Reyes-McLees Corporation

Reyes-McLees Shipyards, Inc, abbreviated to RMS, was an interplanetary starship manufacturing corporation that rose to prominence during the and later the. Based in the city of Ansikte on, the company was founded in 2473 to take advantage of the obsolete construction platforms resting above the planet. Growing by absorbing many smaller construction bodies, Reyes-McLees would become one of two major suppliers of the. Much like how its competitor would become synonymous with the UNSC's frigates and destroyers, RMS' would find success in the construction of many of the UNSC's larger vessels, such as carriers and cruisers.

History
Reyes-McLees Shipyards proudly traces its lineage to two companies in the Martian Prosperity Coalition: the venerable Saratoga Construction Services and Phoenix Industrial Technologies.

Organisation
While already well-organised with two major branches and numerous subsidiary companies, as an interstellar entity Reyes-McLees must split itself even further apart to cope with the unique challenges it faces. Without a means for remotely transmitting messages in an acceptable time frame from planet-to-planet, let alone to the various star systems that they operate in, the corporation found it necessary to place large numbers of employees into positions of authority. Not only this, but the sheer quantity of incoming queries, reports and simple information made it impossible for the upper executives to properly sort through to determine what may be detrimental to the future of the company itself, let alone respond to them in time. Multiple bodies of authority would solve these issues, although the rising risk of corruption remained a constant issue. There are four levels in their hierarchy of authority, with the area of operation and number of employees growing the further down you. These are the Executive Board, Sectorial Board, Interplanetary Board and finally the Planetary Administrations. Each groups meet every ten months, and work within a set budget to ensure they do not dramatically effect the corporation's economic stability.

The Executive Board is the highest office in the corporation, and is typically represents the height of an employee's trust, influence and to a lesser extent their ability. Because of the incredible power at its disposal, each member of this rate have been with the company for years if not decades, and have undisputed command over entire branches and regions of space where they operate. This experience is necessary, as the Board of Directors weld the power to direct the entire organisation's efforts towards a common goal. This ranges from setting up new contracts with powerful clients, managing the growth and decline of the corporation, and working on strategies to ensure their prosperity in hard times. The central board is headed by the CEO, who is capable of implementing new regulations and projects for the company to pursue and managing high-level employees without influence from the Board of Directors. This huge grasp of power makes the CEO the public face of the RMS, with their actions casting a huge effect on the public's opinion. They are advised by an odd mix of major shareholders, subsidiary chairmen and directors who manage various aspects of the corporation. Together, they hold the power to oppose the CEO's actions and oust them if necessary. The only other notable part of this rate is that this is where RMS' internal corruption commission is based. Indoctrinated to be loyal only to the organisation itself, these investigators scour the inner levels of the company for any evidence of corruption, and work outside of the normal chain-of-command to accomplish their tasks. They are capable of detaining nearly anyone they suspect of sabotage, and their word is law unless the Board of Directors disagree with their decisions. There are limits on who they can touch, yet this does little to erode the fear they generate among the other employees.

The next level is the Sectorial Board, which is composed of the chairman of the Interplanetary Boards. There are six independent Sectorial Boards, one for each of the developed sectors in human space. Out of the three executive rates, this level has the least amount of work to complete. Here, the board meets to determine collaborations with outside companies for the purposes of discussing transportation of raw materials, construction of necessary components, and of course major contracts for supplying ships to paramilitary groups. In addition, they are responsible for maintaining their catalogue of what ships must be produced at each drydock facility, and dividing orders up to maximise the number of vessels built in the shortest time frame. As all of these issues simply deal with logistical concerns, they rarely meet more than once a year.

The lowest of the executive boards, the Interplanetary Boards play one of the most active roles in the company. It's seated by the top supervisors of the local facilities, union and affiliate representatives, and other VIPs, and is home to hundreds of technical support operators, specialist workers and inspectors.

Security
Given their vital role to the continuation of the UNSC's supremacy, Reyes-McLees has become an attractive target to rivals, corporate saboteurs and Insurrectionists attempting to cripple the UEG's manufacturing power. To protect themselves, RMS has access to a number of parties it can call upon to prevent serious damage from being dealt to their assets. These range from lightly-armed guards to entire battlegroups charged with their safety.

Their first line of defense lies in their modest unit of security forces. Managed directly by the company itself, these armed personnel are ill-equipped and trained by the standards of the time. While their inflexible armour is exceptionally tough thanks to the incorporation of Titanium-A slabs, their weapons are outdated small-arms which lack any effectiveness against anything larger than a Warthog. Their training is similarly lackluster, with these soldiers often seen cowering away from a fight if they are sufficiently outnumbered. However, the simple fact is that they don't need to be expert marksman, instead used only to deter attacks and keep the workers in line.

If a sufficiently-large force does believe that those basic grunts can be dealt with, they still have another obstacle to contend with. Most of their facilities are defended by a large number of well-armed vehicles and mercenaries contracted from private military corporations (PMCs), the most popular being Baal Defense Solutions. While each PMC is differs in what equipment, doctrine and general skills they use, they are all superior to any Insurrectionist threat. Each facility is protected by at least a company's worth of men, with drydocks being further supported by a number of tanks and cars. The exact models vary greatly, although they are typically expansions on the basic and obsolete tanks refitted to extend their usefulness. In space, they utilise squadrons of ex-military spaceplanes such as the F/A-13 Razor and light-tonnage vessels like the Endeavour carriers round out their spacefaring capabilities. This was mainly to protect high-value transports, as RMS gets free protection from the various UNSC fleets which stop at their drydocks for refuelling and repair. Unofficially, as part of an exclusive contract with BDS, they have access to a number of highly-trained commando units after the war. These elusive soldiers are supposedly there for VIP protection, yet they are most often called on to inflict sabotage on their competitors. These attacks give the illusion that other companies are far more vulnerable to attack than the RMS sites, reducing the number of Insurrectionist attacks against them while allowing BDS to profit from the increasing demand in protection.

During the Human-Covenant War and to a lesser extent the Insurrection, Reyes-McLees often patrolled and protected by the local UNSC garrisons and later battlegroups. With the rise in suicide bombings and the increasing need there became to prevent more production centres from falling to the Covenant, the UNSC found it necessary to establish a number of precautions to better protect them. All of RMS' shipyards were secured by a standard battlegroup, composed of at least one destroyer and three frigates. Larger facilities or those resting near the frontlines could be expected support in the form of multiple cruisers, carriers and even supercarriers. On the ground, most of their factories and ship assembly yards are capable of receiving armies from orbiting transports and frigates, essentially becoming staging areas for the defenders. These were both a boon and a curse, as while they made them tough for the Covenant to take with conventional forces, it made them a priority target to orbital bombardment and long-ranged weapons. As a result, little of the company's property survived the initial skirmish with the alien's powerful fleets.