NOVA Prime

NOVA Prime is a military and economic organization that incorporates remnants of the NOVA Technology Corporation, primarily the paramilitary and force-using elements. Founded by Sam Piper, a veteran of the old NOVA, NOVA Prime focuses on civil protection and ensuring the civilians under its banner are prosperous and safe. Officially known as the Neutral Overwatch Vigilance Alliance, the group boasts a large membership of mercenaries, refugees, displaced soldiers from the Republic and Empire, and former elements of both the Stellar Enforcer Coalition and NOVA Technology Corporation.

Founding
When the SEC collapsed when the leadership was nearly destroyed in a bombing, the military was in disarray, barely able to control the rioting populace. Piper, as one of the last remaining military leaders, knew that in order to maintain some of what they had built he had to save as many as he could. Sending a dispatch to all SEC forces, he ordered them to retreat to their assigned naval posts, taking whoever from the citizens would follow, and rendezvous at the capital.

Only about 15% of the military made it in time to be included. Piper took his refugee fleet and departed SEC space, leaving the broken nation to crumble into chaos. The fleet traveled deep into the Mid-Rim, picking up tag-alongs in the form of freelance soldiers attracted by the prospect of work, other drifting spacers trying to find safety in the midst of a galactic collapse, and even small pockets of old NOVA forces. As the fleet reached a group of isolated systems that showed promise, Piper ordered this area of space locked down until the people were situated in their new homes.

Organization
NOVA Prime is a military junta state, with the armed forces in place of a legislative government. Sam Piper acts as the head of the organization, with the title of Admiral. He and his commanders lay out the laws for the people, and the police arm of the military enforces the laws. They are strict but take the people's needs into account, so there are few complaints of oppression or malcontent. While the citizens can and do suggest changes in the legal system, the military has the final say. As the job of the military is first and foremost to protect their citizens, the governing body takes their job very seriously and looks at all angles of issues before making a decision.

The core colonies are heavily protected and generally not open to travel. Civilians are not permitted outside of the core systems in order to maintain the secrecy of their location. Military patrols and defensive emplacements are abundant in this area, covering all hyperlanes and ports. The five systems are located in a secluded area of space near Hypori, a NOVA puppet world. There are only two hyperlanes into this group of colonies, and they are heavily guarded by mines, gravity well generators, sensor outposts, and capital-class defense stations like the Golan III NovaGun

The outlying colonies are heavily guarded and serve as a support to the mainly residential core systems. They are agriworlds, manufacturing centers, and guard posts, and each has a redundant counterpart in a planet and a space facility in the central colonies. They are scattered across the region, and are linked by dedicated hyperlanes. In all, NOVA Prime controls 17 star systems; 5 core colonies and 11 secondary territories.

NOVA Prime also has puppet control over a number of small corporations and manufacturing centers around the galaxy. A portion of the revenue from these are transferred to NOVA Prime coffers, ensuring a covert support network and a steady revenue stream as well.

Military
As NOVA Prime is made up of elements of NOVA and the SEC, its technological might is second only to that of the Upsilon group. Thanks to advances made by the SEC, Prime equipment is durable, functional, and quite powerful. However, this level of performance exists only in the elite units, with common patrol groups and soldiers making do with technology fenced off the black market or purchased from manufacturers.

Emphasis is heavily put on shielding over weapons systems, hardlight generators, and modular weapon emplacements. Modern NOVA Prime ships can fire in all directions and take an extreme beating before being disabled. One of the more devastating weapons in their arsenal is the impact cannon, a heavy railgun that fires drill-headed shells through a unique rifled guide rail. The shells drill through shields and armor using the spin and then detonate a tactical fusion bomb once embedded in the enemy.

The Naval forces are geared towards defense and interception. There are about 1,000 dedicated warships for each colonial system, a mixture of mostly Cylian-era technology, some SEC assets, and a small number of NOVA Prime ships. The SEC and Prime equipment becomes more common towards the core planets.

Defenses are at a premium. Every hyperlane transit point is locked down by gravity generators to prevent ships from leaving or entering the system without authorization. These stations are supplemented by naval bases and weapons emplacements in close proximity, and each world and major celestial body has at least four orbital defense outposts.

NOVA Prime places heavy emphasis on droid combat and unit cohesion. They utilize all forms of war droids, from Clone-Wars era CIS models to more advanced units like the massive "Killerbot" heavy assault walker. Infantry squads are close knit, forming teams that they stay with throughout deployment and promotion. Each is its own family and they protect each other and their assingments with zeal.

One of the most elite groups in NOVA Prime is the Vanguard, a holdover from the SEC and Old NOVA. Grey Force users trained in technological combat and both Jedi and Sith teachings, Vanguard are heavily armed and extremely loyal to their superiors. They often serve as shock soldiers leading tactical assaults and operations, or as the bodyguards of highly placed individuals. There are about 1,500 Vanguard units currently in service, each fielding four of the soldiers.

Manpower stands at around 620,000 active servicemen, with around 3 million battle droids in use across the colonies. As the central systems are more urban and key to NOVA Prime's mission, most of the populace is located there, and likewise, so is the most military presence.

Economy
NOVA Prime does a booming business with Hypori and its droid factories, churning out tens of thousands of battle droids, blaster cannons, and shielding components a day. These are then sold off to numerous organizations galaxy wide under several corporate fronts, such as Sonda Armaments and the Dynamet Corporation. Credits come in from the Republic, Imperial Remnants, Hutts, and even the Firkian Protectorate due to the products cheap price but reasonable durability. Smaller factories across the colonies bolster this trade with manufacturing blaster gas cartridges, mined from two of the Prime-controlled gas giants, and hydrospanners, the freighter captains best friend.

Taxes off of the colonies provide another source of much-needed revenue for the organization. Income taxes are set at 25% for all citizens, with people earning more than 150,000 credits a standard year being taxed with 30%, and those earning over 300,000 being taxed 50%. Privatley owned businesses are reasonably common, and capitalism is the way of the day, but megacorporations and multibillionares are generally a rarity due to heavy financial restrictions placed on them.

One of the more profitable aspects of NOVA Prime is the cloning facilities they keep above one of the central colonies. Thanks to a secure deal with influential people across the galaxy, NOVA Prime keeps several custom made batches of clones ready to be shipped at a moments notice, and as words spreads among the galactic elite about a safe and trustworthy method of ensuring your can live on after death, the credits roll in for NOVA Prime.