The Crayven Corporation - Unit Overview

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C R A Y V E N  C O R P O R A T I O N
Company Profile

Since 1775, when Crayven Corporation founder Lord Robert Crayven looked toward the heavens and predicted that one day, humanity would sail amongst the stars, the mission of the Corporation has always been one of innovation. Throughout the centuries, the Crayven Corporation - known as Crayven Nautical Technologies until 1961 - has been both a pioneer and a leader in the research and development of breakthrough advances in the aerospace and defense fields.

The Crayven Corporation was initially established on Terra in the mid-twentieth century. It was borne out of a need for an overarching parent organization to administer its nautical technologies, aviation, and fledgling spaceflight divisions.

The aviation division's foundations were laid in 1905 when, recognizing the breakthroughs of brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright, then-CEO A.P. Vandergraff issued a directive to begin forays into flight technologies. The Nautical Technologies (NauTech) division, already well-equipped and well-experienced in the fields of both civilian and military research and design was chosen for the task. Accordingly, a divisional restructuring was undertaken, enlarging and expanding NauTech to incorporate the facilities and staff needed to launch the Aviation branch while simultaneously continuing the mission of the nautical division as laid down by Lord Crayven himself.

Crayven Nautical Technologies thus became Crayven Nautical & Aerospace Technologies (CNAT) and remained as such for the next fifty-six years. In 1961, American President John F. Kennedy issued a call to the United States Government to undertake a program with the ultimate objective of landing a man on the moon before the end of the decade. Then-CEO of the Crayven organization, Nathaniel Martinson, inspired and intrigued by the President's challenge and realizing the potentially lucrative markets that voyaging into space could open, called upon CNAT to begin research into space technologies immediately.

Marine research was restored to its own division once more, and the Crayven Nautical & Aerospace Technologies division became Crayven Aerospace Technologies (referred to by its staff as 'the CAT'). Its emblem, the image of a lion overlaid atop the Crayven family crest, was symbolic of this affectionate nickname. The Aerospace Division's mission proved to be a tremendous success. In the centuries to come, the Crayven Corporation's trifecta of proficiencies in nautical, aviation, and spaceflight cultivated many advances and breakthroughs in their respective fields.

In 2768, during the early years of the Amaris Civil War, the Crayven Corporation ceased to exist. Its assets were seized and liquidated by the Amaris insurgency to finance the Usurper's war machine, and its corporate records were largely destroyed. It would not be until nearly 247 years later, in 3015, when William Kauffman, inspired by the ancient organization's incredible legacy, would raise Robert Crayven's corporate insignia above the sprawling metropolis of Meredith on New Earth and see the Crayven Corporation reborn as a tactical logistics company, providing armed transport services in a partnership with the New Earth Trading Company.

With the Fourth Succession War outbreak in 3028, the Crayven Corporation saw its services in high demand. By 3029, it had acquired substantial capital due to its unorthodox strategy of being one of only a few civilian couriers willing to operate in even the most active combat zones. Following a wildly successful IPO on the Terran Stock Exchange, William Kauffman, seeking a new market to disrupt, executed a major stakeholder agreement with the Interstellar Expeditions organization, which saw the Crayven Corporation providing the company with pro bono transport services to sites of discovery in exchange for a percentage of salvage rights to any technologies discovered. Though the Crayven Corporation's shareholders initially balked at the decidedly irregular business agreement, holding exclusive partner salvage rights to Star League-era technologies quickly proved to be a worthwhile investment.

The original headquarters of the Crayven Corporation, located in Meredith, New Earth, circa 3030

Following the sudden ousting of CEO William Kauffman in 3035 in the wake of a disastrous and costly Interstellar Expeditions contract, the Crayven Corporation saw several interim CEOs before senior board member Trent Jamison assumed the role of Chief Executive in 3040.

On January 1, 3045, the Crayven Corporation formally acquired Aegis Division, a mercenary organization with which the Crayven Corporation had long-standing ties.

On March 7, 3050, the invasion of the Inner Sphere by the Clans of Kerensky signaled a new era of turmoil for the coreward worlds. Seeing an opportunity to use the Crayven Corporation's well-established trade connections and deep understanding of diverse and lost technologies to answer the emergent need for rapid military development across political lines, then-CEO Trent Jamison established the Crayven Securities division.

Headed by Charles Maxwell, who had become an employee of the corporation just five years prior when it acquired his mercenary unit, the Securities division functioned initially as an independent technologies exchange with no ties to any political, mercenary, or Clan organizations whatsoever, providing a proxy organization through which a buyer could solicit the purchase of a particular asset and be matched anonymously with a seller offering the desired goods. Through the double-blind exchange process, in which the Corporation facilitated all communication and logistics, ensuring that neither party ever met, communicated, or learned the identity of the other, the buyer and seller were afforded total safety and plausible deniability while being able to complete mutually-beneficial transactions that would otherwise be impossible. Via this trading mechanism, the Crayven Corporation acquired two of the first intact Daishi-class OmniMechs in the Inner Sphere. Identified as former Clan Ghost Bear assets, the OmniMechs were codenamed Tyrant and Fury and assigned to the corporate headquarters on New Earth.

The Securities Division profited first and foremost by charging exorbitant service fees to clients participating in the technological exchange program and those utilizing the company's advanced research and design facilities to evaluate the viability of their trades. Furthermore, the company imposed a fifteen-percent surcharge on all technology transactions handled through the organization.

"Valhalla," the expanded headquarters of the Crayven Corporation, located in Meredith, New Earth, overlooking the Cabot River, circa 3050

Within the fortified walls of the Securities laboratories, plans were laid, prototypes were tested, and secret technological exchanges between high-profile clients were carried out, all behind an iron curtain of total anonymity.

By 3053, the Securities division had become the most profitable business unit in the Corporation's portfolio. To maintain this profitability, however, the company's executive officers realized that diversification of available services would be required to attract new patrons and keep existing clients. Crayven Securities' business model was thus expanded to offer intelligence-gathering services, mercenary operations, and black ops to its clients. Three new business units within Crayven Securities came into being to fit the multifaceted plan - Intelligence, Tactical Operations, and Special Projects.

Crayven Intelligence - Surveillance, Espionage, and Intelligence Gathering

• The largest of the Crayven Securities divisions, Intelligence's primary responsibility is collecting and analyzing tactical, technological, and political information pertaining to the Crayven Corporation's targets of interest and those of its clients. Intelligence also communicates with Tactical Operations to assist in coordinating and executing insertion strikes against targets specified by clientele and against those potentially threatening the Crayven Corporation, its subsidiaries, and its interests. Because the Intelligence division employs the latest in cutting-edge intelligence-gathering technology and a vast network of special agents trained in data gathering and espionage, the division consistently delivers quality intel at affordable prices.

Tactical Operations - Mercenary Affairs

• Tactical operates on several levels. Its primary responsibility is to serve as a consulting forum for clientele seeking guidance in assessing, planning, and executing tactical operations against threat-class and opportunity targets, as well as those engaged in ongoing campaigns that require a high level of skilled planning and logistical coordination. Tactical also provides pro bono consulting services to the Crayven Corporation and is responsible for training all operatives in using Crayven Corporation military hardware and the MechCommanders who see to their well-being in the field. Tactical Operations serves as the active mercenary unit of the division and is responsible for carrying out operations assigned by Tactical.

Special Projects - Classified

• At this time, Crayven Securities, Incorporated cannot comment on the activities of the Special Projects division due to client confidentiality agreements.

Through 3067, Crayven Securities was actively involved in various projects across the Inner Sphere and Clan space.

"Valhalla," the expanded headquarters of the Crayven Corporation, located in Meredith, New Earth, overlooking the Cabot River, circa 3067

In 3068, much of the infrastructure of New Earth was obliterated in a nuclear firestorm when the Word of Blake invaded the world. The entirety of the Crayven Corporation's planetary assets were destroyed, and much of its corporate leadership, including CEO Jamison, was killed. Through the quick thinking of Charles Maxwell, the head of the organization's intelligence unit, the Securities division's Union-class DropShips Half Moon and Terra Nova, the Overlord-class DropShip Foundation, and the Excalibur-class DropShip Dreams of Avarice were able to evacuate during the attack, carrying with them what remained of the Corporation's assets.

As the senior-most surviving member of the Crayven Corporation's leadership, Charles Maxwell thus became its acting CEO. Realizing that the Securities division was the only remaining functional business unit and, therefore, the company's lifeblood, Charles re-grouped his remaining staff and quickly set about rebuilding. Divesting the company of all its assets except for those critical to the technologies exchange, R&D, and mercenary operations, Charles reorganized the company fully as Crayven Securities, Incorporated. By 3069, the Corporation had purchased several blighted city blocks in Gellen's Heights, Sheratan. It transformed them into the organization's rebuilt corporate headquarters, employing nearly 500 Sheratan residents and boosting the local economy significantly.

"Equinox," the rebuilt headquarters of the Crayven Corporation, located in Gellen's Heights, Sheratan, circa 3069

Between 3070 and 3071, Crayven Securities, Incorporated acquired the Legionnaires mercenary unit and was subsequently stricken with an internal political upheaval that saw Charles Maxwell displaced by Richard Saxon as CEO. However, after evidence of illegal activities by Saxon and his staff was presented to Sheratan Governor Erica Ravenswood, Saxon was jailed, and Charles Maxwell was reinstated as Chief Executive. Under Maxwell's leadership, Crayven Securities, Incorporated developed a breakthrough cure for Rissikin's Disease and, despite resistance from its shareholders to doing so, donated it to the public domain.

"Equinox," the rebuilt headquarters of the Crayven Corporation, located in Gellen's Heights, Sheratan, circa 3072

Following Charles' retirement in 3072, Crayven Securities, Incorporated continued with its core mission under the leadership of Marcus Pierce until the end of 3081. To remain in business with the rise of the Republic of the Sphere, in 3082, the corporation shifted its focus from weapons development and mercenary operations to assisting in decommissioning war machines and re-configuring combat equipment for peacetime applications. Many of its production and refit facilities were committed to this task, and the organization was able to sustain itself through the latter half of 3097 when the demand for this type of work tapered off to such a degree that it was no longer profitable. On April 18, 3098, Crayven Securities, Incorporated suspended its military operations indefinitely.

"Equinox," the rebuilt headquarters of the Crayven Corporation, located in Gellen's Heights, Sheratan, circa 3081

To sustain the company, corporate officers developed a new business plan that effectively transformed Crayven Securities, Incorporated from a defense contractor into a for-profit civil agency. The new business model placed the company's focus on architecture, terraforming, and construction. Its services were marketed to worlds attempting to rebuild their infrastructure following the massive destruction wrought by the Word of Blake jihad. The term 'Securities' was dropped from the company's name, and' Construction' was inserted in its place in an homage to the organization's origins.

Crayven Construction provided services to hundreds of worlds between 3100 and 3135, never turning away a single client. In the spirit of its founders, the company never discriminated against any of its clients for any reason. Unfortunately, as the Inner Sphere entered a new dark age with the fall of the HPG network, old rivalries were rekindled, and the sociopolitical climate of the Inner Sphere became far more hostile than it had been in nearly a century. The corporate officers of Crayven Construction realized that the company could no longer function with the free-spirited independence it had once known and that, ultimately, a side would have to be chosen.

In 3136, the decision was made to no longer accept contracts from entities not loyal to the Republic of the Sphere. On April 16, 3136, for the first time in its 81-year history, Crayven Construction declined a contract. Two days later, on April 18, 3136, a Blank calling himself 'John Maxwell' appeared at the gates of the corporate headquarters, disagreeing with the direction in which our directors were taking the company and making wild claims that he was the true heir to the Crayven director's chair. Mr. Maxwell presented obviously forged documents that appeared to be from the late Charles Maxwell, a former Chief Executive Officer who passed away in 3092, supporting the legitimacy of his claim. After an extensive investigation, it was determined that no credit could be given to Mr. Maxwell's claims, and he was banned from the Crayven premises. Mr. Maxwell was later exposed as a Capellan sympathizer when he was witnessed aboard a transport near the Liao capital world of Sian. At this time, Crayven Construction is pursuing a lawsuit against Mr. Maxwell to recoup the massive expenses incurred investigating his false claims and the tremendous amount of business lost due to the bad publicity generated in the press due to his allegations.

If you want to know more about the Crayven Corporation, its history, and the kind of men and women who work for us, please give us a call, visit our metasite, or pay us a visit! We're always looking for the best and brightest; new blood and new ideas keep our company strong.