#01/INTRODUCTION
The history of Malta had many gangs, cartels of thugs and other criminal organizations but a very few commercial-oriented and profit-focused groups that cared only about the credits, putting aside the grudges that led only to losses with a little to gain. Cadiz Cartel, also known as the Cuatroce or simply QC was one amongst these very few: once powerful and in head of the Maltese Unitary Republic of Hispania; eventually they faded away, backstabbed by the jealous and less flexible of the Maltese.
Years have passed, jealous and inflexible formed new alliance that faded, replacing each other like leaves on trees. Yet, the old staff of the Cuatroce remained afloat: although divided on smaller corporations, each of the former leadership and ranked personnel occupied position in a field familiar to them: less significant but they had comfort they wish; yet they desired for more, to restore and prevail what they have been. It was a logical thing to happen as they gathered to remember the past at the cup of tea or something stronger, those who once were famed and wealthiest of Malta decided its time to step off the oblivion and start regaining their dominant and leading place under the green sun of Castilla, under Escudero's rule again, but this time the next of the bloodline.
#02/BACKSTORY
The first rise of the Cuatroce to the heights of power and richness would not be possible without Don Hernan Luis Escudero Grijalva, a wise and skilled man from a small city of Cadiz-de-Malta. The rise of his family can be traced to 684 AS, when in that very city an old Maltese veteran Inacio Escudeiro effectively put out all of his rivals in the city to take over the Cardamine plantations for himself. Over the course of the next century, Escudero family grew stronger, being ruthless in the slave trade and providing more and more Cardamine for export. For the National Council, only the effectiveness of the plantations mattered, opening a lot of opportunities for the family which by that time as already ill-known for the use of mercenaries, assassins, bribes, and any other means that could have benefitted their trade. Escudero were also tightly associated with cartels and business organizations that were predatory and criminal even by Malta's standards.
In 764 AS, the head of Escudero family, Senhor Cristobal Francisco Escudero Himenez as the result of a merger operation with Mendoza family through marriage became a ruler of a pretty big chunk of land on Malta, effectively making him a "Don". While not officially represented on the National Council, Escudero cartel throughout next 50 years was consolidating wealth and proving the right of its leader to be called "Don". Throughout the mergers and acquisitions of this period Cádiz Cártel de Comercio de la Cardamína ("Cuatroce") was born. By 805 AS, the cartel became one of the biggest on Malta, having enough starting capital to expand outside of Maltese space, and big enough to start to resemble a House corporation in its structure.
In 818 AS as the colonization efforts of Albegna, planet hidden in the Austera Nube, were underway, investment in the frontier was still considered to be a risky endeavor, making many families abstain from putting money in a likely flop. Escudero, as well as allied families, however, saw the only opportunity amidst the chaos and invested heavily in the new “promised land” of Albegna, becoming arguably the biggest financial player in the system right after the Cardamine. If the colonization of the planets succeeds, the sky-rocketing profits can uplift Escudero family and the cartel to the Olympus of the Maltese society. If it flops, however, the cartel will be struggling for decades, if not a century, to regain its financial position among ever vigilant rival families.
As of 826, Cadiz Cartel following the dissolvement of the National Council and Maltese Legion adhering primarily to their technocratic military purpose plunged itself in the political race. Escudero family using its wealth, connections, and political gravity had played important role in the proclamation of the Maltese Unitary Republic of Hispania. Cuatroce as a corporation partially merged with the state apparatus, maximizing gains and profits from its elevated political status and bringing aspects of corporatocracy into already plutocratic Maltese politics. Securing itself vast lands Albegna during National Council time and solidifying its position after the proclamation of Maltese Hispania, Cuatroce was the dominant Maltese organization in the system but eventually started to fade and stepped off the political Olympus and soon the Unitary Republic was no more, as society returned to former paths of constant changes with no major difference.
#03/OBJECTIVES
Cartel’s ends reflect its business-driven orientation and can be summed in three “P’s”: to persist, to prosper, to promulgate.
Organisation Stability (Persist):
Lives of Maltese and their skilled servants are valuable, thus their involvement in violent conflicts is undesirable and preferrable to be solved by employing third parties.
Cartle cohesion and development of the corporate structure is important to restore might and wealth of the corporation: people talented enough to caught QC HR's eye be hired on meritocratic principles and integrated into the collective with the utmost speed.
Commercial profit (Prosper):
Cardamine must flow, so the corporation will get richer with every Orange Dream's cartridge sold; those of officials reluctant who stand on the path of the Cardamine's flow will be attempted to bribe, blackmail or simply perish if refuse to cooperate.
Securing supremacy in the Maltese society and beyond (Promulgate):
Research the ways to maximize positive Cardamine impact on human biology, including Cardamine-involving genetic manipulations and eugenics, investment in perspective and related research in order to develop a new human, enhanced by the Orange Dream.
Increasing corporate and Escudero's influence in the Maltese society by any means possible, together with propagation of the Cartle's vision over the future of Malta and Albegna in the form of corpocracy-based state.
#04/MODUS OPERANDI
Cuatroce is a corporate structure that is de facto a cartel. It was founded as the result of the merger of a few families driven together by the desire for power, money, and twisted vision of Maltese reality. While life is sacred in the Malta's society because of extremely low natural reproduction rate as the side effect of Cardamine, the cartel does not try to create itself a negative image by resorting to violent means without a grave reason: at least, against fellow. This, however, does not reduce the number of dirty aces in the sleeves of the cartel: bribes, blackmailing, kidnapping, unforeseen "accidents" with Cardamine overdose are but a modicum of what can expect a rival silly enough to confront the family in a disrespectful way. Honour in its turn is important only as a facade for the public image of the family but has nothing to do with meritocratic and practical corporate operation principles. The end justifies any means.
Escudero is a relatively young and small family, remaining in the shadow of the old patricians of Malta. In such conditions, direct confrontation in any field with renowned Maltese families would mean suicide. Thus, Escudero tries to hold onto a corporate structure of the cartel that automatically distances the family from the noble agenda, and avoid major endeavors on Malta itself, preferring since recently barely explored and risky but promising planet Albegna.
Underdeveloped newly established colonies have little presence of a substantial opposition and thus instead of supporting numerous familial and cartel paramilitary forces, Escudero and Cuatroce extensively rely on all types of mercenaries and other vagabonds from all across Sirius, eagerly ready to slit another throat for extra credits without asking questions. For more nuanced and surgical operations, the cartel nourishes its own small elite militant group, mostly consisting of Maltese veterans, elite mercenaries on a lifetime contract, and Maltese combat-prodigies. The similar approach is employed for specialists in other fields, like logistics and commerce department hiring ex-corporates from House corporations, R&D paying huge funding for talented scientists to perform their ethnically ambiguous in other parts of Sirius, and construction and engineering department hosting a whole band of ex-Navy engineers. Being any of the above mentioned is a great honor and recognition of skills, as well as a financial safeguard for life and for a few generations of successors to come.
Outside of Maltese space, the cartel tries to employ somewhat “expendable” human resources like mercenaries or business partners. Nonetheless, the cartel leadership does not feel quite confident or having technology to survive in a long venture far from home space, neither willing to give the vision of its leaders.
Cuatroce operates under a functional corporate structure that provides that staff with shared skills and knowledge is grouped by functions performed into functional units (divisions and departments). This allows to increase efficiency and standardize operations, effectively making Cuatroce more of a corporation rather than a loosely organized cartel. The same structure, however, leads to bureaucracy inside the organization.
#06/CORPORATE FLEET
The QC makes full use of Maltese-originating ships that allow excellence in a multitude of tasks to be countered by the corporation. The number of combat-oriented ships, especially warships, is low and the largest ship in the fleet is a Sarissa left from the original Cuatroce - Castellammare, which as well acts as a flagship and mobile headquarters to the "Pugnale" PMC under QC banner. In the meanwhile, the logistics fleet is limited to Aspis-class Heavy Transport that makes core of it, with an exception for a few liners oriented on the transportation of servants and other workers from other worlds to Malta and Albegna.
QC increase number of their ships not only by procuring second-hand from other Maltese families, building on the rented drydock on Corsica complex but also through procuring them from House corporations through proxy entries or by simply stealing ships during rare raids on popular trade routes. For example, this way the fleet of QC was extended by a Gallic Lucullus-class Liner, captured during its trip through Gallic border worlds with the crew that became forced labors on Albegna and by Shukensha-class Luxury Liner procured through proxy VIP tourism corporation.
#07/CORPORATE RELATIONS
Originating from Malta, QC shares the general diplomatic approach of the authorities. However, due to the decentralized nature of power on Malta, there are deviations in general principles and treatment of certain factions and individuals. As a commercial entity, Cuatroce sees benefits and opportunities in factions that would either be ignored or frowned upon by political or military organs of Malta. In general, Cadiz Cartel tries to avoid unnecessary hostilities as those infringe the trade and is less adamant about enforcing Maltese power and laws. This, in turn, opens possibilities of dealing with factions that are rarely seen as dealing with the Maltese due to various reasons.
ALLIES
Golden Chrysanthemums - A loyal importer of Cardamine and primary re-distributor in the Kusari space, also a strategic ally of Malta as important security maintainer of upper Taus and Kusari. Yet however no formal corporate alliance treaty established.
Lane Hackers - Same as the Golden Chrysanthemums but for Liberty and bordering Independent Worlds, with only difference being their often misbehavior and blaming wrong men for mistakes of other. Their value is being experts in certain, Ageira-related fields of technologies: needed to be reminded of all the pros our alliance brings to the Hackers and to establish a formal corporate alliance treaty.
Liberty Rogues - Ad hoc importer of Cardamine and our muscles in Liberty. Useful for smuggling goods, as intermediary in all shade dealings and for intimidation of unfavorable figures from Liberty and adjacent space. Reliability depends on the individual and therefore considered as not well investment target, which gets treated favorable but with fair share of suspicious in general.
HOSTILE
Auxesia - The "Technocracy" of Auxo is a quasi-religious organization that proved to be detrimental to our operations.
Corsairs - Historical enemies of Malta, the wayward brethren, the reason for conflict with whom is lost to history. Now Corsairs are running a trade of artifacts that are stirring cash flow from the same field to Cuatroce. They are also known to conspire with other entities hostile to Malta and do not hesitate to attack corporate vessels.
Crayter Republic - An ally to the Independent Miners Guild and the so-called Republic of Malta, Crayter is but a minor threat to Malta, yet the one to be vaporized before it become serious.
Cryer Pharmaceutical - The archenemy of Malta: their vessels must be shot anywhere if circumstances allow. Their development of Stabilinine is a strategic treat to the profit of the Cartel and Malta itself, therefore any kind of cooperation or interactions beyond destruction are forbidden.
Independent Miners Guild - While not being a commercial foe to Cardamine trade, the IMG managed to become Malta's nemesis for centuries and proved to be resilient despite our efforts to eradicate them. Their trade efforts are not directly harmful to our trade, however, Cuatroce does intend to enter the market of Niobium and would prefer as little rivals as possible there. A few assets in Taus would also benefit the Cartel, as well as all Malta.
House Lawful Agencies - They try to close the flow of Cardamine into respective Houses - considered a threat to our business. It is advised to attempt bribery or else methods of conviction to let us in but if futileness of effort is obvious - destruction is necessary.
Maquis - Radical Gallic terrorists that attack almost everything in the Taus and Gallia. Negotiations are futile, shoot on sight.
Sirius Coalition - Any far-left ideology is a poison to society, and an old adversary of Alliance is well known for their propaganda and brainwash methods, as well as assisting revolutionary or terrorist movements anywhere, which is detrimental to trade and to Malta overall. Eradication is the only way to deal with the Coalition.
#08/OOC NOTE
Just like before, we want to enjoy RP different from our previous factions and overall provide Outcast activity different from existing factions (focused on PVP and PVE more than RP or trade, which is under watched but still part of Outcast ID and its gameplay). As been said, faction is focused on RP, especially on internal intrafamily relations with the society, as well as corporate life and rather romanticized organized crime.
You might find our company interesting if you into any of the following major RP archetypes:
Maltese aristocracy (e.g. hidalgos looking for fame and wealth);
We also keep looking for mercenary type of RP via in-game and on-forum RP for freelancers, pirates or other non-affiliated individuals who are ready to assist the Cartel on the basis of payment or other motives. We plan to return and improve missions we once had, providing generous payment for satisfying RP-oriented requirements of these task, encouraging people to do more RP before engaging in combat.
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