StarCitizen:Kastak Arms

Kastak Arms is a StarCitizen:human manufacturer of inexpensive energy weapons and personal armor based on StarCitizen:Selene in the StarCitizen:Vega system. It was founded in partnership with the government of Selene following the Vanduul invasion of Virgil, with the stated aim of arming individuals for personal defense ahead of a potential StarCitizen:Vanduul threat to Vega. The company markets aggressively under intimidating product names such as the Devastator and the StarCitizen:Firestorm, and although it portrays itself as a provider of weapons for personal defense, its brand has become readily identified with people who use its products for aggressive and unlawful purposes.<ref name="galactapedia">Template:Cite RSI</ref><ref name="portfolio">Template:Cite RSI</ref>

Its weapon line includes the StarCitizen:Coda Pistol, StarCitizen:Devastator Shotgun, StarCitizen:Karna Rifle, StarCitizen:Roughneck LMG, StarCitizen:Custodian SMG, StarCitizen:Ravager-212 Twin Shotgun, StarCitizen:Scalpel Sniper Rifle, StarCitizen:Firestorm Cannon, and StarCitizen:Equalizer HMG.<ref name="galactapedia" />

History

Founding

In the early StarCitizen:27th century, shortly after Virgil fell to the StarCitizen:Vanduul, the Vega System was not only flooded with refugees but had suddenly become part of the conflict's front line. The looming threat of attack drove both businesses and the public from the prosperous planet of StarCitizen:Selene. Those who chose to stay, or could not afford to leave, worried about what would happen if a Vanduul attack cut them off from the rest of the Empire. So Selene's Governors Council strove to make their planet self-sufficient. With no native personal defense weapons manufacturer, they decided to create their own.

Kastak Arms was established in StarCitizen:2738 as a public-private partnership between Selene's Governors Council and a consortium of local business interests. Named after the first city to fall to the Vanduul in the attack on Virgil, the company's mission statement was to make powerful weapons available to Selene's public at a modest price, so that if the invasion came, all Citizens and civilians would be able to defend themselves. Despite the hysteria, the Vanduul attack on Selene never arrived. Instead, the planet became awash with weapons that, combined with an unstable economy, were attributed to a rising crime rate.

Public safety groups protested that the Governors Council was profiting from the violence caused by Kastak Arms. In 2753, a rogue Kastak executive was arrested after tampering with Vega's StarCitizen:early warning system for Vanduul attacks in an effort to spur sales. Selene's Governors Council moved to dissolve the company. The Council's lone dissenting voice was StarCitizen:Hiram Larcher, who delayed the vote, allowing Kastak's private partners the time to put together a bid to buy the Council's stake in the company. Larcher successfully lobbied the Governors Council into taking the bid, then resigned from his seat to become Kastak's CEO.<ref name="portfolio" />

Present

The modern Kastak Arms is the result of Hiram Larcher's vision. Once the company became a wholly private endeavor, Larcher implemented policies that he had been pushing for on the Governors Council. Sensing saturation of Selene's market, Larcher brought the brand to Bremen amid a large advertising campaign featuring a model standing over a dead Vanduul and holding a Kastak shotgun. The advertisement's copy read, "There's a reason the Vanduul avoid Vega," and sparked a heated debate among pundits on the StarCitizen:Spectrum, which generated a windfall of free advertising for Kastak. Sales climbed and allowed the company to increase operations across the Empire.

As the company expanded, it concluded that it was better for its bottom line to advertise on the streets of StarCitizen:Hyperion than in the salons of Terra. Before entering a new system, the company would make aggressive advertisement buys in low-income areas, letting its pervasive and provocative advertisements stir up consumer interest and controversy before its weapons reached shelves. Advertisements for Kastak Arms remain a common sight in lower-income neighborhoods such as StarCitizen:Newcastle and StarCitizen:Tram. When critics charge that Kastak spurs violence in such areas, company officials point to high sales and affordable advertisement space as justification for its practices. In one interview, Hiram Larcher stated, "These people need affordable guns. Look how much crime and violence they have to deal with. Do you know how dangerous it would be for them to go unarmed?"

Over the years, Kastak Arms has worked to cultivate an image as a corporate underdog. A common thread in its marketing is to portray itself as a much-maligned gun manufacturer whose only mission is to provide cheap protection for the masses. This image is more than an advertising ploy. Historians credit Kastak Arms with playing a pivotal role in the overthrow of StarCitizen:Ariane Effendi, StarCitizen:Locke's dictatorial ruler during the early 29th century. The availability of Kastak weapons allowed opposition leader StarCitizen:Omar Astacio to arm the planet's oppressed populace.

Following the revolution, Astacio sent the official flag of Locke's new government to Kastak Arms as a gesture of thanks. The flag was framed and has been displayed in the lobby of the company's corporate headquarters ever since. More recently, the company came to the aid of the StarCitizen:Asura police after they went on strike, one of their complaints being that they were outgunned by criminals. After hearing this, Kastak donated weapons to upgrade the force's capabilities, a move that earned the company a wave of goodwill.

Whether Kastak Arms' business practices have led to a safer society is debatable. Whether those practices have been good for the company's bottom line is not.<ref name="portfolio" />

References

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