Operators

The main operators of spacecraft in the Dominion are:

• The Legion
  • Operates military craft
  • Including Customs inspection ships, which are probably the most common interaction a civilian has with Legion vessels
• The Vizierate and the Communications Bureau
  • The Vizierate has a small number of spacecraft that it operates on its own account
  • The Vizierate is charged with maintaining the Net, which it does in conjunction with the Communications Bureau
    • Though the Vizierate has overall responsibility, the Communications Bureau does most of the heavy lifting and operates the fleet of Net Packets and other ships that hold the Dominion’s communications infrastructure together
• The Wardenate
  • The Wardenate is empowered to operate its own armed ships under the Codex, however rarely does so, with most ships being operated though the Vizierate itself.
•  The Mercantile Bureau
  • The largest operator of non-military ships, the Mercantile Bureau operates the majority of cargo and passenger vessels in the Dominion
• The Trade Bureau
  • While the Trade Bureau has an obvious and significant presence at Newerth and Captree to trade with the Separatists and responsibility for much of the shipping in and out of Felline, Trade has facilities and ships at most colony worlds across the Dominion
  • Historically, Trade also had a major role in shipping to and from Jensen during the Enclaver Hiatus, and that relationship persists to some degree
  • The Trade and Planning  Bureaus are ‘natural enemies’ in some sense – in a command economy like the Dominion’s, the extent to which Trade Bureau ships are successful and necessary outside of Felline and Newerth is an indictment on Planning’s ability to operate the economy 
  • In addition to operating its own ships, Trade makes use of independent operators
• The Mining Bureau
  • Operates some ships for asteroid mining and survey purposes, but many miners are independent operators
• The Administration Bureau
  • Operates some ships on behalf of other Bureaus that do not commonly operate ships for specific purposes, however, Administration is just as likely to be a broker between the client Bureau and either Mercantile or Trade for one of their ships
  • The Administration Bureau doesn’t commonly make use of independents, but this can happen on occasion
    • The Bureaucracy being what it is, it’s not unknown for, say, Resources to approach Mining for a ship for some survey work, Mining to contact Administration for a filler ship if they don’t have any available, Administration to go to Trade to see if they have a spare and Trade to let the contract to an independent operator
• The Overlord’s Household
  • Operates a small number of ships for the Overlord’s purposes
• Independent Operators
  • There are a few large independent shipping firms and numerous independent single-sip operators
  • Despite the Planning Bureau and The Dominion Bank supposedly operating in lock-step, the Bank tends to look favourably on venture capital applications for commercial shipping to help fill Planning’s inevitable supply gaps

Commercial Passage

Commercial passage between star systems is available from the Mercantile Bureau and private operators.  The Mercantile Bureau has a standard fee schedule for such trips based on distance, and private operators generally peg their fees on that basis, either undercutting slightly or charging a premium depending on their business model.

Mercantile Bureau General Passenger Fee Schedule Table

(a) Based on a distance of 18.9 Lights, which is the mean jump distance for all routes in the Dominion of J3 or less. 

Mercantile Bureau Restricted Passenger Fee Schedule Table

(a) Based on a distance of 18.9 Lights, which is the mean jump distance for all routes in the Dominion of J3 or less. 
(b) Rarely used – most people travelling in Resi are used to at least a standard level of travel.