Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/The Lumeris Syndicate

The Lumeris Syndicate are one of the twenty-one core factions in Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict.

History
"For the greater profit!"

-A (unofficial) motto of The Lumeris Syndicate (much to the Tau's eternal frustration)

At first glance, it would seem that the organisation known as the Lumeris Syndicate is nothing more than another multinational corporation based in (insert), notable only for its strange choice of names and its extensive donations to charities around the world; that, and an unusual obsession with ancient (insert Lumeris Greece equivalent) and (insert Rome equivalent). At the company headquarters in (insert Rome equivalent) and at its offices elsewhere, one can see neon lights and skyscrapers mingling with columns and frescoes of llong-dead heroes. However, though the Syndicate may appear to be nothing more than eccentric, underneath this carefully sculpted façade lie ancient secrets.

The company was first formed in around 1920 V.C. as the industrial age was coming to a climax, and a young Lumeris man under the alias "Romulus" was seeking to share his inherited fortune. His goal was to create a group of security companies that worked and operated under one headquarters situated in the capital of the Lumeris. At first, the idea was a success as many contractors were looking for a source of consistent research funding, though the 1930s V.C. hit them hard and fast.

By 1932 V.C., the organization had recovered from near bankruptcy, though their methods of acquiring the money were questioned. When an inquiry was made by the Lumeris Special Anti-Mafia General Attorney, the Syndicate cited that they were not to be held responsible for the actions of their clients. Numerous reports were filed regarding the aforementioned "clients", though all the cases fell through due to a lack of evidence (and possible forgery).

During the Great Voshkod-Aquilan War, the Syndicate attempted to sell their services to all members involving in that war, but was ultimately turned down by both because of their lack of high-powered weaponry. Through the next decade, the Syndicate began to buy out science and engineering companies in order to improve their technology. By 1960 V.C., they had become the world's largest military corporation, and unknown to the public, possessed some of the world's most dangerous weaponry.

What happened to Romulus since then has been a mystery. His alias has allowed him to become shrouded in complete secrecy. The top executives of the Syndicate are rarely mentioned and require heavy security to even exchange a few words with. The only legacy of his that remains is the fantastic Lumeris, Nomad and Tau architecture that adorns every Syndicate structure, as he has an obsession for everything from the time of Ancient (insert Rome equivalent) and (insert Greece equivalent).

In the 1960s V.C., the Syndicate fought a marketing battle against another corporation - AseliaTech - over who would provide their services to the Alliance. They campaigned long and hard, but ultimately lost to the creators of such technologies as the cryobeam and S.H.R.I.N.K. ray. Though the official statement was that AseliaTech, with its hard engineering and solid physics background, could simply deliver a better technological edge to the Alliance, the truth was the Alliance were deeply disturbed by the Syndicate's eagerness to ignore morality and the rules of war to create their weaponry and equipment.

The Syndicate's greatest advance and most closely guarded secret, the integrated circuit, has advanced the Syndicate's electronics to a level unrivalled by any power until the Katsuragi Protectorate came out of isolation following the 1979 V.C. Sundering. Their computer technology is actually becoming one of their greatest financial assets; corporations and nations pay millions of dollars to have numbers crunched by the advanced computers of the Syndicate.

Computers permeate every level of Syndicate technology, from the massive server farms that track the global financial market, to the cyberdecks of the Syndicate's engineers and technicians, or the tiny micro-soft drives plugged directly into the nervous systems of Sprawl dwellers, enabling users to speak any language flawlessly.

As their computers get smaller and more advanced, the members of the Syndicate seem ever more eager to incorporate it into every element of life, including their own bodies. In the centres of many cities in the developing world one can find the newly risen skyscrapers, squat factories and techno-slums that the Syndicate call "Sprawls", where neon lights and digital monitors line the walls of the concrete caverns and smog from countless factories has darkened the sky.

Some Sprawls even find themselves under the cover of geodesic domes to protect from the merciless acid rains caused by the industrial excess. Everywhere is the touch of Syndicate technology, from electronics to bioengineering to cybernetics. These Sprawls are areas absolutely owned by the Syndicate, who simply buy up every building, street and alleyway for almost nothing and turn them into freewheeling centres of commerce away from prying eyes in which they may develop and manufacture everything from new lines of cars to computer systems to the world's most modern firearms. There, their word is law and money buys anything.

What is not immediately obvious about the Syndicate is their deep connections with the criminal elements of society all over the world. Throughout its history there have been many inquiries and investigations, digging deep into the complex web of hundreds of companies that make up the Syndicate, but it has always been fruitless. The Syndicate is simply too big, covers too many areas, and often operates in the remote, lawless regions of Gaiaterra.

To be sure, most law enforcement and intelligence agencies know that there is something off with the megacorporation, and more than a few of these agencies consider them to be a criminal organization, if only they can get proof of it. The fact is, the Syndicate has its hooks in everything, every level of criminality all over the world. They are the ultimate mafia with the perfect front.

By far the most profitable areas of underground Syndicate activity is the drug trade and arms dealing. The Syndicate, in addition to controlling the conventional drug trade, have a wide variety of pharmaceutical companies that have turned themselves over to the manufacture of ever more potent and addicting synthetic drugs; Nuke, 'Slaught, Octagons, Spice, Dust; under a million names from a million alleyways, the Syndicate has its stamp on the world.

Not only that, but they have hundreds of associated companies dedicated to the creation of tools of war for the lesser nations in their constant petty squabbles across the globe. They are where countless warlords get their weapons from, and the ones who provide the Horde and Ogres with the ammunition for their ancient guns.

Wherever life is taken, the Syndicate makes a profit. Because of these shady deals, they are in constant rivalry with another arms dealer: (insert), whose convoys and shipments of arms and civilian aid bearing their corporate logo tend to disappear in areas with a strong Syndicate presence, causing great tension and reluctance for International Inc to deal with the Syndicate. Despite that, both organizations cooperate with each other because of ties to a Chaos-influenced man, which International is nothing more than a mere-front for the Heralds.

Lately, though, the organization has released many press reports dealing with the advancement of spacecraft and seem to have their eyes focused on the stars, mainly in part of Voshkod colonized Miona; for that is the future of the Syndicate, to provide the most advanced security systems on the planet, even if it means annihilating the competition.

Lore Articles

 * The Civilian Subsidiaries of the Lumeris Syndicate
 * The Military Subsidiaries of the Lumeris Syndicate
 * The Sprawls
 * The Tau People
 * The Horned Rat And 13
 * The Greater Good
 * Weather Control
 * The Damocles War
 * The Under-Empire War
 * The Caste System
 * Gyrojet Weaponry
 * Battlesuits of the Syndicate

Relations

 * Federation of Aquila: ???
 * Andoran Republic: ???
 * Alberian Security Company: Hostile
 * Karak Overlord Coalition: Hostile
 * Aristocracy of Encantadia: Mixed

Legendary Generals

 * Jenestra Omalfi'Meos: General of the Lumeris PMC
 * Aun'Va: General of the Tau Merchant Guards
 * Queek Headtaker: General of the Skaven Horde
 * Deathmaster Snikch: General of the Syndicate Black Ops

Commandos

 * Minerva: Lumeris PMC Commando
 * Kais: Tau Merchant Guards Commando
 * Ikit Claw: Skaven Horde Commando
 * Shadowsun: Syndicate Black Ops Commando

Sub-factions

 * Lumeris PMC
 * Tau Merchant Guards
 * Skaven Horde
 * Syndicate Black Ops

Arsenal
Main Article: Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Syndicate Arsenal

The Free Market
Any Syndicate production structure can be ordered to cease unit production and begin selling off the vehicles, weapons or other commodities it would normally produce, slowly generating cash for its owner. However, if 2 or more production structures of the same type are built near each other and switched to business mode simultaneously, each structure's profits will decrease significantly due to cutthroat(often literally) competitions between them. These structures also gain a bonus income if they are near civilians.

So long as I'm paid
Compared to other factions the Syndicate forces instantly comes to the battlefield and are relatively cheap for their power, as they are either hired mercenaries with their own equipment or the poor pressganged to fight for them, thus the Syndicate can bring up an army in an instant. However, the mercenaries demand pay, meaning that each mercenary on the field will constantly charge a smaller rolling fee every second and failure to pay, as in in the Contractor (AKA you) have no credits, said mercenaries will start taking irreparable morale damage, and once it hits zero they will desert to find a new buyer. And while their citizen militia doesn't require upkeep their equipment are so poor it will be a miracle if they win a battle, seeing as their cannon fodder.

Structures
Basic Structures Defense and Support structures