Mech Trade Association

Debut: chapter 15

The MTA is run by a 100-seat galactic mech council. The GMC pretty much served as the highest decision-making organ in the MTA, akin to a senate or a legislative assembly of a state.

Mech Trade Association or the MTA is one of the big Two's (the other being the CFA) that monitors, regulates, and safeguard the business of mechs in humanity's new Age of Mechs. There is no exchange involving Mech's that they do not have a part in. Legally at least.

Along with the CFA, the MTA is among the largest and most powerful organizations of humanity that have an undeniable influence over even the major nations. With this influence, they hold the ultimate standing of being a neutral party that does not get involved in any internal human conflicts.

The main duty of the MTA is to manage the trade of Mechs across the universe. They have a base set up in every colonized planet which has all the facilities to test newly produced mechs before the sale is completed to ensure it meets quality standards. The second duty is to ensure no one violates any laws they place regarding the development of mechs such as forbidden technologies and unlicensed mechs.

There ideal is one of mutual strengthening and mutual dependence. By elevating the quality of mechs, we can create machines that are stronger but do not leave their human creators and users behind.

## MTA Factions

There are 12 major factions and thousands of minor factions in the Mech Trade Association. The former are politically powerful alliances that bind together a coalition of like-minded Star Designers, galactic mech councilors and other high dignitaries. The latter usually lack the support of prestigious leaders and cannot set policy. The minor factions. They are only influential under selective circumstances. Think of supporting certain regions or minority groups such as heavy gravity variant humans. A major faction might cooperate with them, but they have no weight if they are not needed. Although these MTA factions all dream big, in practice they are constantly held back to their many rivals. Compromise is the name of the game here. Only by setting aside their more radical desires can they find enough common ground with each other.

Every MTA faction had their strengths and specialties.

### Survivalist

The Survivalists dedicate themself to the one goal to keep humanity alive and free from suppression from any direction, be it aliens, the CFA or itself. They possess an open mindset and have mastered a high degree of eclectic alien and unconventional technologies.

### Preserving Order

Preservers are opposed to change and are the strongest advocates for a stable and predictable status quo. In practice, they oppose virtually every proactive initiative. They're one of the strongest opponents of the colonization of the Red Ocean. The Preserving Order Faction used to be the dominant faction of the MTA at the start of the Age of Mechs. The problem was that most of humanity had long decided to move on again.

### Guidance

They adopts the opposite approach, much too many people's dismay. The adherents of this faction believe the MTA must make the most of its power and authority and take a more active hand at governing human civilization.

### Mech Supremacist

They are relatively straightforward. The members of this faction are obsessed with mechs to the point of dismissing other war weapons such as warships. They support any policies that strengthen the value and importance of mechs. They wish to make mechs as ubiquitous as possible by increasing their value proposition with the help of more effective technological advancements. The also have the greatest understanding of masterwork mechs.

### Expansionist

Expansionists support fast and aggressive expansion of human territory. As you may have already guessed, the Expansionists are in ascendancy at this time. They are the principal promoters of the colonization of the Red Ocean. One of their most popular slogans is 'Andromeda or Bust'!"

### Warship Abolitionist

Its members do not have strong opinions on most matters aside from any topic related to warships. The abolitionists oppose the existence of warships to such a strong degree that they even call for our Association to abandon its own warships.

### Transhumanist

They are more interested in promoting the evolution of the human race than mechs. The Transhumanists are of the opinion that baseline humans are outdated and that our race must undergo a comprehensive 'gene update' in order to increase our competitiveness compared to other alien races. The Transhumanists are the best augmentors in the MTA. They are more daring when it comes to trying out new and less well-tested treatments, but the results aren't always good. Some of them obviously aren't right in the head. The have conducted the deepest studies in the field of human transcendence.

### Unbound Humanity

They have close relations with the Transhumanist Faction, but is ultimately more broad. The Unbounders want to unleash our species by dissolving all taboos and rules that restrict human conduct. They believe that humanity will never mature and advance if it is not allowed to learn how to handle powerful means such as warships and weapons of mass destruction. Even if it is among the smallest and least attractive among the twelve major factions, that is only relative to the MTA's own standards. It enjoys the support of at least several Star Designers and galactic mech councilors.

### Dissolution

While it shares much common ground with the Unbounders, the difference is that the Dissolutionists wish to dismantle the Mech Trade Association and the Common Fleet Alliance. In their view, the existence of the Big Two sets the human race back.

### Longevity

This faction is much more moderate. It is another single-issue group that does not take a strong stance on any issue aside from matters that are related to extending the human lifespan. They strongly support allocating more research towards improving life-prolonging treatments and increasing the production of life-prolonging treatment serums.

### Terra and Rubarth

There are two notable states that have been more successful than others in elevating their most excellent supporters. The Greater Terran United Confederation and the New Rubarth Empire are consistently successful at producing Star Designers. Their illustrious heritage, their deep foundation and their attractive visions has always earned them a significant amount of support from the human population, and it is no different among our people. There have always been two separate coalitions between galactic mech councilors and Star Designers that believe humanity must be ruled by the Terrans or the Rubarthans.

### Members

Councilor Veyron - one of the hundred members of the Galactic Mech Council. Veyron used to be a citizen of the Triad Empire, a first-rate state in the galactic center. While she was well-versed in mechs, she wasn't a mech designer. Instead, she joined the MTA more than 300 years ago as a bureaucrat.

Master Amphi Helecos was quite an impressive figure within the MTA. She was over 360 years old, which meant she had grown up during the early days of the Age of Mechs. She's an Unbounder. She is part of a faction that believes in removing most of the oversight that the Big Two maintain over human society. The Unbounders believe that the artificial rules and restrictions have limited our potential as a race and crippled our strength relative to other civilizations.

### Quotes

In most of civilized human space, weapons such as mechs faced stringent controls. Designers and manufacturers were only allowed to produce a mech if they owned the necessary licenses. When they finished producing a mech, they needed to be certified at the local Mech Trade Association before it receives permission to be put on sale.

The MTA was a transnational nonprofit organization with branches in pretty much every human state. A colossus of the mech world, they regulated the civilian production and sale of mechs. Most states like the Bright Republic gave them official backing to do so in their territories because they were good at it and adhered to strict neutrality, never overstepping their bounds.