Marek Federation

The Marek Federation is a loose collection of organizations led by Merchant Lords. The most powerful ones of these, the Princes, form a Council which gathers to decide official MF policies on things that affect them all and to decide on what to do in the case of a large-scale threat. They form the crucial trading link between the hostile empires of UEC and NE, both of which look down on MF but realize their importance. The Federation doesn't have as strong a military as either of the other Empires, but they have a huge amount of credits allowing them to employ mercenaries in times of crisis, and their specialist groups and experimental technology projects are ahead of the other two in efficiency and power.