StarCitizen:Drake Interplanetary

Drake Interplanetary is a StarCitizen:Human spacecraft manufacturer that designs, manufacturers and sells spaceships in the StarCitizen:Star Citizen universe. It is headquartered in StarCitizen:Odyssa, StarCitizen:Borea, Magnus. It is the fifth largest spacecraft producer in human space. Drake was founded in StarCitizen:2845 by StarCitizen:Jan Dredge to produce the [[StarCitizen::Category:Cutlass series|Cutlass]] medium fighter for militia use. Drake has cultivated its image since then to appeal to those seeking less conventional designs.<ref name="galactapedia">Template:Cite RSI</ref> Their ships have a characteristically robust and geometrical design that utilizes many low-tech materials. Drake's target group also includes militias and pirates. The former CEOs Jan and StarCitizen:Jon Dredge cultivated the outlaw image from the beginning of the company, which raised controversies about Drake's responsibility for pirate-related crimes.<ref name="ReferenceA">Template:Cite RSI</ref><ref>A Summary of Star Citizen Live "All Things Lore" - reddit.com, 09.2019, acc. 2019-10-03, source: Star Citizen Live: All Things Lore (YouTube) </ref>

History

Cutlass development

After losing a StarCitizen:UEE contract bid in 2845 for a low-cost, fast-production "volksfighter" ship, Drake Interplanetary re-appropriated their design, the Cutlass, as a civilian craft.

The initial pitch was to provide ships to private militia groups. The plan was that private squadrons in more distant areas of the galaxy would welcome a low-cost spacecraft solution. Regions specifically classified high insurance risks, the Drake board reasoned, would especially welcome an easier way to replenish lost spacecraft.

Incorporation and Success

Following the public release of the Cutlass, Drake Interplanetary incorporated, with StarCitizen:Jan Dredge as CEO, along with a seven-member board consisting mainly of designers who had worked on the Cutlass. Drake was not the surname of anyone involved in the project; it was selected as an acceptable "smooth-sounding" name, chosen specifically in the hopes that it would make their spacecraft more appealing. This was the first of a series of money-over-all decisions that would quickly come to define the company.

Another decision was also telling: rather than incorporate on one of the UEE's traditional "homeworlds" like StarCitizen:Earth or Terra, Drake based itself in the economically embattled system of Magnus. Basing both corporate governance and key factories on Borea (Magnus II), Drake's outlaw image became well established before the first production model Cutlass left the factory floor.

Sales were phenomenal: within nine months, Drake had opened six offworld factories and had licensed dealerships in nine systems. In the year following, the company had quadrupled again. Within five years they were the fifth largest spacecraft manufacturing concern and couldn't license subsystems manufacturers quickly enough. The successful company was credited in financial magazines as the little engine that could — finally a competitor that would change how companies like Roberts Space Industries and Musashi Industrial ran their businesses. From the numbers alone, it looked like everyone would be flying a Cutlass in ten years.<ref>Template:Cite RSI</ref>

Pirate scandal

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The StarCitizen:Travel Safety Advisory System estimates that 15,000 people die annually in outlaw raids and the Cutlass Black accounts for two thirds of all ships used by known piracy groups.

In an undercover job interview, the company CEO Jan Dredge was recorded making a controversial statement about selling the StarCitizen:Cutlass Black to known StarCitizen:piracy groups. After which family members of piracy victims expressed their outrage by calling for a ban on the Drake Cutlass. On April 6, 2947 Drake Interplanetary released a press statement in which they apologize for the comments made by Jan Dredge and are announcing that she is retiring as CEO of the company to spend more time with her family. Her son StarCitizen:Jon Dredge would fullfill her duties as acting-CEO until a replacement can be found.<ref name="ReferenceA">Template:Cite RSI</ref> In early 2948, Drake called a press conference in StarCitizen:Odyssa to introduce StarCitizen:Anden Arden as new CEO, possibly against the will of Jan and Jon Dredge. Arden condemned the use of the ships by Outlaws and instituted a policy that all sales associates attend a mandatory training session every year that reviews our company policy alongside local and Empire-wide law.<ref>Template:Cite RSI</ref>

Drake DefenseCon

Template:Main Drake DefenseCon is a yearly event organized by Drake Interplanetary to promote its products.<ref>Template:Cite RSI</ref> It is a tagalong of StarCitizen:Invictus Fleet Week, because the company is not formally invited to the event due to the long-running antagonism between Drake and the UEE military.<ref>Inside Star Citizen: A Cut Above, starting at 10:30. Star Citizen YouTube channel. Retrieved 2022-11-17.</ref> DefenseCon is usually held in the same city immediately after Fleet Week.

In-game description

Makes affordable, modular ships that have become the go-to manufacturer for anyone looking to get their first ship, but have become associated with criminal elements.<ref>In-game description in Alpha 3.9.1</ref>

References

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