Editing Quest:A.I. Quest (section)

==United Galactic Expanse Initiative (UGEI)==
Originally one of Earth's many deep space mining Corporations, the UGEI received several incredibly wealthy investors, putting it ahead of its competition. This boost allowed them to form a near-monopoly on colonization and mining operations for the human race as they began their rapid expansion outwards. While effective at spreading humanity's wealth and influence, according to employee reports the UGEI also grew incredibly greedy. They took large cuts from anyone that used their mining platforms, or simply took mining locations from independent companies by questionable legal means. The UGEI also refuse to share their mining platform secrets, leaving their efficiency and the cocktail of gases used by ships as star-ship fuel mostly a mystery to the common man. Due to a lack of personnel, and the availability of their wealth, the UGEI appear to have merged with several robotics Corporations at some point, giving them a source to dump much of their gains into that will in the end save them even more. This lead to them being able to free up much of the labor they needed for their mining platforms with the creation of humanity's first V.I. To this day, they continue to search for a way to make all mining automated, maximizing their profits and reducing the chance of human error. 

According to the Extranet, much of the UGEI's inhabited worlds are human, with very little alien immigration, especially recently. Large part of the reason is due to the proxy war the UGEI is holding against the Malorians for access to rich sectors of space. While unable to officially declare war, or even have armed forces, the UGEI uses it's massive size, access to legal council, and various other loopholes to build a fleet of massive proportions to combat the aliens. Over time, they have overstepped the bounds of normal corporation duties, until they began to more closely resemble a military driven government. They're responsible for an enormous portion of humanity's growth and strength during the last century, even if they do bleed colonies dry, leaving them nearly untouchable to normal legal means back home in the home worlds. In accordance with ancient treaties between the long dissolved nations on Terra, the UGEI is forbidden to formally own any buildings, ships or territory within the Sol System on a permanent basis, they are instead forced to temporarily lease everything from their typically Terran owners: a small consolation prize after an eternal court struggle against the UGEI's growing presence. As a result of this, UGEI has a very small overt prescience within the cradle of Humanity, however behind the scenes, the vast wealth at UGEI's disposal enables them to secure a huge amount of political, economic and military influence. 

A UGEI mining license takes 4 months of operation to earn. In which time the UGEI are entitled to 85% of profits. Even after obtaining this license, the UGEI is still entitled to 70%.