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813 A.S. Rheinland. A fallen state overwrought by war, poverty and years of civil unrest, gains a new leader. This year, Herr Nikolaus Rheinhardt has been appointed Chancellor by the Bundestag of Rheinland, and immediately started introducing promised reforms. With the intent to wake up his House’s economy from a great slumber and depression, laws governing it are being liberalized by the general order of the Chancellor himself. Megacorporations, both foreign and national, receive a total government subsidy equated to a 250,000,000,000 of today’s Sirian Credits, paired with significant taxation cuts and exclusive rights for exploitation of House’s resources.

His plan succeeded. Aforementioned entities expanded beyond expectations. Previously unemployed masses finally found stable and satisfactory income. Markets were once again flooded with a variety of affordable goods. Birth Rates plummeted on all planets of the Federal Republic. Military, now able to place orders to the local contractors, rose in strength and numbers. However, not everyone was in the mood for celebration. Needs of one, important group of people have been neglected by the new legislation.

Corporate rush into growth and expansion, sponsored by the government, took a toll on small business owners of Rheinland. Owning merely a fractal of assets in comparison to ever expanding interstellar giants, one by one, day after day entrepreneurs declared bankruptcy, unable to fight now an unequal battle for the clientele. Entire families have watched their lifelong savings losing value, or succumbing into unpayable debts just within a span of a few days.

However, not everyone was willing to sit idly and watch the catastrophe unfold, some have decided to act. A new political movement was formed shortly. A collection of businessmen with different backgrounds and branches formed the Unterbehmerbumd. Hope was that a single, united voice of many will not be ignored by the Bunderstag. The newly found group organized protests, gave interviews and speeches, but ... to no avail. Ruling class remained deaf to their struggle. The group failed to attract support for their demands, thus, those never even reached the Rheindlandish Reichstag in the first place. Convincing the society to rally against the reforms which, at least on the surface, bettered the standards of living for the majority of the House has proven to be an impossible task in itself, and constant air of the propaganda of success by the public media didn’t make it any easier for the group. Activists were on the verge of giving up, and acceptance of their fate. That was, until one peculiar individual decided to step up, and propose a different course of action.

Alexander Leuthold Goldghagen, chief executive officer and founder of Goldhagen Investitionen, a successful businessman with a personal net worth estimated at 6,380,000,000 sirian credits, laid out a plan for the group, built upon a simple premise: “Should the government refuse to take care of us, we will take care of ourselves”. Goldhagen urged entrepreneurs to stop political action, defining it as fruitless. He feared that even if Unterbehmerbumd succeeds and gains supporters in the parliament, it may ultimately share the fate of Bundschuch, adopted as a party within Rheinland’s political system to put out civil unrest, and then criminalized, as soon as it fulfilled its role. If the Rheinland state is not willing to provide any help from it’s institutions to the business owners, then business owners should create those institutions themselves. Billionaire invited all interested parties into creation of a new commercial entity, christened with the name “Das Konglomerat.” With the membership fee consisting of set percentage of profits, all members would gain an indiscriminate and free access to many sophisticated services of the organization. Those would include: legal, tax and financial consulting. security force, commercial education and medical. The “state within state” in form of the conglomerate would band together all the businesses into one, giant corporate-like entity that would still allow them to maintain a large portion of independence in their structure or decision-making systems, giving a light of hope for the free entrepreneurs to compete against the industry giants of the Rheinland today. Establishment of such an organization is not an easy feat, and it would take several years for the conglomerate to fully offer all promised services to its members.

The year is 827 A.S. Now a fully structured conglomerate has to face first, real challenge to it’s very existence. This year, democratically appointed officials of the Federal Rheinland Republic were deposed in a coup, supported by the high ranking officers of the armed forces of the House. Surprisingly, Rheinland did not fell under control of the military junta. Executives of Kruger Minerals, Daumann Heavy construction and Republican (or now, the Imperial) shipping, established themselves as the new nobility of Rheinland, proclaimed the end of corrupted federal state, and, the return of the old Empire.

Delivered changes were, however, far from those promised. Laws of the new empire turned out to be a direct copy of the Republican registration, not including a few major twists. The Emperor, just like Chancellor and his cabinet, was eager to ensure supremacy of the big three corporations of Rheinland on it’s market, giving them not only a right to supervise House’s rich mineral fields, but blatantly, a direct control over them. In the name of the “war on corruption”, and to equalize the state’s budget after the recession of 826 A.S. oppressive taxes were introduced on the entire population, paired with strengthening of the fiscal institutions on a scale never seen before in the entire Rheinland’s history. New legislation not only required every entrepreneur to account for every earned sirian credit earned, but made the process of transferring head offices to other houses a legal nightmare. New, semi-feudal political system limited the right for acquisition of land and property to those of noble descent. To make matters worse, it turns out not every officer was willing to let the imperial conspiracy within his house have their way. An entire armada of military warships rallied together under a new, Federalist banner, united by a single goal. To dethrone the imperialist traitors, at all costs. Whole House was split in half by the fratricidal war, fought by the mighty warships in orbit, and rioters on the streets of every colony.

Months passed. The imperial propaganda continued to reassure Rheinland citizens of a swift victory over trecherous forces, but no such event seemed visible on the horison. The prolonged conflict escalated further, with not one, but three groups now clushing arms with the Emperor's fleet in northern reaches of the House. All sides grew tired of the stalemate. Something had to be done with this peculiar situation, and the imperials found their solution in a new legislation. Newly introduced Civil Service act 827 made military service an obligation of every Rheinlannd citizen. The Empire intended to conscript 7 million people into it's army. openly stating the reasons for their decision. These additional troops were to be deployed in the both northern and southern reaches of the empire, to thwart on both the Federal and Hessian rebellions. Employees and managers of the greath three Rheinland corporations were, narurally, exempted from this obligation.

Arbiters of das Konglomerate attempted to negotiate with the imperial powers to withdraw, or at least alter the new legislation, but the monrachists prfoudly ignored any voices of concern. Panicked clients, now facing a possible death and loss of their employes, and maybe even of their families and friends, urged the Arbitrage to seek alternative solutions. New voices apperated, stating that the political neutrality and passivenes, a very principle upon which the conglomerate was founded, was no longer feasable. In secrecy and desperation, Alexander ordered his arbiters to seek contact with the forces of the Federal rebellion, and to assess their situation. What they returned with was far more than anyone could bargain for.

It turned out that the federal rebellion was more than just a rebellion, and indeed, an underground Federal state, still loyal to the values of ilberty, existed. It's agents, upon hearing what struggles conglomerate faced, offered its clients, including their families, employes and assets a safe place of refuge on planet Weimar, a secret intalligence base located at the hearth of Thuringia system, a place only a handfull of civilians knew it existed. Promise was made to accomodate the conglomerate in an enviroment, where private entrepreneurship will thrive, rather than get extinguished. Due to the circumstances of the war the organization was, however, given only three days to make its decision, and to prepare for their evacuation. Their proposition was relayed, and the central meeting was called, which quickly turned into a heated debate, where clients of all sides urged those unwilling to make a leap to leave das Konglomerat. Everyone was perfectly aware of the risks, but for many, seeing what the Empire has become and what might yet have in store for them, viewed the betrayal as the only option to save their livelyhoods, and their lives. Finally, after long hours, when the consensus was achieved, preparations for the extraction began almost immediety.

Landing on thuringia was only the first step on a staricase of challegnes put in front of the group. Full and indiscriminate ownership of the large part of planet's infrastructure was given to the cients of the conglomerate, as the Büro des Marinenachrichtendienstsputs puts a great hope in revitalising, if not outright, creating the sustaiable economy for the United Republic. Swiching sides was a gamble, and das Konglomerat must do whatever it can to aid the Federal insurgency in their war efforts. Should they fail, the only punishment for their crime of treason is death.

1. Des Kunden (The clients)
Business owners accepted to become members of das Konglomerat are commonly referred to as “clients”. Client companies, upon joining the conglomerate, gain a free and indiscriminate access to all the services provided by the organisation. Moreover, clients are permitted to designate an “envoy”, a person who will represent their interests before Groβtreffen, a central meeting where all important decisions are being made, based on consensus based procedures.

Unlike many other commercial entities of Sirius, das Konglomerat is not integrated vertically. Joining entrepreneurs still retain their right of ownership to their companies, and are free to conduct their business as they see fit, with whom they see fit, often cooperating and, although discouraged, competing with each other.

Focused on developing their business, clients wish not to burden themselves with the administrative tasks of the organisation, and rely on Arbiters For that matter.


[dK]Shipname|XXX - Clients are free to register their vessels under any name they please, although use of German language is encouraged.
*|XXX – Space reserved for the optional three letter identification tag of the member company.