Terms of Service

The Syndicate exists for one reason: profit. We are, between us, not the heroes of this sector. Our interests are our own, our loyalties are rented, and our smiles are structural. We will not pretend otherwise, and the Client agrees not to be surprised.

Notwithstanding the foregoing: a contract is sacred to us, because a contract is paid. Where the balance is settled in full, the cargo is delivered in full — on time, no tricks, no "accidents," no missing crates. This is the sole warranty the Syndicate offers, and it is offered absolutely. Pay the Syndicate, and the Syndicate works for you.

"Cargo" means any goods, materials, vessels, ordnance, or services listed. "Delivery" means arrival of Cargo at the Client's stated coordinates. "Settlement" means payment in full, in-game, in the agreed currency. "The Black" means everywhere our writ runs, which is everywhere we can reach. "Reasonable" means whatever the Quartermaster says it means on the day.

A binding contract forms when the Syndicate issues you an order code (e.g. CCS-7F3K). Present the code to take delivery. We log your Discord handle and order history so we know whose airlock to knock on — and whose debts to remember. You warrant that the identity you present is your own. Imposture is fraud, and fraud is handled under Clause 09.

We move the Cargo to your coordinates before we collect. You inspect the manifest, you confirm the count, and then you settle the agreed sum. We find this builds trust. Trust is good for repeat business, and repeat business is good for Us. Risk of loss passes to the Client upon Delivery; the obligation to pay vests at the same instant and does not expire.

The Syndicate reserves the unconditional right to defend its vessels, crew, cargo, stations, reputation, and credits by all means it deems necessary or merely convenient.

Without limiting that right: (a) any attempt to board, jam, spoof, ram, mine, or otherwise interfere with a Syndicate hauler constitutes a forfeiture of safe-conduct and authorizes immediate defensive — and pre-emptively defensive — force; (b) piracy, ambush, or non-payment may be answered with interdiction, repossession, and the issuance of a Letter of Marque against the offending party, their assets, and their associates; (c) the Syndicate's definition of "threat" is broad, retroactive, and final. Acts of defense are not breaches of this Agreement. They are features of it.

Title to delivered Cargo remains vested in the Syndicate until Settlement. Upon default, the Syndicate may recover the Cargo, any vessel it is installed upon, and reasonable collateral, by self-help and without notice, hearing, or apology. Any wreck, debris, or abandoned grid encountered during recovery becomes Syndicate salvage. Finders, keepers; we are very good finders.

We do not ask where your station sources its uranium. We do not ask whom you intend to point those missiles at. We do not ask why the salvage still carries someone else's registration. Discretion is a service and is included free with every order. The Client agrees not to use Syndicate goods in any manner that would embarrass the Syndicate, which is a high bar.

The Syndicate observes. We retain order records, handles, coordinates, and such other intelligence as commercial prudence — and idle curiosity — suggests. We may use this intelligence to fulfill orders, price your next contract, locate you for collections, or simply to know. You consent to being known.

Outstanding balances accrue interest, ill-will, and attention. The Syndicate has a long memory and a longer reach. Remedies for non-payment include, cumulatively and at our sole election: suspension of service, blacklisting across allied carriers, repossession under Clause 06, reprisal under Clause 05, and referral of your handle to parties who enjoy this sort of work. Settle your debts and we remain the best friends credits can buy.

Except for the single promise in Clause 01, all Cargo is provided "AS-IS, AS-AVAILABLE, AND AS-THE-VOID-PERMITS." The Syndicate disclaims all other warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular siege, structural integrity under fire, and non-infringement of any rival faction's patents, claims, or feelings.

To the fullest extent the laws of physics allow, the Syndicate's total liability for any claim shall not exceed the amount you actually paid for the specific Cargo at issue — and in no event shall We be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, exemplary, depressurization-related, or morale damages, lost ships, lost crews, lost wars, or lost sleep, even if advised of the possibility of same.

The Client shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Syndicate, its officers, quartermasters, gunners, and silent partners against any claim arising from the Client's use of the Cargo, the Client's wars, or the Client's poor life choices. If someone comes asking questions because of what you did with our goods, that is your manifest to carry.

The Syndicate is not liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including solar flares, ion storms, faction wars, blockades, reactor breaches, mutiny, server maintenance, galaxy-wide wipes, or the quartermaster simply having a bad day. Such events suspend our obligations but never yours.

Any dispute shall first be raised in good faith on the Syndicate's Discord. Failing resolution, the matter shall be submitted to binding arbitration before the Quartermaster, whose judgment is final, unappealable, and frequently expensive. The Client waives any right to a jury, a tribunal, or a sympathetic audience. The seat of arbitration is wherever the Syndicate happens to be standing.

The Client may cancel before the hauler departs. The Syndicate may cancel any contract at its discretion, though it rarely does, because cancelled contracts do not pay. Prices, stock, routes, and the mood of the quartermaster are subject to change without notice. We may revise this Charter at any time; continued patronage constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

If any clause is found unenforceable by some authority foolish enough to assert jurisdiction over the Syndicate, that clause shall be struck and the remainder shall continue in full force, meaner for the loss. This Charter is the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes every promise, wink, and handshake that came before it.

This Agreement is governed by the customs of The Black and the standing orders of the Syndicate. Where those are silent, the stronger party's interpretation controls. You already know which party that is.

The Syndicate asserts sole, manifest, and retroactive dominion over all charted and uncharted space, including territory it has not yet seen, heard of, or invented. All sectors are Syndicate sectors; some simply do not know it yet. Other factions exist at our sufferance and are best understood not as rivals but as pre-acquisitions. Your sovereignty is a charming local tradition and we respect it the way one respects a pet.

The Syndicate is the only legitimate logistics provider in the galaxy. Competitors are not competitors; they are temporary. Any rival shipping manifest is hereby declared void, cute, and confiscatable. Should you encounter a cheaper carrier, please report them to us so we may welcome them warmly into the organization, whether they wish to be welcomed or not.

The Syndicate reserves the right to levy tolls on passage, docking, salvage, line-of- sight, and the breathing of any atmosphere we have generously declared ours. The Air Tax is assessed per lungful and is, regrettably, non-negotiable. Looking at our ships is free. Looking at them funny incurs a modest surcharge.

Valued Clients may pledge eternal fealty to the Syndicate in exchange for a 2% discount and a complimentary enamel pin. Benefits of vassalage include: protection (from us), preferential pricing (relative to those we dislike more), and the warm certainty of being on the winning side. Any station that orders three times is automatically upgraded to a franchise. Any station that fails to pay is automatically downgraded to a parking lot.

The Syndicate cannot be dissolved, defeated, or audited — only mildly inconvenienced, and then only briefly. By shopping here you affirm that the Syndicate has always been benevolent, has always been in charge, and has always offered competitive rates. Any memory to the contrary is a clerical error and has been scheduled for correction. We have never lost a war. We have occasionally allowed others to believe otherwise, as a kindness.