Guild of Merchant Space-Adventurers

The Guild of Merchant Space-Adventurers is one of the major powers in the Galactic Union. They were previously known simply as "The Merchant Spacemen's Guild." Its current governor is Kim Trieu.

Despite the dramatic name, the so-called "space adventurers" are little more than a union of ordinary merchants who ply their trade between both the inner systems and the distant borderworlds. Most interstellar merchants are members of this guild, as they hold a monopoly on trading licenses. Its members are required to pay a hefty percentage of their profits to the guild.

Their primary interest is in increasing the profit margins of their members, and they have a cautious attitude towards change. Historically they have a difficult relationship with the union, and in particular the Space Wardens, whose anti-smuggling operations they see as needlessly intrusive.

They are not on good terms with the Starship Engineers Association, since they hold the monopoly on starship construction and can be rather ruthless.