Originally posted by Kurega Gikur:
I guess if the threat of the Imperium brought two or more sides together for a treaty then things could at least in theory develop peacefully.
One of the balkanized worlds IMTU is Converse (E722479-9) - it is divided between Havelock Mining and Milling (HM&M) SA and the Converse Consortium (ConCo) LIC.
Converse is a backwater of the Horizon Main in Ley Sector, originally settled by independent prospectors - during the early period a succession of small mining companies formed and dissolved, none with the requisite resources to make a viable claim to the whole of the planet. One such company was purchased by HM&M, a sector-wide mineral development corporation - after the initial investment proved profitable, HM&M began to increase its holdings by buying out additional claims.
Several of these small mining operations, in response to HM&M's burgeoning interest in the planet, decided to band together to protect their mutual claims, forming ConCo. With a few exceptions that remain independent to the present day, mining operations on the planet were subsumed under either HM&M or ConCo.
HM&M is interested solely in mining operations on the planet, and as profitability diminishes, the corporation has begun scaling back its operations on Converse, keeping only the most productive mines in operation and shutting down the rest. ConCo has a long-term development plan including an atmosphere project and other terraforming to attract colonists to the planet. Representatives for HM&M have approached ConCo with an offer to sell its interests on the planet to the smaller consortium, but so far ConCo has held out, waiting for HM&M's price to come down.
Now if I'm
Kurega Gikur, I probably see a planet with private security forces battling industrial spies commiting acts of espionage against its rival. However, what I see is a large planet that is sparesely populated over which the competition for resources is limited - at the moment each company is getting what it wants out of its operations on Converse, with the prospect of a negotiated settlement that will leave ConCo as the main proprietor in the next few centuries on the table. The main conflict on the planet is not between the two corporations, but between the corporations and the handful of independents, and with rogue prospectors who encroach on either HM&M or ConCo claims - these activities occupy the small security teams for each corporation present on the planet (HM&M has in-house security personnel, ConCo employs a platoon of mercenaries), and also provide a number of potential patrons with whom adventurers may come into contact during planetfall.
No need to invoke Imperial intervention here.
Originally posted by Kurega Gikur:
Do we have two starports then?
Both HM&M and ConCo maintain separate class E facilities. HM&M's 'port at New Durban, its headquarters on Converse, is situated adjacent to the Green Eye, the shallow sea that forms the planet's only significant surface water body - dipping is permitted with a permit from HM&M. A second class E facility is present at Converse City, the center of ConCo's operations - ConCo plans to upgrade its starport to class D over the next decade, including the installation of an orbital dock.