Organized Crime Groups of the Galaxy
The Milky Way is also home to various organized crime groups, some of which are described here.
Res Nostra
The Res Nostra (Lat. "our thing") is an organized crime syndicate originating in Pre-Mechyrdian Olympia. It is considered to perhaps be the largest and most powerful criminal society in the entire galaxy. A loose, horizontally-structured association of familiae, the Res Nostra's core activities are protection racketeering, piracy, arms trafficking, political extortion, and business with the Diadochus Masra Draetsen.
Over the past decade, the Res Nostra has made alliances with its former rivals, such as the Frankish Order, the Corsairs' Commune, and most recently the Felinae Felices. It maintains a strong presence in not only its native Olympia, but also the rest of Mechyrdia, the Niska Republic, the Ilkhan Republic, and Diadochi space. They are a reliable asset of Ogus Khan, serving as his voluntary operatives outside where the Masra Draetsen's Enkentar can influence.
According to Tylan Kensar Gali Toratva, in a 255 UC publication by the Mechyrdian Mafia-Uprooting Commission, the most powerful groups of the Res Nostra are familia Caecilia, familia Salvia, and the Togidumnus Alliance.
Felinae Felices
The Felinae Felices (Lat. "lucky felines") are an organized crime syndicate originating in Calibor. It is considered to be only second, in both size and power, to the Res Nostra. The primary activity of the Felinae is building starships for other crime syndicates; their ships are ridiculously advanced, featuring inertialess drives, Lightning Yarn weapons that ignore void shields, Particle Claw weapons with sentient projectiles that probe targeted ships' weaknesses and exploit them, and relativistic armor that protects the ship better when it's moving faster.
Formerly a rival of the Res Nostra, under the rulership of their current Maxima Tanaquil Cassia Pulchra, the Felinae have arranged a ship-building deal with the Res Nostra, since the latter's fleet had been wiped out in a Mechyrdian police action.
Biology
The Felinae Felices are experts in genetic surgery. Their members may be formerly of either species, human or Tylan, and either sex, yet once "made", are universally human women with feline traits. They have heightened intelligence, in-group preference, and Machiavellian social manipulation skills, in addition to being highly resistant to the effects of Tylans' psychic powers, making Felinae effectively immune to mind-reading or mind-altering; they are also functionally immune to aging.
The Felinae also use ferocious ground troops, in addition to their void fleet; these ground troops are known as the Feles Lupatae (sg. Feles Lupata, "fanged cat", typically translated as "fanged ones"), and are genetically altered to have additional organs that perform various battle-relevant functions, such as absorbing energy from shots by energy-weapons and using it to fuel biological processes, sealing wounds with rapidly-regenerating skin, filtering out toxins (both airborne and ingested) before they can affect the body, enabling the Lupata to learn the memories of fallen foes by eating their brains, and many other functions. Feles Lupatae may be small in physical size, but their bones, muscles, and connective tissues are heavily reinforced with synthetic materials that the Felinae Felices genetically engineered the Lupatae to produce by biological processes.
Organization
Unlike the Res Nostra, the Felinae Felices are organized hierarchically with a single Maxima at the top, in charge of Ducissae who themselves are in charge of Dominae, and the Feles at the bottom of the pyramid, in a way that is somewhat similar to the organization of the Mechyrdian Navy.
The Maxima has a Promaxima who replaces her in the event of the Maxima's death, a Consultrix (advisor) who advises her and is the only member of the Felinae Felices allowed to contradict the Maxima verbally in the presence of others, and Quaestrices (inquisitors) who both function as the Maxima's bodyguard and remove her from power should she commit a maximal crime, as described within the Leges Felinarum.
Below the Maxima are the Phalanges Felinae (phalanxes), each led by a Ducissa. Each Phalanx Felina has its own nomen, which every member uses as the second component of her three-part name, e.g. Phalanx Cassia, Phalanx Ulpia, Phalanx Iunia, etc.
Within each phalanx are several Greges Felinarum (herds of cats). A Grex Felinarum is led by a Domina of varying rank; in order from most to least powerful, there are Dominae Seniores, Dominae, Dominae Vicariae, and Dominae Iuniores. Each grex is uniquely numbered in Roman numerals and has a masculine-form adjectival epithet, e.g. the Grex Felinarum XLII Pedester or "42nd 'Pedestrian' Herd of Cats".
Greges Felinarum are comprised of individual Felinae Felices starships; each ship has a bridge officer complement, an engineering crew complement, and a horde of Feles Lupatae for security, ship boarding, and planetary landings. Bridge officers include a Magistra or captain, a Promagistra or first officer, a Pugnatrix or tactical officer, a Navigatrix or navigator, a Locutrix or comms officer, and an Effectrix or operations officer. Some ships have a separate Navigatrix and Gubernatrix or pilot. On the engineering deck, there is a Sustentrix Prima or chief engineer, and several Magae or "techno-witches". Throughout each ship, regular Feles or crew members are working on various tasks, while small detachments of Feles Lupatae are on patrol. Each detachment of Lupatae is led by a Catenaria or "officer of the chain", who restrains the fanged ones' ferocity. The Feles Lupatae that aren't on patrol within the ship train within the ship's barracks in preparation for assault actions.
Ship gallery
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