UCSH

United Corporations of the Southern Hemisphere
HOMEWORLD:	Earth
ORGANIZATION:	Corporate Echelon
RISK FACTOR:	HIGH
CURRENT STATE:	STABLE
Specialty:	Private-Military, Augmentation, Shipbuilding, Weapons Development, Democratic Backsliding.
"Made Well, Made Fair, Made United: Nothing is out of sight."

The Galactic Magnate

There is no hiding the absolute power that Nanotrasen's neo-feudal empire holds over the known galaxy. The United Corporations of the Southern Hemisphere, or simply the UCSH is the greatest example of a true galactic hegemony. Thousands of corporations, from across all areas of specialization, swear a shared fealty to Nanotrasen, more or less. Most of these corporate entities are military in nature, apart from the research and development firms, allowing Nanotrasen to remain supreme as the strongest Terran Government. Contracted corporate forces are so ubiquitous in law enforcement that they've earned the moniker SpacePol. This total dominance stems from the insidious nature of the “nation”; as a collection of corporations, it isn't necessarily a traditional governing body, and it can subtly dig into foreign territory and acquire foreign business without acting as an invader. It then becomes nearly impossible to uproot them unless planetary governments understand the corporate game, as the Martians did, or unless they undergo radical upheaval, like the Invidia Insurrection at the hands of The Tiger Cooperative. Luckily, such events, at least those that affect profit margins, happen rarely. The UCSH has the best warships, civil surveillance, pacification augmentation, and intelligence to support the tireless job of corporate enforcement.

Overall, the Hyper-Corporate Government is an incredibly stable, effortlessly despotic regime, patrolling all of human space and protecting space facilities for the right price. Yet look inward, and you see a core flaw: very few planets under corporate rule were made to foster civilization, but to exploit it to the last grain. It’s hard to imagine the UCSH's origins, or to believe it was ever weak or young.

Commercialization of Space

When space was first commercialized in 2065, it sparked furious debate in the wake of a devastating world conflict. Yet to many, the corporate vessel brought joy and hope for a better future, and the assurance that humanity still had a chance even if Earth faltered. Like much of the resource scarcity, the plans were stolen by a company lost to time, allowing many others to refit and make their own versions to take to the stars. Many had sought to establish bases on Mars, and a race began to see which nations could achieve interplanetary status. By 2072, most of the remaining functioning nations on Earth had established their own colonies, and by 2100 they would build a network of blocks to make the planet habitable, thanks to the many early terraforming corporations. These same corporations would take on a quasi-national structure as they built self-sufficient bases, slowly growing to become a communal government decades later.

When the Fourth World War finally went hot in 2168, it devastated the entire Earth. The Global North, housing the technological superpowers of the United States, the European Union, and the Russian Republic, was utterly annihilated in the atomic fallout. Those who survived made a mass exodus southward to escape the irradiated wastes. Many were awed by what they saw when they passed the equator, as Nanotrasen's intervention had spared much of the Global South, leaving it as it was before the war: lush, fertile lands. The Northern survivors, many of whom were made up of the corporate and government remnants, would eagerly pledge loyalty to Nanotrasen to settle there. Nanotrasen, now with numerous government and corporate organizations under it, decided to unify them into a single conglomerate in 2194. This conglomerate would birth the UCSH, starting the long process of corporate dominance that the world would come to know.

Under Nanotrasen

In the years following the UCSH's formation, the UCSH consolidated and organized into a new structure: a feudal system with Nanotrasen at the top. The South American and South African Mercenaries would serve as the UCSH’s knights. While they braced for war with their more aggressive neighbors, they were pleasantly surprised to find they were too busy rebuilding and more interested in regaining their ancestors' lands than starting a fifth-world conflict. In this awkward peace, the three TerraGovs would rebuild for the next half-century. The UCSH would use much of its territory for aerospace development, weapons of mass destruction, and faster-than-light communication by reverse engineering previous warp technology. It would probe near the warp limit to test its combat capabilities, encountering enemies such as the Slime Hivemind. Only in the early 24th century did the TerraGovs feel confident enough to believe Earth was both livable and defensible. They had all eyed their neighbors closely and planned countermeasures to secure an easy victory. When the UCSH and World Prosperity Spheres had amassed their aerofleets, they headed straight for Mars. At first, they hoped for a peaceful acquisition, but the fleets' mere presence intimidated anyone who saw them.

Unsurprisingly, most Martians rejected forced annexation, believing in NeoSov's anti-corporate theory. It became increasingly clear that no profitable solution could be found peacefully; the UCSH and the World Prosperity Spheres set out for Plan B. On May 14th, 2334, the combined aeroforce would engage with the Commune for orbital supremacy. The advanced UCSH and Fanatical WPS would take only three days to eliminate the Commune and secure the major orbital facility known as Red Mountain. They used the captured facility to transmit a short message to the inhabitants, then sent the fleet around the planet to show total orbital victory and expected a quick surrender. However, they would be shocked to find the southern half of the planet resisting their claim. Uninterested in a ground campaign, Nanotrasen and the upper echelon of corporations believed annihilating the NeoSov government was the most efficient way to secure Mars. There was very little consideration for the civilian casualties when the phoron bombs dropped, which were estimated to be around 90 million. Those who didn’t side with the Commune were spared and forcibly absorbed directly into Nanotrasen or nationalized by the World Prosperity Spheres. One notable acquisition was the Martian private-defense giant that would later be known as Gorlex Entertainment. The bombing of Mars would scare many into submission, fearing similar retribution, much to the dismay of the mercenaries who were enjoying putting down the lingering rebellions. The rebellions would be suppressed by 2337, and the entire system would be fully integrated by 2340.

The UCSH would have to spend roughly 25 years before returning acceptable profits in Sol. This gave a rival government, Terra Union, the opportunity to seize the already-colonized core human systems. Convinced war with the Terran Union wouldn’t be as decisive as Mars, they watched from a distance and headed east.

Technology

Nanotrasen makes up most of the interstellar market; the corporations under it get a share as a reward for their loyalty. The range of products the UCSH provides is enormous, and it is safe to say they cover every possible niche. However, their most acclaimed products are their weapons and augmentation. The UCSH was the creator of the first Phoron Bombs and has made iteration upon iteration to make them the total cost-effective planet killers that they are today. Besides ordnance, they carry a selection of bioweapons that vary from simple diseases that cull populations to highly engineered viruses that can destroy a person's DNA in a matter of minutes or turn a city's population to a lump of clay. Tech weapons such as the standard EMP and more potent pulsars have been a go-to for policing synthetics. For the average UCSH employee, though, they'll see the robotics side of the conglomerate: augmentation and positronics. Military Augmentation is commonplace, and the UCSH is no exception, considered the father of combat cybernetics and the first to use them within their corporate forces. UCSH forces often have internal armor, chemical injectors, mind shields, fear inhibitors, skin storage, and organ enhancement to stay ahead in a dangerous galaxy. Some augmentations are for use against someone, such as the Mindbreaker Chips that either torture or pacify a victim to make them docile.

Furthermore, the UCSH has adopted a transhumanist stance much like their lord Nanotrasen, urging (forcing) their employees to install Hypoports. The hypoport is a spinal implant that allows for neural rewriting. Positronics are also a fine example of UCSH craftsmanship, as their automatons can be found throughout corporate space. They serve any purpose, rarely disobey orders, and, with AI oversight, can do the work of five as one. Artificial Intelligence is crucial to corporate authority, able to read and monitor a mind for anything out of place, provided the target lacks mind-fakers or psionical abilities.

Yet these weapons are nothing without a user, and less than ideal, if not useless, in the hands of incompetence. That is why the UCSH has the best of the best in its security detail: clad in signature gold-and-black, liquid-padded armor, wearing softshell info-helms, and supported by thermally regulated skinsuits. They carry high-tier laser and ballistic weaponry, intelligent ordnance, and cybernetic enhancements to stay ahead of anything in their way. Originating in Southern Africa and the South Americas, they have a long history of brutal, cunning tactics that have earned them an infamous reputation. However, their freelance nature and free-thinking ability keep them from being total killing machines like the NT Deathsquads.

Corporate Expanse

The Corporate Territory of the UCSH, known as the Corporate Expanse, is the lifeblood of human space. While often empty, less developed, and less densely packed than more natural governments, the UCSH makes up for its lack of development with a space advantage. UCSH-owned mining facilities, corporate stations, trade hubs, rest stops, shipbuilding yards, and testing sites dot all four corners of civilized space. Though the UCSH doesn’t officially own much of this territory, it can influence it or at least profit from it through private-military or transportation ventures. The UCSH doesn’t discriminate; human or otherwise, they can be found throughout civilized space, which they themselves make up about a sixth of.

Corporate Worlds and their citizens (known as Corp-Civs) can expect a lifelong career working towards the prosperity of whichever corporate authority they belong to. This usually means planets, if not shared with other nations or turned into tourist destinations, are barely habitable to cut costs and avoid unwanted attention from outsiders.

Recent Events

The UCSH is by far one of the most stable governments in human space, as its highest benefactor safeguards it from breaking up or sliding into disarray. The Corporate Echelon encourages competitiveness and crab-bucketing, fully accepting selfish greed to keep your spot at the table. This makes most, if not all, corporate life feel like feudal servitude, where there will always be a bigger fish. Corp-Civ changes hands so often that many either forget or abandon any affiliation or identity with their respective authorities. Thanks to the hypoport, years of technical experience can be transferred instantly through data chips and, like mindbreakers, can also shift personalities to remove doubts and fears if needed. This also means that a Corp-Civs life is as useful as just any other number on the docket, and they can be easily replaced.

Even with the tireless work of the UCSH’s security service, SpacePol, many setbacks, unlike station casualties, stir concern within the Corporate Echelon. The Vox's stubborn refusal to trade, insisting on raiding, leaves many UCSH members without trading rights. The Syndicates' continued attacks and liberations cut growth, and their control of Mars in 2643 puts each rival within throwing distance. The disastrous defense of the Luna Incursion, perpetrated by the Greater Moghean Empire in 2735, gave the UCSH the jump on them with their barely understood Green Space technology. Even their curbing of the NIN a couple of years later was considered unimpressive compared to earlier wars. That doesn't mean the UCSH is going anywhere, but it does mean SpacePol isn't as powerful as it's marketed.