Article 19: Galactic Trade
Mahou City is a place that is very unique for a number of reasons, but for the purposes of this article I should mention its economy in specific. Things like defense, material production, and infrastructure operate much differently--and much more smoothly--when you have many of the galaxy's most powerful mages around to see to the needs of everyone who's not quite able to make everything for themselves yet. In the outside galaxy, however, every citizen of every planet of each of the major galactic factions has their own challenges when it comes to how they get the things they need, and the galactic economy and trade systems exist to fill those needs in a variety of ways.
The most important element of an individual galactic citizen's economy is likely to be the economy of the planet they live on. While this will vary wildly from planet to planet, your average modern planet does have the ability to synthesize materials, though this is a process that is generally more expensive than using whatever the planet's natural resources provide. Still, even as far as a single planet goes, multiple climate zones and uneven distribution of natural resources alone mean that food, water, medicine, raw materials, and various consumer goods at all stages of development must be shipped between facilities using some sort of mass transit system. Typically, these roles are assigned to planet-bound cargo vehicles, be they automobiles, hovermobiles, atmospheric vehicles, or water-riding ships, though some space vehicles can serve these roles just as well. There will, however, always come a point when a planet's own resources simply won't be all they need. Whether it's a conversion to a new technology that requires a rare metal, cultural products like movies and music that have come into galactic vogue, or a regular needed resource that a planet simply doesn't provide, there are a number of ways to transport things from planet to planet, and the most popular methods for each faction differ.
The Golden Alliance, the galaxy's largest and most technically-advanced faction aside from the Watchers, use a very capitalistic system of trade. Jobs are bid on by individual freighter crews operating as small businesses or by larger corporate fleets, who then transport according to their ability and receive payment. This is almost always contracted work, and a pilot who loses, steals, or otherwise screws up their delivery is often fined, blacklisted, or arrested depending on the severity of their breach of contract. Trading fleets are considered to be the most reliable, but due to their layers of insurance and bureaucracy are probably the slowest way to move something from planet to planet. If you need something moved through GA space in a hurry, it's best to find a small crew you trust.
The Castaways Treaty Systems has private fleets and freelancers much like the Golden Alliance, but they also employ a semi-militarized fleet, referred to as the Common Convoy, to make regular runs between smaller planets and larger hub worlds. The Common Convoy is much, much cheaper to utilize than a private fleet, as it's considered a public service, but as the routes are predetermined, how long your delivery will take depends largely on how close you and your destination are to a hub world. Common Convoy ships are also one of the more frequent targets of pirates operating out of GAN space, and sending military escorts just seems to embolden the anarchists who love the idea of the faction's governments being forced to waste even more of their resources on the system.
On to the subject of GAN itself, their fleets are all privately-owned and, while outside the boundaries of their home turf, have a nasty habit of engaging in less savory activities such as piracy or smuggling. Still, their system of trade is considered one of the fastest and most reliable, save the times they get caught by other factions' galactic authorities.
The Angelic Protectorate and Legion, as opposed as the two factions often are to each other, have probably the most similar system of interplanetary resource trade, as their communal natures mean that a single person's needs are everyone's needs. Either faction has a more streamlined, driven set of trading ships that are employed whenever they are needed. The main difference is that the AP also lends its military might to the GA's trade, particularly the larger fleets, to ensure their safety. The AP sees this as part of their duty as the galaxy's police force, but they don't extend this courtesy to other factions, not even the CTS's Common Convoy.
Compared with the other factions, the Elemental League has the most curious trade system. While individual planets are run by the powerful, benevolent, and planet-bound Elementals, intersystem trade is handled by The Consortiums, a huge, bureaucratic, and heavily corrupt series of corporations that saw the EL systems as ripe for exploitation. It's common knowledge for the rest of the galaxy that Consortium fleets not only overcharge their various planets for their services, but regularly skim from their charged resource shipments to such a high degree that the average tech level and standard of living of any given EL world is considered to be at least a decade behind those of its GA or CTS equivalent. Furthermore, the Consortiums work with each other to shuffle their various corporations around as soon as they feel that there may be enough dirt on any particular one of them to instigate action from the planet's citizens. To the EL's planetary leadership this would have the appearance of cleaning house and carry with it the possibility of a less-corrupt new company taking the reins, but the long-lived Elementals have seen it happen too many times to be so gullible. They simply know that the Consortiums hold the power in these relationships and consider what's essentially stolen from them to be excess that their citizens can usually do without. When times get desperate, though, most EL planets will begin to hire smugglers to alleviate their problems, feigning ignorance if the Consortiums try to call them out on it.
Watcher trade is virtually unheard of. Even among those who have defected from Watcher society, none of them have brought with them so much as a description of a trade ship, as they seem able to synthesize any resources they need and are otherwise as mobile as they would need to be to solve any issues of want.
