The Pentastar Talks (LTC)

The sprawling city-world of Entralla stands on the brink of war. Three corporations, GALENTRO, SERAPHAN, and DYNAMATA, have failed to prevent tensions from boiling over into outright conflict. Driven by fear and greed, they will slaughter to maintain their profits.
Millions of corporate-citizens have received mandatory commissions in the corporate militias, and prepare to fight their fellow beings for a distant executive's bottom line.
But there is a last unlikely hope. The remnant fleet of GRAND MOFF ARDUS KAINE has arrived in orbit above Entralla, an unwelcome sight except in the most desperate hour...

The first battle of the Trinary Corporate War was also the last.

How did it start? You might hear different versions from different players. The most common thread was this: Galentro Heavy Works subsidiary MotAren had grown increasingly hostile and incendiary in its attempts to force a seat at the table, and had graduated from manipulation, to corporation espionage, to acts of terrorism. One thing led to another, and one million corporate citizens were conscripted into company militias within 48-hours. This war might have become legendary for its brutality and senseless loss of life, if it hadn't ended how it did.

In contrast to the variety of stories about how it began, there's only one story about how it ended.

The SSD Reaper, flagship of Moff Ardus Kaine, appeared in Entralla orbit. Dropships carried Stormtroopers to the planet surface. A few deft strategic moves from Kaine's forces put the corps on the back foot, and suddenly, everything they truly cared about was at risk of being blown to hell by the strongest Remnant in the galactic north.

But Kaine wasn't just adept at military strategy, he was persuasive—a skilled orator, known for being reasonable, even fair. He sent an invitation to the three major parties: Galentro, Seraphan Photonics, and Dynamic Automata, as well as the Commerce Minister for the Free Velcar Trade Zone, to join him on his flagship for a negotiation. They accepted.

Kaine knew that he had a narrow window to build something that neither the New Republic or other Remnants could threaten. Corporate power was the way he would do it. Many of the companies further from the Core were in disarray after the collapse of the Empire, and he would offer them exactly what the Empire always had: order, security, a beneficial status quo.

Kaine proposed the creation of a new government: the Pentastar Alignment, an independent Empire, free from the hubris and bloodthirst of Palpatine's regime. A stabilizing force, with no designs on fighting the New Republic—simply offering another path.

While Kaine would be its executive leader, the corporate interests would have a seat at the table—the worthy ones, at least. They would reinstitute the nobility, form Houses, and ensure corporate ventures continued without fear of harm from outsiders or one another. In return, they would owe him their loyalty, and follow his leadership.

Kaine was no fool: he knew that they would vie against each other, and against him. But he held all the cards, and he was inviting them to share the pot. It was a hard offer to turn down.

With unanimous agreement, the Alignment was formed.