Imperial Clans

The Imperial corporation is comprised of several clans, each of which is dominant in a different industrial area. This level of specialization with each clan reduces the amount of duplication of effort that Imperial might otherwise waste effort on, but it is not without its risks - With each clan having a monopoly on its particular area, there is always the chance of incompetence being tolerated because of family ties, or that if a particular clan is wiped out (as happened in the case of Clan Gallagher), Imperial will suffer the loss of its specialties until such time as someone else moves in to fill the gap.

While Imperial has a certain degree of pride as a corporation and a political entity, loyalties within the clans are first and foremost to one's own clan, and this divisiveness has caused many problems over the centuries. The worst example was with the Sad Struggle, back during the time of Cardinal Durand XI "The Mad", when Clan Kingsfield sought to usurp Clan Murdoch's position of prominence, resulting in a civil war of sorts between the clans. When it ended, with Clan Bartholomew switching sides to oppose the Kingsfields (its former allies), Clan Kingsfield was all but wiped out, Clan Murdoch was already weakened, and when Clan Bartholomew came to be the new and most powerful clan, there was much resentment amongst those who had issues with Clan Bartholomew's original stance in siding with the Kingsfields. This Great Resentment continues generations later, and it is widely believed that Clan Murdoch and Clan MacGuire - holding Bartholomew for their fall from power in the Sad Struggle - seek an opportunity to wrest control of the Parliament from Clan Bartholomew, by bloody means if necessary, and to exact revenge on the family ... even though none who were alive during the Sad Struggle are still around today.

The Imperial corporation is governed by a Parliament of representatives of all the clans, and over that it is presided over by the Royal Serenity, presently of Clan Paladine. No grants of nobility have been issued since the time of the Sad Struggle (and, indeed, no clan would allow the formation of a new, competing clan) though titles of knighthood or squiredom are occasionally given out. Squireship is handled with no ceremony whatsoever, the recipient being informed of his or her new status by means of a certificate issued by Her Royal Serenity. Knighthood is bestowed in a royal ceremony performed twice a year, during which no more than a dozen (and usually fewer than that) distinguished Imperial citizens are knighted for their accomplishments - and not necessarily in military prowess, but just as likely in areas of science, politics or literature.

All citizens of Imperial are part of one clan or another. They are either citizens by virtue of being born into a clan, or else they are simply hired on by Imperial. A clan consists of a core family, which shares the family name, as well as several families attached to the core, which do not share the priveleges that members of the core family have. Members of these attached families are considered to be of a lesser background, and could have been tied into the clan in a number of ways. Perhaps they are descendants of someone who married a daughter of the core family or of someone who hired on several generations ago. In any case, such a person is, while associated with that particular clan, of a lesser background, and not worthy of any special consideration or privileges from the core family. This is especially true in the older and more powerful clans, where social strata are more heavily defined.

Imperial Clans

There are many clans, but only 19 more prominent ones are briefly described here:

Axelthorpe: This clan, together with Clan Smythe, owns Smythe, Smythe and Axelthorpe, the financial institution that handles Imperial's wealth. No one outside of Clan Axelthorpe or Clan Smythe can be trusted to work at this institution.

Bartholomew: This is currently the most powerful clan, having wrested the reins of Parliament from Clan Murdoch during the Sad Struggle. They hold sway over at least fifteen other clans, making theirs the largest voting block in the Parliament. A powerful family affiliated with Bartholomew is the Grendel family, and they are largely responsible for the success of Bartholomew & Grendel Arms Manufacturers, and Grendel Manufacturing, producing heavy equipment and heavy weapons. Also, core members of the Bartholomew Clan hold key positions in the ISC, which could further explain their solid grip on power.

Brannaghan: Clan Brannaghan has a stranglehold on the pharmaceuticals industry in Imperial, and it also sponsors the Special Forces unit known as the Blue Lions. Whenever Brannaghan Clan warriors come back from the front, they are always first in line for medical treatment. While other clans have complained about this, Clan Brannaghan has also been quick to point out their own abuses of power for the sake of nepotism. Members of the core family are strongly encouraged to either go into the armed forces, or else into fields of medicine, and it is traditional that the medically-inclined always study at Mercy Medical College.

Drougan: Drougan Clan is best known as a producer of whiskey, and its Special Forces unit, the Wild Roses, always carries a supply of "the good stuff" into battle. It is wracked with internal politics, however, as the second-oldest brother in line to inherit leadership of the clan is purportedly scheming to discredit his elder brother and to take over the clan for himself. It is doubtful that this could be successful, considering how badly kept of a secret his ambitions must be, and how generally unpopular he is with the clan as a whole.

Dunsirn: Clan Dunsirn is in charge of production of paper ... and something which finds great demand thanks to Imperial's massive bureaucracy. Dunsirn is perhaps best known for its tradition of having a family reunion every year, resulting in a massive party known as the "Dunsirn Days", and it's expected that every family member will come to this reunion - even those stationed in the trenches.

Fergan: Clan Fergan is the largest beef producer in the Imperial corporation, and owns large tracts of lands. It is also a considerable contributor to the Highlanders, and there is an entire division of Fergan-driven Laughton Hedgehog Necromowers in the service of the Highlanders.

Fieldhausen: Clan Fieldhausen was the last of the 62 clans to be granted a title of nobility, having its origins as part of House Fieldhausen in Bauhaus. After a power struggle between the two twin brothers, Otto and Victor Fieldhausen, over leadership of the clan, Otto prevailed, but Victor responded by defecting to Imperial, and taking half of the House (and its facilities and resources) with him. Victor's clan was originally considered a family attached to the Kingsfields, but was granted a title of nobility all its own. In order to distinguish itself from the Bauhaus-held Fieldhausen Motors, this clan's production is called Fieldhausen Autowerks. Victor's resentment has passed down to the current generation, and members of Clan Fieldhausen still look upon any opportunity to take shots at their former kin in Bauhaus.

Finn: Clan Finn is heavily involved in the business of medicine, and founded Mercy Medical College. It produces a large number of doctors, and its family has a tradition of conscientious objection insofar as participation in war, which earns it some great ire from the other clans. Some members of Clan Finn, however, have broken with this tradition, in the face of the renewed threat of the Dark Legion, and have formed a special forces group known as the Bad Samaritans. The Bad Samaritans will only go into battle against the monsters of the Dark Legion, refusing to take a human life.

Gallagher: The Gallaghers were once the system's greatest swordsmiths, their runeswords highly regarded as having magical properties. However, with the return of the Dark Legion, an incursion resulted in the wiping out of the entire core family, with the sole exception of one Sean Gallagher. Sean Gallagher has since then become highly regarded as a hero within the Wolfbanes, leaving the family business to an attached family, the Rourkes. While the clan still exists, none of the core family exists save for Sean, and since he has joined the Wolfbanes and severed all clan ties, that means that the core family is effectively dead. The sword-making business is but a pale shadow of its former grandeur, and Gallagher blades of old are considered very rare and highly-sought after items.

Kingsfield: Clan Kingsfield is a power crushed, and due to the nature of clan politics, the children carry the mark of the sins of the fathers. While it is still recognized as a clan, and still has many holdings, many members of the core family changed their names and sought to start freelance enterprises or join other corporations, rather than face the shame of being a Kingsfield. It is a popular notion amongst the underclass that the Kingsfields are constantly plotting revenge on any clan that wronged them (which, by the end of the Sad Struggle, included everyone) and that they seek to bring about a new Sad Struggle. They are frequently portrayed in villains in popular cinema and books.

Loughton: Clan Loughton gained considerable wealth by being one of the first to set up mining operations in the asteroids, and it has several asteroid bases. Its factories produce almost all Imperial cars, save for a few vanity lines, and its Witchmouth Yards produce 65% of all vehicles in use by the Imperial military. The Loughtons are also known for their special forces unit, the Rams Air Cavalry, widely regarded as maniacs for piloting the highly unsafe Twin Barracudas.

MacGuire: Clan MacGuire is dominant in the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Conquest, and is also dominant in the Imperial media. It's also known as being the primary sponsor for the Wolfbanes. The chain of leadership of the Wolfbanes is a bit complicated, but they basically act as a mercenary unit that works for free whenever called upon by the MacGuires, or in the interests of the corporation as a whole.

Morgan: Clan Morgan's patriarch purportedly gained his wealth by less-than-scrupulous means, the most reputable of which was gambling. Originally, Clan Morgan's industries were in the area of electronics, but with the arrival of the Dark Symmetry, this greatly cut into the clan's fortunes. Somehow, Clan Morgan has still managed to produce fairly complex electronics with a lower failure rate than comparable products of other corporations, and it specializes in security systems. There are many who suggest that Clan Morgan has done this by some sort of ill pact with the Dark Legion, much in the same way such rumors have been spread about Cybertronic's success in this largely forbidden area.

Murdoch: Clan Murdoch's patriarch was once the founder of the entire Imperial corporation, and for a long time, Clan Murdoch was the most powerful in Imperial politics. This changed when the reins of power were wrested from them during the time of the Sad Struggle, and they have resented this change ever since. Clan Murdoch is currently the second-most powerful clan in Imperial, and always at odds with Clan Bartholomew. Clan Murdoch's domain is that of crude oil refineries on Mars (taken from Capitol, of course), and its special forces unit is the Golden Lions - a group specializing in furthering Imperial's policy of armed acquisition of resources from its rival corporations. Members of Clan Murdoch are easily distinguished in that, as a matter of tradition, a clansman never shears his hair, with the exception of a lock to give to one who has captured his heart. They always wear their hair long, in ponytails, though they dress conservatively in all other ways.

Murray: Clan Murray is best known for being the producer of ale that is the choice of over 75% of the Imperial market. (The remaining percentage is largely taken up by clan brews that are only sold to members of that particular clan.) It also is known for its two attached families, the Lyons and the Atkinsons, which together produce a number of the weapons in use in the Imperial armory. In more recent years, with the destruction of its close relatives, the Gallaghers, the Murray family has moved in to take over much of the industry of producing swords. While the remnant of the Gallagher Clan handles special orders of especially high-quality swords, Clan Murray handles mass production of cheaper melee weapon products. Clan Murray also sponsors its own special forces unit, the Shamrocks, widely held to be unnaturally lucky.

O'Laughton: Clan O'Laughton split off from Clan Laughton during the Sad Struggle, as its parent clan had tried to remain neutral, but not all of its members wished to remain "indifferent". This division has remained even after the end of the Sad Struggle, and Clan O'Laughton is unique amongst the clans in that it has no business at all other than war - and, in particular, armed conquest of territories developed by the other corporations. Its special forces unit is known as the Golden Panthers, so named as the natural enemies of the crest animal of the Laughtons - the Rams.

Oakenfists: Clan Oakenfist has family ties to Clan Murdoch, but from a time long before the formation of the Imperial corporation and the current arrangement of clans. Clan Oakenfist is born of those of Clan Murdoch who first moved to live exclusively on the asteroids, and their base of operations is still on the asteroids to this day. Like the Murdochs, Oakenfists wear their hair long, but in braids rather than the ponytails favored by Clan Murdoch, and the menfolk wear their beards long. They are physically distinguishable from any other clan in that they are all short and stocky, rarely growing any taller than 5'6". Their business is in asteroid mining, and members of the core family that join the armed forces typically go into the Wolfbanes or the Highlander Clans.

Paladine: Clan Paladine is dominant in the publishing industry, and also has the distinction of having held the throne of the Serenity almost all the way back to the Sad Struggle. After the Sad Struggle, when the last Serenity of Clan Murdoch died, it was widely regarded that for another Murdoch to take the throne would just invite further bloodshed. So, while a Bartholomew temporarily held the throne, a meeting was held on Luna to determine succession. Clan Smythe nominated Clan Paladine, and no one had any objections save for thinking that their own Clan was more worthy for the throne. Thus, a member of Clan Paladine became the next Serenity, and that title has passed on through the Paladine clan up to this present age.

Smythe: Before the time of the Sad Struggle, all of Imperial's finances were handled by Smythe & Smythe. However, after the Sad Struggle, they joined forces with Clan Axelthorpe for greater stability, resulting in the new organization of Axelthorpe, Smythe & Smythe.

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