IC Calendar Year: 3248
The Interstellar Cohort is a massive and powerful commerce guild that has its hands in nearly every lucrative deal in the Milky Way. Between interfering in local elections, purchasing then shutting down rivals, and exerting military-level enforcement of their agendas, the Cohort is one of the most powerful entities in existence with essentially no oversight or restraint. Having been in existence the better part of 200 years, The Interstellar Cohort is as commonplace as most planetary governments. They have been so ingrained in the lives of the masses, even if indirectly, that no one questions their existence or motives.
The Cohort is mired in bureaucracy and only barely functional, despite its public displays of cohesive force. It can leverage embargoes and sanctions against outer systems, but to little effect if it is not directly involved. Much of its financing and support is gained by courting wealthy and powerful private citizens and convincing them to user their business and personal assets to further the goals of the Cohort.
The Cohort operates at the behest of its most powerful & wealthy members. However, only one individual currently meets that criteria: Armitage Bek of Aileron Dynamics. As for the remaining "board members," Bek operates an intricate ruse that assures them that their votes determine the course of action the Cohort takes. As its "elected" head, Bek's position comes with a certain level of inherent trust and respect. Furthermore, membership in the Cohort does not come easy and judging by the paths some have forged to become members, along with the amount of wealth required to receive the coveted annual "Conference Invitation," not many are willing to rock the boat.
The Cohort's liquid currency and assets make it equivalent to approximately five combined mid-sized planetary governments. This considerable amount of financial power and military capability—however fragile—means that many individual planets, though independent, often choose not to take any kind aggressive stance with the Cohort as they may very well have their planet's trade markets shut down; not to mention the fear of potentially winding up on the losing end of an armed conflict with the commerce guild. Although the guild's web of bureaucracy hampers its efforts and makes many of its policies near-impossible to enforce, the public is none the wiser and Armitage Bek wishes nothing more than to keep it that way.
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