Peacock Conglomerate

The Peacock Conglomerate, colloquially known simply as 'Conglom ', consists of a number of powerful corporations, their endless subsidiaries and a host of independent companies, united in two goals - making profit, and looking good while doing it. The Conglomerate has its roots in the ancient Urvogel Domain's wealthiest merchant families, and to this day share a fierce rivalry with the Tyranon Dynasty (who in turn were Urgovel's aristocracy), more than with any other major faction.

Culture and society
At the heart of Peacock society lies the so-called principle of the Grit and the Gleam - officially, the Grit refers to hard and honest work, while the Gleam refers to the promise of monetary and aesthetic rewards that come from it. In practice however, it also refers to the Conglom's incredibly stratified, capitalistic society - the endless masses of everyday workers who live, toil, fight and die for meager pay in squalid conditions, and with few to sometimes no rights (the ' Gritters '); and the managers and executives who reap the rewards and get to live lives of splendor and opulence (the 'Gleamers '). While Peacock propaganda states that anyone can rise from being a Gritter to becoming a Gleamer with enough determination, this rarely occurs in reality, yet it's all too easy for a person who would they were secure in their life in the Gleam to go bankrupt and never return to its luxuries. In many ways, this mirrors the Tyranon Dynasty's lowborn-highborn split, a fact leaders of both factions vehemently deny in an attempt to stop solidarity efforts between Conglom gritters and Tyranon serfs.

Conglomerate holdings come in a few flavors - wholly-owned corporate colonies, space stations and outposts, massive mega-cities filled with industry and entertainment alike, and small enclaves in other factions' territories, usually commercial in nature, but sometimes merely masquerading as such while hiding more sinister operations beneath the facade. No matter their size or purposes, they're filled to the brim with bright colors, beautiful murals, posters, and advertisements for everything under the sun. In places where less of a budget has been allocated to such matters though, the paint is scratched off and muted (revealing several layers it was painted over underneath), many ads broken and ripped.

The Peacock Conglomerate as a whole is primarily interested in making money, and the most efficient way to do so, especially these days, is selling things to others - as such, the Conglomerate maintains good relations with many other factions (the Tyranon Dynasty being the major exception, at least on paper; intrigue between Conglom companies and Tyranon houses big and small is hardly unheard of), offering all manner of goods and services through its dizzying array of corporations - industrial and military equipment (including its own mech designs, generically referred to as platforms or suits), Singing Deep research, arts and entertainment being the most profitable markets, with the largest and most established companies.

While the Conglomerate trades in all manner of currencies with other nations and factions, it also maintains its own, distributed to its own employee-citizens - the Plume-Credit, commonly called 'cred' or 'plume'. Many companies offer plume bonuses to select employees who are deemed the most productive, encouraging 'healthy' competition between workers, though they often can turn bitter or even violent - a fact deemed acceptable by most executives.

For the Gleamers, the aesthetic focus is a means of expression and status symbol - not being up to the latest fashion trends and art movements is a social faux pas among managers and executives, and can even result in firings in cases where someone is deemed too 'old-fashioned' and "no longer a good fit for the company". It's also a propaganda tool - normalizing or even inciting violence, war and other things from which the companies can later profit. In contrast, for people of the Grit, aesthetics are a distraction from and a coping mechanism for the crushing reality of Conglom life, and a vehicle for solidarity and means of fighting back against the system - illegally distributed anti-corporate media, satirical pieces and 'marketing' for unions or revolutionary movements being some of the most common things made by Gritters in this regard.

It's sometimes pointed out by historians that Peacock society wasn't always like this - that artistic expression was once its most cherished value, inherited from the Conglomerate's Urgoveli origins, and the relationship between its estates were more amicable, but was twisted and corrupted in pursuit of profit. While some hold no nostalgia or sentiment for this rumored "good old Conglomerate", fighting to tear it all down and start over, others believe that there are aspects of that history worth preserving and restoring - from world to world, stances on this subject among the Conglom's downtrodden vary, and it may go unresolved for a while yet.

In some places, Conglom workers take things into their own hands - bargaining for better pay, working and living conditions and their rights, whether in the form of labor unions or full-on revolutionary cells (with how violent the fights can get, sometimes it can be hard to distinguish between the two). The Conglomerate's profit machine relies on the labor of the masses, and if there is one thing that can spur it into action is when that labor (and therefore profit) comes to a halt, often employing brutal force to protect their bottom line. The Conglomerate's desire to maintain good relations with the Nadezhdan Exiles (who are staunchly pro-union, and make up a sizeable minority in Conglom space) does force them to nominally recognize and work with labor unions, but Peacock managers are always looking for ways to squeeze out extra labor out of their workforce, particularly in remote locations.

Appearance
Given their cultural focus on self-expression (bogged down as it may be by capitalism), Conglom folk are particularly diverse in their appearances, ideally reflecting the person's personality, desire and values (or their corporate master's, as the case may be), using a combination of flamboyant clothing, body modification such as tattoos, cosmetic surgery, cybernetic mods, hairstyling or even genetic modification (using a combination of company-provided services or DIY work). Many people, in order to 'fit' in a certain company, may find themselves in debt over this, while others may willingly undergo cosmetic alteration and become a 'living ad' for the company, in exchange for lessened debt or a better wage. Others instead use their own bodies to express resistance, whether by deliberately violating company aesthetic guidelines and dress codes, or, especially in the case of unmodified wildtype humans, by refusing to engage with the culture altogether, wearing plain and unassuming clothes and keeping themselves free of body mods.

Names
Peacock names are often of French origin and are commonly alliterative and meant to be stylish - in cases where they are not alliterative, they incorporate an adjective or a name of a historical French artist or French colonial holding. Examples include Sweet Monet, Dahomey Denis, Colette Corrective, Julianne Content, Lament Lorraine and Comore Carlson.

Hierarchy and structure
While it exists as a singular entity on the galactic scene (being a former Coalition member), Conglom's internal structure is a nigh-incomprehensible web of business deals, partnerships and an ever-changing landscape of companies being founded, merged, bought out or going under. Many of its constituent companies have a number of branches and subsidiaries, and a vast amount of independent businesses and startups exists, though few survive as such for very long. In some cases, while a notionally independent national or planetary government exists, it tends to be hopelessly ineffective compared to the influence of the Conglom; in other places however, the Conglomerate has merely a foothold on the place, though often schemes in the background to eventually rule the place in some fashion or another.

The Train
At the top though is the Train (named after a peacock's fan of tail feathers), something of a council between the Conglomerate's largest and wealthiest corporations, where large-scale efforts are coordinated and decisions that affect the entire Conglomerate are made. The smaller, independent companies don't get a seat on the Train, which tends to contribute to their relatively short lifespan - in contrast, the most established corporations have had seats for several decades, if not centuries. Due to its size and the logistics involved, the Train only rarely holds meetings, and even then they are held in special digital spaces rather than physically - this also helps prevent the Train members from being assassinated during the meetings, though there have been many attempts to sabotage the Train by various hacker groups, all hunted down mercilessly afterwards.

Beneath the Train however, each member company of the Conglomerate governs itself differently; navigating Peacock politics resembles national politics as much as it does office politics. Often times it's said that the sheer bureaucracy involved, the constant intrigue and espionage, and inability for the Conglomerate to come to stable internal agreements are the main factors slowing the bloc down, and why all of known space isn't under their control yet - while the claims are sometimes exaggerated, it is true that it can often take quite a while for anything substantial to happen in the Conglom.

Technology
On average, the Peacock Conglomerate is one of the most technologically-sophisticated faction in the galaxy, rivaled only by the Dodonan Tribunal and Universal Choir - however, for all its marvels, including advances in IT, AR and cybernetics, access to them is not equal; Corporate and military interests are put above those of the common people, and as such the technology sold to the regular citizens tends to be inferior-grade - running on buggy proprietary software, breakage-prone hardware and full of different methods of surveillance. Such practices allow companies to gain further cash from offering tech support and part replacement (to speak nothing of data collection), but it has also led to a thriving community of open-source hackers, jailbreakers and DIY tinkerers who wrangle the corporate-made tech.

Aesthetics matter in tech as they do anywhere else in Conglom society, if not more so - from the color, pattern and stickers on a laptop case to the appearance of a VR avatar, the aesthetics any one person adopts signifies the minutiae of both their social influence and their general attitude towards the local governing bodies (and their aesthetics within). This in turn opens the door for a wide array of corporate discrimination, surveillance, and other methods of control - which only makes Peacock employees that much more proficient at evading, breaking and otherwise fighting back against such tactics.

While the internet exists in all factions, it is of particular importance - and sophistication - in Conglom space. Almost every device, from simple household devices to advanced computers, is connected to large, planetary (or in some cases, interplanetary) networks. This, in combination with advanced AR and VR infrastructure means that in Conglom space, 'the internet' is almost a secondary reality, layered on top of the physical world - massive and ornate digital displays and spaces that would be impossible in the real world exist in many a Conglom settlement, and most citizens possess a customizable digital persona (or in some cases multiple, for different occasions or settings) in addition to their physical body. While stunning, access to these is rarely free, and clever hackers can undermine such structures much like sappers or terrorists can threaten a physical building, leading to increased digital and physical measures to protect such places.

Nearly all media and entertainment in the Peacock Conglomerate is digital (though there nonetheless exists a market for physical media, toys and so on) - including streamed television shows, podcasts, video games, news and more. Most media is produced by a small handful of corporate-owned studios, with the occasional 'indie' project that gets taken down from the internet for its "dangerous values" (and ends up in illegal circulation among enthusiasts later).

Naturally, Peacock Conglomerate is in the war business, and several of its companies manufacture and sell everything from small arms to massive mechs, warships and mercenaries for hire. Conglom mechs are known as either platforms or suits, and include some of the most sophisticated technology the Conglomerate has to offer, often featuring the iconic Conglom flair and aesthetic finish. While a large number of these assets are sold to the Conglomerate's own mercenary and private security companies, some estimate that as much as half end up sold or rented to other factions - in the most extreme cases, the Conglomerate will provide both sides of a conflict with weapons while staying out of it themselves.

Another recognizable aspect of Conglom tech is in the field of cybernetics - from simple limb replacements to advanced combat mods, the Conglomerate has no shortage of means to physically augment a human body (for a price of course). Whether needed for work, or out of corporate or social pressure, rare is the person without at least some minor cosmetic augmentation - gold-plated artificial arms, subdermal holographic projectors and internet-connected cyber-eyes are just some of the examples of trendy 'fashion mods' available in Conglomerate cyber-clinics. The upfront cost of some of these augs might be comparatively low, but often comes with the long-term cost of maintenance, occasional untimely malfunctions and built-in surveillance - all things that savvy Gritters and annoyed Gleamers alike try to deal with, and there exists a robust aftermarket of jailbroken augmentations and prosthetics, if one knows where to look for it.

Fringe research
Away from the public eye, a few Conglom companies engage in unchecked research into the strange and the forbidden - bioengineered war machines developed in remote laboratories; experiments involving the Singing Deep, tehoma and the dimension's alien denizens; and exploration of old ruins (such as those of Urvogel and ancient Dodona) and strange alien worlds. Many of these fringe projects go wrong in one way or another, requiring the intervention of freelance mercenaries and troubleshooters to clean up the resulting mess without the news of these 'incidents' going public, damaging the companies' reputation and further burning their budgets in the process.

Corporate cults
Another esoteric aspect of the Peacock Conglomerate are the so-called 'corporate mystery cults' - of which there are two broad categories. The first are the logical endpoint of brand loyalty and company culture, developing to the point of forming a distinct, often secretive tradition. They take the existing, mundane aspects of the company - the products and services on offer, the branding, the day-to-day workings, the stock market - and put a spiritual or downright religious spin on it, sometimes incorporating twisted elements of actual religions into their practice, such as Satellism (Skarb is a popular patron moon for such cults, being associated with wealth and trade, as are specific moons closely aligned with the markets the company operates in). The other kind of cults are even more secretive, and often concern themselves with strange goals understood only to themselves, quietly redirecting some of the corporation's resources to meet them, or being the real string-pullers behind its operations. In both instances, membership is restricted to only the employees deemed worthy.

Azure Showroom
Produces cheap labor mechs sold via aggressive loans to poor workers.

Cristatus Corporation
The financial and legal heart of the Conglomerate. Cristatus regulates the Plume-Credit, resolves legal disputes between other businesses (if they feel a need to defer it to a third party) and establishes and enforces the Conglomerate's few overarching rules and standards (referred to as 'global policies'), making them the closest to a governmental regulatory body in the faction.

EnterStellar
In the business of nation-building, from colony construction and supply to bulk fleet sales.

FTL Media
The Conglomerate's largest media corporation.

Kingfisher Mechatronics
Produces high end performance and luxury aquatic and semi-aquatic mecha platforms.

Navy Security Solutions
The Conglom's premiere mercenary fleet.

Orsino
Produces "vogue idol mechs" and the idols that pilot them on the battlefield.

Photonica
"Spread your wings - rule the skies."

Aerospace, both military and luxury. Photonica's combat mechs have best-in-class mobility, and are prized by mercenary outfits across the Pearlescent Expanse; the People's Republic of Aureate's Fighting Brigades operates a number of Photonica machines, acquired through unclear channels to supplement their still-young domestic supply of combat frames.

GalluX Sports League
A large interplanetary ring of sports media empires specializing in mecha based sports; helps subsidize costs for members.

Tanager Psychosoft & Biogenetiques
Cutting-edge augmentations and unique biological organisms.