Shadow Family Syndicate

General:

The Shadow Family Syndicate, more commonly known simply as The Syndicate, is an organization that spans across the galaxy that began as three independent criminal organizations in the early days of the Galactic Democratic Federation. Eventually, the three organizations merged together, turning into a single criminal entity that spread across the breadth of the galaxy. In the present day, the Syndicate operates fully as a complex governmental system that operates independently, though it still engages in the predatory activity of its past.

Formation:

In the beginning, the Shadows of the East, the Tresari Family, and the Kensari Syndicate were three independent organizations that grew extensive enough to operate across vast expanses of space primarily within the borders of the Galactic Democratic Federation. The Shadows of the East operated in the eastern territories and ran slaving guilds as well as assassins for hire, the Tresari Family operated in the north and primarily focused on highjacking and smuggling, and the Kensari Syndicate operated in the west and primarily focused on the production and distribution of narcotics as well as gambling and prostitution.

These three organizations grew large enough that they eventually began crossing paths, with the Tresari Family crossing the paths of both of the other organizations. The Tresari Family initially caused tensions with the other two organizations by infringing on their territories, typically by hijacking their cargo in the process. Despite this, the increasing efforts by the Federation to crack down on their operations eventually forced members of the Kensari Syndicate to hire the Tresari Family for the purpose of smuggling narcotics on their behalf. The successful completion of these operations caused the Tresari Family to realize the potential of stepping in to fill the role of facilitating the distribution of the Kensari Syndicate and the Shadows of the East would drastically expand their own profit and power.

The Tresari Family managed to build a network across the four corners of the Federations territory which spurred a boom in operations of the Kensari Syndicate and the Shadows of the East from their former territories to spread with the Tresari Family to match the opportunity they were building. The operational necessity and complexity that entwined the three organizations eventually transcended the previous animosity and distinction between them by their own members.

The three organizations worked closely in researching and developing a means to counteract the efforts of the Federation aided by the Hakka Empire to uproot their illicit operations. This was managed and the formal merger of the three organizations into the Shadow Family Syndicate was achieved when the Kensari Syndicate managed to develop the Syndichip. Using nanotechnology, the Kensari Syndicate was able to develop a brain implant that would both monitor and mask the neurological patterns of those it is implanted in.

The Syndichip's primary function is to perpetually scan the brain of those that they are implanted in for thoughts of disloyalty, the millisecond an individual decides to engage in an act that would betray their organization the Syndichip will detonate with an explosive force which will destroy the chip and the brain of the host. The Syndichip's secondary function is to scan for attempts to scan the brain patterns of the individual by other sources, which will cause the Syndichip to generate false brain patterns in order to protect the actual ones. This secondary function requires greater performance than the Syndichip is capable of maintaining for prolonged periods, if the scan of their brain patterns exceeds three hours the Syndichip will begin to suffer deterioration and will respond by detonating to protect the secrecy of the organization.

By the time that they officially merged to become known as the Shadow Family Syndicate, the event was rather unceremonious or notable among the members of the formerly three organizations.

Post-Formation:

The Syndicate in the Sixth Era of the galaxy exists within the borders of the Galactic Democratic Federation, operating as an illicit organization that was responsible for nearly all organized criminal activity in the Federation throughout its existence. The production and distribution of narcotics, slavery, prostitution, highjacking, blackmailing, assassination, espionage, gambling, insider trading, alongside traditional business practices.

The Syndicate is ruled by a governing body known as the Directorate, composed of three Directors who in matters calling on the Directorate to act will work by casting votes and majority rule. The Directors are not permitted to abstain from voting, once a vote has been called.

Ranks:

• Director: One of three members of the Directorate, the ruling body of the Syndicate. Each rule over a third of the Syndicate with absolute authority, though in matters that involve more than one territory the Directorate rules by a majority vote.
• Regent: There are thirty Regents in total, ten serving under each Director. Each rule over a tenth of the Director's territory with absolute authority within the bounds of the orders given to them to carry out by their Director, or the Directorate.
• Magistrate: There are three hundred Magistrates in total, ten serving under each Regent. Like the Regents they serve, they are responsible for managing a tenth of a Regent's territory with absolute authority within the bounds of the orders given to them by their Regent.
• Auditor: There are three thousand auditors in total, ten serving under each Magistrate. They are tasked with making rounds across the systems of their Magistrate's territory to investigate the state of affairs and compile reports on profits, losses, sustainability, morale, as well as the societal, economic, and political impacts and implications of their operations. They possess the authority to call for an Inquisition.
• Inquisitor: There are three thousand Inquisitors in total, ten serving under each Magistrate. They are tasked with aggressively assessing and investigating matters deemed a concern or issue by their Magistrate, the Director of their territory, the Directorate, as well as Auditors. They possess the authority to take any measure they deem necessary to protect the Syndicate from any perceived threat.
• Governor: There are thirty thousand Governors in total, one hundred serving under each Magistrate. They are tasked with ensuring the proper administration of 1% of the systems that are under the control of their Magistrate. As with their Magistrate, they possess absolute authority within the bounds of the orders given to them by their Magistrate. They possess the authority to call for an Audit or Inquisition of systems that they deem a concern.
• Dictator: There is a Dictator for each system in which the scale of Syndicate operations is significant. Ruling either directly over the system as a dictatorship, or over their operations hidden within Federal systems or the systems of member states. They have the authority to call for an Audit of their system if they believe there is a concern.
• Agent: There is an Agent for every member of rank above them. They serve as the bodyguards and the muscle of those they are commanded by, receiving a portion of the profits of those that they serve as opposed to paying dues up the ranks.
• Chief: There are twenty Chiefs per Dictator. They are responsible for managing the cumulative efforts of the Captains under their authority who run the operations of the Syndicate, ensuring that their efforts do not conflict with each other or the aims of the Syndicate as a whole.
• Captain: There are one hundred Captains per Chief. Captains are responsible for overseeing the operations of their Operators to ensure that they are profitable to the Syndicate and that the operations do not cause undue or excessive concern for the Syndicate as a whole.
• Operator: There are sixty Operators per Chief. The owners/operators of the slave markets, drug markets, brothels, nightclubs, casinos, smuggling rings, extortion rackets, mercenary squads, etc.
• Initiate: There are ten Initiates per Operator. They are utilized by the Operators which have sponsored them into a probationary period of earning membership within the Syndicate. Initiates do not have a Syndichip implanted yet and are not protected by its programming as official members of the Syndicate itself. They are viewed as and used as disposable resources of their Operator. As such they take on the most dangerous or grueling tasks necessary to carry out the goals of their Operator.
• Indentured: Indentured individuals are protected and immune to most forms of abuse and exploitation by members of the Syndicate. Relatives of full Syndicate members, as well as those who are favored by those who are the rank of Dictator or higher.
• Asset: The common masses who are subjected to the control of the Syndicate. All assets are addicts and thereby slaves to the will of the Syndicate. Assets, like Initiates, are disposable to the Syndicate, Assets however are unable to earn a higher station in life.

Dues:

Are nearly universally paid up the ranks of the Syndicate in order to finance Syndicate operations that do not generate a direct profit, such as research and development operations, as well as administrative operations. They are also utilized to profit the higher-ranking members of the Syndicate off of the lesser.

Base dues of 10% are paid up the ranks by Indentured, Initiates, Operators, Captains, Chiefs, Dictators, Governors, Magistrates, and Regents. Auditors, Inquisitors, and Agents do not pay dues and instead are paid dues of 1% by those that they serve. Assets, however, are required to pay dues of 95%.

Project Genitor:

A major breakthrough for the Syndicate was the completion of Project Genitor, which genetically engineered a species of bacteria known as Primoria. Using colonies of Primoria bacteria to produce a potent but toxic chemical which the Syndicate named Dark Matter, from which they derive their proprietary narcotics and chemical weapons. This would shape the future of the Syndicate as significant efforts were made to produce and utilize the various derivatives of the Dark Matter chemical compound which would come to permeate throughout all of their other operations. Dark Matter is refined in order to create the derivatives that are known as Star Dust, Nebula, Space Dust, Moon Dust, Quasar, and Entropy.

Corporate Operations:

Corporate operations were limited before Project Genitor to blackmailing corporate officials in order to pursue insider trading, blackmail or to acquire targets for highjacking. After Project Genitor, their corporate operations began to expand exponentially as they began to infiltrate corporations more extensively through their designer drugs, which allowed them to secure de facto control of every corporation that they had dealings with before spreading out. Their control over or within corporate entities followed their drug trade, as their primary targets for expanding their drug trade were in areas with significant employment rates for Federal corporate entities, or advanced corporate entities of Federation members.

Fully infiltrated or Syndicate corporate operations function as insulated systems of slavery, in which all employees who aren't used for public relations are addicted to the Genitor drugs and are typically given a steady stream of Moon Dust and corporate credits in place of traditional payment. Their credits can be used to access necessities and limited lower-end recreational or luxury items. Such corporate operations develop into caste systems in which the offspring are taught the professions of their parents, born with the Genitor addiction with no possibility of freedom of social mobility. They are however capable of generational wealth, though this is limited to the passing of physical possessions rather than credits.

Due to the Genitor addiction of all corporate employees excluding those of public relations, and members of the Syndicate, all ranks and positions receive the same compensation.

Seventh Era To Present:

After the fall of the Hakka Empire and the Galactic Democratic Federation.

Type

Illicit, Syndicate