xxxDetroit Munitions is one of the oldest privately-owned companies in Liberty. It was founded in 614 AS by Ed Garner, and ever since its inception, it has been far and away the premier manufacturer of small- and medium-sized arms in Liberty, and one of the foremost weapons manufacturers in all of Sirius. Primary competitors to Detroit Munitions are Daumann Heavy Construction and Samura Heavy Industries, but so far neither has managed to gain enough of a foothold in the Libertonian market to give Detroit any reason to fear for its position, and Detroit Munitions remains a well-known name across Sirius as a reliable source for everything from planetside personal weapon shops to military-grade assault technology.
In 709, Detroit partnered with Ageira Technologies – this has been a very mutually-beneficial relationship, with Detroit gaining access to more advanced technology and heavy-duty government contracts, and Ageira gaining an additional base of operations and market share. Ageira is the legal owner of Detroit’s primary facility near Manhattan, and pays for its upkeep, which allows Detroit to focus entirely on research and production. Additionally, Detroit has sizable facilities on Planet Denver in Colorado, and a proving grounds located on Pittsburgh’s moon of Maine in the New York system, only a few tradelanes away from its primary location near Manhattan.
Since the 780s AS, Detroit Munitions has started to manufacture more heavy arms, including planetside defense batteries and prefabricated weapons platforms intended for defending high-security areas like Newark Station and restricted-access military installations. While the company’s success in these areas has far from matched its top-dog position in light arms, Detroit Munitions has a sizable share of the market in Liberty, with the Liberty Navy maintaining DM as their number one supplier – and DM has been happy to continue an old tradition of supplying the Liberty government at a considerable discount as long as it ensures preferential treatment when the Navy needs contractors.
xxxIn the early 820s, Detroit Munitions came under new management. Businessman David Rose was elected by the company’s Board of Directors as new CEO after the retirement of previous CEO Hugh Leitman, with the approval of Detroit's partners in Ageira. Rose put forth an ambitious plan to rapidly expand Detroit’s scope, including, amongst other things, expanding the existing transport divisions, investing heavily in PR, and furthering the scope of Detroit’s deals with corporations besides Ageira. While middle management had its gripes with the increased workload, investors seemed to be happy with the fresh direction the company was taking. However, over the course of the decade, the stresses of the Gallic War upon technical supply chains forced the company to cut back on these new endeavors and stick to the basics.
Now that the war has ended, Detroit has entered a period of consolidation and restructuring. With CEO Rose still at the helm, and the Board thoroughly won over by his charismatic "can-do" attitude, management budgets are being expanded as Detroit seeks a more vertical integration in all aspects of business, from marketing and distribution all the way down to materials sourcing and processing. Outside observers have noted that this approach heavily resembles that of Kusari's keiretsu, but only time shall tell whether Detroit will eventually find the same success.
Company Roles
Owner The chief executive and owner of the Detroit Munitions company. The Owner dictates the company's direction and finalizes all deals with other entities, military and corporate. Their decisions are final and employees are expected to proceed accordingly or be subject to internal consequences. The Owner's day-to-day concerns are more focused on the company as a viable entity throughout Sirius at large and less so on shipping and logistic operations.
Director of Research The Director of Research is the head of the company’s scientific and product development departments. The DoR is responsible for laying out new product lines (in conjunction with the Owner), acquisition of sensitive material, and ensuring the continued security and viability of pre-existing product lines and proprietary technology. As well, the Director usually acts as the company’s liaison with their partners in Ageira.
Manager Managers answer directly to the company's Owner and provide advice or their opinions to the Owner when requested. They are well-trusted employees capable of managing the company's shipping operations and employment of escort pilots for convoys. In the absence of the Owner, they are expected to carry out the Owner's most recent plans. During extended absences, they may take on greater autonomy.
Dealer A dealer distributes registered Detroit Munitions goods to licensed retailers and entities throughout Sirius, primarily delivering to locations in House Space. They also are expected to deliver materials to Detroit Munitions manufacturing facilities to maintain production of goods for distribution. Dealers have gained considerable trust in the company and are employed full-time with benefits.
Contractor A contractor is a recent hire by Detroit Munitions and is permitted by the company to distribute products in limited amounts to licensed retailers and entities within House Space. Contractors are employed without benefits on a renewable contract model, though their ships are usually fully insured by the company.
Security A security officer protects Detroit Munitions transports, with the goal of destruction or deterrence of pirates, terrorists, and other ne'er-do-wells along shipping lanes. In regions of Sirius with very active routes, they are expected to coordinate hunts and purges of known antagonist groups – particularly the Lane Hackers – to diminish unlawful activity for when shipments pass through. They may also sign up on bounty boards within the company's zone of influence. Security officers are well-trusted pilots and are employed full-time with generous benefits.
Mercenary A mercenary is a recent hire by Detroit Munitions and is expected to escort company transports and freighters. Mercenaries are employed, like contractors, on a renewable contract model without benefits, but their ships are insured by the company and they receive extra hazard pay for escort contracts taking place along any particularly dangerous routes.
Promotion & Perks
Detroit Munitions doesn't have a strict ranking structure. The only difference between Mercenaries and Security officers is level of trust, and the fact that Mercenaries are (without good roleplay backing) not allowed to fly gunboats. Likewise, the only difference between Contractors and Dealers is essentially inRP fluff. The idea is to encourage more diverse roleplay within the faction. We don't have a whole lot to restrict anyway, so you're free to choose whatever rank you want as befits your desired character backstory and relationship to other pilots under Detroit's employment.
We also subsidize codename weapons for the escort pilots, and roleplay them as new, experimental weapon lines. Mercenaries can have a single pair of codenames fully subsidized, and Security Officers can have as many guns as they want fully paid for out of the faction's bank. However, in the latter case, these guns are faction property and can't be taken with you if you leave the faction, unless you pay the bank back for however much they cost. We don't have any mechanisms to enforce this beyond bounties and the honor system, but we trust no one would join the faction just to steal 100m's worth of JADEs from us, because that's freakazoid behavior.
We do our best to pay our escorts generously, but don't have a formal rate, so if you feel like you got stiffed, bring it up with someone and we'll discuss it in Discord together.
Company Roster
Owner:David Rose Director of Research:Apsis Magnusson Manager:Grant T. FranklinNeighborhood.Watch, Johann Gatz, Corrine HalleywayPropellant Dealer:Eka VoltoliniSecond.Amendment, Beatrice DupreeGlocksuckerKoch.Slap, Virgil SammsGlockamole Contractor:Helene DupuisShort.Fuse Security:Tif StaffordSPAS-12JackhammerPanzerbuechse, Kara WadeCastle.DoctrineCome.And.Take.It, Savannah McEvedyMunitionary, Laurette SilvaM6-Carnifex, Lian ZhuYinglong, Ba.Xing.Chong Mercenary:Violet A. MillerBlunderbuss, Simon "Ketamine" GravesXO-16
Shared Assets:BankGun.CabinetAmmo.Box, ShowroomLong.Shot, Tech SupportLogistic.Arc, This guy knows some maneuversFamily.Transfer
Naming Conventions
The faction tag is /DM/-.
Escort ships are named after guns, whether real or fictional; so /DM/-Garand, /DM/-Desert.Eagle, and /DM/-Quad.Laser are all valid.
Transport ships are gun-related puns or references; eg /DM/-Second.Amendment, /DM/-That’s.Not.Mine, and /DM/-Open.Carry, /DM/-Locked.&.Loaded, /DM/-Safety.Off, /DM/-The.Proper.Permits.
Gunboats and frigates can use either naming convention.
We're not super strict about the category restriction; we have an escort snub with a pun names (the Munitionary), but generally sticking to the convention is more preferred.
Hardware
Liberty & Sirius Civilian Ships: Whatever the job calls for. Guns: All civilian guns.
Special Access Liners:(Restricted) Enterprise Liner, Democritus Yacht, Passenger / Prison Liner (as dictated by roleplay). Gunboats:(Restricted) All civilian-access gunboats (security officers only). Military surplus as authorized (currently: none). Snubcraft: Military surplus as authorized (currently: 5x Defenders authorized). Guns: Detroit EX-series (codenames). Military surplus as authorized (currently: unlimited Vengeances and Magma Hammers authorized).
Papers
Ageira ID and IFF.
If there's any questions or concerns regarding tech, contact the Owner (Petitioner).
IRP: Detroit Munitions is one of Sirius's largest corporations, and with an ambitious new CEO at the helm, you can bet they're doing their best to leverage all their influence into aggressive expansion. Be it buying up politicians and funding pro-gun pressure organizations, aggressive expansion into new markets coupled with patriotically paternalist advertising and buy-outs of industrial production facilities for conversion into parts manufactories and subsequent leasing to smaller corporations, or genuinely fair and legitimate competition with their few business rivals, Detroit is staunchly committed to expansion of assets, image, and accounts.
Detroit's immediate corporate goals include increased access to advanced technology of both foreign and domestic origin, seeking out relations with clandestine organizations, and working at earning greater privileges both in space and for planet-side operations. Furthermore, Detroit is prepared to take their patriotic image to the extreme - assets are presently being set aside for creation of a hit-and-run squad to harass hostile forces, including but not limited to stubborn pirates and the remaining Gallic Royalist forces.
OOC: Detroit Munitions is an attempt by some friends to breathe some life into an oft-overlooked part of the Freelancer universe (smaller corporations and civilian life in general, apart from militaries and pirates - the backbone of the economy and where the majority of Sirius’s population find themselves) and make some money in the process. We aren’t interested in strict hierarchies or organization, but more in having a good time together and maybe making the mundane a bit more prominent - Discovery has always had a major lack of background noise, so to speak. If you’re up for dosh, a laid-back faction atmosphere, and lots of gun puns, then Detroit Munitions might like to have you fly with us. If you’re interested, check out our recruitment thread.
Detroit's big goal as a faction is to bring out the mundane, and to acknowledge that not everyone leads an amazingly exciting life, that Sirius is made up of billions of people who just lead average, everyday lives and that there's a story worth telling behind each and every one. Of course, that's not to say that we don't want interesting or unique characters, either; nobody likes to roleplay with personalityless drones. Detroit wants to set an example for newer players, as well, who make up a huge part of the population of Liberty. Finally, we want to do our best to represent both the lawful and the shady side of corporate arms dealing. As a megacorporation, you can be assured that Detroit didn't achieve its position of prominence without an under-the-table deal or two. That being said, Detroit is still primarily a law-abiding, patriotic company.
We do our best to foster a friendly, cooperative atmosphere between our faction members, and always be open to suggestions for improvement, whether from our own members or the community. Ultimately, creating roleplay interactions - on the forum and ingame - that are mutually enjoyable is our #1 priority, so if we're doing wrong in this regard, please let us know!
Keep in mind, /DM/ has no intention of overtaking Ageira's sphere of influence. Our traders actively avoid hauling Gate/Lane parts and Docking Ring parts, and it's not in our interest to become a tech conglomerate. We're interested in arms manufacture and sales first and foremost with regard to our roleplay.
As such, we make an effort to differentiate ourselves from Ageira in and out of character.
Well, very standard question. Why not join Ageira Innovations and represent Detroit Munitions? Because this will be rather awkward when/if we both be roleplaying as weapon manufacturers representing Detroits Munitions?
How active is the Detroit Munitions segment of Ageira Innovations, or for that matter, Ageira Innovations on the whole? Because I would say it'd be less awkward for us than for you if we managed to eclipse you in activity.
A way a lone a last a loved a long the riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay,
brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.
Such aggression from the start. Very fitting for weapon merchants, I suppose. Ageira is pretty active for such a small memberbase we have and how we approach activity. Though with your help, we could have expanded it but it seems unlikely with such attitude.
Regardless of Ageira~'s activity, we feel that Detroit Munitions is a sufficiently interesting corporation that it could benefit from having its own player faction, and its lore could grow more than it could functioning as a wing of a separate Ageira faction. We're happy to roleplay with Ageira any time, of course, but as a group of friends we're not interested in subordinating ourselves to whatever preexistant baggage might come with being part of another faction.
On a slightly more personal note, we saw that Ageira~ was no longer official and figured that the faction was in decline, and that perhaps some friendly competition would be good for the both of us.
I confess to not having seen that, however we've been planning this faction since before I was unbanned a week ago or so. If you'd like to discuss this further, my skype is open to you; we all'd rather keep this thread about our faction from here on out rather than yours.
I've glanced over the whole writing and it seems solid enough as far as Discovery-tier roleplay goes. The only two things that stuck out to me were the fact that your founder is "David Rose", a rather well-known ingame character belonging to our member @Antonio . The second being a simply question as to - if I were hypothetically speaking a member of the /DM/ and I undock with a tagged character: 1) What are my ingame activities available and 2) How do they differ from the actions done by different, more active factions.
As for personal suggestions - name your characters after antique weapons, rather than CS-GO tier ones. For further information, visit /k/
I was informed by @Ramke that David Rose is a name taken by another character, but I wasn't aware that the character was well-known. Regardless, I used the name because it was the name of a character that I had way back in 2011 or 2012 and roleplayed as a businessman then. If it's an actual issue, the name of the character can easily be changed, because he won't be flying in space regardless (most probably).
As a member of /DM/-, your activities would be focused on moving guns and weaponry and anything tangentially related to them, assuming you're in a hauler. While not something we're doing right now, we plan to set up some RP exploiting the fact that the Ageira ID technically lets us shoot Gallic corps anywhere in Sirius to set up a squad in the Taus. I don't feel comfortable revealing further plans yet, but we've got plans to get started on some neat stuff within the next week. Unlike other Ageira ID'd folks, we don't move gate or lane parts, but we make up for this by planning to get special deals going with governments and actively seeking out interactions with folks that show up red to us, rather than avoiding it like most trade factions have traditionally focused on.
As someone who once tried to start a DM group, I think this is an interesting but potentially difficult faction to play. My friend and I had a lot of fun way back when, but it was difficult to attract other players when the primary draws of the faction were: deals with official factions (which didn't come easily as an indie faction at that time), and transporting the one major product DM produces from its base to a lawful faction borderworld or warzone.
It may be good to partner up with Ageira and try to generate activity for each other. Heck, if they get Official status you may wish to group with them like the Aoi Iseijin and D9 did with Wilde in order to share officialdom's privileges and responsibilities (unless you're gunning for a Detroit Munitions ID in the future).
It may also be good to try to compete with the Core and expand from within House space as a provider of advanced technology, so that House governments don't need to rely on a megalomaniac and his mercenary fiefdom to provide them combat arms and experimental ship components. I feel like that could be a major way to expand DM's canonical relevance from a single station to, potentially, operating research facilities in the distant parts of Liberty.
Anyway, I wish you luck and I'm interested to see what becomes of this.
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