Strength through Hierarchy
The Jade Moon Cartel (JMC) operates within a strict hierarchy enforced largely by wealth, social status, and violent force. Whilst they are somewhat centralised in overall purpose, the cartel is somewhat fractured, dominated as it is by five Vigos who act as a surrogate council from a hidden base on the forest moon of Osskera. It is this verdant world and its greenery which originally gave the cartel its name.
Made up largely of smugglers, black marketeers, thugs and slavers, the JMC adhere to a loose code, which many refer to as “strength through hierarchy”, essentially recognising that no one group within the cartel could easily survive without the unity of the others. The small spaceport Ghost Bastion, hidden deep below the sprawling canopies of Osskera, is the closest thing the cartel have to a “base”. It is no longer a true centre of power, as each of the five Vigos controls holdings of their own where they scheme and plot as much to increase their influence with the cartel itself as to fight their external enemies.
Jade Moon run weapons, technology, slaves, and a lot of spice back to the Core Worlds through a number of well-trodden smuggling routes. Their primary markets are wealthy Imperial worlds unable to manufacture or procure such items locally. They employ a number of stolen Imperial ships which often disguise their operations right under the nose of Imperial authorities.
Their organisation is structured around a cell-like system, each of which is run by a Capo—or captain—who reports, with a cadre of rivals, to a single Vigo. The cartel is subdivided into simple colour-coded branches: onyx; crimson; violet; bone; azure. This clear-cut division demarcates the “houses” which create the “family” as a whole, and is used to maintain relative distance between the operations of the notoriously jealous Vigos. It is often suggested that “jade” is a word used to remind the individual branches of the whole “tree”, the colour-coded unified whole representing the entire cartel.
Their “homeworld” of Osskera was likely chosen because it is a small, out of the way moon cloaked in mist, difficult to navigate, and alive with predatory fauna. Most of the moon is shielded from broad-range scanners by its chaotic magnetic poles, and visually obscured by mist, making it the perfect hideout for a criminal organisation. Hence, even though it is common knowledge that the JMC operates from the tiny moon, few serious efforts have been made to infiltrate it.
Relations. Jade Moon clash frequently with Nightfall, who they consider “vermin” for snatching many of the most valuable narcotics facilities from Sunfire before they could. As a result, JMC engage in constant false-flag operations against the Covenant, hoping to draw retaliation against their enemies. Many of the Vigos are known to be fond of using the Void Hounds for business, particularly the infamous “discretion bounties” offered for the quiet removal of snitches, ex-slaves, and problem clients. The Cartel made more than a few enemies within Sunfire when they snatched up most of their old routes and contacts through to the Core Worlds, but in doing so they found themselves in open war against the Black Ember Covenant, who saw their size and threat as being distinctly greater than that of Nightfall.
Throne World: Osskera [Veilmarch 036]
Major Rival: Black Ember Covenant
: Report : Sorrel, Jayce : Imperial Intelligence Liaison
