Greater Askellon Trade Combine

• The Combine approves all contracts.
• Do not violate Imperial Law.
• Fulfil your obligations of the contract.
• No work is allowed outside the Combine. Ever.

 - The Four Guiding Principles of the Greater Askellon Trade Combine

The Combine is still the trading force that it has been since its origins, but with the D’Amitri family largely out of the command structure, there is less talk of the past and more talk of the future. The head of the Combine is now Zadori Whelk, a former smuggler captain who “saw the error of her ways” after being caught and has renewed eforts to eliminate the criminal contingent in the system.

Following her reformation, she undertook a purge of smuggler hideouts located near Combine facilities. Those who would not convert to more honest work were jettisoned into space, their safe houses destroyed. Since her inauguration as Trademaster-General, she has opened up dialogues with the Prospector's Guild and begun working more closely with the Imperial Navy to balance out the influence of House Surena. These negotiations strengthen her position as a law-abiding businesswoman, while moving towards greater and greater shares of Askellian commerce.

Whelk has also instituted a policy of open enrolment for captains. Those who sign with the Combine come and go as they please, so long as they adhere to its simple but strict Principles. The result has been a constant stream of new talent trying to make their fortunes and an increased stability in the region, as the Combine has refused to hire anyone wanted by the Imperium. With independent trade very much on the wane, it is smart business sense to not run afoul of the law—the enforcement of which the Combine largely handles.

The Combine now controls a healthy portion of the trade across Askellon, and is even trying to expand into neighbouring Scarus and Ixaniad; early forays into Calixis, though, showed that the risks were too high, given the current turmoils there. Many of its contracts are long-term exclusives to ensure consistent income, and were brokered under dubious circumstances in most cases. Many of the larger independent traders, in turn, mark these dates, and have begun currying favour with the producers of goods for decades prior to those termination dates to engender a level of trust—and hopefully get the new contract. Very few do change over to an independent, however, amidst rumours of special “negotiators” being sent by the Combine. No one has overtly levelled accusations at the trade juggernaut, but most know the dangers of trying to cross it.