The Dread Conglomerate is a militaristic government known for it's extensive use of tactical and strategical thermonuclear weapons.
History
The Dread Conglomerate was originally a group of independent fighters known as the Children of Alderaan, which was formed by Ace Kaelton shortly after the Battle of Endor. Kaelton was already a wealthy man, inheritor of Kaelton Mining from his parents. He befriended a man by the name of Richard Oskan, and soon merged with his company, Oskan Mining. Kaelton used this new unheard of wealth to settle on several planets in the Outer Rim. The new government was dubbed the Dread Conglomerate.
As a military commander first and foremost, Kaelton set up a government heavily dominated by a powerful military. Enlistment was mandatory for all citizens between 17 and 28 for at least a 4 year period. With an abundance of ores and minerals buying them everything they needed, the Conglomerate ran smoothly for several years, until the Egg Wars.
The arrival of these giant living starships forced a radical change in Conglomerate technology. The new Javin-class battleships used gigantic nuclear reactors to inject concentrated radiation into their massive turbolaser turrets. The Conglomerate also began developing the nuclear missiles that would be an icon for them. The War was extremely bloody and lasted for almost eight months, ending with the destruction of the flagship Alderaan's Revenge and the nuclear devastation of the Egg homeworld.
The arrival of the Gorn, and the subsequent discovery of the existence of the Sluagh led to the formation of the Conglomerate Gorn Sluagh Alliance or CGSA. The three governments existed in mutual benefit for several years, until the arrival of the Children of the Nile.
As the Gorn tore themselves apart with civil war, and the Sluagh committed mass suicide, the Conglomerate launched itself into a bloody war. The CoN weapons, however, were highly more advanced than that of the Conglomerate, and losses were heavy. The war ended as the Children themselves entered into their own civil war. The Conglomerate withdrew from galactic politics and nothing was heard for several years.
During this time, Commander Kaelton's mental state was slowly deteriorating. Seeing enemies where there were none, a feeling of unease began to spread through the DC officer corps. The economy began to decline, and gradually the situation began to worsen.
The final straw came with the advent and use of the Conglomerate's first antimatter weapons. Never one to use a ballpin hammer when a maul is availible, Kaelton ordered the construction of a weapon on a scale almost unimaginable, capable of destabilizing an entire system. With the use of this weapon on an entire system solely to handle a colony of pirates, five of the seven planets declared their succession from the Conglomerate.
The Conglomerate Civil War lasted just sixteen hours, but the results were decisive. Ryan, Javin, and Charon were heavily bombarded by nuclear weapons, and with the help of several Tatooine factions, the seceding planets defeated the Conglomerate fleet, and took the two remaining planets. The Conglomerate flagship Iron Star was destroyed and Commander Kaelton was reported killed.
The current Conglomerate is limited to the so-called Kaelton Loyalists who reside in the Nebula at the heart of the Outer Rim Republic's space. This Nebula, once a depot and training ground for DC forces, now provides the perfect place for the Conglomerate to launch their guerrilla attacks on the ORR. Recent developments have shown that the Conglomerate has acquired cloning equipment, and is producing clones at an alarming rate.
Government
The government is a simple military dictatorship. Commander Kaelton makes all executive, judicial, and legislative decisions.
Territory
The Nebula where the Conglomerate now resides is very dense, and comprised mostly of hydrogen and helium, with traces of nitrogen and oxygen as well. It also has a significant quantity of carbon in it, which has the effect of blinding almost all known sensors. It is approximately 8 cubic lightyears across.
Ground Command
The Conglomerate has historically used BattleMechs to great effect on the ground. Their standard issue machine is the Marauder-class from the BattleTech series. They also employ standard and mechanized infantry. The current Conglomerate has not fought a ground action since their retreat from the planet Guyana. It is safe to assume that they still have stockpiles of Marauders, and their access to cloning equipment guarantees that they have a well manned army at their disposal.
Interplanetary Command
The Conglomerate has always maintained an extensive fleet. Conglomerate technology has always been a little behind the curve, so the response is simply to produce more ships. Shortly before the war, the Conglomerate was encountering the problem of having thousands of ships, and simply not enough crew to man them. This resulted in the ORR recieving an enormous stockpile of starships after taking Javin and Charon. Currently, the Conglomerate encounters the opposite problem, with thousands of clones to man ships, and not enough materials to produce more ships.
Economy
Kaelton and Oskan Mining provide ores and minerals to some one sixth of the galaxy, which provided the majority of the Conglomerate income. In the later years, military overspending and complacence cause the ore exports to drop significantly. After the war, the lucrative ore fields were taken by the ORR. Now the Conglomerate has no economy to speak of, putting all their efforts into the war.
