The first thing you need to be a space adventurer is a ship. This goes without saying, as without one, the only thing you're going to adventure on is your home planet, which you ought to be pretty familiar with anyway.

Sure, your home planet might have vast tracts of unexplored land, but how are you going to explore it? The outer worlds don't have highways, trains, airports, and cruiseliners; space ships are far more common in colonial worlds than terrestrial vehicles, making the prospect of single-planet exploration without a ship more difficult than exploring a whole solar system with one.

The easiest way to get a ship is money, of course. Basic flight training is required to operate one, but such training is as common as automobile driver's training in the modern world, and can be assumed. (In other words, all PCs have at least 1 rank in Spaceship Command). It is legal to own any civilian ship, and the more restricted ones are had easily enough outside the Core Worlds.

There are three categories of ship: small craft, starship, and capital ship. Small craft are too small, and usually too short-range for adventuring, while capital ships are impractical for all but the richest and most powerful adventurers.

Starships are divided into 3 size categories, Small, Medium, and Large. There are three subcategories to each. The true size of a starship is its numeric size category: 1-3 for Small, 4-6 for Medium, and 7-9 for Large. Small craft are effectively 0, and capital ships are effectively 10+.

Most adventurers will start with a ship of category 1, the size of a modest jet aircraft, a comfortable space yacht. A party of 4-6 might have a ship of category 2, comparable to the space shuttle orbiter. A category 3 ship is more comparable to a 747-400, and makes a good upgrade from there.

Likely, an adventurer's first ship will be a civilian ship; new adventurers won't know how to find restricted vessels for sale, nor will they have earned sufficient standing with any empire to buy one of theirs.

Civilian ships have enough power to get from point A to point B, and enough armor to withstand the occasional micrometeorite. They aren't built for combat. That being said, civilian ships have more than zero combat ability, as the constant danger of pirates, even in high-security systems, necessitates that citizens should have the ability to defend themselves. The corporations who produce military weapons and defense systems also provide "civilian" versions of said systems, with greatly decreased capability, for rudimentary defense.

Buying a ship costs a lot of money. It's not like buying a car; it's more comparable to buying a very expensive boat. In 2008 U.S. Dollars (buying U.S. goods to avoid exchange rate issues), a modest category 1 starship will run anywhere from $500,000 used to $2-5 million new, depending on the features it provides.

In other words, the most basic and shaky of starter ships costs about as much as starting your own business, because, well, that's what you're doing. Small craft are more than suitable for leisure and civilian travel; starships are for making money.

A category 2 ship will run from about $2.5-25 million. They are worth about 5 times as much as comparable category 1 ships.

There are many factions in the Homeworlds, but, realistically, there are a limited number which would make a good choice for freelancers.

Core Worlds

The Core Worlds factions are interested in besting one another in the goals of nation-building and prestige. Their powerful navies keep their home systems safe, and their massive corporations handle their own manufacturing, distribution, and delivery, precluding any need of freelancers.

However, the Core Worlds are ever-expansive, and in need of aid on the fringe of their territory, especially in the DMZ. Freelancers can be very useful in seeing to the interests of a Core World power in fringe sovereign or non-sovereign territories, especially since their navies cannot legally operate in the DMZ.

A typical career path with a Core Worlds faction proceeds thus:

• Sign on with a registered corporation who handles freelance contracts. As an unknown, you'll need to work with a corporation that has established a good working relation with the Core World faction in question; they won't just trust anyone.
• Do menial, near-harmless tasks for said corporation.
• Either rise through the ranks, or splinter off and form your own corporation.
• For the latter, you'll need to build business contacts within the Core World faction, as well as substantial capital. With that, you can break off (hopefully with minimal litigation) and found your own enterprise.

There is no hard limit on expansion with this career path, although there are certain considerations:

• As a private contractor, your employer is not going to want you to become large and powerful enough to represent a threat to the mother nation. They will place limits on your growth, as well as apply their laws to your conduct. Be prepared for these political realities.
• Speaking of political realities: the more you work for one faction, the more the others will distrust you, and any enemies of that faction will consider you their enemy as well.

As for the factions themselves, the Core Worlds consist of several major nation-states:

====The Harmonious Union of Karma====

Stock ticker: K

The Union is one of the oldest and proudest empires in the Homeworlds. They have lost some stature since their heyday before the Earthgate War, but they are still a force to behold. They are self-righteous and believe themselves to be omni-benevolent; this had led to a certain humanitarian expansionism: they like to intervene in fringe and DMZ worlds for the purposes of human rights, only to fold those worlds into themselves. They make copious use of freelancers to defend their many missions in the outer planets.

====The Neo-Terran Consortium====

:Stock ticker: N

The Consortium is all about capitalism, and this can be very advantageous to a freelance corporation. Their political structure does not preclude your rise to great power; there is, in fact, no political difference between your freelance corporation and the other corporations within the Consortium "government" that already provide defense, transport, and other services. Although you will find it relatively easy to deal with the politics of the nation itself, you will find your competition fierce; any faction's navy and civilian transport authority tends to feel threatened by freelancers, but in the Consortium, it is doubly so. Be prepared for cutthroat business, and check your ethics at the door.

====The Abelite Imperium====

:Stock ticker: I

The Imperium is a distant power, rarely interacting on the same political level as the others. They are reclusive and xenophobic, tending to their own needs with little assistance from outside corporations. That said, their xenophobic tendencies tend to open opportunities outside their borders; they are quite willing to employ freelancers, so long as they do not expect to operate much within the Imperium itself.

====The Dekaarian Republic====

:Stock ticker: D

The Republic is the most aggressive and direct of nations, openly pursuing their own interests and daring anyone to contradict them. They have much to get done, and aren't shy about employing outsiders to do it for them. However, be aware that, in order to earn the trust of their agents, you may be expected to meet certain personality and cultural requirements--necessary to cull the weak and unworthy, they might say. Also, every agent works for one clan or another; those clans have vicious political rivalries, which might complicate things if you are drawn up into them.

====The Talonite Empire====

:Stock ticker: T

The Talonites are an odd breed; they are powerful and ancient, but not very relevant in the modern political stage. Their home worlds are distant from the populous Core Worlds, and equally distant from the DMZ and fringe colonies. They are, therefore, not often seen or heard from in areas where adventurers frequent. There are few opportunities to work with them, or against them. However, they are very interested in certain worlds--the worlds settled in ancient times by the Spore. They will go well out of their way to secure relics of their race's past, and to control potential power centers even well outside their normal sphere of influence. Warning: working with the Talonites can impose great difficulty on a freelancer with working relations with the Dekaarians.

Sub-Factions

Typically, one does not work directly for a Core Worlds government, until at least achieving high standing amongst it constituent sub-factions. There are many departments within the Core Worlds governments which are listed as independent corporations on the Homeworlds Exchange (HEX), and are treated as independent for the purposes of contracting under Foundation law.

Some examples:

====People's Bank of Karma====

:Stock ticker: KBB

This august institution is Karma's banking authority. It is illegal in the Union for a corporation to provide certain financial services, including: retirement investing, health and life care savings accounts, health or life insurance, and payroll savings accounts or lines of credit. Under Karman law, these products are rigidly regulated as part of the Treasury department.

The People's Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Union Treasury Department, is run like any other corporation, albeit under strict guidelines and total transparency. They manage a diverse portfolio of assets, investing the people's money wisely to benefit all. They are mandated to a certain level of capitalization, and can possess relatively little in abstract or financial products.

Still, a small fraction of a hundred trillion is still quite a bit of money. Under Karman law, they are required to fund adequate (in many cases excessive) security for any assets under risk of loss due to piracy, crime, or national conflict. This clause has made many freelancers quite wealthy, as the bank is legally obligated to employ a certain number of private contractors in this regard, to better support Karma's local economy.

Of course, one must meet certain requirements; to incorporate within the Union can impose many financial, legal, and moral obligations upon a freelance corporation that can be difficult to meet as a startup. However, the feedback loop of public obligation and public money to pay for that obligation is regarded as relatively easy and safe way to make bank as a freelancer.

Independent Factions

There are many independent corporations, legally sanctioned by the Foundation, who pursue various ends throughout the Homeworlds, with no fealty toward or special dispensation from the Core Worlds.

====Kardian Enterprises====

:Stock ticker: KE

This 255-year old corporation, founded by Dharman Kardian, is the quintessential mega-corps. From its lowly roots as a provider of tax and financial services, it became the Union's largest supplier of military hardware and associated goods. Alone, the corporation could probably supply the materiel for a great war spanning all factions, were they to deign all to buy from the firm.

Kardian declared independence from the Union after the Earthgate War, but retains close working ties with their government. They have begun to invest heavily in the fringe colonies and the DMZ, although with much scrutiny from the Foundation. They have begun to shift their manufacturing business toward consumer goods, and have been harvesting the abundant cheap labor of the fringe colonies to produce inexpensive bulk goods for the Core Worlds. Many complain that their new labor practices have led to low quality, even among their military hardware, but that hasn't stopped the Dekaarians from gobbling up all they will sell them.

The CEO is Dharman Kardian, who is now almost 300 years old, and is often referred to as "Old Methuselah" both within and outside the corporation. His personal wealth is said to rival that of the entire Union government.

KE often hires freelancers to secure transport of goods in low-security areas. Although they don't do much manufacturing in or delivery to the DMZ, they do a lot of business with local resource gatherers there, and need freelancers to secure the passage of those materials. Freelancers might encounter some working conditions and fair trade concerns while working with Kardian; it is suggested they swallow their concerns and do a fair job if they expect to maintain working relations.

====Core Industry, Ltd.====

:Stock ticker: CI

Core Industry is a massive corporation headquartered on Terra Nova, and is currently the majority stakeholder in the Freedom Coalition, an alliance of corporations who holds a controlling interest in the NTC government. It is the largest remnant of the Core Corporation, which would be over 600 years old today; however, it fractured off from that august entity and became an independent corporation 194 years ago.

Core Industry makes everything. If it's made out of raw materials, CI manufactured it. That's essentially their reputation, and it is well-deserved: CI manufactures 100% of NTC's military vehicles, weapons, and ammunition, as well as the daily supplies, uniforms, office equipment, computers, and telecommunication devices used by the military to conduct their affairs. They are not solely a military provider; they control about 85% of the market for similar consumer goods throughout the NTC core worlds.

They have a strong partnership with Core Service, a corporation also of the Freedom Coalition, who provides military and police servicemen, government clerks, and postal workers; with Core Bank, providing financial services, consulting, investment products, and tax services (outside the NTC of course); and Core Technology, providing computer software and telecommunications services to the NTC and beyond. Together, these corporations comprised the Core Corporation, a hyper-corporation that, at its height, controlled virtually the entire NTC, and was disbanded as part of the Trust Revolution two centuries ago.

Core Industry is generally regarded as the pants-wearer in that relationship, and enjoys a de facto rulership of the Coalition, and thus the entire NTC. Thus, their interests are the Consortium's interests. And those interests run deep, in virtually every department. They are very interested in securing puppet corporations in the DMZ, a decent option for aspiring resource-gatherers and even manufacturers. They are always in need of private security forces; they contract with Core Service for much of their day-to-day operations, but CS cannot operate in the DMZ. They also are great players of the game of Litigation, which, in NTC parlance, means "assassinating your politicorporate rivals", which requires circumspect, extra-legal freelance contractors.

====Cyon Enterprises====

:Stock ticker: CY

Cyon is a relatively new corporation, only 24 years old, founded after the Earthgate Wars by a consortium of dispossessed technologists and entrepreneurs. They are well known as the manufacturers of cutting-edge spacecraft and starship components, and chiefly for their exclusive deals as a provider of military hardware to the Foundation. Their headquarters is in Starbase: Concordia, and their manufacturing is done entirely within Foundation space.

While they have little use for freelancers in their military applications, they are also in the business of civilian transport, particularly in the field of intraplanetary travel. They manufacture fast, efficient rail lines and air transports, and have a great market in the fringe colonies. Their construction and maintenance efforts in the DMZ are often fraught with perils, for which trusted freelancers are often hired to secure.

It is also a narrow possibility, requiring great trust and exceptional ability, to work for Cyon as a tester of their elite hardware. They are always in need of test pilots willing to take extreme risk to push the envelope of aviation and weapons science. Expect a thorough background check, and come prepared with outstanding Foundation credentials.

====Cain Cybernetics====

:Stock ticker: CC

Abelite corporations tend to be reclusive as it is, and Cain is the chief among hermits. Their most basic day-to-day operations are conducted as if every post-it memo of every secretary were a state secret. They almost never employ private contractors for any direct production needs, as the risk of sharing such sensitive technological secrets is too great.

However, this corporation is quite relevant to many freelancers, as they are avid consumers of their products. Cybernetic implants, bio-mechanical augmentations, and robotic prostheses are common among well-off freelancers who need to be at their physical and mental best, and such adventurers often risk life and limb for their profits.

To complete the cycle of cash flow, Cain often employs their own customers to aid their operations in remote territories. They are one of the only consumers of salvaged and nonfunctional cybernetic equipment, as they have few capable competitors in this market. They post bounties on anyone who runs amok with their technology; accepting a Cain implant or prosthesis comes with certain legal obligations not to use said technology against Cain's interests, or to attempt to reverse-engineer or duplicate the technology in any way. This policy is frequently violated, and thus necessitates many bounties to be collected.

There are three general regions of the Homeworlds wherein you will find adventure and opportunity:

The Core Worlds

The home systems of the large empires are extremely secure, fabulously wealthy, and very restrictive. With their powerful navies, the major nations have little use for freelancers to keep their traffic lanes and installations safe. With massive corporations headquartered in their midst, they have little need of small businesses provide raw materials or manufactured goods. Any adventure you do find would be strictly limited by the many and powerful policing vessels and personnel enforcing the nation's local laws.

However, the Core Worlds aren't all bad. Many wealthy corporate executives, celebrities, and politicians prefer to employ private security contractors, even for movement in their home systems. Assassins are omnipresent, and counter the tight security of the Core Worlds with incredible skill, technology, and patience.

There are also a number of independent corporations who are barred from conducting business in one nation or another, but still have customers and contacts there. Such entities need agents to act as middlemen, ferrying cargo or passengers from the edge of high-security space to the worlds within, and back again.

The Core Worlds is often a haven for starting freelancers, who themselves are from said worlds, fresh from the academies where they learned their trades. Ships and crewmen are abundant in this region, and though the opportunities may not reach sky-high for those who operate strictly inside the Core Worlds, most of the contacts you'll want to establish are based there, and you'll be well advised to gobble up whatever small tasks they can find for you before you brave the larger world of fringe and DMZ work.

The Outer Colonies

Often referred to as "the Fringe", the Outer Colonies are worlds of varying level of security and civilization. During the process of space colonization, the original Homeworlders found that political, ideological, and religious differences could often escalate into secessions and diaspora. From the original Karma settlement spawned no less than 140 separate colony missions; many failed, but far more thrive, to varying extent. The nature of space is much like any frontier--he who settles a land claims it all, and many whole planets and even systems have been claimed throughout the centuries.

With whole planets at their disposal, many colonies are content to live outside the comforts of the Core Worlds. Most Fringe colonies are home to a few million souls, usually clustered around one central city. They typically lay claim to an entire planet, but access very little of that planet. They maintain limited space fleets, and often rely on outside contractors to protect themselves from pirates and rival settlers who might wish to challenge their claim to whole or partial worlds.

Colonists rarely split from their mother country because they loved it too much. They typically do not pursue or even permit security contracts with their nation of origin, as this could easily lead to repatriation (often forced). Instead, they will often ally with rival nations, but only to a point, so as not to court yet another potential invader.

Thus, the colony worlds overwhelmingly favor private contractors for almost all tasks beyond planetary governance. Freelancers will find many opportunities for:

• Transport of goods or resources produced in the colony
• Transport of goods of resources from other sources, consumed by the colony
• Protection of remote installations and RGOs
• Manifesting of force to deter pirates, raiders, and even large nations
• Ferrying of personnel, especially VIPs, to and from the colony

Colonial powers can vary widely in personality, traditions, and law. It is important to respect the culture of the individual colony, and, in particular, their independence from core nations. This latter part can be tricky, as not all colonies are completely independent; many exist as protectorates (voluntary or otherwise) of great nations, or contract with said nations for some, but not all government and military functions. Balancing the laws and obligations imposed by both the colony and the mother country can be quite daunting.

Many colonies in the Fringe are part of virtual empires--they are owned by an independent corporation. The ICs are de facto nations in this region, imposing laws, levying taxes, and seeing to their own defense. These colonies have the same needs and opportunities as any other, but may come with greater political concerns than a wholly independent colony.

The DMZ

The DMZ is not defined by what it is, but rather what it is not. It is not part of the Foundation's demesne, and not subject to any of the protections or guarantees of that organization.

The Homeworlds Foundation was meant to apply to all of known space, as a way to protect the human race and human civilization indefinitely, beyond any one planet or nation, and into eternity. However, many of its strictures and policies did not sit well with the estranged folk of the DMZ worlds.

There was a time when there was no DMZ; the Fringe was deep within a massive outer realm of colonies, with a new world founded every day. The discovery of warp technology quickly expanded the known universe, and the great empires competed in a furious race to expand as far and as wide as possible. Whole swaths of space were slated to become rich Core Worlds in a matter of generations, with the aid of the latest technologies, and, of course, the limitless capital of the Homeworlds.

The dream died shortly after it was born. The Earthgate Wars shattered the great empires, vastly reducing their reach and resources. The empires failed utterly to protect their wide sprawl of colonies; few to none received any aid under the crushing might of the Earthgate drones. Many worlds were lost, others ravaged--their people literally lived in caves and jungles to avoid eradication.