Jumpcorp
It is almost easier to talk about what JumpCorp isn’t than what it is.
JumpCorp isn’t the typical dystopian megacorp. It’s not inherently corrupt or evil, though parts of it certainly can be. It’s not a police force, but it offers police-like and even military security forces for hire. It’s not a government, but it governs where needed. It’s not a mining outfit or a trading corporation, though it engages extensively in both of those industries.
JumpCorp is not run by a single set of rules and regulations. That would be nearly impossible given the vast number of situations, physical circumstances, and races it must deal with across countless systems and even galaxies. What is strong throughout most JumpCorp operations, however, is precedent. Each new “charter” is built by founders approved by JumpCorp’s home office, who have matriculated through a previous charter, which was built by the one before that, and so forth. This has resulted in a very similar corporate culture across galaxies, but with enough variance between charters to allow for local circumstances.
JumpCorp is really more of a collective resource of personnel and expertise scattered throughout the reaches of the Known Worlds and the vast reaches of space they’ve helped explore. Or as JumpCorp is fond of saying, “To the last parsec... and beyond.”
Structure
JumpCorp Prime
JumpCorp Prime acts as a hub for all its franchises. It doesn’t control all of these “charters,” but does act as the locus for data and record keeping, as well as arbitrator when charters cannot reach an accord. The company’s records are spread among many storage centers, including several roving “dataships” that travel the Known Worlds constantly gathering, storing, and transmitting the data of its charters and associates. The vast majority of company policy is left to the individual charters. Only a few hundred regulations, primarily concerning internal company policies and revenue sharing, are officially and regularly applied to charters. JumpCorp has no Chief Executive Officer. The core of the company is instead run by the Corporate Executive Committee (or CEC). CEC members are chosen for their ability to apply common sense to the many issues that cross their datascreens. They are attended by contract advisors chosen for their particular expertise. If the company wants to disseminate new hyperdrive designs to its various charters, for example, engineers familiar with the technology are hired to test and report on the drives, create blueprints for their production, and then handle any issues or feedback from the charters.Charters and Conglomerates
JumpCorp Charters are typically limited to a given star system, but any number of systems within a galaxy may join together to form a galactic conglomerate. The universal mega-conglomerate is usually just called “JumpCorp.” Just how big a charter or conglomerate is depends far more on the number of active operations under its control than it does on the size of territory covered. Some JumpCorp charters provide services for just a few planets in a single system. They may be relatively new to the region, there may not be enough resources to make a large presence profitable, or there may be so much work focused on a few key regions that it requires the corporation’s entire focus—at least until it has enough time to expand appropriately. Once charters grow large enough to form conglomerates, they find themselves servicing a mix of active and empty systems. They might provide escorts to fend off pirates in the busy shipping lanes of one system, mine the lonely asteroid belt on its fringes, and visit the unexplored planets of the next system over.
To the last parsec... and beyond
(In)Famous Charters
Although most people think of JumpCorp as a single entity, charters occasionally show their differences. Here are a few of the most famous—and infamous!The Archon Charter
One of the oldest charters in the Milky Way Galaxy, where JumpCorp originated, is JumpCorp Archon. It is considered the model for the corporation’s many spinoffs. Training videos, speeches by the current executive team, its latest scientific discoveries, and other announcements are shared to the other outfits. The current Executive Administrator is a Serran named Michee Vetris. Her telepathic powers have proven incredibly valuable for the company, but her level-headed and fair-minded policies are her real strength. Michee has been called a model for the rest of the cosmos’ corporate entities.The Corroda Conglomerate
A decade ago, two systems under the Corroda Conglomerate’s aegis went to war—likely a result of covert provocation by Executive Administrator Tyan Freenze, a cunning kalian who blackmailed, extorted, and assassinated her way to the top. It wasn’t the first “civil war” among JumpCorp forces, but it was the longest and bloodiest. Entire worlds mobilized for war, other JumpCorp charters were dragged into the mess, planets were decimated, and some say an entire alien race was exterminated. It’s said Freenze died when her flagship was destroyed, but reports of her appearance surface from time to time, fueling constant rumors of her survival. After Freenze was eliminated, JumpCorp Prime dispatched security forces from several neighboring systems to revoke Corroda’s charter. People, equipment, and information were confiscated, and Corroda was disbanded. JumpCorp now has nothing but a token presence in that region of space.
Type
Corporation, Conglomerate
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Controlled Territories
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