ZeepCol

The logo for ZeepCol

The **Zeep Interstellar Colonization and Exploration Corporation**, commonly known as **ZeepCol,** is a large Zeep owned and operated corporation based on the Zeep homeworld of Dianduris. It is known as a major galactic manufacturer, media distributor, and retailer that makes dealings and operates business with various civilizations all across the known galaxy. In addition, ZeepCol for all intents and purposes constitutes the government of the Zeep Empire, acting as the empire's legislature and it's interstellar representative in diplomacy. Their distinctive corporate headquarters are located in the center of the imperial capital of ZeepCol City on the Zeep homeworld. The current head of ZeepCol (and the head of state for the Zeep Empire) is Tavek Zor, the notoriously hyper-reclusive CEO who, assuming he exists at all, is believed to have somehow ruled ZeepCol for thousands of years.

## Corporate Structure

ZeepCol, and by extension the empire, is run by a board of fifteen Executives that hold supreme legislative power and convene at ZeepCol Headquarters. These Executives serve under and answer to CEO Tavek Zor, and are responsible for the day-to-day operation of ZeepCol and it's various departments, including Marketing (responsible for producing advertising and propaganda), Military Operations (which is in charge of the ZeepCol armadas and ground forces), Manufacturing (operating ZeepCol's various manufacturing centers on various hive worlds and other facilities), Acquisition (handling the colonization or conquest of new worlds and the spread of the Zeep Empire), Public Relations (conducting diplomacy with alien races and managing various investors), Finances (which controls the empire's treasury), Research and Developent (which directs scientific research) and Employee Resources (which monitors all Zeep citizens and drafts laws for them to follow). Below the Executives are a series of Shareholders that control pockets of territory in space by virtue of owning stock in ZeepCol. These shareholders come from wealthy Zeep families that have owned stock in the company for generations, and are responsible for administering many of ZeepCol's far-flung colonies, directing their labor, and commanding their military forces as ordered by the various departments of ZeepCol. In addition, ZeepCol also maintains a series of alien investors.

Every common Zeep citizen alive in the Zeep Empire, especially on colony worlds, is considered an employee of ZeepCol from the moment they are born, begin working from early childhood, and with very few exceptions will likely remain laborers working for the company until they die. Common Zeep citizens are generally forbidden from traveling outside of Zeep Space, and in practice many are too poor to even leave the planet they were born on. Most Zeep seen in the wider galaxy only travel outside of Zeep Space when drafted to colonize new worlds, if they’re space captains, to conduct business if they are shareholders, or to fight as ZeepCol Marines in interstellar wars.

## History of ZeepCol

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 business in practically every corner of the known Galaxy.

## 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

> "*ZeepCol is like an expanding universe. One day it will collapse violently under its own weight.*"
> ― Notes left behind on the desk of Captain Mondael of the Grolok Empire.[source]
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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. Many of the more religious or spiritual races of the galaxy, especially Spode worshipers, have shown an extreme distrust for ZeepCol's "sinful" ways. 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.

## Adventures used in

### -Beneath the Dustbowl:

The Ron Velkos mine was operated by ZeepCol as an emerald extraction operation, though the mine is gradually abandoned by ZeepCol as the mine fails to meet it's labor quotas due to the sectid infestation.

### -Holiday Shoping:

The "Tickle Me Zellmo" toy the shoppers fight over is manufactured by ZeepCol.

### -Assault on Bapiroga:

ZeepCol sends marines to the Swamp planet of Bapiroga to "pacify" the native Rana that have been attacking Zeep workers and damaging ZeepCol property. The mission prompts one marine, Tohody, to turn on his unit and flee into the jungle.

### -Hostile Takeover:

The player is forced to dock at a ZeepCol operated space station in orbit above the homeworld of the Tuthari species. It is on the station that the captain finds Xirra, leader of a Tuthari resistance, and escapes with her to the planet's surface, where the player is told by the resistance that ZeepCol has ordered a blockade of their homeworld to compell the planet's king, Arosh, to sign a treaty granting exclusive trade and mining rights to the Zeep.

### -Manufactured With a Frown:

Captain Gromper and Mondael accidentally find themselves on a ZeepCol controlled planet trying to find their lost scroll. Upon entering, they are horrified to witness the conditions that ZeepCol subjects its laborers to. They do not find the scroll, but Gromper, sympathetic to the plight of the workers, abducts a laborer who has collapsed on the factory floor and return him to the ship, where he is revealed to have stolen the missing scroll.

### -A Cog in the ZeepCol Machine:

The second part to Manufactured with a Frown. Captain Gromper and Mondael, having freed a ZeepCol worker and attempt to learn more about the laborer, whose name they learn is Dovek. Gromper and Mondael bring Dovek to the Kasmanda homeworld where they hope their friend, Captain Kasman, can rehabilitate the worker and convince him that life under ZeepCol is no life at all.