The Sector Trade Organization (STO) is an Empire-spanning alliance between many of the economic pillars of Acheron Rho. Between ACRE, PRISM, The Velan Ascendancy, 14 Red Dogs Society, the Church of Humanity, Repentant, and formerly the Yakiyahn Mandate Constitutional Assembly, the STO supplies nearly every Imperial citizen with food, household goods, internet access, news, entertainment, religious services, social media, travel, cultural exports, and labor, among other activities and services. It is the largest organization focused on economics in the Sector and it came together to address the largest economic downturn since the Second Imperial Civil War - the Cygnus Labor Crisis.
The STO was founded in the Assembly Hall at Mordred Station on February 20th, 3200 with the motto “Peace, Prosperity, Profit.” Its major missions are to promote Imperial stability through defensive cooperation, to improve the economic viability of the Sector, and to create mutual gain for all of its members and trading partners. While membership in the Sector Trade Organization gives each faction a better sense for what the other members are doing, every faction makes its own decisions on expansion, trade, and conflict. There are only two exceptions to this independance: STO members are required to assist each other when any member is in financial or physical distress caused by unearned outside attack, and STO members must be more favorable in their trade dealings with members than with third parties.
The STO General Council makes decisions on the few matters that affect the trade organization as a whole and the assembly hall at Mordred Station is often reserved for General Council discussions on the latest events in the Empire. Each member organization sends three Ambassadors to represent their interests on the General Council in a format directly inspired by the esteemed Council of Noble Houses. The General Council is also tasked with the operation of Mordred Station, and all told, just shy of 6,000 staff members are managed by the GC’s ambassadors.
History[]
The STO was established roughly 15 years after the start of the War Against the Artificial and the bombing of Gats. The elimination of synthetics as a labor force and the economic impact of decades of war caused what is currently called the Cygnus Labor Crisis or the Synth Labor Crisis. Swift action was required to keep the Empire from starvation and economic collapse and many corporate groups were forced to retract and consolidate their resources closer to home. By the time the Sector Trade Organization was first discussed, the economic retrenchment had largely stopped, but there was no easy path to a full recovery. Many planets still had not resolved how to operate without a Synthetic workforce, and the transition impacted nearly every Noble House and all of the Imperial institutions which served them. The Sector Trade Organization was proposed as a way to cooperate and organize a response to this crisis.
Statement of Intent[]
The Sector Trade Organization released the following Statement of Intent in early 3200
The STO promotes three core principles: Peace, Prosperity, and Profit. Our mission is to promote stability and economic recovery in the Empire, and we stand together in order to deter conflict. These principles and goals are made a reality through a set of formal agreements that the members of the STO promise to uphold.
This is understood as their official explanation for the purpose of the STO.
Initial Meetings[]
Many rounds of negotiations occurred at Mordred Station to gauge interest in what would become the Sector Trade Organization. Initially, A.C.R.E, PRISM, The Trilliant Ring, and Deathless Conflict Solutions were invited to talks to discuss the prosperity and economic future of the Empire.
Shorty after talks begun the Deathless asked to be removed from consideration as a potential member of the STO, because the strictness of their own contracts would interfere too much with a larger defensive pact. More days passed and the 14 Red Dogs Society was suggested as a founding member and invited to talks. Shortly after, the Trilliant Ring explained that their interests might not align with those of the STO, and they left the talks without becoming a member.
After these entrances and exits, the STO was formed with ACRE, PRISM, and the 14 Red Dogs Society as founding members. House Vela issued as statement of support and then joined a few weeks later.
CHR Membership[]
A few months later, the Church of Humanity, Repentant, joined the STO as a full member. In addition to adding to the STO's portfolio the CHR's sizable economic activities, from tea cultivation to healthcare services, it also expanded the STO's cultural services into the realm of religious practices and spiritual counselling. The Treaty of Cabina was signed by all STO members to ensure that the CHR would be fully capable of providing STO members and customers with all their religious needs, allowing the STO to encompass and support all facets of human activity.
YMCA Membership[]
Not long after the CHR's accession to the STO, conflict broke out in earnest between the STO and much of the nobility. The Yakiyahn Mandate Constitutional Assembly declared itself on the side of the STO, and not long after officially joined the organization as its sixth member.
In the preceding weeks and months, the noble factions opposed to the STO had been negotiating with representatives of the political movements on Yakiyah. Noting the historical animosity between the people of Yakiyah and A.C.R.E., the nobles hoped to convince them that the corporations were the true enemy of the people. However, by the time the formation of the YMCA was announced it was concluded that the nobles were not interested in true reform, and merely sought to use and discard them like they'd been using and discarding serfs since time immemorial. When an offer of democracy, civil rights, and more came from the STO, the YMCA decided that the true furtherment of the revolutionary cause lay on the side of the STO.
The YMCA withdrew their membership just months later as the conflict was reaching the point of all out war.
Agreements[]
The STO published an overview of its member agreements in early 3200. You can read that document here, along with their FAQ. This section lists the public summary of the Sector Trade Organization’s membership agreements.
Economy[]
“A defining feature of the STO is lifting each other up economically. While not mandatory, all members agree to offer mutually beneficial deals to each other (such as nonprofit trades) when possible.”
Members of the STO avoid deliberately harming each other’s businesses, and instead focus on cooperating to help the organization recover from the Labor Crisis. Underutilized resources are passed around, and best practices for defending against cyber-attacks and other soft threats are shared freely throughout the STO. There is a general acknowledgement that the STO as a whole can more easily survive economic hazards together than any given member could on its own.
One slightly eccentric note of the STO’s trade agreements is that intellectual property rights and copyright treaties make up a significant part of most STO agreements. This is rumored to be a sign of PRISM’s influence on STO legalese, but PRISM would point out that everyone, especially ACRE, benefits from this as well. Fortunately, a significant part of said agreement provides an even framework for sharing technical expertise and integrating each member’s specialities into unified STO products and technology.
Advance Notification[]
“STO members operate autonomously, but we also promise to notify each other about our plans. There can be a conversation about whether or not a course of action is a good idea, but STO members cannot be forced to change their plans.”
The STO provides notice of impending business deals and acquisitions to its members, allowing a valuable peek ahead of the economic curve in the sector. With knowledge of mutual plans and shared intel capabilities, the Sector Trade Organization loses less time attempting to predict the actions of others and its members enjoy enhanced trade capacity as a result. Both good and bad outcomes are considered in advance and strategy is improved as a result.
Non-Aggression Pact[]
“We agree to act in good faith towards other members. This includes not taking actions that hinder or harm other members. For example, we cannot defend against attacks made by another member.”
The Sector Trade Organization opens a venue for cooperation between its members, and all parties agree to avoid negatively impacting each other’s business, cultural efforts, or physical safety. Trade-related disputes are resolved by independent judges at the STO through a dispute resolution process.
Defensive Pact[]
“Our members promise to defend each other against attacks, including ones made through asset abilities or the Deathless, but are not obligated to help each other take aggressive actions. Additionally, members must give the STO advanced warning about aggressive actions they plan to take.”
The Sector Trade Organization relies on diplomacy as its first line of defense. Its mission is to promote peace and the common good as the Empire recovers from the recent decades of crisis. It has little in the way of jointly owned resources, as its focus is on promoting cooperation between individual member groups. However coordinated economic and intelligence efforts insulate members from outside threats, while physical security is handled through unified condemnation and prosecution of the criminal assault. The Sector Trade Organization’s most powerful tool against threats to the Empire is its members’ ability to enforce sanctions on trade with criminal or disruptive elements in the Sector, drying up access to vital resources while its members’ expertise in the media and social spheres put significant soft pressure on the aggressive faction.
That said, enforcing sanctions takes its own toll on the economy as well, and such measures are never taken lightly or without much discussion. Members of the STO’s General Council see themselves as benefactors to the Empire, and promote the emulation of the Knights of old, and Mordred’s enlightened companions in particular. These landless heroic figures would travel their homeworlds in honorable service to their emperox and the common good, defeating evils that challenged the peace and serving as embodiments of feudal virtue. A knight’s skill and their ability to restore stability and reestablish trade set them a step above serfs, but also a step below the monarchs and nobles they served. According to the STO, the best knights would accept a share of the ensuing bounty, so that they might continue their great works and enjoy their rightful allotment of the general prosperity.
In honor of the myth of Mordred and Arthur the Blood-Soaked King, the Sector Trade Organization names its jointly held resources after knights and other exemplary figures. Common choices include Mordred’s companions, particularly Aragorn, Crowley, Eve, Galahad, Godefroy Guinevere, Lancelot, Morrigan, Percival, Roland, Siegfried, and the Black, Red, and Green Knights. See the list of active, jointly owned STO ships here. In the event of a crisis, the General Council will meet in Corbenic, a reinforced command room where the STO’s ambassadors may look through intelligence reports and organize a response.
Ambassadors and Voting[]
“Each member faction maintains a group of three active Ambassadors to represent their faction’s interests within the STO. These Ambassadors make up the voting body of the STO and handle talks with outside factions that are interested in joining the STO.”
Duties of the General Council include discussing and voting on any joint action by the STO, with the default alternative being independent action from all members. The General Council approves the majority of PR initiatives and each ambassador oversees a section of Mordred Station and represents their group’s interests in the STO.
Subcommittees are made up of industry experts that don’t necessarily have standing in the General Council, but who nevertheless are essential to the STO’s function. Product safety standards and manufacturing quality are agreed upon by industry experts in various STO subcommittees, reviewed by Eridanii Regulatos to ensure compliance with trade regulations, and then ratified by the General Council - streamlining inter-organization trade as many local barriers are clarified and streamlined. Subcommittees are somewhat rare at the moment due to the newness of the Sector Trade Organization, but semi-formal groups are arranged as needed. The current most active sub-committee is the Committee on Public Relations which is overseen by PRISM personnel at the moment but includes all member factions.
In addition to the General Council and any subcommittees, Eridanii Regulatos have an important presence on the station as the Sector Trade Organization understandably produces many trade deals and covers a broad enough series of industries that having regulatory overseers continually present to advise STO members and inspect their activity is convenient for all parties. Fortunately, Mordred Station has a reputation as a comfortable living space filled with business-minded people who mingle with Eridanii sentiment rather well, and not a few Regulatos are often seen at dinner or events with STO executives rumored to be close friends. It helps that the Sector Trade Organization is exhaustively correct with its paperwork, as the resident Regulatos can prove at any given moment.
Impact on Trade[]
With the advice and approval of Eridanii Regulatos, the STO regulates trade between its members by providing a framework for negotiating trade in goods, services, and intellectual property. The STO prohibits discrimination between trading partners, but provides exceptions for environmental protection, Imperial security, and other important goals. A dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to trade agreements while maintaining good feeling and a spirit of cooperation. Most members agree to take actionable disagreements to Mordred Station, where a three-person arbitration panel is consulted to help resolve the dispute.
A typical STO arbitration panel consists of Eridanii Regulatos, who oversee implementation of trade laws and regulation, Lyran Horuset , who mediate most of the Empire’s disputes, and (typically-retired) Crux Richters or Anwalts that specialize in corporate jurisprudence. Some STO arbitration panels feature extra members, usually specialists for especially complex cases, maybe two Eridanii bureaucrats or two Crux richters, but all panels must have at least one member from each house. When called upon, STO arbitration panels discuss the issue with all parties and clarify the meaning of any contract until everyone affected comes to an agreement on the appropriate solution. If necessary, disputes may escalate to requesting judgement and enforcement from an active Crux official, but that service is not available on Mordred Station and most participants feel more at home where the members of a panel are familiar faces around the station.
Adding New Members[]
The process of becoming a STO member is unique to each applicant faction, and the terms of admission are dependent upon the faction’s stage of economic development and current trade regime. The process takes as long as needed for talks to complete, usually about a month, but it can last longer if the faction is less than fully committed to the process or if political issues interfere. Upon each faction’s induction, a Lyran artist is hired to design and create an artistic monument to the new member’s contributions to the Empire’s wellbeing, and the monuments are placed upon the black marble hallways leading up to the General Council’s assembly hall.
- Outside factions are welcome to express interest in joining STO.
- Talks will take as long as is necessary. When everyone’s questions and concerns have been answered, a vote will be held about whether to invite the faction to STO.
- A 100% majority is required for the new faction to join, regardless of whether they join as a full member or an affiliate.