The 1st Corp War

Military: War

Commando raids and cyberspace attacks between EBM and Orbital Air introduce the world to the age of direct Corporate warfare.

The First Corporate War began simply enough: EBM's leveraged buyout of the failing Transworld Airlines turned unfriendly after their initial deal with Transworld's CEO went sour. Orbital Air, foaming at the mouth to obtain TWA's air-traffic facilities in the U.S., came to TWA's aid, blocking EBM's buyout attempt. EBM struck first, dispatching terrorists to kidnap the OA negotiations team en route to close the TWA deal. The terrorists bungled the job, and EBM's anonymity was compromised. Orbital Air immediately went to work, recruiting Zetatech as an ally, who unleashed a massive wave of NET attacks against EBM. These attacks, though damaging, were quickly put down, forcing Zetatech out of the war. EBM responded with a wave of attacks against TWA and OA facilities. Orbital Air met this challenge well, beefing up security and using their dominance in LEO to establish a blockade against EBM facilities.   Orbital Air finally struck back with a wave of terrorism and piracy of their own. EBM answered this threat with an army of Corporate Solos and proxy soldiers from developing nations. During this period, both companies changed allies as frequently as a joygirl changes partners. Hundreds of millions in Eurodollars were wasted, stolen, or simply destroyed as both firms attempted to cut each other's funding. In fact, at one point, both sides had to find financial supporters just to save their current allies from being wiped out.   There were only two major battles during the conflict. The first occurred when OA commandos captured a central EBM space station in response to a similarly large hijacking that same day by EBM. Both sides were chastised by the European Space Agency, who lifted all the blockades and warned the competitors not to extend their fight into LEO again. The second battle didn't occur until a year later, when OA commandos attacked CEO Ulf Grunwalder's compound in Bavaria, capturing him and forcing EBM to surrender. The ramifications of this war were vast. It was the first conflict of its kind. But more importantly, it gave other companies the green light to use wholesale military tactics to obtain favorable business results. Although some smaller firms had engaged in petty armed squabbles in the past, nothing had ever matched the ferocity and size of this conflict. And it seemed only a matter of time before another one would.