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Zoners Trading Consortium
"We are a consortium of Zoner corporations, non-profit organizations, scientists, diplomats, and explorers. Our goal is to secure diplomatic ties in the Edge Worlds and encourage cultural prosperity among all Zoners."
Dear Readers,
As you stare at the name of our organization you are probably thinking, “Oh great, yet another power-trading, credit-mongering faction with a white flag.” No doubt you have had your share of encounters with such individuals. Greed and selfishness is a common trait present in many of those who live in the harsh regions of the Edge worlds, but we at the Consortium would like to assure you that the goals of our establishment are far from what you may assume.
The second question on your mind then is probably, “What is the Zoners Trading Consortium and what is so damn special about it that I have to waste the next six minutes of my life reading this garbage?” Well to put us in a nutshell of sorts, the Zoners Trading Consortium, ZTC, Zoners Consortium or sometimes just Consortium is a conglomerate of small businesses, non-profit organizations, scientists, diplomats, security veterans, and stay-at-home moms who have assembled together under a common banner. We believe that trade should flow like a river in a Gaian spring, free and uninterrupted. We believe in a undisturbed flow of commodities that encompass not only material goods, but also scientific knowledge, diplomatic prosperity, and safety for all Zoners in the Outer systems.
At this point you are probably saying, “Good luck, pal. Maybe you’d also like to have my car and the codes to the Bank where my money’s at?” Yet here at the Consortium, we feel that our goal to achieve economic stability and a secure way of life for all Zoner inhabitants is not a farfetched concept. The key is to have a levelheaded, balanced system that utilizes every resource to the best of its abilities. For this reason the Zoners Trading Consortium consists of four large departments, each representing key elements of our faction’s duties. They are the department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Scientific Research, and Security.
“I’m so happy for you I could die,” we hear you say, “but whasinit for me?” We had a feeling this question would come up, which is why we prepared a short list of benefits. We have an outstanding cargo-loss insurance plan for all Consortium members, not to mention a large check with lots of zeros that we loan to prospective members for the benefit of purchasing a suitable vessel. We bear access to a number of ships that are unique to the Zoner community, all legally attained through contracts, and that are unlikely to be found in most other Zoner factions. We favor the pen well above the sword, so you will rarely see us flying oversized bee-bee guns, which more often than not scare little Timmy rather than protect him. All of our pilots also get to fly with a very cool looking logo. But all of that put together pales in comparison to what we are about to mention, which is the easygoing, “make yourself feel at home” atmosphere we maintain for all Consortium members and Lou Salome’s finger licking Kusari gyoza.
You are now probably thinking, “Now that’s what I’ma talking about,” and you are completely within your right to feel that way.
Respectfully,
The Zoners Trading Consortium (]c[)
The Consortium
Name: Zoners Trading Consortium
NPC Faction: Zoner IFF, Zoner Guard IFF
Faction tag: (]c[)
Commonly used synonyms: Zoners Consortium, Consortium, ZTC
Call Sign Templates
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Ships & Equipment
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Consortium History
The Zoners Consortium was originally established by Johann Boll, Werner Mazursky and William Topper. Boll and Mazursky met one another during their studies on Manhattan in 807 A.S, although they parted once they finished their coursework some years later. Then in 816 A.S., Boll and Mazursky, both having already found their own trading companies, met again on Gran Canaria where they became acquainted with Topper, a former IMG Guard and experienced mercenary who was busy starting his own business as well. These small corporate owners shared a number of stories that day that could very well be summarized in three words: “What, you too?” They discovered that despite their Zoner nature to pursue a life of liberty and neutrality in the Edge Worlds, the pirates who shared their space had a thing or two to say about that. The three Zoners established a support group where they would meet on a weekly basis and talk about their woes, financial misfortunes, and video game addictions as well as watch old Earth tearjerker films such as Titanic and Love Story. This was the birth of the Zoners Trading Consortium.
At about the time that they reached their eleventh weekly group gathering, the trio noticed that they had slowly progressed as individuals and recovering game addicts. Soon enough they found themselves spending their time submerged in philosophical banter and existential conversations. One day, during a particularly heated debate, William Topper got off of his chair and loudly proclaimed, “There is no spoon.” All turned to silence and it became clear. The modern day Zoner had spent so much focus on buying fancy colored grenade launchers and hiring mercenary maid service, that he or she had forgotten a Zoner’s most prized possession: pen and ink. The trio understood that in order to develop a secure flow of trade, they would first have to study and observe the political atmosphere in the neighborhood. Why did factions do what they do? Who did they hate and why? Topper pointed out that, “Even bio-luminescent weapons of mass destruction have feelings.”
Some days later, Johann Boll was returning from Omega-47 with a number of feminine hygiene products that he had bought from the Phantoms when he was suddenly confronted by a very passionate Molly in a Bounty Hunter bomber who pointed a Nomad Laser at him and said, “2 mil or dai.” Johann pondered for a moment and looking up at his aggressor answered, “Look at you, you poor, unfortunate victim of society. Look at what the world has done to you. You have no money and no job. No doubt you are trying to make a living whatever way you can simply to come home to an angry wife and six, probably eleven, starving children. From the day you were born to the present, you have done your best to survive in a dog-eat-dog universe, only to succumb to the monstrous machine of capitalism. Oh, if only the world could see the suffering you have endured.” At these words, bunnyKillerR2D2, the said Molly, broke down right there and then he cried until Johann was compelled to give away fourteen cargo units of Kleenex tissues. Through this experience Johann learned a valuable lesson in diplomacy. His companions agreed that it was time to create a Zoner establishment that transcended the customary approach of trading techniques.
Several months after the Consortium was well established, John Boll was left alone to manage the organization due to a mysterious disappearance of his colleagues. He began to understand that there was more to the spinning galaxies than trading goods for credit’s sake. What about the trade of science? What about the trade of art? His mentor Louisa Salome said, “Trade is like a very good cheese, Mr. Boll. You think at first that there is only one until you discover a universe of divine flavors, all different but equally gratifying.”, while Charles Montgomery Burns suggested to taste the flavor of the holes in the cheese. Younger members like Julian Marks or Yev Lightwing just wondered if there would be enough space in a cheese hole to do deep space explorations.
As such, the Consortium has focused on gathering Zoner communities that specialize in scientific research and space exploration. There is also a rumored plan in the works for the creation of a library and a flying academy ....
Consortium Structure and Hierarchy
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Consortium Structure |
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A collection of Consortium members (specifically, those ranked as Shipmasters, Heads of Departments and Board Members) who come together to vote on important issues within the faction. Every quorum member has the right to propose faction goals and participate in votes and elections. |
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There are three Board Members total at any time. They are elected in the Quorum once every three months among all Consortium members with voting rights. |
Legislative Period History:
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Departments
Our Shipmaster participate in any of the departments at all times according to pleasure.
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Department of Trade |
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Our traders are meant to improve your personal income and the faction funds. Joining this department you are keeping track of good trading opportunities, while you are always providing complete information of your trade runs to the department leader, such as flying times, profit amounts and pirate encounters. Your goal is to find as many profitable routes as possible. |
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Department of Security |
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Our security ships are designed to protect our faction goals. This include vindicating our trades, securing our facilities and providing help to our allies. This department is combat oriented and requires the participation in our fighter training. |
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Department of Diplomacy |
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Our diplomcay staff is responsible for our relations towards all groups and individuals outside of the Consortium. Basic faction strategies regarding the faction reputation are discussed here. The head of this department decides whether you are experienced enough to participate in the Council of Zoners, or not, or if you are allowed to pursue diplomatic negotiations with other factions on your own accord. The whole exterior perception of our faction is planned here. |
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Department of Research |
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Our Department of Research is perhaps the most exotic in our department canon, but it is the edge at the same time. Zoners are supposed to be excellent researchers, and most of our security, trade and diplomatic advantages emanate from this department. This is the reason why most of our members are trying to improve the projects and results of this department. An example we are all proud of is the planned development of a stringent Zoner vessel line, but also the assemply of our Research Facility Leonardo. All of our research projects are embedded in a larger scope of role play which defining the factions distinguished profile. |
Recruitment
Join the Zoners Trading Consortium >>here<<, or contact any consortium pilot.
Consortium Pilot Roster
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Consortium Shipmasters / Quorum Delegates:
Consortium Hall of Fame: (retired/disappeared)
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Consortium Fleet Roster
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Frighters/Transports:
Fighters:
Bombers:
Gunboats:
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Battleships:
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Zone Of Interest
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Omicron Theta, Omicron Delta, Omega 49 ... and every Zoner designated base |
Omicron 74
File:O74.jpg 650px
Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination Restricted Stations: Livadia Shipyard, Sparta Station and Corinth Research Station
Freeport XV is the biggest producer and exporter of food in the Omicrons. The station was recently modified to house numerous biodomes. In addition to supplying local Zoner demands, the biodomes provide food for Corsairs, The Order, and other factions that experience food shortages.
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Diplomacy
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Consortium Policy
- The Consortium obeys the local laws regarding contraband and embargos. No pilot is allowed to transport slaves or any kind of narcotics, except for medical supplies.
- Consortium ships are not interfering with piracy not aimed at Zoner ships. They will act only in self-defense and in protection of commonly known Zoner facilities or on special requests of other Zoners and their allies. The Consortium pilots will never initiate hostilities with any faction or individual.
- The Consortium is explicitely allied with the The Order's Primary Fleet and the Gas Miners Guild. In case of The Order the Consortium tolerates Order independents, but it opposes any separatism endangering the status quo of The Order. This means for example that we do not support the Order Rebellion.
Special agreements
Zoner Alliance
| Zoner Alliance | |
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| Origin | Zoners |
| Alignment | Neutral |
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| Date of founding | 818 A.S. |
| Founder(s) | Zoners |
| Base of operations | Gran Canaria, Omega-49 |
| Primary role | |
| Coordination of global Zoner issues | |
| Secondary role | |
| Verification the usage of Zoner technology | |
Member of:
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Independent Zoners ZUI |
 (]c[) - Zoners Trading Consortium |
Zoner History
Since the beginning of human settlement in Sirius, Zoners were perceived as people who decided to resign from the guaranteed safety of the Houses. They set out to live their lives in the more dangerous, but also auspicious environments of the Edge Worlds, which were collectively known as The Zone. The migration of former House citizens into these territories was akin to the old Earth’s “Exploration of the Great Frontier.” Men and women from a variety of backgrounds brought what little they could fairy into unknown voids of space. These Zoners ranged from mere adventurers to the socially disadvantaged; from prisoners to corporate tycoons. But no matter what reasons drove people out of the relative safety of the Houses, every one of these civilians wanted to start a new life.
One can imagine how painstakingly difficult it was for the first Zoners in the Edge Worlds. They had to abstain from the comforts provided by well established infrastructures of their former homes, so the only way to begin a new life away from the developed parts of Sirius was to sell rare goods found in the Outer Systems to House corporations and criminals alike. Trading became crucial for their survival. They traveled to every corner of Sirius in order to exchange goods, and in the process ignited the first wave of Zoner Immigrants. As traders from the Edge Worlds emerged, now flying under an Independent banner, they attracted a flood of civilians who were largely impressed by the Zoners’ freedom and prosperity. The news of Zoners spread through Sirius attracting more and more people - craftsmen, veterans, scientists, artists and criminals - many of whom changed their identity and tore down all connections to their respective communities. Their new life had to be tightly bound to a neutral attitude towards political plots and struggles, which gave them the necessary security to travel wherever they wished. Some historical evidence also suggests that the Zoners’ separatist approach toward all factional organizations indirectly resulted in the acclaimed neutrality they maintain to this very day.
The Zoners’ primary focus was civilizing the harsh environments they sought refuge in, but they were still too few to build solid infrastructures in order to colonize inhabitable planets, so they started to build space stations and small habitats. Losing lots of their ships exploring the Edge Worlds they learned to be cautious and they learned to value life more than anything else, at least their own. Living in systems with a vanishing density of population they also got used to relying on themselves, preferring independence, personal responsibility and freedom, but they also had to learn to cooperate with each other, just slowly at first, as their will to survive left no other choice to them. These loose cooperations lead to the founding of little communities moving from location to location in order to find new resources and ways to improve their lives. Today it seems to be cynical, but they lived like nomads.
Many years passed, and some of these scattered communities grew slowly but steadily, still attracting more and more people. They claimed abandoned stations, like Freeport 2 in 650 A.S., or built new marketplaces, like Freeport 1 in 738 A.S., at junctions of well-known trade routes to ensure the better provision of daily needs. The first communities settled on habitable planets (Erie in 761 A.S.), and other communities, led by dropouts with scientific backgrounds, launched prototypes of the now fabled Juggernauts into space which were supposed to serve as colonial holds, transports, exploring vessels and support facilities. These ships were also designed as ships of war , although they where never used in this role. They had the resources to build them, so they did.
But Zoners had neither enough time, nor a real need to concentrate on developing military power, although they have always been able to develop technology to be among the best Sirius has ever seen. Their love for freedom and individual occupations as well as the wide spread areas they were living in never allowed the foundation of a common military organization. They preferred to spend their income for further scientific advance, conforming with their curious nature, personal luxuries and new ways of colonizing and perhaps exploiting the Edge Worlds, and most people of Sirius appreciated the Freeports as bastions of freedom where commodities could be traded and information gathered freely and unmolested by House authorities. The first Zoner bases did not even have local security personnel, so most Zoners learned quickly to balance opinions, and to abstain from political interference in order to diffuse conflicts at the initial source of the problem. This neutral attitude and indifferent behavior towards almost everyone founded their reputation as good diplomats. The first noticeable common effort of Zoners to sustain their neutral position is their neutral role in the epic conflict between the Corsairs and the Outcasts.
Beside their neutral attitude towards everybody Zoners had to establish reliable trade contracts as well. The first of this kind was established with the Gas Miners Guild due to each side's satisfying experiences over the years, finally leading to an alliance that is flourishing until today. A second and very delicate alliance has also been forged, which is not completely undisputed among Zoners today: In the prelude of the Nomad War, Zoners were among the first who encountered specimen of these aliens. Never being involved into serious conflicts, thus unable to find quick solutions to this new threat, and feeling secretly responsible for the alien's spreading - it was a Zoner who was to be contaminated first - they appreciated the secret work of the legendary Liberty renegade Caspar Orillion. The Zoners had no choice but to support his work, called The Order, with logistics, financing and intelligence, and due to the fact that The Order was able to achieve a temporary victory against the Nomads, this alliance has lived on until today developing into a mutual exchange of technology routed through intermediaries in the enduring fight against these aliens.
Today the Zoners and their reputation are famous throughout Sirius. Some might even say infamous, depending on their point of view. Zoners are still struggling to reconcile their political neutrality with their desire for individual freedoms, but their answers to this struggle are embodied in groups like the Temporary Autonomous Zoners and new organizations, the Omicron Supply Industries, the Zoners Abolishing Slavery and the Zoners Trading Consortium, as well as the uncounted free-spirited individuals journeying under the Zoners flag, all together organized in the Council of Zoners.
Things are still changing in Sirius of course. The competition for resources is continuing, and the Houses are engaged in power plays with each other. The great war between Corsairs and Outcasts lasts, while the descendants of the long lost colonial ship Gallia have been found again. Almost forgotten is the alien threat, but even Nomads have learned from their defeat preparing their retaliation. It seems that Sirius is subjected to strong emotions that today's Zoners cannot ignore, but they are well prepared to face new challenges.
