"privileges" instead of "rights," the law is essentially
whatever the Espos need it to be (as long as their
corporate masters agree).
To maintain control of the Corporate Sector, the Es-
pos possess a sizable Picket Fleet of capital ships and
starfighters. Many of their warships are older vessels pur-
chased at discount, such as Victory Star Destroyers and
Marauder Corvettes. However, they're more than enough
to see off smugglers, pirates, and other malcontents.
Many fringers see the Corporate Sector as a land of
opportunity and a chance to escape the oppression of
the Galactic Empire. In this they are partially correct. The
CSA remains semi-autonomous from the Empire, and
there are great opportunities to be had within its bor-
ders. However the CSA enforces its own oppressive rule
of law that guarantees constant profits and crushes any-
one who interferes. In addition, the best opportunities
remain in the hands of the CSA's shareholder companies
at the expense of the Sector's average inhabitants.
Ironically, this means that the best opportunities to
be found in the Corporate Sector are on the far side of
the law. Activities such as smuggling proscribed mate-
rials in or out of the region or aiding dissidents in their
fight against the CSA can often pay far better than
any honest work, even if they are more dangerous. Al-
ternatively, many of the megacorps who make up the
CSA are willing to hire "deniable assets" to perform
illegal tasks they'd rather publicly deny.
THE ZANN CONSORTIUM
Perhaps no criminal syndicate more effectively repre-
sents the power of an individual's drive and charisma
than the Zann Consortium. Like a warrior-king, Tyber
Zann rules his criminal empire with effective strategy
and ruthless commitment to success. He understands
the basics of sentient nature, believing that every-
where that society of any kind exists, there are souls
to corrupt and credits to be made.
A one-time protege of Jabba the Hutt, Zann betrayed
him and ended up in the Kessel spice mines for his trou-
ble. However, Zann escaped and leveraged his success
into the construction of a powerful criminal empire. Be-
tween rapid expansions into all kinds of criminal areas
and raiding Imperial caches of riches and materials, the
Zann Consortium is growing into a power in the galaxy.
Zann shapes his Consortium to have a more militaristic
bent than many criminal organizations, and although it
is nowhere near as powerful as a proper military such as
the Imperial Army or Navy, it is still formidable.
The Zann Consortium is widespread and powerful
enough to warrant Black Sun's attention. Prince Xizor
has made overtures towards the idea of cooperation
between the two groups. Zann has responded in
kind, although he likely sees this as an opportunity
to lull Black Sun into a false sense of security beforebetraying and crippling the syndicate. Since it's high-
ly likely that Xizor has similar plans, any relationship
between the two of them grows slowly at best. Like-
wise, Zann has no love for the Rebel Alliance and has
worked against it on occasion. However, Zann hates
the Empire and sometimes attacks its interests and
installations out of spite.THE TENLOSS SYNDICATE
The Tenloss Syndicate stands firmly on the line between
criminal syndicate and legitimate corporate entity. The
Syndicate's conglomerate front of legitimate businesses,
the Tenloss Corporation, is a collection of different com-
panies, specializing in everything from gambling to min-
ing to ship production. Meanwhile, illegal shadow opera-
tions (often within its legitimate companies) produce illicit
weapons, armor, and even starships such as the Hornet
Interceptor. The primary goal of the Tenloss Syndicate is
to maximize profits. Whether it does so from illegal opera-
tions or legitimate sales doesn't matter, and the focus of
the group leans either way as its fortunes dictate.Though nowhere nearly as widespread as Black Sun
(with which it enjoys close ties) or the Zann Consortium
(Tenloss is primarily situated in the Bajic Sector), this
syndicate enjoys a great deal of respect and good busi-
ness with most of the rest of the underworld commu-
nity. Additionally, there are a number of other factions,
businesses, and governments who also appreciate doing
business with Tenloss, especially those in need of ships
and military gear they cannot otherwise acquire.
As a general rule, the series of councils that oper-
ate the different levels of the Tenloss Syndicate stay
focused on professional and economic goals; they
are not prone to acts of passion or whim. They write
off minor losses rather than expend unnecessary
resources on profitless revenge. On the other hand,
should anyone become a serious threat to operations,
the Syndicate can bring impressive force to bear
against its enemies.THE BOUNTY
HUNTERS GUILDThough there are countless smaller groups, guild
houses, and other organizations for bounty hunters
and assassins throughout the galaxy, the vast major-
ity of real business is done through the rather massive
Bounty Hunters Guild. The Guild is, in fact, made up of
a number of houses and syndicates, all dedicated to a
particular kind of business or a specific philosophy as
dictated by the founders and leadership.
The various houses, in brief, are as follows:- House Benelex, specializing in kidnapping retriev-
als, is highly tied to the Empire and the Drearian
Defense Conglomerate.
LAW AND SOCIETY
EDCE OF THE EMPIRE