The Web

This article is about The Web, the criminal syndicate. For the colloquial technological term, see the Extranet

The Web represents one of the most dominant forces in the Galaxy's criminal underworld. They are a criminal syndicate who dirty their hands with a diverse range of illegal and immoral activities. Although the full extent of their debauchery is nearly endless, their most prominent 'trades' include: slavery, prostitution, narcotics, assassination and mercenary work, blackmail, kidnapping, extortion, gambling and theft in all its forms. In addition, the Web often receives a 'cut' from independent criminals operating within their territory.

Although the full extent of the Web isn't known, recent estimations from a combined report by the Taurus Corporation's Department of External Affairs and the Confederation of Outlying Systems' Confederate Office Of Intelligence suggest that the organisation may, in fact, be galaxy wide. However, it still remains unclear how co-ordinated these various branches of the Web are. Currently, the Web is still under heavy investigation by almost all of the galaxy's major governments.

Organisation and Structure

Like many aspects of the Web, its command structure is shrouded in mystery. Many intelligence agencies throughout the galaxy have invested serious time and resources into planting moles within the web to determine more about this attribute. Although any information gained from these operations would not be made publicly available, no such breakthrough in this area has ever been suggested. However, it is worth noting that in 4567 operatives belonging to the Star Kingdom of Rigel successfully toppled a major branch of the Web in their region, near annihilating Web operations in the area. Although a target was indentified as the leader of Web operations in that sector, the individual was reportedly killed during the Rigellian operation. This has led many to speculate the Web operates in various localised 'cells', with many further speculating that the overseers of these cells report to an overarching leader of the organisation.

Membership and Personnel

Although The Web could be accused of many things, seemingly prejudice is not one of them. It accepts candidates from all races, backgrounds and social classes. It is generally believed that as well as giving the Web an enormous recruitment pool, this wide acceptance of candidates is also partially what gives the organisation its wide range of specialities. Although it should be noted that such diversity can often cause strife with the organisation itself.

Those that join The Web, join for life, however long or short that might be, traitors and would-be retirees appear to be hunted down and used as examples. It's widely believed that this habit of perpetually ensnaring recruits is the reason for the organisation's name.

Assets and Resources

Like many aspects of the Web, the resources at the organisation's disposal remains unclear. However, while it would be almost impossible to say for sure what the total net income of the Web amounts to, several estimations put it at a value exceeding that of some of the Galaxy's most prosperous megacorporations. Given the diverse nature of the organisation's many revenue streams, targetting the Web's cash flow has been ruled out as possibilty by many intelligence agencies.

In terms of more tangible assets, the Web is believed to own properties across the galaxy; from gambling dens on Arda, to 'massage parlours' on Harvid. Moreover, the Web clearly has the resources to both fully staff these properties with both the required personnel as well as a heavily armed security force. While many of these assets may have been obtained legitimately, it is likely that most were obtained through extortion, theft or black market dealings.