First created March 14th, 2024.
Last edited March 14th, 2024.
OVERVIEW:
Cromwell Heavy Industries & Minerâs Platoon, colloquially known among the public as âC.H.I.M.P.â or âthe Chimp Squadsâ, are a subsidiary company of IPS-Northstar mainly focused on the production of civilian and heavy industrial-grade mech frames, planetary surveying and mining equipment, as well as management of their own independent far-field teams to locate and identify mineral-dense and barren fringe worlds for harvest.
The company was founded in the year 4901u by brothers Kepler and Ian Cromwell as an industrial equipment repair and modification company on Yaldabaoth, an arid diasporan planet known for its unbelievably dense veins of rare metals, and subsequently its ever-growing population of independent mining platoons. The brothers had gotten lucky finding their niche on their home planet, as many newer crews found that their requisitioned gear hadnât been able to perform as per their standards in Yaldabaothâs incredibly dry and windy climate, and they, with their knowledge, ingenuity, and experience were able to retool proprietary GMS and IPS-N equipment to function far beyond their original capacity in the Baoan caves.
Soon enough, the brothers, alongside the many mining crews theyâd aided and commissioned formed their own planetary mining conglomerate, known as Cromwell Minerâs Platoon, and soon enough Cromwell-modified gear had spread all across Yaldabaoth, and their significant exports of raw metals soon caught the attention of IPS-N higher-ups, who sought to buy out their company and subsequently all future exports of Baoan metals. Fortunately for the brothers, the platoon and a great majority of the Baoan people had incredible solidarity with each other, refusing the initial âofferâ presented by IPS-N, and eventually, after nearly a decade of negotiations, mysterious âpirateâ attacks, and bureaucratic shenanigans, the Cromwell brothers eventually reached an agreement with IPS-N that sacrificed only a third of their global exports in exchange for assistance in developing production sites on Yaldabaoth, full independence for the Baoan people, and defense contracts from IPS-N on all major Cromwell mining sites and workerâs communes. A massive win for the people of Yaldabaoth, and especially the Cromwell brothers, who eventually renamed their conglomerate to Cromwell Heavy Industries and Minerâs Platoon as part of their merger with IPS-N.
postscript: for context, this was originally an idea I had for a homebrew faction for the indie sci-fi / mecha TTRPG Lancer, based entirely off the idea that having an actual interstellar industry company named C.H.I.M.P. would be really funny.