Mekong Dominion
The Mekong Dominion is a powerful merchant league that holds many of the economic resources of the South. The Dominion is the successor of the a huge corporate alliance that purchased colonization rights for much of the Yung An Basin and the surrounding plains. This Terra Nova Corporate Foundation (known to Dominionites as the “Founders”) became a powerful lobby for colonial rights and eventually had to flee Earth when the home world abandoned Terra Nova. After a long period of ensuing chaos and civil war, the various corporate enclaves and other cities formed into the Mekong Dominion.
To this day, the Dominion maintains the corporate social model established by the Founders. The league is ruled by the CEOs (called taipans) of the largest corporate houses and the nation is the South’s economic powerhouse. The Dominion is probably the Southern Republic’s most important partner in the AST and it was the Dominion’s decision to sign a formal alliance that allowed the Republic to conquer the other vassal states.
Since then, the Mekong Dominion has been a deceptively loyal partner to the Southern Republic. All the while the Dominion has been helping to finance Republican power in the hemisphere, it has also been working to further its own hold. Mekong corporations hold shares in a great many key industries across the South and a surprising number of decisions are made within the Mekong Assembly before arriving in the Curia or even the Estates General. The Dominion supports the AST because it ensures profits and serves as a cover for exerting economic control over the hemisphere.
The Dominion suffered greatly during the War of the Alliance, and saw a great deal of territory come under occupation or become constant battlefields. Jungle fighting in the Dominion (and ESE) was among the most brutal fighting during the conflict. With Earth forces having cut deep into the league and Terranovan forces strained past their limits, many feared the invaders could never be dislodged.
This desperate battle did, however, reemphasize the prestige of the Mekong Peacekeepers, the league’s national police and home defense guard. The Peacekeepers were often the only line of defense and became heroes of the state by the end of the war. Today, in a league often rife with corruption and double-dealing, the Peacekeepers are universally respected for their honor and skill.
Taipans and Oyabuns
The Mekong Dominion is sometimes called two faced by outsiders. While it has a rich and sophisticated culture, including an excellent education system and a vibrant arts scene, the Dominion is also home to wild bandit armies and slave rings. Indeed, the privileges of Mekong citizenship are reserved for those who own corporate stock and everyone else forms an official underclass that has few rights and little recourse to justice. The underworld has done an excellent job of organizing itself to deal with life in the Dominion.
The roughest of criminals live in the deep jungles in bandit gangs and the largest of these form virtual armies that control whole provinces. The most feared bandits are the Mongols, led by an enigmatic Khan. More formal is the Mekong Yakuza, born of an alliance of criminal cartels that arrived from Earth in colonial times. The Yakuza control Hsi Tsang and are even recognized as a Mekong corporation. A recent deal with Mekong Lord Chancellor Durocher has made Hsi Tsang virtually free of Mekong control.
A Global Agenda
The taipans of the Mekong Dominion have rarely deviated from an agenda of global power acquisition that dates back to the league’s creation. Financial and economic influence are their major instruments, but the taipans have long been willing to use darker methods to get their way. So-called ghost squads — highly trained saboteurs — help cripple competitors or targets of acquisition across the globe, while blackmail ensures influence even in foreign-owned companies.
Taipan Aaron Logan or the Mekong Development Corporation has proven to be master of these strategies and many of the key CEOs in the Southern Republic are rumored to be in his debt. Some call him the most dangerous man in the South. Current Speaker Miyako Sogabe has taken a different tack, pushing through a program of mild social reforms to appeal directly to the people and create a more just state. She is still a ruthless businesswoman when she needs to be, however, and has her share of assassins and spies in the field. Among her most trusted agents is Kitani Yang, a famed Kabuki dancer who also serves as Sogabe’s personal spy.