Zeep Empire

The **Zeep** hail from the temperate, yet smoggy and polluted world of Dianduris, and are among one of the most influential races in the galaxy, with a (somewhat undeserved) reputation for being greedy consumeristic and overly pushy. Thanks to their hyperconsumeristic lifestyle and need for resources, the Zeep Empire must constantly expand to find more worlds with resoruces to exploit and now consists of untold millions of planets scattered in small pockets in various arms across the galaxy, bringing the Zeep into trade relations with many different sentient races – and sparking conflict with many others. Over 4500 years, the Zeep Empire has spread throughout the galaxy and into many small pockets of territory in the name of the megadorporate entity known as ZeepCol. From these far-flung colony worlds, the Zeep conduct buisness and trade with many interstellar civilizations.

## ZeepCol

The interstellar government of the Zeep Empire is a massive sprawling megacorporation known as **ZeepCol**, short for the **Zeep** Interstellar **Col**onization and Exploration Corporation, whose distinctive corporate headquarters are located in the center of the imperial captial of ZeepCol City on the Zeep homeworld. ZeepCol, and by extension the empire, is ruled by a series of Shareholders that control pockets of territory in space. These shareholders come from wealthy Zeep families, and pledge their loyalty to Tavek Zor, the hyper-reclusive CEO of ZeepCol who is believed to have somehow ruled ZeepCol for thousands of years.

The origins of ZeepCol are surrounded by mystery and rumor, and little is known of how ZeepCol actually came to power over the entire Zeep homeworld to begin with; the history of the company's founding is burred under literal mountains of trash that surrpound practically every major Zeep settlement on the homeworld, accumulated under ZeepCol rule over the thousands of years the company has been in existance. All that is known is that ZeepCol launched the zeep's first interstellar spacecraft some one hundred years before they became a major power in the galaxy. Through several wars and trade routes, the Zeep core territories expanded rapidly as ZeepCol cemented itself as a major manufacturer. With the discovery of Wormhole Key technology, the Zeep were able to spread far beyond the Maridian Wing (known to them as the Corporate Wing) to colonize and conduct buisness in practically every corner of the known Galaxy.

Every zeep alive, especially on colony worlds, is born an employee of ZeepCol, and with few exceptions will likely remain a laborer for the company until they die, only travelling outside of Zeep Space when drafted to colonize new worlds, if they’re space captains, or to fight as ZeepCol Marines in interstellar wars.

### **ZeepCol as a manufacturer**

Besides being the government of the entire Zeep empire, ZeepCol is a major manufacturer and seller of various consumer goods such as spice, electronics, toys, mass media, spaceship parts, and basically any other manufactured item one can imagine, and their products are often used by millions of sentients on many different worlds. Well known ZeepCol products include the RTX-5 Combat Drone, the Tickle Me Zellmo doll, and several chain businesses such as ZeepBucks coffee houses. ZeepCol is also known to license other galactic buisnesses, such as Stellar Grub and Galactic Gourmet, to open stores on commercial starbases, shopping malls, and major colony worlds. ZeepCol has also gained a good deal of influence over much of the galactic media, with billions tuning into Zeep created media on various communication channels. ZeepCol also has the dubious distinction of being one of the largest arms manufacturers and distributors in the galaxy.

### **ZeepCol in the Galaxy**

Though ZeepCol has become highly influential, their influence has not been without controversy. Many beings and races are wary of the massive amount of commercial influence the Zeep have over much of the galaxy, and others distrust their rapid expansion and militarism, and others still point to ZeepCol's willingness to conduct trade with some of the most violent, warlike, and infamous species known to the galaxy. Often, when the Zeep must colonize a new world, they are known to destroy many planetary ecosystems within several hundred years as the planet's natural resources are slowly depleted and used as raw goods for manufacturing. The ZeepCol military has also been implicated in several wartime atrocities that have slowly come to light on the galactic stage; particularly notable examples include the invasion of Bapiroga and the massacre of many of the planets indigenous populations, as well as a massive ZeepCol blockade of the Tuthari in response to their refusal to sign a trade treaty with the Zeep. Many species are also horrified of the mistreatment that ZeepCol inflicts on it's citizens/workers.