Consortium

Consortium
Origin
Alignment	Varies
Profile
Date of founding	Sometime prior to 615 A.S.
Founder(s)	unknown
Current leader(s)	Ironwatsas
Base of operations	Unknown, center of Consortium activity appears to be Northern Kusari
Primary role
Unknown
Secondary role
Military Insurgency against Kusari

The Consortium, more formally known as the Transhuman arm of the Consortium Legion is a shadowy and largely unknown organization, which is comprised largely of Transhuman, or Posthuman cyborgs. While their exact goals and activities are largely unknown, they are a heavily militarized organization possessing significant amounts of hardware, manpower, and connections to Sirius' criminal underworld. Most of the information collected thus far is based on outside observation, as the Consortium, by their cybernetic nature, are highly difficult to infiltrate or interrogate.

History

Little is known of the Consortium's history prior to their becomming active in 817 A.S. Prior to that, the Consortium had existed as a network of covert operatives, freelance and mercenary pilots, corperate executives, and crime bosses co-operating (Apparently under duress) on mutual goals. Beginning of their conversion into the organised paramilitary they are today began in 816 A.S. with the activation of Ironwatsas, who would ultimately become the Consortium's leader, and mastermind most of their activities in the following years.

Initally active in Rhineland, after a scandal which resulted in many of their operataves killed by the Büro der Marineintelligenz, and the Consortium's failed attempts to garner an alliance with the Red Hessian Army, they moved their main operations to Kusari. With Ironwatsas as their main field operative, the Consortium attempted to garner an alliance with the NovaPG and Blood Dragons. However, both factions were unwlecoming of what they percived as Gaijin mercenaries (The Consortium's cover story at the time). The Consortium did however manage to gain an alliance with the Golden Chrysanthemums, after Watsas' intervention in several key battles with the Farmers Alliance.

Concurrent to this, Consortium covert operations and engineering units began setting the foundation for Project Olympus, the Construction of a Cybernetic army to give the Consortium a means of direct military intervention. The wreck of the RNC Kassel, an old Rhineland cruiser lost in Sigma-13 during the 80 years war, was chosen as a laborotory to conduct their inital experaments. Using technology stolen from Cryer Pharmaceuticals, and with captured enemy pilots used as hosts, the Consortium began creating their Cyborg military force, abiet slowly.

The Consortium recived a further boost in status following the Morioka Incedent, which resulted in the activation of Siren-1.7 (Also known as 'Kathryn'), a state of the art Artificial Intelligence, as well as a close alliance with the GC's Kiretsu flight wing which it maintains to this day. In the months following, Watsas had consolidated the Consortium's command structure, paramilitary, covert ops, and burgonning industrial capacity. As well, the Consortium forged several key alliances with the Outcasts, Blood Dragons, and Junker Congress, as well as a long term contract with the Slaver's Union to boost up it's troop reserves.

With the recent lapse of KNF security in Kusari proper(with the bulk of their forces deployed in the Taus), massive increase in forces and hardware, and their beginning to sink their claws into the economies of Bretonia and Liberty, the Consortium is becomming increasingly dangerous to the security of House Kusari. It has encountered resistance, mainly from the Artisan Farmers Alliance, who have been aware of Ironwatsas since his inital point insertion into Kusari. As a result of escalating hostilities with them and other factions, the Consortium have become increasingly aggressive as of late.

The Consortium today functions as a military-oriented insurgency, with respectable manpower, hardware, and connections to other unlawful factions, but are relatively few in number. As well, the Consortium are actively supplying, protecting, and assisting the Golden Chrysanthemums and to some extent the Blood Dragons, with the ultimate goal of pacifiying and taking control of Kusari's industry and natural resources for their own use.

Modus Operandi

The Consortium's most apparent element is it's paramilitary force. While small, the Consortium through it's political connections and military actions have aquired a significant technological base, and large amounts of military hardware which form the backbone of both their space fleet and planetary shock divisions. While they are restricted by their small size, their persistance, tactical prowess, and sheer ruthlessness have allowed them to outmanuver and strike at their foes. They tend to perfer small scale, surgical strikes to debilitate Kusari industry and infrastructure, or destabilise or control the current government.

However, military operations are only one part of the Consortium's overall operations. Equally as important is maintaining and securing diplomacy with anyone and anything that can potentially serve a useful purpose. Their closest allies are the Golden Chrysanthemums, whom the Consortium are fiercely protective of. Their military forces have often been known to conduct suicidal attacks and sacrifice disperportionate amounts of hardware and personel to protect small numbers of GC ships or individuals. As well, the Consortium have been known to supply the GC and assist in day-to-day operations and security. Mixed fleets are often seen conducting strikes against Kusari targets of oppurtunity.

Beyond the GC, the Consortium have forged close relations with the Blood Dragons and NovaPG, whom they also supply to a limited degree. In return, the Dragons have on occassion allowed the Consortium use of Mito shipyards and other facilities (prior to the completion of Takada Shipyards in Tau-65) for use in maintaining some of their larger ships. However, the Consortium-Dragon alliance is not quite as close as the GC-CS relationship. The Consortium have also maintained long-term contracts with the Outcasts for purchase of spaceships and military equipment, and have an ongoing contract with the Slaver's Union to deliver bulk supplies of troops.

Finally, the Consortium still maintain a significant covert-operations division, who's activities are largely unknown, but are belived to be engaged in intelligence gathering, political manipulation, and often clandestine military strikes. Given the obvious veil of secrecy surrounding these operations, little information regarding them has surfaced.

Capture Policy

The Consortium are notorious for systematically replacing their ranks with enemy prisoners of war, by means of Cybernetic enslavement and subliminal propaganda. The process by which this is accomplished is at least partially based on stock Cryer research, as well as several botched LSF projects which the Consortium aquired information on by means of their covert operations network.

Captured enemy pilots are given inital physical and mental exams, and are taken to a medical facility where they are restrained. A Neurocyte, a semi-organic device which converts computer signals into brainwave patterns and vice-versa, is implanted through a hydraulic needle into the individual's brain, and is integrated with medical nanites. Additional cybernetic implants are surgically installed and linked with the Neurocyte, and the individual is subjected to a barrage of visual, audio, and mental subliminal messaging which serves both to overwrite some existing memories and personality traits, as well as to give a degree of operational education and military training to the host. This allows individuals with little or no military background to serve in the Consortium's ranks.

However, previous experiances and memories are not completely destroyed, and most captured individuals retain elements of their former personalities (abiet surpressed by their conditioning implants). Because of this, Consortium troops are usually assigned based on previous occupations and specialties. To prevent unwanted emotional impulses, the conditioning implants, when activated (based on adreniline levels and brainwave patterns) effectively inhibit and surpress the emotions of the user, effectively forcing them to think logically and thuroghly. When inactive however, emotional stimuli are usually unaffected (As these are nessiscary for certian operational paramaters and social interaction with non-consortium entities).

Military Hardware

Because of their close ties with the Outcast military (Due in part to their alliance with Kiretsu), the Consortium make heavy use of spacecraft of borderworlds and outcast design. Most of their strikecraft are from the Series XYZ line, including the Scimitar light fighter, Switchblade interceptor, Sabre superiority fighter, and Falcata bomber. Older model Daggers and Stilettos are often used as training craft or target drones, but more commonly cannibalised for spare parts. This appears due mainly to their ease of repair and adaptability, as many are seen upgraded with Consortium technology and non-standard equipment.

The Consortium also possess a small fleet of Capital ships. Formerly, their perferred ship of choice was the Talarca class cruiser, however they appear to have been recently retired due to increasing problems with frame cracks and power distribution as a result of the new hardware installed by the Consortium. Their replacements have been the newly upgraded Outcast Destroyer, which they primarily use defensively to protect GC facilities and thier own holdings, but have been known to use offensively.

Supporting all of this is an equally large military logistics and trade fleet, consosting of an assortment of generic and easily obtainable transports, freighters, Repair Ships, and Mining vessles, as well as a few old Prison Liner used as improvised carriers and mobile factories. While some of these vessels bear \CS\ transponder signals, many others are part of their covert operations units and are disguised as normal civilian trade ships and vessels. These ships serve a vital purpose, hauling cargo to provide an extra source of income, transporting military supplies, providing mobility for Consortium ground forces, and supplying Consortium allies.

Diplomacy

Allies

Golden Chrysanthemums

Blood Dragons

Outcasts

Unidentified 'Benefactors'

Enemies

Kusari

Colonial Remnant

The Order

Identification/IFF information

Currently, the Consortium use an Outcast tag and transponder (or GUARD tag for capital ships). However, they are not technically affiliated with the Outcast nation or any outcast factions. The ID is simply the most befitting of their diplomacy and shipline.

Previously, the Consortium used a Golden Chrysanthemum ID and IFF, but this has been changed. Some vessels may still bear a GC tag until such time as the tag can be replaced with an Outcast one.

The faction tag is \CS\-name. No set naming convention is yet in place, and new personell are typically given military codenames or ship callsigns. Consortium covert operations ships or traders not officially part of the Consortium Airwatch may not bear a \CS\ tag.

Known Consortium Personell/Ships

• Apparent Leader:
  • \CS\-Ironwatsas (Ironwatsas)

• Known Airwatch Ships:
  • \CS\-Eskaluur (Ktayn)
  • \CS\-Zio.Internicine (Bobafett)
  • \CS\-Biotechnika (Blackstarr2)
  • \CS\-Hoshinokatana (Enko)
  • \CS\-Lady.Aniela (Ironwatsas)
  • \CS\-Helkos (Sivran)
  • \CS\-Shelldrake (Tidomann)
  • \CS\-Basul.Re (formerly \CS\-Athanauthe)(Ironwatsas)
  • \CS\-Darak.Ti (formerly \CS\-Abyss)(Shared)

• Support Ships:
  • \CS\-Bank (Shared)
  • Crucible-01 (Shared armory between the \CS\ and Kiretsu wing)