Clearance Organisation
Founded: 1816PT
Founding Faction: Various Independants
Interests: Contract services, bounty hunting.
Headquarters: Julian's Dwarf
Founded in 2640PT as a network for various independant “troubleshooter” crews, the Clearance Organisation has since become the largest contracting group in the Orion Sphere. Prior to its establishment, many small independant crews roamed from colony to colony, offering their specialist skills to the local populace for money or goods. This work, while occasionally very rewarding, was essentially random, and the lengthy time it took to travel or communicate between systems made it very difficult to plan ahead. Throughout the early part of the 3,000's, successful crews would occasionally band together and establish “clearing houses” on larger colonies, to collect contracts and information. The megacorp came together from 56 of these “clearing houses” in the Betelgeuse and Bleak Sectors building ties and collaborating more and more until they fully merged into what was then the “Clearance Network”.
The original network allowed its constituent crews to pool information and carry contract details from colony to colony, improving efficiency and stability for members. These crews, usually with fast ships and decent weaponry, could act as mercenaries, bodyguards, charter vessels or freight haulers when required. The largest beneficiaries were specialised crews of engineers, spies, scientists and explorers, who would be hired to procure rare materials, investigate troubling phenomena and occasionally just steal rare artefacts. Specialised jobs were rare, but paid well, and crews interested in this kind of work were happy to fund the network of less-specialised crews to spread news of opportunities.
Once the network became established, it quickly became clear to colonies that it could be used ot extend their jurisdiction and authority beyond their system limits. The Clearance Organisation was able to take bounties for fugitives, pirates and other lawbreakers with access to FTL spacecraft. These bounties were a lucrative line for military crews, and contributed to the Clearance Organisation quickly becoming a military power, able to motivate its comparatively elite “troops” with the power of money.
In 3737PT, it was revealed that the Clearance Organisation had been in contact with the mysterious Spacer Collective for some years prior, and had worked out a signficant deal with them. Spacer Collective stations offered the facility to communicate across interstellar distances nearly instantaneously for a small fee. The Clearance Organisation was the first to make use of this service, striking a favourable deal with the Collective to allow its contract database to be rapidly updated across all of its Clearing Houses with a Spacer presence nearby.
Modern Operations
In the current climate of relative peace between galactic powers, the Clearance Organisation takes contracts from all four Factions and most MegaCorps. Most contracts are offered publicly as well as to Clearance Certified contractors. The Clearance Certification programme allows crews of troubleshooters who prove themselves access to more lucrative contracts, reduced fees, and a good reputation that allows clients to specifically seek out specific contractors for jobs.
Clearance will take contracts for practically anything - completing a task, offering a service, finding an item, bounties, tracking stolen goods, stealing goods from specific targets, procuring information are all within their remit. Contracts can be offered publically or to a select group, or the megacorp can find a crew with the specific skills needed to complete the contract. Crews are offered contracts and paid for those that they complete, with a small fee taken by the megacorp for facilitating the process (a smaller fee for Certified contractors).
The Clearance Organisation generally takes payments for contracts in advance, holding the cash in escrow until the contract is successfully completed. The high standards and strictness of terms typical of Clearance agreements makes them the only real contender in their particular speciality. The megacorp presents primarily as an apolitical network, connecting people who want jobs done and people willing to do them, with no moralising or judgement on the activities in question. There are many who question this neutral exterior, and are convinced that Clearance adapts, hides or manipulates the contracts it offers, and to whom, in order to further its goals and continued existence. No substantive proof of this has ever come to light.