While hundreds, if not thousands of criminal organisations exist across the hundreds of lightyears of GSU territory, each varying in size, influence and function, the following are among the most prominent in the sector.
Death Striders
The Death Striders are a powerful militia group situated within GSU territory who have access to numerous resources which make them stand out from most other criminal organisations. While bordering on the power of an insurrectionist faction, what sets them apart from would-be rebels is that their goals are more profit-oriented rather than desiring a regime change.
The Striders, in truth, are guns-for-hire. Their sector is freelance work for whoever is rich enough to pay for it. With a strict and codified set of rules and codes of conduct, the Striders come across as professionals who are willing to do whatever is required of them for the correct price. Their ranking structure is based off of typical military titles, with the head or heads of this organisation remaining unknown as of yet. Their customer base is mainly massive multi-planetary criminal organisations, hubs such as Osiris Station, and even Insurrectionists who use them as a third-party fighting force - although they take Insurrectionist contracts with much deliberation and extreme caution.
Rightly feared throughout the sector, the Striders have access to a massive infantry force, vehicles such as jeeps and tanks, and starships which rival the power of GSU Corvettes and Frigates. Their possession of such resources suggests that they have their own manufacturing plants set up across the sector.
Winchester Security
Winchester Security is an illegal private military and security contractor serving the interests of planet-based criminal organisations and even some legitimate companies. They are headquartered on Chorus II and have a large presence in its star system, although they also have minor presences on other nearby colonies.
While initially having a sizable force on Terra, they were successfully eliminated from the planet after a successful series of operations conducted by the TFP. Winchester Security are customers of Daggerline Systems from whom they source their firearms, aircraft and vehicles while they handle their own recruitment and training of personnel.
WRENCH
With significant presences on Terra and Chorus II, WRENCH is an underground criminal organisation that mostly prefers to stick to the shadows. Their formation occurred in response to the former Terran Empire’s restrictions of cybernetic implants - laws which have been carried over to the GSU but are enforced to varying levels from planet to planet.
Members of WRENCH are classified as criminals due to their implementation of illegal technologies into their bodies such as ranged and melee weapons and implants which assist with hacking and unrestricted remote access to other technologies (such as vehicles). Cybernetic augmentation for regular members are less noticeable but those higher up on their organisational ladder have access to more extensive implants.
Serving these higher members as both guards and a small army are a soldier class who have undergone the most extensive augmentation, with bodies made more durable through reinforced endoskeletons and armour plating as well as enhanced strength, speed and reflexes.
Atom-Ex
Operating out of a remote GSU colony is the sole producer and distributor of the Serix series of drugs. Its head is Alfie Beckett, an elusive but powerful man of British heritage. The Serix injection, outlawed on every single Union world, has multiple variants which differ in purpose ranging from recreational use to more combat-oriented. The Serix-A series induce an addictive “high” state for its users and they are sold at a relatively low price to local drug users via street-level sellers. Bulk orders of these drugs however are negotiated between higher up business executives and other organisations and/or persons of influence and power.
The Serix-K series is known for heightening awareness, and increasing reaction time. The Serix-I series is designed to increase neuromuscular input by increasing adrenal output, muscular density and oxygen efficiency. The result is an individual whose strength is significantly enhanced. Many criminal organisations, especially those with private armies, distribute these to their soldiers, although it is well known that these injections carry a fair percentage of risk to its users.
Large scale Serix distribution campaigns on planets often use pharmaceutical companies as a front for their business dealings. Atom-Ex also often enlists the help of the Louviers in the distribution of their goods.
Daggerline Systems
One of the foremost manufacturers of illegal weaponry, Daggerline Systems saw its profits boom shortly following the fall of Midnight Arms two centuries prior, allowing it to fill in the gap that its larger competitor left behind. Much of Daggerline’s initial product lines were based off firearms and other weapons from earlier in humanity’s history, though with the investment in their R&D, acquisition of Midnight Arms assets and even acquiring the blueprints to older GSU weaponry, Daggerline has cemented itself as a highly reliable manufacturer of good quality weapons. Alongside firearms, they also supply military grade vehicles.
Learning from the mistakes of Midnight Arms, Daggerline has situated its headquarters away from Chorus II, on Osiris Station with the permission of its owner. The company owns manufacturing plants across the sector with the exception of Terra, with a major outlet on Outreach. Orders of weapons shipments are typically ferried to a planet’s surface through weak points in a Union planet’s customs checkpoint, often created due to bribery or extortion. It is not uncommon for them to enlist the services of the Louviers however.
The Louviers
The Louviers are a criminal organization that perform primarily weapon smuggling, drug smuggling, and illegal tech development operations. They're headed by a lycan named Edmund Louvier, whose main base is situated at his mansion on Nightblood. Lycans, vampires, and humans work under Edmund. The humans handle most of the smuggling work while the supernaturals take on more dangerous jobs, usually involving other supernaturals.
The Louviers will use spies and scouts to determine where their illicit operations will be most effective. They make extensive use of mercenaries and are known to hunt down people who turn against them or try to cheat their way out of a contract. They also run several gambling rings to bring in extra money for their operations. Although headquartered on Nightblood, the organisation has a significant presence in GSU territory.
