Canadian city.
+
+It's also around this time that Jim invented the store's signature pastry: the Hollander. Jim was well known for eating one every day, and he guarded the recipe well- only revealing its secret location in his will.
+
+While not on the rink or at the cafe, Jim enjoyed the outdoors lifestyle, including hunting- though he may never have bagged a moose, we know that he was always trying.
+
+In 1976, Jim joined the hunt for Big Larry, a moose who had already claimed the lives of three hunters before him through remarkably indirect means (2 froze to death, and the third was hit by a car while purchasing hunting supplies), which only proved the craftiness of the beast in killing its pursuers. Unable to turn down the challenge, Jim set out in hot pursuit of Big Larry through the Quebecois wilderness.
+
+Unfortunately for Jim, Big Larry proved to be a tougher adversary than previously anticipated. While tracking the moose across a frozen lake, Jim fell through the ice, and was unable to swim to safety as his beard obscured his vision. While he may never have seen or, indeed, ever come close to finding Big Larry, Jim is remembered for his relentless pursuit of the beast, and his dedication to seeing him brought to justice.
+
+His loss was a great blow to the Trois Rivieres hockey team, who would dedicate their first cup (won the next season after Jim's passing) to his memory.
+
+Today, Jim is honoured with a statue in his hometown of Trois Rivieres, showing an artistic rendition of what his victory over Big Larry might have looked like, had he ever found and slain the beast.

Governments and Organisations/Corporations/Nanotrasen/Nanotrasen.md

@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 -A candid complaint from Laura Kripac, senior TerraGov intelligence officer, after learning Nanotrasen preempted TG on pulse weapon technology by ten years. The quote leaked to the press, and has been an unofficial motto among NT workers ever since. 
 ***
 
+![Nanotrasen logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Nanotrasen_Logo.png)
+
 Nanotrasen is a very, very large and important company. A company so large, in fact, that at least half a century has passed since it became large enough to receive a charter from TerraGov to form its own expeditionary fleets and establish its own settlements outside the Sol system. While a large portion of their investments are tied up in Sol, they were notably the first private corporation to be granted such a charter and invest heavily in the distant reaches of space. At the time it was regarded as an incredibly risky gamble, and there was great speculation that all the money spent on exploring space and launching deep space missions would end up a waste that would sink the company, but the gambit has more than paid off and Nanotrasen's portfolio has soared since.
 
 Primarily an advanced research and development conglomerate, Nanotrasen also has skin in many other fields. While a great deal of their income still comes from producing public research funded by government research grants, their operations also include directly producing and selling their most profitable designs, leasing their asset protection forces to governments and private organizations (both space fleets and ground troops), logistics management with a specialization in remote settlement self-sufficiency, and maintaining interstellar communication infrastructures to name a few. The common theme that runs through most of their business ventures is taking the lessons they've learned from operating on such a massive scale and helping smaller organizations stretch themselves.
@@ -43,18 +45,14 @@ Notes:
 * Staffed by a slew of high ranking officials, including Admirals and Corporate Directors.
 
 
-# Sub-Entry: Nanotrasen Division of Asset Protection
-
-Location: Mostly active in Sol, some presence in Spinward Sector.
-
-Type of Org: Division of Nanotrasen
+# Sub-Entry: Asset Protection and Security Division
 
 Description: As close as Nanotrasen is legally allowed to come to owning a private army, and then some. The DAP is Nanotrasen's paramilitary wing, and on paper is in charge of protecting most of Nanotrasen's cargo ships, settlements, space stations, and other valuable assets from the hands of insurgents or pirates who may want to cause them harm. In reality, however, the DAP performs offensive operations at least as often as it performs defensive maneuvers, a fact that is often left out of their press material. Some of their offensive operations include black ops raids on corporate rivals, overrunning native populations on resource rich planets or asteroid belts, and lightning strikes on vulnerable cargo transports carrying desired goods; in short, the exact things they are charged with preventing.
 
 Despite their generally shady nature and willingness to commit war crimes in pursuit of the almighty space dollar, the DAP is rarely involved in activity in the Spinward Sector. Their reputation back in Sol was already under scrutiny for various espionage operations they were apart of before the latest round of inquiries into Nanotrasen's Spinward activities, so NT's leadership has made as much of an effort as possible to distance the two organizations from each other. Still though, it's possible to find a few agents on a long distance mission protection Nanotrasen cargo or high value prisoners on the Periphery, though most of their functionality has been taken over by the Emergency Response Corps or on-station security teams.
 
 Notes:
-* The Department of Asset Protection prefers older, less experimental gear than their Spinward counterparts. The NT Boarder AR and venerable M1911 as well as the aging Mk. I SWAT suit are the weapons and armor of choice for AP Operatives.
+* The Asset Protection and Security prefers older, less experimental gear than their Spinward counterparts. The NT Boarder AR and venerable M1911 as well as the aging Mk. I SWAT suit are the weapons and armor of choice for AP Operatives.
 
 
 # Sub-Entry: Nanotrasen Emergency Response Corps

Governments and Organisations/Corporations/Private Military Companies.md

@@ -9,9 +9,12 @@ The Chinese Government, in the early 2200s, would seek to reduce the influence o
 The Chinese Revolution would end on the 14th of December, 2238, with the collapse of the 289 year old People's Republic. In its place, a divided China would stand, a puppet to the corporations that toppled its predecessor- and no romance of the three kingdoms would save it this time. To this day, China is a state artificially kept from becoming whole: corporate power rules in the nation- and private militaries continue to hold their relevance in maintaining this status quo, and in corporate conflict as a whole, in a new golden age for mercenaries.
 
 ## Blackstar Company
+> "Always Vigilant; Always Armed"
+- Blackstar Motto
+
 Headquarters: TerraGov International District of Hong Kong and Macau, Earth
 
-When thinking of Private Militaries based on Earth, Blackstar Company is the first that most TerraGov citizens would think of, and for good reason: their shady dealings and abuses of human rights are legendary. Having been founded in 2145 as a security agency for early space colonisation efforts, Blackstar would soon branch out into other areas of operation, becoming involved in true mercenary work shortly afterwards. After cutting their teeth in such conflicts as the Central African Civil War, the Dubai Crisis, and the Red Thai Conflict, Blackwater earned their reputation for efficiency on the battlefield- and also for ruthlessness. Their poor treatment of civilians was kept under tight wraps, but obviously in the age of information it's impossible to hide things forever.
+When thinking of Private Militaries based on Earth, Blackstar Company is the first that most TerraGov citizens would think of, and for good reason: their shady dealings and abuses of human rights are legendary. Having been founded in 2146 as a security agency for early space colonisation efforts, Blackstar would soon branch out into other areas of operation, becoming involved in true mercenary work shortly afterwards. After cutting their teeth in such conflicts as the Central African Civil War, the Dubai Crisis, and the Red Thai Conflict, Blackwater earned their reputation for efficiency on the battlefield- and also for ruthlessness. Their poor treatment of civilians was kept under tight wraps, but obviously in the age of information it's impossible to hide things forever.
 
 When the truth came forward, however, what happened was not what Blackstar expected. While the reaction from the world's government and population was exactly as horrified as expected, it attracted a new kind of clientele: corporations. The no-questions, no-nonsense approach of the PMC alongside their willingness to do what was necessary to complete their contracts was perfect for corporate clients, who were always looking for operatives to steal from, raid, or kill their opponents. The paychecks turned up on time, and they were always stacked with cash- no more serving half bankrupt nations who would try to nickel and dime them for every bullet fired.
 

Governments and Organisations/Corporations/The Syndicate/Animal Rights Consortium.md

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+# Animal Rights Consortium
+### 

Governments and Organisations/Corporations/The Syndicate/Azik Interstellar.md

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# Azik Interstellar
+### In the Absence of Plasma
+> "An inroad to the Tiziran market? You have my attention."
+- Goro Ichikawa
+
+One of the Tiziran Empire's most renowned shipbuilding concerns, Azik grew powerful and wealthy making luxury vessels for the millionaires of Tizira. Combining speed and elegance, their vessels have become the first choice for diplomats, high ranking politicians, wealthy celebrities, and even the royal family themselves. And yet, despite all this prestige, Azik finds themselves in a precarious situation following human contact. Much like all of Tizira's shipbuilders, they are faced with an inability to compete with humanity's equivalents, due in no small part to the lack of access to plasma. With some maneuvering of Tiziran import laws, they are able to source parts to construct ships at a competitive standard from outwith Imperial borders- but not in a way that is profitable in the long term.
+
+Azik's agenda within the Syndicate is simple- they seek to gain close ties to Cybersun, and to support their efforts in the Spinward Sector to obtain a readily-available supply of cheap plasma. In doing so, they hope to make themselves the primary shipbuilders in the Tiziran Empire, breaking into the lucrative world of military contracting.
+
+## Origins and History
+Azik Interstellar grew out of the first wave of Tiziran Manifest Destiny, making its debut as a privately-owned corporation in the Kuzil system during the height of Tizira's (seizure of destiny). With the increasing size of the Tiziran demense, the various upper classes of the empire cried out for suitable transportation for their high station; and Azik was happy to provide, allowing them to carve a lucrative niche out of Tizira's heavily state-dominated shipbuilding industry. As Tiziran shipbuilding technology continued to advance, however, Azik found itself struggling to acquire the necessary resources to keep up; while their R&D departments were making constant strides forward, they couldn't translate this technological ascendancy into their actual construction. Plasma served as the main blocker; while Azik was able to source it in small quantities, the Tiziran Empire's general lack of access to the purple stuff meant that what little was available was generally funneled towards state-run enterprises such as Imperial Arsenal or Kurets Yards, leaving private companies such as Azik to fight for the remaining scraps. When the Human-Lizard wars rolled around, even this was rendered unobtainable as everything went towards the war effort.
+
+After the Peace of Atrakor was signed, one of the key conditions in the terms of the treaty was in opening the Tiziran market, and this allowed Azik to finally source materials and parts from outwith the Empire. For a few decades, Azik was able to get by using imported human-made engines and plasma, but the high prices of these imports made their work far less lucrative. And so, Azik started looking for new, cheaper sources of plasma, in order to reclaim their profit margins and begin to develop a distinct edge over their rivals within the Tiziran shipbuilding sector; after all, once Azik became the only shipbuilder with homegrown FTL tech, how high could they climb?
+
+## Azik within the Syndicate
+Azik's golden ticket came in the form of Cybersun Industries, who had a proposition: they would provide Azik with a cheap source of high-grade plasma, and a valuable trading partner within the human market; in exchange, they wanted material support in a conflict against another human megacorporation, and an inroad to the notoriously difficult-to-navigate Tiziran market. Azik's board jumped at the opportunity; how could they refuse? And so, the company joined the Syndicate, committed to conflict against Nanotrasen.
+
+Much of what Azik supplies to the Syndicate is in the form of ships; with Cybersun's plasma, they've been able to pioneer new ship designs that are sent to Cybersun for testing and use. The ships Azik produces for the corporate war effort are quite far removed from their typical luxurious fare; instead, they emphasise speed and maneuverability, and represent where Azik envisions themselves as the result of their agreement with Cybersun: as the Tiziran Empire's foremost shipbuilding concern, supplying the Imperial Navy with the next generation of Tiziran-made warship, unmatchable by their rivals in the sector.