The Solarian Syndicate

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## **The Syndicate of the Solaria Legio**

> *--------------------------------------"As it was once before it shall be again" --------------------------------------*
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> ----------------------------------*"Per aspera ad astra per aspera ad patriam"------------------------------------*
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> ------*"With the cradle of life in one hand, the tools of man in the other, together we are whole"------*
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                                   Faction Ethics

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        **Unknown Materialist Unknown**

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The Syndicate of Solaria Legio is an underground organisation that adheres to a dogmatic naturalist ideology. While not strictly religious, members believe that the essence of humanity is being stripped away by genetic therapy technologies and unnatural procedures, treatments such as gene purification and implanting additional organs are deemed to be the choices of a decadent and arrogant species. To the Solarians; the greatest form of humanity is its natural self, only once the true human form is achieved should humanity begin to reshape their DNA. This may seem hypocritical; however, as mentioned above the Solarian's are not a religious cult that despise the premise of genetic manipulation but rather they detest the creation of 'Ortan Humans' over their own ancestral lineages.

To the Commonwealth there's no such a thing as an 'Ortan Human' for they are all just 'Human' - To a Solarian, humanity lost its lineage when the humans began a symbiotic evolution, and the genetic enhancement of these 'mutants' is thought of as a waste of true 'Earth-Human' potential - To be anything other than Human is unnatural.

The Solarian's often speak in olden tongues to commemorate their Earthly ancestry; this is not just a stagnated tradition however as it doubles up a code talk between members in public spaces.

## **Foundation**

It is not known when the movement began or how it became an organised network as the first glimpses of it's roots were only officially reported sometime in AD2297, initial investigators who were tasked with infiltrating the group did not find much of note other than that it may be larger than initially thought. The council's agents were unable to find out much more before they were discovered.

What is known is that there were always a small minority of people likeminded to the ideals of the Solarians, while they were spread throughout society they were an absolute minority and besides refusing genetic therapies and small protests they never caused any trouble... Sometime around AD2295 the groups seemed to somehow establish connections with each other, who or what prompted or had the knowledge to do this is unknown.

*Update:* Recent covert studies have shed fresh light on the founding years of this mysterious organisation.

Catherine Reeves (twin sister to Isaac) born with Crystalbreak Disease and a financially ruined mother was fostered at the age of 2 where she initially lived in a home ICU until she was 10, by then she was able to be partially mobile with the assistance of a wheelchair and robotic assistant. It was about this time she began school, confined to a wheelchair she did not partake in many of the other activities and would instead play with cray-pens and holo-blocks, this isn't to say she was anti-social but time spent away from everyone else was social time experiences never learned.

Halfway through school studies and age 14 Reeves would partake in a voluntary medical study; the scientists were testing the effectiveness of a new serum designed temporarily supress any genetic defect, the serum did not perform as well as hoped in some cases and had nauseating side effects, but for Catherine it did provide a temporary relief to her symptoms. She accepted an offer to receive long-term treatment with the prototype serum in exchange for data collection on her.

This ultimately digresses from the point, Catherine was a sick child, her attached biography will give a greater elaboration. To aptly summarise the rest; she became friends with the son of one of the researchers and together spurred each others interest in science. Catherine displayed exceptional aptitude in genealogy and all matters biological. At 25 she would receive her first PhD for her work titled 'The Genome of the Void', a study of biological life that exists in space and potential applications to Human genetic advancements.

How this ties in with the Solarian Syndicate is not yet known but her name appears in several of the Syndicates records and even in conversations, experts who worked in counter-intelligence agencies say that these records could easily be red-herrings meant to distract the authorities; however, the foundation of the organisation is dated some time in AD2295 which is dated between Catherine's 19th birthday, the same day where she used an untested substance (Which origin is unknown - Possibly self-made) which restored her ability to walk for extended periods of time, the substance is entirely unknown as it was never submitted through a testing board and she claims it for personal usage - toxic screens and rudimentary scanning found no illegal substances and so is technically legally - The substance is speculated to be a bribe from the Syndicate or perhaps the result of collaborated work between her and the Syndicate. But noting is certain.

* Perhaps she is the orchestrator of the Syndicate; twisted by her genetically created tormented youth, she blames the reckless and wanton use of genetic enhancements for her condition - from which she still suffers.
* Or maybe the Syndicate wanted her genetic skills for their own purposes and bribed her with a concoction that alleviates her symptoms, it may be addicting, or maybe she's getting something out of it.
* Maybe after creating her serum some opportunists saw something in her, or her serum, that they want... she may be a target, or a potential member?
* And at the end of the day she might just be an innocent victim who was at the end of a trail of breadcrumbs, purposefully left by the Syndicate.
* All we do know is that around her 19th birthday, The Solarian Syndicate was born.

## **The Syndicate**

The Syndicate is a shadow organisation that operates in; backroom deals, linear Ponzi schemes and all manner of intricate pacts i.e. officers investigating drug selling gangs have occasionally found that these gangs were paying a portion of their own profits to another group...

> *To K*
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> *500 just like I promised and more, I do hope you find this satisfactory. I am however terminating our future arrangements; business is not what it used to be and our deal is proving more of a liability, thanks to your help we can take the heat but we can't pay you no more. I hope that this does not find you ill, without you we couldn't have got this far, but now I'm calling it quits. Sincerely Hjedva*
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> *--- Reply From K*
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> *Dear Hjedva: I'm afraid that your contract is binding; as per the conditions, neither party can withdraw without the approval of the other. Failure to submit all monthly payments will be seen as a transgression of the contract, regardless of your wish to cancel, and the appropriate action will be taken.*
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> **- Logged E-mails between recently arrested drug smugglers and unknown K. The messages were sent three days before an anonymous tip, revealing the criminals identities, was received.**
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While the Syndicate does a great many things it does so in the shadows. To protect the identity of the organisation members strictly adhere to codes of discipline to maintain their public façade, any meetings between the members is a rare occurrence. They maintain a structure of loose associations with other members so that the discovery of one member does not endanger the rest, because of this it is difficult to formulate an accurate demographic of Syndicate members... It is not known how they organise their own structure besides guesses that it is loosely associated with Ancient Romam hierarchy, members could be from destitute or affluent areas and any number of people could be members. It has been guessed that these Solarian's are of middle to upper class origin; based on the few transcripts they do have, members are well spoken and versed in bureaucratic manipulation. Based on rare images of a Syndicate member, who always appear well dressed or at least suited in affluent attire, it is presumed these members are mostly affluent members. Whether this is because the Syndicate has made them affluent or because the Syndicate only accepts financially boistress individuals is unknown.

While the Syndicate does seem to make money from 'having its fingers in all the pies' this cannot be their only income; a nationwide network of organised criminals would be impossible to hide from the extensive Commonwealth authorities, the Syndicate appears to purposefully cap its profiteering to stop runaway financial growth and limit its economic footprint. These criminal activities alone couldn't sustain a criminal organisation; because of this, it is implied that members are financially self-sustaining, they may posses positions such as bank managers and lawyers, fleet logicians and communications specialists, private company owners or employees of corporate firms.

## **The Authorities vs The Syndicate**

* While the Syndicate prefer to avoid the watch of the authorities and even more-so to avoid confrontation there have been incidents of both conflict and co-operation between the two

* 1) Slavery is abolished in the Commonwealth and there are very few slave trading organisations that operate for longer than a week before being shut down by the Marshalls; while investigating the possible existence of a new market the Marshalls arrested a suspect who identified as the alias 'Brenchi', further investigation found that he was not associated with the market and was released. When 'B' asked what he had been arrested for he was informed of the possible existence of the slave market. "I see" he said... A week later 17 dead bodies of various species were dumped outside the station, their bodies were branded with the words \_venalicius\_ (Latin for Slave Dealer / Trader) and the insignia of the Syndicate. The Marshalls discovered that 'B' was a false name but never found the man again.
* 2) A planned drug raid went bust when 2 armoured vehicles carrying genetically dwarfed Minervan Spiders ploughed into set-up swat teams who had surrounded the dealers building, the spiders were rabid and crazed and launched themselves at anyone nearby, biting and scratching, in the chaos the dealers escaped. Everyone who had been bit was rushed to hospitals to treat the poisonous bites, but within minutes the doctors reported that the poison had been genetically altered to cause severe rashes and irritation but were entirely non-lethal and could be easily treated with honey... The local station received a letter the next day branded with the insignia of the Syndicate. "Next time the spiders won't be so small"
* 3) A Marshall station on Redamon was undertaking an investigation in to a surge of genetic defects that had exploded in new born infants, the investigation revealed that one of the doctors had been injecting a serum into the wombs of women. When the child was born it would suffer from severe asthma, a genetic flaw long ago destroyed, and die; the transcript gives the best elaboration

* > Doctor Shipman: *"It didn't work, what happened was totally unexpected, it was meant help these children not kill them"*
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> Marshall: *"What was meant to help them?"*
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> Doctor Shipman: *"The cure; it was supposed to restore the best genes in the human body, but it restored genes indiscriminately… instead of being born with an enhanced intellect they were born mentally impaired, bones were meant to be stronger but my serum made them brittle"*
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The doctor was meant to stand trial where he reveal his associates in exchange for protection... However no lawyer would accept to stand as his prosecutor; the delay was used to buy time for the Syndicate to arrange for a droid to 'accidentally' misinterpret the command have Shipman's dinner be delivered. No-one realised until the kitchen staff told them that the steaks they'd eaten weren't from the kitchen.

* > Marshall: *"Cook-bot where did the steak come from?"*
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> Cook-bot: *"I made it under the instruction to prepare to serve Shipman. I am happy to tell you that Shipman has been served... Is there anyone else you would like to be served..."*
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## **Ideology**

Genetics - As explained the Solarians so not find the act of genetic engineering, in itself, repugnant and they in fact they speak of all the good it can do; it can prolong life, save lives, cure disease and create tailored life... However; like what was mentioned above, they believe that this technology is being used for ill. Instead of using this tech to restore humanity back to it's true self the Commonwealth is enhancing the DNA of impure Humans - it has gone so far as to say that what Humans are today are shadows of themselves, more alien than human - and so the crux of the argument is this: Humans today are impure variations of a symbiotic species relationship, while they can be enhanced this is a wasteful and repugnant act, the gene tech should be used to restore human purity, from this genetic starting point Humans should be able to benefit much more from genetic enhancements as the DNA is pure and this allows for genetic enhancements to be much more effective.

Synthetics - The Solarian's idea of purity is limited to DNA only, the use of robotic arms or implantation of organs is not of particular interest to them; however, while replacing limbs is 'ok' there comes a point where there is too much of a robot to be truly considered Human. Where this point of no return begins is a point of divide amongst them... To put the statement bluntly; they don't care if your arms are made of metal or your legs out of wood (Not that they would be) as long as your Human, but when your organs are binary sensors and your blood is truly blue - that's when some may start to shun you.

Psionics - Psionics are a unknown quantity by the syndicate standards; these strange powers are not blessings or gifts, they are the symptom of the genetic impurities. These malformed beings are a threat to the fabric of society and should have no place in a civilised world, where 'blessings' and gifts are bestowed on someone for their merit and not at the hands of fate. That said the Solarian's do not refute that psionic individuals are undoubtedly powerful people, how impure humans could receive these gifts was a matter of great contemplation. It was concluded that had these psionics been born with pure DNA then these gifts would manifest as much more divine versions of themselves, instead of these powers being used to destroy and manipulate, they could be used to restore and rejuvenate...

How they reached such a conclusion is beyond us, there is no scientific evidence that this is even remotely true; perhaps the old people of earth who spoke of angels and Jesus really were not making up vivid tales, perhaps what they saw was a psionic - and unable to comprehend such events, interpreted them as angels and gods - Until the day that Humans are truly pure though, neither we or they seem willing to speculate and the Solarian's for now accept only the most devoted psionics.

Xenophobia - While the organisation is a Human purist group it is not per se a xenophobic organisation. No alien can join the syndicate as a member but aliens are not excluded from association, aliens are actually welcomed to seek their own genetic purity alongside the Humans, they may partake in activities and converse with members - All in all though, an aliens quests for purity is beneath their interest in comparison to a Human's quest -

Earth - Someday. Somehow. They pledge to return home, they pledge to walk the scorched soils of earth, they pledge to bring back the technology from Ortus and revitalise their home. They pledge to live once more under the Solar sun.

## **The Last Light**

When the bloody affair of the last light came to pass, the Syndicate remained largely unaffected. Unlike the larger Commonwealth; the Solarian Syndicate did not accept psionics into their fold without proof of absolute devotion to the cause, given the rarity of a psionically gifted individual and coupled with the already small influx of joining members (Note: exact figures of recruits joining each year is unknown but given the highly covert style of recruitment it cannot be any more than about a hundred per annum per planet) a psionic within the syndicate is extremely rare. So when the last light occurred it is unlikely that the Syndicate was effected much, if anything they stand to gain from the event.

With public distrust at all time highs when it comes to psionics, and the exodus of psionics from government buildings (For security reasons), the Syndicate may find infiltration of the higher positions a much easier process. Without the risk of a psionic revealing their hidden agenda, a Solarian is free to climb the ranks of government without fear of discovery by loyalist psionics... that is of course if they even want to climb the ranks of government: for all we know they may already reside in top tiers of society, or not. All that can be said for certain is that, at worst, the last light have little effect on the Syndicate beside maybe a few coincidental deaths, or at best, the events that transpired have opened up a whole new avenue of expansion.

## **Political Stirrings?**

In the short span of but one week a newly founded political party came to the political stage and quickly gained enough traction to become an official political party. In 2308.10.04 this party figuratively burst onto the metaphorical stage, the 'Human Future Movement' was the first openly xenophobic party to take become an officially recognised movement.

The party did not last long

2308.10.05 the HFM; a party that represented 2 billion people, was banned. The Council had been weary of such supremacist movements; for history is the greatest teacher, radical ideas that start off as laughing stocks and political satire are quick to become popular ideas in times of crisis. The HFM represented less than 1% of the entire Commonwealth (an insignificant percentage by any margin) but the danger was not what it currently was but what it could be become; with official status comes publicity, with publicity comes the ability to propagate, propagations leads to influx and influx leads to more status... many fresh political movements in established governments face two outcomes; political death or a political surge, most die off and are replaced by other upstart parties.

But in the wake of the last light this party was set to ride a wave of populist sentiment; afraid to risk a political upheaval, the HFM was banned a day later.

How this party gained traction so quickly is anyone's guess but records show sudden influxes of credits and influential supporters; too much too soon to be considered word-of-mouth income, the enigmatic 'B' appeared in Records once more as well as a 'G'. However the funding did not last long; just long enough for the party to surface to public view and make a quick public stunt, perhaps they are testing the waters or simply stirring up trouble but one thing for sure is that the Sol did not actually hope to gain a political foothold, at least not yet. Besides... the HFM did not even truly align with many of the Sol's ideals; especially on the Xeno front, whilst aliens are ignored generally by the Sol they do not hate them (much less antagonise them).

> *"They testing the steel of the Council. Today it was just a quick flash of a supremacist party, in a few decades they may be running for the majority"*
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In a nutshell; this party was a sounding of horns or the raising of the flag, the Sol are ready to begin competition. They have begun with a simple counting of the guns... how many will be raised against them when they do A? then B? then C?

And if HFM was A

Then the Exculcatores were B.

## **The End**

Whatever plan C was, it never came to pass. Just as the gears began to churn into motion to begin the next phase, it all came crashing down.

Finally The sun sets on the Solarian Syndicate