Galactic Energy Supplies
Founded: 1345PT
Founding Faction: Ascendancy
Interests: Energy generation and supply, finance.
Headquarters: Molinar VII
The first true MegaCorp in the modern sense of the word, Galactic Energy Supplies is the most powerful (literally) of the MegaCorps in operation in the Orion Sphere. It was founded in the Ascendancy in 1345PT, after a series of mergers and hostile takeovers between a cluster of power generation and storage companies that remained outside the direct control of the Noble Houses. At that period in Terran society, the majority of energy generation was done locally, for the demands of the immediate facility or world. Research in energy generation and storage was small-scale, fragmented, and usually kept secret by the individual Houses. The size and infrastructure of GES allowed it to combine a lot of the different technologies from its forebears to rapidly make developments and technologically leap ahead of its competition - especially in the construction of large-scale orbital facilities. After a decade of consolidation, GES began to develop large-scale orbital projects; He-3 collecting stations orbiting gas giants; solar collectors spread across vast areas on barren planets, and titanic orbital mirrors.
The move into space-based facilities required development of independent logistical chains, fully controlled by GES rather than the Houses. Slowly, in order to facilitate their operations, GES begin to decouple themselves from the Ascendancy's authority. They moved to take over energy generation requirements for smaller Houses, then larger ones, eventually becoming an essential, but relatively autonomous component of Ascendancy infrastructure. In 1650PT Galactic Energy Supplies issued the first Energy Chits, redeemable for a fixed 1 Planck Energy Unit each at any GES facility. The consistency of this currency allowed it to be a consistent benchmark for inter-system trade. This, combined with the widespread presence of GES facilities for redeeming them made the Energy Chit a far more useful currency than the various fiat and commodity-backed currencies in use at the time. Within a century, the Energy Chit was the de-facto currency of all of Known Space. By this time, GES had so much influence in Ascendancy society that they were able to lobby Houses and planetary governments for special status, laying the framework which allowed them to become the first MegaCorp, independent of Factional authority.
After the detente between the Ascendancy and Commonality, GES were quick to further separate from the Ascendancy, and in 2570 PT announced expansion of its operations into Elysian territory. Further expansion and incorporation of Elysian technology allowed them to make a number of discoveries, such as Yurian Lattice Plasma in 2610PT, and research into the strange particles found in the Rastan Supernova Remnant a century later. The megacorp pressed its independent and neutral status further, when in 3410PT it entered into a deal with the Tulaki Dominion to supply power in their conquered territory only two years after the First Tulaki Invasion officially ended.
Current Operations
Galactic Energy Supplies have facilities across the entirety of the Orion Sphere, from fusion plants and solar collection stations to battery factories, admin operations, financial exchanges, and hundreds of other operations. Since 3770PT, they have offered to supply power to ships at Spacer Collective orbital stations, and their consistency and ubiquity has made them utterly essential to the operation of independent starships.
While many inhabited worlds have some method of generating power, all known advanced civilisations make use of GES's facilities or expertise for their energy needs on major projects. Their Energy Chits form the basis of exchange between Factions, and are universally accepted among spacefaring cultures who have entered galactic civilisation as we know it. GES operations are considered utterly essential by most Factions, who tend to be loath to upset them, and their utterly neutral stance and reputation for fairness results in hostility directed towards them to be a rare event.
GES has built a reputation for neutrality and an apolitical stance, and maintained it for nearly two thousand years. They generate, store and distribute power to those who can pay without bias or favour. They have a tendency to build legal frameworks prior to commencing operations, and if their contracts or operations are disrupted then any reparations are demanded as fines. GES outwardly view everything in terms of energy generated or energy used, and have been accused by many of being entirely amoral.